AD 1900-2000 Modern

At the start of the 20th century AD, much of south-west England was traditional farming country, the railways were beginning to bring people to the coastal resorts, and larger cities like Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth were continuing to attract workers from the surrounding countryside.

In the Second World War, the heart of Plymouth, a major naval base, was bombed out. The historic city of Exeter was targeted in a ‘Baedecker’ raid (named after a famous German guide book), the cathedral remaining miraculously unscathed. Both cities were rebuilt after the war and expanded into light industry. After suffering from the closure of branch railway lines in the 1950s, the region benefited from new roads and the establishment of electronics and aerospace industries. Three nuclear power stations were built. Farming, especially the dairy sector, did well, helped by EU subsidies. Cornwall’s fishing industry found a niche exporting shellfish to mainland Europe.

By the 1980s about twenty percent of all people holidaying in Britain went to the South West. The natural beauty of the region, its coasts and unspoilt countryside, and facilities for surfing and sailing, continued to attract visitors. The creation of the spectacular Eden Project in Cornwall at the end of the century was a huge tourist attraction.