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Bickleigh (Near Plymouth)

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"BICKLEIGH is a small village on the western side of the river Plym, in the picturesque vale to which it gives name, six miles N. by E. of Plymouth. Its parish contains 469 souls, and 2980 acres of land, including the village of Jump, and many scattered houses. Bickleigh Vale is much resorted to by anglers and the lovers of woodland scenery, who find excellent entertainment at Maristow Inn. . . . The manor was long held by Buckland Abbey, and afterwards by the Slannings, Modyfords, and Heywoods, the latter of whom sold it to S.M.M. Lopes in 1798. . . . The Church was rebuilt by Sir R. Lopes, in 1839, except the tower, which has six bells. The interior is neatly fitted up, and the east window is enriched with stained glass. . . . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

A parish in Roborough Hundred, the Archdeaconry of Totnes, and the Diocese of Exeter. Includes the hamlet of Roborough. Regarded as part of the South Hams area.

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Biography

Morris, Anna Bonathan. A Letter from India, 1851, Devon Family Historian, vol. 142, (2012) pp.6-7. [By William Bonathan aka Bailey (b. Bickleigh 1821)]

Helmore, Peter M.R. Thomas Matthews from Bickleigh, Devon Family Historian, vol. 96, (Nov 2000) pp. 3-8. [Thomas Matthews (1868-1938) served in Burma, India, and South Africa with the Devonshire Regiment]

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Cemeteries

Brown, Mike. Bickleigh (Pre-1900 Survey). In Dartmoor Region Monumental Inscriptions Indexes, Vol. 2. Dartmoor Press, PO Box 132, Plymouth PL4 7YL.

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Census

Transcription of the 1861 census, by Wayne Shepheard.

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Church History

St Mary the Virgin, Bickleigh, by Graham Naylor.

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Church Records

Parish Registers going back to 1694 are held in the Devon Record Office.

The Devon FHS publishes indexes covering (as of June 2004): Baptisms 1813-1839, Marriages 1754-1837, Burials 1811-1837 - for details see their Devon Parish List.

Other churches and chapels (with pre-1840 records):

  • Wesleyan Chapel: Registers for c.1813-37 - see Ebenezer Chapel, Plymouth (PRO RG 4/1325)

Nothing entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993).

The Deanery of Tamerton, CD, Devon Family History Society, Exeter (2003). [Contains indexes: Bere Ferrers - Baptisms 1813-1840, Marriages 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1837; Bickleigh - Baptisms 1813-1839, Marriages 1754-1837, Burials 1811-1837; Buckland Monachorum - Baptisms, 1813-1839 Marriages 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1837; Egg Buckland - Baptisms 1813-1839 Marriages, 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1837; Mary Tavy - Baptisms 1813-1840 Marriages, 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1837; Meavy - Baptisms 1813-1839 Marriages, 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1838; Peter Tavy - Baptisms 1813-1839, Marriages, 1754-1837, Burials 1790-1837; Sampford Spiney - Baptisms 1813-1839 Marriages, 1754-1837, Burials 1770-1837; Sheepstor - Baptisms 1813-1839 Marriages, 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1856; Tamerton Foliot - Baptisms 1813-1840 Marriages, 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1837; Walkhampton - Baptisms 1813-1840 Marriages, 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1837; Whitchurch - Baptisms 1813-1839 Marriages, 1754-1838, Burials 1813-1837]

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Description & Travel

Bickleigh Parish Council website - general information.

Section on Bickleigh from Samuel Lewis: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1831), provided by Mel Lockie.

Barber, Chips. Bickleigh - A Visitor's Guide. Pinhoe, Exeter: Obelisk Publications. [ISBN 189907371x].

You can see pictures of Bickleigh (Near Plymouth) which are provided by:

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Directories

Transcription of the entry in White's Devonshire Directory (1850) by Terry Partridge.

Transcription provided by Val Henderson of the entry (description and names) in Morris and Co's Commercial Directory and Gazetteer of Devonshire 1870.

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for this parish from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.

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Genealogy

The Online Parish Clerk scheme's representative for this parish is Alick Lavers, who invites queries and lookup requests. (Resources: 1841-1891 censuses; baptism, marriage & burials on fiche.)

Jones, Winslow. The Slannings of Leye, Bickleigh, and Maristow. Trans. Devon. Assoc. vol. 19 (1887), pp. 451-66. [Includes pedigrees, 16-18th c.] [Index]

Jones, Winslow. The Slannings of Leye, Bickleigh, and Maristow. Trans. Devon. Assoc. vol. 20 (1888), pp. 304-305. [Index]

Worthy, C. Devonshire Parishes: or the antiquities, heraldry and family history of twenty-eight parishes in the archdeaconry of Totnes (2 vols), Exeter, W. Pollard (1887). [Chap. I: Bickleigh - Families of SLANNING and LOPES] [Index]

Dartmoor Press Online Magazine's page for this parish (archived copy), with articles, transcriptions, publication details, etc. - highly recommended.

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History

Bellamy, J.C. Bickleigh and its Church. (Reprint from the Plymouth Herald, 15 May 1852) 1852 [Westcountry Studies Library]

Gray, Vera. Bickleigh Mill on the River Meavy, Trans. Devon. Assoc., vol. 120, (1988) pp.81-86: ill, map.

Gray, Vera. A leat on Roborough Down and an early seventeenth century tinners' dispute, Trans. Devon. Assoc., vol. 122, (1990) pp.71-82: maps.

Worthy, Charles. Devonshire Parishes. Exeter: William Pollard (1887) - Vol. 1, pp. 1- 23.

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Maps

Maps of Roborough Down in George III's Collection of Military Maps.

View a map of the boundaries of this town/parish.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SX520623 (Lat/Lon: 50.441834, -4.085649), Bickleigh (Near Plymouth) which are provided by:

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Military Records

Lavers, Alick. A Country Boy, Devon Family Historian, vol. 162, (2017) pp.40-43. [WW2 memories of a German plane being brought down on 24 Nov. 1941.]