Heavitree, Devon Family History Guide
Heavitree is an Ancient Parish in the county of Devon.
Other places in the parish include: South Wonford, Whipton, and East Wonford.
Alternative names: Exeter St Michael and All Angels, Wowford, Wonford
Parish church:
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1556
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1610
Nonconformists include: Wesleyan Methodist
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
- Exeter St Leonard
- Exeter St James
- Topsham
- Exeter St David
- Wear
- Exeter St Sidwell
- Stoke Canon
- Sowton
- Clyst St Mary
- Alphington
- Pinhoe
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
HEAVITREE, a village, a parish, and a sub-district in St. Thomas district, Devon.
The village is suburban to Exeter, on the E side; was anciently called Wowford, afterwards Wonford, from a streamlet which runs through it; became for some time the place of execution for Exeter, and took thence the name of Heavy-Tree, which passed into Heavitree; and now contains many good and neat houses.
The parish includes also the hamlets of Whipton, East Wonford, and South Wonford; and is partly within the borough of Exeter. Acres, 3,469. Real property, £21,104; of which £37 are in quarries. Pop., 3,133. Houses, 651. Pop. of the part within Exeter borough, 2,757. Houses, 572. The property is much subdivided.
The manor was given, by Henry I., to Geoffrey de Mandeville; and passed to the Fitzjohns, the Montacutes, the Courtenays, and the Kellys. Heavitree House is the seat of the Ford family; and was the place where Richard Ford wrote his “Handbook for Spain.” A priory stood at Whipton.
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £641. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The church, with the exception of the tower, was rebuilt in 1845; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with S porch; and has an imposing interior. A chapel of ease was erected in Whipton in 1862.
There are national schools, two suites of alms houses, and a few charities. Hooker, the author of “Ecclesiastical Polity,” and Duck, the author of “De Auctoritate Juris Civilis, “ were natives.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Census
Census returns for Heavitree, 1841-1891
Church Records
England, Devon, Heavitree, bishop’s transcripts Author: Devon Record Office (Exeter)
Heavitree baptisms, 1813-1839 Author: Devon Family History Society
Heavitree burial registers, 1813-1837 Author: Devon Family History Society
Heavitree marriage registers, 1813-1837 Author: Devon Family History Society
Marriage index for Exeter, Heavitree, St. Thomas Author: Fursdon, A. A.
Court records
Taxation
Maps
Vision of Britain historical maps
Administration
- County: Devon
- Civil Registration District: St Thomas
- Probate Court: Court of the Peculiars of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter
- Diocese: Exeter
- Rural Deanery: Pre-1848 – None, Post-1847 – Christianity
- Poor Law Union: St Thomas
- Hundred: Wonford
- Province: Canterbury