Old Star Inn

Located at the top of Cornwall Street, which for many years had not only a ferry crossing into Cornwall at its bottom, but also a point of departure and embarkation to many other places, it’s not surprising that both thoroughfares were awash with pubs. With Queen Street leading workers and travellers north to the Gun Wharf gate and south to the main gate into the old part of the Dockyard, this was a particularly busy route and some 25 pub names have been recorded across the 50 properties in the street – although doubtless in some instances more than one name was recorded for each pub. Certainly this appears to be the case with the Old Star Inn which seems to have been known briefly as the New Star Inn in the mid-nineteenth century and which closed around 1911.

At one time there were several ‘stars’ in the Three Towns, including the Northern Star, Morning Star, Star of the West, Seventeen Stars and two other Stars – today there is just the Seven Stars at Tamerton, prime candidate for being the oldest pub in Plymouth.

Licensees

1798 - William Lee
1798 - William Pearce
1822 - M Watts
1830 - Charles Palmer
1838 - James Elliott
1844 - Mary Palmer
1850 - Ann McSugar
1856 - John Tenney
1867 - Thomas Peek
1875 - W Allen
1880 - H Ivey
1888 - Miss Winifred Ivey
1901 - Frederick Downton