Tavistock had the majority of its abbey rebuilt between 1457 to 1458. During the 17th Century large quantities of clothes were sold during the market on Fridays and the town help for fairs a year. In 1525 the town was in the control of the abbots and they purchased one of the first of Englands printing presses. Tavistock continued to be an important trade and religious center until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In 1539, the abbey was knocked down and left in ruins that can still be seen near the center of town.
After this, the Russel Family, the family name of the Earls of Bedford, became the dominating force in the town who took over most of the land. The history of the town clearly reflects this. The Russell family's connection by way of the Bedford Estates that give the town the ownership of Russell Square and Tavistock Square in London. The square is well know for the Tavistock Clinic and a bus bombing in July of 2005. Sometime near 1540, at Crowndale Farm, Sir Francis Drake was born. This was to the west of there the current Tavistock College is located.
There is Blue Plague on the current farmhouse about him because it is believed he was born in a farmhouse on the site behind it that was long ago torn down. He was an important person during his time because of his championing for Queen Elizabeth and as the first man from England to circle the world. He was also one of the commanders from England that fought and won against the Spanish Armada in 1588.
He is very import to those who live in Plymouth due to his help in the construction of long open granite watercourse that brings the town fresh water located at the high moor called Drake's Leat. There is a copy of a famous statue of Drake located on Plymouth Hoe of one that is found at a roundabout on the A386 that is on the west end of town but the panels are not on the Hoe copy. Drake latter settled down in Buckland Abbey which is located eight miles in the direction of Plymouth. The Abbey is now a museum.
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