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Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Plymouth and was the seat of Plympton Priory the most significant local landholder for many centuries.
Plympton is an amalgamation of several villages, including St Mary's, St Maurice, Colebrook, Woodford, Newnham, and Chaddlewood.
There is a handful of Primary schools, and 2 Secondary schools in Plympton. The majority of these are an academy converter.
By the early 13th century, the River Plym was named from a back-formation from this name and nearby Plymstock. This later led to the naming of the fishing port created at the river's mouth (Plymouth, originally named Sutton) when the river estuary silted up too much for the monks to sail up river to Plympton any longer.
In the early 12th century Plympton was the site of an important priory founded by William Warelwast. The members were Augustinian canons and the priory soon became the second richest monastic house in Devon (after Tavistock). The gatehouse of the priory is still in existence. In 1872 it was recorded that the gatehouse, kitchen and refectory were still in good condition.Pevsner, N. (1952) South Devon. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books; pp. 242–45
Richard de Redvers (died 1107) was granted the feudal barony of Plympton, based at Plympton Castle, by King Henry I (1100–1135), of whom he was a most trusted supporter. The de Redvers family later became Earls of Devon. Their lands, including Plympton, and titles were later inherited by the Courtenay family, feudal barons of Okehampton. The ancient Stannary town remains dominated by its now ruined Norman motte-and-bailey castle and it still retains a cohesive medieval street pattern. A number of historic buildings in the local vernacular style of green Devon slate, limestone and lime-washed walls, with Dartmoor granite detailing, attest to all periods of its history.
Before the Reform Act 1832 the town was one of the , and sent two MPs to the unreformed House of Commons.
The town was the birthplace and early residence of the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) who became the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts. He was mayor of Plympton in 1773. His father was headmaster of Plympton Grammar School which is a historic building in the centre of the town. Former pupils were Benjamin Haydon and Sir Charles Eastlake, PRA, who were respectively first director of the National Gallery and first president of the Royal Photographic Society. Many of Reynold's paintings were purchased by his friends the Parker family of local Saltram House, now owned by the National Trust, and are still on public display there.
The population of Plympton-St Maurice at the time of the 1841 census was 933 inhabitants.
Fore Street, the town's main street, is lined with mediaeval buildings, around thirty of which are either Grade II* or Grade II listed building. The Grade II* buildings are The Old Rectory, the Guildhall and Tudor Lodge. Plympton St Maurice Conservation Area appraisal and Management Plan – Plymouth City Council, January 2008
Loughtor (after c.1718 renamed Newnham Park) was the seat of the Selman family, of whom several were MPs. William Selman II was five times MP for Plympton Erle between 1420 and 1429. The estate was later a minor seat of a cadet branch of the Courtenay family.
Newnham was a manor that was the seat of the Strode family,Vivian, Heralds' Visitations of Devon, 1895, pp.718–20, pedigree of Strode whose monuments exist in St Mary's Church.
St Mary's church was dedicated in 1311 and was originally a parish chapel attached to Plympton Priory. It has two aisles on each side of the nave, the outer aisles being shorter than the inner ones. The tower, built of granite ashlar, is visible from afar. The south porch is ornamented with carving and has a lierne vault. The outer north aisle is the earliest part of the church and the rest is mainly of the 15th century, the south aisle being the latest part. There are monuments to the Strode family, including a tomb-chest for Richard Strode (died 1464), the effigy being clad in armour. The monument of William Strode (died 1637) and his family shows husband, two wives and ten children. There is also a monument of W. Seymour (died 1801) in Coade stone and of Viscount Boringdon, the 11-year-old heir to the Earl of Morley of Saltram House who died in Paris in 1817, by François-Nicolas Delaistre.
The Community Council decided that a notable Plympton resident should represent the town, for example by opening fetes and attending civic events as the representative of Plympton. In 1980 the first modern Stannator was elected to take up this role. In more recent times, a Youth Ambassador has also been elected to represent the young people of Plympton and attend events alongside the Stannator. The Stannator and Youth Ambassador are elected for a period of one year and invested at a ceremony at Harwood House on the third Saturday evening of April each year.
There have been 43 modern Stannators of Plympton.
!Year(s) !Name | |
| 1980-81 | Mr W Harvey |
| 1981-82 | Mr W Jarvis |
| 1982-83 | Cllr J Stopporton |
| 1983-84 | Dr K Clapton |
| 1984-85 | Mr E Westlake |
| 1985-86 | Mrs M Lynden |
| 1986-87 | Mr J Currie |
| 1987-88 | Cllr A Wright |
| 1988-89 | Mrs W Smith |
| 1989-90 | Mr G Morris |
| 1990-91 | Mr K Yabsley |
| 1991-92 | Mrs D Sinstadt |
| 1992-93 | Mr J Boulden MBE |
| 1993-94 | Mrs P Burrows |
| 1994-95 | Preb J Richards |
| 1995-96 | Mrs K Roberts |
| 1996-97 | Mr J Pook |
| 1997-98 | Mr W Coleman |
| 1998-99 | Mrs M Easterbrook |
| 1999-00 | Mrs S Boulden JP |
| 2000-01 | Mr T Latter |
| 2001-02 | Mr J Willis |
| 2002-03 | Mrs M Knight |
| 2003-04 | Mrs U Griffiths |
| 2004-05 | Mrs N Chinner |
| 2005-06 | Mr F Mills |
| 2006-07 | Mr A C Street |
| 2007-08 | Mrs G Banfield |
| 2008-09 | Mr R T Coleman |
| 2009-10 | Mrs M Crabb |
| 2010-11 | Mr R W Shaw |
| 2011-12 | Mr F Lethbridge |
| 2012-13 | Mrs P Kadoche |
| 2013-14 | Mrs P Ridgeway |
| 2014-15 | Mrs S Luscombe |
| 2015-16 | Mr J Gilding |
| 2016-17 | Mrs R Hamley |
| 2017-18 | Mr A Hill |
| 2018-19 | Mrs N Harrison |
| 2019-22 | Mrs F Smith ARRC |
| 2022-23 | Pastor A Bessel |
| 2023-24 | Mr A Cooper |
| 2024-25 | Mr D Partridge |
| 2025-26 | Mrs C Loft |
The Community Council also appoints Honorary Stannators to reward individuals who have made exceptional contributions to Plympton but do not live in the area. Four Honorary Stannators have been designated including Mrs M Sampson, Mr P Armson, Preb. Rev. M Cameron, and Mr A Briggs.
There have been six Youth Ambassadors of Plympton.
!Year(s) !Name | |
| 2017-18 | Mr Isaac Hudson |
| 2018-19 | Miss Molly Disney |
| 2019-22 | Miss Charlotte Bryant |
| 2022-23 | Miss Bel Winsor-Maloney |
| 2023-24 | Mr Oliver Chard |
| 2024-25 | Mr Christopher Turner |
| 2025-26 | Miss Grace Nicholls |
In the past, railway facilities were originally provided at Plympton – for goods traffic only – by the horse-drawn Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway, but their branch was closed and sold to the South Devon Railway to allow them to build a line from Exeter to
|Old Plymouth, UK
In addition to this railway connected to the National Rail there is also The Plym Valley Railway which is a preserved railway based at the reconstructed Marsh Mills station on Coypool Road. This was formerly part of the GWR Plymouth to Launceston branch line. The volunteer-run PVR is actively rebuilding the line between Marsh Mills and Plymbridge. Steam and diesel heritage trains run on numerous Sundays throughout the year.
Plymouth City Council has stated it would like to see a rail station reopened on the London main line running through the middle of Plympton, which would provide quick and frequent trains into Plymouth. Plympton's lack of a rail station is exceptional in the UK, considering its size, and its location bisected by a passenger line. This especially since 2018 - reopening of Kenilworth station, Warwickshire. But there are major obstacles to providing such a service on a primarily inter-regional rail route, shown when Ivybridge – on the same line – got a new station in 1994. Plymouth city council support the reopening of the station to deal with bad traffic congestion in Eastern Plymouth. After a feasibility study in 2017, A Plymouth Joint plan was opened for consultation in 2018 which included a suggested 'Plymouth Metro' with a station at Plympton however, as of May 2020, nothing has been enacted.
Plympton Victoria Rugby Club are the local rugby team.
Plympton Hash House Harriers, a well attended running club that runs (in a Hashing way) around Plymouth but retains its core identity to the village, often runs here.
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