Scheduled MonumentsEnglandTavistock Abbey

Tavistock Abbey

England
List entry 1020401
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1020401
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
1.42 hectares
Grid reference
SX 48163 74343
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Tavistock Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in the tenth century in Devon, England, which became one of the most substantial and wealthy religious houses in the southwest before the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. The abbey, established around 961, played a significant role in the ecclesiastical and economic life of medieval Devon, accumulating considerable land holdings and influence throughout the medieval period. Substantial ruins of the medieval complex remain visible today, including parts of the gatehouse and other structural elements that testify to the abbey's former scale and importance. The site remains an important witness to monastic life in Devon and to the broader pattern of religious reform and suppression that characterised sixteenth-century England.

Tavistock Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1020401. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Tavistock Abbey?

Tavistock Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in the tenth century in Devon, England, which became one of the most substantial and wealthy religious houses in the southwest before the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1020401.

Who is responsible for protecting Tavistock Abbey?

Tavistock Abbey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1020401.

What other scheduled monuments are near Tavistock Abbey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Camp NE of Berra Tor (5.2 km), Morwellham Quay: transport infrastructure, part of the water control system and a manganese mill (5.7 km), Gawton arsenic mine and flue (6.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Tavistock Abbey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Tavistock Abbey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Tavistock Abbey

Tavistock Abbey stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Carboniferous, bedrock that formed in the Carboniferous. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.