700 years of St Eustachius’ Church
Little evidence has been written about the founding of Tavistock Abbey and the records that do exist were not accessible to the local populace, as most folk were illiterate at that time. 'History' was an oral tradition, where events were passed on verbally from generation to generation, increasingly altered by exaggeration and circumstance. The abbey was built by Ordulf, Earl of Devon, and according to legend he dreamed he was praying one night under the stars outside his home above the present Kelly College, when he saw a vision - an angel in a brilliant column of light, was directed to build an abbey where the light touched the ground. Ordulf, with the support of his brother-in-law, King Edgar the Peaceful, built the abbey in the north west corner of the market. It was an excellent situation near the ford, where the trackway from Exeter to Cornwall crossed the river, with water, wood for building and fuel, an abundance of fish and fertile lands.
Subsequently Ordulf had the remains of a Celtic saint, Rumon, brought from Cornwall and the abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St Rumon. Tavistock Abbey followed the rule of the Benedictine order and carried out pastoral work, caring for the sick (at the hospital in Abbey Chapel and a leper house at the bottom of Spring Hill), and providing education, employment and welfare services (equivalent to today’s food bank) for the local populace. Sixteen years later, the Danes came up the River Tamar in their longships, were repulsed at Lydford, and fell back on the richer prize of Tavistock Abbey, which they plundered and burnt down. It was soon rebuilt, possibly by Ordulf, but on a grand scale, with stone. I give credence to the legend that the abbey invented the well-loved Devon cream tea, as milk, flour and fruit were available in quantity for the scones, cream and jam - and the labourers working on this magnificent building were partially rewarded with a cream tea!
Alongside the complex buildings of Tavistock Abbey, a church was also built, but nothing of this church survives. However, a new church was built by Abbot Robert Champeaux and dedicated in 1318. Research has not given any evidence for the choice of Eustachius as patron. My theory is that this monastery was built in a huge hunting forest belonging to the king, and Eustace or Hubert was chosen as he is the patron saint of hunters. St Eustachius was a Roman general in the second century, who was converted to Christianity and disgraced, exiled and martyred by his family for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods. In the church there was no furniture. A rood screen divided the chancel from the main body of the church and tradition has it that women stood on the north side and men on the south, the warmest area! Old folk may have had a bench alongside the wall, hence the expression, ‘backs to the wall'. By the middle of the 14th century the church had fallen into disrepair and was roofless, but by the end of the century it had been rebuilt in the Perpendicular style, with the addition of the south aisle, the Clothworkers’ Aisle, funded by a bequest from Constance Coffyn, the widow of three wealthy, Tavistock wool merchants. The work was completed in 1447.
The dissolution of the abbey in 1539 ended the old order; the lands and properties were gifted to the Russell family, who held the patronage until 1912. Stone from the abbey remained a ruin was used for many of the buildings we see today. However, the church remained in use and its interior tells its own story: the Glanville memorial (erected 1615) depicts Judge Glanville holding a skull, with his wife, Alice, kneeling beside him and the small figures of four children, heads missing. Was this vandalism a result of the boredom of parliamentary troops during the Civil War? In the book, “Homage to Eustachius” by Gerry Woodcock, the skull was believed to be the Judge’s niece, sentenced to death for murder (though prior to him becoming a judge). There’s also the story of John Fitz - a naughty boy of Tavistock, who is possibly the son kneeling piously in the Fitz Monument which commemorates Sir John Fitz, who died in 1859, and his wife, Mary Sydenham; it is said that Francis Drake was baptised in the 15th century font, whose cover is a splendid example of 20th century carving by Violet Pinwell. There are legends surrounding the roof bosses, in particular the Three Hares, and a beautiful 14th century panel carved with lilies, and a Cornish piper may have come from the abbey. In addition, there is the breath-taking Victorian organ screen with its carved figures; artefacts including the early Saxon holy water stoup, the painting by local artist Arthur Read, of ‘The Dawn on the Third Millennium’, presented in 2000, the well-known window attributed to William Morris and the little-known soldier of the First World War. Originally there was a minstrels’ gallery located in the tower, and an early brass instrument called an ophicleide (forerunner to a bassoon) may be seen. The brass band and barrel organ were replaced in 1846 and the gallery removed.
Gifts to the church over the ages, from Tavistock Abbey, the Bedford family and citizens of the town, as well as memorial brasses and stained-glass windows all tell their own stories of the people associated with this place. In its earliest days, St Eustachius’ was a focal point in the town for worship, social gatherings, music, celebration, sorrow and refuge. It has suffered perilous times but still survives, serving the same needs of its people.
Joan Torvell
For the comprehensive story of St Eustachius' Church read ‘Homage to St.Eustachius', by the late Gerry Woodcock, well-known historian, respected teacher at Tavistock College, chairman of Tavistock Local History Society and distinguished lecturer.