Captain John Hore was born in Bishopsteignton in 1806 to parents John Hore (born 1775) and Jane Gilbert (born 1781), and was baptised at the Parish Church.  He joined the British Merchant Service as a boy of 13, and by the age of 24 he was a Ship’s Captain.  His voyages are documented over several years from the 1830s to the 1850s, identified by his Merchant Navy number 10330. and later by his Master Mariner’s Certificate number 41,529.  He sailed to Newfoundland and Lisbon, Portugal in the North Atlantic triangular trade for cod, from the Ports of Teignmouth and Exeter, and was also involved in the coastal trade around the British Isles.

Now that I have some spare time on my hands, I thought it apt to extend from my previous articles ‘Rooted in the Land: The Cornish Family of Wolfsgrove and Beyond’ and ‘The Cornish Family Name’ by telling what I know of my Grandmother and the Ridgeway family’s presence in the village, who appeared rooted for generations in our lovely Devon village.

Between 1200-1600, Bishopsteignton was a bishop-controlled estate on the River Teign, closely linked to Teignmouth, as ‘West Teignmouth’ formed part of its parish. In 1200 this area along the estuary was called ‘Teynton’, from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Tain’ or ‘Taintona’ meaning ‘water’.

A history of the Cornish family heritage in Bishopsteignton by tracing a continuous lineage from the mid-17th century through to late 19th century in the county of Devonshire.