Sheepwash, Devon
Historical Description
Sheepwash, a village and a parish in Devonshire. The village stands on the river Torridge, 1½ mile N of Highampton, and 6 miles from Halwill junction on the L. & S.W.R. It was anciently called Sepawasse and Shipwash, was formerly a market-town, was nearly destroyed by fire in 1743, and has a post office under Highampton; money order office, Black Torrington; telegraph office, Hatherieigh. Acreage of parish, 2032; population, 370. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The manor belongs to Lord Clinton. Upcott Avenell mansion belonged formerly to the Hollands, and with great portion of the land belongs now to the Coham-FIeming family. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; net value, £130 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church was rebuilt in 1880, and is a stone edifice in the Early English style. There are Baptist and Bible Christian chapels. A small trade is carried on in the manufacture of silk gloves.
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 | Sheepwash St. Lawrence | |
Hundred | Shebbear | |
Poor Law union | Torrington |
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 Sheepwash
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 Sheepwash from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Sheepwash (St. Lawrence))
Maps
Online maps of Sheepwash 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.