Tavistock Guildhall Heritage Centre

07/09/2026

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS ARE COMING TO TAVISTOCK GUILDHALL! 🏛️

From 11th – 20th September, Tavistock will be celebrating its incredible history and heritage, and we're proud that the Guildhall will be playing a central part in the celebrations.

Throughout Heritage Open Days, the Guildhall will host a fantastic programme of events exploring the people, stories, skills and history that have helped shape Tavistock through the centuries.

✨ Our programme includes:

🎉 Friday 11th September | 6.30pm
Heritage Open Days Festival Opening
Officially opened by the Mayor of Tavistock, Ann Johnson.

👑 Earldoman, Lord and Queen – exploring Ordgar, Ordulf, Ælfthryth and the beginnings of Tavistock

👸 The Many Faces of Ælfthryth – the story of Ordulf's sister and England's first crowned queen

👞 A Pair of Shoes for a Poor Child – a fascinating talk from Sue Andrews

👮 The Fair Arm of the Law – discover the pioneering women who changed British policing

⛏️ Working Life in Tavistock Through the Ages – a hands-on family fun day where children can explore the lives of Tavistock's miners, traders and stonemasons

✉️ The Superintendents Letters – presented by Tavistock Edge

We’re delighted to be welcoming such a varied programme of talks, activities and performances to this remarkable historic building. Whether you're interested in medieval Tavistock, local history, policing, or discovering the skills and trades that shaped our town, there really is something for everyone.

🎟️ Many of the events are already sold out, which is fantastic to see! There may still be limited availability for some events, so please visit the Tavistock Heritage Trust website to find out more and check for remaining spaces.

🔗 Booking link in the comments

Come and celebrate Tavistock's rich heritage at the Guildhall this September! 🏛️✨

04/09/2026

This year's Heritage Open Days is fast approaching and there is a packed programme of events to look forward to!

🏛️ HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 2026
'A Thousand Years of Tavistock in Ten Days'
📅 11th – 20th September

What connects an Anglo-Saxon queen, a Victorian police superintendent, a medieval gilded stone, a hidden cemetery chapel, a pair of shoes, a group of apprentice young stonemasons and the scaffolding currently surrounding Betsy Grimbal’s Tower?They are all part of the story we will be telling durin...

03/09/2026

🌿 Join us for a fascinating site visit to North Hooe on the Bere Peninsula in West Devon on Wednesday 30th September at 11am.

⛏️ Discover the recently restored engine house, conserved as part of a wider landscape enhancement programme.

⛏️ Learn about the site's rich mining heritage, the restoration work that has safeguarded this important landmark.

⛏️ Explore other features of the mine in this beautiful riverside setting overlooking the River Tamar.

FREE event - BOOKING ESSENTIAL as numbers are limited.

🎟️ Find out more and book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998225677793

🤝 This event is organised as part of our 20th anniversary celebrations and in partnership with Devon County Council Historic Environment Team.

Tavistock Guildhall Heritage Centre Tavistock Heritage Trust The Devonshire Association Tamar Valley National Landscape

26/08/2026

🌟 Thank you, Discovery Group! 🌟

And that's a wrap on another fantastic summer of Discovery Group activities at the Guildhall Heritage Centre!

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us over the summer holidays. We hope you enjoyed getting creative, solving mysteries, building, making and discovering more about Tavistock's fascinating heritage. 🏛️🏴‍☠️🕵️⛏️🌿

And, of course, a very special thank you to all the wonderful Tavistock Heritage Trust Discovery Group volunteers. Your enthusiasm, creativity and hard work have created such fun, engaging and memorable sessions for local children and families. 👏👏👏

But the Discovery Group doesn't stop when the summer holidays end…

🏫 We also welcome visiting school groups to the Guildhall Heritage Centre, helping bring Tavistock's heritage alive for pupils studying local history.

Workshops can be tailored to support different areas of learning, with sessions including Building Tavistock, Down the Mine, Our Mining Heritage, Inventors and Inventions, Crime and Punishment, and Inspiring KS3.

From exploring Tavistock's historic buildings and mining heritage to experiencing the Victorian courtroom and old police cells, these sessions provide pupils with an engaging, hands-on way to connect with the history of their local area.

📚 School sessions take approximately two hours and can be tailored to suit your focus of learning.

If you're a teacher or school interested in finding out more please contact the Discovery Group at:

📧 [email protected]

Thank you once again to everyone who made our summer sessions so special.

Don't forget we are open 10am - 4pm, Tuesday - Saturday with FREE entry. We look forward to welcoming many more young heritage explorers to the Guildhall!

25/08/2026

We're getting ready for the final summer holiday activity session at the Guildhall Heritage Centre tomorrow (Wednesday), and this time we're stepping back in time to explore Abbey Life.

Children can enjoy a morning of hands-on activities inspired by life at Tavistock Abbey, including:

✒️ Have a go at calligraphy
🌱 Plant a seed
🐝 Discover the life cycle of a bee
🧶 Try your hand at weaving
…and more!

📅 Wednesday 26th August
🕙 10.00am–1.00pm
📍 Guildhall Heritage Centre

🎟️ FREE entry – with a suggested donation of £1 per child to help cover the cost of materials.

Children must be supervised by an adult. Step-free access is available.

This is our last Discovery Group session of the summer, so don't miss the chance to join us for one final morning of creativity, discovery and family fun!

We hope to see you there!

Tavistock Heritage Trust

22/08/2026

We are here until 4pm!

20/08/2026

🌍 JUST 2 DAYS TO GO! 🌍

Join us at Tavistock Town Hall this Saturday, 22nd August, as we celebrate 20 years of the Cornwall & West Devon Mining Landscape UNESCO World Heritage Site.

✨ What can you discover?

🎥 Step inside the spectacular 360° dome film From Granite to Galaxies – a breathtaking 20-minute journey from Cornwall's granite and mining heritage to the space age. Screenings will take place throughout the day.

🏛️ Meet local heritage organisations and find out more about Tavistock's fascinating history and the World Heritage Site.

👨‍👩‍👧 Enjoy family-friendly mining activities with the Tavistock Heritage Trust Discovery Group.

🎤 Hear Simon Dell talk about Tavistock Canal and its role in our mining heritage, 2–3pm.

🎭 Meet characters from Tavistock's mining past, brought to life by Tavi Fringe.

And don't miss the Tavistock Guildhall Heritage Centre stand! We'll be sharing more about our remarkable Grade II listed building – including some fascinating before and after photographs showing how the Guildhall has changed over the years. Come and see if you can spot the differences!

📅 Saturday 22nd August 2026
📍 Tavistock Town Hall
🕥 Doors open at 10am
🎟️ FREE ENTRY

Come along, explore, discover and celebrate 20 years of our World Heritage. We look forward to seeing you there!

17/08/2026

We've been so busy we haven't told you about Simon Dell's next talk here at the Guildhall!

Courtroom Talk – Napoleonic Artwork of Dartmoor Prison

Step back in time and discover the extraordinary creativity of the Napoleonic prisoners of war held at Dartmoor Prison in this fascinating illustrated talk by Simon Dell.

To pass the long hours of captivity and earn money to buy food and extra clothing, many prisoners produced intricate works of art and astonishing miniature models. Among their finest creations were beautifully detailed ship models and even working guillotines, painstakingly carved from beef bone.

These remarkable pieces offer a unique insight into the ingenuity, skill and resilience of the men imprisoned on Dartmoor more than 200 years ago.

Join Simon as he explores the stories behind these extraordinary artefacts and uncovers this fascinating chapter of Devon's history.

📅 28th August 2026
🕡 Doors open: 6:45pm
🕖 Talk starts: 7:00pm
📍 Courtroom, Tavistock Guildhall Heritage Centre
🎟️ Free to attend – donations to support the Guildhall Heritage Centre are always warmly welcomed.

Whether you're interested in local history, the Napoleonic Wars, or the incredible craftsmanship of these prisoners, this promises to be a fascinating evening. We look forward to welcoming you.

14/08/2026

We love hearing from visitors to the Guildhall Heritage Centre. We exist so that people can enjoy our beautiful Grade II listed building, discover new stories and make lasting memories. Hearing what inspires our visitors means so much to us.

This week, mother and daughter Sue and Bel paid us a visit, and we were absolutely delighted by what they shared with us afterwards.

Bel, aged 16, created this wonderful drawing of our famous arsenic green dress, capturing its beauty and detail so perfectly. We were blown away by her talent!

Thank you, Bel, for allowing us to share your amazing artwork. We hope it inspires other visitors to look a little closer at the stories we have here at the Guildhall. 👏👏👏🎨💚

13/08/2026

Did you see the Rediscovering Tavistock Abbey project at Betsy Grimbal's Tower on BBC Spotlight tonight? Exciting isn't it!!

Interested in finding out more?

We recommend following the Rediscovering Tavistock Abbey page to keep up to date on all the latest developments.

Hopes £500k restoration can reveal Tavistock Abbey's secrets - BBC News

A project at a medieval tower aims to uncover Tavistock Abbey's hidden history.