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Devon's History

Devon's seafaring sons - Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Richard Grenville, Sir Francis Chichester - have undoubtedly made their mark on the world stage, and with two seaboards dotted with dozens of safe havens, many Devon men naturally turned to the ocean to make their living.

But it is the landscape which dominated the lives of most Devonians and where their history is written. Thousands of years have passed since men erected the mysterious stone circles, standing stones and cromlechs of Dartmoor.

The Romans came and went, leaving their mark on Exeter where substantial sections of their city walls can still be seen.

In the civil conflicts since the Norman conquests Devon usually played a part - notably the arrival of William of Orange at Brixham to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 - but for the most part the people of Devon went their own way, farming the rich land and exploiting its wealth.

Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals for centuries. Devon's tin miners enjoyed a substantial level of independence through their stannary parliament, which dates back to the twelfth century.