Many Huguenots escaped persecution in France and sought sanctuary in Plymouth in the 1680’s. A large Huguenot community settled in Plymouth with another at nearby Stonehouse. These entrepreneurial and often highly skilled merchants and traders found themselves at ease in their new homes. They thrived in their new surroundings and provided new opportunities and contacts to the traders and merchants of Plymouth. French language services were held at St. George’s Chapel and at the old friary on Southside Street as the Huguenots continued their faith in their mother language.
Plymouth harbour