In 1385, by order of King Richard II, a Court of Inquiry was held in
Eggbuckland to determine whether Sutton Prior had the right to choose an independent
mayor, this was before the three towns formed one single city.
With the dissolution of the Monasteries under the reign of Henry VIII, the
Priory of Plympton surrendered to the King, who seized the tithes of
Eggbuckland.
A number of minor battles took place in the parish during the Civil War
(1642-1644), Eggbuckland remained loyal to the King and Prince Maurice, who set
up his headquarters at Widey Court.
The first parish registers were written in 1653. A reminder that slavery
existed is recorded in the register in 1772 when a negro servant was baptised to
a Mr Sutherland.
The foundation stone of the Eggbuckland Church School was laid in 1846, it
was built in part of the Vicarage garden, the land donated by the Rev George
Hunt. The school remained in use until 1971 when the pupils moved to the
current school on Fort Austin Avenue.
In the 1850's the population of the parish was around 1,250 with the number
of actual voters only 33 (in 1857).
In the mid 1800's a string of fortifications were built through Plymouth.
These 'Palmerston Follies' were to prevent the feared invasion of the
French. Five of the forts are within our parish, these being Crownhill
Fort, Bowden Battery (currently the Plymouth Garden Centre), Eggbuckland Keep,
Austin Fort and Efford Fort.
In 1880 the ratable value of the village was recorded as £2,318.16s.8d.
The telephone network came to Eggbuckland in December 1912. An
electricity supply was connected to the village at the beginning of 1934.
Until 31 March 1939, Eggbuckland had its own Parish Council (part of Plympton
Rural District Council), Plymouth's boundaries were then extended to absorb the
parish.
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