Talk:Mining in Cornwall and Devon

Mining started when?
The article states that mining in Cornwall started in the "stone age" in 1000BC, and then says 2000BC to 1000BC. The neolithic in Britain finished about 2150BC. By definition Tin is added to copper to make (bronze). So should the article state that Tin mining started at the beginning of the Bronze Age, circa 2150BC. --Dumbo1 13:02, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

South Crofty?
There have been recent developments at South Crofty mine, so I think the article needs a bit of an update. EdJogg (talk) 01:26, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

South-West beyond Cornwall
I hope someone can help here. I rescently heard some information on the 'Staners' of Plymstock. Apparantly they were a powerful consortium of miners of particular prestige in the Middle Ages, with probable roots in the cultures of the distant past. I heard they even were able to keep their own army. There is yet no information I can find on the internet. This is surely a case for a wikipedia article. This article here is the closest thing I can find in topicality. Can anyone help?

WikieWikieWikie (talk) 12:30, 18 November 2008 (UTC)


 * You may be thinking of the Stannators - they had certain special privileges, and were able to make law and administer justice relating to tin-mining. DuncanHill (talk) 18:43, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Naming conventions
Isn't there a naming convention somewhere that states different places on the same subject should have their own article? I'm still not happy with using "Devon and Cornwall" in article titles, there is no such place as "Devon and Cornwall". It'd be like writing an article called "Transport in France and Spain". --Joowwww (talk) 22:59, 28 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Would anyone have any objections if I split this into separate articles for Cornwall and Devon? --Joowwww (talk) 10:59, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
 * The article was developed by collecting together existing information in other articles including Dartmoor tin-mining (only a summary of that is included here so there is an imbalance between the coverage of Cornwall and Devon within the article; I have also recently added a little about quarrying which could in theory be made into another article if it was made more comprehensive). The geology of Devon and Cornwall is closely related so the minerals found in those counties are often the same minerals. The medieval history of the mines is also similar and the Tamar Valley also formed a distinct mining district. It would be possible to convert this content into two separate articles but many of the studies cover both counties. A similar situation exists at Cuisine of Devon and Cornwall which would be much easier to deal with. The analogy of France and Spain does not apply because of the Pyrenees; Transport in the Iberian Peninsula would have some validity.--Felix Folio Secundus (talk) 07:51, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Roman period
" A possible official stamp has been identified on the Carnington tin ingot. "Full citation is needed instead of Warner 1967; if Carnington is a place it needs to be explained properly.--Felix Folio Secundus (talk) 07:39, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

China clay (kaolin)
«he extraction of china clay continues to be of considerable importance: the larger works are in the St Austell district. The amount of waste in proportion to kaolin is so great that huge waste mounds were created whose whiteness in the early years means that they can be seen from afar. The Eden Project has been developed on the site of a former china clay quarry. » Updating is needed here I believe due to the multinational Imerys / Imetal going somewhere else to get kaolin.--Felix Folio Secundus (talk) 08:24, 4 May 2013 (UTC)

Closure of Stannary Courts - date contradiction
Later Modern Period -below center picture- gives closure date as 1836. Stannary Courts and Parliaments #Stannary Courts has 1855 and 1896. Benjamin Trovato (talk) 03:47, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

== imprecise ++ "in its heyday, 150 years ago." This phrase was obviously copied from the source with no thought whatsoever. Change it to give an approximate date. 108.18.136.147 (talk) 01:04, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Cornwall trading gold with Ireland 4500 years ago
See, ,. Doug Weller (talk) 16:06, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Use of Punpowder in the article
This is in the Early Modern Period section. "A second tin boom came around the 16th century when open cast mining was used. German miners came in who had knowledge of the new techniques. In 1689, Thomas Epsley, a Somerset man, developed a method using gunpowder to blast the very hard granite rock loose, using gunpowder with quill fuses. It revolutionised hard rock mining. Six days work, with a pick, could be accomplished with one blast.[35] A third boom occurred in the 18th century when shafts were dug to extract the ore." Were there only two booms after the first one? This is a serious question unrelated to the sound of the explosions. Didn't the use of gunpowder cause a boom? That would make the 18th century boom at least the fourth. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.66.32.8 (talk) 07:48, 7 July 2015 (UTC)
 * The second came around the 16th century with open cast mining.
 * Then Epsley started to use gunpowder in the 17th century.
 * Then there was a boom in the 18th century because of shaft mining.

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The West Country Challenge
Would you like to win up to £250 in Amazon vouchers for participating in The West Country Challenge?

The The West Country Challenge will take place from 8 to 28 August 2016. The idea is to create and improve articles about Bristol, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, like this one.

The format will be based on Wales's successful Awaken the Dragon which saw over 1000 article improvements and creations and 65 GAs/FAs. As with the Dragon contest, the focus is more on improving core articles and breathing new life into those older stale articles and stubs which might otherwise not get edited in years. All contributions, including new articles, are welcome though.

Work on any of the items at: or other articles relating to the area.
 * Core articles
 * Missing article hotlist
 * Missing photograph hotlist

There will be sub contests focusing on particular areas:
 * Bristol (Day 1-3)
 * Cornwall and Scilly (Day 4-6)
 * Devon (Day 7-9)
 * Dorset (Day 10-12)
 * Gloucestershire (Day 13-15)
 * Somerset (Day 16-18)
 * Wiltshire (Day 19-21)

To sign up or get more information visit the contest pages at WikiProject England/The West Country Challenge.&mdash; Rod talk 16:33, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

Prehistoric Age
The following paragraph in the "Prehistoric Age" section makes no sense:

Cornwall was traditionally thought to have been exclusively conducted by Phoenician metal traders from the eastern Mediterranean.[7][8] However, it is likely that the first century BC tin trade with the Mediterranean was later controlled by the Veneti of Brittany.[8][9] Britain is one of the places proposed for the Cassiterides, that is Tin Islands, first mentioned by Herodotus.

I don't know what point this Graf is trying to make..perhaps another editor inadvertently left out a word? Matuko 22:46, 19 November 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Matuko (talk • contribs)


 * I've tweaked the wording to re-include some of the text from before . —S MALL  JIM   09:51, 20 November 2016 (UTC)
 * I've added a quote from Champion. I don't think the Veneti belong there, they are mentioned later. But Champion doesn't seem to mention them in his interesting article. if you want a copy email me.  Doug Weller  talk 17:57, 20 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that, Doug. I don't think the Veneti belong there either. But looking further at the sub-sections of the "Prehistoric period" section, they are all badly organised. We have the mention, as you point out, of 1st-century BC trade by the Veneti in the "Stone Age and early Bronze Age" section. Much of the content of that section is duplicated in the "Expansion of trade" section (which, I assume, is really intended to deal with the later Bronze Age). Then after a couple of sections discussing Ictis and Jesus, we have "Iron Age archaeology", which appears to be talking about very ancient methods again (antler picks etc.) – only its last sentence deals directly with the Iron Age. It all needs rewriting. On top of that we have a mixture of cite and harvp referencing formats, which should be tidied too. Ugh... —S MALL  JIM   23:57, 20 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Thank you both. I'm not an expert on the subject, and can't help re-write it; I expect the popularity of "Poldark" might drive traffic to this page! Matuko 02:54, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

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