In
1584, the City Fathers of Plymouth petitioned
Parliament with a Water Bill:
* To provide an adequate water supply for naval and merchant
shipping.
* To provide water for fire fighting in the town.
* To scour Sutton harbour of silt.
* To improve the poor quality of land on Dartmoor over which
the leat was to pass.
This
need for more water was not a new issue, since, in 1576, Robert Lampen
of St. Budeaux and his team of surveyors had proposed a route for a leat
that connected Plymouth with the River Meavy and its surrounding
watershed.
Since any leat follows the contours of the land, its course has
many turns and twists and is unlike a river or stream that seeks the
lowest level.
A local artist named Robert Spry,
was asked to provide a visualisation of Lampen's scheme
for Parliament's consideration; this is now known as "Spry's
Plot".
