A Glimpse of Medieval Tavistock in Gold: The Subscription Library’s Remarkable Abbey Stones
Sometimes the smallest objects can tell the biggest stories.
Hidden among the books, pictures and historic artefacts of the Tavistock Subscription Library are two small fragments of carved stone. They are easily held in the hand, but their story may stretch back more than six centuries, to the great medieval Abbey that once dominated Tavistock.
And during Heritage Open Days 2026, visitors will have a rare opportunity to see them.
NO NEED TO BOOK - just drop in on Friday 11th , Saturday 12th or the following weekend and see for yourself.
The two fragments are carved and still retain tantalising traces of their original decoration, including gilding and red paint. They have now been assessed as probably dating from around the 14th century, possibly originating from a shrine, tomb or stone reredos.
Suddenly these are not simply pieces of old masonry. They offer a tiny, jewel-like glimpse of how colourful and richly decorated medieval Tavistock may once have been.
A Discovery Beneath Tavistock
The story of the stones can be traced back at least to the nineteenth century.
In his 1891 book The Abbots of Tavistock and Beyond, the Reverend Daniel Pring Alford, Vicar of Tavistock, recorded that excavations carried out around 1850 and again in 1889 had uncovered tiles and fragments of a monument. Some of these finds subsequently entered the Subscription Library's collection.
Alford was particularly interested in the carved fragments, noting that they retained some of their original colour and gilding.
He also made an intriguing suggestion.
The stones, he believed, might have formed part of the shrine of St Rumon, whose remains were associated with Tavistock Abbey.
Whether that particular mystery can ever be solved is another question, but the fragments have now attracted renewed attention.
Professional assessment by Dr Stuart Blaylock of Exeter Archaeology, subsequently confirmed through the work of Sue Spackman, suggests that the Subscription Library holds two significant pieces of carved stone dating from around the 14th century.
Imagine the Medieval Abbey in Colour
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the fragments is the survival of their decoration.
We often picture medieval churches and abbeys as we encounter their ruins today: grey stone, weathered surfaces and bare walls.
The reality could hardly have been more different.
Medieval religious buildings were alive with colour. Sculpture, monuments and architectural details could be painted and gilded, creating interiors designed to impress, inspire and sometimes overwhelm the visitor.
These tiny fragments provide a tantalising hint of that lost world.
Look closely and the gold still catches the eye.
Six hundred years ago, whatever these stones formed part of may have positively shimmered.
Treasures Preserved in Tavistock
Their survival also tells another important story.
For generations, Tavistock people have collected and protected fragments of their town's past. Long before the present Rediscovering Tavistock Abbey project, local historians and antiquarians were recording discoveries and preserving objects that might otherwise have disappeared.
The Subscription Library itself has been part of that tradition.
Today its Guildhall Square Reading Room contains not simply books, but furniture, artworks and small historic artefacts accumulated over generations. The gilded stones have been carefully preserved there since they emerged from the ground long ago.
They are not normally on public display.
Heritage Open Days provides one of those rare occasions when they come out for everyone to see.
Come and See Them for Yourself
As Tavistock once again turns its attention towards rediscovering its medieval Abbey, these two small stones acquire a new resonance.
Where exactly did they come from? What did they once form part of? What might their surviving colour tell us about the appearance of the Abbey? And could they really have been connected with the shrine of St Rumon?
Some questions may never have definitive answers.
But stand in front of these fragments and you are looking at something that may once have formed part of the richly decorated medieval Abbey itself.
That makes them well worth seeking out.
📚 The Tavistock Subscription Library will be welcoming visitors during Heritage Open Days 2026.
You'll find their doors open and warm welcome on both Fridays and Saturdays of the Festival
Come inside, explore one of Tavistock's historic institutions and take the rare opportunity to see two very small objects with a potentially very big story.
Sometimes rediscovering Tavistock Abbey begins with a piece of stone small enough to fit in your hand.
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