Dean Prior, Devon
Historical Description
Dean Prior, a parish in Devonshire, on the verge of Dartmoor, near the river Dart, 1½ mile from Buckfastleigh station on the G.W.R., and 6 miles NW of Totnes. Post town, and money order and telegraph office, Buckfastleigh. Acreage, 4136; population, 287. The manor belonged to Plympton Priory, passed to the Gileses and the Yardes, and belongs now to Lord Churston. Dean Court, a Tudor edifice, now a farmhouse, was the manorial mansion and the residence of the poet Herrick, who held the parochial living, and wrote hene most of his " Hesperides." Dean Bum Vale is a strikingly picturesque glen, with some fine waterfalls. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; value, £300. Patron, Lord Churston. The church was rebuilt, excepting the tower, in 1835.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Devon | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Dean-Prior St. George the Martyr | |
| Hundred | Stanborough | |
| Poor Law union | Totnes |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Findmypast, in association with the South West Heritage Trust, Parochial Church Council, and Devon Family History Society have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for Dean Prior
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Dean Prior from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Dean-Prior (St. George the Martyr))
Maps
Online maps of Dean Prior 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 newspapers covering Devon online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of the County of Devon in the year 1564, with additions from the earlier visitation of 1531, is online.
The Visitations of the County of Devon, comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620, with additions by Lieutant-Colonel J.L. Vivian, published for the author by Henry S. Eland, Exeter 1895 is online.