Northlew is located within West Devon local authority area. Historically it formed part of Black Torrington Hundred. It falls within Okehamapton 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 638 in 1801 629 in 1901 . Figures for other years are available on the local studies website. In 1641/2 146 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 Northlew 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 63/12,64/9 Six inch (1:10560) sheet 63SE,64SW
The National Grid reference for the centre of the area is SX504991. On the post 1945 National Grid Ordnance Survey mapping the sheets are: 1:10,000 (six inch to a mile: sheet SX59NW, 1:25,000 mapping: sheet Explorer 113, Landranger (1:50,000) mapping: sheet 191. Geological sheet 324 also covers the area.

Illustrations: The image below is of Northlew as included in the Library's Etched on Devon's memory website. Other images can be searched for on the local studies catalogue.

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

LEW, NORTH is a large village for these parts, full of character and good rural building. There are superb views of the N. and W. edge of Dartmoor from the lanes round about.

The church (St. Thomas Becket), though badly over-restored in 1885, is interesting for its fittings. It is mostly 15th and 16th century in date, with granite N. and S. arcades. The principal features are the carved roofs of the aisles; the screen, which incorporates parts of the original rich 15th century screen demolished during a "restoration"; and the boldly carved bench-ends, of which a considerable number date from Henry VIII's reign. One is dated 1537, pro-bably the date of all those that are not modern.

The parish contained several Domesday manors-Lew itself, Rutleigh (formerly Redcliff), Gorhuish, and East and West Kimber.