St Eval Place

The Ernesettle estate contains, like many of the other post-war Plymouth housing developments, a number of thematically based street names. In this case the theme is war-time airfields.

Biggin Hill is probably the best known but others include, Kenley, Rochford and Lympne. St Eval was opened in October 1939; in 1940 it was used a Fighter Command Sector Headquarters and then after the Battle of Britain was used as a base for anti-submarine and convoy protection aircraft.

After the war, St Eval, along with St Mawgan and St Merryn, were the only Cornish bases to be retained but in 1956, St Merryn and in 1959, St Eval were absorbed by Culdrose (a name commemorated by one of the more recent Ernesettle developments). St Eval is thought to be named after St Uuel, a Breton saint - the name may come from the latin for humble.