Heritage Open Days : Rediscovering Tavistock Abbey

Anyone walking along Plymouth Road or past the Bedford Hotel recently can hardly have failed to notice that something is happening at Betsy Grimbal’s Tower.

Scaffolding now surrounds one of Tavistock’s most important medieval monuments, specialist stonemasons are at work and, after years of planning,

Rediscovering Tavistock Abbey is becoming very visible indeed.

But what is actually happening behind all that scaffolding?

Conserving a remarkable survivor

Betsy Grimbal’s Tower formed part of the western entrance into the precinct of Tavistock Abbey, the great Benedictine monastery which shaped the development of Tavistock for more than five centuries.

Today it is a nationally important Scheduled Monument and has been included on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.

Specialist heritage contractors DBR are now undertaking essential conservation work under the guidance of conservation architects Le Page Architects, led by partner Simon Crosbie.

This isn’t about making the Tower look new. Quite the opposite.

The principle is to conserve rather than replace, retaining as much of the historic fabric as possible.

Vegetation and biological growth are being carefully removed. Failed and inappropriate mortar is being taken out and replaced with specially selected traditional lime mortars. Vulnerable masonry and wall tops are being repaired and consolidated, while the structure itself is being carefully recorded as work progresses.

Only stone which cannot be conserved will be replaced.

The scaffolding is helping us investigate the Abbey too

There is another fascinating aspect to the work.

The scaffolding gives the conservation team access to parts of the monument which cannot normally be examined at close quarters. As the stonemasons work their way around the structure, there is an opportunity to look afresh at the medieval masonry.

How was the Tower constructed? Can we identify different phases of building? How has it been altered and repaired during its long history?

In other words, conservation can also become investigation.

And that gets to the heart of the wider Rediscovering Tavistock Abbey project.

This is much more than a programme of building repairs.

Our ambition is to understand much more about the Abbey, its buildings, its people and its extraordinary influence on Tavistock and the wider region.

More than 150 people have already volunteered to become involved. Research, archaeology, interpretation, learning and community activities will he now ahead of all form part of the project, including a significant partnership with Tavistock Youth Café.

Future stages will include work on the Still House, archaeological investigation and new ways of interpreting the surviving Abbey remains.

And through our Find Our Abbey initiative, we will also be asking the people of Tavistock to help us discover how much of the medieval monastery may still survive, sometimes hidden in plain sight, around the town.

This September, come and rediscover the Abbey for yourself

If the sight of the scaffolding has made you curious, Heritage Open Days this September is your opportunity to go much deeper into the story.

This year’s programme includes a remarkable cluster of Abbey-related talks, walks and visits exploring everything from the powerful family behind Tavistock Abbey’s foundation in the tenth century to the surviving remains we are conserving today.

Discover the world of Ordgar, Ordwulf and Ælfthryth and the extraordinary political circumstances surrounding the foundation of the Abbey.

Explore the reputation of Ælfthryth, England’s first crowned queen, whose story encompasses royal power, patronage, scandal and the contested death of Edward the Martyr.

Scan or click for Geri Parlby's talk about Ælfthryth and her role in founding Tavistock's Abbey

Join our guided explorations of the surviving Abbey site and discover how fragments of one of medieval Devon’s greatest monasteries remain woven into modern Tavistock.

And there is a particularly exciting opportunity this year.

Go behind the barriers at Betsy Grimbal’s Tower

Our Rediscovering Tavistock Abbey Heritage Open Days walk will include a special guided visit to the conservation site at Betsy Grimbal’s Tower.

Participants will have the opportunity to go onto the scaffolding, see the medieval structure at close quarters and hear about the work directly from the people involved, including the conservation architects and specialist stonemasons.

It is a rare chance to see an important medieval monument while conservation is actually taking place.

Once the scaffolding comes down, that opportunity disappears.

Don’t leave your booking too late

All Heritage Open Days events are free, but places on many of the talks, walks and special visits are limited.

Some events are already attracting considerable interest and the Abbey-related events are likely to be amongst the most popular in this year’s programme.

So if you have been watching the scaffolding going up and wondering what is happening behind it, don’t just watch from the pavement.

Come and discover the story for yourself.

Book an Abbey walk. [ PLEASE JOIN THE WAIT LIST IF PROMPTED TICKETS CAN, AND USUALLY DO, COME AVAILABLE] Come to an Abbey talk [ SAME RULES APPLY] . Stand beside the medieval stonework. Meet some of the people conserving it. And discover why a monastery founded more than a thousand years ago still has the power to reshape the way we see Tavistock today.

Find Our Abbey. Discover its story. Help shape its future.

Heritage Open Days takes place from 11–20 September 2026. Places on bookable events are limited, so explore the programme and reserve your places early.

Download the full programme here