The Cornish Stannary Parliament (officially The Convocation of the Tinners of Cornwall)[1] was the representative body of the
Cornishstannaries, which were chartered in 1201 by
King John.[2] In spite of the name, the Parliament was not a
Cornish national assembly, instead representing the interests of the tin industry; however, due to the significant proportion of Cornwall's population involved in the tin trade, it wielded considerable power.[1][3]
The
stannaries are said to have first been acknowledged by the Crown in 1198,[4] but formal recognition came with a 1201 charter from King John which affirmed the ancient rights tinners (those involved in
mining tin) enjoyed.[1] The charter exempted tinners from common taxes (though the stannaries had their own tax system) and made the
Lord Warden of the Stannaries the sole
magistrate with jurisdiction over them.[1] Tinners were also protected from being called up to provide labour to local lords of the manor while they were working in the tin industry.
A Cornish Stannary Parliament building was built at
Lostwithiel in 1305.[6] The suspension of the Stannary Parliament and curtailing of tinners' tax exemption rights in 1496 is seen to be one of the factors in the
1497 Cornish rebellion.[7]
The Stannary Parliament met at Lostwithiel[8] and
Truro throughout its existence.[9] Being the seat of the Parliament is credited as one of the factors that caused Truro to become a "significant administrative centre".[10]
According to
Thomas Pitt, no Stannary Parliament sat between 1710 and 1750, though efforts had been made from 1744 to try to get the Parliament recalled.[11] The last session of the Stannary Parliament convened in Truro in 1752, being adjourned in September 1753.[12]
Because the Stannary charters have never been revoked, some argue that the powers and rights of the Stannary Parliaments are still
extant.[13]
Procedure and powers
Members of the Stannary Parliament were called stannators.[9] The 24 stannators, six from each of the four Cornish stannaries (Tywarnhaile, Blackmoor, Foweymoore and Penwith),[14] had the power to pass laws which had effect over the whole of Cornwall in the same way as an
Act of Parliament.[6][15]
The Parliament was summoned by the
Duke of Cornwall and the
Lord Warden of the Stannaries issued notices to each of the stannary towns (
Truro,
Lostwithiel,
Helston and
Launceston) ordering elections for six stannators from each. At the opening of the Parliament the Lord Warden would make a speech, oversee the election of a
speaker, and then be excluded. 24 assistants were appointed to help with the drafting of legislation, forming an informal
lower house.[1]
The Stannary Parliament also held the power of veto over Westminster laws that affected the stannaries;[4][6] to become law, a bill which affected mining needed the approval of every stannator, the Lord Warden, and the Duke of Cornwall.[9] From 1752, bills from the Stannary Parliament needed the assent of sixteen members of the
Westminster Parliament but as Cornwall was hugely overrepresented in Parliament,[note 1] this was less of a burden than it would be today.