Devon (or Devonshire) was originally the homeland of the Dumnonii Celts and in Anglo-Saxon times was partly assimilated into the Kingdom of Wessex. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936 and Devon has been a shire of England since.

Devon has also featured in most of the civil conflicts in England since the Norman conquest, including the Wars of the Roses, Perkin Warbeck’s rising in 1497, the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549, and the English Civil War. The arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place at Brixham.

Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times. Devon’s tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through its Stannary Parliament, which met on Dartmoor and dates back to the 12th century. The parliament maintained its own gaol at Lydford and had a brutal reputation. The last recorded sitting was in 1748.

Until about 1300 Devon produced more than Cornwall but production declined with the opening of the deep Cornish mines. Tin was found largely on Dartmoor’s granite heights, and copper in the areas around it. The Dartmoor tin-mining industry thrived right through to the first half of the 20th century. In the 18th century Devon Great Consols mine (near Tavistock) was believed to be the largest copper mine in the world.

Agriculture has been an important industry in Devon since the 19th century. Since the rise of seaside resorts with the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, Devon’s economy has been heavily reliant on tourism.

In the later 19th and early 20th centuries there were a number of potteries in the county, mainly based around Torquay in the south (for instance Aller Vale Pottery), and Barnstaple in the north. At first these made high-quality art pottery, but later declined to the manufacture of mass-produced mottoware for the tourist industry.

Census data provided to us exclusively by family history website www.TheGenealogist.co.uk shows the dominance of agriculture in the 19th century. In 1841, other common trades included fishing and lace making; by 1911, domestic service had become more common. The population between these years only rose from 533,000 to 707,000.

In the modern period, after 1650, the City of Plymouth has had a large growth becoming the largest city in Devon, mainly due to the naval base at Devonport on its west. Plymouth played an important role as a naval port in both world wars.

South Devon was a training and assembly area during WW2 for the D-Day landings. Both Plymouth and Exeter suffered badly from bombing during the war. Cold winters were a feature of the 17th century, that of 1676 being particularly hard. Smallpox epidemics occurred in the 1640s, 1710s and 1760s, resulting in many deaths.

Common surnames in the county have remained so over many years. According to data provided by www.TheGenealogist.co.uk, the top 20 names distinct from the rest of the country in both 1841 and 1911 include Harris, Hill, Tucker, Baker, White, Webber, Martin, Richards, Cole, Davey and Bowden. Hooper, Lee and Sanders were also common in 1841, as were Rowe, Phillips and Turner in 1911.

Devon Archives and Local Studies in based in Exeter, with a branch in Barnstaple. For further details of research resources and heritage sites to visit in the county, visit www.heritagehunter.co.uk .