FOUR Tavistock residents will next month be appointed as honoured burgesses of the town, in a formal investiture in the town hall. The new burgesses are to be Mrs Jean Burleigh-Taylor, Mr Philip Perry, Mrs Betty Lobb and Mr Stuart Cole, who were chosen by councillors in a secret ballot from a shortlist of seven. The investiture ceremony will take place on Saturday April 2. Cllr Jenny Metcalf, mayor of Tavistock, told members of the council at its full meeting last week that she and the town clerk had visited the four people chosen. They had all accepted the honour and were ?very honoured and humbled? to have been asked to receive such a title, Cllr Metcalf told members. Cllr Norma Woodcock said the investiture of new burgesses was ?a very important day? which needed to be treated with all due ceremony. The investiture will be followed by a reception for the burgesses, partners and invited friends or family in the Rundle Room. Town clerk Roger Howard said there had been eight honoured burgesses of Tavistock ? a title which dated back to 1984. He said: ?Traditionally, a burgess was an inhabitant of a town or borough who held full muncipal rights. ?Normally a successful businessman or professional person, in the days before local councils he would have been involved in the running of the town and in such duties as selecting a portreeve. ?These days, the town council has the power to confer the distinction upon those residents of Tavistock who have rendered eminent and distinguished service to the town.? Mrs Burleigh-Taylor was closely involved in the refurbishment of the Ford Street Almshouses and has been a trustee for more than 20 years. She was also closely involved with the planning, purchasing and launching of Abbeyfield in Tavistock, which provides homes for 14 elderly people. Mr Perry has been involved in Tavistock?s talking newspaper for the blind since its inception 25 years ago and has been closely associated with the Tavonians and the Anglican church. Mrs Lobb has been a tireless worker for charity for more than 50 years. She has worked with the Samaritans, Devon Air Ambulance, Muscular Dystrophy, the local hospital League of Friends, the British Heart Foundation, Cards for Good Causes and particularly Cancer Research. Mr Cole has recently retired after a lifetime working for the local council as a street cleaner. He has been involved with St John Ambulance Brigade for many years. Previous honoured burgesses of Tavistock were Mrs Dorothea Pinder, Mr George Draper, Mr Roland Bailey, Mrs Edna Dathan, Mr Roy Minhinnick, Miss Norna Beadle, Mr John Philpott and Mr Francis Quant, all of whom have now died.
