Tavistock #3

If Holland is red/brown brick, Tavistock is grey stone - or whitewashed grey stone. It sits compactly in the valley of the River Tavey with a history going back to the bronze and iron ages. An abbey was founded in 961, destroyed by Danes and rebuilt. Some ruins of the original abbey remain. 

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 2nd Wednesday in October. 

By the 14th century Tavistock was at the centre of the tin mining industry. 

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. 

As tin mining waned the cloth industry prospered later to be replaced by copper mining. (Reminds me of the current shift from sheep to cattle in Canterbury - how much the fortunes of a community are tied to its economies). The town owes much of its prosperity to the Dukes of Bedford who made a fortune from mining and invested significantly in the town's buildings, great and small. 

Part of central Tavistock. The Pannier Market is located behind these buildings

Looking down on part of the town from the old railway viaduct

More Bedford cottages

Yesterday I walked along the canal that was dug in the early 1800s to carry copper to Morwellham Quay on the River Tamar, where it could be loaded into sailing ships. This was a beautiful two-hour or so walk, very peaceful, through the intermittent showers!

Railway viaduct on the canal walk. These arches are much bigger than they appear in the photo

Sir Francis Drake was born at Crowndale Farm which I also passed on this walk.