Devon

Contents & Search

Nearby Places

General information

KENN

Select map to view parish boundaries in detail.

"KENN, or Kenne, is a long village, including Kenford, pleasantly situated in a picturesque valley on the banks of a rivulet, four miles S. by E. of Exeter. It gives its name to a deanery, and its parish contains 1078 inhabitants and 5316A. of land, rising in a bold range of hills on the south-west side of the valley, where there are the handsome seats  of Haldon, Woodlands, and Trehill, commanding fine views over the vale of the Exe. . . . The manor of Kenn, formerly held by the Courtenay, Oxenham, Acland, and other families, was purchased about 30 years ago, by Sir L.V. Palk, Bart., of HALDON HOUSE . . . In the centre of Pen hill rises a castellated building of three stories, called the Belvidere, or Lawrence Castle, erected by the late Sir Robert Palk, in memory of his friend General Lawrence, whose statue, large as life, on a pedestal of black marble, ornaments the entrance. . . . The Church (St. Andrew,) is a large ancient structure, with a tower and six bells, and has several neat monuments. The rectory, valued in K.B. at £46. 13s. 4d., and in 1831 at £778, is in the patronage of J.H. Ley, Esq., and the incumbency of the Rev. Henry Ley, B.A., who has a good residence, and 197A. 2R. 23P. of glebe. . . . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

• General historical and descriptive information, area map from 1765, details about administrative boundaries, etc., about Kenn from the Devon Library's Local Studies Service.
• Kenn Parish Hall Committee's website for web site for Kenn, Kennford and Clapham.

Biography

Summerell, Barbara and Summerell, Patrick. John Vickery, Devon Family Historian, vol. 138, (2011) pp.34-35. [Originally of Kenn, John Vickery murdered his wife Mary in Warlingham, Surrey, in 1866]

Cemeteries

Cresswell, B.F. Notes on the Churches of the Deanery of Kenn, Devon, (1912). [Extracts]

Church History

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

Creswell, R.F. Notes on the Churches of the Deanery of Kenn, Devon. Exeter: James G. Commin (1912) 192p, plates: ill.

Porter, R. Some account of St. Andrew's, Kenn. Exeter: William Porter (1894) 17p. [Westcountry Studies Library - s726.5/KEN/POR]

Church Records

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1538 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 1754-1837, Burials 1813-1837 - for details see their book list.

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

• Zion Wesleyan Chapel: Registers for c1810-37 - see Exeter Mint (PRO RG 4/1207, 1208)

Description and Travel

Kenn, Kennford and Clapham web-site - links and general information.

Conservation Area Appraisal for Kenn - an interesting account of the area, with numerous photographs and maps.

Gazetteers

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

Genealogy

Geare, R. Holwell. Geere of Heavitree and Kenn, and Geer of U.S, A, Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 28, 1959-61, pp. 261-3 & 291-5. See also 29, 1962-4, pp. 9; 31, 1968-70, p. 250.

Scott-Fox, Charles. Bickham House, Kenn, and the Short family. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 39,7 (2005) pp. 218-219. [Brief notes on the structural history of Bickham House in Kenn, Devon, and on the Short family who have owned it since 1682.]

Stuckey, Ken. My Gran Hardwick, Yatton yesterdays 6, 1989, pp. 17-18. [Raymond: Includes list Hardwicks in the 1851 census for Yatton and Kenn.]

History

Baker, Mrs. L. Village life: Kenn & Kennford 1905-1925. Exeter (Starcross, Exeter, Devon): L. Baker,1985, 24 p. ill., ports.[Westcountry Studies Library - pB/KEN1/1905/BAK]

Legg, Hazel. Kenn and Kennford: "a stroll down memory Lane". Dawlish (39 Westcliff Park Drive, Dawlish, Devon): H. Legg,1987, 31 pp., [16] pp. of plates: ill., facsims., ports.

Historical Manuscripts Commission. Report on the Palk manuscripts in the possession of Mrs. Bannatyne of Haldon, Devon. London: H.M.S.O (1922) 492p. [Palk, Robert. Sir, Indian army officer: Manuscripts. 1769- 1786.]

Vining, F.W. Kenn, Our Home. Exeter: Eland Brothers (1910) 96p, plates: ill.

Land and Property

Elliot, John. Devon homes - Trehill, Kenn. Devon Life vol. 10 no. 86 (1973) pp.22-24; ill.

Scott-Fox, Charles. Bickham House, Kenn, and the Short family. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 39,7 (2005) pp. 218-219. [Brief notes on the structural history of Bickham House in Kenn, Devon, and on the Short family who have owned it since 1682.]

Names, Personal

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

Last updated: 4 Jun 2011 - Brian Randell

Return to top of page