You have a chance to read excepts from a fantastic resource written about Colyton from 1540 -1840.
Population and society in an East Devon parish: reproducing Colyton, 1540-1840 By Pamela Sharpe
Google books have part of it in their library for a limited time ( Otherwise its £45 to buy )
http://www.google.com/books?id=yLkwkrJVMEAC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=falseThis is a vivid and refreshing consideration of everyday life in a town visited by plague, Civil War, religious radicalism and industrial changes. What really happened in the place once described as 'the most rebellious town in Devon'?
The town of Colyton has been intensively analysed by historians interested in population trends, but this book combines demographic information with extensive details of the economy, society and local politics of the parish and region, using material from a wide range of sources -- from court records and poor relief material to details of ordinary families. This finely-grained microhistory stresses the diversity of local experience and exposes many facets of the lives of ordinary individuals during the period. It provides valuable new material on religious radicalism, agricultural changes, economic development, local politics, poverty and welfare policies as well as the history of the family and lifecycle in a small town.
