Plymouth Devonport
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918-2010
Plymouth, Devonport was, from 1832 until 2010, a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covered part of the city of Plymouth in South West England, including the former borough of Devonport.
History
The constituency was created as Devonport in 1832, and elected two members until 1918, when the number was reduced to one. Following the amalgamation of Devonport into Plymouth, the constituency was renamed as Plymouth, Devonport.
Devonport has had a number of prominent MPs, including Leslie Hore-Belisha, Michael Foot (who began his Commons career in the seat), and the former SDP leader David Owen. One of its longest serving MPs was the National Liberal, later Conservative Dame Joan Vickers, who held the seat from 1955 until her defeat at the general election of February 1974.
Abolition
Following the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies by the Boundary Commission for England, constituencies in Plymouth were reorganised, with both Plymouth Sutton and Plymouth Devonport being replaced by new constituencies of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport and Plymouth Moor View from 2010. The vast majority (nearly 90%) of the Plymouth Devonport constituency became part of the new Plymouth Moor View constituency; the exception was Devonport ward which became part of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport.
Boundaries
1918–1950: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Ford, Keyham, Molesworth, Nelson, St Aubyn, and St Budeaux.
1950–1951: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Ford, Keyham, Molesworth, Mount Edgecumbe, Nelson, Pennycross, St Aubyn, St Budeaux, St Peter, and Stoke; and the parish of Tamerton Foliot in the Rural District of Plympton St Mary.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Plymouth Devonport” is parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918-2010. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Plymouth, Devonport and Parliamentary, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918-2010” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4164454. Authority coordinates are 50.410, -4.140. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1832, 2010, 1918 and 1955.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Plymouth Devonport”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Plymouth Devonport primary sources, Plymouth Devonport archive and Plymouth research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Plymouth Devonport”?
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- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Plymouth Devonport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.