At the close of the medieval period the vast majority of manufactured and primary output in England came from small producers integrated into rural society. Mining has, in the past, been excluded from such a model by historians holding a view, coloured by post-medieval developments in certain sectors like copper and coal production, that its demand on capital and techniques was beyond the reach of the small producer. Burt and others have, however, argued convincingly for its inclusion; seeing the archetypal mine at the close of the medieval period as small scale, supporting increased production through a multiplicity of similar small operations. It created no great demand on either capital or technology and its workforce was integrated into its landscape, moving easily between agriculture and mining in tune with demands on production.

There was, neverthless, one sector of non-ferrous metal mining which had developed on a large, capital intensive, ‘industrial’ scale from the 13th century. The mining of silver-bearing ores was, prior to the 13th century, largely centred in northern England, regulated according to custom which allowed the participation of a multiplicity of small operators, and exploited rich shallow resources . When, in the 13th century, the English Crown exercised a right of prerogative over silver-bearing ores and opened up mines in Devon, mining in this and later mining fields was divorced from customary regulation. In doing so the Crown embarked on a course of action which was unprecedented and not emulated in continental Europe until at least the 17th century.

The principal silver producer, at Bere Ferrers on the confluence of the rivers Tavy and Tamar in south Devon, was worked under the direct management of Crown officers from 1292 to 1349; a practice continued beyond that date by Crown lessees. Over 300 men were employed on wages and piecework, many being pressed into service and moved to Devon from other mining fields. By the early years of the 14th century a programme of capital expenditure on development was in place, taking the workings well below the water table with a requirement for well planned drainage. Processing of the ores mined was carried out at a number of sites around Bere Ferrers including a complex of smelting and refining furnaces at Calstock, on the Cornish bank of the Tamar, although subsequent developments in furnace technology led to a concentration of both smelting and refining in a water-powered ‘fynyngmyll’. The demand for timber in the mines, and as fuel for the smelting / refining processes, meant that woodland was exploited in a wide area around Bere Ferrers. Water transport was used to supply the mines and smelting sites with necessary expenditure on boat repairs; and a ropeworks was established to satisfy the requirements for haulage within the mines.

A continued demand for silver, particularly during the bullion crisis of the mid 15th century, encouraged deeper working of the Bere Ferrers mines. The attendant high costs in manual drainage stimulated the introduction of innovative mechanised pumping by 1480, along with the associated leat system to feed its water wheel. However, by 1500, the accessible silver-bearing deposits were worked out. The nature of the mineralisation, and the ability of the medieval miner to work at considerable depth, meant that it was not until the introduction of steam-powered pumps in the 19th century that modern miners could drain the old workings and exploit deeper deposits to the south under the River Tamar.