Breaking any one of hundreds of laws — including simple theft — could have led to the appearance before the all-powerful Abbot of Tavistock and a one-way trip to the gallows at Hurdwick.
The Abbot, should the fancy have taken him, could instead have one gibbeted (first hanged and then suspended in a frame of iron latticework, and left as an enduring example to others ).
Gibbet Hill overlooks the village of Mary Tavy. The Ecclesiastical houses were dissolved in 1539, though such cruelty was then meted out by crown agents.
Stocks existed at King Street (and a pillory in Pym Street) as recently as the 1840s.
Tavistock Probus Club were told of these grisly happenings by Simon Dell MBE a well-known and respected local historian in his lecture of policing in Tavistock.
Parish Constables, annually selected by the Vestry Committee, were given a tipstaff but no uniform, nor pay or days off.
Every man was expected to march his beat for 20 plus miles a day, 24/7. Two Metropolitan officers were called in to the town to help establish the Borough Police during the 1840s, and during this period the new Guildhall was built with a court and cells beneath; by today’s standards these were grim and foreboding.
During the Great Flood of 1890 the cells were swamped to a depth of six feet by rising water from the River Tavy.
An apocryphal yarn about a prisoner drowning in the cells was dismissed by Simon, although an arrested person did require rescuing from the inundation.
Following this, the cells were taken out of use before being pressed back into service during the Great War, as evinced by graffiti scratched by a soldier from the Staffs Regiment; easily forgiven, this poor man went to the Western Front where he lost his life.
During the 1920s the station was downgraded to an inspector’s command. Simon entertained with tales of the characters who served the town, and photographs from his collection of published books.
The Devon Constabulary had been founded in 1856 and lasted until amalgamation with Exeter in 1966, and then with Plymouth and Cornwall in 1967. During the early 1980s an armed siege occurred at Tavistock Hospital. Having broken into The Keep Gunshop, the burglar stole a shotgun and ammunition and made his way to the hospital where he took a nurse hostage, and the rear window of a police car was shot out.
A standoff ensued which was brought to a head by two unarmed officers who confronted the gunman and disarmed him.
Medals were subsequently awarded. Bringing Probus up to date, Simon described the changes of not only closing the Court Gate station and replacing it with an office in Abbey Rise which does not have an enquiry desk, but also the increased demands on the service and pulling Tavistock officers away to deal with incidents elsewhere — and often by a long way – though fortunately they are not required to march to get there, unlike the Parish Constables of yore!
However, Tavistock is the only town in England to enjoy the status of a World Heritage Site and there is some light on the horizon through the excellent offices of The Tavistock Heritage Trust. The possibility exists for a police enquiry desk to be opened at the Court Gate.
Probus wished the proposal every success and were pleased to thank Simon for another interesting and well researched talk.