Bickleigh Local History Group was formed in early 2015. The first event in April of that year, held in St Mary's Parish Church, was well supported and featured inputs from 18 individuals on the history of the church building and the people associated with it. Everyone left having gleaned some fascinating insights into the possible early Saxon origins of the Church and village, the Carew Family as Lords of the Manor and Rectors, particular features of the church fabric and information about some of the more interesting characters buried in the churchyard. Research continues and is providing further fascinating insights into life in Bickleigh in times past. The Group will continue to reveal these at future events. These events are advertised both in the Bickleigh Bugle and the Tiverton Gazette (paper and website)

The Group also tries to sustain and provoke interest amongst Bugle readers in the history of the Parish. In 2015, Group member Steve Batt serialised a fascinating publication he had come across entitled "The History of Bickleigh Bridge". We will look at adding this content to the site this year.

Meetings are organised when needed in order to organise Local History events. Contact with approximately 22 members is made mostly by email. Meetings are not yet monthly, but the Group is currently looking at organising more regular meetings and talks to discuss and share any new findings relating to Bickleigh's long and rich history.  

Bickleigh Local History Group has gathered a huge amount of information dating from 904AD to present and are also looking at archiving this on-line so that it can be accessed by all. If you think you could assist us with this, please do get in touch. 

The Group has many research resources including: 

• Copies of the Bickleigh Parish Registers 

• Bickleigh aerial photographs 1966 - present

• Transcripts of the census returns for the Parish

• Photographs of the Tithe map (1842)

• 1808 maps of Bickleigh, from Carew Map Book

• Extracts of 19th & 20th century articles from local newspapers

Reference Books include: 

• Historical Atlas of South West England. Edited by Roger Kain & William Ravenhill.

• The Hundred of Sulfretona or Hairidge in Early Times by Rev. Oswald J Reichel.

• "The Anglo Saxon Chronicle" translated with an introduction by G N Garmonsway

• Anglo Saxon Charters IX (Miller) Charters of the New Minster, Winchester

• The Early Charters of Wessex (HPR Finberg) 

• Susan Pearce "South Western Britain in the Early Middle Ages"

• Anglo Saxon England by Martin Welch