Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall
About
The Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall occupies a small but historically fitting space within Court Gate in Tavistock, one of England's earliest purpose-built combined court and police stations, sharing the building with Tavistock Museum. The mini-museum tells the story of policing across Devon and Cornwall from the establishment of the county's early Victorian constabularies through to the modern Devon and Cornwall Police, formed in 1967 by the merger of the separate Devon and Cornwall county forces along with city forces including Exeter and Plymouth.
Displays cover the practical and material history of the job across nearly two centuries: uniforms and insignia charting changing styles and ranks, equipment ranging from Victorian truncheons and handcuffs to modern protective gear, and the vehicles and transport - from the police bicycle and motorcycle era through to patrol cars - that shaped how officers actually covered the large, often rural and dispersed territory of the two counties. Material on notable cases and investigations gives a sense of the real work behind the uniforms, while displays on the changing role of women in policing, from early policewomen restricted to specific duties through to full integration into all areas of police work, document one of the more significant social changes within the service across the twentieth century.
The collection is cared for by the South West Police Heritage Trust, which also maintains a wider archive and additional small displays elsewhere in the region, including material relating to Okehampton. Because the museum operates on a genuinely small scale within a shared historic building, opening is limited to a single day a week through the main visitor season, reflecting the volunteer effort that sustains it.
For visitors interested in social and institutional history beyond the more familiar territory of crime and punishment museums, the Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall offers a grounded, locally rooted account of how ordinary policing actually developed and operated across two large, varied English counties over close to two hundred years.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Visit on a Friday between Easter and the end of October - the museum has no other regular opening.
- Combine your visit with Tavistock Museum, which shares the same Court Gate building.
- Allow around 30-40 minutes to see the small display properly.
- Contact the Trust in advance if you have a specific research interest, as the wider archive is separate from the public display.
- Pay-and-display parking is available in Tavistock town centre nearby.
- Combine your visit with Tavistock's historic Pannier Market and abbey ruins, both a short walk away.
- This is a small, volunteer-run display rather than a large museum - set expectations accordingly.
Highlights
From County Constabularies to Devon and Cornwall Police, 1967
The museum traces the institutional history of policing across the two counties from separate Victorian-era county constabularies and city forces, including Exeter and Plymouth, through to their merger in 1967 into the modern Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.
This administrative history explains the shape of the modern force and gives visitors context for the varied uniforms, insignia and equipment on display, much of which predates the 1967 merger and reflects the distinct identities of the forces that came together to form it.
Court Gate: A Combined Court and Police Station
The museum's setting within Court Gate is itself historically significant, as the building was constructed as one of England's earliest purpose-built combined court and police stations, reflecting a Victorian approach to law enforcement infrastructure that co-located the administration of justice with the police who enforced it.
Sharing the building with Tavistock Museum, Court Gate gives visitors a tangible sense of how policing and the courts operated side by side in a market town setting during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Uniforms, Insignia and Rank
A collection of uniforms and insignia spanning close to two centuries traces changing police dress, rank markings and equipment across the county forces that preceded Devon and Cornwall Police and the merged modern force that followed. These material changes reflect broader shifts in policing philosophy and technology, from the formal, militaristic style of Victorian policing to the more practical, protective uniform of the modern era, each generation's dress telling its own story about the job's changing demands.
Rank insignia in particular reveal how the internal hierarchy and organisation of provincial forces evolved as they grew from small local constabularies into the substantial modern service.
Police Transport: Bicycles to Patrol Cars
Displays and photographs document the evolution of police transport across Devon and Cornwall, from the police bicycle era, when constables covered large rural beats on two wheels, through motorcycles to the patrol cars that transformed policing's reach and response times across the twentieth century.
This transport history is particularly relevant to two large, geographically varied counties where covering ground quickly and reliably has always been a genuine operational challenge for the force, from remote moorland to busy coastal towns. The switch from bicycle to motor patrol in particular transformed how quickly officers could reach isolated communities across Dartmoor, Exmoor and Cornwall's scattered rural parishes.
Collections
The Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall documents nearly two centuries of policing history across the two counties, from separate Victorian county and city constabularies through to their 1967 merger into the modern Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. Uniforms, insignia, equipment and transport - from bicycles and motorcycles to patrol cars - trace the material and practical development of the job, while displays on women in policing and on notable cases add social and investigative depth.
Cared for by the South West Police Heritage Trust, the collection is shown in a small public display at Tavistock's historic Court Gate, itself one of England's earliest purpose-built combined court and police stations, with a wider archive accessible separately by arrangement.
Two Counties, One Force
The merger of Devon and Cornwall's separate county and city constabularies into the modern force in 1967.
Women in Policing
The changing role of women within Devon and Cornwall's police service across the twentieth century.
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.