Douglas Castle

Sitting on the north side of Charlotte Street between the bottom of Haddington Road (now Balfour Terrace) and Albert Road (originally Navy Row), formerly stood the Douglas Castle pub. Named in the nineteenth century, in all probability after the Scottish castle (long since a ruin) at Douglas, immortalised as ‘Castle Dangerous’ in Sir Walter Scott’s novel of the same name. The book was first published in 1832, the year of Scott’s death and was part of the ‘Tales of My Landlord’ series. Curiously enough another of Scott’s literary series included Waverley and Ivanhoe, two names that have had a longer lasting impact on Plymouth street directories (Ivanhoe Road and Waverley Road are both in St Budeaux).

To return to the Douglas Castle – marked on the map with a large ‘4’ – this pub would appear to have closed its doors to customers around a hundred years ago, Venning being the last licensee we have record of in 1903.

Licensees

1882 - Mrs Kemp
1885 - W Grant
1888 - A Apter
1890 - William Kaye
1893 - James Farrell
1895 - J Friendship
1896 - D Webster
1897 - Mrs Ellen Wright
1898 - J Venning