Middle Ages The area around Tavistock (formerly Tavistoke), where the
River Tavy runs wide and shallow allowing it to be easily crossed, and near the secure high ground of
Dartmoor, was inhabited long before historical records. The surrounding area is full of archaeological remains from the
Bronze and
Iron Ages. The abbey of
Saint Mary and
Saint Rumon was founded in 961 by
Ordgar, Earl of Devon. After destruction by
Danish raiders in 997 it was restored, and at the time of the
Conquest ranked as the wealthiest house in Devon, including the
hundred and
manor of Tavistock among its possessions. Among its famous
abbots was
Aldred, who crowned
Harold II and
William I, and died
Archbishop of York. In 1105 a
royal charter was granted by
Henry I to the monks of Tavistock to run a weekly "Pannier
Market" (so called after the baskets used to carry goods) on a Friday, which still takes place today. In 1116 a three-day
fair was also granted to mark the feast of Saint Rumon, another tradition that is still maintained in the shape of the annual "Goosey" fair on the second Wednesday in October. By 1185 Tavistock had achieved
borough status, and in 1295 it became a
parliamentary borough, sending two members to parliament. The abbey church was rebuilt in 1285. In 1305, with the growing importance of the area as one of Europe's richest sources of
tin, Tavistock was one of the four
stannary towns appointed by charter of
Edward I, where tin was stamped and weighed and monthly courts were held for the regulation of mining affairs.
Parish church The
St Eustachius' Church (named after the Roman centurion who became a Christian) was dedicated by
Bishop Stapledon in 1318 though there are very few remains of that building today. It was rebuilt and enlarged into its current form between 1350 and 1450, at which time the Clothworkers' Aisle (an outer south aisle) was included, an indication of the growing importance of the
textile industry to the local economy—the trade was protected by a 1467
statute. The whole is in the
Perpendicular style and consists of a nave and chancel; both with two aisles, tower and outer south aisle. It possesses a lofty tower supported on four open arches, one of which was reputedly added to accommodate the 19th-century "tinners" or tin miners. Within are monuments to the Glanville and Bourchier families, besides some fine stained glass, one window being the work of
William Morris and another of
Charles Eamer Kempe. It also has a
roof boss featuring one of the so-called '
Tinners' Hares', a trio of rabbits/hares joined at and sharing three ears between them. The font is octagonal and dates from the 15th century.
Early modern period The greater part of the abbey was rebuilt in 1457–1458. The town continued to prosper in the charge of the abbots, acquiring one of England's first
printing presses in 1525. Tavistock remained an important centre of both trade and religion until the
dissolution of the monasteries—the abbey was demolished in 1539, leaving the ruins still to be seen around the centre of the town. From that time on, the dominant force in the town became the
Russell family, Earls and later Dukes of Bedford, who took over much of the land following the Dissolution. In 1552 two fairs on 23 April and 28 November were granted by
Edward VI to the
Earl of Bedford, then
lord of the manor. In the 17th century great quantities of cloth were sold at the Friday market, and four fairs were held at the feasts of
Saint Michael,
Epiphany,
Saint Mark, and the
Decollation of John the Baptist. The charter of
Charles II instituted a Tuesday market, and fairs on the Thursday after
Whitsunday and at the feast of
Saint Swithin. Tavistock is tied from late medieval times with the Russells, the family name of the Earls of Bedford and since 1694, the Dukes of Bedford. This is clearly seen from the history of the town. The second title of the
Duke of Bedford is the Marquess of Tavistock, taken as the courtesy title of the eldest son and heir to the dukedom, it illustrates the importance of this Devon town, its hinterland and the minerals beneath it to the family's fortunes. It is believed that the Russell family retains considerable interests in the locality. Most recently,
Robin, the short-lived 14th Duke, as Marquess of Tavistock, was a frequent visitor to the town along with his wife, Henrietta.
Andrew Russell is the 15th Duke of Bedford and Marquess of Tavistock. It is this Russell family connection through the Bedford Estates which gives the name by ownership to
Russell Square and
Tavistock Square in
London, famously home to the
Tavistock Clinic, and the
bus-bombing of 7 July 2005.
Francis Drake Around 1540 (some sources state 1542 as the exact year),
Sir Francis Drake was born at Crowndale Farm, just to the west of what is now
Tavistock College. A
Blue Plaque is mounted on the current farmhouse, behind which Drake is believed to have been born, the original farmhouse having been dismantled and the stone transported for use in
Lew Trenchard. He became a prominent figure of his age, a champion of
Queen Elizabeth, the first Englishman to
circumnavigate the world from 1577 to 1580 and one of the English commanders in the victory against the
Spanish Armada in 1588. The famous statue of Drake on
Plymouth Hoe is a copy of that on a
roundabout on the A386 at the western end of the town, The town was recaptured by the Parliamentarian
New Model Army following the end of the
Siege of Plymouth in 1646. In 1694,
William Russell, 5th Earl of Bedford became the first
Duke of Bedford.
Late modern period By 1800, cloth was heading the same way as tin had done a century earlier, but copper was starting to be copiously mined in the area, to such an extent that by 1817 the
Tavistock Canal had been dug (most of the labour being performed by French
prisoners of war from the
Napoleonic Wars) to carry copper to
Morwellham Quay on the
River Tamar, where it could be loaded into sailing ships. In 1822 the old fairs were abolished in favour of six fairs on the second Wednesday in May, July, September, October, November and December. The population in the 1841 census was 4,622 inhabitants. In the mid-19th century, with nearby
Devon Great Consols mine at Blanchdown one of the biggest copper mining operations in the world, Tavistock was booming again, reputedly earning the
7th Duke of Bedford alone over £2,000,000. A statue in copper of the 7th Duke stands in Guildhall Square. The Duke built a 50,000
imperial gallon (230 m3)
reservoir to supply the town in 1845, as well as a hundred miners' houses at the southern end of town, between 1845 and 1855. There is a strong, recognisable
vernacular "Bedford style" of design, exemplified most strikingly in
Tavistock Town Hall and "Bedford Cottages" ubiquitous across Tavistock and much of the local area to the north and west, where the Bedfords had their estate and summer "cottage" at Endsleigh House and Gardens, which since 2005 is the Hotel Endsleigh run by
Alex Polizzi. Tavistock was deprived of one member of Parliament in 1867 and finally disenfranchised in 1885. The
railway came to the town in 1859, with connections to the
Great Western Railway and the
London and South Western Railway (LSWR). At around this time the centre of town was substantially and ruthlessly remodelled by the 7th Duke of Bedford, including the construction of the current town hall and Pannier Market buildings, and the widening of the Abbey Bridge, first built in 1764, and a new Drake Road ramped up northwards from Bedford Square to the LSWR station.
Tavistock North railway station opened to much acclaim and fanfare in 1890. The population had peaked at around 9,000. By 1901 the population had halved, recorded as 4,728. In 1968, following the
Beeching Report, Tavistock Station closed, and in 1999
English Heritage listed the building as
Grade II.
Kelly College, a co-educational
public school, to the north-east of the town was founded by Admiral Benedictus Marwood Kelly. It opened in 1877 for the education of his descendants and the orphan sons of naval officers, and is a
pastiche of the Bedford and High
Victorian styles of building. It later amalgamated with
Mount House to form
Mount Kelly Foundation.
Early 20th and 21st centuries In 1911, the Bedford influence on the town came to an end after over 450 years, when the family sold most of their holdings in the area to meet
death duties. West Devon Borough Council is based in Tavistock, about 500 metres north of Bedford Square at Kilworthy Park. There was a small police station under part of the Bedford building complex on Bedford Square; this has closed and a new one is in Abbey Rise. The adjacent historic Magistrates Court has also closed and the nearest criminal court is now at
Plymouth Law Courts. In 1926 a meeting was held in Tavistock with representatives of the UK government and UK scientific instrument makers. A comparison was made on
Dartmoor between UK
theodolites and their European competition, especially the Swiss
Wild T2 theodolite. One result of this conference was the 1930 "Tavistock" theodolite by
Cooke, Troughton & Simms. In 1933 the long-disused canal was put to use providing
hydroelectric power for the area. A
war memorial in Bedford Square commemorates the townsfolk killed in the
First and
Second World Wars. Many families across Britain exercised their right not to have their family members named on these public memorials. In 2006 it was planned to move the monument to a site in the graveyard of the Parish Church, but due to local opposition this did not happen.
World War 2 In May 1943, parts of the
American 29th Infantry division were stationed in Tavistock, as well as other areas of the South West. From 1944 there were a number of high ranking visits to the division, including that of
Dwight D. Eisenhower, in February of that year, and Army Lieutenant
General Omar Bradley. The stationed division then left the town in May 1944 to be involved in the
Omaha Beach landings part of
Operation Overlord. The trackbed of the Tavistock North route is almost intact to Bere Alston, where it joins today's
Tamar Valley Line. The possible re-opening of a rail link has been discussed for a number of years. Engineering assessment shows the rail-bed, bridges and tunnels to be in sound condition. In 2008 a housing developer offered to rebuild the railway to Bere Alston (from a
new station slightly south of the town) if they were allowed to build 800 properties. This has also encouraged speculation about restoring the Tavistock-
Okehampton rail link, which could provide an alternative to the Devon coastal main line to link the South West Region with the rest of the country. In April 2010 the
Liberal Democrats had suggested that a Tavistock-Plymouth service could be included in the rail expansion plans should they win the
2010 General Election. In 1986, the town's two newspapers, the Tavistock Gazette (founded in 1857) and the Tavistock Times (established in 1920) merged to form the current weekly publication, the
Tavistock Times Gazette, with a circulation of around 8,000. The newspaper is owned by
Tindle Newspaper Group. The newspaper celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007, with a visit from the
Prince of Wales and
Duchess of Cornwall. In July 2006 Tavistock was named the eastern Gateway to the Cornish Mining
World Heritage Site, which runs westward through the Tamar Valley and Great Consols Mine, down the spine of Cornwall to Lands End. This £75 million project is likely to bring more tourists to Tavistock. There has been no progress with proposals for a £1.1 million World Heritage Site Interpretation Centre, planned for 2007, to be built in the area of the Guildhall, and overlooking the River Tavy. ==Geography==