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ST. GILES IN THE WOOD

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"ST. GILES-IN-THE-WOOD, or Stow St. Giles, a pleasant village and parish, 3 miles E. by S. of Great Torrington, contains 915 souls, and 3330 acres of land, including the hamlets of Kingscot, High Bullen, and Healand. A great part of the parish is in the manor of Stevenstone, which belongs to the trustees of the late Lord Rolle, who resided occasionally at Stevenstone House, . . . Stevenstone is a fine old mansion, with a deer park, and is occasionally occupied by Lady Rolle. Sir S.H. Northcote is lord of the manor of Winscot, which was held by Risdon, the antiquary. Way belongs to J.H. Furse, Esq., and other parts of the parish belong to several smaller owners. The Church was built in 1309, as a chapel to Torrington. The benefice is now a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the incumbent of Great Torrington, and is now held by the Rev. John Francis, who has 50A. of glebe. . . . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]
A parish in Fremington Hundred, the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple, and the Diocese of Exeter.

General information:

Biography

Howard, Elizabeth. The Hon. Mark Rolle of Stevenstone and Bicton 1835-1907. EGH07 (2007) 130 pp. [ISBN-13: 978-0955762109]

Census

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]

Church History

Parish church home page, with photograph of the church on the Two Rivers Team ministry web-site.

Church Records

Parish Registers going back to 1556 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 1555 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):

Entered into the IGI (as of Jan 1993): Parish Church Christenings 1546-1743 and Marriages 1555-1743.
Cornwall burial index 1813-1837: St. Giles-in-the-Wood. Cornwall Family History Soc. (1996) [ISBN 1858694205]
The Deanery of Torrington - An index of baptisms, marriages and burials in the parishes of Ashreigny, Beaford, Buckland Filleigh, Dolton, Dowland, Great Torrington, Huish, Iddesleigh, Langtree, Little Torrington, Meeth, Merton, Newton St. Petrock, Peters Marland, Petrockstowe, Roborough, Shebbear, Sheepwash, St. Giles in the Wood and Winkleigh. With photographs of the churches and extracts from White's Devonshire Directory 1850. CD-ROM, Exeter, Devon FHS (2010) . [Ashreigny Bapt: 1813-1838, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Beaford Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Buckland Filleigh Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Dolton Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1838, Bur: 1813-1837; Dowland Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1840, Bur: 1742-1837; Great Torrington Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Huish Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Iddesleigh Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Langtree Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Little Torrington Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Meeth Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Merton Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Newton St. Petrock Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Peters Marland Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Petrockstowe Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837; Roborough Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1755-1837, Bur: 1813-1839; Shebbear Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Sheepwash Bapt: 1813-1840, Mar: 1754-1838, Bur: 1813-1837; St Giles in the Wood Bapt: 1813-1839, Mar: 1754-1837, Bur: 1813-1837; Winkleigh Bapt: 1813-1853, Mar: 1754-1836, Bur: 1813-1837.]

Court Records

A Trifling Offence in St Giles (1861) - Transcribed by Debbie Kennett from the North Devon Journal, 14th March 1861.

Directories

Transcription of the complete entries in White's Devonshire Directory of 1850 provided by William Cooke, and 1890 provided by Debbie Kennett.

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

Emigration and Immigration

Rolle, Denys. The humble petition of Denys Rolle ... settlement in East Florida. University Presses of Florida (1977) xxx, 85, 47p. [ISBN 0813004179] (Facsimile of 1765 ed.)

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 William Cooke. (Resources: PRs 1742-1837.)

Information about St Giles in the Wood and the Brinsmead family.

Squire Family History - website with information, including PR extracts, about the squire family of St Giles in the Wood.

Jones, Winslow. Thomas Chafe of Doddescott, in St. Giles in the Wood, Trans. Devon. Assoc. 20, 1888, pp. 398-9.

History

Cook, Julia, Turner, Sherrie and Mandley, John. St Giles Millennium Society Present St Giles 2000, St. Giles Millennium Society (2005) 86 pp. [Torrington Library]
Hoskins, W.G. St. Giles-in-the-Wood; with a sketch map and notes on some ancient farms in the neighbouring parishes. Manuscript [1950?] 38p: map. [Westcountry Studies Library - sB/St.G 3/0001/HOS]

Land and Property

Land tax 1782, transcribed by William Cooke.

Lauder, Rosemary Anne. Vanished Houses of North Devon, R.A. Lauder (Printed by Penwell Ltd, Parkwood, Callington, Cornwall) (1981) 72 pp. [ISBN 0 950 792004] [Stevenstone - pp. 6-21] [Lookups]

Military History

Memorial to the Fallen Heroes of St Giles in the Wood (1919) - Transcribed by Debbie Kennett from the North Devon Journal, 20th November 1919.

Names, Personal

St Giles in the Wood contributors to a 1678 brief for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral.

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Transcript of order for the removal of John Squire from St Giles in the Wood to Beaford (1776), provided by John Fisher.

Probate Records

Transcripts of the wills of John Hackwill (1834), Francis Squire (1810), Francis Squire (1835), William Squire (1838), Lawrence Vodden (1831) and Thomas Vodden (1855), provided by John Fisher.

Summary transcript of the will of Lord Rolle (1842), provided by Elizabeth Howard.

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Last updated: 3 Oct 2010 - Brian Randell

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