The Raven's Cliffs

Municipal Boundary Marker between buttresses and against a stone wall on the north side of North Quay, behind the buildings on the south side of Millbay Road. Erected by East Stonehouse Local Board of Health. Milestone Society National ID: DV_ESBS01pb

The Royal William Victualling Yard occupies virtually the whole of the Devil's Point peninsula - about 18 acres - to the south of Stonehouse within the conurbation of Plymouth. The Yard was given Royal Assent on June 3rd 1824 during the reign of King George IV, but was not completed until 9 years later by which time George had died and his brother William had become King William IV. So the Yard was named after this latter monarch on 3rd December 1833. The architects of this fine set of buildings (much admired by the architectural historian, Pevsner) were Sir John Rennie the Younger (1794-1874) and Philip Richards, and the contractor was Hugh McIntosh. The cost of the building was estimated at £2,000,000 which in the early C19th was a colossal amount of money, equivalent to billions today. The original purpose of the Yard, as its name suggests, was to supply victuals - that is food, drink and provisions - for the Royal Navy. With the burgeoning British Empire in the C19th, the Navy grew in size dramatically, and so therefore did its requirement for victuals. This Yard therefore played an important part in "oiling the wheels" of the vast machine that was the Royal Navy. Not only food items but uniforms and all the general paraphernalia required by the Navy's ships (other than munitions etc.) was stored here. In addition the yard contained a brewery, a slaughterhouse, mill, bakehouse and, essentially, a huge cooperage. Barrels made by the coopers were required in vast quantities to store the provisions on board the ships - not just liquids such as beer, but salted meats etc. As the character of the Royal Navy changed over the decades, so the Yard had to adapt; and during the C20th, with the decline in Britain's maritime supremacy, the Yard suffered a similar decline. In 1992 the Navy gave up ownership of the land and buildings and they passed into private hands. Since then the Grade I listed buildings have had numerous uses, but are now undergoing major renovations and conversion into apartments, businesses, restaurants and galleries.

The Royal William Victualling Yard occupies virtually the whole of the Devil's Point peninsula - about 18 acres - to the south of Stonehouse within the conurbation of Plymouth. The Yard was given Royal Assent on June 3rd 1824 during the reign of King George IV, but was not completed until 9 years later by which time George had died and his brother William had become King William IV. So the Yard was named after this latter monarch on 3rd December 1833. The architects of this fine set of buildings (much admired by the architectural historian, Pevsner) were Sir John Rennie the Younger (1794-1874) and Philip Richards, and the contractor was Hugh McIntosh. The cost of the building was estimated at £2,000,000 which in the early C19th was a colossal amount of money, equivalent to billions today. The original purpose of the Yard, as its name suggests, was to supply victuals - that is food, drink and provisions - for the Royal Navy. With the burgeoning British Empire in the C19th, the Navy grew in size dramatically, and so therefore did its requirement for victuals. This Yard therefore played an important part in "oiling the wheels" of the vast machine that was the Royal Navy. Not only food items but uniforms and all the general paraphernalia required by the Navy's ships (other than munitions etc.) was stored here. In addition the yard contained a brewery, a slaughterhouse, mill, bakehouse and, essentially, a huge cooperage. Barrels made by the coopers were required in vast quantities to store the provisions on board the ships - not just liquids such as beer, but salted meats etc. As the character of the Royal Navy changed over the decades, so the Yard had to adapt; and during the C20th, with the decline in Britain's maritime supremacy, the Yard suffered a similar decline. In 1992 the Navy gave up ownership of the land and buildings and they passed into private hands. Since then the Grade I listed buildings have had numerous uses, but are now undergoing major renovations and conversion into apartments, businesses, restaurants and galleries.

The ferry takes foot passengers between Cremyll, close to the Mount Edgcumbe Estate, and the city of Plymouth.

The building now houses a cafe.

The stairway can be seen here SX4553 : Formal stairway leading to informal garden, Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.

One of a series of artillery towers built for coastal defence in the reign of Henry VIII. Grade II-listed (List Entry No:1129987 Link Historic England).

Military barracks for the island garrison. possibly of eighteenth century origin and probably rebuilt sometime between 1822 and 1847. Grade II listed (List Entry No:1067138 Link Historic England).

Green (Starboard) lateral marker "East Vanguard" with Drake's Island in the background. The large building on the island was the military barracks for the island garrison; possibly of eighteenth century origin and probably rebuilt sometime between 1822 and 1847. Grade II listed (List Entry No:1067138 Link Historic England).

Devil's Point (also called Western King Point) is located on the eastern side of the mouth of the River Tamar where it meets the English Channel at Plymouth Sound.

Designed by Sir John Rennie Jnr as a store for the Victualling Board; built 1829-31, partly converted to offices after the arrival of the Navy Ordnance Board in 1891. Grade I listed building (List Entry No. 1378527 Link Historic England).

Limestone and granite slip dating from the 1770s with a timber-framed cover with a metal sheet mansard roof 1814 designed by Sir Robert Seppings added in 1814. Covers for slips were introduced into naval dockyards in the early nineteenth century. This is one of two surviving at Devonport. When built, they were the widest span roofs in Britain, and the widest in the world except for riding schools in Germany and Russia. Grade II* listed (Historic England list entry number 1388431 Link ).