The Cornish Stannary Parliament (officially The Convocation of the Tinners of Cornwall) was the representative body of the Cornish

stannaries A stannary was an administrative division established under stannary law in the English counties of Cornwall and Devon to manage the collection of tin coinage, which was the duty payable on the metal tin smelted from cassiterite ore mined in th ...

, which were chartered in 1201 by King John. In spite of the name, the Parliament was not a Cornish national assembly, instead representing the interests of the tin industry; however, due to the significant proportion of Cornwall's population involved in the tin trade, it wielded considerable power.

History

Background

The

are said to have first been acknowledged by the Crown in 1198, but formal recognition came with a 1201 charter from King John which affirmed the ancient rights ''tinners'' (those involved in mining tin) enjoyed. The charter exempted tinners from common taxes (though the stannaries had their own tax system) and made the

Lord Warden of the Stannaries The Lord Warden of the Stannaries (from for Tin, Tin, Sn) used to exercise judicial and military functions in Cornwall, England, UK, and is still the official who, upon the commission of the British monarchy, monarch or Duke of Cornwall for the ...

the sole

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

with jurisdiction over them. Tinners were also protected from being called up to provide labour to local lords of the manor while they were working in the tin industry.

Parliament

Lostwithiel - the Stannary Palace - geograph

A Cornish Stannary Parliament building was built at

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; ) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 census. The Lostwi ...

in 1305. The suspension of the Stannary Parliament and curtailing of tinners' tax exemption rights in 1496 is seen to be one of the factors in the 1497 Cornish rebellion. The Stannary Parliament met at Lostwithiel and

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

throughout its existence. Being the seat of the Parliament is credited as one of the factors that caused Truro to become a "significant administrative centre". According to

Thomas Pitt Thomas Pitt (5 July 1653 – 28 April 1726) was an English merchant, colonial administrator and politician who served as the president of Fort St. George from 1698 to 1709. Born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, he eventually went to the Indian ...

, no Stannary Parliament sat between 1710 and 1750, though efforts had been made from 1744 to try to get the Parliament recalled. The last session of the Stannary Parliament convened in Truro in 1752, being adjourned in September 1753. Because the Stannary charters have never been revoked, some argue that the powers and rights of the Stannary Parliaments are still

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

Procedure and powers

Members of the Stannary Parliament were called ''stannators''. The 24 stannators, six from each of the four Cornish stannaries (Tywarnhaile, Blackmoor, Foweymoore and Penwith), had the power to pass laws which had effect over the whole of Cornwall in the same way as an Act of Parliament. The Parliament was summoned by the

Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall () is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch, previously the English monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created i ...

and the

issued notices to each of the stannary towns (

Helston Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...

and Launceston) ordering elections for six stannators from each. At the opening of the Parliament the Lord Warden would make a speech, oversee the election of a

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

, and then be excluded. 24 assistants were appointed to help with the drafting of legislation, forming an informal

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

. The Stannary Parliament also held the power of veto over Westminster laws that affected the stannaries; to become law, a bill which affected mining needed the approval of every stannator, the Lord Warden, and the Duke of Cornwall. From 1752, bills from the Stannary Parliament needed the assent of sixteen members of the

Westminster Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

but as Cornwall was hugely overrepresented in Parliament, this was less of a burden than it would be today.

Notes

References