Exbourne
Exbourne is located within West Devon local authority area. Historically it formed part of Black Torrington Hundred. It falls within Okehampton Deanery for ecclesiastical purposes. The Deaneries are used to arrange the typescript Church Notes of B.F.Cresswell which are held in the Westcountry Studies Library. The population was 421 in 1801 382 in 1901 . Figures for other years are available on the local studies website. In 1641/2 107 adult males signed the Protestation returns.
A parish history file is held in Okehampton Library. You can look for other material on the community by using the place search on the main local studies database. Further historical information is also available on the Genuki website.
Maps: The image below is of the Exbourne area on Donn's one inch to the mile survey of 1765.
On the County Series Ordnance Survey mapping the area is to be found on 1:2,500 sheet 65/1 Six inch (1:10560) sheet 65NW
The National Grid reference for the centre of the area is SS602020. On the post 1945 National Grid Ordnance Survey mapping the sheets are: 1:10,000 (six inch to a mile: sheet SS60SW, 1:25,000 mapping: sheet Explorer 113, Landranger (1:50,000) mapping: sheet 191. Geological sheet 324 also covers the area.
Extract from Devon by W.G.Hoskins (1954), included by kind permission of the copyright holder:
EXBOURNE The church (St. Mary) is built of granite and is mainly c.1500 in date. Its chief interest now lies in the rood-screen, which is of an interesting early type, well designed with good detail. The open traceried arcades are contained within rectangular heads, a feature of early screens. The Exbourne screen is probably c. 1420-30 in date. There are some excellent modern bench-ends, carved by Herbert Read of Exeter, and good bosses in the S. aisle roof.
