Route 3. Discovering Robert Falcon Scott.
Robert Falcon Scott ‘Scott of the Antarctic’ is one of Plymouth’s most famous sons. He was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic. The Discovery Expedition was his first and he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S discovering the Antarctic Plateau, on which the South Pole is located.
The second was the the infamous Terra Nova Expedition. Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, less than five weeks after Roald Amundsen’s Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott’s party discovered plant fossils, proving Antarctica was once forested and joined to other continents. The expedition proved fatal after a planned meeting with the supporting dog teams failed. 150 miles from their base camp and 11 miles from the next depot, Scott and his companions perished.
This route starts at the site of his family home, Outland’s and culminates at the Scott Memorial, built to commemorate his and his crews endeavour. If you are driving there is ample parking opposite Outlands in the Park and Ride car park. The route and GPS files can be accessed below.
Points of Interest.
Outlands
Nothing remains of the house where Scott was born except for two plaques to commemorate him.
Outlands was purchased by his grandfather, also Robert Scott, on his retirement from the Navy in 1826. The house was little more than a slate hung cottage when he got it, but the ex-purser transformed it into a large family home on the outskirts of both Plymouth and Devonport. (The two towns weren’t amalgamated into a city until 1928).
Robert Snr and his brother Edward also bought the Hoegate brewery on the barbican with prize money they had earned from the Napoleonic Wars. Robert Falcon Scott’s father, John inherited the brewery in 1863 when his grandfather passed. When the young explorer was born 5 years later he grew up in comfort at the house.
Robert Falcon Scott was the third of six children. Family tradition meant he and his brother Archie were destined to join the armed services. Scott began his naval career in 1881 at the age of 13.
A year later the family hit financial difficulties and his father was forced to sell the brewery in 1882. By 1894 the family was penniless and had to lease the house and move to Somerset. John was forced to come out of retirement and accept a job as a brewery manager.
The house was badly damaged in World War 2 and the family finally gave the grounds to the Church of England who built a new church, St Bartholomews, which still stands today.
Inside the church is one final reminder of Scott, a piece of birch bark on which he carved his name as a child is on display.
Head south down Outland Road towards Milehouse Junction.
Brittania Inn.
A short distance from Outlands is the Britannia Inn, also built by Scott’s enterprising grandfather in the 1830’s. The pub has always been called the Britannia, most likely in commemoration of Grandfather Robert’s time in the Navy. Today it is still a popular Wetherspoons pub.
From the Britannia Inn, cross over Wolseley Road and head up Milehouse Road towards Stoke Village.
Devonport Royal Dockyard Orphanage
About halfway up the wide expanse of Milehouse Road is an imposing building now called Albemarle Villa’s. This was originally the Devonport Royal Dockyard Orphanage. Its interesting to think that about half a mile from where Scott was born to a life of comfort was built a place for the less fortunate children of the city.
The orphanage was founded originally in 1849 in Morice Square, Devonport and was a female only orphanage. In 1900 they started to accept boys and needed larger premises. The building was opened on Saturday July 4th 1903 by Mrs Henderson, the wife of Rear-Admiral W H Henderson, who was the Superintendent of the Royal Dockyard. 25 boys and 25 girls were admitted to the orphanage, compared to only 22 in total before. During this time Scott was taking part in his first journey to the Antarctic, the Discovery expedition.
Continue up Milehouse Road towards Stoke Village. From Stoke High Street turn left down Church Lane to Somerset Place.
Stoke Damerel School.
At the end of Somerset Place is Stoke Damerel school, inside the school is a bust of Scott created by his wife Kathleen (she was a professional sculptor who had studied under Rodin). It was commissioned by Devonport Borough Council after Scott’s death and is made from green limestone from nearby Kitley, just outside Plymouth.
If you wish to see the bust you need to seek prior permission from the college.
Scott met Kathleen in 1907 at a private luncheon party. Their initial meeting was brief, but when they met again later that year, the mutual attraction was clear. A stormy courtship followed, not helped by Scott’s long absences at sea. However, the pair married, on 2 September 1908.
They had one child together, Peter Markham Scott, who was only two years old when Scott died. In a final letter to Kathleen, Scott said:
“make the boy interested in natural history if you can, it is better than games.”
Kathleen clearly achieved this, as Peter went on to found the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
If you have come from the school, head back to the junction of Somerset Place and Church Road, then head downhill along Underhill Road. Turn right onto the Elms, and cross the bridge over the railway line. Cross over Valletort Road, and head down Collingwood Road
At the bottom of Collingwood Road, turn right onto Providence Place. On the left hand side where Waterloo Street is on the right, is a footpath. This leads to a pedestrian bridge over a car park (which used to be the rail line to Devonport Kings Road station). Once over the bridge you have arrived at:
Stoke Dameral Church
Scott was christened at Stoke Damerel church on the 30th June 1868. At the Christening Scott’s godparent’s, M. & S. Falcon, presented a christening cup. This, presumably, explains the origin of Scott’s given middle name. The cup now belongs to Plymouth Museum, and will no doubt be on display when ‘The Box’ opens in 2020.
Stoke Damerel church itself is the oldest church in Plymouth. It is beleived that there was a building on the site before the time of the Norman Conquest, and documentary evidence for its existence dates back to the 13th century. The earliest visible part of the present day church is the tower which was built in the 15th century.
Most of the rest of the building dates from the 18th century. As the population of Plymouth-Dock (Devonport) grew, an aisle was added on the north side in around 1715 and a second aisle in 1750 on the south side. This had the effect of making the Church unusual in that it is wider than it is long.
From the church head onto Paradise Road and turn right.
Devonport Kings Road Station.
Devonport Kings road station was built in 1876, when Scott was just 8 years old, it was the terminus of the London and South Western Railway. It’s easy to imagine this would have been the station that Scott would have departed to go to Stubbington House prep school in Hampshire, or Britannia Naval College in Dartmouth.
The station was a large building facing Paradise Road . A tall tower was part of the main building which stood on the departure platform. The departure and arrival platforms and two sidings between were covered by two substantial train sheds with wide glazed arches at the end.
Today little remains of the station, it closed to passengers on September 7th 1964 when the Southern line was closed. It remained open for goods traffic until 1971.
Today Plymouth city college stands on the site. The only evidence of its existence is the original railings along Paradise Road, and Kings road itself, which was built to connect Stonehouse to the station.
Continue along Paradise Road.
Devonport Municipal Science, Arts and Technical School.
Just a little further from the station on the opposite side of the road is a block of flats which was once the Devonport Municipal Science, Arts and Technical School. This school was built in 1899, its architect was Mr John Snell (The same man who had designed the Devonport Royal Dockyard Orphanage featured earlier).
In the same year as the college was built Robert Falcon Scott had a chance meeting with Sir Clements Markham, the President of the Royal Geographical Society. He learned for the first time of the impending Antarctic expedition with Discovery.
The previous year Scott’s brother Archie had died, the year before that his father had also passed. This mean’t the young officer was now the sole provider for the family and it was the opportunity for command (plus the extra income it would provide) and a chance to distinguish himself, rather than any preference for polar exploration which motivated Scott for his first antarctic expedition.
The school was built after the original premises in George Street were found to be inadequate in 1894. The school cost £14,000 to build and took 2 years to complete.
An inscription on the building reads:
‘The erection of this school building was commenced in the year 1897 in commemoration of the 60 years glorious reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria and on completion, was on the 25th Day of July 1899, duly inaugurated and dedicated to the public use and benefit by the Right Worshipful Mayor W Hornbrook Esquire in the presence of and with the assistant of Sir William H White, KCB, LLB, Dr.Sce, FRS.’
Sir William was a former apprentice in the Royal Dockyard who rose to become the Director of Naval Construction. He was given the Freedom of the Borough of Devonport on that opening day.
Continue across the traffic junction from Paradise Road to Fore Street.
Napier Fountain
At the bottom of Devonport park is a lovely fountain it was built to commemorate Admiral Sir Charles Napier in 1863. Napier was a disruptive and liberal commander. He was the leading for voice for naval reform after the Napoleonic Wars.
He sought to persuade successive civil administrations of the need for the development of steam ships; the use of iron in ship construction; the proper training of officers; and decent living conditions for ordinary seamen. He advocated that the use of the press gang and of flogging should be abolished, and that seamen should receive proper wages and pensions.
In all this he was far ahead of his time. However his lobbying had little effect. On the contrary, he was regularly considered an eccentric nuisance. His men however loved him and on his death in 1860 a subscription was raised from the crews of the naval ships in the Hamoaze, each man contributing a days pay. The total raised was £156.
It was decided to build the fountain in the first public park in Plymouth. In a move that Napier would no doubt have admired, the authorities were not asked about this but just told it was going to be done.
The Navy that Scott joined in 1881 was largely shaped by the vision of Napier.
Continue down Fore Street into Devonport and turn left onto Chapel Street.
Devonport
During Scott’s lifetime Devonport was already established as one of the biggest naval dockyards in the world. Great Britain was at its height after the defeat of Napoleon and Britannia ruled the waves.
The town gained its name in 1811, previously known as Plymouth Dock, the locals resented the fact that the now much larger town of approx. 30,000 people sounded like a suburb of Plymouth. They successfully lobbied the king and the name was changed to Devonport.
By 1889, the same year Scott was promoted to lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Devonport became a county borough and had a population of approx. 70,000.
Little remains of the old town following the Blitz, but Chapel Street, and George Street, which lead to Mount Wise still follow the same street pattern.
A number of the men in both of Scott’s expeditions would have been familiar with Devonport but a few men had stonger associations with Plymouth.
Fred Dailey was the Chief Carpenter on the Discovery. He is buried in the City at Ford Park Cemetery.
Aboard the Terra Nova were Petty Officer Patrick Keohane and Seaman Fred Parsons. Both men lived in Plymouth. Serving alongside them was Francis Davies, the Shipwright-Carpenter. Davies was born near Plymouth and educated at Laira Green School. Davies built the memorial cross which was erected over the cairn containing the bodies of Scott, Edward Adrian Wilson and Henry Robertson Bowers.
Head down Chapel Street and into George Street, up towards Mount Wise.
Scott Memorial
Finally we reach the end of the route at the Scott Memorial, revealed on Monday August 10th 1925 in memory of Scott and the men who had lost their lives on the Terra Nova expedition. The Commodore of the Royal Naval barracks, Charles Royds, unveiled the statue. He had accompanied Scott as First Lieutenant on the Discovery expedition.
The memorial is 37 feet high. It has bronze motifs showing the Terra Nova team enduring the Antarctic conditions.
Bronze medalions of the portraits of Scott and his team, Oates, Wilson and Bowers are above the motif’s around the memorial.
A passage from Scott’s final diary entry is laid out on the ground surrounding the memorial:
“Had we lived I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.”
From the memorial, you can retrace the route back to Outlands. Alternatively the City Bus 34 can be caught from Cumberland Gardens which goes back to the Park and Ride car park.
