Tavistock: Devon’s Most Important Stannary Town
It’s hard to visit Dartmoor without noticing the marks of a bygone era. Tin mining (and later copper mining) between the 13th and 20th Centuries helped shape our landscape. Tin mines, the ruins of engine and blowing houses for smelting tin and the grand buildings of Tavistock serve as reminders of the influence this stannary town wielded.
If you’re visiting Dartmoor, some of the walking trails will take you past tin mine ruins and scars in the landscape. Equally fascinating is a day trip to one, or all four, of Dartmoor’s stannary towns. Not sure what a stannary town is? Read on!
What is a stannary town?
Stannary towns are the physical locations (or coinage towns) serving as administrative centres for Devon and Cornwall’s tin mining industry. These towns are where miners were legally required to bring their smelted metals to be weighed, stamped (or ‘coined’) for tax, and sold.
The word ‘stannary’ is derived from the Latin word for tin; stannum. It’s the same word that gives us the symbol Sn on the periodic table, denoting tin.
Devon had four stannary towns, which were established and confirmed by royal charter in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. You’ll find them on the edges of Dartmoor—the main tin mining area for our county. Tavistock was arguably the most influential, but Ashburton, Chagford, and Plympton were also official coinage towns.
Cornwall’s tin mining administration was centred on four Stannary Districts: Foweymore, Blackmore, Tywarnhayle, and Penwith and Kerrier. Coinage towns within these districts were established and occasionally changed as the mining industry shifted west.
Lostwithiel started out as the most influential of Cornwall’s stannary towns, serving as the administrative and political capital of the Duchy. However, it lost its commercial dominance to Truro as the tin industry’s centre of gravity shifted westward in later centuries.
Tin tax revenue from the Cornish Stannaries was paid to The Duchy of Cornwall, while Devon stannary towns paid theirs to The Crown.
Stannary law
Stannary towns weren’t only about collecting tax revenue for The Duchy and The Crown, they were home to Stannary Courts for handling legal matters related to mining. These courts also represented in a unique Stannary Parliament with autonomy from The Crown and Westminster.
This body of English law was responsible for governing tin mining in Cornwall and Devon and granted unique and powerful privileges to the workers known as ‘tinners.’
The Tinners’ Privileges
These unique rights, established by Royal Charters dating back to the 13th century, were given to ensure the Crown’s lucrative tin tax (the ‘coinage’) was consistently paid. The tinners’ privileges included:
- Exemption from Common Law: Tinners were largely exempt from the jurisdiction of ordinary English courts. Unless the crime involved “land, life, or limb,” they could insist on being tried only in a Stannary Court.
- Right of Search (“Bounding”): The most potent right was the freedom for any tinner to search for and extract tin virtually anywhere on the moor, even on privately owned land, simply by staking their claim (known as ‘bounding’). This often led to conflict with landowners and farmers.
- The Stannary Parliament: This legislative body, composed of elected representatives called ‘Stannators’, had the power to make laws specifically for the mining community.
Visiting the Dark Side of Stannary Law
For visitors exploring Dartmoor, the legacy of Stannary Law can be found in Lydford Castle.
While the Stannary Courts often met in the four coinage towns, the Stannary Prison for Devon was Lydford Castle. This bleak stone tower near the western edge of the moor had a fearsome reputation for rough justice and dreadful conditions.
The phrase ‘Lydford Law’ became a notorious local saying, meaning ‘unfair justice’ or judicial cruelty. A visit to the castle ruins today offers a peek at the unique and sometimes brutal power wielded by our ancient legal systems.