Devon

Contents & Search

Nearby Places

General information

THORVERTON

Select map to view parish boundaries in detail.

"THORVERTON, a large village, pleasantly situated on the west side of the Exe valley, about 7 miles N. of Exeter, and E. by N. of Crediton, has in its parish 1445 inhabitants, and 4063 acres of land, including the hamlets of Raddon, Yellowford, or Yoldford; and many scattered houses. It has two annual fairs, one on the last Monday in February, chiefly for fat sheep, and the other on the Monday after July 18th, for lambs, of which upwards of 40,000 are frequently sold, principally for rearing. The Dean and Chapter of Exeter are lords of the manor of Thorverton, and owners of 13092A., . . . J.H. Hippisley, Esq., is lord of the manor of East Raddon, and owner of 1226A.; Mrs. Fursdon owns 624½A., and the rest of the parish belongs to Lord Clinton and other freeholders. The manor and church of Thorverton were given by Henry II. to St. Martin's Abbey, in Tours; and in the farm-house called Chapel St. Martin, may be seen the remains of a Roman Catholic chapel. The Church (St. Thomas a-Becket,) is a large and handsome Gothic structure, with a tower and five bells. . . . The Dean and Chapter of Exeter are appropriators of the great tithes, and patrons of the Vicarage, . . . now in the incumbency of the Rev. J.D. Coleridge, LL.D., who has 27 aces of glebe, and a handsome residence, . .. . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]

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

Biography

Orbell, Sharon. Thorverton school 1905, Devon Family Historian, no. 125, (Feb 2008) p.27. [Alice Ellen and Jane Symes]

Palfrey, V.R. My Trafalgar Man, Devon Family Historian, vol. 116, (Nov 2005) pp.6,7. [Mark Lake (b. Thorverton 1774, d. Exeter 1860), who served on HMS Agamemnon (1804-09)]

Cemeteries

A transcription of the Memorial Inscriptions for the Church of St Thomas a Beckett is held in the Society of Genealogist's Library, in Vol. 7 of Devon Memorial inscriptions (DE/M20).

Whitmore, J.B. Devonshire Monumental Inscriptions, MS at Society of Genealogists (1951). [Extracts]

Church History

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

Thorverton Baptist Church 1832-1982: a brief history. (1982) [2], 16p. [Westcountry Studies Library - p286/THO/THO]

Church Records

Transcripts of the Parish Registers going back to 1720, and of the Bishops' Transcripts going back to 1606, 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 1754-1939, Burials 1813-1837 - for details see their book list.

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

• Baptist Chapel, Berrysbridge Road: Thorverton and Brampford Speke Registers for 1832-1938 (C) are at DRO

Fursdon, C.A.T. Genealogical contents of Devon and Cornish wills and inventories [ca.1558-1810] ; Thorverton marriage licences 1528-1834, Typescript (1931). [D&CRS Library: R WIL]

Sellman, R.R. Thorverton, Devon: edited transcript of parish registers 1606-1837, with family reconstitutions. Typescript (1990) 151p. [Westcountry Studies Library - sx929.3/THO/1606

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.

History

Sue Davey's Thorverton pages provide historical information, and parish register extracts.

Eagger, A. Austin. Thorverton past and present: with street directory - 2nd ed. Thorverton: British Legion (1969) 57p: ill. [Westcountry Studies Library - pB/THO 7/0001/EAG]

Hill, Walter J. Three generations of Thorverton postmasters 1870-1994. Thorverton & Dist. History Soc. (1995) 17p: ill. [Westcountry Studies Library - p383.49/THO/HIL]

Hoskins, W.G. and H.P.R. Finberg. Devonshire Studies, London, Jonathan Cape (1952) 470 pp. (Pp. 120-138 concern Traymill.)

Retter, Frank. Ashley Farm and Thorverton. Bath: F.Retter (1987) 64p: ill, maps. [Westcountry Studies Library - sB/THO 7/1900/RET]

Stoyle, Ian. Thorverton, Devon. Thorverton (1993) 72p. (£9 inc p&p from Ian Stoyle, "Fairfield", Thorverton, Devon, EX5 5NG).

Names, Personal

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

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Cullompton Register of Bastardy Applications 1850-1859, Exeter, Devon FHS (2004). [Includes parishes of Burlescombe, Churchstanton, Cullompton, Halberton, Kentisbeare, Silverton, Thorverton and Uffculme.] [Foreword] [Names included in the overall index published as "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" (CD 023).

Taxation

Hoskins, W.G. Cadbury and Thorverton Subsides. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 20, 2 (1938) pp.74-76. [1591 name listing]

Last updated: 12 Dec 2011 - Brian Randell

Return to top of page