Woolster Street

Woolster Street is said to mark the original shoreline of that part of Sutton Harbour, between the end of Notte Street and the point where it turns into Vauxhall Street.

Originally it was known as Winchelsea Street deriving from the Old English word “wincel” meaning corner – hence we have wincel-sea “the corner by the sea”.

For many years this was where the celebrated Hawkins family lived; William Hawkins purchased the building that subsequently became known as the Mitre Tavern in 1540 and then went on to acquire most of what was then on the northern side of the street.

Hawkins, the son of a wealthy Tavistock merchant, had come to Plymouth to act as shipping agent for his father and quickly made a fortune in his own right. By 1523 he had become one of the five richest men in the town. He became Mayor in 1532 (and again in 1538) and between 1539 and his death in 1553 he was returned as MP for the town.