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Crockern Tor
Crockern Tor is a tor in Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. Composed of two large outcrops of rock, it is 396 metres above sea level. The lower outcrop was the open-air meeting place of the Stannary Convocation of Devon from the early 14th century until the first half of the 18th century. On Parliament Rock, pictured here, the Lord Warden of the Great Court of the Devon Tinners supposedly sat during meetings of the Court. Descriptions The tor was one of only three features on Dartmoor that Tristram Risdon considered important enough to include in his ''Survey of Devon'' which was compiled in the early 17th century. In it he said that "Crockern Torr" had "a table and seats of moorstone ranite hewn out of the rocks, lying in the force of all weather, no house or refuge being near it". The tor was also one of the few historic features to appear on Benjamin Donn's one inch to the mile map of Devon of 1765. It lies adjacent to the trans-Dartmoor packhorse track, so was a signific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plympton
Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient 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 river to Plymouth and was the seat of Plympton Priory the most significant local landholder for many centuries. Plympton is an amalgamation of several villages, including St Mary's, St Maurice, Colebrook, Woodford, Newnham, and Chaddlewood. Fore Street, the town's main street, is lined with mediaeval buildings, around thirty of which are either Grade II* or Grade II listed. The Grade II* buildings are The Old Rectory, the Guildhall and Tudor Lodge. Toponymy Although the name of the town appears to be derived from its location on the River Plym (compare, for instance, Otterton or Yealmpton), this is not considered to be the case. As J. Brooking Rowe pointed out in 1906, the town is not and never was sited on the river – rather it is sited on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 can be dated to the beginnings of the Bronze Age around 3000 BC, when it was observed that copper objects formed of polymetallic ores with different metal contents had different physical properties. The earliest bronze objects had tin or arsenic content of less than 2% and are therefore believed to be the result of unintentional alloying due to trace metal content in the copper ore It was soon discovered that the addition of tin or arsenic to copper increased its hardness and made casting much easier, which revolutionized metal working techniques and brought humanity from the Copper Age or Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age around 3000 BC. Early tin exploitation appears to have been centered on placer deposits of cassiterite. The first evidence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Devon
Devon is a county in south west England, bordering Cornwall to the west with Dorset and Somerset to the east. There is evidence of occupation in the county from Stone Age times onward. Its recorded history starts in the Roman period when it was a civitas. It was then a separate kingdom for a number of centuries until it was incorporated into early England. It has remained a largely agriculture based region ever since though tourism is now very important. Prehistory Devon was one of the first areas of Great Britain settled following the end of the last ice age. Kents Cavern in Torbay is one of the earliest places in England known to have been occupied by modern man. Dartmoor is thought to have been settled by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC, and they later cleared much of the oak forest, which regenerated as moor. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BC, there is evidence of farming on the moor, and also building and the erection of monuments, using t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tors Of Dartmoor
A tor, which is also known by geomorphologists as either a castle koppie or kopje, is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.Ehlen, J. (2004) ''Tor'' in Goudie, A., ed., pp. 1054-1056. ''Encyclopedia of Geomorphology.'' Routledge. London, England. Etymology Although English topographical names often have a Celtic etymology, the Oxford English Dictionary lists no cognates to the Old English word in either the Breton or Cornish languages (the Scottish Gaelic ''tòrr'' is thought to derive from the Old English word). It is therefore accepted that the English word ''Tor'' derives from the Old Welsh word ''tẁrr'' or ''twr'', meaning a cluster or heap. Formation Tors are landforms created by the erosion an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabine Baring-Gould
Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, the manor house of Lew Trenchard, near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it rebuilt and is now a hotel. He is remembered particularly as a writer of hymns, the best-known being "Onward, Christian Soldiers", "Sing Lullaby", and "Now the Day Is Over". He also translated the carol "Gabriel's Message" from the Basque language to English. Origins Sabine Baring-Gould was born in the parish of St Sidwells, St Sidwell, Exeter, on 28 January 1834. He was the eldest son and heir of Edward Baring-Gould (1804–1872), lord of the manor of Lew Trenchard, a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant of Devon, formerly a lieutenant in the Madras Army#Madras Light Cavalry, M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wistman's Wood
Wistman's Wood is one of three remote high-altitude oakwoods on Dartmoor, Devon, England. Geography The wood lies at an altitude of 380–410 metres in the valley of the West Dart River near Two Bridges, at grid reference SX612772. The source of the Devonport Leat, at a weir on the West Dart River, is just north of the wood. Preservation status The wood is one of the highest oakwoods in Britain and, as an outstanding example of native upland oak woodland, was selected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1964. Choose "View citation" to access the citation (pdf file). It is also an NCR site and forms part of the Wistman's Wood National Nature Reserve. The wood was also one of the primary reasons for selection of the Dartmoor Special Area of Conservation. The other two high-altitude oakwoods of Dartmoor are Black Tor Copse on the West Okement River in the north, and Piles Copse on the River Erme in the south. Description The wood is split into three main blocks (Nort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif (Motif E501 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature) that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by a ghostly or supernatural group of hunters engaged in pursuit. The leader of the hunt is often a named figure associated with Odin in Germanic legends, but may variously be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king , the Welsh psychopomp , biblical figures such as Herod, Cain, Gabriel, or the Devil, or an unidentified lost soul or spirit either male or female. The hunters are generally the souls of the dead or ghostly dogs, sometimes fairies, valkyries, or elves. Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to forebode some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it. People encountering the Hunt might also be abducted to the underworld or the fairy kingdom. In some instances, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devon (UK Parliament Constituency)
Devon was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Devon in England. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire, in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. Elections were held using the bloc vote system of elections. Under the Reform Act 1832, it was split into two divisions, North Devon and South Devon, for the 1832 general election. Boundaries The constituency consisted of the historic county of Devon, excluding the city of Exeter which had the status of a county in itself after 1537. (Although Devon contained a number of other parliamentary boroughs, each of which elected two MPs in its own right for part of the period when Devon was a constituency, these were not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election. This was not the case, though, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Warden Of The Stannaries
The Lord Warden of the Stannaries (from la, stannum for Tin, Sn) used to exercise judicial and military functions in Cornwall, England, and is still the official who, upon the commission of the monarch or Duke of Cornwall for the time being, has the function of calling a stannary parliament of tinners. The last such parliament sat in 1753. The first Lord Warden of the Stannaries of Cornwall and Devon was William de Wrotham, who was appointed during the reign of Richard I on 20 November 1197. Until 1502 normally separate Lords Warden were appointed for Cornwall and Devon (as shown in brackets below) and these also acted as stewards for Duchy estates in those counties. In 1502, Robert, 2nd Lord Willoughby de Broke was appointed as Lord Steward for Duchy estates in Cornwall and Devon, Lord Warden of the Stannaries in both, Master Forester of Dartmoor, and the successors appointed since have been granted these offices/titles. The current holder of the post is Nicholas Bacon. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion in Ireland, helped defend England against the Spanish Armada and held political positions under Elizabeth I. Raleigh was born to a Protestant family in Devon, the son of Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne. He was the younger half-brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and a cousin of Sir Richard Grenville. Little is known of his early life, though in his late teens he spent some time in France taking part in the religious civil wars. In his 20s he took part in the suppression of rebellion in the colonisation of Ireland; he also participated in the siege of Smerwick. Later, he became a landlord of property in Ireland and mayor of Youghal in East Munster, where his house still stands in Myrtle Grove. He rose rapidly in the favour of Quee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tavistock, Devon
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028. It traces its recorded history back to at least 961 when Tavistock Abbey, whose ruins lie in the centre of the town, was founded. Its most famous son is Sir Francis Drake. History Middle Ages The area around Tavistock (formerly Tavistoke), where the River Tavy runs wide and shallow allowing it to be easily crossed, and near the secure high ground of Dartmoor, was inhabited long before historical records. The surrounding area is littered with archaeological remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages and it is believed a hamlet existed on the site of the present town long before the town's official history began, with the founding of the Abbey. The abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon was founded in 961 by Ordgar, Earl of Devon. After destruct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
