ALEX Mettler, chairman of the Tavistock Local History Society and a big history enthusiast, led an entertaining tour entitled ‘the hidden secrets of Tavistock Abbey’ on Sunday, September 13.

The group of about 30 people, some of whom had travelled all the way from Plymouth, set off from Court Gate in warm September sunshine. Court Gate was so named because people passing under  the arch from  the town in monastic times  entered the great court.

Tavistock Abbey, a Benedictine monastery was founded by Ordulf, the brother-in-law of the Saxon king Edgar. His sarcophagus is sited within a chamber adjacent to Betsy Grimbal’s tower.

The abbey received its charter in 981 from King Ethelred. After, it was governed by a succession of 39 abbots, who were feudal lords of large parts of Devon. The abbey was sacked and burned during a Danish raid in 997, but was rebuilt with repeated improvements throughout the following centuries.

In  1539  the monastery  and  its  treasures  were  confiscated by Henry VIII, during the dissolution of the monasteries, and all the property given to Lord Russell. The fabric of the abbey church was used for rebuilding in the town.

Other parts survived so that the boundaries of the abbey precinct can still be traced. Tavistock had  grown up by the abbey and was made a borough, with a market charter, in the 12th century. Most of the monastic structures that survive today like Betsy Grimbal’s tower date from the 15th century.

The south side of the court then bordered the river and was occupied by domestic buildings such as stables, which opened to a bridge just below the present Abbey Bridge.

The precinct wall, which runs along the path beside the river Tavy, ran west as far as the Still Tower, then north to the western gatehouse, known locally as Betsy Grimbal’s tower. Granite window frames are evidence of a 15th century build, parts may be earlier. A stairway beside the arch led to two rooms with a garderobe and closet. At ground level there was another room, and another garderobe, evidently flushed by a streamlet under the floor.

This was part of the successful heritage open days weekend when the Guildhall and cells, built by the Duke of Bedford, the Butchers’ Hall and Pannier Market, and the present Catholic church were also opened for tours led by Andrew Thompson and Simon Dell.