Here in sunny Devon (very, very wet Devon if I'm truthful), we're staying in a nice little house on Plymouth's historic Barbican, the old port area and point at which the Mayflower sailed for the New World. Allegedly.
We've stayed down on the Barbican before, and because it's so central to the city, you really don't need your own transport while here. Everything you require is quite close by, and there's never anywhere to park anyway. The Barbican also boasts more pubs and fish and chip shops per square mile than anywhere I've ever been. The place is thronging with people, especially at the weekends, and it makes the whole area seem very lively. I have to say that we don't search out lively usually, but this part of the city has always been a hive of activity, so it all fits. In centuries past it was ships and sailors, today it's students and tourists, but either way it's vibrant. I mentioned the pubs, but looking at some 150 year-old maps, there are only a fraction of the number of pubs now compared to then, but the place is still full of them.
Our house is on Stokes Lane, one block back from the quayside, and would have been home to stores and warehouses at some point. The present house dates to the Georgian period, but the stone walls that make up the rear of the house tell of earlier habitation. It's three stories high, four if you include the cellar, an is only about twenty feet across at the front. The door opens straight on to the street, and that itself can't be much more than twenty feet across. According to the little potted history of the house that's in the information folder, the artist Robert Lenkiewicz (1941-2002) lived in the house at some point in his life, and boy does that man have a history. I'm certain that the house also was home to many a salty old sea dog over the years, and if you looked, I'm sure the deeds would show up a "Sea Captain" or two, which seems to be a code for anyone associated with ships. The cellar, off limits to visitors, may have been used to store contraband, smuggled goods, in years gone by, although I'm certain that most houses in these parts would make that claim.
When we looked at the house on Google StreetView, it looked a bit different to the blurb on the VRBO website, but we worked out that it's undergone some significant refurbishment recently. The owner has updated the place without losing it's essential structure, so we are in a narrow, old house, but with all modern conveniences, and very comfortable it is too. I don't think it's on the list of Scheduled Buildings, or Listed in anyway, which would explain the blue frontage and modern windows. That said, there is a bit of a musty smell to the place, which is understandable, and it takes a bit of heating to take the edge off the chill. England can feel damp at the best of times, especially when just yards from the sea, and in an old stone house. Thank goodness for Natural Gas and some nice radiators.
The reason we're here at all is family related, not least because this is DW's home town. Family tree research has linked my family to the City as well, one of my Great-Grandmothers being born in a house just on the other side of the harbour, not more than a quarter of a mile from where I'm typing this. Family tree research isn't our reason to visit, but we'll definitely do a little looking around while we're here.
Given that it's raining stair rods out there at the moment, we won't be off exploring the area today, but when the rain does ease off then I'll document our travels.
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