OLD DEVONPORT . UK
www.olddevonport.uk
 

©  Brian Moseley, Plymouth
Webpage created: September 12, 2018
Webpage updated: May 28, 2021

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TH ROYAL NAVY IN OLD DEVONPORT

ADMIRALTY HOUSE

The original Admiralty House of 1795, with the Chinese Bell on the front lawn.
From a postcard.

Admiralty House was built at Mount Wise, overlooking Plymouth Sound, in 1795 under the orders of the Duke of Richmond, Master-General of the Ordnance.  It was the private residence of the Port-Admiral, later Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth Command, whose offices were nearby.

The Avenue leading to Admiralty House, Mount Wise, Devonport.
© Valentine and Sons Limited, Dundee.

The First Lord of the Admiralty, the Right Honourable The Earl of Auckland, dined at Admiralty House with the Port-Admiral, Admiral Sir John West, on the evening before he laid the foundation stone of the Keyham Steam Yard.

The Chinese Bell on the lawn in front of old Admiralty House.
From a postcard.

On the lawn in front of Admiralty House used to stand a huge iron Chinese Bell, said to weigh 19 hundredweight (cwt).  It was presented to the then Commander-in-Chief, Sir Edward H Seymour GCB OM, in July 1903 by the crew of the Royal Navy cruiser HMS "Pique", who had discovered it in an ancient temple or pagoda in Shan-hai-kwan.  The Bell was subsequently moved to the lawn at the rear but has now been removed altogether.

The last Naval occupant of the old Admiralty House was Vice-Admiral Sir Eric Fullerton.  In 1934 the more modern Government House became available when the Army moved their senior officer to Salisbury and the Admiralty decided to take it over, refurbish it and rename it the new Admiralty House

As a result its new owners renamed it Hamoaze House, the name by which it is known today.