The Barbican

It is quite possible that the name Barbican (Barbican Road) at Plympton St Maurice is older, in origin, than the Barbican in the old part of Plymouth.

The Plympton castle is, after all, older than the castle that was later built on the side of Lambhay Hill and which centuries ago overlooked the Cawsey at the entrance to Sutton Harbour. Today, the first castle, while long since a ruin, is nevertheless in an identifiable condition; but there is little, if anything, remaining of the later.

It is remembered nominally though, in Castle Street, Castle Dyke Lane and...the Barbican.

The word itself is of uncertain origin but is generally taken to refer to a castle's outer defence or a tower over a gate; the original South Gate to Plymouth would have been approximately where the Admiral MacBride pub is today.

EH 8 March 1997