DRAKE’S ISLAND – THE FIRST GOVERNOR, SIR FERDINANDO GORGES WHO GRANTED THE LAND PATENT FOR THE PILGRIM FATHERS
The Crown appointed Sir Ferdinando Gorges as the Governor of the Fortress of Plymouth which included the defences and...
THE LAST YEARS OF ELIZABETH I AND THE ONGOING FORTIFICATION OF THE ISLAND
Even though there was a still a threat to England from Spain battles for power between different factions continued at...
THE THREAT FROM SPAIN AND THE ARMADA
By 1583 the Spanish, through a treaty with the King of France’s brother, had access to the French coast opposite...
THE FIRST TUDOR DEFENCES
By the reign of Edward VI artillery developments and improved gunpowder meant the deep water channel between the...
THE WESTERN OR PRAYER BOOK REBELLION OF 1549
By 1534 Henry VIII had enacted legislation making him Supreme Head of the English Church of England over the Pope. The...
THE PRIORS OF PLYMPTON; WAS THE ISLAND ORIGINALLY CORNISH?
By 1280 but most likely earlier St Nicholas Island was granted by someone in the Valletort family to the Priors of...
THE FIRST OWNERS AND DID THE ISLAND COME WITH RABBITS OR FISH?
The ownership of lands in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest in 1066 is difficult to pin down. We do have some...
ST MICHAEL’S CHAPEL
St Michael’s Chapel is the first recorded building on Drake’s Island. Its earliest mention is in 1135 during the reign...
DRAKE’S ISLAND PREHISTORY
Our Island’s story starts some 4 billion years after the Earth was formed and about 350 million years ago. The Earth...
A TIMELINE OF DRAKE’S ISLAND
The following is a timeline of the main events in the Islands history. In addition to fleshing out these events there...
THE MOST INCREDIBLE JOURNEY THROUGH PLYMOUTHS PAST
I have been very lucky to have spent the last couple of years as Drake’s Island Warden not only being able to look...