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Warleggan

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The parish of Warleggon/Warleggan, (Cornish: Gorlegan), is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of West. It is bounded on the north by Temple, on the east by St Neot, on the south by Bradock, and on the west by Cardinham. It is a small sparsely-populated parish on the edge of Bodmin Moor, dissected by heavily wooded valleys. Until a road was built in 1953 linking it to the A38, it had the reputation of being one of the most remote areas of Cornwall. Mainly a cattle farming region, the hamlet of Warleggan consists of about eleven houses, a church and a chapel. The last vicar to live here, the Reverend Frederick Densham, was boycotted by parishioners and eventually preached to an empty church. He lived the life of a hermit until one day he was found dead in his barricaded house. A book by Daphne du Maurier was based on his story.

The two villages of the parish are Warleggan and Mount.

Most parish and church description(s) on these pages are from Lake's Parochial History of the County of Cornwall by J Polsue (Truro, 1867 - 1873)

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Cemeteries

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Census

Census information for this parish (1841 - 1901) is held in the Cornwall Record Office. The Cornwall Family History Society offers a census search service for its members.
Specific census information for this parish is available as follows:

  • 1841. The 1841 Census of Warleggan (HO107/153), Enumeration District 6, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1851. The 1851 Census of Warleggan & Temple (HO107/1904), Enumeration District 2, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1861. The 1861 Census of Warleggan & Temple (RG9/1535), Enumeration District 10, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1871. The 1871 Census of Warleggan & Temple (RG10/2248), Enumeration District 10, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1881. The 1881 Census of Warleggan & Temple (RG11/2290), Enumeration District 10, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1891. The 1891 Census of Warleggan (RG12/1815), Enumeration District 10, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1901. The 1901 Census of Warleggan (RG13/2199), is available on-line courtesy of the OPC.
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Church History

  • Anglican. The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SX1569 and was dedicated to St Bartholomew. It is very small and very isolated. The village church was one of the few on the moors to have a spire, until in 1818 when it was struck by lightning. It comprised a chancel, nave and south aisle. The arcade consists of five four-centred arches, supported on monolith pillars of granite. The only entrance is by the south porch. The tower has two stages, and is finished with stump pinnacles. It now contains only one bell; to pay for the tower repairs in 1818, two of the three bells were sold. The interior of the church was restored in the 19th century.
  • Non-Conformist. The arrangements for Non-Conformists in this parish are not yet clear.
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Church Records

  • LDS Church Records.
    • The LDS Church batch numbers for Warleggan are: E00201, M002201, P002201/2. These are searchable by surname.
    • The IGI coverage of this parish is 1547 - 1875.
  • The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1548 - 1904, Burials 1548 - 1778, Marriages 1548 - 1837, Boyd's Marriage Index 1547 - 1812, Pallot's Marriage Index 1790 - 1812.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of:
    • Pre 1813 Marriages
    • 1813-37 Marriages
    • 1813-37 Burials.
  • Baptisms.
    • Baptisms 1813 to 1904 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
    • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD baptisms 1720 to 1856 for this parish which can be purchased on Parish Chest.
  • Marriages.
    • Phillimore marriages 1547 to 1718 and 1682 to 1812 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
    • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Marriages in the Parish 1547 to 1837, which is available in CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
    • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD marriages 1720 to 1845 for this parish which can be purchased on Parish Chest.
  • Burials.
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Civil Registration

The parish of Warleggan was originally in the Bodmin Registration District, but it is now in the Liskeard Registration District. There were sub-districts are Bodmin, Egloshayle, Lanlivery and St Mabyn but these have now been abolished. Parishes within the Bodmin district were: Blisland, Bodmin, Bodmin Borough, Cardinham, Egloshayle, Endellion, Helland, Lanhydrock, Lanviet, Lanlivery, Lostwithiel, Luxulion, St. Kew, St. Mabyn, St. Minver Highlands, St. Minver Lowlands, St. Tudy, St. Winnow, Temple, Wadebridge, Warleggon, Withiel.

The Superintendant Registrar of St Austell can be contacted at: Graylands, Dean Street, Liskeard, PL14 4AH. Tel: 01579 343442.

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Court Records

Some Warleggan Parish Law Breakers are listed on-line.

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Warleggan which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Genealogy

  • OPC Assistance. The On-line Parish Clerk (OPC) scheme operates a service to help family historians; the OPC page for this parish is available on-line.
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Land & Property

Some information about people and property in Warleggan is available.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SX154690 (Lat/Lon: 50.491482, -4.603958), Warleggan which are provided by:

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Occupations

Some listings of Warleggan Apprenticeship Indentures are available on-line. Two indentures are on-line:

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

Warleggan parish was part of the Bodmin Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.

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Population

  • Population in 1801 - 116 persons
  • Population in 1811 - 228 persons
  • Population in 1821 - 296 persons
  • Population in 1831 - 274 persons
  • Population in 1841 - 277 persons
  • Population in 1851 - 295 persons
  • Population in 1861 - 295 persons
  • Population in 1871 - 301 persons
  • Population in 1881 - 232 persons
  • Population in 1891 - 206 persons
  • Population in 1901 - 233 persons
  • Population in 1911 - 216 persons
  • Population in 1921 - 217 persons
  • Population in 1931 - 168 persons
  • Population in 1951 - 189 persons
  • Population in 1961 - 154 persons
  • Population in 1971 - 162 persons
  • Population in 1981 - 195 persons
  • Population in 1991 - 201 persons
  • Population in 2001 - 203 persons
  • Population in 2011 - 208 persons
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Societies

A Warleggan Parish History Group has been formed to research and publish local and family history relating to Warleggan parish. Contact can be made with the Group through the OPC.

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Statistics

The parish comprises 2157 acres of land and 6 acres of water.