Camel's Head

It seems unlikely that there was ever a spur of land or stretch of water in this area that was shaped like a camel's head, but the legend persists here and there and in fairness any trace of it doubtless would have long since disappeared in the various developments along the shoreline there.

What is far more plausible is the suggestion that the name is a simple derivative from the name of the family who owned this land in the middle ages. CW Bracken, in his History of Plymouth, put it thus: "In Edward I's reign (1272-1307) John Kemyll held land there. Keame, Came and Keyham are variant spellings of his name, as is the slightly altered form 'Camel's (Kemyll's) Head' ".

The romantic notion of course was supported by the local Camel's Head pub which for many years had a facsimile camel's head placed in an alcove above its front door (the pub, re-named the Submarine in 1978, was demolished in 1987).