Bedford Iron Foundry
BEDFORD IRON FOUNDRY, BANNAWELL STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1390645
- Date first listed:
- 12-Feb-2004
- List Entry Name:
- Bedford Iron Foundry
- Statutory Address:
- BEDFORD IRON FOUNDRY, BANNAWELL STREET
Have you got a photo to share?
Join the Missing Pieces Project. We want you to share your photos and memories.
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1390645
- Date first listed:
- 12-Feb-2004
- List Entry Name:
- Bedford Iron Foundry
- Statutory Address 1:
- BEDFORD IRON FOUNDRY, BANNAWELL STREET
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- BEDFORD IRON FOUNDRY, BANNAWELL STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Devon
- District:
- West Devon (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Tavistock
- National Grid Reference:
- SX 47932 74786
Details
TAVISTOCK
78/0/10024 BANNAWELL STREET 12-FEB-04 Bedford Iron Foundry
II Iron foundry. Circa 1848; probably on the site of an earlier foundry. Painted stone rubble. Slate roof with gabled ends and ridge ventilator. Truncated gable-end stacks and small brick axial stack. PLAN: Rectangular on plan; the lower south range is narrower. EXTERIOR: 1 and 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4:8 bay west front. Left four bays project, vehicular entrance on left, blocked segmental arch carriageway at centre and two narrow round arch windows on right. Eight bays on right recessed under deep eaves ventilator, with four round arch windows and a taking-in door on right above three vehicular entrances, large blocked entrance on left and two tall round arch windows at centre. The windows have multi-pane cast-iron frames with Gothic tracery at top. Higher ground level at back with wide entrance at centre. INTERIOR: Inserted floors. Exposed tie-beam and queen-strut roof trusses. NOTE: The Bedford Iron Foundry was leased from the Duke of Bedford by Thomas Nicholls, John Williams and Joseph Matthews in 1848. It was the most important iron foundry in Devon in the mid C19 and made machinery for mines in Devon, Cornwall and abroad. SOURCES: [1] Barton, D.B. [1965] The Cornish Beam Engine [Truro 1969 edition], pp 124,167 and 168. [2] Woodcock, G. Tavistock Yesterdays, vol.10, pp 55-59.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 490994
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Woodcock, G, Tavistock Yesterdays, (), 55-9
Barton, DB, The Cornish Beam Engine, (1965), 124,167-8
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 10-Jul-2026 at 11:49:41.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.