West Leigh, Devon
Historical Description
Leigh, West, a parish in Devonshire, on the river Tor-ridge, and 2 miles NNE of Bideford station on the L. & S.W.R. It contains a village of its own name, and the hamlets of East Leigh and Southcott, and its post town is Bideford; money order and telegraph office, Mastow. Acreage, 2464; population, 483. The manor was known to the Saxons as Westlega. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; net value, £185 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The church is ancient but good, and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with a tower. There are two Wesleyan chapels.
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 | West Leigh St. Peter | |
| Hundred | Fremington | |
| Poor Law union | Barnstaple |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
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 West Leigh from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Leigh, West (St. Peter))
Maps
Online maps of West Leigh 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:
Villages, Hamlets, &c
East LeighVisitations 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.