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Englandsouthwest Columnists' Corner
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A Double Helping of Around Town in Tavistock
by Len Chester
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St. Eustachius Church
(Church of England)
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In the early years of history, Tavistock was a small village on an ancient trackway which ran from Exeter down to the southwest. It was situated on the banks of a river with the Saxon name TauVechan (the river Tavy) from whence came its name of Tau-Vechan-Stoke.
A few years ago, AD 961 to be precise, Ordgar, the Earl of Devon started to build a Benedictine Abbey in what is now the center of the town. Unfortunately, in AD 997, a marauding band of Vikings destroyed and looted the abbey and Ordgar's son, Ordulf ,set about rebuilding the abbey.
A few ruins of the abbey are still visible at the present time.
Modern uses for the site
The parish church of St Eustachius, pictured right, dates back to 1318 and is in daily use. In 1525, one of the first printing presses was established in the abbey by the monks.
In 1589, King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and abbeys, completing the work the Vikings had begun; the land was "given" to Lord Russell, the first of the Dukes of Bedford.
The year 1625 saw the coming of the Plague, the "Black Death" when 52 people died. A mere 17 years later came the Civil War when Tavistock played host to King Charles I and his army. King Charles is credited with saying "should it be raining on any part of my kingdom, it will be Tavistock"--a complete lie, of course.
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Editor's note: Wines of Cornwall, Steve Waller's wonderful column, has been delayed. Please check next time.
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I am sure that there must be branches of WH Smith (booksellers) in America. I have seen them in all the major airports all over the world that I have visited so I am sure you will be familiar with the name. (Ed. Note: Unfortunately, there are no WH Smiths in the U.S.)
I mention this because just down the road from my house is an old 19th. Century house called "Drakesmead". It could possibly be older than 19th Century, but from 1837 to 1888, it was the Grammar School and Masters House and one of its earliest pupils was a boy named W.H.Smith. He was not a local boy, but at the time he lived with a relative who was a Parson in one of the churches, so he was sent to the best school available at the time.
After the school closed, the house became a Doctors Surgery, Doctors must have lived well in those days, for a while it then became an old peoples home. During the past couple of years it has been made into self contained flats, history may march on but these old granite built houses still remain to remind us of the past.
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Len Chester is the author of the memoir Bugle Boy, a charming book that begins with his induction, at age 14, into the Royal Marines. By age 18, he was training to become a fully fledged Royal Marine. Sailing for the Far East on VJ Day, he was gone for 2.5 years, but returned to marry, and to the Infantry Training Center Royal Marines (ITC RM) at Lympstone, Devon. From 1948 onwards, Len trained young men to be Royal Marines.
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© 2010 Muffin Dog Press LLC
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England Southwest, Vol. 1, no. 3
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