Name Index

To

Okehampton Castle

Trans. Devon. Assoc.Vol. XXVII. (1895), plans, pp. 124-136.

by

R.N. Worth

Prepared by Michael Steer

The Paper was presented at the Association’s July 1895 Okehampton meeting. For the genealogist, it is a treasury of names and places associated with research into our county’s unique history. Now a picturesque ruin, Okehampton Castle was once the largest castle in Devon. Building commenced shortly after the Norman Conquest as a “motte and bailey castle with a stone keep”, There is no record of its having ever played any leading part in the strife and wars of the Middle Ages. The early castle was converted in the 14th century into a magnificent residence by Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon. Shortly after the last Courtenay owner transgressed the new laws and requirements of Henry VIII, the castle quickly fell into decline, then ruin. The Paper, from a copy of a rare journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. Those on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.