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GIDLEIGH

Select map to view parish boundaries in detail.

"GIDLEIGH, or GIDLEY, a small scattered village, on the eastern declivities of Dartmoor Forest, near one of the tributary streams of the river Teign, 7½ S.E. of Okehampton, and 17 miles W. by S. of Exeter, has in its parish 182 souls, and 2435A. 3R. 30P. of land, more than half of which is open common, &c., in Dartmoor. It includes two small hamlets, called Chapel and Forder, and is watered by the Teign and two of its tributaries, which have their sources a few miles westward, among the rude hills and dales of Dartmoor. The manor belonged, from the reign of Wm. the Conqueror till that of Edward II., to the ancient family of Prouz or Prous, who had a castle here, and an extensive park. Some remains of the castle keep are still standing, near the church. With the heiress of the Prouz family, the manor passed to the Mules; and from them it passed the Damarells. It afterwards passed to the Coad, Gidley, and Rattery families, and was purchased with the advowson, under a decree of the Court of Chancery, by the late Rev. Thomas Whipham. The Rev. Arthur Whipham, M.A., is the present rector, patron, and lord of the manor, and has a handsome modern seat in GIDLEIGH PARK. . . . Mr. John Rowe, Mr. Wm. Brock, and several smaller owners have estates in the parish. In 1848, L. Prinsep, Esq., built a neat house and two towers on the highest hill in the parish. The Church (Holy Trinity,) is an antique structure, with a tower and four bells." [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

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

Cemeteries

Brown, Mike. Gidleigh (Full Survey). In Dartmoor Region Monumental Inscriptions Indexes, Vol. 22. Dartmoor Press, PO Box 132, Plymouth PL4 7YL.

Church History

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

Church Records

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1599 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): Marriages 1813-1837, Burials 1813-1884 - for details see their book list.

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): Parish Church Christenings 1613-1812, and Marriages 1599-1753.

The Deanery of Dunsford: An index of baptisms, marriages and burials in the parishes of Ashton, Bridford, Chagford, Cheriton Bishop, Christow, Doddiscombsleigh, Drewsteignton, Dunsford, Gidleigh, Hittisleigh, Holcombe Burnell, South Tawton, Spreyton, Tedburn St. Mary, Throwleigh and Whitestone. With photographs of the churches and extracts from White's Devonshire Directory 1850. CD-ROM, Exeter, Devon FHS (2009). [Ashton Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1740-1837; Bridford Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1800-1837; Chagford Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Cheriton Bishop Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1841, Bur: 1813-1837; Christow Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1757-1844, Bur: 1813-1837; Doddiscombsleigh Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1755-1836, Bur: 1780-1837; Drewsteignton Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Dunsford Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Gidleigh Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1748-1812 (BT's), Mar: 1814-1837, Bur: 1813-1884; Hittisleigh Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1839; Holcombe Burnell Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1753-1837; South Tawton Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Spreyton Bapt: 1803-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1800-1837; Tedburn St. Mary Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Throwleigh Bapt: 1813-1841, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Whitestone Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837.]

Directories

Copy provided by Val Henderson of the entry (description and names) in Morris and Co's Commercial Directory and Gazetteer of Devonshire 1870.

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 Fiona Brooker, who invites queries and lookup requests. (Resources: Awaiting fiche of PRs.)

Dartmoor Press Online Magazine's page for this parish (archived copy), with articles, transcriptions, publication details, etc. - highly recommended.

History

Amery, J S & R H Worth. Gidleigh castle. Trans. Dev. Assoc. 57 (1925).

Grumley-Grennan, T. and Hardy, M. Gidleigh - A Dartmoor Village - Past & Present, Gidleigh Castle, Gidleigh, Devon TQ13 8HR, Glebe Publishing (2000) 200 pp. [ISBN 0-9538922-0-4]

Hughes, G.W.G. Gidleigh. Devonshire Assoc. Trans. (1947) pp91-104.

Land and Property

Brown, Mike. Gidleigh. In "Dartmoor Tithe Apportionments, Vol. 6". The Dartmoor Press (c1997) 16p.

Wilkinson, B.E. Gidleigh castle. Devon Life vol. 1 no. 8, (1965) pp.30-32; ill.

Names, Personal

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

Gidleigh Apprentices Register - 1803-1841, Exeter, Devon Family History Society A203. [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).

Last updated: 12 Dec 2011 - Brian Randell

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