After Joseph Mallord William TurnerPlymouth Dock seen from Mount Edgecomb, Devonshire 1816

Plymouth Dock, known today as Devonport, was the largest naval dockyard in Western Europe, and had been a naval base from medieval times. Despite the massed presence of shipping in the harbour of the Hamoaze (the name for part of the River Tamar) and the continued drama of the Napoleonic Wars, the lighthearted focus
of this print is the group of sailors and women, clearly enjoying the fine weather and each other's company. Perhaps
as a result of action at Trafalgar, one sailor has a wooden leg, but he contributes
to the holiday spirit by playing the fiddle.