Honiton, Devon Genealogy

England   Devon   Devon Parishes

Parish History
HONITON (St. Michael), a borough, markettown, and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Axminster, Honiton and S. divisions of Devon, 16 miles (E. N. E.) from Exeter, and 156 (W. S. W.) from London. This place is situated on rising ground, in a picturesque and fertile vale, on the south side of the river Otter, and on the line of the great western road from London to Plymouth. It possesses claims to high antiquity. The old church, which stands on an eminence about half a mile from the town, is a fine edifice with aisles and a transept, in the later English style, having been built, or enlarged, about 1484, by Courtenay, Bishop of Exeter, who erected the beautiful screen, ornamented with carving and gilding, which separates the nave from the chancel. Among several ancient monuments is one to the memory of Dr. Thomas Marwood, who died in 1617, at the age of 105. The new parochial church was consecrated in April, 1839. It is in the Norman style, with a tower, and occupies the site of All-hallows chapel, originally a chantry-house. Here are places of worship for Wesleyans and Unitarians.

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
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

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

Web sites
Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.