Slow The Horse Sam
‘Slow the horse Sam, slow the horse!’ Said my father.
I pull on the reins, hard. I’m glad that we don’t have to cross the old clapper bridge, yonder. The noise always used to spook the mare, and she was hard to handle. This new pack bridge has made my life a lot easier over the last couple of years.
I ride atop the cart as my father yells at the toll man. He runs out of his cottage and unlocks the chain that blocks our passage. He and my father exchange a few words before I’m waved on….. father clambers aboard and we’re off.
Today is a big day!
There is a big meeting up on Crockern Tor…… the stannery Parliament is meeting and the price of tin is going to be reset. This is always a time of feast and trade.
Mother has been weaving some baskets this past month, and father has loaded some of them, along with with some taters and nips onto our old cart.
Jenny our mare is old but she’s a worker and loves the long trip.
I can see Crockern Tor up ahead and there are already a lot of people gathering. There’s a piper standing up on top of the moorstone and he’s playing a happy tune. There is a festive feeling about it all.
We find a space by the stream under the Great Seat and I encourage Jenny to feed on some grass as father unloads our goods.
More and more people are arriving from all over Devonshire and perhaps even some Cornish….they’re a strange people. A gentlemen wearing a woollen jacket makes his way up to the ‘Seat’, makes himself comfortable and looks around. He looks important.
As the morning wears on, more important men arrive and join him. Today they will convene the Stannery Parliament…. They will all be representing their own towns and villages and will try to fix a fair price for the tin ore taken out of the ground. It’s always an argumentative process as each community will have differing reasons for doing things, but it’s fun to watch and this is a beautiful location from which to watch the process.
I unwrap my cheese and onion sandwich and look on…… the man with the expensive jacket is standing on his moorstone seat to get our attention ….it’s beginning.
Isn’t travel wonderful ? If you don’t know about stannery parliaments or tors or the moors…. Google it
Devon is my place of birth and I love the history that emanates off of every surface…. The historical record is a fascinating one and I shall reflect on much of it when touring the area over the next couple of years.
https://www.seymourtravels.co.uk/general-2
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