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Culmstock

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"CULMSTOCK, a large village in the picturesque valley of the river Culm 7 miles N.E. of Collumpton, and 6 miles S.S.W. of Wellington, has in its parish 1446 souls, and 4530 acres of land, rising boldly from the valley, and including the hamlets of Upcott, Nicholshayne, Prescot, and Northend. . . . An old beacon, on a lofty hill, is still in good condition, and was occasionally used during the late wars. The manor has long been vested in the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, who are also appropriators of the rectory, and patrons of the Vicarage, valued in K.B. at £16, and in 1831 at £329, and now in the incumbency of the Rev. J.W. Karslake, who has a good residence ad 3A. of glebe. . . The Church (All Saints,) is an ancient structure, with a tower, containing five bells, and having a yew tree growing out of one of its sides. In the parish are three Chapels, belonging to the Quakers, Baptists, and Wesleyans. The parish has a National School, and is mostly leasehold under the Dean and Chapter; but R.H. Clark, Esq., and a few smaller owners, have estates here." [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

A parish in Hemyock Hundred, under the Peculiar jurisdiction of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter.

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Church History

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

Holmes, Muriel. Culmstock Church: A Guide & History, (1989). [SOG Library: DE Tracts Box]

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Church Records

Parish Registers going back to 1645 are held in the Devon Record Office.

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1545, and of the Bishops' Transcripts going back to 1608, 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 - for details see their Devon Parish List.

The members' area of the Devon FHS website makes available online images, not at present (Jan 2016) available elsewhere, of the Parish Registers covering Culmstock Marriages: 1645-1719, 1740-1915, Banns: 1823-1915, Baptisms: 1645-1914, Burials: 1645-1915.

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

  • Prescott Baptist Chapel: Registers for 1786-1836 (Z), 1790-1836 (B) in PRO RG 4/523
  • Small Brook Wesleyan Chapel: Registers for c1806-37 see Cullompton, Tiverton (PRO RG 4/958, 342)
  • Society of Friends: Registers for 1784-87, 1837 (B) in PRO RG 6/1171; 1839-1846 (Z), 1765-94 (M), 1839-84 (B) at DRO; see also Burlescombe and Devon Eastern Division

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): Parish Church Christenings 1608-1837, and Marriages 1608-1635, 1646-1837, Prescot Baptist Chapel Christenings 1787-1836.

An index of baptisms, marriages and burials in the parishes of Bampton, Bickleigh, Burlescombe, Calverleigh, Clayhanger, Culmstock, Halberton, Hockworthy, Holcombe Rogus, Huntsham, Loxbeare, Morebath, Petton Chapelry, Sampford Peverell, Tiverton St. Peter, Tiverton Cove, Uffculme, Uplowman, Washfield and Willand. With photographs of the churches and extracts from White’s Directory (1850) and Kelly’s Directory of Devonshire (1902), CD-ROM 064, Exeter, Devon FHS (2016). [Bampton Bapt: 1813-1838 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1814-1838; Bickleigh Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1836 Bur: 1800-1837; Burlescombe Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1838 Bur: 1813-1837; Calverleigh Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1757-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Clayhanger Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1833 Bur: 1750-1852; Culmstock Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Halberton Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Hockworthy Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1759-1837 Bur: 1813-1838; Holcombe Rogus Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1844 Bur: 1813-1837; Huntsham Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1755-1836 Bur: 1750-1838; Loxbeare Bapt: 1813-1841 Mar: 1755-1837 Bur: 1813-1983; Morebath Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1800-1837; Petton Chapelry Bampton Parish Bapt: 1813-1839 Bur: 1813-1861; Sampford Peverell Bapt: 1813-1840 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Tiverton St Peter Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Tiverton Cove Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1682-1837 Bur: 1815-1837; Uffculme Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1783-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Uplowman Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1837 Bur: 1813-1837; Washfield Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1755-1837 Bur: 1800-1837; Willand Bapt: 1813-1839 Mar: 1754-1837 Bur: 1800-1837.]

Culmstock Burials, 1813-1837. [Devon]: Devon Family History Society.

Culmstock Marriages, 1813-1837. [Devon]: Devon Family History Society.

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Description & Travel

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

Taylor, Anthony. Culm Valley Album, Bradninch, A. Taylor (1987) 191 pp. [Illustrations: 1880-1987] [Westcountry Studies Library xB/CUL 1/1880/TAY]

You can see pictures of Culmstock which are provided by:

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Emigration & Immigration

Norton, David. Emigration from Culmstock, Devon Family Historian, vol. 127, (2008) pp.8-12. [Concerning the Talbot, Wright, Norton, Braddick families' emigration to Australasia,]

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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 John Hurford, who invites queries and lookup requests.

Ames, Art. Digitised Books - Another Possible Genealogy Resource, Devon Family Historian, vol. 135, (2010) p.4. [Illustrated by information about the Hallet and Pook families, mainly relating to Culmstock]

Norton, David. We Were Servants to the Temple Family, Devon Family Historian, vol. 123, (2007) pp.4-6. [Descendants of John Norton and Mary Rabjohns]

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History

Doble, William. Miscellaneous notes archaeological & historic on Culmstock. Manuscript] (1905) 200p. [Westcountry Studies Library]

Sampson, Pat. Culmstock as an industrial town. Devon Historian 19, (1979) pp.33-34.

Sanders, M.J. Culmstock Village History. Typescript (1957) 6p. [Westcountry Studies Library - B/CUL 7/0001/SAU]

Thorne, Robert Linham. The history of the Culme valley and its villages: Hemyock, Culmstock, Clayhidon, Dunkeswell, Churchstanton, Uffculme, Wellington, R.L. Thorne (1951) 26 pp. [Westcountry Studies Library DEV/0001/THO]

Culmstock: a Devon village. Culmstock Local History Group (1982) [4], 104p: ill,maps. [Westcountry Studies Library - pB/CUL 7/0001/CUL]

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Maps

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference ST102135 (Lat/Lon: 50.913953, -3.278751), Culmstock which are provided by:

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Newspapers

Newspaper Articles for the Parish of Culmstock, from a variety of newspapers (1797-1859).

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

Settlement Certificate re John Pears, 1711 - facsimile. Devon Family Historian 36 (1985) p.21.

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Probate Records

Transcripts of the wills of James Currum (1658), Henry Coram (1826) and Maria Talbot (1857), by Diane Harris.

Will of Anthony Pook (1750), George Pook (1752)Elizabeth Pook (1754) and Richard Hellings Pook (1837), provided by Art Ames.

Will of Henry Anning (1842), provided by Ros Dunning.