Mary Tavy () is a village with a population of around 600, located four miles north of

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the 2011 census, the three electoral wards (N ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in south-west England; it is named after the

River Tavy The Tavy () is a river on Dartmoor, Devon, England. The name derives from the Brythonic languages, Brythonic root , once thought to mean 'dark' but now generally understood to mean 'to flow'. It has given its name to the town of Tavistock and ...

. There is an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

with the same name. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,559. ''Mary Tavy'' used to be home to the world's largest

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

mine Wheal Friendship, as well as a number of

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

mines. It lies within

Dartmoor National Park Dartmoor is an highland (geography), upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National parks of England and Wales, National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers ...

. The village lies a mile or two north of

Peter Tavy Peter Tavy () is a village along the A386, northeast of Tavistock, Devon, England. It is named after the River Tavy The Tavy () is a river on Dartmoor, Devon, England. The name derives from the Brythonic languages, Brythonic root , once ...

; both were shown as separate settlements in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

entry of 1086. St Mary's Parish Church has a pinnacled west tower built of granite, a south porch with old wagon roof and a south transept built in 1893. To deter

highwaymen A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...

from attacking travellers along the road between Tavistock and

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

, captured highwaymen were hanged from a

gibbet Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of criminals were hanged on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. Occasionally, the gibbet () was also used as a method of public ex ...

on what is now known as 'Gibbet Hill'. Mary Tavy

hydro-electric power station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

was built in the 1930s. The station uses water from reservoirs to generate electricity. The Mary Tavy set is rated at 2,622 kW, the Chagford set is rated at 26 kW and the Morwelham set at 700 kW. In the year 1980-81 the total electricity output was 11.91 GWh.

Notable people

* The topographer

William Crossing William Crossing (1847–1928) was a writer and chronicler of Dartmoor and the lives of its inhabitants. He lived successively in South Brent, Brentor and Mary Tavy but died in Plymouth, Devon. Early life Crossing was born in Plymouth on 14 No ...

was for part of his life resident at Mary Tavy, and is buried in the churchyard of St Mary. * The British-Canadian financier James Henry Plummer was born here. * The

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

content producer Sjin was brought up here.

Transport

Road

Mary Tavy sits on the A386 which runs up to Okehampton in the North and Plymouth via Tavistock in the South. A30 dual carriageway is the nearest fast route.

Bus Services

Mary Tavy is served by Dartline's 118 between Tavistock and Okehampton. Many years ago C. J. Down Coaches who are based in Mary Tavy used to run the service, however they haven't for many years and closed for good in 2023 after 100 years.

Coach Services

Lomax Tours run coach excursions throughout the year from Mary Tavy to places of interest such as Bath Christmas Market, Lyme Regis etc.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Villages in Devon Dartmoor