High Bickington, Devon
Historical Description
Bickington, High, a parish in Devonshire. The parish lies on the river Taw, 2 miles NW of the Portsmouth Arms station on the L. & S.W R., and 7½ E of Torrington. Acreage, 4053; population of the civil parish, 583; of the ecclesiastical, 591. It has a post and money order office under Chulmleigh; telegraph office, Umberleigh railway station. A weekly market was held for some time prior to 1725. The parish is a resort of sportsmen. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter; net value, £520 with residence. The church is an ancient edifice of nave, chancel, north aisle, and south transept. There are chapels for Baptists and Bible Christian 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 | High Bickington St. Mary | |
| Hundred | North Tawton with Winkley | |
| Poor Law union | Torrington |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register of baptisms and burials dates from the year 1707; marriages, 1754.
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 High Bickington
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, north aisle, south transept, south porch and an embattled tower, with pinnacles, containing a clock and 8 bells, all cast in 1753 except the first, which dates from 1827; in 1911 the six old bells were re-cast and two new ones added: the chancel retains a piscina and 3 canopied sedilia, and the east and south windows are stained: in the south transept, now used as a vestry, part of the staircase to the rood loft is still existing: there is a font of Norman date, and the south doorway, which is of the same period, has a stoup: some good carved woodwork also remains: the church was restored during the period 1876-91, at a cost of £900, and affords 250 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 High Bickington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Bickington, High (St. Mary))
- History, Gazetteer and Directory of Devon, by William White, 2nd edition, 1878-9
Maps
Online maps of High Bickington 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.