Devon's tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devon's stannary parliament, which dates back to the twelfth century. Then the legion moved to Caerleon and the civilians of the surrounding settlement took control. Services were transferred to the present facility which occupies the site of the historic manor house of Raleigh, in the former parish of Pilton, seat of the locally influential Chichester family. During the Civil War, the region escaped much of the bloody fighting that took place elsewhere. Until the early 18th century the stannary parliament met in an open air parliament at Crockern Tor on Dartmoor with stannators appointed to it from each of the four stannary towns. An adventurous traveller can see some of the earliest occupied sites at Kents Cavern near Torbay, an Ancient Monument. The King himself came down to judge the prisoners and to thank the citizens for their loyal resistance. The district is an extensively dissected upland, descending southwesterly and westerly from Exmoor, a bleak, misty moor at an elevation of about 1,500 feet (455 metres) in the northeast, to sea level at the sand dunes embanking the River Taw estuary on the west coast. William of Malmesbury claimed that "the Britons and Saxons inhabited Exeter aequo jure" - "as equals". When everything fell apart in Rome, the Dumnonii expanded but retained a lot of the useful Roman aspects they had absorbed, like the structure of their church. [7] The end of the fighting appears to have been a protracted and miserable affair. In the eighteenth century Devon Great Consols mine (near Tavistock) was believed to be the largest copper mine in the world. The former Roman city of Exeter may have become an ecclesiastical centre, as evidenced by a sub-Roman cemetery discovered near the cathedral. At the time of the exercise, any surviving soldier was threatened with court martial if they revealed the truth about the exercise. Exeter, a cathedral city and university city, is the long-established centre of county administration. Dumnonii is the ultimate root of the name Devon. The county’s generally mild climate becomes more extreme with elevation and distance from the sea, and rainfall increases from about 30 inches (760 mm) on the south coast to more than 60 inches (1,500 mm) on Exmoor and 80 inches (2,000 mm) on Dartmoor. Within Devon’s boundaries is a wide variety of scenery, including Dartmoor National Park and, in the north, part of Exmoor National Park. The main resorts, apart from Ilfracombe on the north coast, lie on the south coast and include Torbay (one of the country’s leading holiday resorts), Paignton, and Brixham. Exeter was taken by the Norman William I the Conqueror in 1068, and a castle was built there in 1348. You are here > Discover North Devon > History & Heritage. Edward the Elder built similarly at Barnstaple and Totnes. The bulk of the district is given over to the grazing of sheep and beef and dairy cattle—many of which are local breeds—although a large portion of the district is within Exmoor National Park. Acres, 1, 050. When farming technology arrived, the Neolithic peoples farmed and settled the land, leaving some of the most distinctive ancient relics in the UK behind: huge granite stone circles, menhirs, burial mounds and settlements. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter. It also includes the parliamentary boroughs of Devonport, Exeter, and Plymouth. Cold winters were a feature of the 17th century, that of 1676 being particularly hard. In October 1690 there was an earthquake in Barnstaple. The ports of Exeter, Plymouth, Barnstaple, and Dartmouth thrived from medieval times on the export of tin and cloth (a staple industry) until these both declined in the 19th century, causing rural depopulation that was alleviated only by the rise of tourism, which rapidly increased during the railway era.