This is a small container located near Plymouth’s Barbican. Some fantastic views from this position, and a real piece of old Plymouth history. This is a high muggle area - best to act as if you are here to take some pics!
About Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
So, why is it placed in this location? The cache is next to the last piece of the old Plymouth town wall that once surrounded the settlement hundreds of years ago. During the English Civil War in the 1640s the town of Plymouth – which attached its allegiance to the Parliamentarian/Roundhead cause – was put under siege by the Royalist Cornish army. At one point during this conflict the majority of the west-country was in Royalist hands…. But Plymouth remained defiant. It was saved by being located on the coast, with the Parliamentarian forces able to stock it up once and while, all to the fury of the Cornish Royalist commander, Sir Richard Grenville.
Oliver Cromwell was a military leader during the Civil War who gained a notable reputation as a leader. He was instrumental in leading the Parliamentarians to victory in the war, and later was one of the signatories of King Charles I’s death warrant in 1649. After the war and the end of the monarchy, Cromwell dominated politics in the new republic until his death in 1658. It was only two years until the country – scratching their heads as to what to do next – decided to restore the monarchy in the form of Charles’ son, Charles II.
To thank Plymouth for its hard-work and loyalty Cromwell visited the town in person. He would have seen a much different city to the one that people experience today. However, this little piece of Plymouth retains its links to this period of history.