Note 229 — Chapter VIII

Dummer was Assistant to the Surveyor of the Navy when he designed these works. The improvement of Portsmouth and the foundation of a dockyard at Plymouth were called for by the political changes arising out of the Revolution. Previously our great naval wars had been waged against the Dutch, and the Thames and Medway were then the most convenient localities for fitting and repairing ships of war. After the Revolution, the Dutch became our allies, and the French our most formidable enemies. The naval ports on the Channel then became more important than those on the east coast.—C. P.