Prehistoric caverns at Stonehouse

I recently came across a cutting from the Evening Herald from the 9th November, 1960. It carries a report about prehistoric caverns at Stonehouse and reads:

'Stonehouse's prehistoric limestone caverns, discovered in the 18th century and since lost to modern knowledge have, it is believed, been rediscovered by builders excavating foundations for a new warehouse in George Street. Directing a pneumatic drill into limestone boulders, a workman found the rock giving way to expose a 10ft shaft with two long fissures squeezing from it. Remains of prehistoric rhinoceroses, horses, oxen, deer and other animals were once found in the caverns but were destroyed when the Athenaeum was blitzed in the last war.'

I haven't been able to find any follow up to this article but isn't it amazing that this all probably exists beneath the streets of Stonehouse and it's such a shame that the remains found in the 1700s were destroyed in the war. The story of Cattedown Man is well known and his remains were discovered in limestone caves in the Cattedown area of the city in 1887. With him were the bones of 15 early humans together with the remains of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, deer and lion dating from the ice age. The remains are approximately 140,000 years old and are the oldest remains discovered in the British Isles.

Prehistoric remains have been found in Ernesettle Woods, at Mutley and Keyham as well as Stonehouse.

It's amazing what is beneath our feet but also incredible that very little of this history ever seems to be mentioned. I certainly haven't read anything at all about the Stonehouse Caverns in the last 40 years.

The location of the Cattedown caverns is meant to be a secret, for fear of fossil hunters etc, but it's well known that they are located beneath the fuel depot there. It would be incredible to be able to visit them and it seems a shame that the area is off limits to local residents.

The Kloof, Saltash Passage

The Kloof can be found near the end of Wolseley Road at Saltash Passage. The house was built by James Ware (shown) in 1914. James Ware owned and ran Ware's coal and coke business from Ware's Quay which, today, would be opposite the Ferry House Inn. The quay was built in 1898 by James Tripp using stone from Little Ash Quarry. It was taken over by James Ware and renamed and used by him until 1922.

The Kloof was built just before the First World War and may not have been built at all, if built at a later date, due to the lack of materials that were available as a direct result of the War. In later years, the fields by the Kloof were rented out for a variety of uses. These included stabling horses, a local business growing fruit and vegetables and an enterprise growing daffodils in the Spring. A variety of animals were kept there for commercial use also, including pigs, sheep and chickens. The fruit and vegetable business was run by Frederick Johns who delivered to the St Budeaux area with his horse and cart. In the Second World War, the US army used the field to house their troops and vehicles.

Many older residents will remember Marshall Ware who lived at the Kloof for most of his life. He had a passion for local history and wrote two books about St Budeaux. He also had a passion for wildlife and I remember that he told me that he would climb into trees to photograph the eggs of birds but would never take them to collect. I also remember him telling me how he remembered his father planting the many trees that now surround the field at the Kloof. Marshall seemed to know the name of every plant, flower and bird in the area and, at the time, would happily tell me all about them. Some of Marshall's stories can be found in my books 'Saltash Passage,' 'St Budeaux,' and 'Memories of St Budeaux.'

Plymouth : Tales From The Past

I know that there are many people who would rather sit down and flick through the pages of a book than read content from the internet on a computer screen. Many people aren't connected to the internet and for this reason, I've compiled all my favourite stories of Plymouth's past in a new book which will be available from bookshops and online over the next couple of weeks. There are tales of famous people connected with Plymouth including Charles Darwin, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scott of the Antarctic, Cora Pearl, Lillie Langtry, Nancy Astor and many more. There are also stories of Christmases during the War years, trams, entertainment, the Civil War, Romans, pubs, buildings, executions, carnivals, comedians and much more.

More recent history includes articles about Plymouth Zoo, Westward Television, Benny Hill and The Beatles visit to the ABC.

I hope that the new book will be of great interest to the many people who enjoy reading about the history of Plymouth and who also enjoy the many quirky stories that originate from its past.

'Plymouth Tales From The Past' (ISBN 9780956078148) will be available from the end of May from all good bookshops and costs £9.99.

Putty Philpott

This photo shows Putty Philpott who, at one time, was quite a well-known figure in the city. He led the Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport Carnival, shown here in 1926, which raised money for the Royal Albert Hospital (later Devonport Hospital). He was known as a giant of a man although this referred to his generosity as well as his weight. He was ex-Navy and also an ex-publican and, at twenty stones, was once the heaviest man in the services. After leaving the Navy, he ran the Brunswick Hotel in Stonehouse and would entertain people by playing the banjo beside the log fire there. Stars from the Palace Theatre would come to watch and would join in with his many songs including, 'South of the Border down Stonehouse Bridge Way' which he adapted from the more well-known, 'South of the Border'.
During the Second World War, The Brunswick Hotel was destroyed by a land mine and Putty then became the landlord of a pub in Devonport which, by coincidence, was bombed on his very first night there. He ended his days as the landlord of the No-Place Inn at Eldad Hill.
In between running various pubs, Putty also appeared in concerts performing his many songs which included, 'Figgy Pudding'.
Thr Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport Carnival lasted all week and Putty was often the Carnival king. Regular events included fancy dress competitions, parades and stalls.
When he died, the pall bearers had to be 'fortified at the local bar' before carrying out their bulky task!

Devonport tram

At first glance, it's hard to place where this lovely pre-war tram is passing in Plymouth. There are several clues though. By enlarging the photo, a street sign can be seen beside the front of the tram which says 'Chapel Street'. Also,
in the background, can be seen the word 'piano' and I can recognise this as the shop belonging to Hocking's Pianos which stood beside the Forum Cinema (now the Mecca Bingo Hall). The Forum, which was at the end of Chapel Street in Fore Street, stands just to the left of Hocking's and Fore Street with its wonderfully ornate buildings continued until it met the dockyard gates. The Second World War not only devastated Fore Street but also Chapel Street and none of the buildings shown in this photo still stand. The Forum is still there, of course, but the rest of Fore Street including the Devonport Market were incorporated into the dockyard and have been unseen by civilians for many years. Recently, the area enclosed in the dockyard has been refurbished and building work still continues.

For comparison, I took a photo today of the area as it looks now. Just for good measure, I made sure I got a picture of the tram's future replacement! The Forum can be seen in the far background on the left and an Esso garage stands where all those lovely buildings used to stand.

Walking further down, I thought that I could see tramlines in a pothole in the road. A similar thing was reported in Saltash Passage recently. On the way home, I decided to photograph the gates at HMS Drake for a 'then and now' project I'm putting together. I was surprised that because I'd taken a photo of the gate, I was then questioned by the police, complete with machine guns, for half an hour! I pointed out that a photo of the HMS Drake gates could be found easily on Google Earth and my pictures came out terrible anyway! They were very nice about it all though and said these were 'sensitive times' but, if you're thinking about photographing any Naval, or any other military establishments, think twice! I think we parted on good terms and I still haven't got a decent photo of the gate!

The War Effort

All over Plymouth, there are the signs of missing railings and other ornate metal work. During the Second World War, as part of the War effort, houses were stripped of their railings and other metal was collected by the Ministry of Salvage to be melted down and used for munitions . Over 1.5 million tonnes were collected and the whole operation boosted morale and brought people together. Any metal that could be taken was quickly removed including the bandstand on the Hoe. On the walls of many old houses in Plymouth, you can still see where the railings were hacksawed away. Even the Mount Edgcumbe Estate removed its railings to help the campaign. On the 12th January 1942, work started in the Mutley area to remove all unnecessary railings although some of the more ornate railings survived the exercise. However, many were removed and were never replaced. The Women Voluntary Service were responsible for organising salvage drives which not only included the removal of railings but also the collection of aluminium pots and pans, jelly moulds, kettles, paper and rubber and even artificial limbs. Children were banded together to collect as much salvage as possible including small items such as bottle tops. Regular salvage drives were organised to help the war effort. Tin, rubber, iron, steel, paper, cooking fat and even silk stockings were all collected. A popular poster during the war read, ‘Salvage saves Shipping’. Saturday Scrap collections were organised and children would knock at doors asking for any spare metal. This included gates, saucepans, empty tins and anything that could be spared. Some councils awarded certificates to recognise the work done by the children. However, while people happily banded together to help the war effort and collected a great deal of scrap metal to provide extra guns, tanks and planes for the troops, the truth was somewhat different. Little or none of the metal collected was ever melted down and used for the war effort and most was just dumped soon after.

King Street

King Street ran from Cambridge Street to Stoke Road and Manor Street. There doesn't appear to be many photos of the King Street arch in existance but this is the best one I've found. This photo dates from the early 1960s and shows the arch which was just after 144 King Street, which can just be seen on the left of the photo. Number 144 housed Cole's grocery shop. Perhaps one of the most remembered shops in King Street was Ivor Dewdney's pasty shop which was at number 2 and opened in the 1930s. The photo shows interesting adverts for both Ovaltine and the Co-op. In the early part of the last century, hawkers and entertainers gathered underneath the arch. One was a Mr Pratt who, with his monkey, Bruce, entertained passersby with his organ grinding. Bruce wore a red hat and jacket and was well known to the people living in the area. Mr Pratt, his wife and his monkey all lived in one tiny room in the street. Small audiences would gather to watch Bruce and would feed him chipped potatoes which were sold in the evening by Italians living in the area. By day, they would sell ice cream around the town from their small handcarts. Another well known figure was a blind Cornish miner who sold boot and shoe laces which were draped from his left arm while, with his right hand, he would hold out a tin cup to collect money. Many beer houses sprung up in the area during the 1850s including the Thistle Rose and Shamrock, the Hen and Chicken and the Botanic Garden which was near Flora Street Nursery. In the shadow of the railway embankment stood the Robert Burns, the Broad Gauge and the Tandem Inn. As a barrel organ played, bruised fruit was sold at knock down prices and women gathered to attend late night auctions selling cheap cuts of meat. Chestnut sellers would also ply their trade from a warm fire and a man on stilts would tap on windows to announce forthcoming events such as the fair or the circus. Rabbit formed a staple part of people's diet and a rabbit catcher with four or five rabbits hanging from his arm would sell and skin the creatures on the spot. It all seems a world away from the King Street of today. Torn apart in the Second World war, the area has seen a lot of changes and rebuilding. When the arch was pulled down in the 1970s, a major part of the street disappeared and the hawkers and entertainers from nearly 100 years previous, were soon forgotten.