The city of Plymouth, Devon, England is bounded by Dartmoor to the north, the river Tamar to the west. The open expanse of water called Plymouth Sound to the south and the river Plym to the east.
The Cattewater is that stretch of water where the mouth of the river Plym merges with Plymouth Sound, just to the east of Sutton Pool. It is around this Pool that the manor of Sutton started which grew to form the present day city. On the northern shore of this confluence of waters there was a rock outcrop, which it was claimed, had the appearance of a cat. This gave its name to this stretch of water and eventually the name of Cattedown to the adjoining wharves and commercial area.
External Links
Map showing its location (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=249500&Y=53500&A=Y&Z=3)
In 1760, six of nine warships anchored in the Sound were dismasted and six merchant vessels wrecked in the Cattewater.
The ship was making a run for the shelter of the Cattewater but hit the shoal of rocks now under the Mount Batten Breakwater and lost her rudder.
Thus rendered unmanagable, she crashed on to the sharp rocks under the Citadel ramparts and but for the valour and strong sense of one man, all of them would have been lost.
It is not clear when the area ceased to be used for military flights but the Chelson Meadow race-course was certainly used by civilian flyers such as Sir Alan Cobham.
Meanwhile, down river at the Cattewater a seaplane base had been established on September 2nd 1913 and several trial flights were made from it.
It was expected that this was the end of the base but in 1923 the Cattewater Seaplane Station Bill became enacted and the base re-opened on October 1st 1928 as RAF Mount Batten.
Feeds |
Contact