Halwell, Devon Genealogy

Guide to Halwell, Devon ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
HALWILL (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Totnes, hundred of Coleridge, Stanborough and Coleridge, and S. divisions of Devon, 5¼ miles (S. by W.) from Totnes. The parish comprises 3000 acres, whereof 815 are common or waste land.

HALWELL, or Holwell, a small village 6 miles S. by W of Totnes and 7 miles W. by N. of Dartmouth, has in its parish 445 souls and 3666A. 2R. 28p. of land including Washburn Hamlet (38 souls,) and a number of scattered farmhouses. The soil is various, andon the higher grounds are vestiges of two entrenchments. The manor was anciently held by the Halghwiks, and afterwards by the Vernies and the Hales, but was dismembered many years ago.The parish is now mostly freehold, and belongs to J. Cornish,.Esq., S. Savory, Esq., Mrs. Bastard, Hele's Charity, N. Moysey, Esq., and several smaller owners. The Church {St. Leonard,} is an ancient structure, in the perpendicular style, with a fine lofty tower and six bells.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson, described Halwill like this: HALWELL, a village and a parish in Totnes district, Devon. The village stands 5½ miles SSW of Totnes town and r. station; and has a post office, designated Halwell, Devon. The parish includes also the hamlet of Washbourne. Acres, 3, 666. Real property, with Morley, £, 732. Rated property of H. alone, £, 578. Pop., 357. Houses, 73. The property is much subdivided. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £168. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The church is ancient, but very good; and consists of nave, chancel, and south aisle, with square tower. There are an Independent chapel, and charities £6.

A parish in Coleridge Hundred, and the Archdeaconry of Totnes and Diocese of Exeter. Regarded as part of the South Hams area.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Halwell parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Records are also available at the Devon Archives and Local Studies.

Non-Conformist Churches

 * Independent/Congregational
 * Baptist

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Devon Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Websites
Halwell on GENUKI