[1] The southern boundary of the parish lies on the coast (at Bigbury Bay), and it is surrounded clockwise from the west by the parishes of Newton and Noss, Yealmpton, Ermington, Modbury, and on the opposite bank of the ria of the River Erme, Kingston.

[4] During World War II it was used as a maternity home, and Dave Hill of pop group Slade was born there in 1946.

[2] The estate of Mothecombe was a seat of a junior branch of the Pollexfen family of Kitley, Yealmpton.

The last in the male line was Gilbert de Adeston, who died during the reign of King Edward III (1327-1377) and left a daughter and sole heiress Jone de Adeston, who married John Prideaux, a younger son of Sir Roger Prideaux of Orcherton.

Described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "unusually impressive", it has both north and south aisles and owes much of its interest to the Victorian restoration undertaken by J. D. Sedding between 1885 and 1889 which was funded by Henry Mildmay of Flete.