Valletort Road

Renaldus de Valletort was one of the Norman descendants of Torteval, who fought as a Cornish knight alongside Henry I at Tinchebray in 1106. The battle was to resolve the issue of ownership of Normandy and, for his efforts, Valletort was later given the three royal manors in Plymouth - Maker, King's Tamerton and Sutton.

Therefafter the Valletorts "became key figures in the early story of Plymouth" (Crispin Gill - Plymouth: A New History). they appear to have been adventurers who made their fortune with the English Conquest. Soon after 1106, they built a substantial residence on the edge of Sourpool, which then extended beyond Millbay to some way up Royal Parade, and over the next 150 years they appear to have been the main instigators in the development of that original community between St. Andrew's Church and Sutton Pool, the heart of Plymouth. By 1254 their influence was on the wane. Nevertheless, a presence remained, and it is appropriate that there should be a handful of street names that perpetuate the name.

In later years the Earls of Mount Edgcumbe acquired nearly all of their old estates and Viscount Valletort has remained as a courtesy title for the eldest son of the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe.