A number of pages related to Devon can be found on the Internet - especially the Devon resources section of UK and Ireland genealogy (genuki), including detailed information on certain Devon parishes, and Ronald Branscombe's Devon surnames list.

General works

• Devon, by Professor W.G. Hoskins, David and Charles 1978, ISBN 0-7153-5577-5

• Devon and its People, by W.G. Hoskins, Wheaton 1956

• A Book of Devon, by Sabine Baring-Gould, Methuen 1925 (full of fascinating anecdotes from around the county)

• Devonshire Characters and Strange Events, by S. Baring-Gould, London 1926

• The Literary Landmarks of Devon and Cornwall, by R. Thurston Hopkins, London 1926.

• Highways and Byways in Devon and Cornwall, by Arthur Norway, Macmillan 1922

• King's England Devon, by Arthur Mee, Hodder and Stoughton (revised edition) 1965

• Pevsner's Buildings of England: Devon (North and South), by Pevsner 1952

• Murray's Handbook for Devon and Cornwall 1859, reprint by David and Charles 1971, ISBN 0 7153 5293 8

• Devon, by Brian Chugg, Batsford 1980, ISBN 0-7134-0417-5

• More Devon Byways, by Dickson, Westaway 1952

• The Devonshire Dialect, by Clement Marten 1974

• Devon at Work, by Walter Minchinton, David and Charles 1974, ISBN 0-7153-6389-1

• Devon's Ancient Industries and Handicrafts, by A. Farquharson-Coe, James Pike (St Ives) 1975

• Devon Tollhouses, by John Kanefsky, University of Exeter 1984, ISBN 0-9501778-8-1

• Devon's Heritage: Buildings and Landscape, a collection of essays, Devon County Council 1982, ISBN 0 86114 356 6

• Victorian and Edwardian Devon from old photographs, by Brian Chugg, Batsford 1975, ISBN 0 7134 3001 X

• View of Old Devon, by Rosemary Anne Lauder, Bossiney Books 1982, ISBN 0 906456 67 3

• The Regency in Devon, Exeter Museum 1978

• A Map of the County of Devon, Benjamin Donn 1765, reprint by Devon and Cornwall Record Society and Exeter University 1965

• Devonshire, by D. St. Leger-Gordon, Hale 1950 (County Books series).

Old Directories

• Pigot and Company's National Commercial Directory 1830, Facsimile Edition 1993, reprinted by Michael Winton, ISBN 0 9504069 7 X (Westcountry volume)

• White's 1850 Directory of Devon, David and Charles 1968 (reprint)

• Billing's Directory of Devonshire 1856

County History

• History of Devon, Robin Stanes, Phillimore (Chichester) 1986, ISBN 0-85033-528-0

• Early Tours in Devon and Cornwall, Pearce Chope, David and Charles 1968

• General View of Devon, Fraser 1794, reprint by Porcupines (Barnstaple) 1970

• Risdon's Survey of Devon 1811, reprint by Porcupines (Barnstaple) 1970

Bideford

• Old Bideford and District, by Muriel Goaman, Cox (Bristol) 1978

• The Book of Bideford, by Alison Grant and Peter Christie, Barracuda Books (Buckingham) 1987, ISBN 0 86023 284 0

• History of Bideford, by Duncan Fielder, Phillimore (Chichester) 1985, ISBN 0 85033 574 4

• History of Bideford, by Watkins 1792, Reprint Bideford 1883

• Random Notes on Old Bideford, by Major Ascott, Bideford 1953

• Exploring Bideford, by Peter Christie, Thematic Trails 1989, ISBN 0 948444 16 9 (a historical walking tour of the town)

• The Long Bridge of Bideford, by Whiting 1945 (reprint with additional notes by Christie), Bideford Bridge Trust 1987

• The Long Bridge of Bideford and Bideford under the Restored Monarchy, by Duncan (from the Transactions of the Devonshire Association) 1930

• The Trial of the Bideford Witches, by Frank Gent, Bideford 1982, ISBN 0 9508437 0 9

• St Mary's Parish Church, Bideford, by Rev. R. Cooper, Bideford 1988, ISBN 0 9514237 0 3

• Torridge Bridge and Bideford By-Pass: A Pictorial Record, by Sandra Yeo, Badger Books 1987, ISBN 0946290 13X (a book that would make our ancestors turn in their graves!)

• Bideford in Old Picture Postcards, by Muriel Goaman, The European Library (Netherlands) 1982, ISBN 90 288 2100 7 (a collection of old pictures of Victorian and Edwardian Bideford, with explanations)

• Bideford Black: The history of a unique local industry, Sound Archives North Devon 1994

• Free as a Bird (a Bideford childhood), by Doreen Hersey

Barnstaple

• Barnstaple Yesterday, by Julia and Jonathan Baxter, Chard (Bristol) 1980, ISBN 0 9507330 0 8 (over 160 old photographs of the town)

• Barnstaple's Industrial Archeology, by Michael Bone, University of Exeter 1973, ISBN 0 9501778 3 0 (a visitor's guide to sights of interest)

• The Art Potters of Barnstaple, by Audrey Edgeler, Nimrod Press (Alton) 1990, ISBN 1 85259 178 1 (a detailed study of the local industry, largely focussing on Brannam's pottery)

• A Family Business, by Peter Brannam 1982, ISBN 0 9508247 0 4 (a history of Brannam's pottery from 1879 to 1979 by the last of the Brannams to run the Barnstaple business)

North Devon (general)

• North Devon History, by Peter Christie, Gaskell 1995, ISBN 1 898546 08 8 (a collection of articles based on anecdotes gleaned from old newspapers). Two further volumes are now available, More North Devon History and Even More North Devon History.

• Of Church Reves and of Testamentes, by Peter Christie, Devon FHS 1994, ISBN 1 871822 440 (transcript of cases before the Ecclesiastical Court of Barnstaple)

• Charles Kingsley's Landscape, by Susan Chitty, David and Charles 1976, ISBN 0 7153 7215 7 (an interesting description of places connected with Kingsley in North Devon - mainly Bideford and Clovelly)

• The North Devon Story, by Eric Delderfield, Raleigh Press (Exmouth) 1952 (the apocrypha of North Devon histories)

• Market Towns of North Devon, by Rosemary Anne Lauder, Badger Books (Bideford) 1983, ISBN 0 946 290 04 0

• A Tale of Two Rivers, by Rosemary Anne Lauder, Badger Books (Bideford) 1986, ISBN 0 946290 11 3 (The Taw and the Torridge)

• The Cruel Coast of North Devon, by Michael Nix, Badger Books (Bideford) 1982, ISBN 0 946290 01 6

• Westward Ho! to Welcombe, by Anne Lauder, Aycliffe Press 1979, ISBN 0 906530 03 4 (a description of the villages and sights along the N.W. Devon coast)

• North Devon Coast in Old Photographs, compiled by Beryl Yates, Alan Sutton (Gloucester) 1989, ISBN 0 86299 653 8 (from the Beaford Photographic Archive)

• Devon's Northern Coast, by Mary Gray, James Pike (St. Ives) 1975, ISBN 0 85932 076 6

• North Devon and North Cornwall, by Millward and Robinson, Macmillan 1971

• The North Devon Yeomanry, by Rowe, North Devon District Council (no date), ISBN 1-85522-343-0 (purchased at the North Devon Museum in Barnstaple where there are exhibits relating to the subject)

• Strong's Industries of North Devon 1889, by H. Strong, David and Charles reprint 1971 (detailed descriptions of local industries in the Victorian era, some of which still exist today)

• North Devon Pottery: the 17th century, by Alison Grant, University of Exeter 1983, ISBN 0 85989 129 1 (study of contemporary records and archeological finds at Bideford, Barnstaple and Fremington - not forgetting Jamestown, Virginia)

• The London Gazette: Devon Extracts, transcribed by Marjorie Snetzler, Devon FHS 1987 (North Devon parishes)

Hartland

• The Book of Hartland, by Chope 1940 (A definitive history of the parish).

• Hartland Church Accounts, 1576-1706, transcribed with notes by Gregory, 1950 (a mine of information for genealogists researching that period)

• Hartland Quay: The story of a vanished port, by Michael Nix, Hartland Quay Museum 1982, ISBN 0 95081 80 0 3 (a history of the maritime side of Hartland)

• Cory's Chronicle, The Story of the World's Strangest Newspaper, by Alan Vanstone, 1981.

• Hartland Parish Guide, by George Cottle, Hartland Parish Council

• Farthest from Railways: An unknown corner of Devon, by R. Pearce Chope 1977

Clovelly and Bucks Mills

• Down a Cobbled Street, by Sheila Ellis, Badger Books 1987, ISBN 0-946290-148 (a well illustrated history of Clovelly)

• The Cannibals of Clovelly, by A.Coxe, Bideford Community College (a pamphlet about a strange local family!)

• Clovelly and its Story, by Angela Ruthven 1968

• The Story of Bucks Mills and Bucks Cross, by Duncan Hubbard-Fielder, Aycliffe Press 1980. (A history of two villages to the east of Clovelly, Bucks Cross being on the Bideford road and Bucks Mills on the coast)

• A Race Apart, by Len Braund 1994 (A comprehensive study of the BRAUND family of Bucks Mills)

• Woolfardisworthy and District and the Domesday Book, by John Downes, Bideford Community College 1982 (history of the parish, otherwise known as Woolsery, which historically covers Bucks Cross and part of Bucks Mills)

Seafarers and Smugglers

• The Maritime History of Devon, by Oppenheim, University of Exeter 1968

• Devon Shipwrecks, by Richard Larne, Pan Books 1977, ISBN 0-330-25167-8

• Smuggling in Devon and Cornwall, by Mary Waugh, Countryside Books (Newbury) 1991, ISBN 1-85306-113-1

• Smuggling in Devon, by Frank Graham, Clarke (Lyme Regis) 1986, ISBN 0 907683 29 0

• Devon's Smugglers, by A. Farquharson-Coe, James Pike (St Ives) 1975, ISBN 0 85932 090 1

• SMUGGLER: John Rattenbury and his Adventures in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall 1778-1844, by Eileen Hathaway, Shinglepicker Publications 1994, ISBN 0-9522782-0-0

Religion

• Devon Churches, Vol. 1, by David Spurr, Merlin Books (Braunton) 1983, ISBN 0-86303-122-6 (covering North Devon parishes)

• Baptist Churches in North Devon, by Thomson 1885

• A Centenary Life of James Thorne by F.W. Bourne, 1895. (James Thorne was one of the leaders of the Bible Christian movement based at Shebbear)

• The Golden Chain, by Richard Pyke, Henry Hooks (London) c. 1910

• The Westcountry Preachers, by Michael Wickes 1987, ISBN 0-9512660-0-4 (A more recent work on the Bible Christian movement)

• John Wesley in Devon, by Michael Wickes 1988 (Wesley preached in many Devon parishes)

• Church and Society in Eighteenth Century Devon, by Arthur Warne, David and Charles 1969

• A Book of Devonshire Parsons, by Beatrix Cresswell, Heath Cranton 1932

I would be happy to provide further details of any of the above works. More references can be found for books on Bideford and Barnstaple on the Genuki pages. Click below for Genuki or to send me an E-Mail.

• Bideford (Genuki)

• Barnstaple (Genuki)

The Devon Family History Society publishes a quarterly bulletin as well as a Members' Interests list. The also sell an 1851 census index for the whole of Devon (divided into areas) and burial indexes for selected parishes.

• Link to Devon Family History Society

The North Devon Maritime Museum (Odun Street, Appledore, Devon) has an excellent annual publication called "North Devon Heritage". The 1996 edition includes an article I wrote on Edward Martin White, builder and Mayor of Victorian Bideford. Among other things he widened the old bridge in 1862 after the more radical solution of a complete rebuilding was fortunately rejected!

• My Devon ancestors

• My history of Brannam's Pottery, Barnstaple

• St Sidwell's, Exeter with Exeter book refs.