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Sheepwash

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"SHEEPWASH, or Shipwash, formerly a market town, is a long village in the Torridge valley, 5 miles W.N.W. of Hatherleigh. Its parish contains 497 souls, and 1771 acres of land, including 182A. of woodland and 391A. of common. A market was held here every Monday, till the latter end of last century; and here are still two annual fairs, on the second Thursday in March, and the first Thursday in October. The two market houses, after being long neglected and dilapidated, were converted into dwellings some years ago. Several houses in the town were destroyed by fire in 1743. Lord Clinton is lord of the manor, formerly held by the Avenel, Metstead, Holland, and other families. Upcot Avenel is the pleasant seat of G.L. Coham, Esq., and was formerly the property of the Hortons and Thornes. The Church (St. Lawrence,) is a small antique structure, with a low tower and one bell; and the benefice is a curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Shebbear. ... The Baptists and Bible Christians have chapels here." [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

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

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Cemeteries

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

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

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Census

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

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

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Church Records

Parish Registers going back to 1674 are held in the Devon Record Office.

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1674, and of the Bishops' Transcripts going back to 1602, are held in a special collection in the Westcountry Studies Library.

The Devon FHS publishes indexes covering (as of June 2004): Marriages 1754-1838, Burials 1813-1837 - for details see their Devon Parish List.

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): Parish Church Christenings 1602-1617, 1641, 1668-1838 and Marriages 1602-1617, 1641, 1675-1742, 1753-1835. (These entries are in part from Bishops' Transcripts.)

The Deanery of Torrington - An index of baptisms, marriages and burials in the parishes of Ashreigny, Beaford, Buckland Filleigh, Dolton, Dowland, Great Torrington, Huish, Iddesleigh, Langtree, Little Torrington, Meeth, Merton, Newton St. Petrock, Peters Marland, Petrockstowe, Roborough, Shebbear, Sheepwash, St. Giles in the Wood and Winkleigh. With photographs of the churches and extracts from White's Devonshire Directory 1850. CD-ROM, Exeter, Devon FHS (2010) . [Ashreigny Bapt: 1813-1838, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Beaford Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Buckland Filleigh Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Dolton Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1838, Bur: 1813-1837; Dowland Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1840, Bur: 1742-1837; Great Torrington Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Huish Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Iddesleigh Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Langtree Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Little Torrington Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Meeth Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Merton Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Newton St. Petrock Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Peters Marland Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Petrockstowe Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Roborough Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1839; Shebbear Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Sheepwash Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1838, Bur: 1813-1837; St Giles in the Wood Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Winkleigh Bapt: 1813-1853, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837.]

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Description & Travel

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

You can see pictures of Sheepwash which are provided by:

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Directories

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

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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 Jane Taylor, who invites queries and lookup requests. (Resources: bap.1674-1898, marr.1674 - 1836, bur.1674-1945; 1524 Subsidy list; 1569 Muster Roll; 1641 Protestation Return, 1780 & 1790 Land Tax Assessments.)

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History

Waddingham, Margaret. Sheepwash: reflections of a village. Exeter: Obelisk Publications (1996) 16p: ill. [ISBN 1899073477]

Williams, H. Fulford. Notes on the Parish of Sheepwash, Devon. Typescript (1964) 4 leaves. [Westcountry Studies Library]

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Maps

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SS487063 (Lat/Lon: 50.836399, -4.150064), Sheepwash which are provided by:

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Names, Personal

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

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Probate Records

Will of Robert Paige (1816), transcribed by Roy Drew.