The Churchstanton Ancestors

Churchstanton was part of the Hemyock Hundred [1] dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period.
Over the centuries it has existed under various names, the Saxons calling it Eston (meaning “Stoney Town”) whilst in the Doomsday Book it is referred to as Tanton. By the thirteenth century it had become Cheristanton (meaning “stony settlement where cherries grow”), whilst Taunton and Church Taunton were used in the seventeenth century.
In 1662 when the area was officially registered as a parish it was called Churchstanton but in the ensuing 200 years it has also been referred to as Church Stanton (separated words).

A portion of the Hundred of Hemyoke
The complete Hundred contains the parishes of Awliscombe, Buckerell, Churchstanton, Clayhidon, Culmstock, Dunkeswell, and Hemyock.
Donn's 1765 survey map, courtesy of the Devon Library.

Churchstanton Parish.
Compiled [2] around 1850 this detailed land survey outlines the Churchstanton parish (shown within the red lines).
The yellow/red line denotes the county border between Devon and Somerset.
Map courtesy of Colchester, Essex: History Data Service.

THE CHARD'S OF CHURCHSTANTON

For many generations, the Chard family cultivated flax in the upper Hemyock area of Culm Davy.
After Thomas' wife Sarah died in 1747 [3], an opportunity emerged to extend their operations into the lowlands of Churchstanton.
Large areas of land, long held by the church and gentry, became accessible [4], attracting wealthier freeholders from Hemyock and Clayhidon, such as the Popham, Blackmore, Ackland, Doble, and Bowerman families.

Thomas, who had already speculated in property in Clayhidon and West Buckland, now had control of Sarah's inherited Bowerman farm on Southey Moor in Churchstanton, allowing him to diversify into dairy and sheep farming.

Southey farm on Southey Moor.
1885 land survey map courtesy of The Somerset Archives and Local Studies.

Thomas's eldest children Ann and William took up residence at Southey farm in the early 1760's — at approximately the same time as the flax mill was built [4] in Stapley.

By 1766, both Ann and William had found spouses: Ann married [5] Jacob ACKLAND (1740 — 1771) from Hemyock, while William wed Elizabeth “Betty” HOARE (1748 — 1774) from Churchstanton.

Like the Chards, the Ackland family had taken up land released in neighbouring parishes.
While the Chards settled in Southey Moor at Smeathharpe [6] on the Churchstanton/Upottery parish boundary, the Acklands acquired land on the neighbouring Dunkeswell/Luppitt parish boundary.

Ann Chard's marriage to Jacob Ackland held in Hemyock on the 10th of February 1766.
Devon Marriage Records, 1602–1812. Image provided by Devon County Council.

William Chard's marriage to Betty Hoare celebrated in Churchstanton's St Peter and St Paul church on the 25th of December 1766 [7] by the parish church rector, George Popham.
Image courtesy of Somerset Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754 — 1914.

After their wedding, Ann and Jacob Ackland relocated to Dunkeswell, leaving William and Betty at Southey Farm.

Unbeknownst to them, death was soon to profoundly affect the lives of both couples.
First, Ann experienced loss when her husband of five years Jacob, passed away in 1771 [8].
Three years later William faced tragedy when his wife Betty died [9] after six years of marriage and then later the same year the Chard family mourned the death of their patriarch, Thomas [10].

For Ann at Dunkeswell, assistance came from her Ackland relatives and her step-brother Edward, whereas for William at Southey — now a widower with three young children — remarrying 28-year-old Churchstanton lass Elinor HAWKINS (1746 — 1784) in July 1774 was a blessing.
This marriage also enabled William to support Culm Davy, where his step-mother was struggling with limited assistance from her young sons John and Robert.

The situation improved in 1776 when Diana married Samuel CALLER [11] and Ann married Benjamin GILLARD [12].
Diana remained in Hemyock until her death at the age of 66.

Despite the family challenges and the onset of crippling land taxation, the Chards managed to maintain control of their properties in Culm Davy, Clayhidon, Churchstanton, and Dunkeswell through sheer perseverance.

Edward (1758 - 1848)
James Atkins Chard's great grandfather

Edward was the oldest of three sons born to Thomas Chard and Diana Bowerman in Hemyock [13].
Although he was his mother's first child, he was his father's third, with his step-sister Ann (baptised 1743) and step-brothers William and Thomas (baptised 1745 and 1747, respectively) being born to his father's first wife, Sarah Bowerman.

During his childhood, Edward had little interaction with his step-siblings since they had all left Culm Davy before he turned six.
He did eventually get to know them better whilst accompanying his father on frequent trips to the Chard/Bowerman estates in Wellington (where his step-brother Thomas lived at West Buckland), Clayhidon (the home of the Bowerman grandparents), and Churchstanton (where his step-brother William lived at Southey Moor).

For Edward and his family, life at Culm Davy changed dramatically in 1772 with his father's passing.
The only way forward was to relocate to Southey to join his step-brother William.
Like he had done with his father, Edward joined William visiting and supervising the management of the Chard family's Culm Davy, Clayhidon and recently acquired Dunkeswell (Luppitt) properties.

Whilst at Dunkeswell, Edward's attention was drawn to one of the Ackland girls, Hannah (his step-sister Ann's niece).
The attraction resulted in the birth of two sons, Robert (baptised in Hemyock [14] in 1780) and Thomas (baptised in Luppitt [15] in 1783 and died there in 1784).

Edward and Hannah eventually married in April 1784.

Edward Chard's marriage to Hannah Ackland in 1784.
Edward and Hannah's marriage banns; posted in Churchstanton (Top). Image courtesy of Somerset Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914, and their Marriage ceremony in Clayhidon (Bottom). Clayhidon Parish Records 1669–1670 courtesy of Devon County Council.

Over the course of the next fifteen years Edward and Hannah had six more children; Thomas (1785 – 1847), William (baptised in Hemyock in 1787), Susannah (baptised in Clayhidon in 1789), Diana (baptised in Hemyock in 1790), John (baptised in Clayhidon in 1791) and James (baptised in Hemyock in 1797).

As can be seen by their children's baptisms, Edward and Hannah could be classified as typical "sojourners" spending periods of time residing on their various Devon properties.

Both lived into their eighties, being recorded on the 1841 census at Culm Davy.
Hannah died when she was 85 with Edward surviving her by five years.

It is through Edward and Hannah's son Thomas and his descendants that our family heritage continues.

Thomas (1785 – 1847)
James Atkins Chard's grandfather

Thomas entered a world vastly different from that of his forebears, as the Industrial Revolution was starting to influence rural England. Although his parents continued to perform much of the manual work, mechanised machinery and factory production were becoming increasingly important in his countryside community.

As the Stapley mill in Churchstanton was upgraded to incorporate more efficient spinning and weaving methods, the central location of Chard's Southey farm proved particularly beneficial, with Thomas spending a large part of his youth transporting flax and yarn from Hemyock and Clayhidon to Stapley, and wool from Luppitt and Smeathharpe (Southey) to the manufactures in Exeter.

Manual spinning (left) and the mill at Stapley (right).
Photographs courtesy of The Geoffrey Berry Collection and Martin Bodman.

In March 1806 twenty-one year old Thomas married Luppitt lass Mary SPARK (1784 – 1839), the eldest daughter of John Spark and Mary Doble at St. Mary's Church Luppitt, the banns having been previously posted in Churchstanton.

Banns for Thomas Chard's marriage to Mary Spark were posted in Churchstanton's St Peter and St Paul church in 1806.
Image courtesy of Somerset Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914.

The couple had two boys, both born in Luppitt; Thomas James (1811 – 1874) and Robert (1814 – 1881).

Thomas and Mary worked as farmers at Hense Moor in Luppitt, as documented in the first England Census conducted on June 6th, 1841. The record indicates that Thomas was a widower — his wife Mary having passed away two years earlier [16] — and classified as a pauper, a circumstance that was quite common among farming families during the difficult economic conditions of the early 19th century.
Thomas Chard died in Luppitt, his passing being recorded in Honiton, Devonshire during the first quarter of 1847 [17].
It is through Thomas and Mary's son Thomas James and his descendants that our family heritage continues.


References
  1. The Hemyock Hundred represents a piece of Devon's historical administrative structure, reflecting the way the county was organized during the Anglo-Saxon period.
  2. Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R. Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850. Colchester, Essex: History Data Service, UK Data Archive [distributor], 17 May 2001. SN: 4348.
  3. Sarah Chard's death was recorded in Hemyock, Devonshire on the 20th of December 1747. Devon Burial Records 1602 – 1812.
  4. Spanning around 4000 acres, Churchstanton includes the hamlets of Redlane, Churchinford, Stapley, Biscombe, and Burnworthy. About 2000 acres of the parish consists of common land, encompassing the moors of Southey and Gotleigh. During the mid-18th century, the establishment of the flax mill in Stapley led to a significant portion of the parish being utilized for flax cultivation. Churchstanton Parish Council.
  5. Ann Chard's marriage to Jacob Ackland was recorded in Hemyock, Devonshire on the 10th of February 1766. Devon Marriage Records 1602 – 1812.
  6. Located on the boundary of Upottery Parish and the village of Smeatharpe, the Southey farms were positioned in the southernmost part of Churchstanton, on its flattest farmland, which was perfect for growing flax and grazing sheep.
    For centuries and farming generations, Smeatharpe was a “sleepy hollow”. This peace was shattered in the early 1940's when the advent of World War II saw Smeatharpe become “RAF Upottery”, the area being acquired for the construction of an airfield. Becoming operational in 1944, it was used by the Royal Air Force, United States Army Air Forces and United States Navy as the staging point for the U.S. 101st Airborne Division's first combat jump into Normandy on 6 June 1944.
  7. Parish records of the church of St Peter and St Paul, Stapley, Churchstanton. Churchstanton Marriages 1662-1901.
  8. Jacob Ackland's death was recorded in Hemyock, Devonshire on the 22th of November 1771. Devon Burial Records 1602 – 1812.
  9. Betty Chard's death was recorded in Churchstanton, Devonshire on the 19th of February 1774. Somerset Church of England Burial Records 1531 – 1812.
  10. Thomas Chard's death was recorded in Hemyock, Devonshire on the 26th of November 1774. Devon Burial Records 1602 – 1812.
  11. Diana Chard's marriage to Samuel Caller was recorded in Hemyock, Devonshire on the 8th of April 1776. Devon Bishop's Transcripts 1558-1887 1558 – 1887.
  12. Ann Ackland's marriage to Benjamin Gillard was recorded in Hemyock, Devonshire on the 26th of August 1776. England Select Marriages 1538 – 1973.
  13. Edward Chard's Christening was recorded in Hemyock, Devonshire on the 30th of April 1758. England Births and Christenings 1538 – 1975.
  14. Robert Chard's Baptism was recorded in Hemyock, Devonshire on the 27th of August 1780. Devon Bishop's Transcripts 1558 – 1887.
  15. Thomas Chard's Baptism was recorded in Luppitt, Devonshire on the 25th of December 1783. Devon Anglican Parish Registers 1538 – 1812.
  16. Mary Chard's death was recorded in Honiton, Devonshire in December 1839. England and Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837 – 1915.
  17. Thomas Chard died in Luppitt, his passing being recorded in Honiton, Devonshire during the first quarter of 1847. England and Wales Civil Registration Death Index, 1837 – 1915.