Launceston’s Lost Priorities
For many, frontier towns like Launceston are places that we pass through, rather than destinations in themselves. This can lead us to overlook some of the finer features of ancient sites that are almost on our doorsteps. So, it was interesting for the goodly crowd of Tamar Dowsers to descend on the cameo remanence of a once grand and wealthy ecclesiastical building.
The former Augustinian Priory in Launceston dates from the 12th century, although most of it was destroyed and largely recycled, firstly by the followers of Henry VIII and subsequently by those of Oliver Cromwell. Like its sister foundation in nearby Tavistock, so much of it has disappeared that without a guidebook you would be unlikely to find anything at all, let alone make much sense of it.
