ONE of Tavistock's oldest buildings, currently shrouded in scaffolding and plastic sheeting, will soon be revealed following a major £400,000 refurbishment project.

The building, between King Street and Market Street, is some 400 years old — and allegedly once stayed in by King Charles II. Its most recent incarnation was as a pizzeria and newsagents.

John Taylor of Wessex Heritage, which acquired the building two years ago, said the renovation was one of the most exciting projects he had ever been involved in.

'It's been brilliant, such fun,' said Mr Taylor.

'It's certainly one of the oldest buildings in Tavistock, apart from the abbey. It's difficult to be totally sure, but obviously the more we can find out about it, the better.

'It's got the old style of cantilevered windows and really ancient oak beams, but unfortunately a lot of them have been very heavily infested with death watch beetle.

'We've tried to keep as much of the original timber and features as possible — it's taken 12 schemes to finalise it through England Heritage.'

Mr Taylor said about one and three quarter tons of steel, supplied by Tavistock firm Steeltech, have been used to shore up the fabric of the building, mainly in the ground floor, plus a substantial quantity of cement.

'It was very unstable — to be honest I think the previous owners were lucky it didn't collapse around their ears,' he said.

During the work, being carried out by historic building specialists Darrock Brown, ancient chimney breasts have been uncovered, old fireplaces, forged by Tavistock Foundry, have been found — and an exceptionally long oak window beam revealed.

'That got English Heritage really excited, because apparently it's highly unusual,' said Mr Taylor.

'It means that whoever first owned the building must have been very rich, to build a window of that size. You had to have had a lot of money because you could only get glass in small bits and it was very expensive.'

New Cornish slate tiles have been hung on the outside north west wall and a very large window on the first floor will face up the valley, towards the viaduct. A spiral staircase is also being installed inside, and custom-built wooden windows are being fitted.

Mr Taylor was full of praise for the way the work has been carried out. Local builders Brian Credicott and Rob Moule were used in the initial phases and he was delighted to secure Darrock Brown, who are currently also involved in English Heritage-backed projects at Launceston Castle and Truro Cathedral.

'We're trying to use local materials as much as we can — the new oak will be from Devon or Cornwall, the lime comes from Bodmin.

'The builders and Robert Winter, the architect, have been absolutely brilliant, they are such good craftsmen,' said Mr Taylor, who estimated the work will be completed in about three months.

The building will then take on a new role in its long history, as it becomes Taylor's Restaurant, opening by the end of November.

Mr Taylor said: 'It's taken two years but it's going to be super. It's been a great thing to be involved in. This is such an old part of Tavistock, it's fantastic to be able to build something back up like this — I love it.'