
Tavistock Heritage Trust
The history of the wool trade in Tavistock
The industrial history of Tavistock is often said to have been dominated by mining. In the Middle Ages, Tavistock's status as a Stannary town made it a central point in the Dartmoor tin industry, while the discovery of rich veins of copper, cobalt, arsenic and other valuable minerals nearby led to a mining boom in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

However, another industry was perhaps just as important in driving the town's fortunes - the wool trade. Indeed, wool and cloth were so important to Tavistock that a fleece features on the town's coat of arms! Our volunteer researchers have compiled a fascinating history of the wool trade in Tavistock so you can learn more about this sometimes-forgotten aspect of the town's history.