Kirsty Gray - Tracing Your West Country Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians

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First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
P E N A N D S W O R D F A M I L Y H I S T O R Y
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Kirsty Gray 2013

ISBN 978 1 78159 184 0
PRNT ISBN: 9781848847835
PDF ISBN: 9781783376599
EPUB ISBN: 9781783376612
PRC ISBN: 9781783376605

The right of Kirsty Gray to be identified as Author of this Work
has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library

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CONTENTS

PREFACE

W ith its catchy title of Tracing Your West Country Ancestors, it is clear what forms the basis of this book, and those with forebears and research interests in the City of Bristol, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall will certainly benefit from having a copy on the shelf. A veritable doorstop of a book would not cover all aspects of the research into the history of the people of the West Country and this small offering will definitely not ensure that your doors remain ajar in any fashion. However, I live in hope that what this book will achieve is to provide you with solid foundations in a vast array of subject areas specific to the West Country, highlighting particular documents, websites, resources, record offices and hidden treasures available to enhance your knowledge of the life and times of your forebears and their communities, as well as how things have changed over the centuries.

All the images included are either from my own personal collection, graphically produced by me or taken from documents, indexes, transcripts and catalogues from local archives, unless otherwise stated. Having searched through these documents over the years, it will not be a great surprise that many images and references relate to my own family history and I anticipate that highlighting these characters, and providing a little window into their histories, will bring alive some of the subjects discussed.

There is no way on earth that this book could ever have been completed without the unstinting support of many genealogical colleagues, my parents and friends, and a special mention must be given to Sue Maunder, my mum, and Maureen Selley, Chairman of the Devon Family History Society, both of whom had the dubious pleasure of reading this book from cover to cover before the rest of the world could feast their eyes upon it.

From a small acorn of an idea, a tree has grown and I hope that all who decide to leaf through the branches of this particular tree will enjoy the content and learn something along the way.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE REGION

T he West Country is a term used to define the region of south-west England between the Bristol Channel and English Channel. As with any informal area, the boundaries are difficult to define precisely and as a consequence a number of different definitions are used. Some groups use the term as roughly synonymous with the south-west region, while others use it more specifically to refer to either the northern part of the region, or the south-western part. The term is also used, for example, to refer to sports matches between cities such as Bristol and Bath or Gloucester and Bath. This guide encompasses the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, along with the City of Bristol, when referring to the West Country.

The coastline, the moors, agricultural land and the mining industry form a significant part of the regions geography and affect almost every aspect of its history as it impacts upon the people residing in villages, their occupations and everyday lives. Separated from the mainstream of national life through poor transport systems in and out of the counties, the hardy residents of the West Country, isolated, lacking riches and wresting poor livings from the land or the mines, or netting the bounty from the sea, were ever outward-looking, questing and fiercely independent. Daring mariners established trading links as early as the Bronze Age with fellow Celts in Brittany, Wales and Ireland. Later, Roman trading ships beached in southern coves to load tin, a metal much in demand for coinage.

The counties have many physical features in common, with their geology and terrain greatly influencing their history. The heights and depths of cliff tops and deep valleys, medieval boroughs and market towns, remote villages and hamlets define the region, though each county has its own distinct identity, characteristics and stories to tell.

1.1 The City of Bristol

Archaeological finds believed to be 60,000 years old, discovered at Shirehampton and St Annes, provide evidence of human activity in the Bristol area from the Palaeolithic era. There are Iron Age hillforts near the city at Leigh Woods and Clifton Down on the side of the Avon Gorge, and on Kingsweston Hill near Henbury. During the Roman era there was a settlement, Abona, at what is now Sea Mills, connected to Bath by a Roman road, and another at the present-day Inns Court. There were also isolated Roman villas and small Roman forts and settlements throughout the area.

The town of Brycgstow (Old English: the place at the bridge) appears to have been founded in around 1000, and by 1020 was an important enough trading centre to possess its own mint, producing silver pennies bearing the towns name. By 1067 the town was clearly a well fortified