Drake's Leat
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Drake's Leat was a watercourse constructed to tap the River Meavy in order to supply Plymouth with water.
In 1581, Sir Francis Drake became Mayor of Plymouth and it was at this time that the idea for the leat was formed by the Corporation of Plymouth.
When Elizabeth I called a parliament in 1584, the Water Bill for Plymouth was already prepared for presentation. Drake was now the Chairman of the Select Committee that considered the Bill in Parliament. The bill gained royal assent and was passed as an Act in 1585 " For the Preservation of the Haven of Plymouth".
The town was authorized: "... to digge and myne a Diche or Trenche conteynenge in Bredthe betwene sixe or seaven ffoote over in all Places throughe and over all the Lands and Grounds lyeing betweene the saide Towne of Plymmowth and anye parte of the saide Ryver Mewe als Mevye, and to digge, myne, breake, bancke and caste vpp, all and all maner of Rockes Stones Gravell Sande and all other Letts in anye places or Groundes for the conveyant or necessarie Conveyange of the same River to the saide Towne ..."
After the authorization of the leat, a further four years and nine months elapsed before construction began.
The construction of the leat, which was to give Plymouth one of the first municipal water supplies in the country, was by means of a simple ditch and bank affair which measured approximately 2 metres at its widest and approximately two feet deep. Its course was deliberately meandering and gently sloping in order that the water should not flow too fast and cause erosion. It was estimated that it took some thirty five men just over four months to complete the seventeen miles of construction. Drake took part in the ceremonial turning of the first sod in December 1590. On the 24 April 1591, the supply of water first flowed to Plymouth and the leat was blessed by the rector of Meavy.
Harsh winters and a general decline in the condition of the leat brought the feasibility of its continued existence into question. The ever growing population, and the increasing demand on the water supply in Plymouth, meant that a more reliable source and supply of fresh water had to be found, and this led to the creation of Burrator Reservoir in 1891. So, three hundred years after its construction, the upper part of Drake's Leat was lost as the valley was flooded, although lower sections remained for some years. Despite many considerations and plans to put the leat to good use, little has been preserved.
The leat was briefly restored during the Second World War, should it have been needed if the cities new supply was damaged.
Parts of the leat are still visible on the moor at Roborough Down (just off the A386) and near Clearbrook.
Further on the History The leat was first mooted in 1560 but not surveyed until 1576 when the route to supply water from the River Meavy on Dartmoor to Plymouth was decided. Due to the necessity of following the contours the length of the leat was seventeen and a half miles.
In 1584 the Plymouth Water Bill was introduced to Parliament with the following clauses: 1. To provide a supply of water for naval and merchant shipping. 2. To provide water for fire fighting in Plymouth. 3. To scour Sutton Harbour of silt. 4. To improve the poor quality of land on Dartmoor adjacent to the proposed leat.
This bill was passed to a committee chaired by Sir Francis Drake who proposed an additional clause stating that mills could be erected and operated on the banks of the leat. Due to lack of funding caused by the war with Spain and the Armada construction was not commenced until 1590 and completed in 1591. Drake was paid £200 for the work plus another £100 for compensation to landowners. In the event he paid out only £100 for construction and £60 for compensation making a tidy £140 profit. The mill, into which the leat flowed, was leased by Drake as were all six of the new mills built in the same year.
On completion of the leat it was obvious that little heed had been paid to the original clauses as the leat didn't flow to the naval victualling yard at Lambhay until 1645, it was of no use for fire fighting as it avoided the built up areas of the city, it never went near Sutton Harbour and finally no arrangements for supplying irrigation were ever made with the taking of water from the lease being made illegal. It can therefore be seen that the primary purpose was to enable Drake to capitalise on his milling operations. Some of the excess water was made available to the public after it had driven the mill wheels but by 1600 only 30 homes had been connected.
