Ivybridge, Devon
Historical Description
Ivy Bridge, a village and an ecclesiastical parish in Devonshire. The village stands on the river Erme, in a romantic dell, under a hill 1130 feet high, near the S border of Dartmoor, 11 miles E by N of Plymouth, and has a station on the G.W.R. 230 miles from London; it takes its name from an ancient one-arched bridge, formerly embowered in ivy, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office, several good inns and lodging-houses, a church, three dissenting chapels, a mechanics' institute, reading-room, library, masonic hall, and several paper and flour mills. Population of the ecclesiastical parish, 1881. The temperature is very mild. The church of St John was erected in 1882, and is a fine building in the Perpendicular style. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; gross net value, £150 with residence. The Wesleyan chapel is a very handsome building in the Gothic style, and was erected in 1875 at a cost of £6000. The old bridge near the station is remarkable for having each corner standing in a separate parish. The scenery, particularly along the coast of the Erme, is highly picturesque. Wamer, in his Cornish Tour, says respecting it:-" However warmed my fancy might have been by previous descriptions of the beauties of the river at Ivy Bridge, the actual scene would have realized its most romantic dreams. I confessed that I never before had seen so much variety crowded into so short a distance." Ivy Castle, a quondam fortalice on the E coast of Guernsey, 1½ mile N of St Peter. It is said to have been constructed in 1036 by Robert Duke of Normandy; it appears to have been a place of considerable strength, and it is now represented by only ruined walls, traces of a fosse, and remains of an outer wall and vallum, enclosing about 4 acres.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Devon | |
| Hundred | Ermington | |
| Poor Law union | Plympton St. Mary |
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 Ivybridge
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Ivybridge from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Ivy-Bridge)
Maps
Online maps of Ivybridge 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.