Plymouth Castle

Plymouth Castle was a fortification built in the early 15th century to defend the town and harbour of Plymouth in Devon, England. By the end of the 16th century it had ceased to have any military function and fell into disrepair, being almost completely demolished by the 19th century. Only a small fragment of an outer gatehouse remains.

At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, Plymouth, then known as Sutton, was too small a settlement to warrant fortification, but a motte and bailey castle was built at nearby Plympton. As the value of the natural harbour, Sutton Pool, and the size of the town increased, so in 1377, a murage grant was received to fund its fortification. The exact date of the construction of the castle itself is uncertain, but following a French raid on Plymouth in August 1403, King Henry IV ordered the prior of Plympton and the abbot of to further fortify the town with walls and towers. No finance seems to have been forthcoming from the Crown and Edmund Lacey, the Bishop of Exeter, later granted indulgences to those who made contributions towards the cost of the project. Instead of town walls, the defences took the form of a castle with four towers. It was not the seat of a powerful baron or a royal constable like a traditional castle, but it was commanded by the town's mayor and the defence of it was in the hands of the aldermen, each of the four wards of the town being responsible for one of the four towers. These are the four towers represented in the city's coat of arms to this day.

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