The documents, from Admiralty records, consist of seven plans of the earlier south yard, ca.1720, 1748, ca.1760, 1808, 1821, ca.1840, and 1864. Only two, the 1821 and ca.1840 plans, are not to scale and all are either labelled or have a key to the facilities shown. The plan of ca.1760 gives the cost of each building in the yard and that of 1808 shows a proposed reservoir and the course of cast-iron pipes for fire-fighting purposes and for watering ships. The main records for this yard are in the Public Record Office (ADM/174). t

Administrative / biographical background
Plymouth yard, also known as Plymouth Dock and since 1824 as Devonport dockyard, was founded in 1690. During the eighteenth century it maintained the Western squadron in wartime and built and repaired ships in peacetime. The yard was extended in the eighteenth century, but the period of greatest expansion came when the Keyham Steam yard was constructed to the north of the old yard, 1844 to 1853, and the Keyham Extension was undertaken, 1896 to 1907.