Chatham and Portsmouth were too distant and poorly aligned with western tides and routes to sustain a close watch on Brest. Edmund Dummer surveyed West Country sites before the Admiralty developed the dockyard at Plymouth, with wet and dry docks. Naval construction, urban growth, and fortifications then developed around the base. The starting date varies with whether earlier surveys, authorization, or later construction are counted. Using the lecture's 1698 starting point, Britain had invested about sixty-one years in the base by Hawke's sustained blockade of 1759. Repair and supply capacity ashore made it possible to turn ships around and return them to station.
Notable Point · 1:32:11-1:45:27
Plymouth as the blockade’s supporting base
Plymouth’s dockyard was developed to support operations against Brest, showing that a blockade depended on shore infrastructure as well as ships.