Rackenford
Rackenford is located within North Devon local authority area. Historically it formed part of Witheridge Hundred. It falls within Tiverton 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 340 in 1801 302 in 1901 . Figures for other years are available on the local studies website. The lay subsidy of 1524 valued the community at £02/02/06. In 1641/2 92 adult males signed the Protestation returns. It is recorded as a borough from 1234. A market is recorded from 14 cent..
A parish history file is held in South Molton 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 Rackenford 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 33/7 Six inch (1:10560) sheet 33NE
The National Grid reference for the centre of the area is SS851182. On the post 1945 National Grid Ordnance Survey mapping the sheets are: 1:10,000 (six inch to a mile: sheet SS81NE, 1:25,000 mapping: sheet Explorer 114, Landranger (1:50,000) mapping: sheet 181. Geological sheet 310 also covers the area.
A fair is known from: 14c.-1822. [It is intended to include the local section from The glove is up! Devon's historic fairs, by Tricia Gerrish, by kind permission of the author].
Extract from Devon by W.G.Hoskins (1954), included by kind permission of the copyright holder:
RACKENFORD lies high and remote. The church (All Saints) is a small, late 15th century building, over restored, and contains nothing of interest. Rackenford Manor, formerly called Cruwyshaye, is on the site of the old manor house. It is a mid 18th century house, enlarged in 1928-32. Backstone, Bulworthy, Sideham, and Worthy Farm were all Domesday estates.
