Elizabethan House, Plymouth
Tucked away on a narrow cobbled path, some 20 minutes away from the Barbican marina, is a beautifully preserved 16th-century property called Elizabethan House. New Street, where the house is located, has a deceptive name as it was actually built between 1575 and 1600, when Plymouth was a thriving port.
Now one of Plymouth’s oldest buildings, Elizabethan House was built as a letting property and has been lived in by many people whose lives and livelihoods were based around the waterfront. Rescued from demolition in 1929, it survives in its near original state and as such is a rare example of its time with centuries of stories to tell, from the 1500s to the early 1900s.
In 2020/2021, Elizabethan House underwent a major restoration as part of Plymouth’s Mayflower 400 commemorations, co-funded by Plymouth City Council, Mayflower 400, and other donors.
The ancient doorway at No.32 invites visitors to an authentic journey back to the times of Sir Francis Drake and The Pilgrim Fathers – a bit like the film set, with all the original furnishings and artifacts of the time, and interactives similar to those at the Mayflower Museum not far away. Guided tours are available and last about 45 minutes.
With visual and sound effects, the house has been turned into an immersive experience enabling visitors to actually "meet" its former residents. What kind of people were tenants here? There were lace workers, sailors, laundresses, wig-makers, and undertakers. Three Plymouth mayors resided here, too, including the privateer William Parker, a familiar of Francis Drake and a scourge of the Caribbean.
The house has seven rooms on three floors. The curator meets visitors at the door and leads them into the first room. The house itself can speak, with the voice of a 90-year-old Plymothian who was actually born in New Street. She shares her memories with visitors as they are led through each of the carefully restored rooms.
Now one of Plymouth’s oldest buildings, Elizabethan House was built as a letting property and has been lived in by many people whose lives and livelihoods were based around the waterfront. Rescued from demolition in 1929, it survives in its near original state and as such is a rare example of its time with centuries of stories to tell, from the 1500s to the early 1900s.
In 2020/2021, Elizabethan House underwent a major restoration as part of Plymouth’s Mayflower 400 commemorations, co-funded by Plymouth City Council, Mayflower 400, and other donors.
The ancient doorway at No.32 invites visitors to an authentic journey back to the times of Sir Francis Drake and The Pilgrim Fathers – a bit like the film set, with all the original furnishings and artifacts of the time, and interactives similar to those at the Mayflower Museum not far away. Guided tours are available and last about 45 minutes.
With visual and sound effects, the house has been turned into an immersive experience enabling visitors to actually "meet" its former residents. What kind of people were tenants here? There were lace workers, sailors, laundresses, wig-makers, and undertakers. Three Plymouth mayors resided here, too, including the privateer William Parker, a familiar of Francis Drake and a scourge of the Caribbean.
The house has seven rooms on three floors. The curator meets visitors at the door and leads them into the first room. The house itself can speak, with the voice of a 90-year-old Plymothian who was actually born in New Street. She shares her memories with visitors as they are led through each of the carefully restored rooms.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Plymouth. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
Elizabethan House on Map
Sight Name: Elizabethan House
Sight Location: Plymouth, England (See walking tours in Plymouth)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Plymouth, England (See walking tours in Plymouth)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Plymouth, England
Create Your Own Walk in Plymouth
Creating your own self-guided walk in Plymouth is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Plymouth Hoe Walking Tour
Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large south-facing open public space in Plymouth with commanding views of Plymouth Sound, Drake's Island, and further afield into Cornwall. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word hoh, which means a sloping ridge shaped like an inverted foot and heel.
This part of town has always been a meeting place, where people would come regularly... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.7 Km or 0.4 Miles
This part of town has always been a meeting place, where people would come regularly... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.7 Km or 0.4 Miles
Plymouth Introduction Walking Tour
Plymouth's early history began in the Bronze Age when the first settlement emerged at Mount Batten. It is mentioned in Ptolemy's Geographia as a maritime outpost exporting bronze mirrors.
The settlement was a major port in the southwest of England in Roman times. It was surpassed as a port in the ninth century by the nearby wealthier village of Sutton, later called Plymouth.
... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.9 Km or 1.2 Miles
The settlement was a major port in the southwest of England in Roman times. It was surpassed as a port in the ninth century by the nearby wealthier village of Sutton, later called Plymouth.
... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.9 Km or 1.2 Miles
Pilgrim Fathers Trail
Back in the early 17th century, a group of English Puritans – nowadays reverently referred to as the Pilgrim Fathers – fled religious persecution in their homeland and established a colony in North America that later became known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims embarked on their perilous journey across the Atlantic from Plymouth, England in 1620 aboard a ship called the Mayflower,... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.5 Km or 0.3 Miles
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.5 Km or 0.3 Miles