Henry Coumbe, Margery Northey and 3 generations
William Morrish and Mary Ann Hamence
Coumbe of North Hill, Cornwall
This document is a progress report on the results of research into the Coumbe (also Combe and Coombe) family of the parish of North Hill (also known as Northill) in Cornwall England.
Topics on this page:
Coombe, Coumbe or Combe Yes!
The research (includes links to further
information)
Coumbe Masons
Coumbe Innkeepers
Coumbe Farmers
The Parish
Some useful resources
Further details are available on the other pages (see links at left), regarding headstones, generations of descendants and Latham's book.
Coombe, Coumbe or Combe? Yes!
In the 1841 census most families in the parish had their name spelt Coumbe. But on migration to Australia in 1849, the author's ancestral family adopted the Coombe spelling. Even now in Cornwall, Coombe vastly outnumber Coumbe (by about 50 to 7 entries in the telephone book), so it seems that over time the standard spelling has changed. The spelling of the surname as Coumbe was adopted in North Hill parish sometime between 1703 and 1723; before that the name was spelt as Combe. Interestingly in adjacent Altarnun and Linkinhorne parishes, the standard spelling is Coombe.
The author's Coombe ancestors originated in North Hill before migrating to South Australia. The migrants were the family of James Coumbe, a stone mason. He was the third generation of masons; a further generation back was Henry Coumbe, a yeoman / farmer. In the parish cemetery, two headstones are of the mason family branch and three belong to the inn-keeper branch; all are descendants of Henry.
Progressive results of research are published in the following pages.
Coumbe headstones in North Hill parish cemetery
Henry Coumbe and Margery Northey and their great-grandchildren
Aspects of a history of the Trebartha estate (which includes North Hill parish) are found in Trebartha, Latham's book (as relating to the Coumbe's).
The author visited North Hill and Trebartha very briefly in July 2005.
The first found mention of a Coumbe mason is John (1747-1806, son of Henry and Margery), who was described as such in his 1774 marriage. The occupation of stone mason continued through his son Edward (1780-1864). All three of Edward's sons were masons: John Philpe (1804-?), James (1811-1881) and Thomas (c.1815-1896). Little more is known of the first son; the second migrated to Australia and is a major subject of this research. The third, Thomas, had two sons - James (b.1837), a mason and John (b.1841) a house carpenter. James lived at Trebartha Mill Cottages and one of his sons, James (b.1863) was also a mason.
Thus the masonry trade continued through five generations.
Coumbe Innkeepers - The Ring o' Bells
The first found mention of a Coumbe innkeeper is Edward Coumbe (1754-1830), brother of John the stone mason, who was described as such in the 1804 death of his first wife. The innkeeping and coopering continued with his second wife Jane (c. 1779-1850), their son James Coumbe (1810-1851), his son George Coumbe (1836-1900), his daughter Mary Ann Cowling Jewell née Coumbe, b. 1864 and her husband William H Jewell.
Thus the innkeeping and coopering trade continued through four generations.
The present-day "Racehorse Inn" in North Hill village used to be a school and is not the inn kept by the Coumbes. That inn was known as the "Ring O' Bells", which is marked as such on old maps. It is now a private dwelling, following relocation of the modern brewery to Launceston.
According to the current brewery, “the Ring O’ Bells started trading in the 13th century as a cider farm come alehouse for the stonemasons of St Torney Church, North Hill. The Ring O’ Bells closed in 1918 after an orgy of violence which led to the death of a man after he was thrown from his cart and killed.” www.ringobellsbrewery.co.uk
Research question: The latest known innkeeper of the "Ring o' Bells" was William H Jewell (c.1858-?) in the 1901 census. He was the son-in-law of George Coumbe (1836-1900) and wife of Mary Ann Cowling Coumbe (1864-?). Are there descendants of William Jewell who can cast light on the innkeeping history? William and Mary's children at the 1901 census, with ages, were Alice W Jewell 2, Gladys M Jewell 8, William F Jewell 10, Beatrice E Jewell 12 and George A Jewell 14.
Coumbe Farmers
There were many farming
Coumbe families, including Henry mentioned above. In the 1841 census:
* John and Sarah Coumbe and family were farming at Halfacre,
* William and Eliza Coumbe and family were farming at East Tremollett,
* John and Elizabeth Coumbe and family were farming at Symons (Simmons)
* John and Harriet Coumbe and family were farming at Stonaford (Stanaford)
* Henry and Jane Coumbe and family were labouring, living at Bautel Cottage
(later migrated to Australia)
* Henry and Jane Coombe were labouring at Underway.
Other Coumbe farm locations include: Addicroft (Addacroft), Tolcarne (Tolcairne) and (East) Lawn.
The Parish
Excellent descriptions are available of the parish (http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwall/NorthHill) and Saint Torney's church (http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/North_Hill.htm). “The principal villages of the parish are the Churchtown, Coads Green, Bathpool, Middlewood, Congdons Shop, Illand or Yeiland, Newtown and Trebartha.” (Source: Genuki, above).
Contact
To contact the author - David Coombe - see Home and Contact link at top.
Cornwall Online Census Project http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kayhin/ukocp.html
North Hill Parish Registers on CD available from www.cornwalllegacy.com
Lynher area: family history connections www.lynhervalley.co.uk/explore/family_history.htm
Lynher Parishes, St Ive, Linkinhorne & South Hill, A History Resource site www.lynherparishes.co.uk
Combs &c. Families of Cornwall, England www.combs-families.org/combs/records/england/con/ from Combs-Coombs &c., a Nonprofit Historical-Genealogical Research Group.