Monks, Privateers and Arms Dealers: Tavistock’s Hidden Maritime Past – a talk by Dr. Geri Parlby
Geri began by saying that Tavistock is known for its abbey and pannier market but not its maritime connections which are surprisingly strong. This is peculiar in that it is a landlocked town and the River Tavy is not navigable past Lopwell, 7 miles away.
It was the monks at the Abbey that started the maritime connection and set up the port of Morwellham in the 10th century. They owned a large area of the countryside down to the south coast and they drew income from farming, mining, fishing, trade and harbour dues. In 1114 King Henry I gave them land on the Isles of Scilly. They built a priory on Tresco, charged anchor fees for 1000 ships and had wrecking rights. However, this enterprise proved too much to cope with and they backed out of the seafaring business.
The discovery of a wall painting of a ship on the first floor of a shop on Market Street has revealed traces of Tavistock’s hidden maritime past. Only half survives but it is very well preserved showing the warship’s bow, forecastle, mast and fighting top and the colours and design bear a close resemblance to the Mary Rose which sank in the Solent in 1545. Geri consulted a number of experts to give opinions on the design of the ship, the painting itself and the building. One expert said it looked like the ship dated from between 1509 and 1570 and a timber expert was confident that the remnants of the beams were early 16th century as he was able to trace what was left into the next-door building. The art conservator studied the style and analysis of the pigments used and also dated it as around the late 16th century.
Henry VII had started the navy but Henry VIII was the first to make it a permanent force. He also had the option of requisitioning merchant ships to form part of the navy should the need arise. Tavistock’s link to the King’s navy was John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford who served as Lord High Admiral 1540 to 1542, at the same time as being gifted the Abbey lands after the Dissolution. Amongst his many responsibilities was the maintaining of coastal defences in the West and later conscripting sailors and ship owners to arm their vessels in readiness against attacks from the French and Spanish. He also had a share in a ship, the Mawdelyn Russell so could this be the ship depicted in the painting? There were other men: William Hawkins who sailed the Paul of Plymouth and had trading activities to Africa and Brazil and William’s son, John, who took the Jesus of Lubeck to West Africa and Venezuela with his cousin, Francis Drake. These could also be the ship in the painting and there are other possibilities too: Nicholas Glanfield’s the William and John, which may have been involved with arms dealing with the Hawkins brothers. Was the owner of the building a prominent person in naval circles?
Geri’s fascinating talk illustrated that Tavistock was clearly involved in maritime trading, privateering and arms dealing during the Tudor period, and further research into the painting and its ownership may reveal more of its hidden heritage.
A Pair of Shoes for a Poor Child – a talk by Dr. Sue Andrews
Sue’s talk focused on the fortunes of three members of the Payne family from the late C18 to the early C20, a period of huge change. Elizabeth, born c1762 and baptised at Dunterton lived through a time when many country people were illiterate and poor, barely able to afford a pair of shoes. Written records are scarce but changes were happening in the countryside; people were migrating to the towns as jobs were lost due to mechanisation and improved methods of production replacing manual labour.
During a period of 27 years from the age of eighteen, Elizabeth had 8 illegitimate sons, with records revealing that in one case at least she was “examined” in an attempt to discover the father. Records of her poverty can be found in the Lamerton Overseers of the Poor Account Book with details of her receiving monies to purchase shoes, clothes and blankets in times of harsh conditions. These payments continued until 1836. Further records show her in the Lamerton Poorhouse aged 80 and later dying aged 85 – a remarkable age considering her lifestyle. She was buried in an unmarked grave in Lamerton Parish churchyard.
Robert, her youngest son, is recorded in 1814 as being an apprentice (aged 7) to a yeoman. His duties probably included bird scaring, stone picking, looking after sheep and harvesting – hard labour and long hours. He married in 1833 to Maria Youlden (also illiterate), a widow with one daughter, and had six more children at Eastacott Farm, Dunterton, two of whom died of Scarlatina, aged 5 and 3 in 1842. Robert and his family then moved to Bradstone, working as an agricultural labourer at Bradstone Barton and living in Sandys Cottage,. Two more children were born in Bradstone.
Around 1840 the Parish of Bradstone comprised eight farmhouses and small cottages and there was a lot of activity around the production of cider, crops, and husbandry. Living conditions, however, were still harsh for many agricultural labourers and, in 1860, Canon Girdlestone, Vicar of Halberton, near Tiverton, raised concerns and was a prime mover in initiating changes, some of which involved relocating families to locations in the north of England where prospects were better. Robert died in 1881, aged 75, at Sandys Cottage and was buried in an unmarked grave in Bradstone churchyard. His wife Marie relocated to Devonport, but when she died 3 years later she was brought back to Bradstone for burial.
James Payne, Robert’s youngest son, was born in 1853 and started life with jobs in agricultural labouring and mining. However, through improved education he was literate, intelligent and ambitious, moving away to a more urban environment. Through good references he joined the police and progressed at the age of 45 to 1st Class Merit Constable, having lived first in Torquay and then Alphington. He and his wife Annie had seven children and eventually moved to Plymstock. He was highly thought of but retired in 1901, dying of cancer two years later at the age of 50. He is buried in Plymstock Church with a fine gravestone.
Sue’s excellent talk was not only a family history (James was her great grandfather) but an account of the social history of those times and how despite the poverty and hardships, some people were able to get through and survive to surprising longevity. Some also overcoming their hard starts to life to pursue successful careers.
Berra Tor Farm: a History = a talk by David Dance
David moved into this Grade 2* listed farmhouse in 1994, retired from his full-time job in 2019 and like perhaps many people found time and interest during the Covid period to do some history research and write a book. He has since uncovered around 200 years of the farmhouse’s history with more to be revealed perhaps. Much of the information has come from censuses, conveyances and C19 tithe maps,
These show an original farm in a field nearby (no trace today) with the name of Cudgeford with research complicated by a further 14 variants of its spelling and the switching of the name to Berra Tor (finally consolidated in 1901 as the current name).
It sits on what was probably a major route towards the Tavy at Hatch Mill. It is thought that in the C15 it was a short longhouse with shippon. The famous antiquary GW Copeland who visited the farm in 1951 noted other interesting features – a once wider entrance for animals, oak studded door with fleur-de-lys hinges, granite door frames, huge rough cross beams, curving stone fireplace and a mullioned window. The latter item proved to be of significant interest, theories ranging from a relic of a nearby medieval chapel (shown on old maps) to salvage from Buckland Abbey (maybe after the Dissolution). An old photo from 1880 (see above) shows a thatched roof and two chimneys – now gone.
David then traced the ownership and occupiers from the early C18, the Buckland Abbey estate featuring then, along with the Crymes family – Richard having purchased the manor of Buckland Monachorum including Berra Tor. This then moved on to the Duke of Bedford (DOB) and by the mid C18 the Corters. It passed then through several generations of this family with Samuel Jnr also leasing other land from Lopez and employing large teams of helpers. When he died in 1871 it was bought again by the Bedford estate (along with 1,000 apple trees), its state of repair described as “bad”.
Around this time too there is a mysterious reference to 3 fulling mills in the area including one at Cudgeford – further research required here. Bidgoods were tenants through the agricultural depression period up to 1886, then the Veales through the 1891 time of huge floods in the parish and . subsequently after the first big DOB sale in 1901. Frank Rowe reportedly ran a successful farm from 1921 though it was sold again in 1950 (with hunting and fishing rights) after he became ill. Further occupiers included Tuckett, Henry Towl and in 1973 Tom Malcolm.
At this point, the farm became a home with extensive alterations being carried by the new owners. By 1988 the Gullifords were there, eventually moving into the cottage next door to make way for David and his wife in 1994.
Perhaps David could be persuaded to continue his fascinating research into the first 300 years and come back in the future for part 2.
Tyrwhitt’s Tramway: the Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway – a talk by Simon Dell
Sir Thomas (1762-1833) initially served as the private secretary to the Prince of Wales (later King George IV) and founded the settlement of “Prince’s Town”. Following the closure of his first project, Dartmoor Prison in 1815, he turned his endeavours to other ideas for bringing prosperity to the town and area.
At this time, the Plymouth breakwater was under construction and granite from King’s Tor quarry, owned by the Johnson brothers was in great demand, being shipped by horse, cart, and canal.. Also peat, flux and ores were going off the moor with sea sand, timber and coal coming in, again by slow and costly transport. Sir Thomas thus conceived the idea of a railway which he thought would bring significant benefits – both to the area and “interested parties.”
Following an Act of Parliament in 1819, the railway was launched to over 1,000 people at a grand breakfast ceremony. A single track of 4ft 6in gauge, comprised of granite sleepers, cast iron rails and horse drawn, it was opened in 1823. There were various local subscribers involved in the setting up of the Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway Company (P&DRC), including landowners and those with certain interests – Lopez, Maristow, Elford and Lockyer amongst the names, along with the Johnsons at King’s Tor quarry, Wm. Shillabeer was appointed as surveyor and Wm Stuart (the breakwater engineer) as chief engineer.
Initially the route was planned to ascend on steep gradients , difficult for horses, but thanks to Stuart, an alternative route was decided upon , more circuitous but with less climb, from Crabtree Wharf on the Plym to King’s Tor quarry. Despite his initiative it seems Stuart fell out of favour. The Wharf was often stranded at low water so an extension was then built to Cattewater and a new route opened via Saltram (Earl Morley’s land) and a branch to Cann Quarry. Finances were often under strain with many loans and changes of partners and ownership.
By 1826 the company had run out of money and it was the Johnsons who came to the rescue taking on the mortgage and forming the New P&DRC, Tyrwhitt died in 1833. There was considerable traffic on the line, especially in granite though Tyrwhitt’s original idea of opening up the moor to agriculture and development were not fulfilled. However, GWR saw opportunities in steam and the demand for passenger transport, taking over the top section in 1877 and the rest by 1883 – the original tramway finally closing. The GWR line closed in 1956.
Through his innovative use of AI and unique humour Simon illustrated his talk with images of various sections en-route, many of which can be seen today, including the Leigham tunnel (2nd of its kind in the world), the Crabtree weighbridge, granite sleepers and mileposts, halts and sidings, and the stable block above Clearbrook.