62-634: 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 the ore cassiterite mined in the region . In Cornwall, the duty was passed to the Duchy of Cornwall ; in Devon to the Crown . With the abolition of tin coinage in 1838 (following extensive petitioning by
124-580: A monopoly on all tin mining in Devon, a right to representation in the Stannary Parliament and a right to the jurisdiction of the Stannary Courts. Plympton became the fourth Devon stannary town in 1328 after a powerful lobby persuaded the Sheriff of Devon that it was nearer the sea and therefore had better access for merchants. The Devon stannary towns are all on the fringes of Dartmoor , which
186-508: A War Office warehouse in London, along with a multitude of other record sets, but incendiary bombs dropped on the warehouse in the Second World War started a fire in which most were destroyed. The surviving quartile were largely water or fire-damaged and thus acquired the colloquial name of the "Burnt Documents." As they were mostly too fragile for public access, they were put on microfilm with
248-513: A fee of £3.50 per file, or through co-branded services called licensed Internet associates (LIA) as pay per view or part of their subscription service. On 22 April 2020, it was announced that a monthly quota of free downloads from Discovery would be made available to registered users, instead of £3.50 per downloaded file. As at August 2023 there are three licensing partners with Licensing Internet Associate agreements still in place: Ancestry.com , Findmypast and TheGenealogist . A reader's ticket
310-450: A monopoly on all tin mining in Devon , a right to representation in the Stannary Parliament and a right to the jurisdiction of the stannary courts. Plympton became the fourth Devon stannary town in 1307. The parliament consisted of ninety-six jurates, with twenty-four being chosen by each of the four Devon stannaries. The jurates were chosen at special courts held in each stannary by "tinners":
372-513: A new platform with a simpler interface to ensure its availability. The National Register of Archives (NRA) is the central point for the collection and circulation of information about the content and nature of archival manuscripts relating to British history. It contains published and unpublished lists and catalogues describing archival collections in the UK and overseas: currently over 44,000 such catalogues are included. The register can be consulted in
434-594: A single Stannaries Court following the Stannaries Act 1855 , but their powers were later transferred to county authorities by the Stannaries Court (Abolition) Act 1896 . The relations between the stannaries and Westminster were discussed in Strode's Case (1512). While the stannaries of Cornwall and Devon had the most developed legal systems, a number of other mining communities had similar privileges. The customs of
496-515: A sum of money from the past (from 1270) would be worth today and the spending power it would have commanded at the time. In September 2011, TNA's museum began using QRpedia codes, which can be scanned by smartphone users in order to retrieve information about exhibits from Misplaced Pages . TNA regularly posts blogs to its website. Posts cover a wide range of topics, from specific events and time periods to features on holdings in TNA, as well as information on
558-537: A term broad enough to include not just miners and tin work owners, but others concerned with the tin industry. The Parliament usually met in an open air forum at Crockern Tor . The last convocation of the Devon Parliament was in 1786, but as late as the 1980s, an honorary stannator would be named whenever a new tin mine was opened. A charter of King John had given the tin miners of Cornwall certain legal rights which were confirmed by King Edward I in 1305. They had
620-520: A written question in the House of Commons from Plaid Cymru MP Dafydd Wigley to the Attorney-General for England and Wales , Lord Chancellor Lord Elwyn-Jones said he could find no record of the charter having been formally amended or withdrawn but also noted academic opinion that "no doubt has ever been expressed about Parliament's power to enact legislation for the stannaries without the need to obtain
682-451: Is "at the heart of information policy—setting standards and supporting innovation in information and records management across the UK, and providing a practical framework of best practice for opening up and encouraging the re-use of public sector information. This work helps inform today's decisions and ensure that they become tomorrow's permanent record." It has a number of key roles in information policy: The National Archives (and before it
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#1733067087723744-542: Is a database containing details of archival collections held in many different archive repositories in England and Wales. As of March 2008, there are no more plans to add additional collections to A2A due to lack of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the changing financial priorities of The National Archives, but existing entries can still be updated. The A2A database was transferred to The National Archives with
806-557: Is based in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London . The building was opened in 1977 as an additional home for the public records, which were held in a building on Chancery Lane . The site was originally a World War I hospital, which was later used by several government departments. It is near to Kew Gardens Underground station . Until its closure in March 2008,
868-484: Is composed of three sections: the department code of up to four letters, such as WO for the War Office ; a series or class number, for the "subcategory" or collection that the document comes from; and an individual document number. Documents can also be ordered several days in advance of a visit. Once a same-day document order has been placed, The National Archives aims to get it to the reader within 45 minutes (assuming it
930-570: Is driven primarily by Cornish nationalism and demands for greater local autonomy, along with arguments about the constitutional status of Cornwall . National Archives (UK) The National Archives ( TNA ; Welsh : Yr Archifau Cenedlaethol ) is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom . Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of
992-459: Is kept at Kew rather than at their second repository, "Deep Store" – a former salt mine in Cheshire: it can take 2–3 days for files to be retrieved from the latter). Special arrangements are in place for readers wishing to retrieve large groups of files as bulk orders placed in advance. As of 2011, some of the most popular documents had been digitised and were available to download from Discovery, for
1054-401: Is no aisle between them. A large handle on the end of each shelf allows them to be moved along tracks in the floor to create an aisle when needed. They are generally stored in acid-free folders or boxes. In the event of a fire The National Archives would be clearly unable to use sprinklers for fear of ruining its holdings, and so when the building is evacuated, argon gas is released into
1116-529: Is not needed to access digitised records. Whilst a visitor is on the premises, they can be accessed for free on a terminal, or via a wi-fi connection, where the paywall on the network has been disabled. Frequently accessed documents such as the Abdication Papers had originally been captured on microfilm , as were the aggregated service records for two million First World War soldiers. (See section further down.) As part of its digitisation programme, microfilm
1178-458: Is restricted to those persons with reader tickets, and there are rules on what can be taken in. Anybody aged 16 or over can access the original documents at the Kew site, after producing two acceptable proofs of identity and being issued a free reader's ticket. The reading rooms have terminals from which documents can be ordered up from secure storage areas by their reference number. The reference number
1240-550: Is the granite upland which bore the tin. No definition of the boundaries of the Devon stannaries is known, if indeed one ever existed. Survival of stannary records has been rather patchy. The Cornwall Record Office 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
1302-614: The Civil Pages project on behalf of the Cabinet Office, operating as an online directory for the civil service, facilitating working together and providing a means of sharing knowledge securely between government departments. In January 2011 The National Archives, in conjunction with historian Nick Barratt and smartphone applications development studio RevelMob, developed its first Old Money iPhone app, which uses historic price data from documents held at The National Archives to see what
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#17330670877231364-589: 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 word ‘stannary’ is derived from the Middle English stannarie , through Medieval Latin stannaria (‘tin mine’), ultimately from Late Latin stannum (‘ tin ’) ( cf.
1426-652: The Family Records Centre in Islington was run jointly by The National Archives and the General Register Office . The National Archives has an additional office in Norwich , which is primarily for former OPSI staff. There is also an additional record storage facility (DeepStore ) in the worked-out parts of Winsford Rock Salt Mine , Winsford , Cheshire . The National Archives was created in 2003 by combining
1488-622: The Parliament of the United Kingdom , although it has been unable to enforce this. On 12 December 1974 the Home Office replied to letters from the members of this revived parliament, saying that the Home Office could only accept elections by the stannary towns as constitutive of a valid stannary parliament. However, the stannaries were not abolished, and the Home Office has made no effort to hold these elections. The Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament
1550-741: The Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission and is a non-ministerial department reporting to the Minister of State for digital policy. On 31 October 2006, The National Archives merged with the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), which itself also contained His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) which was previously a part of the Cabinet Office . The name remained The National Archives . TNA claims it
1612-582: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . It is the official national archive of the UK Government and for England and Wales; and "guardian of some of the nation's most iconic documents, dating back more than 1,000 years." There are separate national archives for Scotland (the National Records of Scotland ) and Northern Ireland (the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland ). TNA
1674-529: The Wellcome Library , TNA has made hospital records available via the Hospital Records Database. The Hospital Records Database has not been updated since 2012, and there are no current updates occurring as of 2018. The Manorial Documents Register includes records relating to manors located in England and Wales. Digitization of the records is on-going as of 2018. The National Archives operates
1736-560: The Ancestry website from 2008 onwards. These are archive series WO 364. For several years beforehand, the future transfer of the records was being talked about. In February 2021 the Ministry of Defence commenced transferring 9.7 million military records for individuals with a discharge date before 31 December 1963 to The National Archives UK, it's largest record transfer in the history of the organization. The first batch of records were added to
1798-576: 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 . Many stannary-related papers including registration of tin bounds, records of tin production and papers relating to disputes are to be found in
1860-632: The Discovery catalogue in April 2022. Since then, these records can be physically consulted in the invigilation room. A minimum of four business days advance notice is currently required when ordering these records, which are currently held offsite. In March 2023, Ancestry announced that it had won a contract to digitize over 3 million British Army service records, which it would release from 2024 through 2029. The documents are stored on mobile shelving – double-sided shelves, which are pushed together so that there
1922-459: The English legal system. The stannary law's complexity and comprehensive reach into the lives of tin miners necessitated the existence of the legislative Stannary Convocations of Devon and Cornwall , the judicial Courts of the Vice-Warden of the Stannaries , and the executive Lord Warden of the Stannaries . The separate and powerful government institutions available to the tin miners reflected
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1984-533: The National Archives reading room and the index used to be searchable as an online database on the National Archives web site. The information is collected in a variety of ways. TNA is sent hard-copy catalogues from archive repositories holding records relating to British history. These are kept in the reading room at The National Archives and indexed in the online database. TNA conducts an annual survey of archive repositories and records all new accessions, and
2046-444: The National Archives, but those held in other archive repositories. Instead, since 2014, it has been possible for users of Discovery to add metadata tags to catalogue items. This has become the new means by which members of the user community can contribute via crowdsourcing . The National Archives also hosts several databases on types of records including hospital records; migration records; and manorial records. Working with
2108-606: The PRO. Since 2008, TNA has also hosted the former UK Statute Law Database, now known as legislation.gov.uk , and since 2022 has hosted a case law database for decisions from superior courts of record since 2003, called Find Case Law . The department is the responsibility of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth ; a minister in His Majesty's Government. The National Archives
2170-710: The Public Record Office) has long had a role of oversight and leadership for the entire archives sector and archives profession in the UK, including local government and non-governmental archives. Under the Public Records Act 1958 it is responsible for overseeing the appropriate custody of certain non-governmental public records in England and Wales . Under the 2003 Historical Manuscripts Commission Warrant it has responsibility for investigating and reporting on non-governmental records and archives of all kinds throughout
2232-540: The United Kingdom. In October 2011, when the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council was wound up, TNA took over its responsibilities in respect of archives in England, including providing information and advice to ministers on archives policy. The National Archives now sees this part of its role as being "to enhance the 'archival health of the nation'". The National Archives is His Majesty's Government's official archive, "containing 1000 years of history from Domesday Book to
2294-538: The accession lists are also available on TNA's website. Information is also obtained from surveys and guides to archival collections, and other publications. The Register includes name indexes to its contents (covering corporate names, personal names, family names, and place names); but not subject or thematic indexes . Where the catalogues are themselves available online the indexes provide direct electronic links; but many still exist in hard copy only (often as unpublished " grey literature "), and it remains necessary for
2356-460: The aid of the Heritage Lottery Fund . This activity commenced in 1996 and concluded in 2003. They were converted to digital image files and were made available on the Ancestry website from 2008 onwards. These are archive series WO 363. Some service record papers were held elsewhere by the Ministry of Pensions, and were unaffected by the warehouse fire. These records were also microfilmed, and duly converted to digital files and were made available on
2418-640: The air-tight repositories. The National Archives also provides services to help users in their research and also find collections beyond those it holds. The National Archives's education web page is a free online resource for teaching and learning history, aimed at teachers and students. Users can select time periods they are interested in, from the medieval era to the present day. Each time period contains sub-topics with various materials that can be used as teaching tools for teachers. Resources for students focus primarily on tips for research and writing using archival materials. Access to Archives (also known as A2A)
2480-428: The archive's operations. The "Archives Media Player" section holds videos and podcasts created and posted by TNA. Videos and audio are not posted as regularly as TNA's blog. Archives Inspire was a strategy document that set out the goals and priorities of the organisation over four years, from 2015 onwards. Our plans 2019–23 Our plans 2023–27 Between 2005 and 2011, over 1500 files had been reported missing from
2542-595: The archives. Notable items reported missing during this period included correspondence from Winston Churchill and documents from the courts of several monarchies. Around 800 of these records have since been recovered, and the archives has reported that they believe most are misplaced rather than permanently lost. In 2017, the archives again received attention when it was reported that around 1000 files had been removed – in part or whole – by government officials and reported as missing when not returned. In response to concerns stated by politicians and historians about management of
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2604-401: The collection, the archives stressed that the number of missing files is quite small in proportion to the entire holdings of the repository – about 0.01% – and that, as of 2017, its loss rate was only around 100 documents, annually. In June 2005, journalist Ben Fenton of The Daily Telegraph received an email from a colleague asking him to investigate documents held at TNA that alleged that
2666-407: The community were usually confirmed by charter, with the miners having the right to seek for minerals in all areas other than tilled fields, subject to paying taxes to the Crown . Examples included: Some Cornish political activists claim to have revived the Stannary Parliament since 1974, along with the right to veto British legislation. Indeed, it purports to have actually vetoed acts passed by
2728-698: The consent of Convocation". In March 2007, Bridget Prentice , Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice , stated in a Commons written answer that "there are no valid Cornish stannary organisations in existence" and that there "are no treaties today that apply to Cornwall only". The Devon stannary courts met in Lydford and operated a prison there, while the Cornish stannary courts met primarily in Truro . The Devon and Cornwall stannary courts were merged into
2790-626: The enormous importance of the tin industry to the English economy during the Middle Ages . Special laws for tin miners pre-date written legal codes in Britain , and ancient traditions exempted everyone connected with tin mining in Cornwall and Devon from any jurisdiction other than the stannary courts in all but the most exceptional circumstances. Edward I 's 1305 Stannary Charter established Tavistock , Ashburton and Chagford as Devon's stannaries , with
2852-413: The established coinage towns. Devon's stannaries are usually referred to by the names of stannary towns which were the locations where white tin 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 's 1305 Stannary Charter established Tavistock , Ashburton and Chagford as Devon's stannary towns, with
2914-477: The mining district". On assembly the stannators elected a speaker, the meeting being termed a Stannary Parliament. The parliaments were convened occasionally by the Lord Warden of the Stannaries when it was felt that laws concerning the miner's rights needed to be made or revised. The Cornish Stannary Parliament last assembled at Truro in 1752, and continued until 11 September 1753. In 1977, responding by letter to
2976-494: The online catalogue of the holdings of TNA. Entrance to The National Archives is free. The Research and Enquiries Room on the first floor contains a large number of desktop computer terminals. In addition, it is possible to bring your own device and to access wi-fi. Close by are the shelves of the reference library. Elsewhere on the first floor and the second floor are the reading room and map room, for conventional and oversized documents respectively. Access to these reading rooms
3038-417: The original from damage. In extreme circumstances, such as where the black and white image of the original was on microfilm, then was transferred to a digital file, and resultant image decay has rendered the finer points illegible, an original document can be retrieved. It will be clearly stated in the catalogue entry if the record has not been digitised. Over six million sets of these papers were stored in
3100-415: The present", with records from parchment and paper scrolls through to digital files and archived websites . The material held at Kew includes the following: There is also a museum, which displays key documents such as Domesday Book and has exhibitions on various topics using material from the collections. The collections held by the National Archives can be searched using Discovery , the name given to
3162-445: The records of families with tin mining interests, although these are frequently intermingled with records on other matters so location of specific information is difficult. The National Archives hold most of the records of central government, which includes records on stannary matters including manorial rolls for part of the reign of Charles 1. The House of Lords Record Office also contains relevant material, primarily relating to
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#17330670877233224-580: The researcher to visit either TNA or the specific repository in order to consult them. A separate National Register of Archives for Scotland is maintained at the National Archives of Scotland , but its contents are duplicated within the NRA at Kew. ARCHON Directory is a database of contact details for archive repositories in the UK and institutions elsewhere in the world which have substantial collections of manuscripts relating to British history. Your Archives
3286-484: The rights of "bounding" (prospecting for and working tin ore deposits), of trial before their own stannary court, and of exemption from ordinary taxation. The stannaries were: Foweymore (district of Bodmin Moor), Blackmore (district of St Austell); Tywarnhayle (district of St Agnes and Carn Brea); and Kerrier and Penwith (district between Godolphin and Land's End). The courts were normally held every three weeks and presided over by
3348-466: The special position of the stannary organisations (and tinners) with respect to the law. Stannary law Stannary law (derived from the Latin : stannum 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 the oldest law incorporated into
3410-553: The stannaries varied greatly and was in no way related to their size. 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 , Truro , Helston , St Austell , Bodmin (probably), Liskeard and Lostwithiel . Penryn twice attempted to acquire coinage town status, supported by Falmouth, but failed on both occasions due to strong opposition from
3472-411: The steward who had been appointed by the warden of the stannaries. As there are no extant records before the 16th century the court procedure is unknown; if tinners were compelled to appear before another court they could insist that half the jury be tinners. The privileges of the stannaries of Cornwall were confirmed by Edward III on the creation of the Duchy of Cornwall in 1337. This confirmed that
3534-434: The symbol for the chemical element Sn). The native Cornish word is sten and tin-workings stenegi . There were four Cornish stannaries (from west to east): 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
3596-423: The time, of £ 1,000, to support his war on Scotland. In addition to restoring the stannaries and pardoning the people who participated in the rebellion, Henry's Charter of Pardon, 1508 provided that no new laws affecting miners should be enacted without the consent of 24 stannators, six being chosen from each of the four stannaries: The stannators were described in 1831 as being "some of the principal gentlemen of
3658-467: The tin miners were exempt from all civil jurisdiction other than that of the Stannary Courts, except in cases affecting land, life or limb. There was at this period no definition of the districts of each stannary. The Cornish stannaries were suspended in 1496, the year before the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 . Henry VII restored them in return for a payment from the tin miners of the sum, enormous at
3720-630: Was a wiki for the National Archives on-line community which was launched in May 2007; it was closed for editing on 30 September 2012 in preparation of archiving on the Government web archive. The contributions were made by users to give additional information to that which is available on the other services provided by the National Archives, including the catalogue, research guides, documentonline and National Register of Archive. Your Archives encouraged users to create articles not only about historical records held by
3782-422: Was eliminated, and replaced by digital files, some of which were free to download. Researchers are encouraged to check Discovery first, to see if they can get what they want online, via the portal or a third party provider. If a document is available online, The National Archives's policy is to encourage people to use the digital copy (surrogate) and not the original, even if they come to Kew, in order to protect
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#17330670877233844-413: Was formerly four separate organisations: the Public Record Office (PRO), the Historical Manuscripts Commission , the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) and His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The Public Record Office still exists as a legal entity, as the enabling legislation has not been modified, and documents held by the institution thus continue to be cited by many scholars as part of
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