The city of Plymouth, on the south coast of Devon, has been a maritime settlement since its earliest days. A trading port in Roman and Saxon times, fishing and boatbuilding have also been mainstays of the local industry for centuries. The original town of Plymouth was historically the commercial shipping and passenger port - the Pilgrim Fathers left for the Americas from Plymouth in 1620 - and the neighbouring town of Devonport, which is today merged with Plymouth, has been associated with the Royal Navy for the last three centuries. This era saw a massive rise in the Dockyard, probably peaking during the Second World War, when it became the target for heavy aerial bombardment during World War 2, and although it is now in decline, Devonport Dockyard is still a major naval shipyard and the only naval base in Britain that refits nuclear submarines.The local topography has also had a role to play in the industries that have characterised Plymouth over the years. The city is largely built on limestone and there are huge areas which have been quarried away over the centuries; the West Hoe area used to be a large hill but has been flattened by the extraction of stone and another huge quarry site ran alongside Stonehouse Creek. Other minerals nearby have also long being exported from Plymouth Docks alongside other special Plymouth products as Plymouth Gin, the distillery of which was established in the city in 1793.Today, although many of the traditional industries have declined or closed, Plymouth is home to several high-tech industries, including Plessey Semiconductors.Plymouth at Work explores the working life of this Devon city and its people, and the industries that have characterised it. The book will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of Plymouth.