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Poughill

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The parish of Poughill, (Cornish: Fentenvoekka), is situated in the Deanery of Trigg Major and Hundred of Stratton. It is bounded on the north by Kilkhampton, on the east by Launcells and Stratton, on the south by Stratton, and on the west by Bude Bay. The name is pronounced 'Poffle', and the origin is uncertain.

This rural village is about one mile inland north of Bude. It is named from the Manor which is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Pochehelle, Pondestock, or Podestoc. The water-mill, which still stands, was believed to have been the manorial mill for Trevalgas Manor, which lies at the foot of Trevalgus Hill in thick woodland.

The chief villages are the Churchtown, Tregolls, and Treskinnick.

Most parish and church description(s) on these pages are from Lake's Parochial History of the County of Cornwall by J Polsue (Truro, 1867 - 1873)

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Cemeteries

The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions for the Parish Church - 504 entries.

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Census

Census information for this parish (1841 - 1901) is held in the Cornwall Record Office. The Cornwall Family History Society offers a census search service for its members.
Specific census information for this parish is available as follows:

  • 1841. The 1841 Census of Poughill (HO107/151) (Enumeration District 8), is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1851.
    • The 1851 Census of Poughill (HO107/1897), Enumeration District 1b, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
    • The New Zealand Society of Genealogists have compiled separate surname indexes of the 1851 Census for each Cornish registration district; Poughill is listed in Volume 5. The booklets are available in Cornwall at the Cornwall Centre, (formerly known as the Cornish Studies Library), and is also available in the Cornwall FHS Library from which it can be purchased.
  • 1861. The 1861 Census of Poughill (RG9/1513), Enumeration District 1, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1871. The 1871 Census of Poughill (RG10/2215), Enumeration District 1, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1881. The 1881 Census of Poughill (RG11/2270), Enumeration District 1, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1891. The 1891 Census of Poughill (RG12/1797), Enumeration District 1, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
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Church History

  • Anglican. The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SS2207 and was dedicated to St Olave the Martyr. It comprises a chancel, nave, and north and south aisles. The south arcade consists of three four-centred arches of granite, and one pointed arch of Caen stone. The north arcade is of the Decorated period, and has four pointed arches of Caen stone. There are a south porch, and a north door. The tower has three stages. It is 61 feet in height, buttressed on the square, and is finished with battlements and pinnacles. One of the pinnacles was damaged by lightning in 1861, but was restored. The belfry contains five bells.
  • Non-Conformist. There was a Wesleyan Methodist chapel in the Churchtown.
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Church Records

  • LDS Church Records.
    • The LDS Church batch numbers for Poughill are: C023281/2. These are searchable by surname.
    • The IGI coverage of this parish is 1537 - 1875; it is NOT believed to be fully included in the LDS Church's International Genealogical Index (IGI).
  • The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1537 - 1967, Burials 1537 - 1955, Marriages 1537 - 1950, Boyd's Marriage Index 1537 - 1812, Pallot's Marriage Index 1800 - 1812.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of:
    • Pre 1813 Marriages
    • 1813-37 Marriages
    • 1813-37 Burials.
  • Baptisms.
    • Baptisms 1600 to 1804 (Bishop's transcripts - with gaps), and 1887 to 1911 (parish transcripts), for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
    • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD baptisms 1700 to 1848 for this parish which can be purchased on Parish Chest
  • Banns. Banns 1847 to 1911 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Marriages.
    • Phillimore marriages 1537 to 1812, 1676 to 1804 (Bishop's transcripts) 1754 to 1836 and 1838 to 1911 (parish transcripts), for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
    • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Marriages 1537 to 1837, which is available in CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
  • Burials.
    • Burials 1676 to 1804 (Bishop's transcripts), and 1813 to 1913 (parish transcripts), for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP). liThe Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Burials 1813 to 1837, which is available in Book format.
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Civil Registration

The parish of Poughill is in the Stratton Registration District, and has been since 1st July 1837; there were sub-districts at Kilhampton, Stratton and Week St Mary but these have now been abolished. Parishes within the district are: Jacobstow, Kilkhampton, Launcells, Marhamchurch, Morwenstow, Poughill, Poundstock, St. Gennys, Stratton, Stratton and Bude, Week St. Mary, Whitstone. The Superintendant Registrar can be contacted at: The Parkhouse Centre, Ergue Gaberic Way, Bude, EX23 8LF. Tel: 01288 353209.

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Poughill which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"POUGHILL, a parish in the hundred of Stratton, county Cornwall, 1 mile N.W. of Stratton, its post town. The village, which is of small extent and wholly agricultural, is situated near Bude Bay on the eastern shore of the Bristol Channel. It is mentioned in Domesday Book as Pochehelle, and was held at that time by Robert Earl of Mortaigne. It afterwards came to Cliff Abbey. This place is memorable as having been the scene of the battle of Stamford Hill, in which the parliamentarians under the Earl of Stamford were defeated by the royalists, headed by Sir Beville Granville, on the 16th May, 1643. The impropriation belongs to the landowners. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £125, and the glebe consists of 3½ acres. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Exeter, value £116. The church, dedicated to St. Olave, is an ancient stone structure, with a square pinnacled tower containing five bells. The church has some ancient tombs. The register dates from 1537. The parochial charities produce about £4 per annum, besides an almshouse founded by Henry VIII. There is a National school for girls. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. At Bushill House are preserved several articles of the costly furniture of the mansion of Stowe, among which is the bed in which Charles I. slept during his stay at that place."

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Genealogy

OPC Assistance. The On-line Parish Clerk (OPC) scheme operates a service to help family historians; the OPC page for this parish is available on-line, from where the OPC can be contacted by email.

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Historical Geography

The Domesday Settlements of Cornwall, a study undertaken by the Cornwall Branch of the Historical Association, has identified and located settlements listed in the Exeter and Exchequer Domesday Survey of AD 1086. The following places have been identified in Stratton ecclesiastical parish:

  • Poughill (Poccahetilla, Pochehelle), Grid Reference 223077.
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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SS221080 (Lat/Lon: 50.843947, -4.527741), Poughill which are provided by:

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Occupations

Apprenticeship Indentures for Poughill (1732 - 1826) can be found in the Cornwall Record Office.

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Poughill parish was part of the Stratton Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.
  • Overseers' Accounts (1725 to 1774), Settlement Papers (1739 to 1823) and Bastardy Bonds (1720 to 1787), are available in the Cornwall Record Office.
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Population

Part of the civil parish was added to Bude-Stratton in 1934. In 2001, Poughill was enumerated with Stratton.

  • Population in 1801 - 297 persons
  • Population in 1811 - 355 persons
  • Population in 1821 - 378 persons
  • Population in 1831 - 300 persons
  • Population in 1841 - 472 persons
  • Population in 1851 - 404 persons
  • Population in 1861 - 363 persons
  • Population in 1871 - 421 persons
  • Population in 1881 - 399 persons
  • Population in 1891 - 338 persons
  • Population in 1901 - 344 persons
  • Population in 1911 - 293 persons
  • Population in 1921 - 384 persons
  • Population in 1931 - 413 persons
  • Population in 1951 - 404 persons
  • Population in 1961 - 374 persons
  • Population in 1971 - 416 persons
  • Population in 1981 - 660 persons
  • Population in 1991 - 740 persons
  • Population in 2001 - 4675 persons (Stratton and Poughill)
  • Population in 2011 - 0000 persons
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Statistics

The parish comprised 1929 acres of land in 1841.