Feniton, Devon

Historical Description

Feniton, a village and a parish in Devonshire. The village stands in the valley of the river Otter, about 1 mile from Sidmouth station on the L. & S.W.K., and 3½ miles W by S of Honiton. It has a post office under Honiton; money order office, Ottery St Mary; telegraph office, Sidmouth Junction (E.S.) The parish includes also the hamlets of Curscombe, Cheriton, and Colestock. Acreage, 1846; population, 354. The manor was long held by the Malherbes. The Cornish rebels, in the time of Edward VI., sustained a sanguinary defeat at Fenny Bridges. The living is a rectory .in the diocese of Exeter; tithe commuted at £288 with residence. The church has an aisle with Perpendicular arches, but seems to be mainly of the 14th century; consists of nave, chancel, and south aisle, with low western tower; contains an ancient screen and a highly-decorated ancient altar-tomb. It was well restored in 1878. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

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 Feniton

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 Feniton from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Feniton (St. Andrew))

Maps

Online maps of Feniton 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:

• Western Times
• Exeter and Plymouth Gazette
• Western Morning News
• North Devon Journal
• Exeter Flying Post

Villages, Hamlets, &c

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.