Royal Parade

The first kerbstone of the redeveloped, post-war Plymouth City Centre was laid on 17 March 1947 in what was Raleigh Lane (it is located in the edging of Derry's Cross roundabout. Seven months later, on 29 October, his Majesty King George VI and Queen Elizabeth came to Plymouth to dedicate the replica of Drake's Drum in which the Civic Flagstaff is planted.

Located at the crossing of the two great axes of the Paton-Watson/Abercrombie plan this is said to be the point from which distances to and from the City of Plymouth are measured. After much debate and disagreement it was decided to name one of these axes Armada Way the other was an altogether more simple decision, although it depended on the King's permission and that was to call the east-west carriage-way Royal Parade.