Plymouth’s heart and soul resonates with its rich tapestry of beauty and historical grandeur, yet, it’s all too common for residents to overlook the wonders of their hometown amidst the hustle and bustle or the humdrum of daily commutes.
To rekindle the appreciation of Plymouth’s hidden gems, we’ve put together an intriguing list of sights that might have escaped your notice. With an array of carved crests, enigmatic gargoyles, intricate mosaics, majestic statues, and awe-inspiring modern art, the city is a veritable feast for the eyes.
Amid the ruins post-Blitz, the birth of a new Plymouth took shape through the visionary architect Sir Patrick Abercrombie in 1943. He imagined a transformed, contemporary metropolis framed by boulevard-esque central roads stretching east to west; at its heart lies the striking Armada Way avenue.
This significant artery of the city weaves from North Road railway station to the legendary Hoe.
In recent times, Win Scutt, the Plymouth Architectural Trust’s chair, has made a clarion call to owners and occupiers within the city centre to “clean up” their buildings and the embellishments they bear all to pay homage to our invaluable twentieth-century architecture before it’s lost to time.
Scutt has previously implored, saying: “People just don’t appreciate it properly, but if they were cleaned it would look fantastic. If we don’t look after them they’ll go the same way as buildings like the Civic Centre, which was nearly demolished.”
Several buildings have been spruced up with a helping hand from Historic England, with 16 building facades chosen for a professional clean-up. A specialist steaming process was employed in the hope of making these structures “more attractive to residents, businesses, tourists and investors”.
Take a look through the images below to spot the finer architectural details and artworks in the city centre that you may have overlooked or never noticed before. You might need to click ‘next’ to see all the photographs in the series.