en of the
largest volume,' was cut in the turf on the Hoe at an early date, and
was only destroyed when the Citadel was built about 1671.

In the Domesday Book Plymouth appears as the Manor of Sutton, and this
was later on divided into three separate portions--Sutton Valletort or
Vautier, Sutton Prior, and Sutton Raf. The village of Sutton Valletort
was 'the germ of ancient Plymouth.' Sutton was given by Henry I to
Reginald de Valletort, who bestowed lavish gifts on the monastery at
Plympton; and as his example was followed by his successors, the title
of the second portion of the manor is easily accounted for. The whole
place was dominated by the Valletorts and the Priors, but the power of
the monks increased steadily, till, at an inquisition held in 1281, 'it
was presented that the Ville of Sutton belonged to the Prior of
Plympton, with assize of bread and beer, and this right was allowed.'
Sutton was now becoming a flourishing town, and some years later the
King made inquiries about his property in it, for the burgesses had
petitioned that some waste land might be granted them at a yearly rent.
To this 'the Prior and the Valletorts declared that the town was wholly
theirs, and none of the King's,' and the dispute was followed by a
series of efforts, on the part of the townspeople, to free themselves
from the rule of the Priors--efforts which succeeded each other, at no
long intervals, through the next hundred and twenty years.

As time went on, the Crown gradually granted rights to the burgesses,
and increased their responsibilities, till in 1439 an Act of Parliament
was passed incorporating the three Suttons as a free borough, with one
Mayor, and the manorial rights of the Priory were ceded to the Mayor and
Corporation, who paid to the Priory a fixed yearly sum in compensation.
The name Plymouth, which had been used in speaking of the port, was now
formally adopted for the whole town.

From the 'mene thing, as an inhabitation for Fischars,' that Leland says
it was in the reign of Henry II, the town grew rapidly, and before the
end of the thirteenth century it was represented in Parliament. In 1287,
for the first time on record, the splendid harbour was officially
recognized as a grand rendezvous, and three hundred and twenty-five
vessels gathered here before sailing for Guienne under the command of
the King's brother. Half a century later, orders were sent that men and
ships should be collected at Plymouth to esco