Tavistock has cast its spell over generations of visitors. Attractively set between two significant natural barriers, the River Tamar to the west and Dartmoor to the east, residents and visitors today would still recognise the truth of what one impressed tourist wrote in 1892: 'The town has a leisurely and beautiful appearance, and the people do not seem to need to kill themselves and slay each other in the mad rush of life which spoils so many other towns.'

However, being relaxed is not the same as being sleepy. The economic and social life of the town has, at each stage of its development, been dynamic. The designation 'Ancient Stannary Town' on the welcoming road signs, for example, is a reminder of the long association with the tin industry, and the oft-quoted description 'The Gothic town of the West' brings to mind the great age of copper mining and the changes to the town centre that accompanied it. This fully illustrated account brings the modern resident and visitor face to face with the factors that have influenced the development of this unique and fascinating corner of Devon.



Gerry Woodcock read History at Cambridge. After some years teaching he came to Tavistock in 1966 as Head of History at Tavistock School. For many years he wrote and lectured on aspects of the history of Tavistock, and was President of the Tavistock Local History Society. He was given the title of Honoured Burgess 'for rendering eminent and distinguished service to the town of Tavistock'. Among his publications were Tavistock's Yesterdays: Numbers 1– 16 (1985-2007), The Book of Tavistock (2003) and Tavistock Revisited (2005).