Ashford, Devon
Historical Description
Ashford, a parish in Devon, on the north side of the estuary of the Taw, 2½ miles NW of Barnstaple, and 2 from Wrafton station on the Ilfracombe branch of the L. & S.W.R. Post town, Barnstaple; nearest money order and telegraph office, Pilton. Acreage, 368; population, 151. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter; value, £92. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church was built in 1854, and is a neat small edifice, with low square tower and a spire. The views nearly opposite Westward Ho are among the finest in Devon.
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 | Ashford St. Peter | |
Hundred | Braunton | |
Poor Law union | Barnstaple |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1700.
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 Ashford
Churches
Church of England
St. Peter (parish church)

The parish church of St. Peter is an edifice of stone in the Early Decorated style, rebuilt in 1854 at a cost exceeding £500, and consisting of chancel, nave, north aisle, north transept and a small tower with spire on the north side containing 2 bells of early date: the chancel retains the ancient piscina, and the east and south windows are stained: the whole of the woodwork of the church and vestry, including the communion table, pulpit and pews, are of ancient carved oak and in good preservation: there are 150 sittings.
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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 Ashford from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Ashford (St. Peter))
- History, Gazetteer and Directory of Devon, by William White, 2nd edition, 1878-9
Maps
Online maps of Ashford 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.