Abbotsham Devon Family History Guide

Abbotsham is an Ancient Parish in the county of Devon.

Other places in the parish include: Shepperton and Littleham.

Parish church: St. Helen

Parish registers begin: 1653

Nonconformists include: Wesleyan Methodist, Baptist

Parishes adjacent to Abbotsham

Bideford
Alwington
Littleham
Northam

Historical Descriptions

Abbotsham

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

ABBOTSHAM, a parish in Bideford district, Devon; between Taw river and Barnstaple bay, 1½ mile W of Bideford r. station. It has a post office under Bideford; and contains the hamlet of Shepperton. Acres, 1,758. Real property, £2,267. Pop. 365. Houses, 67. The property is subdivided. Odun, Earl of Devon, in 878. vanquished and slew here the Danish invader Hubba, at Kenwith Castle. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. value, £159. Patron, E. U. Vidal, Esq. The church is a plain old structure with a square tower. There are a small Baptist chapel, and charities £11.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Leonard's Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850

Abbotsham, 2 m. W. Bideford. P.414.

Source: Leonard's Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850

Lewis Topographical Dictionary of England 1845

Abbotsham (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of Bideford, hundred of Shebbear, Great Torrington and N. divisions of Devon, 2 miles (W.) from Bideford; containing with the hamlets of Shepperton and Littleham, 414 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the shore of Barnstaple Bay, is distinguished for a memorable victory over the Danes, who besieged the fortress, called Kenwith or Kenwic Castle, towards the close of the ninth century, on which occasion their main western army was routed, and 1200 of them, including their leader, slain, and their consecrated standard captured. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £16. 4. 7.; it is in the patronage of the Crown, and the owners and occupiers of land are the impropriators. The great tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £32. 10., and the vicarial for £120; and there are nearly 34 acres of glebe. A school is partly supported by the principal proprietor of land, the vicar, and the curate.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis Fifth Edition Published London; by S. Lewis and Co., 13, Finsbury Place, South. M. DCCC. XLV.

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1840

ABBOTSHAM, a parish in the hund. of Shebbear, union of Bideford, Devonshire ; 2 miles west from Bideford. Living, a discharged vicarage in the archd. of Barnstaple and dio. of Exeter, rated at £16 4s. 7d. ; gross income £170. Patron, the crown. There is a National school here. Pop., in 1801, 313; in 1831, 387. Houses 75. Acres 2,090. A. P. £2,481. Poor rates, in 1837, £106.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1840.

A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom 1808

Abbottsham. a parish in the hundred of Shebbear, Devon, 1½ mile from Bideford, and 203 from London, near the shore of Barnstable Bay; containing: 59 houses and 313 inhabitants: the living is a vicarage, value 16l. 4s. 7d. patron, the king.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom. Benjamin Pitts Capper. 1808.

Shepperton

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales Circa 1870

SHEPPERTON, a hamlet in Abbotsham parish, Devon; 2 miles W of Bideford.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Parish Records

Ancestry - Census & Voter Lists Birth, Marriage & Death Military Immigration & Emigration Directories & Member Lists Court, Land, Wills & Financial

FamilySearch - Birth Marriage & Death Census Migration & Naturalization Military Probate & Court

FamilySearch Catalog

Census

Census returns for Abbotsham, 1841-1891

Church records

Abbotsham baptisms 1813-1840 Author: Devon Family History Society

Abbotsham burial registers, 1813-1837 Author: Devon Family History Society

Abbotsham marriage registers, 1813-1837 Author: Devon Family History Society

The deanery of Hartland Author: Devon Family History Society

England, Devon, Abbotsham, bishop’s transcripts, 1597-1847 Author: Church of England. Parish Church of Abbotsham (Devonshire); Devon Record Office (Exeter)

The registers of Abbotsham, marriages, baptisms, burials, 1597-1812 Author: Somers, B.; Dredge, John Ingle; Church of England. Parish Church of Abbotsham (Devonshire)

Indexes

Parish register printouts of Abbotsham, Devon, England ; christenings, 1598-1875 Author: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genealogical Department

Parish register printouts of Abbotsham, Devon, England ; marriages, 1597-1875 Author: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genealogical Department

Taxation

Land tax assessment for Abbotsham, 1780-1832 Author: Great Britain. Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace (Devonshire)

Historical Newspapers

Western Morning News

Western Times

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette

North Devon Journal

Express and Echo

Hartland and West Country Chronicle

Maps

Vision of Britain historical maps

Administration

County: Devon
Civil Registration District: Bideford
Probate Court: Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple
Diocese: Exeter
Rural Deanery: Hartland
Poor Law Union: Bideford
Hundred: Shebbear
Province: Canterbury