Stannary Prison
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A stannary was an administrative division established under
stannary law Stannary law (derived from the for tin) is the body of English law that governs tin mining in Cornwall and Devon; although no longer of much practical relevance, the stannary law remains part of the law of the United Kingdom and is arguably th ...
in the English counties of
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
and
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
to manage the collection of
tin coinage In Devon and Cornwall, tin coinage was a tax on refined tin, payable to the Duchy of Cornwall and administered in the Stannary Towns. The oldest surviving records of coinage show that it was collected in 1156. It was abolished by the Tin Du ...
, which was the duty payable on the metal
tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
smelted from
cassiterite Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains ...
ore mined in the region. In Cornwall, the duty was passed to the
Duchy of Cornwall A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...
; in Devon to
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
. With the abolition of
tin coinage In Devon and Cornwall, tin coinage was a tax on refined tin, payable to the Duchy of Cornwall and administered in the Stannary Towns. The oldest surviving records of coinage show that it was collected in 1156. It was abolished by the Tin Du ...
in 1838 (following extensive petitioning by the Cornish tin industry for simplification of the taxation rules), the principal purpose of the stannaries ceased. In Cornwall, however, they retained certain historic rights to appoint stannators to the
Cornish Stannary Parliament The Cornish Stannary Parliament (officially The Convocation of the Tinners of Cornwall) was the representative body of the Cornish stannaries, which were chartered in 1201 by King John. In spite of the name, the Parliament was not a Cornish n ...
.


Etymology

The word ‘stannary’ is derived from the
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
''stannarie'', through
Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...
''stannaria'' (‘tin mine’), ultimately from
Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...
''stannum'' (‘
tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
’) (
cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...
the symbol for the chemical element Sn). The native Cornish word is ''sten'' and tin-workings ''stenegi''.


In Cornwall

There were four Cornish stannaries (from west to east): *Penwith and Kerrier: Most of the hundreds of Penwith and Kerrier (including the granite outcrops of Land's End and
Carnmenellis Carnmenellis Hill (or just Carnmenellis) gives its name to the area of west Cornwall in England, between Redruth, Helston and Penryn. The hill itself is situated approximately three miles (5 km) south of Redruth.Ordnance Survey: Landra ...
) *Tywarnhaile: St Agnes and the Carn Brea area *Blackmore: the
Hensbarrow Hensbarrow is a natural region in the county of Cornwall, England, UK, that has been recognized as National Character Area 154 by Natural England. Hensbarrow is an upland region covering an area of just under 12,000 hectares immediately north of ...
granite upland, now better known as the St Austell moors or the china clay country *Foweymore: the historic name for
Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor () is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geology, geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough To ...
The geographical jurisdiction of each Cornish stannary was more clearly demarcated from that of the others than was the case in Devon, as each represented a separate tin-bearing area, even though the boundaries were not precisely laid down. The relative productivity of the stannaries varied greatly and was in no way related to their size.Hatcher, John (1970) ''Rural Economy and Society in the Duchy of Cornwall 1300–1500''. Cambridge University Press . Before sale could occur, tin had to be brought to a stannary town to be coined in buildings known as coinage halls.The towns at which tin coinage was carried out in Cornwall varied over time. The Cornish coinage towns included at various times:
Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
,
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 ...
,
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: ...
,
St Austell Saint Austell (, ; ) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. At the 2021 Census in the United Kingdom, census it had a population of 20,900. History St Austell was a village centred ...
,
Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
(probably),
Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...
and
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 ...
. Penryn twice attempted to acquire coinage town status, supported by Falmouth, but failed on both occasions due to strong opposition from the established coinage towns.


In Devon

Devon's stannaries are usually referred to by the names of stannary towns which were the locations where
white tin White tin is refined metallic tin. It contrasts with black tin, which is unrefined tin ore (cassiterite) as extracted from the ground. The term "white tin" was historically associated with tin mining in Devon and Cornwall where it was smelted ...
was assessed, coined, and sold. They were also the location for some of the institutions associated with the operation of the stannary. King
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
's 1305 Stannary Charter established
Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the 2011 census, the three electoral wards (N ...
, Ashburton and
Chagford Chagford is a market town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign and the A382, 4 miles (6 km) west of Moretonhampstead. The name is derived from ''chag'', meaning gorse or broom, an ...
as Devon's stannary towns, with a
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
on all
tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...
in Devon, a right to representation in the Stannary Parliament and a right to the
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
of the Stannary Courts.
Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...
became the fourth Devon stannary town in 1328 after a powerful lobby persuaded the
Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...
that it was nearer the sea and therefore had better access for merchants. The Devon stannary towns are all on the fringes of
Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...
, which is the granite upland which bore the tin. No definition of the boundaries of the Devon stannaries is known, if indeed one ever existed.


Surviving records

Survival of stannary records has been rather patchy. The
Cornwall Record Office Kresen Kernow ( Cornish for Cornwall Centre) in Redruth, United Kingdom is Cornwall's archive centre, home to the world's biggest collection of archive and library material related to Cornwall. Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Co ...
has records from the Vicewarden's Court of the Stannaries of Devon and Cornwall, mostly from the mid nineteenth century onwards, which is rather late in the overall history of the stannary organisations. Earlier survivals in the CRO include the Tin Abstract Books from the Truro Tin office for 1703–10 and 1833–35. These books record the quantities of tin coined in the various coinage towns of Devon and Cornwall, the purchase of tin by the crown and the shipment of this tin by sea to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Many stannary-related papers including registration of tin bounds, records of tin production and papers relating to disputes are to be found in the records of families with
tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...
interests, although these are frequently intermingled with records on other matters so location of specific information is difficult. The
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
hold most of the records of central government, which includes records on stannary matters including
manorial roll A manorial roll or court roll is the roll or record kept of the activities of a manorial court, in particular containing entries relating to the rents and holdings, deaths, alienations, and successions of the customary tenants or copyholders. Th ...
s for part of the reign of Charles 1. The
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
Record Office also contains relevant material, primarily relating to the special position of the stannary organisations (and tinners) with respect to the law.


See also

*
Cornish Stannary Parliament The Cornish Stannary Parliament (officially The Convocation of the Tinners of Cornwall) was the representative body of the Cornish stannaries, which were chartered in 1201 by King John. In spite of the name, the Parliament was not a Cornish n ...
*
Dartmoor tin-mining The tin mining industry on Dartmoor, Devon, England, is thought to have originated in pre-Roman times, and continued right through to the 20th century, when the last commercially worked mine (Golden Dagger Mine) closed in November 1930 (though it ...
*
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 ...
*
Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament The Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament ( Cornish: ''Seneth Stenegow Kernow''), was a pressure group which claimed to be a revival of the historic Cornish Stannary Parliament last held in 1753. It was established in 1974 and campaigned, up unt ...
*
Royal charters applying to Cornwall This is a list of charters promulgated by kings of England that specifically relate to Cornwall, which was incorporated into the Kingdom of England late in the Anglo-Saxon period. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the kings of Wessex became the ruler ...
* Stannary Convocation of Devon *
Tin sources and trade in ancient times Tin is an essential metal in the creation of tin-bronzes, and its acquisition was an important part of ancient cultures from the Bronze Age onward. Its use began in the Middle East and the Balkans around 3000 BC. Tin is a relatively rare elemen ...
* Helston Coinage Hall


References

{{Reflist Stannary law