OLD PLYMOUTH . UK
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©  Brian Moseley, Plymouth
Webpage created: March 31, 2018
Webpage updated: July 27, 2019

        

TRAMWAYS IN OLD PLYMOUTH  |  PLYMOUTH, DEVONPORT AND DISTRICT TRAMWAYS COMPANY LIMITED

PLYMOUTH, DEVONPORT AND DISTRICT TRAMWAYS ACT 1882

On July 24th 1882 The Plymouth, Devonport & District Tramways Act received the Royal Assent.  It authorised the formation of a Company of that name, of which the principal promoters were named as Mr John Freeman, Mr Paul Wallace Sharp and Mr William Fairmaner.  The tramways were to be constructed to a gauge of 3ft 6ins and no carriage used on the tramway was to exceed 5ft 6ins in width.

Before the Company could make a start on any of the proposed tramways it was required to deposit certain moneys with the respective Corporations of Plymouth and Devonport.  Firstly it had to prove that £30,000 worth of capital had been properly issued and accepted.  Secondly, it had to deposit in joint accounts held with the respective Corporations, £6,000 in the case of Plymouth and £4,000 in the case of Devonport.  During the progress of the work, the money could be repaid to the Company in proportion to the work carried out.

Line 1, 1½ miles in length, was to start outside the Globe Hotel Tap in Russell Street and then pass along Richmond Street, Cobourg Street, Portland Villas, Albany Place, North Road, Houndiscombe Road, Mutley Plain, Townshend Hill (sic - it should have read Townsend Hill), Mannamead Road and terminate at the end of Compton Lane.

Line 2, 4½ miles long, would start at the end of line 1 in Russell Street but run eastwards along Cornwall Street, East Street, across Old Town Street into Treville Street, then along Exeter Street and Embankment Road to Laira where it would cross the Great Western Railway.  It would then continue along the Exeter Road and terminate in the yard of the Plymouth Inn in the Ridgeway.

The third tramway, one mile in length, would start at a double junction with line 1 in Russell Street and line 2 in Cornwall Street.  From there it would run along Bedford Street, Westwell Street, Princess Square, Lockyer Street, Saint George's Place, Millbay Road, West Hoe Road and Radford Road, terminating in front of the West Hoe Pier in Grand Parade Road.  On this section the Company were required not to allow any carriage to stand in the road between Plymouth Station,Millbay, and the Duke of Cornwall Hotel for longer than was necessary for passengers to get in or out of the carriage.  The penalty for infringement was a sum not exceeding 40 shillings (£2).  The Company was prohibited from constructing a turnout or crossing-place at this point.

Line 4, just a half a mile long, would start at Princess Square and pass along Princess Place and Notte Street to terminate at the south end of the Brunswick Inn, Southside Street.

Tramway 5, 1½ miles long, would start at a junction with line 1 in Russell Street and run via Morley Street, along Cambridge Street, Oxford Street, Sydney Street, across North Road, along Albert Road (later renamed Bayswater Road), down to Pennycomequick, along Deadlake Lane, Paradise Road and Lower Stoke Road to Fore Street, Devonport, where it would terminate at the corner with Princes Street.  Authority to construct this line from Belle Vue Place, North Road, to Fore Street, Devonport, was renewed by the Plymouth and Devonport (Extension) Act 1886.

The sixth line, only ¾ mile in length, would start at the junction of Deadlake Lane and Wingfield Villas, and then run along Wingfield Villas, across Stoke Road, then along Osborne Villas, Osborne Road, over the Cornwall Railway, along Valletort Road, Higher Portland Road and Victoria Street to Albert Road, terminating at the Railway Inn.  Authority to construct this line from the junction with line 5 at Valletort Road to opposite the Railway Inn in Albert Road, Stoke, was renewed by the Plymouth and Devonport (Extension) Tramways Act 1886.

Line 7, ¾ mile long, would start at the junction of Lower Stoke Road and Trafalgar Place, and run through Trafalgar Place, Tavistock Road and Tavistock Street to a point in Stoke Road at the north end of Donegal Place.  Authority to construct this line from Paradise Road to the north end of Molesworth Road was renewed by the Plymouth and Devonport (Extension) Tramways Act 1886.