North Hill, near Launceston, Cornwall, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Welcome to North Hill or Bre Gledh, as it was in the Cornish tongue

We are delighted you’ve come to look at our history and to learn something about our heritage.

If you have a story or images to add, or if you see something that needs updating or amending, or if you want to ask a question about a place or a family, or even if you just want to say "hello" ... drop us a line, our contact details are on the 'About' page. We'd love to hear from you.

What’s new?

November 2020

* The story of the Sleep family of Trebartha village.

* Elizabeth Foott married the same man twice in six weeks.

* Stonaford Saw Mill - a classic image of the mill from the 1930s ... but is it Stonaford?

December 2020

* Grylls family coat of arms on the entrance to the Spoure chapel in St Torney's. See North Hill's only porcupine!

Special Features

360° Panorama Inside St Torney's Church

Current Project

An Introduction to North Hill, Cornwall

The parish nestles into the western side of the Tamar Valley, between Launceston and Liskeard, in eastern Cornwall.

There are three distinct parts to the parish:
- the western edges are on the upland granite of Bodmin Moor
- the central part, which includes North Hill Churchtown, lies in the valley of the River Lynher which flows into the River Tamar
- the eastern side forms part of the rolling hills of the beautiful Tamar Valley and the main centre of population in this area is Coad’s Green with its own identity; this is in part due to the Methodist Church (shown here) which over the years has attracted a congregation to Coad’s Green from an area wider than the bounds of the civil parish.

 Coad's Green Church before the spire was removed.
Venning’s directory describes the parish in 1887, 1901 and 1907.

Click on a date to see an extract from the appropriate directory.

There is evidence of prehistoric settlement across the parish, mostly up on the open moorland. In the Lynher valley there are places which are mentioned in The Domesday Book of 1086 AD.

The eastern edge of Bodmin Moor, bounded by the River Lynher in North Hill parish, is an area rich in minerals and stone and the source for the once prosperous mining and quarrying industries in the parish. In 1851 at The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London there was an exhibit sent by the local Rodd family that showed some of the wonderful porphyry found on the Trebartha Estate.

Many of the buildings around the parish can trace their origins back for hundreds of years. Trebartha Hall has been the seat of the titled families in the parish for about 1000 years.

The parish church, shown here and drawn by Richard Moyse in March 2020, is dedicated to St Torney and has parts which are 13th century; the font is even earlier, dating back to Norman times when it is likely that the church was a wooden structure. The church has two highly impressive monuments to the Vincent and Spoure families. The Spoure monument is shown here. You will find a fascinating deduction of the age of the North Aisle in St Torney’s by clicking here.

The church registers date back into the 1500s; (you may need to register on the Family Search website to access the registers).

The Fallen of North Hill Parish

A Book From The North Hill Local History Group

This book was launched on 3rd August 2014 to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One. It has 36 pages packed with biographical details of the fallen showing you their life stories, images and connections with North Hill, Coad’s Green and other places in and around the parish. It has been researched and written about local people by local people.

For more details of the book, click here.

 

From Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

"There was a parson at North Hill when I was a boy; he was very short-sighted, and they say one Sunday he mislaid the sacramental wine and gave the parish brandy instead. The village heard in a body what was happening, and, do you know, that church was so packed, there was scarcely room to kneel; there were people standing up against the walls, waiting for their turn. The parson couldn't make it out at all; there'd never been so many in his church before, and he got up in the pulpit with his eyes shining behind his spectacles, and he preached a sermon about the flock returning to the fold. Brother Matthew it was told me the story; he went up twice to the altar-rails and the parson never noticed. It was a great day in North Hill."

 

The image that makes up the banner at the top of this page is a view of North Hill village with St Torney’s Church showing prominently in the centre.