Great Torrington, Devon Genealogy

England   Devon   Devon Parishes

Parish History
TORRINGTON, GREAT (St. Michael), an incorporated market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Fremington. Great Torrington and N. divisions of Devon, 34 miles (N. W.) from Exeter, and 202 (W. by S.) from London. The name of this place is derived from its situation on the river Torridge; and its antiquity as a market-town is evident from various old records, in which it occurs under the appellation of Cheping- Toriton. The church, owing to its partial destruction by gunpowder in 1646, was rebuilt in 1651; and the present structure, which in the interior is of the Tuscan order, includes such portions of the original edifice as escaped destruction. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans.

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