Tawstock is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in North Devon

North Devon

North Devon is the northern part of the English county of Devon. It is also the name of a local government district in Devon. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth...

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

. It has a population of 2,093.

Parish Church

St Peter's church is, unusually for Devon, a church largely of the 14th century. The plan is cruciform and the site is in the former park of the Earls of Bath

Earl of Bath

Earl of Bath was a title that was created five times in British history, three times in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once Peerage of the United Kingdom...

. The collection of church monuments is particularly fine: most of the persons commemorated are members of the family of the Earls, connections of theirs, or household officers. Features of interest include the 16th century gallery, the manorial pew of the Earls of Bath (Renaissance in style) and two ceilings of Italian plasterwork. The tomb of Lady Fitzwarren and the monument of Rachel, Countess of Bath (with figure by Burman) are in the south chancel aisle.

Tawstock Court

The Tudor mansion no longer exists apart from the gatehouse, with a date-plate 1574. The west front has been Victorianised but apparently follows the Tudor plan while the principal south front faces the church and is a rebuilding after a fire in 1787. This is Gothick in style with turrets and castellation. The north side was redone in 1885.

Further reading

• Pevsner, N. (1952) North Devon. Harmondsworth: Penguin; pp. 151-53 [Church of] St Peter