The 400th anniversary of Sir Walter Ralegh's great court of Devon tinners will be celebrated at Buckland Abbey on October 27.

The event in 1600 was important because it was the last great court held at Crockerntor in the centre of Dartmoor, at which new laws for the tin industry were enacted.

Held in the open air, it was attended by 96 tinners from Tavistock, Chagford, Plympton and Ashburton and presided over by Ralegh as Lord Warden of the Stannaries of Cornwall and Devon.

The anniversary is being marked by a dinner put on by the Dartmoor Tinworking Research Group, set up in 1991 to promote research into the history of the tinners.

It is being arranged in conjunction with the National Trust, which owns Buckland Abbey, a house of the Elizabethan period once the home of Sir Francis Drake.

Tom Greeves, chairman of the research group, will give a talk on Ralegh and the Devon tinners.

Dr Greeves said the relationship between Ralegh and the tinners had not been explored before.

'Ralegh was well known as a favurite courtier of Elizabeth 1 and as a soldier and explorer,' he said, 'but his 16-year term as Lord Warden of the Stannaries remains fairly obscure.'

In 1994 the group celebrated the 500th anniversary of the first great court at Crockerntor.

Bookings for the event on October 27 should be made by October 13 — details from Dr Greeves on 01822 617004.