TAVISTOM, a parliamentary borough and market-town of Devonshire, picturesquely situated on the western border of Dartmoor, about 35 m. s.w. of Exeter, in the fertile valley, and on the right bank, rf the Tavy (whence its name),which is here crossed by two bridges within the town. Tavistock is a thriving town, with some small manufactures of serges and woolen cloths, iron-foundries and mining-works, copper, lead, tin, and iron being found in considerable quantity in the neighborhood; but the population is chiefly agricultural. It is a place of considerable antiquity, and was formerly of great .importance, owing mainly to its abbey, the largest and.most magnificent in Devonshire, which was founded in the year 961 for the Benedictine order, by Ordgar, earl of Devon shire, father of the infamous Elfrida, and endowed with many privileges, the abbot being a peer of parliament. At the dissolution, when the revenue amounted to upward of £900, it was bestowed upon John, lord Russell, in possession of whose descendant, the duke of Bedford, the property still remains. A printing-press, the second set up in
England, was established in the abbey at a very early period. The refectory and abbey gateway still exist in good preservation. The parish church is a handsome edifice, with a tower at the w. end, resting on arches, under which there is a thoroughfare. The bor ough sends one member to the house of commons. At the breaking out of the civil war Pym was member for Tavistock. Tavistock is one of the four stannary towns of the co., and is governed by a port-reeve, elected annually; a co. court is held in the town. It is connected with Barnstaple, Launceston, and Plymouth by railway, and with the river Tamar by a short canal. Sir.:Francis Drake was born in the immediate neighbor hood in 1545, and the poet W. Browne in the town in 1590. Pop. '71, of parliamentary borough, 7,725.