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Offwell

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"OFFWELL, a village and parish on the hills, 2½ miles E.S.E. of Honiton, near the source of a rivulet, has 438 inhabitants and 2206 acres of land. It includes part of Wilmington village, which is partly in Widworthy parish. . . . The parish now belongs to Sir. E.M. Elton, Sir E.S. Prideaux, Lord Ashburton, the heirs of the late Bishop of Llandaff, and a few smaller freeholders. West Colwell estate was purchased about 30 years ago, by the late Rt. Rev. Edward Copleston, D.D., who was enthroned Bishop of Llandaff, in 1828, and had a seat here. called Offwell House. He died in 1849, and was patron of the rectory, valued in K.B. at £14. 3s. 6½d., and in 1831 at £380. The Rev. J.G. Coplestone, M.A., is the incumbent, and has 80A. of glebe, and a large and handsome Rectory House, in the Elizabethan style, erected in 1845, at the cost of about £1800. . . . An ornamental tower, on Honiton hill, in this parish, was built by the late Bishop of Llandaff, in 1843, and commands extensive prospects. The Church (St. Mary,) has a tower and five bells, and is of the age of the 15th century. . . . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

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

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Biography

Alexander, Marc. To anger the devil, an account of the work of the exorcist extraordinary the Reverend Dr.Donald Omand. St. Helier: Neville Spearman (1978) 203p: plates. [ISBN 0859780341]

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Cemeteries

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

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Church Records

Parish Registers going back to 1551 are held in the Devon Record Office.

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1551 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 1800-1837 - for details see their Devon Parish List.

The Wilmington Time Team's Muster (archived copy) provides a consolidated alphabetical listing of baptisms, marriages and burials, and also census, tithe apportionment and other listings for Wilmington and Offwell from 1813 onwards.

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): Parish Church Christenings 1551-1840, and Marriages 1554-1840.

Transcript of Offwell church register. Manuscript (1949) 1 vol. [Westcountry Studies Library - sx929.3/OFF/1551]

The Deanery of Honiton: CD-ROM CD041, Exeter, Devon FHS (2013). [Axminster Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Axmouth Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1603-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Chardstock Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Colyton Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1538-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Combpyne Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1757-1836, Bur: 1796-1847; Cotleigh Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Dalwood Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Farway Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1800-1837; Gittisham Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1838, Bur: 1800-1837; Hawkchurch Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1838; Honiton Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Honiton Ind, Bur: 1774-1837; Kilmington Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Membury Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Monkton Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1814-1842; Musbury Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Northleigh Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1756-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Offwell Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1800-1837; Seaton & Beer Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1839, Bur: 1813-1837; Shute Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Southleigh Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1756-1837, Bur: 1800-1837; Stockland Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1640-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Thorncombe Bapt: 1813-1837, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1841; Uplyme Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1838, Bur: 1813-1837; Wambrook Bapt: 1813-1904, Mar: 1754-1836; Widworthy Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1954, Bur: 1790-1837.]

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Description & Travel

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

You can see pictures of Offwell 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

Leggett, Maureen. My Berry Brick Wall, Devon Family Historian, vol. 169, (2019) p.33.

Wilkin, Walter Harold. Copleston of Offwell. Trans. Devon. Assoc. Vol 63 (1931) pp241- 254. [18th-19th c.]

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History

Garey, Leslie. Offwell Village. Obelisk Publications (1990) 56p. [Lookups]

Ramsden, J.V. A parochial history of Offwell and Widworthy. Typescript (1946) [108] leaves, 15 plates: maps. [Westcountry Studies Library - sxB/OFF/0001/RAM]

A History of Offwell Church & Parish Debrett Ancestry Research Ltd, Department WP, PO Box 379, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 9YQ (2009) 150pp. [SoG DE/L 183]

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Maps

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SY194995 (Lat/Lon: 50.789444, -3.144827), Offwell which are provided by:

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Names, Personal

Offwell contributors to a 1678 brief for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral.

The Wilmington Time Team's Muster (archived copy) provides a consolidated alphabetical listing of baptisms, marriages and burials, and also census, tithe apportionment and other listings for Wilmington and Offwell from 1813 onwards.

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

Transcripts of Offwell Overseers (& Churchwardens') Accounts for 1722-1764 (5.6 MB) - from Devon Record Office, ref: 364A/PW/1/a/2, provided by Chris Whitehead. 

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Probate Records

Wills of Henry Bishop (1824), and Thomas Bishop (1844), transcribed by Art Ames.

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Schools

Avery P.J. The History of Widworthy School 1893-1948 P.J. Avery Publishing, Raddons, Wilmington, Honiton, Devon EX14 9JR (2004). [ISBN 095479530-X]