Hide

Littleham (near Bideford)

hide
Hide

"LITTLEHAM (ST. SWITHIN), a parish, in the union of BIDEFORD, hundred of SHEBBEAR, Great Torrington and N. divisions of DEVON, 9 miles (S.S.W.) from Bideford; containing 390 inhabitants. This place, anciently a royal manor, formed part of the dower of Matilda, consort of William the Conqueror. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Yeo, which separates it from the parish of Monkleigh; the scenery is enriched with wood, and in many parts beautifully picturesque, especially on the road from Bideford to Buckland-Brewer, in a line parallel to the course of the Yeo, on the banks of which are some grounds producing hops of superior quality. Littleham Court, the seat of George Anthony, Esq., lord of the manor, is a handsome mansion. . . The church is an ancient edifice, with some interesting details, among which is a wooden screen, richly carved." [From Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of England (1844)]

A parish in Shebbear Hundred, the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple, and the Diocese of Exeter.

Hide
topup

Business & Commerce Records

Listings of Licensed Victuallers for this parish are to be found here.

topup

Cemeteries

Littleham Churchyard M.I.s at St. Swithuns Church, Littleham, from Ian Mitchell's Littleham & Landcross Parish website.

topup

Census

Transcription of the 1871 Census, by Ethelda Peshko.

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]

topup

Church History

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

The History of Saint Swithun's Church, Littleham, North Devon, by Hugh Bone, provided by Ian Mitchell.

Transcript of a listing of contributions by parishioners towards the Redemption of Christian Slaves in Turkey (1670), provided by Lindsey Withers.

Transcript of a listing of contributions by parishioners towards the Relief of Irish Protestants (1689), provided by Lindsey Withers.

Listing of the The Church Collections in Littleham, transcribed by Lindsey Withers.

Herbert George Morse. The Church of S. Swithin, Littleham. London: Pickering & Chatto (1900).

topup

Church Records

Parish Registers going back to 1539 are held in the Devon Record Office.

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1538 are held in a special collection in the Westcountry Studies Library.

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

Bideford Methodist Circuit baptisms (1819 -1870) transcribed by David Carter. (Contains entries from the following parishes: Abbotsham, Allington, Alverdiscott, Alwington, Appledore, Arlington, Barnstaple, Bideford, Buckland Brewer, Bucks Mills, Burrington, Chulmleigh, Clovelly, Fremington, Frithelstock, Great Torrington, Hatherleigh, Huntshaw, Ilfracombe, Instow, Landcross, Little Torrington, Littleham, Loxhore, Marystowe, Monkleigh, Newton Tracey, Northam, Parkham, South Molton, St Giles in the Wood, Wear Giffard, Westleigh, Woolfardisworthy.)

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

  • Wesleyan Chapel: Registers for c1819-37 - see Bideford (PRO RG 4/955)

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): Parish Church Christenings & Marriages 1538-1836.

Littleham Parish registers 1538-1836, National Library, Australia, (1998). [ISBN 1 875790 05 5 (Microfiche)] [Lookups]

An index of baptisms, marriages and burials in the parishes of Abbotsham, Alverdiscott, Alwington, Bideford, Buckland Brewer, Bulkworthy, Clovelly, East Putford, Frithelstock, Hartland, Landcross, Littleham, Monkleigh, Northam, Parkham, Wear Gifford, Welcombe and West Woolfardisworthy. With photographs of the churches and extracts from White's Devonshire Directory 1850 and Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of England 1844, CD-ROM, Exeter, Devon FHS (2009). [Abbotsham Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Alverdiscott Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1775-1837; Alwington Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Bideford Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Buckland Brewer Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Bulkworthy Bapt: 1813-1841, Mar: 1814-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Clovelly Bapt: 1813-1838, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; East Putford Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1797-1837, Bur: 1813-1839; Frithelstock Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Hartland Bapt: 1838-1839, Mar: 1558-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Landcross Bapt: 1814-1839, Mar: 1761-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Littleham Bapt: 1813-1841, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1851; Monkleigh Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Northam Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Parkham Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1537-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Wear Gifford Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1755-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Welcombe Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1757-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; West Woolfardisworthy Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837.]

topup

Description & Travel

Littleham & Landcross Parish website - an extensive site.

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

You can see pictures of Littleham (near Bideford) which are provided by:

topup

Directories

Transcript of complete entry in White's Devonshire Directory of 1850.

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

Hingeston-Randolph, F.C. The Rectors of Littleham in the Deanery of Hartland, annotated by J. Ingle Dredge. Exeter: William Pollard (1891) 91p. [Westcountry Studies Library - s283.0922/LIT/HIN]

topup

Gazetteers

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

topup

Genealogy

The Online Parish Clerk for this parish is Ethelda Peshko, who invites queries and lookup requests. (Resources: PRs on Fiche up to 1837, Protestation returns.)

The genealogy section of the Littleham & Landcross Parish website - includes census records, MIs and more.

Rothe, B.M. Descendants of John and Mary (Sketch) Morrish [of Littleham, Bideford, mainly in the USA], (1999) [DFHS 929.2/MOR]

topup

History

Transcription, by Elizabeth Howard, of by William Henry Rogers' "Notes on the History of Littleham".

Badcock, L J. Littleham my Littleham. (1989) [Barnstaple Library - BT:LIT 3 /1928/BAD]

Shakespeare, Liz. The memory be green: an oral history of a Devon village (Littleham). Littleham: Letterbox Books (1990) 110pp., [8]p of plates. [ISBN 0951687905] [Index]

Shakespeare, Liz. Fever: A Story from a Devon Churchyard. Littleham: Letterbox Books (2005) 270pp. [ISBN 0-9516879-1-8] [Names]

topup

Maps

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SS443234 (Lat/Lon: 50.988885, -4.219803), Littleham (near Bideford) which are provided by:

topup

Probate Records

Will of William Braund (1810), transcribed by Janet Few.