Exminster, Devon
Historical Description
Exminster, a village and a parish in Devonshire. The village stands on a pleasant spot adjacent to the river Exe, and has a station on the G.W.R., 191 miles from London, and 3½ SSE of Exeter. It has a post and money order office under Exeter; telegraph office, Exeter. The parish includes the village, and is in the district of St Thomas. Acreage, 4796 of land and 316 of foreshore and water; population of the civil parish, 2337; of the ecclesiastical, 2357. The manor belonged to the Courtenays, Earls of Devon, and had formerly a very large manor-house, in which Archbishop Courtenay was born. The lords of the manor now are the Earl of Devon and Lord Haldon. The principal residences are Peamore and Matford. The Devon county lunatic asylum stands here on a plot of 50 acres, occupies an elevated position on a declivity 140 feet above the surrounding level, was opened in 1845, and considerably enlarged in 1877. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; net value, £200 with residence. Patrons, the Governors of Crediton Church Corporation Trust. The church is ancient, consists of nave, chancel, and S aisle, with western tower, and contains an ancient carved oak screen and several handsome monuments. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a meeting-house for the Brethren, an endowed school, and a pleasure fair is held on 27 May.
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 | Exminster St. Martin | |
| Hundred | Exminster | |
| Poor Law union | St. Thomas |
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 Exminster
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 Exminster from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Exminster (St. Martin))
Maps
Online maps of Exminster 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.