Cornwall Street, Devonport

The first housing to be built for the new dockyard workforce at Plymouth dock (Devonport) was at what was then caled North Corner - because it was just beyond the north wall othe yard. north Corner Street, parrallell to the wall, appeared soon after in the very early years of the eighteenth century.

A busy area from the very beginning, for many years the pedestriam ferry service across to Torpoint ran from the bottom of this street and it is not therefore surprising to find that in time North Corner Beach, from where the ferry plied its trade became more commonly known as Cornwall Beach - and that subsequently North Corner Street, by now no longer the northern-most in Devonport, became Cornwall Street. Today of course the ferry no longer leaves from here but it is ot uncommon for pleasure boats to tie up to the floating jetty and let their passengers have a short run on land to visit the local beaches.

EH 17 December 1994