A UNIQUE event is due to take place in West Devon later this month, marking the great court of Devon tinners, which took place in the middle of Dartmoor 500 years ago.

The celebration is being organised by Dartmoor Tinworking Research Group and Chagford Local History Society and will take place in the Jubilee Hall in Chagford on Friday September 24.

The evening will mark the exact 500th anniversary of the great court of Devon tinners held at Crockerntor on September 24, 1510, and also the discovery, by Dr Phil Newman, of a previously unknown great court of 1710, whose 300th anniversary also falls in 2010. Both these dates are very significant in the story of Dartmoor tinworking — the early 16th century was when the industry was at its peak with hundreds of active tinworks, mills and tinners, and the years around 1700 witnessed a revival of the fortunes of the industry after the doldrums of the civil war in the mid-17th century.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Dartmoor tin industry was the occasional assembly on Crockerntor near Two Bridges of a 'great court' or parliament of up to 96 tinners, plus royal representatives, to enact statutes for administering tinworking in the four stannary districts of Chagford, Ashburton, Plympton and Tavistock.

The meetings were not judicial courts but were called only when new statutes were needed, and sometimes a generation would pass between gatherings.

The earliest known great court was held in 1474 but there is every reason to suppose that they might have been held at Crockerntor from at least the early 14th century.

The great court of 1494 is the earliest for which there is a full record of attendees and statutes and this was the subject of a splendid 500th anniversary celebration in 1994.

Official representatives from each of the four stannary towns of Chagford, Ashburton, Plympton and Tavistock and Lydford will be attending the event at 7pm on September 24.

The event will include a buffet supper, followed by talks by Dr Tom Greeves of the Dartmoor Society and Dr Phil Newman.

A few tickets are still available. Prior booking by September 17 is essential. Cost £15 per person (to include complimentary glass of wine). A bar will be provided. Please state any dietary requirements.

Please send cheques (payable to Dartmoor Tinworking Research Group), with names and addresses of applicants, plus an SAE, to Chris Kelland, Chairman DTRG, 78 Durham Avenue, St Jude's, Plymouth PL4 8SR. For any other information call 01822 617004.