Holsworthy, Devon

Historical Description

Holsworthy, a small town and a parish in Devonshire. The town stands on an eminence, near the river Deer, 5 miles E of Cornwall boundary, with a station on the L. & S.W.R., 220 miles from London. There is a post, money' order, and telegraph office. Acreage of parish, 8965; population, 1960. Holsworthy was held for the king during some period of the Civil Wars of Charles I., is a seat of petty sessions and county courts, and has four banks, several hotels, a market-house, a bridge, a church, four Methodist and two Bible Christian chapels, a workhouse, and some charities. The market-house was built in 1858. The church is Later English, and consists of nave, N and S aisles, and chancel; the building was restored in 1882, and again in 1884. In the tower is a fine peal of eight bells, and the famous carillon for which Dr S. S. Wesley wrote two tunes. A weekly market is held on Wednesday, cattle markets are held on the third Wednesday in each month, and fairs are held on 9, 10, and 11 July. The manor and much of the land belong to Earl Stanhope. An interesting feature is the Labyrinth, designed by Earl Stanhope, and formed of beech trees. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter; value, £630 with residence.

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 Holsworthy

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Holsworthy from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Holsworthy (St. Peter and St. Paul))

Maps

Online maps of Holsworthy 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.