The forgotten wig in the west of Devon

TAVISTOCK IS A SMALL town just west of the Dartmoor National Park. Between the year 974 and 1539, when it was closed by King Henry VIII, there was a vast abbey in the centre of the town. A few remnants of the abbey buildings can be seen today, but most of the complex has disappeared. The Guildhall, built in 1848, stands upon land where the abbey once stood. Today, this edifice houses a well organised museum, which illustrates various aspects of the town’s history. Visitors can see the courtroom and the old prison cells beneath it.

Within the courtroom, there is an intriguing exhibit: a judge’s wig in a glass case. This wig was discovered recently when the Guildhall was being restored a few years ago. It is the kind of wig worn by judges in the 1840s. The wig contained its owner’s name: Mr JW de Longueville Giffard.

The researchers connected with the museum discovered that Mr Giffard attended court one day in October 1888. He had been presiding at Okehampton the week before, and had fallen ill. Unwilling to cancel his session at Tavistock, the conscientious judge attended the court on that October day, feeling extremely unwell. He died the following day. Because he was in such a bad state on the day before his death, he must have forgotten to take his wig back home with him.

130 years later, the unfortunate judge’s wig was found in a cupboard in what had once been the judges’ robing room.