| Date | Information |
| Pre 8th Century | The church in Petrockstowe, was dedicated to the Celtic Saint of Saint Petrock, possibly around the time of the 6th century. St. Petrock was one of the most important Celtic missionary saints and continued in popularity to the reformation |
| Pre10th Century | Petrockstowe was part of the "Hundred" of Shebbear when Devon was divided into 36 "hundreds". All of the South and West England was divided into Hundreds and the East and North England was divided into Wapentakes. There were 715 Hundreds recorded in the Domesday Book in total, later in the 11th century |
| 11th Century | The Knights Templar were founded and the crusades began |
| 1086 | The Domesday Book was compiled, just 20 years after the famous battle of Hastings in 1066. There were few towns in the area at this time |
| 12th Century | Saw the start of a time of growth in the area, many new towns and villages were created. The landscape of the area was formed, winding lanes led from farm to farm and to nearby towns. Most of the placenames that we know today came about in this time. The nearby town of Torrington became a borough, there were some 70 created in Devon, more than any other medieval county in the country. Most of them were created later in the 13th century though. Most of the markets in the county started around this time |
| 13th Century | The earliest records of cider making in Devon were discovered |
| 14th Century | Monks in Tavistock Produced the famous Devon Clotted Cream by scalding milk |
| 1348 | Many plagues of "Black Death" occurred from time, devastating the population. Farms in the area were left unattended due to lack of tenants to occupy them. The population of Devon dropped to 73,000 and Tin mining virtually came to a standstill |
| 15th Century | The local area underwent a revival with tin mining at nearby Dartmoor booming and the building of manor houses, churches and bridges |
| 16th Century | A strict time in the county where a man was hanged for theft and a woman flogged for having a bastard child |
| 1539 | The time of the dissolution when Buckfast no longer held Petrockstowe. At that time it was granted by Henry VIII to Henry Dennis, a relative of the last abbot, Gabriel Donne |
| 1563 | Petrockstowe was one of 454 parishes in Devon according to the assessment carried out by the Bishop of Exeter. The parish of Lydford was said to be the largest in England at 56,333 acres being part of Devon's 1,700,000 acres |
| 1575 | Saxton's first maps of Devon produced |
| 1587 | The Parish Register started in Petrockstowe |
| 17th Century | Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth in Devon |
| 1641 | Petrockstowe Protestation Return |
| 1646 | The last battle of the civil war was fought at the nearby town of Torrington |
| 1685 | Judge Jeffreys, in the same diocese as Petrockstowe, took strong action to help quell the Monmouth Rebellion, on 14th September he announced that all those making an unsuccessful guilty plea were to be hanged. After the first two prisoners received this treatment the rest, around 30 men, all pleaded guilty, 13 of those were hanged. Each of these hanged men were quartered, boiled and tarred. These remains were sent out to nearby towns and put on display |
| 18th Century | Many buildings in the area were made from cob, chopped straw and wet clay, constructed as straight as the builder's eye, with thatch roofs. Although cob construction can be traced back to the 13th century in London and existed in many forms around the world |
| 1724 | Records commence of an "endemic disorder peculiar to the area" which was to become known as "Devon Colic", mentions of this affliction persisted until 1770. There were two schools of thought, firstly was the fact there were more case in years when the apple crop was higher and cider apples were for "the taking", but secondly the scientific view that it was lead poisoning. The presses contained lead and cleaning of the equipment was undertaken with the use of lead shot. The use of lead was later discontinued and it was written that the only addition to cider excepting the apples was a dead rat for flavour |
| 1790 | A canal was to have been built close to Petrockstowe, from Okehampton to Weare Giffard but due to the impending French war it was shelved |
| 1794 | A report was prepared by Fraser for the board of Agriculture noting that 20% of the land area of Devon was waste land, half of this being comprised Dartmoor and Exmoor |
| 19th Century | The railway came to Devon |
| 1801 | Petrockstowe Population is 467 |
| 1814 | A great slump in farming prices, many farmers lost their farms at this time |
| 1841 | Petrockstowe Population is 616 |
| 1842 | Petrockstowe school was built by Lord Clinton at the cost of £700, holding 20 pupils, the School Mistress being Ann Bisset |
| 1846 | The first railway by Brunel, started in Devon, it ran on atmospheric pressure and was a disaster that wasted £400,000. Luckily his reputation saved him |
| 1851 | Petrockstowe Population is 574 |
| 1855 | The nearby railway between Bideford and Barnstaple was opened by John Wilson, a local printer on 29th October |
| 1861 | Petrockstowe Population is 613 |
| 1871 | Petrockstowe Population is 570 (291 males and 279 females) living in 116 houses on 4,000 acres of land |
| 1872 | The first Trade Union for farm workers came about in an agricultural slump. Many farm labourers left to start a new life in America. The church was equipped with a Father Willis organ at the cost of £120 |
| 1873 | The return of the owners of land gave the first complete picture of the distribution of landed property since Doomsday. This was also when the landed class was at the height of its opulence and political influence. |
1881 | Petrockstowe Population is 510 |
| 1879 | Petrockstowe church was mostly rebuilt although much of the tower remained |
| 1891 | Petrockstowe Population is 726 |
| 20th Century | Petrockstowe was still largely owned by the then Lord of The Manor, Lord Clinton |
| 1901 | Petrockstowe Population is 385 |
| 1911 | Petrockstowe Population is 400 |
| 1915 | The bells in Petrockstowe church were re-hung and a sixth was added |
| 1920 | Tourism was by now the largest industry in the county |
| 1921 | Petrockstowe Population is 399 |
| 1925 | The Light Railway, stopping at Petrockstowe, was built to run between the main line at Halwill junction and Torrington where it joined the terminus of the Southern Railway |
| 1931 | Petrockstowe Population is 381 |
| 1939 | Petrockstowe Population is 304 |
| 1958 | Sale of the Clinton Estate, owning the village and much surrounding land, to cover death duties. Much of the estate was purchased by current tenants |
