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BURLESCOMBE

Select map to view parish boundaries in detail.

"BURLESCOMBE, a pleasant village, near the Bristol and Exeter Railway, 8½ miles E.N.E. of Tiverton, and 5 miles S.W. of Wellington, has in its parish 958 souls, and 3767 acres of land, divided into the Town tithing, and Appledore, Westleigh, and Ayshford tithings and hamlets. The three latter comprise 2600 acres and are in Halberton Hundred. The parish is hilly, and abounds in limestone. It extends to the borders of Somerset, and is crossed by the Grand Western Canal. In 1841, Appledore had 195, and Westleigh 323 inhabitants. . . . The manors of Burlescombe, Ayshford, and Westleigh, formerly belonged to the Claville and Ayshford families, and are now held by Edward Ayshford Sanford, Esq.; but a great part of the parish belongs to the heirs of the late Sir Wm. Follett, R.H. Clarke, Esq., Henry Dunsford, Esq., and other freeholders. The Church (St Mary,) is a fine antique structure, with a tower and five bells. . . . There is a small ancient chapel of ease at Ayshford, and a Wesleyan chapel at Westleigh. . . . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

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

Cemeteries

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

Church History

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

James, Jeanne. Ayshford Chapel, Burlescombe - part I. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 39,5 (2004) pp. 129-134, pl, refs. [Outline of the history of Ayshford Chapel in Burlescombe from the first documentary references to it in the late-thirteenth century to its decline in use during the early-nineteenth century.]

James, Jeanne. Ayshford Chapel, Burlescombe - part II. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 39,6 (2004) pp. 161-166, figs, pl, refs. [Continuing the history of Ayshford Chapel in Burlescombe, focusing on the nineteenth century and its restoration, and its decay during the twentieth century prior to further restoration work by the Friends of Friendless Churches.]

Rose-Troup, Frances. Canonsleigh priory. Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries 8:4, (1914) pp.104-105. [Transfer from canons to canonesses, 1284.]

Church Records

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

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

• Wesleyan Chapel, Westleigh: Registers for c1812-37 - see Tiverton (PRO RG 4/342)
• Society of Friends: Registers for 1607-1804 (C), 1676-1790 (M), 1676-1827 (B), including Spiceland, in PRO RG 6/1545

Parish Church Marriages for 1580-1736, and Baptisms for 1579-1689, 1667-1687, 1689-1736 are in the 5-CDROM LDS British Vital Records Index (1538-1888), (Item #50028).

Gazetteers

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

Genealogy

This parish is one of the growing number of places for which the Devon Heritage website provides census or parish register transcriptions, articles, and/or illustrations, etc.

Dave Rothery's website: Ayshfords of Ayshford.

History

Perceval, Charles Spencer. Notes on early charters and documents relating to the priory and abbey of Canonsleigh ... of Devon. London: J.B.Nichols & Sons (1869) 34p: ill.

Tanner, Thomas. The history ... of Burlescombe in the county of Devon. Typescript (1912?) 56p. [Westcountry Studies Library - sB/BUR 3/0001/TAN]

Worth, R.N. A History of Devonshire, With Sketches of Leading Worthies, London, Elliot Stock (1886) p.109. [Burlescombe extract]

Land and Property

Finberg, H.P.R. Ayshford and Boehill. Trans. Devon. Assoc. 103, (1971) pp.19-24: map.

London, Vera C.M. (comp.) Cartulary of Canonsleigh Abbey, Devon and Cornwall Record Society (1965).

Radford, C A R. Ayshford Court, Burlescombe. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 27,8 (1957) pp. 196-8.

Names, Personal

Burlescombe Apprentices Register - 1803-1835, Exeter, Devon Family History Society A079. [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Cullompton Register of Bastardy Applications 1850-1859, Exeter, Devon FHS (2004). [Includes parishes of Burlescombe, Churchstanton, Cullompton, Halberton, Kentisbeare, Silverton, Thorverton and Uffculme.] [Foreword] [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).

Probate Records

Transcripts of the wills of William Coram (1761), Stephen Hewett (1819), and John Hewett (1851) by Diane Harris.

Last updated: 12 Dec 2011 - Brian Randell

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