Tavistock Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Located in the county of Devon, and around 15 miles north of Plymouth, is the town of Tavistock.

In the 10th century, Tavistock Abbey was founded. In 997, after the Battle of Lydford, Vikings looted and burned the abbey. The abbey church was rebuilt, but was eventually demolished in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

In 1105 a market charter was granted to Tavistock by Henry I. Historical industries in the town have included wool and copper & tin mining. In 1305 Edward I established the Stannary Charter, which made Tavistock, Ashburton and Chagford as stannary towns, with a monopoly on all tin mining in Devon. Plympton was later added in 1328.

In circa 1540 (the date is disputed as it was not officially recorded) Francis Drake was born in Tavistock. In 1577 Queen Elizabeth I sent Drake on an expedition against the Spanish along the Pacific coast of the Americas. He set sail from Plymouth in his ship, named Pelican, alongside four other vessels. During the voyage his ship was renamed Golden Hind, in reference to the female deer that appeared on the coat of arms of Christopher Hatton, one of the sponsors of the expedition. In 1580 Drake landed back in Plymouth, becoming the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. Drake was called upon again in 1588, again from Plymouth, where he defeated the Spanish Armada. The invading ships were forced to retreat east across the English Channel, then up the North Sea and down the Atlantic.

During the 19th century Tavistock's mining industry was expanded. The completion of the Tavistock Canal in 1817 provided a new means for transportation. Additionally three iron foundries opened in the town around this period. The town centre underwent significant redevelopment during the Victorian era courtesy of the Dukes of Bedford. The mining industry declined during the latter half of the 19th century, and with it came the closure of the Tavistock Canal. In 1933 the canal was purchased and converted into a hydroelectric power plant.

In 1859 a railway station opened in Tavistock. This was followed, in 1890, by a second, which became known as Tavistock North, and the original was renamed Tavistock South. Whilst in operation, these provided direct links to Plymouth and Launceston. Both stations were closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts - where over 2000 stations in the UK were closed in a controversial move to encourage motorway travel. Today, public transport to Tavistock consists principally of direct bus services to and from Plymouth and Okehampton.

In 2005 Tavistock was voted Best Market Town in England.

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Filmed: 6th November 2022

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/dPSAEV9MYfM3AZhc7

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 River Tavy
0:37 Vigobridge Road
1:29 Brook Street
3:18 Market Road
3:51 River Tavy
4:09 Market Road
4:48 Brook Street
5:33 Duke Street
6:48 Bedford Square
7:28 Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford Statue
7:43 Abbey Place
10:55 Plymouth Road
11:59 Bedford Square
12:52 Drake Road
13:37 Barley Market Street
14:03 Pepper Street
14:42 Duke Street
15:16 Tavistock Parish Church
15:36 West Street
16:34 King Street
18:01 Market Street
19:30 West Street