Village History Online!

Bob Pope has written two accounts of Morchard's History. The full history has been published on the GENUKI web site (Geneology UK and Ireland) and can be accessed by clicking here
The other, which is the 18th Century element, has been published on the Friends of Devon's Archives website which can be accessed by clicking here

As an appetizer here are a few extracts from what are long documents!

The Domesday Survey
The Domesday Survey, carried out in Devon between 1080 and 1083, on the orders of King William, was intended to show who held land, and what it was worth, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066. At that time Morchard Bishop was not one manor as was the case in many areas but was held by three separate people. ……… The third and remaining part of Morchard was held by King William and run on his behalf by his steward. Prior to 1066 it had been held by Britric and later by Queen Matilda. Whether this was the same Britric that held Shobrooke is not clear as there were several Britrics in the survey. Before 1066 it paid tax for half a Hide (60 acres). There was sufficient cultivated land for eight ploughs. The Lord of the Manor (the King) kept one virgate (30 acres) of land for himself together with two ploughs and two slaves. The remaining 30 acres was cultivated by eight villagers with three ploughs. In addition there were two acres of meadow and 40 acres of woodland with five cattle and 40 sheep. The annual value of the manor was £4.

Oath of Loyalty - 1723
In 1723 all adults were required to take an oath of loyalty, in front of a magistrate, to George I. The names of those from Morchard Bishop who took the oath are included in the list of personalities quoted in the previous paragraph. Of the 152 oath-takers 117 were men and 35 were women, three times more men than women.
The list of the oath-takers shows that 52 of the men could sign their names, just under half; whereas only three of the women could, less than one in ten.

The Manor of Morchard Bishop
The manor, part of the Raddon Estate, had always been owned by non-resident landlords and therefore there is no central Manor House. This Manor is considerably larger than the Rectory Manor and includes many of the major farms in the parish. The Court Roll does not appear to have survived although many of the supporting documents, such as estate surveys and rental records have done so and are held in the County Record Office. Some of the data recorded is once again included in the list of personalities.

Footpaths around Morchard Bishop and ...
Walking Maps

With over 40 footpaths, Morchard Bishop has one the highest number of public footpaths of any Parish in Devon. The walks available are very varied in length, difficulty and vistas.

The Parish Paths Partnerships Scheme (P3 for short) is an initiative to ensure that the entire rights of way network is legally defined, properly maintained and well publicised. It has the support of the National Association of Local Councils and is government funded. The Devon County Council was one of the first fifteen Highway Authorities to participate in this scheme, which encourages community involvement and enjoyment of public rights of way. Devon County Council is working in partnership with Parish/Town Councils, landowners and local voluntary groups. The main aim is to improve the condition of the local rights of way and keep them open and used properly.Parish/Town Councils in the scheme receive a grant to undertake rights of way work.

The grant, paid by Devon County Council, covers three elements -
i) The mileage, based on the length of rights of way in theParish
ii) Special projects, and
iii) Administrative costs.

Path condition survey and inspection
Each year before the Parish/Town Council receives its annual grant it organises a survey -
This is an assessment of the condition of the rights of way, in order to find out what work needs to be done.
The survey provides the information necessary for calculation of the grant payment.
Developments and improvements - upgrading and re-opening paths by undertaking practical work such as vegetation clearance, repairing stiles and waymarking, in consultation with farmers and landowners;
Events - helping people to feel confident about using the network by organising, for example, guided walks and rights of way days;
Publicity and promotion - letting people know about the availability of the rights of way network through, for example, leaflets or map boards. This is a final stage, reflecting the improved condition of the path network.

The Parish Paths Liaison Officer operates the scheme - and for the Morchard Bishop Parish our P3 Officer is Julie Rudge. (see also the Local Artists section on this web site)

Julie regularly organises walks in the Parish, usually taking about 2 - 3 hours. The walks are leisurely and for all ability levels. They are a fantasitic way of getting know your local areas, the beauty that is the Devon countryside - and also your walking companions. The walks are publicised regularly in the Morchard Messenger and the accompanying hand drawn maps are available from Julie (tel 01363 877528) or can be downloaded from this web site.

To go to the walks maps click here

The Devon County Council web section on Public Rights of Way can be accessed by clicking here

An excellent interactive footpaths GIS (Gepgraphic Information System) map for Devon can be accessed clicking here You can zoom into any area of Devon to see the local footpaths and bridleways

Morchard Bishop and Broadband

The section on the change from a Broadband website to the Morchard Bishop Website is being retained for those who still need to reference this section.

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Similarly the advice section on how to obtain Broadband has been retained.

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