Devonport

Devonport (before 1824 called PLYMOUTH DOCK), a parliamentary and municipal borough, maritime town, and naval arsenal, in the south-west of Devonshire, on the east shore of the estuary of the Tamar (which is 4 miles long by $\backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}$ mile broad, and called the Hamoaze), 2 miles WNW. of Plymouth. It stands on high ground, and is separated from its growing suburbs of Stoke and Morice Town by the glacis of its fortifications, once important, but now dismantled. The streets are regular, and the footpaths of marble. Devonport is supplied with water from Dartmoor by a circuitous route of 30 miles. It owes its existence to the dockyard established here by William III. in 1689, and is one of the chief naval arsenals in Britain. The government establishments now stretch for nearly 4 miles along the left bank of the Hamoaze. The original dockyard, extended from time to time until it contained six building-slips, was supplemented in 1844 by the formation at Morice Town of the Keyham Steam Yard and Factory, which communicates with the dockyard and gun-wharf (designed by Vanbrugh) by a tunnel. Farther up the river are an engineers' college, seamen's barracks, magazines, and powder-works; and the Hamoaze itself contains many men-of-war lying in ordinary, besides those in actual service. The official residences of the admiral of the port and of the lieutenant-governor of the western district are at Mount Wise, which is fortified. Here also are the chief barracks of the troops which garrison the 'three towns' of Plymouth, Devonport, and Stonehouse. The military hospital is on Stonehouse Creek. There are extensive commercial wharves with railway communication on Stonehouse Pool. Pop. of municipal borough, since 1888 also a county borough, (1841) 33,820; (1881) 48,939; (1891) 54,076; of parliamentary borough, including East Stonehouse, 70,238. Devonport returns two members to parliament.