|
Devon was one of the first areas of England settled following the end of the last ice age. Dartmoor is thought to have been settled by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC, and they later cleared much of the oak forest, which regenerated as moor. In the Neolithic era, from about 3500 BC, there is evidence of farming on the moor, and also building and the erection of monuments, using the large granite boulders that are ready to hand there; Dartmoor contains the remains of the oldest known buildings in England. There are over 500 known Neolithic sites on the moor, in the form of burial mounds, stone rows, stone circles and ancient settlements such as the one at Grimspound. Stone rows are a particularly striking feature, ranging in length from a few metres to over 3Km. Their ends are often marked by a cairn, a stone circle, or a standing stone (see menhir). Because most of Dartmoor was not ploughed during the historic period, the archaeological record is relatively easy to trace.
The name "Devon" derives from name given by the Romans to the Celtic people who inhabited the south western peninsula of Britain at the time of the Roman invasion c AD50, the Dumnonii - meaning 'Deep Valley Dwellers'. The Romans held the area under Military Occupation for approx 25 years, and maintained a garrison at Exeter, which they named 'Isca Dumnoniorum. There was a Roman Civitas here for the following three centuries at least. The Germanic peoples who settled England from the fifth century on did not conquer Devon until relatively late. The Saxons are believed to have reached Devon in small numbers in the seventh century, and the king of Wessex launched an invasion in 614. Over the next 100 years there was repeated fighting between Dumnonia and Wessex, and some historians suggest that this resulted in the effective conquest of Devon by Wessex by 715 and its formal annexation around 805. however these dates and the degree of control exterted are debated because the Dumnonian kings continued to be able to maintain (nominal) influence for some time thereafter. In 823 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the "Defnas" (Devonians) as fighting against the "Wealas" (literally foreigners or strangers) in Cornwall. Later William of Malmesbury claimed "that the Britons and Saxons inhabited Exeter aequo jure" ("as equals") in 927, and the notion of two nations within the city at that time was confirmed by E A Freeman in his History of the Norman Conquest. Nineteenth century studies suggested that a significant ethnic Celtic element remains in the local population, and this has been confirmed by DNA analysis in the late twentieth century.
Although Devon's placenames are generally not as obviously Celtic as its neighbour Cornwall, some common Devon name components, such as the ending "-combe" or "tor", are of Celtic origin (compare Welsh (language) cwm and twr, pronounced almost identically). Devon also retained a number of Celtic customs (such as its own form of Celtic wrestling when as recently as the nineteenth century a crowd of 17,000 at Devonport (Plymouth) attended a match between the champions of Devon and Cornwall).
By the ninth century, however, the major threat to Saxon domination of Devon came not from the native British but from Viking raiders, and sporadic incursions continued until the Norman Conquest. A few Norse placenames remain as a result, for example Lundy Island, though the Vikings' most lasting legacy is probably the move of the cathedral from Crediton to Exeter.
Devon has featured in most of the civil conflicts in England since the Norman conquest. William the Conqueror besieged Exeter for eighteen days; both Exeter and Plympton were held against King Stephen in 1140; there were local skirmishes during the Wars of the Roses; Perkin Warbeck besieged Exeter in 1497; the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549 was largely a Devon affair; and Exeter and Dartmouth were both besieged during the English Civil War. Perhaps most notably, the last successful military invasion of Britain, the arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688, took place at Torquay.
Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times. Tin was found largely on Dartmoor's granite heights, and copper in the areas around it. The Dartmoor tin-mining industry thrived for hundreds of years, continuing from pre-Roman times right through to the first half of the 20th century. In the eighteenth century Devon Great Consols mine (near Tavistock) was believed to be the largest copper mine in the world. Devon's tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devon's stannary parliament, which dates back to the twelfth century. Stannary authority exceeded English law, and because this authority applied to part time miners (eg tin streamers) as well as full time miners the stannary parliament had significant power. The stannary parliament met in an open air parliament at Crockern Tor (Dartmoor) with stannators appointed to it from each stannary town. The parliament maintained its own gaol (at Lydford) and had a brutal and 'bloody' reputation for justice, and once even gaoled an English MP in the reign of Henry VIII. The last recorded sitting was in 1748, and it is believed they then adjourned to a pub in Tavistock.
Devon is also known for its mariners, such as Sir Francis Drake, Gilbert, Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Walter Raleigh. Plymouth Hoe is famous as the location where Drake continued to play bowls after hearing that the Spanish Armada had been sighted.
See also
|
