Stalls and displays of Launceston Priory and its 500-year history were on view to the public at St Thomas Church Hall last Saturday.

The event, organised by the Friends of Launceston?Priory, was part of the UK 2015 Festival of Archaeology.

An archaeologist was present to give demonstrations in the Priory grounds using mini excavation boxes, cord winding and medieval stained glass window making.

Some members of the friends were dressed in period dress, and details were given as to how the Cornish language was used locally during its first 200 years of existence.

St Thomas Church was open during the day, and stewards were kept busy answering many and varied questions.

In the hall the medieval life exhibition gave details of the priory, showing how it may have looked, including a model of the building.

There were also illustrations by Victor Ambrus from when the Time Team visited Launceston.

The English Reformation proved to be a traumatic time for the public at large with extreme measures being taken by both sides in the dispute. Following Henry the Eighth’s dispute with the Pope, by 1541, more than 800 monasteries, nunneries and friaries had either been sold or leased to lay people by the crown.

Many were destroyed or gradually disintegrated, including Launceston Priory. More than 10,000 monks and nuns were dispersed, all this occurring in the short period of four years.

Institutions devoted to caring, feeding, housing, healing and educating were removed, and the character of hundreds of years of Christianity was forcibly changed in a relatively short period, but the consequences continued for many years.

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week’s edition of the Post.