Tales of 200-year-old naval yard told on trail

An aerial photo of Royal William Yard on a sunny day. There are a few small boats moored in the harbour. The buildings are granite and there is a formal square in the centre which has a tower on its entrance gate. The sea is in front and behind the promontory, there is an island close in and the coastline continues in the background.Image source, Jay Stone Photography
Image caption,

The trail opened at Royal William Yard on Saturday

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An interactive history trail has opened in what was once a major victualling depot for the Royal Navy.

Europe's largest collection of Grade I listed military buildings, external, Royal William Yard at Stonehouse, Plymouth, was built 200 years ago to keep sailors fed, watered and clothed.

The free, self-guided discovery trail has been designed to take visitors through the archives, sharing plans, pictures and stories that illustrate 200 years of history.

To mark the launch of the history trail on Saturday, a day of heritage crafts and themed activities has been planned.

A black and white photograph of the brewery. There is a man in a suit and flat cap rolling a barrel along the floor with a stick. There are about a dozen wooden barrels standing on the floor. There are three men standing in a line wearing overalls and they are filling a barrel each from an enormous barrel.Image source, Royal William Yard Archive
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The Brewhouse never did supply beer to the Royal Navy due to a change in rations

The activities include clay tile making, a stitching workshop and a ships biscuit making session.

The trail features stories about the yard, including the brewhouse which had been designed to supply beer for the Royal Navy.

In the year it was finished, beer was removed from the sailors' daily rations and replaced by rum which meant the building never fulfilled its original purpose.

The trail also tells the story of the Mills Bakery which could transform 1,000 massive sacks of flour into ship's biscuits in one week.

Two 40-horsepower steam engines powered the millstones – but this was not without danger and the bakery caught fire twice.

Organisers said the trail would remain open all day, every day, indefinitely.

Four men are lined up behind a wooden desk. Each is folding a piece of uniform. A man is wheeling a trolley piled high with white shirts past the desk. In the background are large wooden shelves filled with folded white garments and there are piles of the same on the floor behind the men.Image source, Royal William Yard Archive
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The yard was designed to issue the Royal Navy with supplies including food, drink and uniforms

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