Alwington is located within Torridge local authority area. Historically it formed part of Shebbear Hundred. It falls within Hartland 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 310 in 1801 316 in 1901 . Figures for other years are available on the local studies website.In 1641/2 90 adult males signed the Protestation returns.

A parish history file is held in Bideford 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 Alwington 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 18/12 Six inch (1:10560) sheet 18SE
The National Grid reference for the centre of the area is SS408246. On the post 1945 National Grid Ordnance Survey mapping the sheets are: 1:10,000 (six inch to a mile: sheet SS40SW, 1:25,000 mapping: sheet Explorer 126, Landranger (1:50,000) mapping: sheet 180. Geological sheet 292 also covers the area.

Extract from Devon by W.G.Hoskins (1954), included by kind permission of the copyright holder:

ALWINGTON church (St. Andrew) stands beside an ancient, grey barton. It is almost entirely 15th century with a handsome tapered tower; the S. aisle and porch were rebuilt in the 17th century. The nave arcade is of Lundy granite. The Portledge pew, at the E. end of the S. aisle, is made up of pieces from the Elizabethan minstrels' gallery at Portledge, and the reredos from old bench-ends taken out of Parkham church in 1806. The pulpit is made up largely from bench-ends in Alwington church itself; one of the remaining bench-ends is dated 1580. The mural monuments of the Coffins of Portledge are worth attention, especially that to Richard Coffin (1617) and Elizabeth his wife (1651) and their fifteen children.

Portledge was the home of the Coffins from the time of Henry II until recently, though the male line has failed twice. The house is now a hotel, but the Pine-Coffins still live in the neighbourhood. It is mainly a 16th century house, much altered in the early 15th century Yeo Vale is a 15th century mansion, of which the gatehouse survives, built into a large, square late Georgian country house. The ruined chapel beside the road up to Tucking-mill was formerly at Yeo Vale (licensed 1408), but was rebuilt here in the early 19th century.