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Misdemeanours, accidents, tragedies and some distinctly questionable behaviour. Welcome to Tavistock in the late nineteenth century. On the final Sunday of Heritage Open Days 2026, Tavistock Edge will transform the historic Guildhall Courtroom into a stage for The Superintendent’s Letters, a theatrical journey into the lives of the ordinary people of Tavistock and West Devon. And if you are thinking of coming, don't leave booking too long. More than half the available tickets

After ten days exploring more than a thousand years of Tavistock’s history, what better way could there be to bring Heritage Open Days 2026 to a close than with one of the most joyous and spectacular works in the choral repertoire? On the final evening of the festival, St Eustachius’ Church will provide the magnificent setting for God’s Work: Music from Haydn’s The Creation, performed by the Tavistock Heritage Chorus. And this promises to be much more than simply a closing co

A king murdered at the gates of Corfe Castle. A disputed throne. An ambitious mother. And at the centre of it all, a woman with a direct connection to Tavistock. It sounds more like the plot of a historical thriller than a Heritage Open Days talk. Yet this is the extraordinary story of Ælfthryth, sister of Tavistock Abbey's founder Ordulph and the first crowned and anointed Queen of England. For more than a thousand years, Ælfthryth's reputation has been surrounded by scandal