The History of Plympton St Mary

St Marys Church

The history of Plympton St Mary is not as colourful as St Maurice due to the parish having more of a religious worth, and little else in it's early years. The fact that the river went right past and into St Maurice was also a factor in the parish having less significance, in early times.

Plympton St Mary was established by the old priors of Plympton, and is made up of the Villages of Ridgeway, Underwood and Colebrook, but also included the hamlets of Hemerdon, Sparkwell and Venton. A major part of St Marys was the 7 estates which were also a major part, but most have long since vanished. The Estates of Saltram, (Now a national Trust house), Newnham Park, (still an estate, but much smaller, and mainly used for events such as the mountain bike championship) Boringdon, (now a hotel), and Chaddlewood, (now flats) being the most prominent.

Pathfields towards Ridgeway

Pathfields towards St Maurice

The Cholera epidemic of 1832 was well recorded with 30 people from Underwood, with only around 300 population, dying. There is a mass un marked grave in the churchyard for all the victims of the epidemic. The Reverend William Coppard kept a diary throughout this time, and visited many parishoners who were struck down. The disease was a result of some squalid conditions, Coppard recorded that William Parsons lived with his wife and five children in a room 14 feet by 16, and containing only two beds. The condition of the room was appalling, and Coppard arranged for a Mason to clear the drains and whitewash the walls to provide a more hygenic surrounding. Many weird conclutions were used to beat the epidemic, and many neighbours put themselves at great risk to give life saving blood transfusions to the sick. The epidemic was over by October of that year, and a Slate headstone was put on the Graves of the victims, bearing just one inscription - 1832.

The Cholera epidemic highlighted some of the poverty in a town which was really fairly affluent as a whole, and was home to 3,000 people, however these were very spread out, with the Parish having over 10,000 acres. However in it's early years it was overshadowed by Plympton Earl, (as St Maurice was, and still is in council terms, known), which was the Tin trade as a major industry. However as years have progressed, the greater lands of St Mary have proved to be more beneficial as it now hosts most of the Industry and shopping areas

On top of the Hill leading to Plymbridge stands the Triumphal Arch, which was the gateway between Boringdon and Saltram, and was a feature to show off the wealth the town had in the 18th century.

An old town event from 1802

The Railway

There is not much documentation about early years in the parish, but after the station was built in 1848, it started to become very prosperous, and records were kept. The station was situated along what is now Glen Road, and was next to the Boringdon Hotel, which was rumuored to have had Brunel as a guest. (The hotel is now a retirement home). The coming of the Railway was the start of the boom time for Plympton St Mary, as although there was already great wealth there due to the Old Priors and the use of the Town as a place to live for the wealthy from Plymouth in their later years. However with the railway came a new prosperity as a place for industry and trade. The valley was the best route for the railway, and although plans had been made ever since the first railway in 1925, it was 23 years before it came to Plympton, and a full year before Plymouth was reached by rail.

However the Railway only lasted until 1959, when due to the advent of British Rail, the Station was shut down. But by then Plympton had been established as a large town. In 1967 the whole town of Plympton, both parishes were incorporated into Plymouth, and the town has grown 4 times in size