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KENTON

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"KENTON is a pleasant village, in the picturesque valley of the river Kenn, opposite the woody grounds of Powderham Castle, and about a mile W. of the estuary of the Exe, and 7 miles S.S.E. of Exeter. Its parish extends westward to the lofty range of the Haldon Hills, and comprises 5400 acres of land, including the hamlets of South Town, Cofford, Fenbridge, Staplake, Lyston, Cheverstone, Wilsworthy, West Town, and East Town; and the large village of STARCROSS. . . . The Earl of Devon owns a great part of the parish and is lord of the manor, . . . Kenton Church, (All Saints,) is a large and handsome building of red stone, with a lofty tower, containing six bells. It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Edward III, . . . The Dean and Chapter of Salisbury are appropriators of the rectory, and patrons of the vicarage, valued in K.B. at £34. 13s. 4d., and in 1831 at £265, and now in the incumbency of the Rev. A.L. Dames, M.A., who has a good residence with tasteful grounds. . . . At West Town is an old dwelling, which was formerly an ancient chapel dedicated to St Ann. Here is a National School, established in 1838. . . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]
A parish in Exminster Hundred, in the Archdeaconry and Diocese of Exeter. The modern parish of Starcross was created in 1828 from parts of Kenton and Dawlish.

General information:

Archives and Libraries

Royal Western Counties Institution - details of archives.

Biography

Brushfield, T.N. Henry Baird. Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries 3:8, (1905) pp.238-239. [See vol.3, p.184, par.138. Pseudonym "Nathan Hogg". 1827-1881]
Colley, Reg. Looking back or my memoirs. Starcross: A.& P.Jarvis (1980) 48p. [Westcountry Studies Library - p920/COL]
Hazell, Malcolm. Devon's grass roots historian. Devon Life vol. 8 no. 64 (1971) pp.24-26. - Henry Baird's pen name was Nathan Hogg.]
Captain George Peacock, senior founder of Peacock & Buchan Ltd, Southampton, Peacock & Buchan [1957?] 9p: ill. [Peacock retired to Starcross in 1859, builder of Swan of the Exe] [Westcountry Studies Library p920/PEA]

Cemeteries

MIs for this parish are included in the Devon FHS index - see under Cemeteries on the main Devon page.
Cresswell, B.F. Notes on the Churches of the Deanery of Kenn, Devon, (1912). [Extracts]

Church History

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

Morrish, F.J. All Saints' Church, Kenton (4th ed.), (1958). [SoG Library DE tracts]
West, William R. and Mignot, Eileen. They Built a Chapel in Kenton: The history of Methodism in a Devonshire village. Dawlish: W.J.Holman Ltd (1970) 15p: ill, port. [Westcountry Studies Library - 287.1/KEN/WES]

Church Records

Parish Registers going back to 1694 are held in the Devon Record Office - for details see Parish Registers in the Devon Record Office.

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1694, and the Starcross Registers going back to 1828, 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, together with Marriages 1813-1837 and Burials 1813-1837 for Starcross - for details see their book list.

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): Parish Church Christenings 1694-1837, and Marriages 1694-1837.

Sellman, R.R. Kenton: extracts and notes from the parish records and other sources. Typescript [1978?] 300p. [Westcountry Studies Library - f929.3/KEN/1694]

Census

Western Counties Idiot Asylum 1891 Census, transcribed by Bob Muchamore.

Description and Travel

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

Barber, Chips and Barber, Sally. Around and About the Haldon Hills, (1982). [Devon FHS Library 942.35/EAS]
Barber, Chips and Barber, Sally. Around and About the Haldon Hills - Revisited, Obelisk Publications (1996) 96p. [ISBN 1899073 31 0] [Index]

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.

Garnsworthy, David. The Garnsworthy Family, Devon Family Historian, no. 125, (Feb 2008) pp.14-17.
Marshall, Sue. The Lacey's of Kenton, Devon Family Historian, vol. 109, (2004) pp.6-7.
Newcombe, M.O.L. Newcombes of Chard, Drewsteignton, Exeter and Starcross, ed. Jud Burgoyne-Newcombe. [Newport, Gwent]: the author, 1996. Raymond: [Medieval-19th c.; includes pedigrees.]
Worthy, Charles. Wykes of Northwyke, Weekes of Honeychurch and Cheverston of Cheverston, Wray, East Ayshe and Ilton. In Devonshire Wills, London: Bemrose (1896) 516 pp. [Transcription by Harry Wykes]

History

Elliott, Hector. History of Kenton. Typescript (1992) 26p. [Westcountry Studies Library - sxB/KEN 9/0001/ELL]
Griffiths, Grace. The book of Dawlish: a history of Dawlish and Dawlish Warren with notes on the surrounding villages of Ashcombe, Cofton, Kenton, Mamhead, Powderham and Starcross. Buckingham: Barracuda (1984) [BL X.800/39475]
Pascoe, W.H. Exmouth to Starcross: an ancient ferry: a story of almost 1200 years, Exeter, Obelisk Publications (1996) 24p: ill, maps. [ISBN 1899073337] [Westcountry Studies Library s386.6/EXE/PAS]
Vaughan, Eric. Kenton & Starcross of Yesteryear. Pinhoe, Exeter: Obelisk Publications (1998) 32p. [ISBN 1899073701] [Index]

Land and Property

Bingham, W P S. Modus [decimandi or tithe modus] for the parish of Kenton, confirmed at the castle of Exeter, 1606. Trans. Dev. Assoc. 33 (1901).
Elliot, John. Homes and gardens - Powderham Castle, Kenton. Devon Life vol. 8 no. 62 (1971) pp.14-16; ill.

Manors

Le Hardy, W. Notes on the manor of Kenton. Typescript & manuscript [1945?] [Westcountry Studies Library - msx336.22/KEN/KEN]

Names, Personal

1641 Protestation Return for Kenton Parish, provided by Frances Radford.

Kenton Apprentices Register - 1801-1810, Exeter, Devon Family History Society A254a. [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).
Kenton Apprentices Register - 1811-1820, Exeter, Devon Family History Society A254b. [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).
Kenton Apprentices Register - 1821-1830, Exeter, Devon Family History Society A254c. [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).
Kenton Apprentices Register - 1831-1840, Exeter, Devon Family History Society A254d. [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).
Kenton Vaccination Register - 1905, Exeter, Devon Family History Society D084. [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).
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Last updated: 18 Sep 2010 - Brian Randell

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