The antiquarian monastic throne and chairs, with battlemented gothic frames and Elizabethan spiralled rails, are likely to have been designed around 1860 for the Town Hall, Tavistock. This was built by Edward Rundle, surveyor to the Bedford Estates, under the patronage of Francis, 7th Duke of Bedford, (d.1861) and its style was in keeping with the adjoining 12th Century Abbey. The chair backs incorporate eight-point crosses, while the throne's fleury back is framed by a crenellated pointed arch and pinnacled turrets corresponding to the façade of the abbey gatehouse, which had been restored in the 1820s by the architect, John Foulston (d.1841).