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A parish in Braunton Hundred, the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple, and the Diocese of Exeter."COMBE MARTIN, or Combmartin, is a decayed market town, in one long, irregular street, in a deep and picturesque valley, about a mile from a fine cove of the north coast of Devon, and 4 miles E. of Ilfracombe. Its parish contains 1399 souls, and about 3900 acres of land, including 1837 acres of open commons and hilly moorlands. The manor was given by William the Conqueror to Martin de Tours, ancestor of the Lords Martin, from whom it passed to the Lords Audley. It was dismembered by the Pollards many years ago. The Barton, or Manor House, with a large estate, now belongs to Sir C.W. Watson, Bart, and the rest of the parish belongs to the Fursdon, Tregonwell, Cornish, Pyke, Gill, and other families. The market and fair, granted about 1264, were discontinued last century. Hemp was formerly grown in the neighbourhood, and shoemakers' thread was spun from it in the town. Coal vessels and fishing smacks resort to Combe Martin Cove, where pilots for the Bristol Channel are generally to be found. The houses extend more than a mile along the dale, amid woods and ridges of rocks, tufted with foliage down to the level of the sea. The scenery is magnificent, and the mines in the parish and neighbourhood have long been celebrated for their argentiferous lead ore. In the reign of Edward I., 337 men were brought here out of Derbyshire to work the silver mines, which are said to have furnished money for the wars in the reign of Edward III. They were again worked with success in the reign of Elizabeth, by Sir Beavis Bulmer. Unsuccessful attempts were made to work these mines with profit about 1800, 1813, and 1817; and they were reopened in 1837, and are now worked by a spirited company of adventurers, who have a smelting-house here." [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]
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boundaries in detail.
Chanter, J.Frederick. Thomas Westcote in North Devon. Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries 4:6, (1907) pp.187-188. [Westcote family in Combe Martin register transcripts.] [Thomas Westcote, historian]
Parsons, E.D. Growing up in Shamwick (as told to Norah Gregory). Devon Historian 19, (1979) pp.23-27: ill. [1900-1910 period]
MIs for this parish are included in the Incledon index - see under Cemeteries on the main Devon page.
In the church there is a full index and plan of the gravestones in the churchyard.
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]
Combe Martin - from J. Stabb. Some Old Devon Churches (London: 1908-16).
The Devon FHS publishes indexes covering (as of June 2004): Baptisms 1813-1826, 1827-1840, Marriages 1754-1837 - for details see their book list.
Other churches and chapels (with pre-1840 records):
Bowen, David. Portrait of a village - Combe Martin. Devon Life vol. 5 no. 38, (1969) pp.22-25; ill.
Pearson, Cyril Arthur. Pearson's Gossipy Guide to Ilfracombe, Clovelly, Lynton, and Lynmouth, Combmartin, Barnstaple, Westward Ho!, Bideford and the North Devon coast, London, C.A. Pearson & Co. Ltd (c1901) 159 pp. [BM 10358.cc.59]
The transcription of the section for this parish from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.
The Online Parish Clerk scheme's representative for this parish is Ann O'Toole, who invites queries and lookup requests. (Resources: PRs on fiche, indexed.)
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.
Uncle Tom Cobley - web-site devoted to annual celebration of this character.
Beaumont, G.F. The story of Combe Martin. (7th ed.) (1981) 52p: ill. [Westcountry Studies Library - pB/COM 3/0001/BEA]
Combe Martin Local History Group. Out of the world and into Combe Martin. Combe Martin: The Group (1989) [xii],175p.
Toms, K.M. Notes on Combe Martin. Barnstaple: printed at the "Herald" Press, (1902). pp. 56. 22 cm. BL X.709/17587. e/
Times Past in Ilfracombe and Combe Martin. Ilfracombe Local History Group (1981) 76p: ill. [Westcountry Studies Library - pB/ILF/1800/ILF]
Combe Martin contributors to a 1678 brief for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral.
Venn, Alexander. One of Devon's oldest crafts 50 years ago. Devon Life vol. 10 no. 79 (1973) pp.42-43; ill.Find help, report problems, and contribute information.
Last updated: 10 Jun 2012 - Brian Randell
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