At about 5.30pm on a Friday morning in June 1864, Eliza Cole, of Dolvin Road, Tavistock was asleep in her bed when she heard a blow against the wall of her house. Fortunately, she instantly arose, just in time to avoid a heap of stones which were at once cast down where she had been lying.

The cause of the incident was immediately apparent. A large piece of rock, weighing about 300 lbs (130 kg), had been blown into the air, sailed over an embankment, struck the house close to the bedroom window which it brought down together with a large mass of masonry, and then finally fell to earth.

The rock had been smashed into the house by gunpowder. Directly opposite the Cole’s home a cutting was under construction to accommodate the new railway running from Tavistock to Launceston.

On this particular occasion, the nature of the bedrock led to the force of the explosion being directed upwards, rather than outwards, with the result that a lump of rock was propelled through the air like a cannonball.

While the Tavistock Gazette, which reported this incident, admitted it was surprising that more accidents had not already taken place, it proposed that railway contractors should not commence blasting so early as five in the morning!

It explained – ‘By delaying their fire till six, it will give the unfortunate people exposed to it, a little better chance of saving their lives.’

And the aftermath? If you walk down Dolvin Road and see two adjoining houses with a rendered, as opposed to a brick, finish – now you’ll know the reason why.

This story was researched by the TASS ‘What’s Their Story’ team who are investigating the lives of the residents of Dolvin Road.

If you would like to contribute — as a volunteer or with a story to tell — contact them at the Anchorage Centre, Plymouth Road or [email protected]

Find out more also at www.tavistockhistory.com