Stannary Town


History of the Town


ASHBURTON’S past prosperity is based on the mining of Dartmoor tin and the woollen industry, with the river providing ample power for the many mills that once lined its banks. Ashburton is one of only four stannary towns in


Devon, the others being Chagford, Tavistock and Plympton, with tin being mined in the area as far back as Roman times. The word stannary derives from the Latin stannum meaning tin. The towns were important centres for


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the trade of metal as all rough smelted tin had to be stamped before it was taken away for use. The tin was Crown property and assayed for value so the miners could be paid for what they produced. Ashburton was designated a stannary town as


early as 1285 AD. It became the county’s most important one in 1515 when nearly 40 per cent of Devon's tin was sold there. By the early 1700s the trade had all but died out but small amounts of ore have been mined even up to comparatively recent times.


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