Return To Homepage
Goto HomepageAbout Tavistock TownAbout Our SchoolSchool CalendarCurriculum InformationSchool EventsDownload Latest Newsletters and FormsContact Details
Tavistock  
 

Tavistock is on the River Tavy, from which its name derives, and has a population of over 11,000. It traces its history back at least to AD 961, when Tavistock Abbey, whose ruins lie in the centre of the town, was founded.

In 1525 one of the first printing presses in England was established in the Abbey, and Walton's translation of Boethius de Conolatione was imprinted by Thomas Rychard, a local monk.

 

The town is a market town providing shopping and some entertainment for its many outlying villages and the local farming community, as well as forming a centre for the West Devon and Dartmoor tourist trade.

Tavy Bridge
Brook Street
The Canal
Goose Fair
Market

Meadowlands
Old Court
Bedford Sq.
The Wharf
West Street

The town maintains twinning links with Pontivy in France since 1958 and with Celle in Germany. Its most famous son is the sailor, privateer and circumnavigator Sir Francis Drake.
The biggest event in the town's calendar is the annual Goose (or "Goosey") Fair, which has existed since 1116. Originally scheduled to take place on the feast-day of St. Rumon, it now occurs on the second Wednesday of October, and takes over much of the town for several days either side, drawing crowds which far outnumber the resident population. Traditionally, the Fair was an opportunity for locals to purchase their Christmas goose, allowing plenty of time to fatten the bird before Christmas came; nowadays, along with a multitude of street vendors selling a vast range of wares, there are all the rides and games associated with funfairs; geese can still be purchased at the concurrent animal market.