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Drakes Island
Formerly St. Nicholas' Island
National Grid Reference:— SX 469 529, lying just south of Milbay Docks, 6.5 acres in extent and 96 feet above sea level at the highest point, here lies Drake's Island. The records of this small island state that there was a chapel built on it and dedicated to Saint Michael and appropriately named the island as Saint Michael's Island, at some point in time the chapel was re-dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, and for many years the Island itself was then known as Saint Nicholas's Island.
In the mid 16th century a small fort was built, also in 1549 an indenture was made between King Edward VI and the Mayor of Plymouth for the upkeep of the fort on the island, Saint Nicholas's chapel was demolished and the first bulwark was built on the highest point of the island.
1583 saw a petition for Sir Francis Drake to be made Governor of the island, at the same time ownership of the island was passed over from Plymouth to the state.
Ferdinando Gorges took over as Governor of The Foreshore, The Hoe and Drakes Island in 1599. After the defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588 retaliation was expected from the Spaniards, with this in mind Gorges was instructed to build barracks to accommodate a garrison of 300 men. Retirement from government came from Ferdinando in 1627.
In 1642 civil war broke out, Sir Jacob Astley was governor at the time and Plymouth was declared for parliament, Astley quit his position which placed Sir Alexander Carew in control of the Island which was an unfortunate decision as Carew was suspected of treason, arrested and later beheaded at Tower Hill, London. Carew refused to visit the mainland's even to collect his pay. Plymouth would not have been able to withstand a siege from the royalists if they were allowed to land.
Henry Hatsell, a respected parliamentarian was placed in charge of the island, Hatsell strengthened the garrison and fortifications. For the following 25 years after the war the island was used as a state prison and held some important opponents of the parliamentarian cause, Major-General Lambert being one of them was held there from 1670 to 1684 when he died.
When the Royal Naval Dockyard decided to re-situate from Cattewater in 1691 to the Hamoaze, or Tamar River as it is more commonly known as, with the island being at the mouth of the river, it covered the main channel that shipping used to gain access to the Hamoaze, thus making it more significant in it's defence role. Proposals were made to improve the military status but in 1717 Colonel Lilley reported that the defences were in extremely poor condition and would not hold an attack for any length of time, it would cost £7,000 to correct this situation. Up to 1763 the island was still reffered to as Saint Nicholas's Island.
Until 1771 the island was manned by semi-military corps of gunners, these were unfortunately not satisfactory in threats of invasion but in that year, the manning of the coastal defences including Drake's Island was taken over by the Royal Regiment of Artillery. During the mid 19th Century, the artillery was upgraded as the current weapons were of little use against the ironclad warships of the time. The Royal Regiment of Artillery continued to man the defences until after World War II.
During 1956 the War Department announced that the Island was no longer needed for defence purposes. Later in the year Ministry of Supply's sent a workforce to remove the six 12 pounders and the fittings still operational on the island, also the gun emplacements were to be demolished. The War Department finally left the Island in 1963 to allow it to be used as an adventure ground and was opened to the public the following year.
The Mayflower Trust(Mayflower Centre, Central Park, Plymouth) leased the Island in 1974 and two years later the Council bought the Island and the remaining buildings which were then declared as scheduled ancient monuments. The lease was given up by The Mayflower Trust on March 31st 1989, the boats and sports equipment sold and ownership reverted to the Crown. In 1995 the Island was put up for sale and bought by the owner and Chairman of Plymouth Argyle Football Club, Mr. Dan McCauley for a reported figure of £384,000. Several plans have been laid forward to develop the island as a tourist centre but nothing has come to light as yet.
