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POWDERHAM

Select map to view parish boundaries in detail.

"POWDERHAM is a picturesque parish of scattered houses on the western side of the broad estuary of the Exe, opposite Lympstone, 6 miles S.S.E. of Exeter, and 2 miles N. of Starcross Railway Station. It contains 318 inhabitants, and 1452A. 1R. 26P. of land, belonging to the Earl of Devon, of POWDERHAM CASTLE, which stands in an extensive and well-wooded deer park, which rises in bold swelling hills between and near the confluence of the Exe and the Kenn, . . . The Castle was probably built either before the Norman Conquest, to prevent the Danes from coming up the river to Exeter; or else by William de On, a noble Norman, to whom the conqueror gave Powderham. The Castle was garrisoned for the King in the early part of the struggle between Charles I. and the Parliament, and was long an object of contention between the two parties; changing hands twice or thrice during the war. . . . The CHURCH (St. Clement,) is an ancient structure, with a tower and three bells, and has recently been renovated and beautified, . . . The rectory, valued in K.B. at £27. 3s. 6½d., and in 1831 at £493, is in the patronage of the Earl of Devon, and incumbency of the Rev. Danl. Nantes, M.A., who has 91A. 3R. 28P. of glebe, and a handsome residence with beautiful grounds, overlooking the estuary. . . ." [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

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

Cemeteries

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

Church History

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

Pim, J.B. Saint Clements Powderham, 1258-1968, in the diocese of Exeter. Dawlish: W.J.Holman (printer) [1968] 6p: ill. [Westcountry Studies Library - p726.5/POW/PI

A short description of St. Clement's Church, Powderham in the diocese of Exeter, [Powderham ?], [The Church ?] (1964) 7p: ill. [Westcountry Studies Library p726.5/POW/SHO]

Church Records

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1558 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 1785-1837 - for details see their book list.

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

• Wesleyan Chapel: Registers for c1813-37 - see Teignmouth (PRO RG 4/1220)

Description and Travel

Pepys, Pauline. Powderham Castle: Guide (1975). [Devon FHS Library p942.5/POW]

Emigration and Immigration

Bromell, C.R. Devonians in Ireland, Devon Family Historian, vol. 133, (2010) pp.36. [The role of Sir William Courtney of Powderham Castle in organising emigration to Ireland.]

Gazetteers

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

Genealogy

Horwood, Alfred J. The manuscripts of the Right Honourable the Earl of Devon at Powderham Castle, Co. Devon, in Historical Manuscripts Commission Third report. . . C.673. H.M.5.0., 1872, p. 216. [Raymond: Brief list, including genealogical material.]

Lega-Weekes, Ethel. Courtenay arms at the Devon and Exeter Institution. Exeter: J.G.Commin (1912) [6]p, pls: ill. [Westcountry Studies Library - p929.2/COU]

Parr, John Frank. Parr family of Chudleigh, Alphington, Powderham, Shillingford and Exeter, Western Antiquary 3, 1884, pp. 47-48.

Rowland, A.B. (ed.) Courtenay: French line c1126-c1750. Powderham: The Courtenay Society (1996) [vii], 17p: ill. [ISBN 0952715708]

Worthy, C. Devonshire Parishes: or the antiquities, heraldry and family history of twenty-eight parishes in the archdeaconry of Totnes (2 vols), Exeter, W. Pollard (1887). [Chap. XVII: Wolborough - Descent of the manor; Lord William BRIWERE; GAVEROCKE; Sir Richard REYNELL and REYNELL of Ogwell; Ford House; Sir William WALLER; COURTENAY of Powderham; Earls of Devon; BALCULL; curates of Wolborough] [Index]

Wood, B.C. (Ed.). Powderham Castle: The historic home of the Courtenay family. Derby: English Life Publications Ltd. (1978). 32 pp., illus. [Index]

History

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]

Land and Property

Bedford, Bruce. Powderham castle. Devon Life vol. 1 no. 2, (1965) pp.22-26; ill.

Whitley, H.M. Repairs to Powderham Castle. Devon Notes and Queries 2 (1902-03) pp.273-279. [Raymond: Includes the names of many labourers.]

Probate Records

Jones. W. Will of Dame Margaret Courtenay of Powderham, with some accounts of the Bonville Family. Notes and Gleanings - Devon and Cornwall 4 (1891) pp.192-196. [1487]

Last updated: 24 Feb 2010 - Brian Randell

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