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26 May 2023 / William Gibson
Issue: 8026 / Categories: Features , Public , Constitutional law
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A tin-pot parliament?

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Who would believe a granite outcrop in Dartmoor to be one of the oldest seats of English law in the country? William Gibson charts the pre-Norman origins of the tinners’ parliament of Crockern Tor

Where is the oldest parliamentary seat in England? Laws have been passed in Westminster since Norman times, but the present Palace of Westminster was rebuilt between 1840 and 1876, following demolition of the predecessor in 1834. A mere spring chicken compared with Crockern Tor.

Ad hoc industry

The tor is a double outcrop of granite, nearly 1,300 feet above sea level, just off the B3212 in southern Dartmoor, and was the seat of the Parliament of Tinners, or Stannary Convocation of Devon, between the 14th and 18th centuries. Why the tinners chose an outdoor location is not known (their Cornish counterparts always met in their stannary towns), but the tor is reasonably centrally placed for ease of access.

Tin had been gathered on Dartmoor since Roman times, but it wasn’t until the arrival of the Normans in

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