Callington, Cornwall
Historical Description
Callington (formerly Killington), a small market-town and a parish in Cornwall. The town stands on a gentle acclivity, near the river Lynner, 8 miles from Tavistock station on the G.W.R. and L. & S.W.R., and 11 S of Launceston. It consists chiefly of one broad street, irregularly built, and is a seat of petty sessions. There are two banks, a hotel, a Freemasons' hall, assembly rooms, and a literary institution. The church was built on the site of a previous one in 1460, is Perpendicular English, was restored in 1859, and enlarged in 1882. It contains a very curious old Norman font, and an elaborate monument to Lord Willoughby de Broke. A fine gabled sculptured cross is in the churchyard. There are Wesleyan, Free Methodist, and Bible Christian chapels. Many of the inhabitants are miners. A weekly market is held on Wednesday. A large cattle market is held on the first Wednesday in every month. The town was made a borough in the time of Elizabeth, and sent two members to Parliament, till disfranchised in 1832. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage of the civil parish, 2531; population, 1888; of the ecclesiastical, 2416. The manor belonged to successively the Champernounes, the Ferrers, the Dennises, the Brokes, and others. It now belongs to Lady Compton. Kit Hill, about 2 miles N of the town, consists of granite, is 1067 feet high, and commands an extensive view. Stream tin and copper ore are worked. The town is the terminus of the East Cornwall Mineral railway. The living is a rectory, annexed to the rectory of Southill, in the diocese of Truro; net value, £453 with residence.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Cornwall | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Callington St. Mary | |
Hundred | East | |
Poor Law union | Liskeard |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Census Records
We have transcribed the following census returns for Callington:
Year | Class | Piece | District |
---|---|---|---|
1841 | HO107 | 133 | 1, 2, 3 |
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Callington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Callington (St. Mary))
Maps
Online maps of Callington are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cornwall papers online:
- Royal Cornwall Gazette
- Cornishman
- West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser
- Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser
Visitations Heraldic
We have a copy of The Visitations of Cornwall, by Lieut.-Col. J.L. Vivian online.