Bovey Tracey

Bovey Tracey was an established Saxon community and takes its name from the River Bovey. The name first appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bovi and possibly earlier as Buui. The town gained its second name from the de Tracey family, who were lords of the manor after the Norman Conquest of 1066, and was first documented as Bovitracy in 1309. One member of the family, William de Tracy, was implicated in the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. It is thought that he rebuilt the parish church of St Peter, St Paul and St Thomas of Canterbury as penance for the murder. In the early 13th century, Henry de Tracey created a borough here and, in 1259, was granted…

, restored by Anna Hulbert, dated to the early 16th century]] The town has over a hundred listed buildings. The parish church, at the top of the town, is grade I listed. It has a tower dating from the 14th century, many 15th-century carvings including three misericords and a screen described by Arthur Mee as "one of the finest in this county of fine screens". The screen was restored in 1887 with the central panels the work of Charles Edgar Buckeridge. The church has an unbroken list of vicars from 1258. On Hind Street, the East Dartmoor Baptist Church was built in 1824 and is now grade II listed. The church was founded by workers in the Bovey Potteries. Bovey Tracey Town Hall was completed…