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Kenton

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"KENTON is a pleasant village, in the picturesque valley of the river Kenn, opposite the woody grounds of Powderham Castle, and about a mile W. of the estuary of the Exe, and 7 miles S.S.E. of Exeter. Its parish extends westward to the lofty range of the Haldon Hills, and comprises 5400 acres of land, including the hamlets of South Town, Cofford, Fenbridge, Staplake, Lyston, Cheverstone, Wilsworthy, West Town, and East Town; and the large village of STARCROSS. . . . The Earl of Devon owns a great part of the parish and is lord of the manor, . . . Kenton Church, (All Saints,) is a large and handsome building of red stone, with a lofty tower, containing six bells. It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Edward III, . . . The Dean and Chapter of Salisbury are appropriators of the rectory, and patrons of the vicarage, valued in K.B. at £34. 13s. 4d., and in 1831 at £265, and now in the incumbency of the Rev. A.L. Dames, M.A., who has a good residence with tasteful grounds. . . . At West Town is an old dwelling, which was formerly an ancient chapel dedicated to St Ann. Here is a National School, established in 1838. . . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

A parish in Exminster Hundred, in the Archdeaconry and Diocese of Exeter. The modern parish of Starcross was created in 1828 from parts of Kenton and Dawlish.

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Archives & Libraries

Royal Western Counties Institution - details of archives.

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Biography

Brooking-Rowe, J. (Ed.). The Rev. William Philip Strong Bingham.  [Obituary] Trans. Devon. Assoc., vol.  XXXIX, (1907), pp. 39-40. [Transcript]

Colley, Reg. Looking back or my memoirs. Starcross: A.& P.Jarvis (1980) 48p. [Westcountry Studies Library - p920/COL]

Harpley, Rev. W. George Pycroft, M.R.C.S.[Obituary] Trans. Devon. Assoc. 1894, Vol XXVI, pp. 49-50. [Transcript]

Hazell, Malcolm. Devon's grass roots historian. Devon Life vol. 8 no. 64 (1971) pp.24-26. - Henry Baird's pen name was Nathan Hogg.]

Williams, John H. The Wreck of the Steamship "Orion" 18th June 1850, Devon Family Historian, no. 149, (2014) pp.9-10. [Drowning of Elizabeth Splatt (née Yeo) and her daughtersMary Ann, Elizabeth, Susan and Anna.]

Captain George Peacock, senior founder of Peacock & Buchan Ltd, Southampton, Peacock & Buchan [1957?] 9p: ill. [Peacock retired to Starcross in 1859, builder of Swan of the Exe] [Westcountry Studies Library p920/PEA]

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Cemeteries

MIs for this parish are included in the Devon FHS index - see under Cemeteries on the main Devon page.

Cresswell, B.F. Notes on the Churches of the Deanery of Kenn, Devon, (1912). [Extracts]

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Census

Western Counties Idiot Asylum 1891 Census, transcribed by Bob Muchamore.

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Church History

Kenton - from J. Stabb. Some Old Devon Churches (London: 1908-16).

Morrish, F.J. All Saints' Church, Kenton (4th ed.), (1958). [SoG Library DE tracts]

West, William R. and Mignot, Eileen. They Built a Chapel in Kenton: The history of Methodism in a Devonshire village. Dawlish: W.J.Holman Ltd (1970) 15p: ill, port. [Westcountry Studies Library - 287.1/KEN/WES]

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Church Records

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

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1694, and the Starcross Registers going back to 1828, are held in a special collection in the Westcountry Studies Library.

The Devon FHS publishes indexes covering (as of June 2004): Marriages 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1837, together with Marriages 1813-1837 and Burials 1813-1837 for Starcross - for details see their Devon Parish List.

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): Parish Church Christenings 1694-1837, and Marriages 1694-1837.

Sellman, R.R. Kenton: extracts and notes from the parish records and other sources. Typescript [1978?] 300p. [Westcountry Studies Library - f929.3/KEN/1694]

An index of baptisms, marriages and burials in the parishes of Alphington, Ashcombe, Bishopsteignton, Chudleigh, Combeinteignhead, Dawlish, Dunchideock, East Ogwell, East Teignmouth, Exminster, Haccombe, Ide, Kenn, Kenton, Mamhead, Powderham, Shaldon, Shillingford St. George, Starcross, Stokeinteignhead, St. Thomas the Apostle (by Exeter), Trusham, West Ogwell and West Teignmouth. Includes Chudleigh United Reformed Church and East Teignmouth Zion Independent Chapel Burials. With photographs of the churches and extracts from White's Directory (1850) and Kelly's Directory of Devonshire (1902), CD-ROM, Exeter, Devon FHS (2015). [Alphington Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1812-1837; Ashcombe Bapt: 1813-1841 Mar: 1754-1836 Bur: 1783-1837; Bishopsteignton Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Chudleigh Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Chudleigh United Reformed Chapel Bur: 1834-1836; Combeinteignhead Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1800-1837; Dawlish Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Dunchideock Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1756-1836 Bur: 1813-1851; East Ogwell Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; East Teignmouth Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; East Teignmouth Zion Independent Chapel Bur: 1809-1836; Exminster Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1836 Bur: 1813-1837; Haccombe Bapt: 1821-1842 Mar: 1773-1801 Bur: 1829-1839; Ide Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Kenn Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1836 Bur: 1813-1837; Kenton Bapt: 1813-1844 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Mamhead Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Powderham Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1835 Bur: 1785-1837; Shaldon Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Shillingford St. George Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1765-1837 Bur: 1680-1842; Starcross Bapt: 1815-1840 Mar: 1828-1837 Bur: 1828-1837; Stokeinteignhead Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1836 Bur: 1800-1837; St.Thomas the Apostle (by Exeter) Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Trusham Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1743-1837 Bur: 1750-1837; West Ogwell Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1843 Bur: 1813-1839; West Teignmouth Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837.]

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Description & Travel

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

Conservation Area Appraisal for Kenton - an interesting account of the area, with numerous photographs and maps.

Barber, Chips and Barber, Sally. Around and About the Haldon Hills, (1982). [Devon FHS Library 942.35/EAS]

Barber, Chips and Barber, Sally. Around and About the Haldon Hills - Revisited, Obelisk Publications (1996) 96p. [ISBN 1899073 31 0] [Index]

You can see pictures of Kenton which are provided by:

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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

This parish is one of the growing number of places for which the Devon Heritage website provides census or parish register transcriptions, articles, and/or illustrations, etc.

Garnsworthy, David. The Garnsworthy Family, Devon Family Historian, no. 125, (Feb 2008) pp.14-17.

Marshall, Sue. The Lacey's of Kenton, Devon Family Historian, vol. 109, (2004) pp.6-7.

Newcombe, M.O.L. Newcombes of Chard, Drewsteignton, Exeter and Starcross, ed. Jud Burgoyne-Newcombe. [Newport, Gwent]: the author, 1996. Raymond: [Medieval-19th c.; includes pedigrees.]

Worthy, Charles. Wykes of Northwyke, Weekes of Honeychurch and Cheverston of Cheverston, Wray, East Ayshe and Ilton. In Devonshire Wills, London: Bemrose (1896) 516 pp. [Transcription by Harry Wykes]

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History

Elliott, Hector. History of Kenton. Typescript (1992) 26p. [Westcountry Studies Library - sxB/KEN 9/0001/ELL]

 

Gibbins, Les. Starcross Summer Regattas, Devon Family Historian, vol. 186, (2023) pp.40-44.

Griffiths, Grace. The book of Dawlish: a history of Dawlish and Dawlish Warren with notes on the surrounding villages of Ashcombe, Cofton, Kenton, Mamhead, Powderham and Starcross. Buckingham: Barracuda (1984) [BL X.800/39475]

Pascoe, W.H. Exmouth to Starcross: an ancient ferry: a story of almost 1200 years, Exeter, Obelisk Publications (1996) 24p: ill, maps. [ISBN 1899073337] [Westcountry Studies Library s386.6/EXE/PAS]

Vaughan, Eric. Kenton & Starcross of Yesteryear. Pinhoe, Exeter: Obelisk Publications (1998) 32p. [ISBN 1899073701] [Index]

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Land & Property

Bingham, W P S. Modus for the parish of Kenton, confirmed at the castle of Exeter, 1606. Trans. Devon. Assoc. vol. 33 (1901) pp. 532-534. [Index]

Elliot, John. Homes and gardens - Powderham Castle, Kenton. Devon Life vol. 8 no. 62 (1971) pp.14-16; ill.

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Manors

Le Hardy, W. Notes on the manor of Kenton. Typescript & manuscript [1945?] [Westcountry Studies Library - msx336.22/KEN/KEN]

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Maps

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SX957833 (Lat/Lon: 50.640027, -3.476365), Kenton which are provided by:

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Military History

Memorial to Kentonians who served in the South African War 1900 – 1902, transcribed by John Williams

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Names, Personal

1641 Protestation Return for Kenton Parish, provided by Frances Radford.

Kenton Apprentices Register - 1801-1810, Exeter, Devon Family History Society, (Booklet & PDF A254A). [Foreword]

Kenton Apprentices Register - 1811-1820, Exeter, Devon Family History Society, (Booklet & PDF A254B). [Foreword]

Kenton Apprentices Register - 1821-1830, Exeter, Devon Family History Society, (Booklet & PDF A254C). [Foreword]

Kenton Apprentices Register - 1831-1840, Exeter, Devon Family History Society, (Booklet & PDF A254D). [Foreword]

Kenton Vaccination Register - 1905, Exeter, Devon Family History Society, (Booklet & PDF D084). [Foreword]

Kenton Vaccination Register - 1906, Exeter, Devon Family History Society, (Booklet & PDF D114). [Foreword]

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Probate Records

Will of John Atwill (1600), provided by John Moore.