The Tamar (; ) is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in south west
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
that forms most of the border between
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 the east) and
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, ...
(to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the
Tamar Valley National Landscape
Tamar Valley National Landscape is a legally designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Devon and Cornwall in England. It includes an area of covering the lower parts of the valleys of the River Tamar, River Tavy and River Lynher to the ...
(an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
), and some is included in the
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape is a World Heritage Site which includes select mining landscapes in Cornwall and West Devon in the south west of England. The site was added to the World Heritage List during the 30th Session of the ...
(a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
) due to its historic mining activities.
The Tamar's source is less than from the north Cornish coast, but it flows southward across the
peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
to the south coast. The total length of the river is . At its mouth, the Tamar flows into the
Hamoaze before entering
Plymouth Sound
Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England.
Description
Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...
, a bay in the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. Tributaries of the river include the rivers
Inny,
Ottery,
Kensey and
Lynher (or ''St Germans River'') on the Cornish side and the
Deer
A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
and
Tavy on the Devon side.
The name Tamar (or Tamare) was mentioned by
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
in the 2nd century AD in his
''Geography''. The name is said to mean "great water".
[Furneaux, Robert. The Tamar: A Great Little River. Ex Libris Press. 1992.][ Foot, Sarah. ''The River Tamar''. Bossiney Books. 1989.][Neale, John. Discovering the River Tamar. Amberley. 2010.] The Tamar is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed by some to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
.
The seventh-century ''
Ravenna Cosmography
The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' (, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a work describing the Ecumene, known world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. It consists of five books describing ...
'' mentions a Roman settlement named Tamaris, but it is unclear to which of those towns along the Tamar this refers.
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
,
Launceston and the Roman fort at
Calstock
Calstock () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a large village in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the border with Devon. The village is situated on the River Tamar south west of Tavistock, Devon, Tavistock and no ...
have been variously suggested.
Environment
The river (and/or land on its banks) is designated as a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
(SSSI), a European Special Area of Conservation, and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A part of it is also designated as a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
as part of the
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape is a World Heritage Site which includes select mining landscapes in Cornwall and West Devon in the south west of England. The site was added to the World Heritage List during the 30th Session of the ...
.
In November 2013,
South West Water was fined £50,000 after it admitted permitting the discharge of sewage from its Camels Head treatment plant into a tributary of the River Tamar for eight years.
Tamar Valley National Landscape
Together, the Tamar, Tavy and Lynher form the Tamar Valley National Landscape, a designated
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
. The Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers around around the lower Tamar (below
Launceston) and its tributaries the
Tavy and the
Lynher. It was first proposed in 1963, but was not designated until 1995.
The highest point in the AONB is
Kit Hill
Kit Hill (), at 334 metres high, dominates the area between Callington and the River Tamar in southeast Cornwall, England, UK. The word 'Kit' comes from Old English for kite, a reference to birds of prey (and not specifically the red kite). ...
, 334 metres above sea level. The Tamar Discovery Trail is a 35-mile hiking route following the course of the Tamar through the valley.
Special Area of Conservation

The
Plymouth Sound
Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England.
Description
Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...
and Estuaries are a
Special Area of Conservation
A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
. Rocky reefs in low salinity estuarine conditions far inland on the Tamar are very unusual and support species such as the hydroid ''Cordylophora caspia''. The Tamar is one of a few estuaries where zonation of rocky habitats (intertidal and subtidal) can be observed along an estuarine gradient.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
The
Tamar–Tavy Estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering the tidal
estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
of the River Tamar and the
River Tavy
The Tavy () is a river on Dartmoor, Devon, England. The name derives from the Brythonic languages, Brythonic root , once thought to mean 'dark' but now generally understood to mean 'to flow'. It has given its name to the town of Tavistock and ...
. Part of the Tamar estuary also forms the Tamar Estuary Nature Reserve, owned by the
Cornwall Wildlife Trust. The site was designated in 1991 for its biodiversity and varying habitats that support a large number of
wader
245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...
and
wildfowl
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating o ...
species, as well as the special interest of its marine biology. The site supports a nationally important wintering population of
avocet
The four species of avocets are a genus, ''Recurvirostra'', of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin , 'curved backwards' and , 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian ( Ferrarese) ...
and supports species such as
black-tailed godwit
The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, '' Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and ches ...
,
Eurasian whimbrel
The Eurasian or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus''), also known as the white-rumped whimbrel in North America, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Pal ...
,
greenshank,
spotted redshank,
green sandpiper
The green sandpiper (''Tringa ochropus'') is a small wader (shorebird) of the Old World.
The green sandpiper represents an ancient lineage of the genus ''Tringa''; its only close living relative is the solitary sandpiper (''T. solitaria''). The ...
and
golden plover.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Throughout human history the valley has been almost continuously exploited for its rich mineral and metal deposits including silver, tin, lead and arsenic leaving a unique archaeological landscape which forms a significant part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. Remains include wheal or engine houses, deep and open cast mines dating from the Bronze Age through to the medieval and modern era, the export docks at
Morwellham Quay
Morwellham Quay is an historic river port in Devon, England that developed to support the local mines. The port had its peak in the Victorian era and is now run as a tourist attraction and museum. It is the terminus of the Tavistock Canal, and ...
were once an international centre of trade in copper, lead and arsenic. The valley, with the
stannary
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 Mining in Co ...
town of
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 ...
was added to the World Heritage List during the 30th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Vilnius, July 2006.
Water quality
The Environment Agency measures the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of
invertebrate
Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...
s,
angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...
s and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail.
Geography
Sources

According to
Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
mapping, the source of the Tamar is at Woolley Moor, approximately from the north Cornish coast, at . The location of the spring is a "high windswept plateau largely devoid of farmland, and inhabited by stunted trees and wiry undergrowth."
The exact source of the river is difficult to pinpoint, because it arises "from a boggy morass . . . behind a hedge near some willow trees at Woolley Barrows . . . A small square stone culvert drains the first tentative trickle of water away from the bog, through a hedge and into a ditch. From here a pipe carries the water under the highway and the infant river Tamar is on its way to the sea at Plymouth."
Reservoirs
The
Upper Tamar Lake and
Lower Tamar Lake are two small reservoirs on the Tamar's upper course. The Lower Lake was constructed in the 1820s to feed the
Bude Canal
The Bude Canal was a canal built to serve the hilly hinterland in the Cornwall and Devon border territory in the United Kingdom, chiefly to bring lime-bearing sand for agricultural fertiliser. The Bude Canal system was one of the most unusual ...
; it is now a nature reserve. The Upper Lake was constructed in the 1970s and supplies fresh water to the
Bude
Bude (, locally or ; Cornish language, Cornish ) is a seaside town in north Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as ...
area, as well as having some recreational use.
Border
The east
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
of the Tamar was fixed as the border of Cornwall by
King Athelstan in the year 936. Several villages north of
Launceston, to the west of the Tamar, were transferred to Devon at some point in the eleventh century when the border was changed to follow the
River Ottery
The River Ottery () is a small river in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The river is about long from its source southeast of Otterham to its confluence with the River Tamar at Nether Bridge, northeast of Launceston.
The head ...
westward, rather than the Tamar. The county boundary was restored to the Tamar in 1966, when the civil parishes of
North Petherwin and
Werrington were transferred from Devon to Cornwall. The
Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844
The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 ( 7 & 8 Vict. c. 61), also known as the Detached Parishes Act 1844, which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of co ...
ensured parishes were entirely within one county. It transferred a part of the
Rame Peninsula
The Rame Peninsula () is a peninsula in south-east Cornwall. It is surrounded by the English Channel to the south, Plymouth Sound to the east, the Hamoaze to the northeast and the estuary of the River Lynher to the north-west. On a clear day, ...
(on the west side of the
Hamoaze) from Devon to Cornwall (namely, parts of the parishes of
Maker and
St John). The Act also transferred part of the parish of
Bridgerule
Bridgerule is a village and civil parish in Devon, England, a mile from the border with Cornwall. The parish is divided by the River Tamar, which no longer forms the border between Devon and Cornwall there. The river often floods the High Stree ...
to Devon and part of the parish of
North Tamerton to Cornwall — these latter transfers created two of the present-day 'exceptions' to the river boundary.
The modern
administrative border between Devon and Cornwall more closely follows the Tamar and Hamoaze than the
'historic' county border (of the 11th to 19th centuries). Only three 'exceptions' to the rule that the border follows the river (from source to sea) currently exist, all of which are upstream of the confluence of the
River Deer, in the upper course of the Tamar. Part of the Cornish
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of North Tamerton extends east across the river, whilst parts of the Devon civil parishes of Bridgerule and
Pancrasweek extend west across the Tamar. Where the border does follow the Tamar, it is defined as being along a line running at the
centre of the river — where the river is tidal, it is the centre of the low water channel. This "centre of river" arrangement ends just upstream of the Tamar Bridge at
Saltash
Saltash () is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Cornwall". Saltash’s landmarks ...
, downstream of which the counties officially extend only to their respective (tidal) bank's
low water
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide ...
mark. The river is dammed at two points of its upper course, forming two reservoirs in place of the natural river: at
Upper Tamar Lake the border follows the line of the river as it was prior to the construction of the reservoir (therefore now within the lake), whilst at the older
Lower Tamar Lake the border was re-aligned along a (now disused) re-routing of the river to the reservoir's west side, placing the lake in Devon.
Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
mapping
Crossings
List of crossings of the River Tamar
The river has 22 road crossings, including some medieval stone bridges. The oldest bridge still extant is at Horsebridge (1437), and the next oldest is Greystone Bridge near Lawhitton — this arched stone bridge was built in 1439. Gunnislake New Bridge was built in 1520 by Sir Piers Edgcumbe, the owner of Cotehele and Mount Edgcumbe. The
Gunnislake
Gunnislake () is a large village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately north of Plymouth The first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire, Mary Ellen Smith, was born here in 1863.
G ...
bridge was a main route into south east Cornwall and the lowest bridge over the Tamar until the
Tamar Bridge
The Tamar Bridge is a suspension bridge over the River Tamar between Saltash, Cornwall and Plymouth, Devon in southwest England. It is long, running adjacent the Royal Albert Bridge, and part of the A38, a main road between the two counties. ...
at Saltash was opened in 1962.
The lower Tamar is spanned also by the
Royal Albert Bridge
The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge which spans the River Tamar in England between Plymouth, Devon and Saltash, Cornwall. Its unique design consists of two lenticular iron trusses above the water, with conventional plate-girder app ...
(built 1859), a rail bridge now adjacent to the newer Tamar Bridge. Both of these bridges are between
Saltash
Saltash () is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Cornwall". Saltash’s landmarks ...
(known as the 'Gateway to Cornwall') and Plymouth. Further downstream, crossing the
Hamoaze, is the
Torpoint Ferry
The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 1 ...
— a
chain ferry
A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
connecting Torpoint to Devonport — and at the most downstream part of the Hamoaze there is also the
Cremyll Ferry.
The
Calstock Viaduct is another notable structure on the Tamar, being 120 feet (37 m) high with twelve 60-foot (18 m) wide arches, of which three of the piers stand in the river, and was built between 1904 and 1907.
Navigation

The total length of the
tidal river
A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are caused by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it had been given a separate and another title name.
Gene ...
(which, like other tidal waters in England, has public right of navigation) is .
[Inland Waterways Association]
Waterways: T (''note: the tidal river is generally regarded as navigable from Plymouth Sound to Weir Head, a length of 19.0 miles.'') The
normal tidal limit (noted on
Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
maps as 'NTL') is a
weir
A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
just downstream of the village of
Gunnislake
Gunnislake () is a large village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately north of Plymouth The first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire, Mary Ellen Smith, was born here in 1863.
G ...
. Waterborne traffic through the
Hamoaze is controlled by the
Queen's Harbour Master
A King's Harbour Master (abbreviated as KHM, also known as Queen's Harbour Master or QHM during the reign of a female monarch) is a harbourmaster and public official in Canada and the United Kingdom. Their official responsibilities includes enf ...
for Plymouth, who is responsible for managing navigation along the entire tidal Tamar. The
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
has one of its three main naval bases at
Devonport, situated on the Hamoaze, upstream of which the river is now used largely by recreational craft. Excursions operate (April to October only) on the river between Plymouth and
Calstock
Calstock () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a large village in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the border with Devon. The village is situated on the River Tamar south west of Tavistock, Devon, Tavistock and no ...
; excursions used to operate as far as
Morwellham Quay
Morwellham Quay is an historic river port in Devon, England that developed to support the local mines. The port had its peak in the Victorian era and is now run as a tourist attraction and museum. It is the terminus of the Tavistock Canal, and ...
, but were suspended indefinitely in 2016. A passenger ferry also operates April to October between
Cotehele
Cotehele is a medieval house with Tudor additions, situated in the parish of Calstock in the east of Cornwall, England, and now belonging to the National Trust. It is a rambling granite and slate-stone manor house on the banks of the River T ...
Quay and Calstock.
A typical Tamar vessel was a sailing
barge
A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...
, built on the open river bank, of up to 60 tons, with a peaked,
gaff-rigged mainsail and a fore
staysail
A staysail ("stays'l") is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit, or to another mast.
Description
Most staysails a ...
. The Tamar was navigable by seagoing ships of up to 400
register tons as far inland as
Weir Quay,
[Booker (1971: 62)] near
Bere Alston, where the
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
narrows into the tidal river, some upstream from Plymouth Sound. Vessels of 300 tons sailed as far inland as Morwellham,
[Barton (1964: 75–6)] along the river from the sea. A further stretch of upstream to Weir Head, near Gunnislake, is accessible to smaller boats. Weir Head is just downstream of the
weir
A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
at Gunnislake (the tidal limit) and is the final place to turn boats;
it was from here that smaller craft could begin their journey on the Tamar Manure Canal.
Tamar Manure Navigation
In 1794 the Tamar Manure Navigation Company was formed to extend
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...
inland for a further 30 miles, to Tamerton Bridge in
North Tamerton. An
Act of Parliament of 1796 authorised the works, with the company empowered to improve and manage navigation on the Tamar from Morwellham Quay upstream to Boat Pool, at Blanchdown (just upstream of Gunnislake), and to construct a canal from there. The project however advanced no further than
Gunnislake
Gunnislake () is a large village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately north of Plymouth The first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire, Mary Ellen Smith, was born here in 1863.
G ...
, with work ceasing in 1808. Barges of up to 30 tons could then proceed as far as Gunnislake New Bridge,
[Booker (1971: 126–128)] bypassing the weir (above Weir Head) via a 500-yard canal to the west of the river. As the only completed work of the original project, this short canal became known as the Tamar Manure (Navigation) Canal. It had one
lock
Lock(s) or Locked may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainme ...
allowing vessels to rise from the tidal Tamar to the water level above the weir.
[Canal Routes]
– Tamar Manure Navigation A
salmon ladder bypassed the lock.
The navigable route along the Tamar and the Manure Canal that was managed by the company (from Morwellham Quay upstream to Blanchdown) was known as the Tamar Manure Navigation and was in length.
The import of fertilizer (at the time of the construction of the canal all types of which were typically referred to as "manure") and coal and the export of bricks and granite along this short navigation proved profitable for many years.
The navigation from Launceston to Tamerton was completed in 1826 as part of a separate project, the
Bude Canal
The Bude Canal was a canal built to serve the hilly hinterland in the Cornwall and Devon border territory in the United Kingdom, chiefly to bring lime-bearing sand for agricultural fertiliser. The Bude Canal system was one of the most unusual ...
. The Tamar Manure Navigation ceased functioning in 1929 and the company was wound up in 1942.
History
In 997 according to the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons.
The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
'', raiding Vikings travelled up the Tamar and then the Tavy river as far as
Lydford
Lydford, sometimes spelled Lidford, is a village and civil parish, in Devon, north of Tavistock on the western fringe of Dartmoor in the West Devon district. The parish covers an area of , and at the 2021 census had a population of 370.
The ...
, and burned
Ordwulf
Ordwulf or Ordulf (died after 1005) was the son of Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon (died 971). His sister was Queen Ælfthryth, third wife of King Edgar (born 943, died 975; ruled 959-975)'' The Peaceful'' and mother of King Æthelred II (c. 968-1 ...
's monastery at
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 ...
.
During the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
,
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, ...
was entirely loyal to
King Charles I and the
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
cause. However,
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 ...
was primarily
Parliamentarian; thus the River Tamar became the site of many battles, such as the
Battle of Gunnislake New Bridge on 20 July 1664. Each side of the Tamar understood that if they were either to invade or to defend themselves, they had to have control of the Tamar crossings.
In medieval times the transport of goods to supply the Benedictine abbey at
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 ...
, four miles by
track from the river port of Morwellham, was significant.
[Booker (1971: 28–29)] Sea sand from the coast was imported to spread on farmland, until in the 18th century a dressing of
lime was found to be more beneficial. Large quantities of limestone and coal were then imported to burn in the numerous
limekilns
Limekilns is a historic coastal village in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth, around south of Dunfermline and 13 miles (21km) northwest of Edinburgh.
Limekilns has a medieval past as a fishing village, dating back t ...
on the river quays; the lime had to be made locally as it was not
slaked before application, and was too chemically reactive for transport by water after burning. Later, street sweepings and other refuse from
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
and
Devonport, together with bones for the newly discovered
bone fertiliser, were carried inland to manure the fields. Other regular imports were timber from
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
and the
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...
, in large
baulks for use as
pit prop
A pit prop or mine prop (British and American usage, respectively) is a length of lumber used to prop up the roofs of tunnels in coal mines.
Canada traditionally supplied pit props to the British market. As coal mining declined in importance and ...
s in the mines, and coal from Wales to supply the mine pumping engines.
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 ...
was one of the three
stannary towns of Devon, and large quantities of
refined tin ore were exported through Morwellham from the 12th century until 1838, when the requirement to pay duty on the metal at one of the specified towns was relaxed.
The opening in 1817 of the
Tavistock Canal, between Tavistock and Morwellham, facilitated traffic. Later, the
East Cornwall Mineral Railway provided an outlet through the quays of
Calstock
Calstock () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a large village in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the border with Devon. The village is situated on the River Tamar south west of Tavistock, Devon, Tavistock and no ...
from the Cornish side of the valley. Other significant cargoes exported were quarried granite, and later, copper, lead and manganese ores, with their important by-product of
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...
. Arsenic was extracted from
mispickel, once regarded as a waste product but later offering an important source of revenue as copper and tin extraction declined in profitability. The refined product was exported worldwide, in particular to the southern United States, where it was used as an insecticide in the cotton fields.
In the 13th century lead and silver output from the royal mines on the
Bere peninsula (between the Tamar and the
Tavy) was significant, and production continued intermittently until the 19th century. The
Johnson Matthey
Johnson Matthey plc is a British multinational speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies company headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History Early year ...
smelting works at Weir Quay extracted silver and lead not only from local ore, but also from ore imported by sea from Europe and from as far away as
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
.
Fluorspar
Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon.
The Mohs scal ...
from the lead mine
tailings
In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material ...
was exported to France for use in the manufacture of glassware.

The old ferry crossings developed into the busy river quays of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The development of the "
Three Towns
Three Towns is a term used to refer to several groups of towns.
United Kingdom
There are several groups of towns in the United Kingdom referred to as the Three Towns, many of which form contiguous settlements, or are in close proximity to each ...
" (Plymouth, Devonport and
Stonehouse) at the mouth of the river offered an important market for the valley's agricultural produce, needed in particular to serve the victualling requirements of the
royal dockyard, and this was always carried by boat. In 1820 or 1821 the first paddle steamer on the Tamar inaugurated a service between Calstock and Devonport to deliver foodstuffs.
In 1859 a rail connection from Plymouth to London was opened, and fresh produce could be landed at the Devonport steamer quays in the evening and be on sale in London by the next morning.
[Booker (1971: 233)] The growing city population created a large demand for sightseeing cruises on the river; this was a significant source of traffic from 1823, with the launch of the
Cornish steam packet ''Sir Francis Drake'', until the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
[Booker (1971: 83–84)][Kitteridge (1984: 13; 75)]
Mineral traffic on the river diminished towards the end of the 19th century, after the
Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway
The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) was an English railway company. It constructed a main line railway between Lydford and Devonport, in Devon, England, enabling the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to reac ...
reached Tavistock in 1859 (so making the Tavistock Canal to Morwellham redundant for transport, although it remains in use as a source of
hydropower
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
) and as the copper and tin mines became exhausted.
[Booker (1971: 30–31)] The decline accelerated from 1894, when the
East Cornwall Mineral Railway, until then linked to the outside world only through the port of Calstock, was extended to the
Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway
The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) was an English railway company. It constructed a main line railway between Lydford and Devonport, in Devon, England, enabling the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to reac ...
at
Bere Alston. Tourist and market traffic on the river, using purpose-built or converted steamers, remained substantial until the Devonport piers were closed and the ships requisitioned on the outbreak of war in 1939.
Economy
Rocks around the edge 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 ...
were mineralised by fluids driven by the heat of the Earth's core, which gave rise to ores containing
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 ...
,
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
,
tungsten
Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...
,
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
and other minerals in the Valley. The medieval estate of
Cotehele
Cotehele is a medieval house with Tudor additions, situated in the parish of Calstock in the east of Cornwall, England, and now belonging to the National Trust. It is a rambling granite and slate-stone manor house on the banks of the River T ...
, owned by the
Edgcumbe family, was a significant producer of
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
for the
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968.
Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...
. During the industrial revolution, there was significant mining activity near the river, between Gunnislake and Weir Quay. During this period, the Tamar was an important river for shipping copper from ports such as
Morwellham Quay
Morwellham Quay is an historic river port in Devon, England that developed to support the local mines. The port had its peak in the Victorian era and is now run as a tourist attraction and museum. It is the terminus of the Tavistock Canal, and ...
,
Calstock
Calstock () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a large village in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the border with Devon. The village is situated on the River Tamar south west of Tavistock, Devon, Tavistock and no ...
and
New Quay (Devon) to south Wales where it would be smelted. The valley forms district A10i of the
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape is a World Heritage Site which includes select mining landscapes in Cornwall and West Devon in the south west of England. The site was added to the World Heritage List during the 30th Session of the ...
. The river has long been famous for the quality of its
salmon
Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
whilst the valley was known nationally for the high quality, and early, soft fruit and market gardens sheltered by its steeply winding slopes.
Folklore
The
Alliterative ''Morte Arthure'' states that the mortal combat of
King Arthur
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
and
Mordred
Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...
took place close to the banks of the river.
A traditional Cornish tale claims that the devil would never dare to cross the River Tamar into Cornwall for fear of ending up as a
pasty
A pasty () or Cornish pasty is a British baked turnover pastry, a variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, but has spread all over the British Isles, and elsewhere through the Cornish diaspora. It consists of a filling, ty ...
filling.
Though unusual landscape features are often named after the devil (e.g. devil's frying pan) it used to be said that the devil never came to Cornwall: he once reached Torpoint and immediately noticed that various kinds of pie were customary; he feared that devilly pie might be the next kind so returned to Devon.
[Canner, A. C. (1982) ''The Parish of Tintagel''. Camelford; p. 54] This legend is set to music in the traditional Cornish folk song
Fish and Tin and Copper.
Legend of Tamara
The legend behind the name involves a nymph by the name of Tamara, who lived in the underworld. Tamara wanted to wander freely in the mortal world, against the advice of her parents. One day, wandering in
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 ...
, she happened to meet two giants called Tavy and Torridge (or Tawradge). Both giants became smitten with Tamara and vied for her affections. Tamara led the giants on a dance, but never let them touch her, instead darting out of reach whenever they came too close. Tamara's father, who had been out looking for her, located her just as the giants finally caught up with her near
Morwenstow
Morwenstow () is a civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish abuts the west coast, about six miles (10 km) north of Bude and within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Morwens ...
. He flew into a rage and used a spell to put Tavy and Tawradge into a deep sleep. This infuriated Tamara, who subsequently refused to return to the underworld with her father. He became even more enraged and cast a spell on Tamara, turning her into a bubbling spring, which produced the Tamar river and flowed all the way to the sea. Tawradge awoke to find his beloved had become a river; in despair, he sought the advice of a magician, who turned him into a river (the
River Torridge
The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristol ...
and the
River Taw
The River Taw () in England rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Barnstaple Bay in the Bristol Channel, having form ...
) so that he could hope to reunite with Tamara. Tawradge was never able to find and merge with his beloved Tamara, instead turning north toward
Bideford
Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district.
Toponymy
In ancient records Bi ...
and the
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...
and is still said to mourn his love, the Tamar. This legend explains why the River Torridge, which rises only 500 metres from the Tamar, veers away from the Tamar and forms a huge arc, eventually flowing to the North Devon coast. The other giant, Tavy, also awoke in despair and sought the aid of his own father, also a powerful magician. His father turned Tavy into a river as well, and the
Tavy set off in search of the Tamar, eventually finding her and merging with her into a
wide and beautiful estuary.
See also
*
List of rivers of England
This is a list of rivers of England, organised geographically and taken anti-clockwise around the English coast where the various rivers discharge into the surrounding seas, from the Solway Firth on the Scottish border to the Welsh Dee on the W ...
*
HMS ''Tamar'', 6 RN vessels and a shore base have been named after the river
*
Tamar Site, an area in Hong Kong named after the fourth
*
RM Tamar
Royal Marines Tamar or more commonly RM Tamar, is a Royal Marines military installation specialising in landing craft training and operations located on the northern bank of Weston Mill Lake at the north end of HMNB Devonport at Plymouth in De ...
, a Royal Marines shore base.
References
Further reading
*
* Carrington, N. T. (1820) ''The Banks of Tamar, a poem, with other pieces''. Plymouth Dock: Printed for the Author (another ed.: London: John Murray, 1828)
External links
Royal Albert Bridge at SaltashTamar Crossings – Tamar Bridge & Torpoint FerryRYA (tidal) Tamar navigation guide
Tamar Valley AONBTamar Valley Tourism Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamar, River
Cornish Killas
Protected areas established in 1995
River navigations in the United Kingdom
Rivers of Cornwall
Rivers of Devon
Rivers with fish ladders