Step into Combe Martin History

 Silver Mines, Earl of Rone & Village Heritage

About Combe Martin Museum

Combe Martin Famous People

Combe Martin’s history is a tapestry of industry, resilience, and coastal life, shaped over centuries by its mineral‑rich valley, maritime links, and distinctive cultural traditions.

Rooted in the history of Combe Martin, the museum’s collections tell stories that extend far beyond the village itself.

From medieval silver mining and maritime life to changing rural industries and community traditions, Combe Martin Museum preserves and shares heritage that reflects wider themes in England’s economic, social and cultural history.

In doing so, it helps future generations understand how local communities have contributed to the nation’s story.

Discover the extraordinary stories of people who transformed Combe Martin into a maritime village and tourist destination.

Experience History at Combe Martin Museum

Visit our museum and uncover the rich history of Combe Martin, through three floors of rich heritage with fascinating exhibitions.

Combe Martin’s story is one of a small North Devon village shaped by centuries of industry, resilience, and coastal life — from Saxon and Norman times to medieval silver mining and a thriving maritime and market‑gardening community.

Our award‑winning, Arts Council accredited museum captures that heritage with clarity and pride. Inside our fully accessible three‑floor building on Cross Street, visitors encounter the village’s social history and heritage.

Maritime traditions, a once‑remarkable strawberry‑growing industry, deep Exmoor ties, and the village’s unique cultural identity — expressed most vividly through the Hunting of the Earl of Rone festival— all come together here in a living record of Combe Martin’s past.

Discover interactive displays, archives, and community‑driven exhibitions that make Combe Martin Museum the gateway to our past and present.

Welcome to Combe Martin

Nestled in a wooded valley between Exmoor and the Bristol Channel, this former Saxon settlement rose to prominence following the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Combe Martin sits on a mineral‑rich stretch of the north Devon coast, where argentiferous galena and other ores were unusually abundant. The area's resources and coastal location were invaluable to the local populace, and to long‑distance traders and monarchs.

Today, the village is known for its striking linear layout—boasting one of the longest main streets in Britain. In 2002, Combe Martin earned a place in the Guinness World Records for hosting the longest street party, held in celebration of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

Why Visit Combe Martin? 

Over many decades, locals and visitors to Combe Martin have enjoyed summer carnivals, street events and strawberry fayres.

"The Hunting of The Earl of Rone" happens during May, and the legendary North Devon Mini Cars Grand Tour (LGT) usually passes through the long village street in August.

Visitors can wander the trails where silver lead ore was mined for six centuries, smoke once filled the air, and where our remarkable strawberry trade flourished—tracing the footsteps of an extraordinary yet vanished community.

Combe Martin's Annual Earl of Rone Festival

Each Spring Bank Holiday weekend in late May, Combe Martin erupts in the raucous “Hunting of the Earl of Rone festival". Crowds gather to watch this spectacle every year. 

To view the costumes, photographs and a video of this celebrated folk custom: visit Combe Martin Museum on Cross Street near the Kiln Car Park and beach.

Once banned for excessive revelry in 1837, this historic tradition galloped back to life in the 1970s, capturing Combe Martin’s irrepressible spirit. It's now a widely reported folk festival.

Courtesy of Combe Martin's Earl of Rone Council, we have included the 2026 official schedule on this page.

Museum staff are available to explain the 'Hunting' and answer questions, Monday to Friday: 10:30 am till 4:00 pm. 

Over the four days, the fugitive Earl is hunted in the village. Finally captured on the Monday, he is paraded, 'shot', and heckled through the village to the delight of spectators. 

The 'Obby-Oss' cavorts down Combe Martin's famously long main street, flanked by Grenadiers, the Fool and dancers, and a band and drummers.

On the Monday evening, the festival finale is held on Combe Martin's harbour beach. We won't spoil it all by telling you what happens!

Visit the official website: The Hunting of the Earl of Rone

The Norman Conquest

After 1066, the Norman conquerors stripped most Saxon nobles of their estates, while a few retained small parcels of land under feudal terms. 

The 1086 Domesday Book records that the North Devon coastal settlement, called “Cumbe”, was held directly from the king by William de Falaise, a Norman lord from Falaise in Normandy.

This manor later came into the possession of Norman Baron Martin de Tours, who left his name on the village. 

His descendant, Lord Nicholas FitzMartin, secured rights to a town market here in 1264.

The village name—combining the Old English “combe” (valley) with the Norman FitzMartin family's feudal legacy—hints at a village steeped in medieval power and privilege.

Medieval Mining and Milling (12th–19th centuries)

From the 12th century onward, Combe Martin’s Higher Mill sited near The Pack o' Cards Inn, and Lower Mill sited at the top of Cross Street, used man‑made water channels (leats) and small river dams (weirs) to power mill wheels. These included grinding corn and supporting a largely self‑sufficient rural community.

Combe Martin's Royal Silver Mines

By the late 13th century, Combe Martin had become one of England’s most important centres of royal silver mining.

Under King Edward I, miners tunnelled deep into Combe Martin's hillsides to extract argentiferous galena — silver- bearing lead sulphide mineral — raising and separating ores through manual labour and machinery.

By 1292 silver production was sufficiently important for the Crown to organise production directly, with skilled Derbyshire miners brought to Combe Martin in 1295 to manage the work.

Mining continued intermittently for six centuries. The Elizabethan revival of 1587–1593 saw Adrian Gilbert and Bevis Bulmer reopen deep workings and extract a rich new vein, with silver traditionally said to have been crafted into ceremonial plate for the City of London.

This joint enterprise appears to have been profitable for several years.

Further attempts followed in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it was the Victorian era that transformed the landscape. Between 1835 and 1848, new companies introduced Cornish deep‑shaft technology, steam‑powered beam engines, and substantial surface infrastructure.

Surviving remains include Harris’s Shaft, Williams’ Shaft, spoil heaps, retaining walls, and the foundations of a 19th‑century engine house.

“Surviving remains include the foundations of beam engine houses… spoil heaps… and associated structures.”

The silver extracted here helped support royal finances during periods of war. History records that Edward I’s campaigns “required substantial financial resources, and silver production helped support royal coinage and military expenditure.”

Later medieval monarchs, including Edward III and Henry V, also relied on silver from Devon and other royal mines to fund military campaigns.

Mining at Combe Martin finally declined in the late 19th century and ceased around 1902, leaving behind one of North Devon’s most important industrial archaeological landscapes.

Combe Martin in the Tudor Age

In Tudor times, Combe Martin briefly touched national events through Sir Richard Pollard (MP), the Crown official who was granted Combe Martin manor by King Henry VIII.

Pollard helped carry out the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a process that reshaped land ownership across England — changes that were felt here as Combe Martin’s medieval estates passed into new hands (Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars, 2022)

Agricultural and Industrial Growth (15th century–Victorian era)

From the 15th century to Victorian times, Combe Martin supplied the region's ropemakers and sailmakers with the best hemp in the county.

Nestled along the River Umber, Combe Martin’s historic watermills were once vital to village life — powering grain milling, silver smelting, and even local cloth production.

As many as 19 lime-burning kilns, the highest number in North Devon, burned round-the-clock at Combe Martin, during the 19th century.

Local lime-workers supplied lime to Combe Martin farmers and builders.

Beneath the rolling hills on the western edge of scenic Exmoor, rich veins of silver and lead sustained Combe Martin for six centuries.

Every footstep retraces the courage of miners, and the hard work of local industries.

Decline and Legacy (Mid-1800s)

The mills had ceased to operate by the mid-1800s, yet their legacy lives on in place names, preserved millstones, and the village’s enduring connection to its industrious past.

Smuggling and Shipbuilding (18th–19th centuries)

During the 18th and 19th centuries and the "Golden Age of Smuggling" here, the fledgling Customs and Excise battled with 'bootleggers' and locals all trading in illicit goods.

On the River Umber’s banks, steam-powered sawmills, and a cutting-edge shipyard, launched schooners such as the Mary and Elizabeth, linking Combe Martin to wider maritime trade.

Smoggy and "a Shammick" in the 19th Century

Industrious and smoggy Combe Martin was criticised in the 19th century for being a Shammick, an old West Country term for a mess or a shambles.

Combe Martin locals with roots in the valley have long referred to themselves as Shammickites, an enduring local demonym likely connected to the village's Victorian reputation. It's also the title of the widely distributed village magazine.

Silver Mining Heritage

Queen Victoria purchased five items of Combe Martin silver in 1851.

Combe Martin silver is still held in the London Banqueting House collection.

After Combe Martin's silver mines closed in the late 19th century, the village quickly adapted to market gardening and cottage industries.

As industrial furnaces cooled, fertile slopes bloomed with market gardening: superior strawberries, flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Market Gardening

In the early 20th century, soft fruits and vegetables travelled by rail and ship to markets as far afield as London.

Up to two dozen carts per day carrying tons of produce, were loaded at Combe Martin harbour cove, for export around the Bristol Channel ports. 

Local jam-makers harnessed the local produce and strawberry beds, turning Combe Martin’s market gardening industry into a Devon staple.

Combe Martin in Art and Literature

Combe Martin and Exmoor feature in popular literature and poetry, and in famous artworks. 

Celebrated artist J.M.W. Turner produced seascapes, and topographical sketches of Combe Martin’s rugged coastline and Exmoor’s storm-lashed cliffs.

The Tate’s catalogue entry for Turner's sketch “Combe Martin Harbour” is explicitly dated 1811.

Novelist R.D. Blackmore and his family have connections with Combe Martin, and officiated at our St Peter ad Vincula Church. R.D. Blackmore set his classic novel Lorna Doone in the wild romance of Doone Valley.

The popular Victorian author Marie Corelli featured Combe Martin’s real-life sexton James Norman, in her fin de siècle novel The Mighty Atom (1896).

Guidebooks such as F.J. Snell’s The Blackmore Country (1911), and William White’s History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon (1878–79), chronicle local folklore and topography.

St Peter ad Vincula Church

At the heart of Combe Martin stands the 13th-century Anglican Church of St Peter ad Vincula, a historic monument known for its unique monuments and remarkable craftsmanship.

Among its treasures is a 15th-century rood screen, carved from Perpendicular Gothic oak — a striking example of medieval artistry.

Shammickites, prominent personalities including actor Terry Thomas, also local gentry and colourful village characters, rest in St Peter's churchyard.

Visit Combe Martin Museum

Today, museum visitors trace these layered stories at the Combe Martin Museum & Information Point, on Cross Street EX34 0DH. The museum is also a South West Coast Path Passport Stamp Station.

Combe Martin’s history is more than dates and artefacts; it’s a living tapestry of innovation, industry, and adaptation.

Page copyright: author for Combe Martin Museum and Information Point, 2025-2026 | All rights reserved.

Last modified on June 01, 2026

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