Plymouth, The Hoe 1904

Photo ref: 52403

More about this scene

DRAKE'S ghost haunts Plymouth Hoe. It is difficult to cross this wide, breezy promenade without thinking of him. Sailor, circumnavigator, mayor, MP, bowls player, scourge of the Spanish – he crammed a lot into his 51 years. He sailed from Plymouth to 'singe the King of Spain's beard' at Cadiz in 1587, and returned to face his sternest test in 1588 – the Spanish Armada. His apparent bravado as the Armada was sighted in the English Channel – 'We have time to finish the game, and beat the Spaniards afterwards' – was dictated by the mundane fact that the tide was against him, so he could not have sailed just then anyway. However, the gesture was typical of the man, and cemented his place in history. The Hoe that Drake knew was a very different place from the one we know today. The same limestone ridge endures, of course, from which the name is derived – 'hoe' comes from the Saxon for 'high place'. But long ago the Hoe was mostly devoid of buildings, and cattle and sheep grazed on the grass slopes, into which two enormous white figures were cut. These were Gogmagog and Corineus, two giants who legend said had fought on the Hoe. The origin of the figures is unclear, but they remained there until 1671.