National Armada Memorial, Plymouth

The Armada Memorial on Plymouth Hoe celebrates the 300th Anniversary of the First Sighting of the Spanish Armada by the English captains stationed in the city.

The Spanish Armada was a fleet that unsuccessfully attempted a naval invasion of England. News of its approach reached Plymouth on the afternoon of 19 July 1588 and it entered into sight on 20 July. Tradition recorded that tidings of the approach came to the captains whilst they were playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe. It also involves the following passage reportedly uttered by Francis Drake: "There is time enough to play the game out first, and thrash the Spaniards afterwards."

The foundation stone of the Armada Memorial was laid on 19 July 1888. According to records, the occasion drew together the largest ever concourse of people to have visited Plymouth in one day. Excursion trains were run and crowds gathered for the ceremony, which was marked as a public holiday and included a banquet at the city's Guildhall. The memorial was inaugurated by the then Duke of Edinburgh, Alfred, on 21 October 1890, with full civic pomp and imposing naval and military demonstration.

The monument, made of granite, was created by architect Herbert Gribble and sculptor William Charles May. Its octagonal base, with steps, supports a tall square plinth bearing a shield decorated with drapes and a crown. A panel shows the battle of the Armada inscribed with "HE BLEW WITH HIS WINDS AND THEY WERE SCATTERED". The plinth bears a wreathed medallion and a chest with a head, presumed to be that of the Spanish admiral Sedonia.

On top of the monument stands an 11-foot bronze statue of Britannia (a female personification of Great Britain) with a watchful lion by her side. The patron of the National Armada Memorial was Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

The memorial became a listed monument in 1975.