Plymouth, Devon Genealogy

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

Parish History
PLYMOUTH, a sea-port, borough, and market-town, having separate jurisdiction, locally in the hundred of Rororough, Roborough and S. divisions of Devon, 44 miles (S. W.) from Exeter, and 215 (W. S. W.) from London containing the parishes of St. Andrew and Charles the Martyr. Trinity church, in the early English style, of which the foundation stone was laid in May, 1840, was completed in August 1842 from St. Andrew's. A church district named Sutton-on-Plym was formed out of Charles parish, in 1844, and endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Christ Church, in St. Andrew's parish, was built in 1845, and is in the later English style. Church districts named respectively St. James' and St. Peter's, were formed in 1847 by the Ecclesiastical Commission, the former out of St. Andrew's parish, and the latter out of the parishes of St. Andrew and East Stonehouse. There are places of worship in the town for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents,Wesleyan Methodists, Presbyterians, and Unitarians; and a synagogue. Plymouth lies between the River Plym to the east and the River Tamar to the west; both rivers flow into the natural harbor of Plymouth Sound. The River Tamar forms the county boundary between Devon and Cornwall and its estuary forms the Hamoaze on which is sited Devonport Dockyard.

Geologically, Plymouth has a mixture of limestone, Devonian slate, granite and Middle Devonian limestone. Plymouth Sound, Shores and Cliffs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, because of its geology.

To the north and north east of the city is the granite mass of Dartmoor; the granite was mined and exported via Plymouth. Rocks brought down the Tamar from Dartmoor include ores containing tin, copper, tungsten, lead and other minerals.

Upper Paleolithic deposits, including bones of Homo sapiens, have been found in local caves, and artifacts dating from the Bronze Age to the Middle Iron Age have been found at Mount Batten showing that it was one of the main trading ports of the country at that time.

An unidentified settlement named 'TAMARI OSTIA' (mouth/estuaries of the Tamar) is listed in Ptolemy's Geographia and is presumed to be located in the area of the modern city.

It is well known that tin from Cornish tin mines was being shipped from this area to the middle east at least by 800 BC, and that Phoenician sailors were regular visitors to these shores. The harbor at Plymouth is ideally suited for trade of this kind.

Plymouth castle served to protect Sutton Pool, which is where the fleet was based in Plymouth prior to the establishment of Plymouth Dockyard. In 1512 an Act of Parliament was passed for further fortifying Plymouth, and a series of fortifications were then built, including defensive walls at the entrance to Sutton Pool.

Plymouth was the home port for successful maritime traders, among them Sir John Hawkins, who led England's first foray into the Atlantic slave trade, as well as Sir Francis Drake, Mayor of Plymouth in 1581 and 1593.[16] According to legend, Drake insisted on completing his game of bowls on the Hoe before engaging the Spanish Armada in 1588. Plymouth Hoe is a prominent hill at the entrance of Plymouth harbor, one of the best natural harbors in the world. A picture of the Hoe follows:



Throughout the 17th century Plymouth had gradually lost its preeminence as a trading port. By the mid-17th century commodities manufactured elsewhere in England cost too much to transport to Plymouth and the city had no means of processing sugar or tobacco imports, although it did play a relatively small part in the Atlantic slave trade during the early 18th century.

During the First World War, Plymouth was the port of entry for many troops from around the Empire, and also from North America, and also developed as a facility for the manufacture of munitions.

As the primary HQ for the British navy, the city was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe in WWII, in a series of 59 raids known as the Plymouth Blitz. This was largely due to Plymouth's status as the major Royal Navy port for the Atlantic fleet.

Post-war, Devonport Dockyard was kept busy refitting aircraft carriers such as the Ark Royal and, later, nuclear submarines while new light industrial factories were constructed in the newly zoned industrial sector attracting rapid growth of the urban population. The army had substantially left the city by 1971, with barracks pulled down in the 1960s, however the city remains home to the 42 Commando of the Royal Marines.

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

Non-Conformist Churches

 * Baptist
 * Bible Christian Methodist
 * Calvinist
 * Christians
 * French Protestant
 * Independent/Congregational
 * Jewish
 * Protestant Dissenters
 * Trinitarian
 * Wesleyan Methodist

The following non-Church of England denominations were located somewhere in Plymouth, but the exact parish has not been identified:


 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * Moravian/United Brethren

Genealogy from Periodicals
Haddon, Gordon. The Two Bligh Admirals. A rough outline of the Bligh Family Tree, indicates the respective lineages close or distant, starting with Richard Bligh in 1742. Drawing of William Bligh. Mr Haddon was trying to prove the connection between Admiral Sir Richard Bligh, and his son, Captain George Bligh, and Lieutenant William Bligh of the Mutiny of the Bounty saga of 1789. Article in The Hampshire Family Historian, vol. 17, part. 4, Feb 1991, pages 252-253, FHL Ref. 942.27 B2h

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
Plymouth St Andrew on GENUKI