North Lew, Devon
Historical Description
Lew, North, a village and a parish in Devonshire. The village stands on an eminence near a head-stream of the river Lew, 7 miles NW of Okehampton, and 2 from Ashbury and North Lew station on the L. & S.W.R. It is a large place, with an ancient cross in its centre, and commands an extensive view. It has a post and money order office under Beaworthy; telegraph office, Ashbury railway station. Acreage of the civil parish, 7179; population, 714; of the ecclesiastical, 783. About 2000 acres are open moor. The living is a rectory, with the rectory of Ashbury annexed, in the diocese of Exeter; value, £490 with residence. Patron, the Crown. The church is ancient, was thoroughly restored and renovated in 1885; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with a tower, and contains seats all of carved oak, and ancient. There are two Bible Christian chapels and a national school. N. Carpenter the mathematician was a native. North Lew, with Ashbury, has a parish council.
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 | North Lew St. Thomas à Becket | |
| Hundred | Black Torrington | |
| Poor Law union | Oakhampton |
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 North Lew
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 North Lew from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Lew, North (St. Thomas à Becket))
Maps
Online maps of North Lew 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.