In January 1986, an article in the Tavistock Times shared an intriguing discovery: renovators at Kneels Dry Cleaners at 4 Market Street in Tavistock had stumbled upon more than they bargained for. Hidden beneath layers of history, they found the remains of a cockfighting pit, a small pre-15th-century window, and a painting of a ship believed to date from the 19th century. Little did they know, this ship painting would captivate historians and art enthusiasts for decades to come.
The discovery happened almost by accident. While the renovators, Ashton Building Contractors, were focused on modernising the building and installing new dry cleaning equipment, they unearthed the balustrade of the cockpit on the upper floor. Unfortunately, the wood was too rotten to preserve. Amidst the chaos of renovation, the most remarkable find – the ship painting – was nearly overshadowed.
Despite the building’s listed status, the renovators were not always careful with the historical elements. Chainsaws were taken to 16th-century timber ceiling beams to install modern RSJ supports. The Tavistock Times article, more interested in the new state-of-the-art dry cleaning equipment, briefly mentioned the “sailing boat probably dating from the last century,” barely scratching the surface of its historical importance.
The building, long associated with dry cleaning, had been part of Millbay Laundries since around 1935. Before that, it belonged to Germans Boot Making Empire, a significant presence on Market Street as evidenced by a 1930 photo.
The discoveries in the 1980s sparked a flurry of interest, leading to further investigations by local historians and heritage experts. But the true story of the ship painting was only beginning to unfold.
Tavistock Heritage Trust are working with partners to restore and save the painting if you would like to make a small donation to support this valuable work please follow this link.
If you would like to find out more about the array of projects Tavistock Heritage Trust are currently involved in follow this link https://www.heritageintavistock.org/our-projects
The official launch of the Ship Painting interpretation exhibit is on September 6th. BUT you can see and read all about the painting RIGHT NOW in Tavistock Guildhall Heritage Centre.
The Ship Painting Project is a Tavistock Heritage Project in conjunction with Tavistock Town Council and supported by Devon County Council and TIDE and Interreg.
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