Cattedown is an inner city

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Devon. Its position beside the

River Plym The River Plym is a river in Devon, England. It runs from Dartmoor in the centre of the county southwest to meet the River Meavy, then south towards Plymouth Sound. The river is popular with canoeists, and the Plym Valley Railway runs alongside ...

estuary just short of the mouth led to its early settlement.

History

Catherine of Aragon - the first wife of Henry VIII - travelled from Loredo in Spain to a harbour in Plymouth, England to be married. She arrived in Plymouth on 2 October 1501 where, 'she could not have been received with greater rejoicings'. The area that she disembarked or 'set down' was named in her honour as Cattedown. In 1886, two archaeologists discovered human bones while mining in a quarry. They included the remains of many strange creatures – hyenas, bison, woolly rhinoceros and cave lions. Among the partial skeletons of 15 early humans was the famous ‘Cattedown Man’ – believed to be the city's earliest known inhabitant and dating back 140,000 years. Archaeologists say he could potentially be the oldest human found in Britain. - Today, the caves – listed as a national monument by Historic England – remain fenced off and kept out of sight. Plans to turn the area into a tourist and visitor attraction have not yet progressed; more than a decade after they were first mooted.

Notable buildings

The church of St Mary the Virgin and St Mary Magdalene was built in 1911–12 to serve Cattedown. It closed in 1956 and was demolished in 2007–08.

References

Suburbs of Plymouth, Devon {{Devon-geo-stub