Bigbury is located within South Hams local authority area. Historically it formed part of Ermington Hundred. It falls within Woodleigh 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 430 in 1801 260 in 1901 . Figures for other years are available on the local studies website. In 1641/2 149 adult males signed the Protestation returns.

A parish history file is held in Kingsbridge 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 Bigbury 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 131/12 Six inch (1:10560) sheet 131SE
The National Grid reference for the centre of the area is SX667463. On the post 1945 National Grid Ordnance Survey mapping the sheets are: 1:10,000 (six inch to a mile: sheet SX64NE, 1:25,000 mapping: sheet Outdoor Leisure 20, Landranger (1:50,000) mapping: sheet 202. Geological sheet 355 also covers the area.

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

BIGBURY probably takes its name from Borough Island which was known as La Burgh in the 15th century. It is a miniature of St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, and had indeed a chapel dedicated to St. Michael on its summit in 1411, of which there are now no traces. The coast here has been much spoilt by bungalow-building.

The church (St. Lawrence) is mainly a 14th century building, virtually rebuilt in 1872-3 by J. D. Sedding, and good. The plain 14th century tower has a short spire. The chancel retains its early 14th century piscina and triple sedilia. The N. aisle and S. transept are said to have been added c. 1400 by the daughters of Sir William de Bigbury, whose fine brasses may be seen in the N. aisle. The pulpit and lectern were brought from Ashburton about 1777.