Down Thomas

HMS Cambridge was a Royal Navy shore establishment south of Plymouth UK, commissioned between 1956 and 2001. Formerly named HM Gunnery School, Devonport, then Cambridge Gunnery School at Wembury. The site was called HMS Cambridge after a ship of the same name an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line that was used to train seamen in gunnery in Plymouth harbour from 1856. She was replaced by the first rate HMS Windsor Castle (renamed HMS Cambridge) in 1869 before the gunnery school was moved onto land at the Plymouth naval barracks in 1907. This lasted until 1940 when a gunnery range used by the army and navy was opened at the old Wembury Point Holiday Camp (on the present site) which was named the Cambridge Gunnery School. In 1956 the school was commissioned as an independent shore establishment and was decommissioned on 30 March 2001. The site was purchased in 2006 by the National Trust; the main installation, which included mounts for a range of standard naval guns, was demolished and cleared, and the site returned to nature.

Langdon Court is a former manor house, in Wembury, South Devon, England. It consists of a single courtyard mansion from 1693 and a walled formal garden. The house is a Grade II* listed building, and the garden is Grade II listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. In 1960 it was bought and converted into the Langdon Court Hotel.

Watch House Battery is a former 19th-century gun battery, built as one of a number of batteries to defend the Eastern approaches to Plymouth Sound, for the defence of the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport. The battery was originally built as a small pentagonal redoubt with emplacements for five guns. By 1893 it was armed with two 64 Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading Guns. In 1901 the battery was reconstructed for two 6-inch Mark VII breech loading guns with the work being completed in 1903. During the First World War the battery was manned by the Devonshire Royal Garrison Artillery.After the Second World War the battery remained armed until the dissolution of coast artillery in the United Kingdom in 1956 when it was disarmed. It was released by the military and subsequently used as a children's activity centre for some years. It was Grade II listed in 1969.

Lentney Battery is a former 20th-century gun battery, built in 1905 as one of three 6-inch gun batteries to defend the Eastern approaches to Plymouth Sound, for the defence of the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport. It shared accommodation with the nearby Renney Battery. It was armed with two 6-inch Mark VII breechloading naval guns In 1914 a blockhouse and unclimbable fence was added. The battery was manned by the Devonshire royal Garrison Artillery. In 1930 the battery was disarmed, but later re-armed during the Second World War. After the Second World War the battery was used as one of the practice batteries for the Coast Artillery Training School. On the dissolution of coast artillery in the United Kingdom in 1956 the battery was disarmed. It was released by the military in 1991, and became Grade II listed the following year.

Brownhill Battery is a former gun battery at Staddon Heights, Plymouth, Devon. It was one of a number of Plymouth fortifications to be recommended by the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom in 1859. Construction began in 1861, at the same time as Staddon Fort and other defensive works at Staddon Heights. The battery was completed by 1868, but was left unarmed.The battery was designed with a five-sided earthwork rampart containing a number of gun emplacements, with a ditch spanning the front. The west side of the battery is protected by a gorge wall with loopholes. In 1875, eight RML 64-pounder 64 cwt guns were assigned to the battery, but stored at Staddon Fort. By 1885, the battery was armed with six RML 8-inch howitzers. The battery is believed to have ceased use around World War I. The site is now overgrown and is used for agricultural purposes, but much of the battery remains intact and is protected as a scheduled monument.

Staddon Fort is a 19th-century fort, built as a result of the Royal Commission on National Defence of 1859. Part of an extensive scheme known as Palmerston Forts, after the prime minister who championed the scheme, it was built to defend the landward approaches to the east of Plymouth, as an element of the plan for the defence of the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport. Designed by Captain (later Maj General) Edmund Frederick Du Cane, it was built by George Roach and Company. The fort was connected by a military road to the nearby Stamford Fort, Watch House Battery and Brownhill Battery. It was designed to be armed with 34 guns and 6 mortars. To house the fort's garrison a barrack block for 250 men was built within the rear section of the fort.By the early 1900s the fort had become obsolete as a defensive position and was disarmed. It remains in use by the Royal Navy as a communications centre. Along with a number of other parts of the Staddon Heights defences, it became a scheduled monument in 1969.

Wembury is a village on the south coast of Devon, England, very close to Plymouth Sound. Wembury is located south of Plymouth. Wembury is also the name of the peninsula in which the village is situated. The village lies in the administrative district of the South Hams within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The South West Coast Path goes past the coastal end of the town. The National Trust has taken an active role in maintaining the scenic and historic characteristics of the village and its surrounding area The beach is well known for its surfing and rock pooling. Wembury Marine Centre educates visitors about what they can find in the rockpools and how they can help protect and preserve them. The centre is managed by Devon Wildlife Trust and was refurbished in 2006. Basking sharks can be seen in the summer near the Mewstone. There is also Wembury primary school There are three pubs within the Wembury parish; the Eddystone Inn, Mussell Inn and the Odd Wheel (the Oddy). Three shops are also in Wembury; Down Thomas stores, Wembury stores and Wembury Spar. The Spar was a Knighton Store before it was taken over in April 2012. Its electoral ward is called 'Wembury and Brixton'. The ward population at the 2011 census was 4,455.

Radford in the parish of Plymstock in Devon is a historic manor and the oldest recorded seat of the prominent Harris family. It is today a low-cost housing suburb of the City of Plymouth. The 16th century manor house of the Harris family was remodelled in the 18th century and was demolished in 1937. However, various traces of the estate remain, including most notably the deerpark, now a public amenity known as Radford Park, with its large lake, an early 19th century gate-lodge at the entrance drive to the former mansion house, with gatepiers, on Radford Park Road, a bridge and boathouse with follies of a sham castle and another sham-ruin.

Frobisher Battery is a former gun battery at Staddon Heights, Plymouth, Devon. The original battery at the site, Twelve Acre Brake Battery, was completed in 1867 with positions for three guns. In 1888–1892, a new battery was built on the site, and renamed Frobisher Battery in 1890. It was armed with one RML 12.5-inch 38-ton gun, which was intended to be used to bombard enemy ships attempting to enter Plymouth Sound.The battery was disarmed in 1903, and later infilled with earth during the late 20th century. The site is now overgrown, but much of the battery survives as a buried feature and is protected as a scheduled monument.

Bovisand is a natural coastline on the east side of Plymouth Sound in Devon, England. Despite the steep cliff paths and rocky surrounding, Bovisand features two beaches, a holiday park, privately owned bungalows and a diving centre at Fort Bovisand. The area, in the vicinity of Plymouth and Wembury, is used predominantly by locals, while tourists prefer the larger and better-known beaches elsewhere. It is often referred to as simply Bovi by locals. It lies just outside the boundaries of the city of Plymouth and instead within the district of South Hams. There are two beaches at Bovisand, the first named Bovisand Bay is the northernmost separated from the southernmost, Crownhill Bay, by rocks and a grass bank, commonly known as "Grassy". Both beaches are accessible only by steps, and are served by a cafe and a small tourist shop, but have no lifeguards. The view from Bovisands includes Plymouth Breakwater, Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall just across Plymouth Sound, and the English Channel.

Hooe is a suburb of Plymstock, Plymouth in the English county of Devon.

Wembury Marine Centre is situated in the small village of Wembury, near Plymouth. Run by Devon Wildlife Trust, it holds rockpool rambles throughout the summer months, educating some 20,000 people each year about the importance of marine life and the need to protect it. The area is designated a Special Area of Conservation and a Voluntary Marine Conservation Area. Wembury Marine Centre lies at the heart of the Wembury Voluntary Marine Conservation Area and stretches for four miles from Bovisand in the west to Gara Point in the east.