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BRADFORD

Select map to view parish boundaries in detail.

"BRADFORD, in the Torridge valley, 8 miles W. by N. of Hatherleigh, is a village and parish containing 530 souls, and 3468 acres of land. The manor of Bradford, anciently held by the Dabernon and other families, was sold by the late Geo. Cary, Esq., to Messrs. Vivian, Grylls, and Kendall, bankers, of Helston. Dunsland, a large and ancient mansion, with an estate of about 1000 acres, is the seat and property of W.H.B. Coham, Esq., who is also lord of the manor of Lashbrook. Dunsland was successively held by the Cadiho, Arscott, and Bickford families. . . . Hengescott, formerly belonged to a family of that name, and is now the property of the Earl of Stanhope. Bovacott is the residence of L.R. Heysett, Esq., who also owns Gidcott, where there was anciently a chapel, and the lands at Flares and Rightdown. Several smaller freeholders have estates in the parish. The Church (All Saints,) is an ancient structure, with a tower and five bells, and contains several neat monuments. . . ." [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

• General historical and descriptive information, area map from 1765, details about administrative boundaries, etc., about Bradford from the Devon Library's Local Studies Service.

Cemeteries

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

Census

Snetzler, M.F. North Devon Surname Index to the Census. Microfiche: M.F. Snetzler, Barcott, Buckland Brewer, Bideford, Devon EX39 5LN. [Covers 1841, 1861, 1871 and 1881 census records for this parish]

Church History

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

Church Records

Indexed transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1558 are held in a special collection in the Westcountry Studies Library - for details see Parish Registers in the Devon & Cornwall Record Society's Collection.

The Devon FHS publishes indexes covering (as of June 2004): Baptisms 1813-1839, Marriages 1754-1837, Burials 1705-1837 - for details see their book list.

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): christenings 1559-1837 and marriages 1559-1837.

There are copies of the registers (christenings 1558-1837, marriages 1558-1837, and burials 1558-1837) at the Society of Genealogists.

Granville, Roger & Mugford, W.E. (eds.) Bradford, 1609. Abstracts of the Existing Transcripts of the Lost Parish-Registers of Devon, 1596-1644, and short notes on the extant pre-reformation registers of all the parishes in the county, from particulars furnished by the several incumbents thereof. Vol. 1 A-Bra. Exeter: W. Pollard (1908). [Full text]

Gazetteers

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

Genealogy

The Online Parish Clerk scheme's representative for this parish is Judy Adams, who invites queries and lookup requests. (Resources: PRs on fiche.)

History

Taylor, James Stephen. Poverty in Rural Devon, 1780-1840 (2 vols.), Ph.D Thesis, Stanford University, CA (1966). [Devon R.O. - Includes chapters on Bradford and West Alvington]

Williams, H. Fulford. Notes on the Parish of Bradford, Devon. Typescript (1963) 10 leaves. [Westcountry Studies Library]

Land and Property

Lauder, Rosemary Anne. Vanished Houses of North Devon, R.A. Lauder (Printed by Penwell Ltd, Parkwood, Callington, Cornwall) (1981) 72 pp. [ISBN 0 950 792004] [Dunsland - pp. 33-44] [Lookups]

Names, Personal

The Lashbrook One-Place Study is producing a name index to material and information relating to the parish in general, but particularly to Lashbrook, Lashbrook Wood, Lashbrook Moor. These Lashbrook places were found during research for the Lashbrook One Name Study (which was until recently organised by the late George Lashbrook). Members of the Lashbrook family are found in this parish and the family name might well have originated there. (Contact: Colin D.J. Mills, 70 Chestnut Lane, Amersham, Buckinghamshire HP6 6EH.)

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Taylor, J.S. Poverty in a west Devon parish (Bradford) in the last years of the old poor law. Trans. Devon. Assoc. 101, (1969) pp.161-182.

Probate Records

Transcriptions of the wills of John Venton (1823), John Venton (1834), Stephen Venton (1828) and John George Ward (1820), provided by Sheila Howard.

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Last updated: 5 Nov 2011 - Brian Randell

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