 Preface and Introduction to A Short Description of Tor Abbey, Tor Quay, Devonshire. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Garth Burton A Short Description of Tor Abbey, Tor Quay, Devonshire. By Hugh Robert Watkin Preface and Introduction Preface The cost of the third edition of this book has again been defrayed by the owner of Tor Abbey in order that the entire proceeds of sale may benefit the Tor Bay Hospital. Further excavation in 1911, following suggestions made by the Reverend DHS Cranage and others, which the author cordially acknowledges, resulted in the discovery of another entrance into the nave of the church from the Garth, the foundation of the rude screen and cannon stalls, and an interment with niche for effigy in the wall of North Isle. The examination of the ditch on the north side of the church was completed and a building adjoining the northwest corner of the church located. The foundations of the daughter forming the east wing were traced and the level of the chapter house floor definitely established by the discovery of two tiles in situ at a greater depth than had hitherto been suspected. The foundation of the north cloister was found at one spot which gave the width of the covering of this side of the Garth, which hitherto it had been found impossible to trace. The sites of the missing gatehouses were also examined. All these details have been inserted in the revised plan, the explanatory text corrected and added to, and the author once more acknowledges with gratitude the debt the public owes to Colonel Carey for his zealous care of and interest in the site of the Primonstra Tension Abbey of Tor. First edition, August 1907. Second edition, September 1909. Third edition, July 1912. Hummers Knot, Chelston, July 1912. Introduction. Tor Abbey, Devonshire, was founded by William Brewer in the year 1196 for cannons of the Primonstra Tension Order. The abbey was surrendered to King Henry VIII on the 25th of April 1539 when the revenue was returned as £396.11 net, approximating £8,000 present value, the largest income of any of the 31 abbeys and two nunneries owned by the Primonstra Tension Order in England and Wales at the time of the dissolution. In 1543 Henry VIII granted the abbey to his favourite, John St. Ledger, who sold it the same year to Sir Hugh Pollard. In 1580 Sir Hugh Pollard's grandson conveyed the property by deed to Sir Edward Seymour of Berry Pomeroy. In 1599 Thomas Ridgway, ancestor of the Earls of Londonderry, bought the whole estate. In 1653 Sir John Stowell of Bovey Tracy bought part of the estate including Tor Abbey. In 1662 the abbey ruins were purchased by Sir George Carey of New Park, Hampshire, in the hands of whose descendants it has remained. William Brewer was descended from Rodolphus to Breweria who held six manors as one of the followers of Baldwin of Exeter, one of William the Conqueror's generals. He had one son, William Brewer the Younger, who died childless and was buried in the chancel of Tor Abbey Church and five daughters. The founder of Tor Abbey was the trusted supporter of four English kings Henry II, Richard I, John and Henry III and after taking a prominent part in the history of England retired to the Cistercian Abbey of Dunkerswell, founded by himself five years after Tor, and in 1227 was buried before the High Altar. The Primon's Retention Order was founded by Norbert, son of Harrybert Count of Genève in 1120. The first house was established near Lone, 75 miles northeast of Paris on a spot foreshown by the Virgin Mary in a vision to Norbert. From the French Prémontre and Latin Prémontratum the name of the order is derived. Saint Norbert died in 1134 and was buried at Magdeburg, which bishopric he had held for 14 years. In the year 1582 Saint Norbert was canonized by Pope Gregory XIII. In 1627 his remains were translated to the Primon's Retention Abbey of Strahow, near Prague. At the end of the 15th century it was computed that no less than 2,000 abbeys and nunneries in Europe acknowledged the head of the order at Prémontre. There were 21 abbots of Tor. In the year 1500 the community numbered besides the abbot, 11 priests, two deacons and four novitiates. The present abbot general is Norbert Martin Scharginger, abbot of Schlagel Abbey in higher Austria. There are nine abbeys in Austria, seven in Belgium and one in Holland. In England there are, at present, three houses founded by the Belgian Abbey of Tongaloo at Kroll and Spaulding in Lincolnshire and in Vali Street, Manchester where the English head of the order Abbot Peter Francis Goudens resides. There are also two smaller establishments at Starrington in Sussex and at Bedworth in Warwickshire founded by cannons expelled from France. The first abbey established in England in 1146 was a new house in Lincolnshire of which not even the name remains. When Wellbeck Abbey was the recognised chief house of the order in England, Tor Abbey was colonised from this house by the first abbot, Adam, and six cannons and was the 23rd Primonstre Tension Abbey built in England. With the possible exception of Wendling in Norfolk all the 33 houses were built within a period of 85 years, 1146 to 1231 during the subsequent 300 years preceding the dissolution, none was added. The 716 years during which this site has been known as Tor Abbey may be divided into two periods. The 343 years during which the buildings were occupied by the Primonstre Tension Cannons and the subsequent 373 years as a private residence. End of Preface and Introduction Section 1 of A Short Description of Tor Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin. This Libri-Wox recording is in the public domain. Illustrated Guide to Tor Abbey The Entrance The approach to Tor Abbey from Newton Abbott or the Northside was formally by a much longer drive than at present along what is now the Avenue Road. The entrance gates to which were at the junction of the Avenue with the Old Mill Road. At the present entrance to the grounds of Tor Abbey are two modern lodges. The first stands on the site of a former pond chiefly remembered by old inhabitants as the culminating scene of the annual Easter Monday Reveal when what is called the Ducking of the Lord Mayor took place and a generally very inebriated Lord of Misrule finished his short term of office in the pond. This was probably a very old custom in connection with the celebration of Hope Tide when tossing or hocking as it was termed was indulged in. Hope Day Easter Monday was one of the two days appointed in the year for the payment of tribute and later tithes for the reparation of churches the other term being the day of Salmon, November the 2nd. It is possible therefore that at one time those who failed to produce the Abbott's Jews at Hope Tide were thus reminded of their obligations by his bailiffs. This may have been the origin of a custom which the filling in of the pond long after the departure of the Abbots has thus brought to an end. The second lodge is built in the line of the original boundary wall which terminates on our left after passing the gates. With the exception of an old drawing made in the year 1662 when Sir George Carey of New Park purchased the domain from John Stowell 123 years after the dissolution and destruction of the Abbey history throws no light upon the position and extent of the buildings. The two missing gatehouses Leland, in the reign of King Henry VIII wrote an itinerary or account of his travels in which is a brief mention of this district. He probably rested at Tor as he evidently visited the Abbey Church and wrote in his diary in this priory be three fair gatehouses only one of these gatehouses stands today the site of the other two has long been a subject for conjecture as nothing now above ground indicates their position. As a result of recent investigation it has been ascertained that when the boundary wall between the Abbey grounds and the King's Drive was built in 1877 the workmen found old foundations of cross walls in two places so little was known then about the original buildings that beyond marveling at the toughness of the masonry which at these two spots was partly utilized to carry the present wall little notice was taken of the discovery and it is only now after the extensive excavations recently made in the rest of the grounds and the knowledge thus gained of the general plan that we are confident that these old foundations X and XX in the plan mark the sites of the two missing gatehouses in the spring of 1911 excavation disclosed the strong foundations of the one gatehouse at X 25 feet from the end of and in a line with the existing old wall the foundations apparently run right under what is now the King's Drive at XX evidence of a building probably a large shed and a wall in which is incorporated part of a granite sider mill were found a graveled pathway at 7 feet 6 inches below the level of the foot entrance of the modern gatehouse was also uncovered if any trace of foundations of this gatehouse exist they are at a considerable depth and under the large trees which render the excavation difficult if not impossible the moat, condit and drain on the left hand as we enter the grounds between a row of elm trees and the ivy covered garden wall was formerly an open moat the source of the water which filled this moat and was then carried by a covered condit past the kitchen premises and straight to the sea the subject of a special charter from William Brewer the younger who gave Ilsham and Shipy Colleton to the Abbey the water came from what was then known as the spring of St. Petrox adjoining the kitchen of the courthouse of Tor and was subsequently augmented by other grants although the names of Ephridswell or Yeesidewell near Tor Church and the Shirewell in the Charleston Vale are down to us to which this grant certainly had no reference as they are mentioned in other deeds the site of the St. Petrox spring and of the manor house of William Brewer the younger is still unidentified the hard water spring still to be found in the meadow adjoining Shipy Lodge was the source of the Fulford stream granted by Roger de Cochinton soon after the foundation of the Abbey the natural course of this water down the Tor valley was diverted by the cutting of the railway in 1847 the introduction of the water supply from Tottiford in 1858 and the perfect sewerage system completed in 1877 rendered this provision of Tor Abbey's founders out of date the moton pond already mentioned were filled in and the long well built conduit along which a man can comfortably crawl is now quite dry and doubtless gave rise to the legends that underground passages from the Abbey existed in various directions the west front the drive leads to the west front of the Abbey the first building surmounted with a cross of Portland stone renewed during the recent extensive repairs has been used since the year 1779 as a chapel until the opening of the Church of the Assumption in 1854 this was the only Roman Catholic place of worship in Tor Quay before 1779 it had been used as a laundry and previous to the surrender of the Abbey in 1539 was the guest hall of the Abbey south of the guest hall were the Abbot's apartments now the modern dining room projecting from this side of the monastical buildings midway is the Abbot's tower covering the main entrance beyond are the kitchen premises and yard reaching to the Moen gatehouse further on at a lower level can be seen the so called Spanish barn the crenellated walls were not part of the original design permission to build these was constructed by Edward III in 1348 the wall on our left through which we now pass into the garden has probably been built since the days of the Abbot's the cemetery it is difficult to believe that the ground on which we are walking was some two and a half feet lower when Abbot Adam and his sixth brethren from Wellbeck took possession of the property in the year 1196 recent excavation has shown that this was the case a depression in this western side of the garden forms a natural arena and this lower part was probably always cultivated as a garden under the alluvial soil the Permian sandy clay lies some eight feet thick at the northern end as we follow the pathway we pass on our right a small modern addition to the building this is the vestry of the present chapel just before reaching the end of vestry pause for you are standing in the west entrance to the Abbey church looking northwards the ground rising above the depression just mentioned marks the west side of the cemetery bounded on the north and east by a high wall this according to tradition was for 340 years the burial ground of the cannons end of section 1 section 2 of a short description of Tor Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the church as a result of further excavation in March 1911 the foundation of a building running 43 feet northwards from the northwest corner of the church and thus forming a western enclosure to the cemetery was discovered although the width was quite untraceable owing to the lower level and cultivation of the present garden it is probable that this building was symmetrical with the guest hall to the south of the west end of church to suggest what purpose it served from the position the building could scarcely have been one of the three gatehouses but was probably further accommodation for guests added simultaneously or subsequent to the addition of the north aisle forming the east end of the vestry are two buttress like walls adjoining but not built into the west wing these are all that is left above ground of this end of the church and formed the southwest corner the orientation or exact eastern position of the abbey church was the same as that of Tor Parish church that is due east by a magnetic compass April 1907 the building was dedicated to the Holy Trinity the saviour and the Virgin Mary Saint Norbert enjoined the cultus Marianus or the veneration of the Virgin Mary as one of the first duties of the premonstretention order almost all the churches of the order were dedicated to the honour of Saint Mary it was longer than any other sacred edifice yet built in Torquay measuring 168 feet or only 7 feet shorter than the naïve of Exeter Cathedral from west end to organ screen the width, like all premonstretention churches not originally intended for lay congregations was extraordinarily narrow only 25.5 feet this was increased in the early part of the 14th century by the addition of a north aisle which made the total width of the church 40 feet a careful examination of the west wall of the north transept during the excavation in 1911 showed the broken end of this wall from which the newer facing had fallen proving indubitably the alteration in the original work unlike many of the other churches of the order in England which were much altered the north aisle was the only serious addition and the Abbey Church of Torre retained its original simplicity of structure consisting of north and south transepts square east end and tower over the crossing naïve and aisle the top of what is left of the masonry of the west entrance is 18 inches below the ground and the floor roughly levelled with pieces of slate from which the red, yellow and black paving tiles have been removed is 3.5 feet below the present surface of the ground as the outside level of the ground was 2.5 feet below the present pathway there must have been one or two steps down into the church the proportionate widths of naïve and aisle are shown in the ends of the 3 walls seen across the lawn which now covers the body of the church outside the north wall of the church was a valum or ditch 19 inches wide at the top tapering to 15 inches at the bottom the object of this ditch which descends to the level of 18 inches below the floor of the church was to keep the building dry from the drainage of cemetery and ground which rises gradually to the north behind the church in this ditch were found large pieces of the stone moulding of the windows which the despoilers had not troubled to raise from where they had fallen two small fragments of stained glass testified to what the windows contained the ditch was further examined in 1911 and found to be strongly arched and covered at the western end which was partly explained by the necessity of conducting the water under the adjacent building running northwards the drainage was thus carried into the open condit the north aisle was probably lit by five windows one in each bay of the period known as the Decorated Gothic this fact and consideration of the ground plan fixes the date when the aisle was added as early in the 14th century in the course of search for foundation of the screen a recess for mural effigy was found with interments beneath adjoining the north wall fragments of canopy and the upper part of a tonsured head in beer stone were recovered and in all probability this is the tomb of Abbott Simon de Plimpton during whose term of office 1330 to 1345 evidence suggests the aisle was added inside along the whole length of the walls and the body of the church ran a ledge of masonry 14 inches wide and 10 inches above the floor the object of this ledge was explained by the fact that the plaster still adhering to the walls ended abruptly four inches above the ledge which had evidently carried a thick wooden seat the plaster continuing under the seat to the floor level the south side of the nave adjoined the garth or square in which were the cloisters from this and the evidence of the masonry forming the junction of the south wall with the tower the nave was lit on the south side by a cleastory or series of upper windows only so that the garth should not be overlooked from the church a door in the southwest corner gave access from the garth into the nave this was used for processional purposes and would only be occasionally opened in 1911 another entrance was found by means of which the cannons reached their stalls direct from the garth the foundation of the stalls was just traceable east of this door and on the west side the base of the rude screen crossing the nave and terminating at the first column adjoining the south wall and west of sight of screen some sixteen tiles much worn and broken were found in situ to ascertain what form the colonnade took proved a difficult matter the end of the centre wall of the three remnants above ground was first examined and excavation revealed the well-marked base in bare stone and the bottom of the shaft of a triple column the centre column was thirteen inches flanked by two smaller pillars, seven inches in diameter projecting from this, on the north side down the body of the church was a narrow strip of wall, fourteen inches wide four feet, three inches long from the line of the front of these columns terminating in some ornamental stonework which had been broken away no corresponding wall ran parallel to it but it probably marks a parklose screen three small pieces of broken tiles in situ at this point against the north wall showed the true level of the floor quite three feet six inches below the surface part of a capital with square abacus and floriated overload lying on the end of this wall probably once surmounted the terminal column of the arcade having ascertained a similar projecting pier from the west end the space was divided into three spans and the ground removed on the probable site of the first column the excavation revealed a double tomb again dividing the distance in two a single interment was discovered instead of the expected base the influence that the column would be between the two was only proved by careful examination of the ground which showed a distinct circle of hard compressed clay filled in with loose rubble from this space doubtless the bare stone base of the column had been entirely removed measurements showed the arcade to have consisted of five bays the tombs accidentally discovered contained no indication for whom they were intended the double tomb lying under the second arch was formed of three well-built parallel walls of about one foot in thickness the half on the north side being two feet wide that on the south one inch less the excavation was three feet below the church floor about six feet six inches below the present surface space had evidently been too limited as a curious fact revealed there was no head wall an examination showed that it had been taken away and the clay end horribly plastered over William, son of the last Roger de Cockington and Joanna, his wife subsequent to 1330 were buried in the abbey church opposite the shrine of Saint John the Baptist which probably found place against the first column doubtless finding that the clay was sufficiently solid in the alteration made to the double tomb when the next internment took place in the third archway no attempt was made to use masonry and the sides were simply thickly covered with plaster on which four black crosses were painted unlike the other two this grave was narrower at the foot than at the head and 18 inches deeper we have no clue who the occupant was end of section 2 section 3 of a short description of Tor Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin this Librivox recording is in the public domain the church tower the blocks of fallen masonry are all that remain of the south side of the tower which surmounted the crossing of the church the north side and greater part of the structure must have fallen first and been taken away looking at the ruins from the nave or west side the large block with two detached formally superposed pieces fell from the top of the wall on our right and originally formed the southwest corner of the tower the arch part of which can be seen resting on the ground once crossed the nave the height of this arch at the apex from the floor was approximately 38 feet to the spring of the arch from the wall 25 feet and the span 25 feet 6 inches the side or transept arches were 19 feet 6 inches wide and were thus narrower smaller and not so high as those over the nave the transept arches were not in the centre of the north and south sides of the tower but sprang from the east corners in each case leaving a blank wall 6 feet wide to the west in the north and south sides of the crossing this space would be occupied by the cannon stalls which extended westwards to the rude screen if we now view these ruins from the chancel or east side we notice two detached blocks which formed the southeast corner of the tower the lower piece lying nearest to the south transept in falling rolled partly over and shows the commencement of two arches the pilastered arch in the side facing us spanned the chancel the smaller one almost prone with the ground and resting on the step formed the entrance from south transept into the crossing the second block is turned almost upside down the end now uppermost being in reality the base which rested on the first piece this block shows us the design of the tower which was square with diagonal buttresses four and a half feet wide at the corners in this respect resembling the structure of the tower of cockington parish church the buttresses of which are smaller underneath is the southeast inside corner of the tower and in the wall are to be seen recesses 10 inches wide and 3 feet 6 inches apart which held vertical beams part of the wooden support to the belfry floor access to the belfry was obtained from the new stairway in the sacristy over the groin the ceiling and under the roof of the south transept the height of the tower was about 70 feet the chancel only the south wall of this part of the church remains the material of the other walls has been requisitioned for use elsewhere and so carefully removed that only the signs of mortar remain in the ground to show where the wall once stood as the subsoil is tenacious and firm the foundations were laid very little below the original surface of the ground the accumulated debris was removed from this part of the church to fill in the fish pond about the year 1770 and the present level of the ground is rather lower than the original floor as shown by the stone coffin which is doubtless in its original position in the centre of the chancel before the high altar the coffin was made in three superposed sections of per beck marble the top section is missing and would be level with the surface of the tiled floor the length 6 feet 8 inches inside suggests that the occupant was a man of no ordinary dimensions we know from the cartilages or deed books of the abbey that William Brewer the Younger died in 1232 and was buried in the church the abbey was founded within 12 months of the return from Austria of the hostages for the ransom of King Richard I and as the eldest sons of the noblest in the land were sent on that occasion it is surmised that the abbey was founded in fulfilment of a vow by William Brewer as a thank offering for the safe return of his only son William Brewer the founder and Beatrice his wife were buried in Dunkerswell abbey there can be little doubt therefore that this stone coffin once held the remains and the lid was probably carved with the arms, effigy or title of William Brewer the Younger the southeast corner of the remaining piece of wall shows us the dimension of the east window occupying almost the whole end of the church the ash-la-jam of another light in the south wall is also noticeable the remains of a buttress outside give the dimension of this window as approximately 7 feet wide the succeeding bay would be filled with a similar window there is no trace of piscina or sacrarium in this wall the north transept the east wall of this wing has been almost entirely removed and great difficulty was experienced in proving the foundation the absence of this and of the north and east walls of the chancel is very suggestive of the direction in which the stone was required for what building is not known part of the west wall covered with trees and vegetation is all that is left above ground of the north transept in the northwest corner of this wing the masonry is only just under the surface and as the ground throughout the site rises gradually towards the north and the debris from the fallen walls has at this point been left level with the ground of the former cemetery outside there are consequently nearly 5 feet of wall between the level of the church floor and the ground on which we stand this piece of wall is the best preserved of the whole edifice as it still retains plaster and whitewash just as when the last service was held in the church this fact seems to point to the destruction of the greater part of the building having taken place soon after the dissolution the masonry of this northwest corner including buttresses measures 7 feet by 8 feet 6 inches the north wall continues just under the surface for 23 feet and there terminates abruptly in an irregular end as no continuation could be traced beyond a complete excavation of this corner was necessitated and by following the level of the floor to where the clay and slate ended in the rubble of the removed wall the second jam of a doorway was traced leading into cemetery from the north transept through which the cannons would be carried for the last time of this northeast corner of the north transept only a small piece of the outside masonry remains 6 feet under the present surface a small balls tusk was found outside the wall and inside on the floor level two adjoining pieces of red and black glazed tile in the very corner were some of the broken fragments of a stained glass window these and other relics of the abbey found by the writer are by the kindness of Colonel Lucius Carey now deposited in the museum of the Torquay Natural History Society the fragments of glass were so small and decomposed that it was impossible to ascertain the subject of the window but from the character of the ornamental detail of the vertical shafting of a canopy and the nature of the colouring it has been stated by an expert to date from the middle of the 15th century the line of the east wall of north transept was ascertained by excavating a trench inside the transept and following the level of the floor until it ended in indisputable signs of where the wall had been having reached floor level at this point the writer was anxious to ascertain if the bedrock was far under the surface removing a little of the red clay a piece of cleanly fractured limestone about six to eight inches long was encountered adjoining this lay another piece and thus a whole row running east to west the fragments of limestone were neatly laid one above the other without mortar and at the depth of two and a half feet below the church floor and six feet under the present surface the skeleton of a man six feet four inches in height was reached the tomb was seven feet four inches long two feet six inches wide and was not at right angles to the wall but rather due east by the sun the skull was exceedingly thin dolly co-cephalic with rather narrow frontal and measured twenty one and a half inches nothing was found with the skeleton to assist in identifying the tomb two fragments of broken green tile found in the sandy clay proved the internment to be subsequent to the flooring of the church several pieces of finely carved stone found in the trench above one representing almost a full size hand suggests a handsome shrine having once occupied this spot Leland mentions at a certain Peter Fitzmatthew was buried in the church as this is the only internment noticed by Leland it is not improbable that his attention was especially attracted by the shrine Peter Fitzmatthew gave Black Orton one of the earliest and most valuable grants to the Abbey there is reason to think therefore that this undoubtedly early tomb is that of this benefactor end of section three section four of a short description of Tor Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the south transept the south transept unlike the north was divided into two chapels the chapels were lighted by end windows and by a large window eight feet wide in the west wall the beer stone sill of which is twelve and a half feet above the floor the height of this window from the ground was necessitated by the roof covering the cloister on the east side of the garth it also allowed the necessary space underneath for the staircase from the cannon's dormitory which was over the sacristy and chapter house the entrance to the church from the sacristy adjoined the staircase improving this doorway a well-made drain was uncovered leading doubtless from the piscina which will be noticed in the south wall two lines of decorative string course in beer stone are still to be seen in the wall of the south chapel the upper line chamfered in its under surface the lower line is round from many fragments found of different sizes this decoration was probably general all round the church portions of the plaster on the wall of this chapel still remain the whole church including the stonework was well whitewashed in the centre of the entrance to the south chapel lies a stone coffin unlike the Purbeck marble coffin of the founder's son it is a local red sandstone formed of many segments and is shorter the length inside is only 5 feet 11 inches that of the chancel coffin 6 feet 8 inches the position of this interment suggested that the adjoining north chapel perhaps contained a similar tomb on removing the gravel of the walk on the spot corresponding to the position of the other coffin only 6 inches under the surface lay a broken part of the skull and some of the bones of a powerfully built man a careful examination of the ground showed that the soil had only been disturbed to the depth of 2 feet below the pathway removing the filled in rubble carefully the surrounding hard clay showed exactly the dimensions of a stone coffin in a disused brew house which formerly adjoined the tower seen to the south lay a stone trough used as a mashing tub the bottom has been covered with a thin cement and the sides roughly trimmed the inside measurements are 6 feet 1 inch by 19 inches the walls 4 inches thick the stone has been identified as free stone from the Winspit quarry in the Isle of Purbeck this trough without doubt is the missing coffin and has been once again placed in the north chapel one of these stone coffins probably held the remains of William the Buckland who gave the land of Radcliffe in the Manor of Buckland to the Abbott and cannons of Tor with his body and was one of the earliest beneficiaries to the foundation Roger the Buckland, grandson of William also endowed the Abbey with the property Scobetor but we have no evidence that he was buried in the Abbey church relics in stone, the Mill Garden in this south transept lies an inverted capital which may have surmounted the pilastered side of the arch a flat stone from its circular form holes on top in which handles were fitted with lead and incisions underneath was once used as the topstone of a handmill or quern, the introduction of which into private houses was so strongly opposed by the monasteries the religious houses and occasionally the Lord of the Manor held almost a monopoly of the grinding of corn a special grant from the crown had to be obtained for the erection of a windmill blew it records that contiguous to the fish pond was the Mill Garden an inspeximus in the record office mentions a water mill in the grounds of Tor Abbey in 1473 tracing the course of the conduit already mentioned the only possible water supply for a mill the foundations of the mill building were found adjoining the trees by the gate of the railing separating the field nearest to the sea formerly known as the Mill Garden from that nearer the Abbey east end of which was occupied by the fish pond a block of granite three feet by two feet two inches and ten inches thick with three incised circles eleven and a half ten and a quarter and nine and a half inches respectively in diameter has attracted much attention it is the only piece of granite in the church precincts but like the millstones may have been brought from elsewhere the weight of such a block suggests that it has not been moved far from the site where it was originally used granite does not appear to have been used in any part of the structure until more than a century after the foundation of the Abbey the block has only been trimmed on the side of the circular incisions and therefore is not likely to have been a corner or foundation stone if an erratic block brought by ice during a glacial age and found in the neighbourhood it may have been an object of reverence the three circles are perhaps suggestive of the trinity geologists doubt whether the granite is of Devonshire origin it has been suggested that the stone was the upper part of a chrismatory sacristy, muniment room and chapter house the site of these buildings must be viewed with the assistance of the plan as only a small part of the south wall of the muniment room is left above ground the projecting stones commencing the arch which formed the slype to the sacristy can be detected under the ivy of the wall separating these buildings from the south transept and just beyond are the lower steps of a new old stairway from the position of this stairway it is thought that it led through the gabled end under the roof and over the groined ceiling of the south transept straight into the belfry of the tower where the ringing of the bell or bells would be one of the sacristan's duties this official or his assistant would be always in charge of the church night and day and slept in the sacristy a fireplace was in the wall adjoining the stairway adjoining to the east of the sacristan's small room a door led into the muniment room in which would be kept the sacramental vessels plate, wax, incense and vestments of gold mentioned by Bishop Grandison in his register one small doorway to the south communicated with outside the chapter house or capitulum has been almost entirely removed here the whole convent met every morning to hear the public confession of fault the infliction of penance and information from other monasteries and to transact the business of the abbey it was occasionally a burial place of honour as at Dale Abbey but we have no evidence of interment in the chapter house of Tor in 1911 a trench was taken out in the centre of the chapter house area and at four feet, two inches below the surface of the present pathway two flooring tiles one black and one yellow eight inches square and about three quarters of an inch thick were found in situ showing that as at Dryburg the level of the chapter house floor was considerably below that of the garth and church probably six steps descended from the entrance the soil under the floor at this spot had not been disturbed and seemed quite unsuitable for interment the entrance to the chapter house through which we now pass is perhaps the best preserved architectural feature of the abbey ruins the arched entrance with three receding orders of decorative shafts and corresponding side windows seems to have been the general design for this part of all the primon's retention abbeys Dryburg abbey in Scotland is a well-known example the crumbling columns are of perbec pallidina marble and it will be noticed our weathering in longitudinal lines the natural strata of this rock is rarely more than seven inches in thickness the Unio beds are thicker they probably came from the quarries at Affington or Affington a flourishing market town in the days of Henry III now a farm the weathering shows the mass of pallidina carinifera shells of which this deposit is almost wholly composed the matrix of the rock is grey-coloured by carbonator iron which rusts from long exposure and gives the columns a brown appearance the stone of the arch is thought to be from Solcum End of Section 4 Section 5 of a short description of Tor Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the garth the general proportions of this centre of the monastical life were dependent upon the dimensions of the church and in the case of Tor Abbey, measured 91 feet square the garth was a grass plot or paved quadrangle in the centre of which was sometimes a fountain or tree symbolical of life in this case there does not appear to have been anything in the centre and the square was probably grasped to the north was the church wall, blank with exception of a small door for processional purposes in the northwest corner and a second entrance discovered in 1911 used by the cannons to reach the stalls after much search a small portion of the foundation of the north cloister wall was found 13 feet south of this entrance showing that the north cloister which would contain the carols was four feet wider than the other sides on the west was the wall of the guest hall which in those days would have no windows overlooking the garth the cloister in the northeast corner of the garth is a doorway built in the wall of the south transept at this point five feet thick to withstand the thrust and weight of the church tower this door was the cannons entrance to the church and also was probably the only means of access to the dormitory by the stairway in the south transept the outside arching of the doorway is smaller than the inside the south side of the entrance is at right angles with the line of the wall but the north side splays inwards this with the enlarged inner arch was probably to allow the circular headed door to open inwards in the thickness of the wall the lines cut on the slate slab fixed in the wall are by the Reverend Joseph Reeve at one time vicar of Chudley the exact shape of the stairway from the lower level of the garth was difficult to determine there were at least two steps up to this door the tiled floor of the cloister on the east side was one foot above the level of the garth from which it was separated by a stone foundation the remains of this wall are at one level with no trace of columns probably an upper tier of beer stone which has been removed carried the support to the roof a recess in the masonry formed by a strengthening of the west wall of the transept was probably used as the columpner with gradi or shelves on which the manuscript books of the abbey were kept the adjoining gap in the wall can never have been an entrance the two fragments of the tiled floor in situ showed that the arch is too low for such a purpose the discovery of the drain already mentioned coming from the transept and passing under the pier which has been since placed in the centre to support the wall suggested that this was a lavatory but subsequent consideration favours the probability that it was rather an ombre to contain books beyond the entrance to the chapter house already noticed is the arched exit from the day stairs descending from the daughter to the garth this has been closed with masonry since the dissolution and all trace of the stairway has been removed the exit in the corner probably led into a slype which in turn communicated with the rear daughter the drain from which and old foundations of the east wing were discovered in 1911 and inserted in the revised plan at titchfield abbey the nearest religious house of the same order to tour this cloister on the east side of the garth was the place of interment for the abbots the first abbot of titchfield was buried in front of the chapter house entrance and the others in succession southward nothing we have noticed points to this site having been similarly used at tour and it is not yet known where the early abbots of tour were buried the southern side of the garth which formed the wall of the locatorium and a joining refectory with its sub-volt is now almost obscured by additions to the post-dissolution mansion built in all probability by Sir George Carey subsequent to 1662 as in the old engraving of that date the site of the refectory was still a ruin the locatorium or califactory the small entrance discernible in the masonry in the southeast corner of the garth led from the cloister into the cannon's califactory to reach this room we leave the cloister by the doorway in the southeast corner of the garth and passing a large circular buttress supporting the badly built addition to the house gain the entrance at the back of the east wing this entrance to the califactory did not exist in the cannon's days a small built-up doorway in the south wall to the left on entering was probably used by the lay brother to bring in fuel for the fire the site of the fire which gave to this apartment the name of califactory can be traced in the east wall to the right on entering in this room alone could the strict rule of silence be relaxed by which it was also known as the locatorium or room of conversation the roof was groined and there was no second story as it would have interfered with the large window generally circular in the east end of the refectory the refectory subvolt there was no communication between the locatorium and the refectory subvolt into which we next enter the partition walls are modern and this was originally one vault of four double bays the groined roof was supported on three beer stone pillars with per beck capital and base two of these pillars were built in and hidden by the cross walls one has been again exposed this vault was formerly lit by four lights one in each bay on the north side from the garth the end window has been converted into a stairway now closed which formerly communicated with the butler's room the entrance to this vault was on the south side in the second bay from the east end immediately under where the pulpit of the refectorium would be placed in the wall as at St. Agatha's, Esby, Yorkshire the site of the pulpit is now occupied by the entrance to the residence windows originally occupied the first and third bays and in the fourth the appearance of the masonry suggests a lavatory recess for washing this subvolt was not improbably used as a school in which the novitiates were taught the west end wall is part of a massive masonry 12 feet in thickness formed by an addition each side to the original partition wall to form a base for the Elizabethan chimneys the cellar's store to reach the other side of the 12 feet thick wall we must cross the garth pass the modern wings and additions which almost cover the southern half of the quadrangle and by a circuitous route through the basements once more reach the continuation of the refectory subvolt these two bays from their position were doubtless used as the cellar's store two of the original windows although closed by masonry give a very good idea of what these subvolt windows were like the entrance now closed appears to have been again on the south side in the west bay the two doorways at present open have been since broken through there was originally no access to the refectory subvolts from the garth the wall dividing the cellar's store was also not part of the original plan although probably of earlier date than the similar walls in the school of the novitiates end of section 5 section 6 of a short description of Tor Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin this Librivox recording is in the public domain the southwest corner of the garth this corner now covered by modern staircase leading to the second story of the house is interesting on account of the remains of the lavatories at which the cannons washed before going into meals the base of an ornamental column and a fragment of dog tooth ornament are fortunately left in the south wall to show the site of one lavatory the other lavatory is in the west wall the arch being bisected by the modern staircase wall the more ornamental lavatory would probably be used by the cannons that in the west wall by the laberetheran and novitiates the position of these lavatories gives a clue to the site of the staircase or grease as it was called which led up to the refectory this was situated in the corner between the lavatories the line of the stairway against the west wall could recently be detected and as at other houses of the order was probably of iron or wood although all traces obliterated by modern structures there is little doubt that the cloister extended along the south side of the garth and protected the site of the lavatories and the main entrance beyond the wall of the guest hall and north side of joining the church were also proved in 1911 to have been covered the Volta this name Volta is derived from an old description of the sister house of Titchfield now in the library of the Duke of Portland at Wellbeck the doorway through which we now enter from the southwest corner of the garth as already stated was not part of the monastical plan as this wall outside was occupied by the stairs to the refectory the original means of exit at this end can be traced in the south wall of the Volta on our left and led if not into the kitchen premises into an adjoining slype the Volta was a sub-volt under the Abbott's apartments and consisted of three double bays the groined roof is supported on two central columns of bare stone with roughly moulded per beck capital and base as in the school of the novitiates the Volta was used for the accommodation of the retinue and attendance brought by the more important guests and for the more humble visitors who enjoyed the Abbott's hospitality refused to none for the regulation night and day after which period the traveller was expected to pay for his entertainment this hall was lighted by one window in the east wall and three in the west wall the window nearest to the Abbott's tower with rounded head and drip stone course has fortunately been preserved in its original form in the southwest corner of the Volta a narrow way through the wall leads to a new old stairway which has only recently been uncovered and was doubtless the means of communication between the Abbott's apartments and the kitchen premises this stairway did not form part of the original monastical plan and was probably added by one of the later Abbott's the northeast corner is filled by a clumsily constructed buttress for which no cause is apparent and the object of which cannot be conjectured unless it was at one time intended to put a fireplace in the corner above it the recess and hole through the east wall were for the water pipes which supplied the lavatory on the outside sub-volt of guest-hole the roof of this undercroft is supported in the centre by two massive pairs one stone which from their exceptional hardness probably came from the disused quarry at Tilley Whim abandoned, it is thought, on this account the one pier is roughly rectangular the other has been trimmed to an octagon from the fact that these piers differ from those in the other vaults it has been suggested that they may have been taken from a still older building this undercroft was probably in the Abbey days never anything but a store although some underground sand-filled flues in which was found charcoal in the northwest end bay point to a stove or oven for baking purposes having once occupied this spot the position and shape of the southernmost of the three windows in the west wall has been somewhat altered from the direction of the entrance stairway to the Abbott's tower provision was made for two doorways into this undercroft one at the south end of each series of bays only the one nearest the garth is now open the threshold of this doorway appears to be an attempt at if not actually the head-end stone of a coffin of the same local red sandstone as the one in the south transept west side of garth when the old plaster was recently removed from the outside of the wall above the elevated covered passage built for communication from the house to the chapel two stone window frames in the masonry were uncovered the floor levels of this building have been altered to accommodate a lofty dining room which occupies what were two stories and formed the Abbott's apartments the upper story in the days when the rights of Roman Catholicism were interdicted in this country was used as a secret chapel part, if not all, this upper chamber would be the Abbott's bedroom and the small aural window just under the eaves of the roof looking towards the church was in all probability used for the private devotions of the successive Abbott's tower perhaps from this very aperture Simon Reid looked for the last time on the 25th of April 1539 before surrendering his church and abbey to the officials of Henry VIII the windows were again plastered over during the repairs effected in 1906 but in the year 1909 Colonel Carey had these interesting relics once more exposed and restored which manifestation of Carey for this historic building will be much appreciated by the thoughtful to whom such monuments of the past appeal projecting from the wall of the guest hall under one of the modern windows of the present chapel is the back of the fireplace cobbled one foot from the face of the wall the fireplace was a characteristic feature of the guest hall of a monastery as well as of the colour factory previous to the insertion of the window this corbel chimney was continued to the roof instances of such 12th century work are now rare and it is to be regretted that a buttress has been recently built up to it underneath the outside of this fireplace was recently covered by a creeping plant the roots of which were in the floor of the undercroft inside end of section 6 section 7 of a short description of Tor Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin this Librivox recording is in the public domain the entrance to the garth was through the present subway level with the undercrofts and originally little if at all below the level of the outside ground the walls partitioning off undercrofts from the passageway are thinner than the main walls of these west buildings which are nearly 5 feet thick at the ground the basement of the Abbot's tower projecting from the west wing of the Abbey formed the main entrance to the seclusion of the garth and cannons quarters the walls on each side of the entrance have recessed seats where wayfarers seeking rest and shelter for the night would be interviewed by the prior or cellar or the poor sat waiting for the remnants of the cannons repast the Abbot's tower the first story is reached by a stairway adjoining the north side as the level of the road as shown by excavation was originally 2.5 feet lower than at the present day and the lighting of the guest hall and undercroft have both been altered in this corner there is little doubt that this was not the original means of access to the guest hall and Abbot's quarters from a slight thickening of the masonry on the right hand side of the basement entrance the stairway may have been placed at this point and the doorway probably in the south side of the tower a lavatory with og arch is in the north wall of the guest's entrance this is obviously of the same date as the doorway into the hall the second story is now reached by means of the staircase leading from the first floor of the tower to the dining room through a doorway made in the south side of the tower in the three feet thickness of the wall three high steps of local conglomerate stone have been inserted this doorway like the staircase is modern and the chamber doubtless the Abbot's study as well as the third story that explains the clock were connected by a new old stairway in the southeast corner of the tower direct with the Abbot's rooms this well worn circular stairway bears the marks of much usage and the steps with lift of about 10 inches have been repaired with slate it was originally built of conglomerate rock an unsuitable material but which attests its age as beer stone and granite were used later the stairs now only lead from the floor of the second story but the structure of the steps deviation of the line of wall below just inside the OG arched entrance into former guest hall and a recess in the wall of a joining pantry show indubitably that these stairs connected the upper rooms of the tower with the Abbot's apartments the tower underwent complete repair in 1874 when the floors were renewed and the second story paneled the new old stairway originally led direct onto the roof the top of the tower has been repaired with bricks and the stairway is now closed by a wooden trap door a chimney has at one time been inserted in the east wall and a fireplace of Ham Hill stone put in the second story the bell on which the clock now strikes was formerly rung in a small wooden belfry on the roof by rope from the first story the hole in the ceiling through which the rope ascended can be seen just inside the OG arched entrance the bell is 13.5 inches in diameter at the mouth with a depth of 9.5 inches the original eye cast in the bell by which it was suspended has been broken on two wrought iron loops bolted to a rocking beam there is a legend that the bell was taken from one of the vessels of the Spanish Armada from its size it may have been a ship's bell but the old clapper now hanging useless has no ring or fastening for lanyard this theory is further refuted by an inscription on the bell in old English characters the lettering in the mold appears to have been misposed so that the inscription probably reads reversed as on one of the church bells at Kennerley many of the old church bells in Devonshire have been recast but there are some 34 with inscriptions in old English lettering more or less undecipherable and there is little doubt that this is one of the Abbey bells the tone is thin but silvery and from the fact that this bell alone has been preserved from the dissolution of the Abbey it is probable that it always hung in this tower and thus escaped the destruction of the church bells it may have summoned the cannons, labourer and guests to meals and possibly sounded the curfew the modern chapel when used as the guest hall this building contained no gallery as now and extended over the passage in the basement the og arched entrance thus opened direct into the hall this is further proved by the position of the fireplace which would then be in the centre of the east wall the walls have been thickly covered with lath and plaster and an apse of this material surmounts the altar behind which steps in the wall lead down the vestry the carved wooden bosses at the intersections of the ceiling ribs are probably the only portions of the room now visible which antidate its conversion to a chapel in 1779 the altar crucifix standing on a white marble representation of tomb is probably of Swiss workmanship the six candlesticks are of local marble in which the embedded corals are beautifully shown the chapel contains several mural tablets the earliest erected to the memory of George Carey Esquire who died December the 1st 1805 and of Cecilia his wife, August the 30th 1779 the year the chapel was dedicated the visitor will regard with reverence and sympathetic thought the beautiful piece of marble with gilded letters and frame inscribed to the memory of Lieutenant Henry J. L. Carey of the Devonshire Regiment dearly loved only son of Colonel Lucius Carey of Tor Abbey and of Bertha, his first wife he died in South Africa 2nd of January 1901 during the Boer War in his 29th year rest in peace end of section 7 section 8 of a short description of Tor Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the Moen Gatehouse the position of this gatehouse is very noticeable it stands at an angle out of harmony with the rest of the monastical buildings which are all parallel and in accordance with the orientation of the church the natural influence is that this gatehouse and the adjoining long building which occupied the site of foundations shown in the plan were standing before the cannons came into possession of the property in 1196 in the old engraving this building is marked as the old gatehouse whereas the one other of the missing two although sketched in an impossible position is called the gatehouse on ye west side of Ye Abbey by which is doubtless meant that marked X in the plan if the artist can be relied upon the present gatehouse although the oldest of the three has therefore outlasted the others recent investigation and the evidence of architectural detail show that what we have named the Moen Gatehouse was erected between the years 1310 to 1330 but certainly occupies the exact site of a still older gatehouse which explains its position the building covers two entrances one wide enough for vehicles and a smaller footway in the first bay of the larger entrance on the centre keystone of red sandstone are the arms of Tor Abbey a chevron between three pastoral staves Oliver tells us that these were formerly mistaken for 999 in the second bay is the simple device of the founder William Brewer described in heraldry as ghouls with two bends and the oar which means that the bends or wavy lines were in gold on a red background on the right hand side as we enter on the first bracket from which the vaulting rib springs is a rather indistinct design on the sinister of the shield are the original arms of the Moen family of Dunster a hand habited in maunch grasping the blank dexter probably signifies the connection of this family with that of William Brewer by marriage Alicia the fourth daughter of the founder of Tor Abbey married Reginald de Moen her father's ward to whom she brought the manner of Tor Brewer afterwards known as Tor Moen on the second bracket is an eagle displayed this has been misinterpreted and others as the arms of the speak family which were two crossbars and a two-headed eagle it is in reality the seal adopted by John son of Richard de Moen in the reign of Henry III on the first bracket of the second bay is a shield on which is a cross engrailed John de Moen III as he was known to distinguish him from two ancestors who died in 1330 at the approximate age of 45 changed the ancient arms of the hand bearing the fleur de lis to a gold shield with sable cross engrailed this is the device on this bracket and was certainly not known before the year 1310 the succeeding John de Moen last Lord Moen of Dunster altered the device by cutting the engralement through a series of diamonds or lozenges this device is not on the gatehouse and would, it is thought undoubtedly have found the place if the gatehouse had been built subsequent to the year 1330 the cannons masons seem to have run short of heraldic designs as on the fourth and last bracket they have repeated the three pastoral staves of the abbey arms on the left side of this entrance is only one attempt at decoration on the end bracket a large tree-foil the significance of which is not known the keystones in the smaller passage are incised with two circles or wheels of eight spokes the interstices have in the first bay two dagger-like forms three triangles and three blank spaces in the second bay there are two of each incised form and four blank spaces the interpretation of these kabbalistic signs is not known they probably had some signification the porters lodge on the south side occupied the space not appropriated by the entrances on the ground floor of the gatehouse this chamber only 17 feet by 9 feet two small windows looking east and west through the four feet thick walls a crescent bracket of stone in the wall has the appearance of having been carved a nuled staircase of granite in the southeast tower leads to the upper storeys and the roof on the first floor the room, owing to the height of the carriageway, only extends half the width of the building 16 feet 9 inches by 15 feet in the south wall there is a fireplace a small stone bracket held the crescent a recess in the north wall formed a cupboard about 5 feet from the ground in the southwest corner a narrow low doorway led into the turret where a larger doorway now filled with masonry formally opened into the upper storey and a joining the second floor which extends over the carriageway forms a much larger room a fireplace which had been plastered over once occupied the centre of the north wall a small recess in the south wall 4.5 feet from the entrance and 4 feet 4 inches from the floor appears to be all the cupboard accommodation the room contained with the possible use of both one southwest corner towers into which small doorways lead on the removal of the ceiling of this room in 1906 some remains of the stucco decoration were revealed above the level of the lathen plaster which shows this chamber to have been of some importance not improbably it was the prier's parlor the prier who was known previous to the year 1294 the patroness or dean kept the keys of the entrances at night and was more directly in charge of the cannons and labourer than the abbot whose duties frequently necessitated his absence to attend general chapters and other gatherings of the chief dignitaries of the land in the northeast corner of this upper room when the wall was broken through a narrow passage led to the second floor of the main building extending some seven feet by means of a steep staircase this awkward connection between the buildings and the fact that the west wall of the kitchen premises has been carried at least six feet out of true parallel in order to meet this northeast corner of the gatehouse show that this building anti-dates the wing and that in the original plan of the abbey there was no intention of connecting the gatehouse with the main building the design occupies a small place in the boa arms of Torquay and is unique among the remaining abbey gateways in this country the Forden the material of the adjoining long building has been removed for use elsewhere and there is scarcely any rubble in the soil covering the foundations which lie some two feet under the ground from the dimensions of this building convenience for drainage proximity to the barn for fodder and the necessity for large accommodation for the horses of visitors with their numerous retinue it is conjectured that the lowest story was the Forden or fold for stabling the floor above would be occupied by the lay brethren who did the menial work of the abbey and looked after the numerous livestock an inventory of Titchfield Abbey made in the year 1420 mentions 48 horses and gives the total number of the quadrupedes owned by the abbey as 1440 end of section 8 section 9 of a short description of Torre Abbey by Hugh Robert Watkin this Librivox recording is in the public domain the Norman Auler east wall of the cemetery terminates at its south end against but is not built into the north wall of a ruined building the significance of this fact is that the building was there before the wall was erected the enclosure of the cemetery as we learn from the records of Dryburg Abbey was one of the first duties of the cannons from the material and nature of the cemetery wall at Torre Abbey there is no reason to doubt that it dates from the foundation of the abbey the adjoining building is therefore older than the abbey the position of this east Auler or hall as proved by recent investigation and shown in the plan was altogether out of alignment with the walls of the adjoining monument room and rest of the abbey but was parallel with the series of buildings on the west side which we have just considered the very ancient looking cross walls with round archways only descend some six inches under the surface and are comparatively modern only the north wall and the north end of the east wall of the old building remain above ground a cornice or inside string course of stone suggests that the room was 14 feet high the wall contained a window 7 feet wide the sill of which must have been 10 feet above the level of the floor excavation to a depth of 6 feet showed that a quantity of boulders had been laid in the ground and the north wall although 3 feet 3 inches thick was strengthened inside as well as out by additional buttresses 2 feet thick thus forming masonry over 7 feet in thickness to carry a wall 14 feet high these precautions were explained by the nature of the subsoil which though now quite dry was doubtless once saturated with water the site has now for centuries been drained by a well which adjoins this building the well is 13 feet deep from the ledge and contained when measured during the exceptional drought 1906 water to the depth of 6.5 feet this level was just below that of the floor of the aura in august 1909 some 7 feet of water were pumped out of the well and the clay bed examined the water enters the well at the lowest point from the north side in 3 small streams excavation outside the well to the north of the buttress revealed a drain just below the level of the aura floor which formerly carried the overflow from the well the masonry now rises 9 feet above this level this and the fact that the old drain has now no connection with the well shows the masonry of the well which is uniform to have been entirely reconstructed probably when the ruins were first converted into a private residence subsequent to 1662 in the masonry of the east wall can be traced a window now filled in measuring 4 feet 3 inches inside with an outside width of 3 feet the height inside was 10 feet the sill 4 feet from the ground the jam of another window is shown in the end of the existing piece of wall a third window probably occupied a corresponding position further down the wall there was no doorway in either the east side or the north wall the gap has been broken through but on the west side it was possible to trace a splayed doorway which has been filled in with masonry of probably the same date as the addition to this building on the south side a projecting ledge of masonry 1 foot in width and the same distance from the ground as in the abbey church doubtless formed the foundation for a seat on each side of the hall returning to the south end of this building almost on the site where a small arbor of iron trellis work now stands was a tower in the end of the aula this tower had fallen or been demolished before the wing was added as that part of the tower represented by the dotted lines was removed to make room for the new building the floor of this wing was found to be four feet ten inches below the present surface and at a depth of six feet four inches or eighteen inches below that floor a well-worn pebbled roadway four and a half feet wide was discovered which originally led through the basement of the tower into the aula beyond a rough stairway from the floor of the wing over the demolished east side of the tower covered a still older ruined staircase which originally led from the pebbled roadway into the turret in the wall the blackened condition of the masonry of this turret and the discovery of the ash pit of a stove on the other side of the pebbled way showed that the remains of the tower had been used as a chimney much of the material which covers the original floor level to a depth of six feet four inches and on which we now stand consist of the fallen debris of this wing which probably fell soon after the dissolution of the abbey for what purpose it was used the presence of the stove would perhaps suggest distillery or brewery the older main building with end tower termed throughout the aula has in many features the proportions of a church and were it not that the position is north north west by south south east it might well be the original church of the holy saviour on the site of which the founder William Brewer stipulated that the abbey was to be built the presence of the associated buildings on the west inclines us to the opinion that this building on the east adjoining a fresh water supply was a Norman aula east by gatehouse and moat on the south and south east by impassable swamps and on the north by a wall a remnant of which stands by the present entrance to the grounds and that the abbey church was in reality built on the site of a former sacred edifice perhaps as many of the Saxon churches were of wattle and mud Dougdale with what authority is not known mentions the probability that William Brewer was born at Taw if there is any truth in this statement this Norman aula was the family home and birthplace of the founder of Taw Abbey the infirmary of this building nothing remains above ground the mulberry tree nearly six feet in circumference now growing over the foundation of the east wall of the infirmary planted in 1826 the foundations running north south behind the infirmary are of late date and these walls were badly constructed of material taken from an older building the barn the so called Spanish barn undoubtedly dates from the earliest days of the abbey transepts to north and south formed a way in which the largest wagon could be drawn to be unloaded within the barn the walls three feet thick are strengthened on each side by ten buttresses three similar supports being built to each end the inside measurements of this spacious garner are 119 feet long by 28 feet wide about two thirds of the length of the barn the east end has been flawed over to form a second story and cover the stabling and coach house beneath originally the garner was open from floor to roof the timber framework of the roof is apparently only the second the barn has had in the 700 years of its existence originally there were 12 ribs as shown by the recesses for the beam rests in the wall corresponding number of buttresses outside the slated roof is now carried by 17 ribs of what is reputed to be Spanish chestnut the wood is exceedingly hard and the whole roof is fastened together by wooden pins the beams in the roof of west minster abbey were long fought to be of chestnut but were approved by Dr. Linley to be of dermast oak a solid block darkened with age fills the space of the original beam rest in the northeast corner this is more like oak and may be the only piece of the first roof left the name Spanish barn is undoubtedly derived from the fact that 397 prisoners from the galleon Capitana commanded by Don Pedro de Valdes captured from the Spanish Armada and brought into Torbay on the 26th of July 1588 were incarcerated in this building while the vessel was being dismantled from the account in white's history of Torquay the prisoners appear to have been kept here for two or three weeks when they were separated five of the principal prisoners were sent to the Lord Lieutenant who committed them to the town prison of Exeter 166 166 probably the more dangerous were put back on board and taken with the Capitana on the 28th of August to Dartmouth where they were employed on Sir John Gilbert's estate at Greenway 226 including the boys and 61 sailors were put in the Bridewell in a subsequent letter dated 14th of October termed 166 as the number is then mentioned as 211 it is presumed that 15 had succumbed from these figures it will be seen that certainly on this occasion no massacre or death from starvation in the barn as has been surmised took place there is no recent record of human bones having been found in the immediate neighbourhood of the barn to justify belief in the massacre the tradition concerning which is recorded in a letter written by a visitor to the abbey about the year 1778 and mentioned by White a round shot found in trenching north of the barn is now among the relics in the museum of the Torquay Natural History Society the arms of Tor Abbey carved on a square stone normally surmounted the gabled transept on the north side in caustic tiles these fragments of the chancell floor are the only pieces with armorial designs found during the original excavations three pieces show well the six-flirder lee of Baili Abbey Essex founded 16 years before Tor what is more remarkable three chevrons the arms of the abbey of Tongaloo in Belgium one of the earliest foundations of the order in 1128 and still flourishing are clearly to be traced on a similar shield in two other places the pastoral staff pattern is rather an ornamental device than an attempt to depict the arms of Tor Abbey it is thought that many such fragments must have been found during the investigations of the reverend McEnery mentioned by Bluett all the count of which is unfortunately lost the pieces here illustrated are through the kindness of Colonel Carey in the care of the Tor Quay Natural History Society end of section nine end of a short description of Tor Abbey Tor Quay, Devonshire by Hugh Robert Watkin