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Bridgerule

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"BRIDGERULE, a village and parish on both sides of the Tamar valley, 5½ miles W. by S. of Holsworthy, has 497 souls, and upwards of 3000 acres of land, of which 221 souls and about 2000 acres are in Devon, and the rest are in Cornwall, being on the west side of the river, near the Bude canal. It was anciently called Bridge Reginald, from Reginald Adobed, who held it at the Domesday Survey. The Church and the hamlets of Tines and Dux are in Devon. Sir Wm. Molesworth is lord of the manor, but most of the soil belongs to Mrs. E. Usherwood, T.H. Kingdon, and a number of smaller owners. The Church is an antique structure, with a tower and five bells. The vicarage, valued in K.B. at £14, and in 1831 at £152, is in the gift of the Rev. T.H. Kingdon, B.D., and incumbency of the Rev. S.N. Kingdon, B.D. who has 33A. of glebe, and a good residence, erected in 1842. The Church House, built in the reign of Henry VIII., is partly occupied as a school and partly by paupers." [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

A parish in Black Torrington and Stratton Hundreds, the Archdeaconry of Totnes, and the Diocese of Exeter. The western half of this parish, West Bridgerule, lay in Cornwall until it was transferred to Devon in 1844. (West Bridgerule is bounded on the north by Launcells, on the south by Whitstone, on the west by Marhamchurch and on the east by the River Tamar which separates it from the larger of the Devon portions.) Villages in the parish are: Bridgerule Bridge, Burrow, Knowle, Little Bridge and Merrifield.

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Cemeteries

Whitmore, J.B. Devonshire Monumental Inscriptions, MS at Society of Genealogists (1951). [Extracts]

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Census

The Cornwall Family History Society offers a census search service for its members.

Census records for Bridgerule in 1841 (HO107/151 Enumeration District 2), 1851 (HO107/1896 Enumeration District 4b) and 1861 (RG9/1511 Enumeration District 5) are available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project. The 1841 Census of both Bridgerule East and Bridgerule West is also available from the Cornwall Family History Society.

A search facility for a transcription of the 1871 Census of Cornwall, including Bridgerule, is available.

Snetzler, M.F. North Devon Surname Index to the Census. Microfiche: M.F. Snetzler. [Covers 1841, 1861, 1871 and 1881 census records for this parish]

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Church History

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

The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SS2803, and is dedicated to St Bridget.

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Church Records

Parish Registers going back to 1702 are held in the Devon Record Office.

BTs - CMB 1608. 1614, 1618?, 1644, 1664, 1666, 1669-81, 1688, 1692, 1695, 1697, 1699 (1700-1812?): C 1813-15, 1818, 1820, 1822-26, 1828, 1836-34; M 1813-16, 1818, 1820, 1822-26, 1828, 1830, 1832-34; B 1813-14, 1816, 1818, 1820, 1822-26, 1828, 1830-34 are held at the Devon Record Office.

According to Peskett a register volume 1561-1701 was lost before 1888, but selected extracts from this are preserved in the Baring-Gould Collection at Plymouth Central Library.

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

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

  • Ebenezer Wesleyan Chapel: Registers for c1817-37 - see Holsworthy (PRO RG 4/1210)

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): marriages 1702-1753.

There are copies of the registers (christenings 1702-1812, and burials 1702-1812) at the Society of Genealogists.

Bridgerule Baptisms 1692-1911, Marriages 1702-1911, and Burials 1702-1925, transcribed by Judith Upton.

An index of baptisms, marriages and burials in the parishes of Abbots Bickington, Ashwater, Black Torrington, Bradford, Bradworthy, Bridgerule, Clawton, Cookbury, Halwill, Hollacombe, Holsworthy, Luffincott, Milton Damerel, Pancrasweek, Pyworthy, Sutcombe, Tetcott, Thornbury, West Putford and Holsworthy Weslyan Burials. With photographs of the churches and extracts from White's Directory (1850), Kelly's Directory of Devonshire (1902) and A Topographical Dictionary of England, Samuel Lewis (1831), CD-ROM, Exeter, Devon FHS (2014). [Abbots Bickington Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1770-1833 Bur: 1813-1837; Ashwater Bapt: 1813-1841 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Black Torrington Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Bradford Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1705-1837; Bradworthy Bapt: 1813-1838 Mar: 1755-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Bridgerule Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Clawton Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1800-1837; Cookbury Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1756-1837 Bur: 1813-1841; Halwill Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1843; Hollacombe Bapt: 1813-1898 Mar: 1757-1837 Bur: 1813-1852; Holsworthy Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1860 Bur: 1813-1837; Holsworthy Weslyan Bapt: 1812-1831; Luffincott Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1756-1837 Bur: 1814-1840; Milton Damerel Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1761-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Pancrasweek Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1756-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Pyworthy Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1837 Bur: 1813-1838; Sutcombe Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1800-1837; Tetcott Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1836 Bur: 1813-1837; Thornbury Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1756-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; West Putford Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1838.]

The Miscellaneous Series of IHGS Parish Registers, The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, 79-82 Northgate, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1BA.: CD-ROM (n.d.). [The Devon section of contains: Marriages: Berrynarber 1540-1783, Bridgerule 1702-1753, Chardstock 1597-1837, Challacombe 1599-1621 and 1673-1837, Farringdon 1620-1788, Lynton 1591-1837, Pinhoe 1687-1837, Plymouth 1653-1674, Plymstock 1591-1812, Rewe 1686-1836, Witheridge 1646-1837.] [Also LDS Film 90711]

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Civil Registration

The parish of West Bridgerule was originally in the Broadwoodwidger sub-district, in the Holesworthy Registration District of Devon. (GRO volumes : X (1837-51); 5b (1852-1930)). In 1853, the parish moved under the control of the St Stephen-by Launceston sub-district of the Launceston Registration District of Cornwall, where it remained until 1901 when it became part of the North Petherwin sub-distrct. In 1936, it moved back to the Holsworthy Registration district of Devon. In 1998, Holsworthy became subsumed into the Torridge Registration District of Devon.

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Description & Travel

Bridgerule community information website.

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

You can see pictures of Bridgerule 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

The Online Parish Clerk scheme's representative for this parish is Judith Upton (of the Cornwall OPC scheme), who invites queries and lookup requests.

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History

Williams, H. Fulford. Notes on the Parish of Bridgerule, Devon. Typescript (1964) 8 leaves. [Westcountry Studies Library]

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Manors

The manor of Tacabre (Takkebere, Tacabeara, Tackbeare) or, as it is called in the Domesday survey of 1086, Tacabere, was given in the year 1330 to the abbot and convent of St Mary de Graces, by the feoffees of its founder, Edward III, but it was afterwards granted (as having been the property of James, Lord Audley) to John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon. Towards the end of the 15th century, it was seized by Richard III as having been the property of the Duchess of Exeter, the sister of Edward IV. This manor is of considerable dimensions, extending into the parishes of Whitstone, Tamerton and St Stephens-by-Launceston in Cornwall, and into the parish of Sowrton in Devon.

By the mid-19th century it was commonly called 'Merrifield', supposidly a corruption of Mary-Field, probably from its belonging to the convent of St Mary de Graces.

Glubb, A. de C. Tackbear manor. Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries 14:1, (1926) pp.25-30, plates: ill.

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Maps

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SS275028 (Lat/Lon: 50.79902, -4.449215), Bridgerule which are provided by:

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

Bridgerule parish was part of the Stratton Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.

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Population

The population of Bridgerule East in 1841 was 221 persons; in Bridgerule West there were 276 persons.

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Religion & Religious Life

Shaw, Thomas. Methodism in Bridgerule, 1800-1953. [The Author:] Bridgerule, [1953.] pp. 40. 8o. [Westcountry Studies Library - 287.1/BRI/SHA]