2010

SX4653 : Mills & Bakery RWVY across the Basin

taken 13 years ago, near to Cremyll, Cornwall, England

Mills & Bakery RWVY across the Basin
Mills & Bakery RWVY across the Basin
This is the side view of the SX4653 : Mills & Bakery, Royal William Victualling Yard (see for more info on the building) as seen across the enclosed harbour of the RWVY known as "The Basin".
Part of the ground floor to the right of the arched entrance is now a restaurant and bar serving an interesting selection of food and drink which is a welcome addition to the site for any visitors. This building also contains many new apartments and commercial and business premises (a number still to be occupied) as well as a visitor's centre.
See SX4653 : Mills & Bakery, Royal William Victualling Yard for more information about the building's original purpose.
EH Grade I Listing information here LinkExternal link
Next RWVY photo SX4653 : Reflected Glory
Royal William Victualling Yard

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.


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SX4653, 698 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Rob Farrow   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Monday, 25 October, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 3 November, 2010
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SX 4614 5362 [10m precision]
WGS84: 50:21.7393N 4:9.8734W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SX 4607 5355
View Direction
Northeast (about 45 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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