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Transcript of V IE W - Forgotten Books
V I E W
D E V'
O N S H I R E
IN MDCXXX,
W ITH
A. PEDIGREE OF MOST OF ITS GENTRY
THOMAS W ESTCOTE,G ENT
EDITED BY
THE REV. G EORGE OLIVER ,D . D .,
AN D
P ITMAN JON ES , E SQ.
E X E T E R
W ILLIAM ROBERTS , 1 97 , H IGH -STREET.
1 845 .
EXETER
PRINTED BY W ILLIAM ROBERTS, 1 97, H IGH -STREET.
BALDW IN FULFORD,OF FULFORD
,ESQ
Allow us to introduce to the Public , ‘through your auspices ,
the hitherto unpubli shed Works of W ESTCOTE , namely, his VIEW OF
DEVONSH IRE and the “PEDIG REE OF M OST OF ITS G EN TRY . The supply
of this desideratum in the H istory of the County , after two centuries , will
b e welcomed b y a discerning Public , under the sanction and patronage
of one who inherits , as you do , the merits and virtues of a long line
of An cestors— who is justly regarded as the beau ideal of an Engli sh
Gentleman ; and who possesses the confidence , esteem, and respect of
all parties . That you may long adorn your sphere of usefulness , and
b e hailed as the pride of Devonshire , and the delight of your worthy
Family and numerous Friends and Admirers, is the hearty wish of us ,
who have the honour to b e
Your obliged Servants ,
GEORGE OLIVER .
PITMAN JONES .
W ILLIAM ROBERTS .
C O N T E N T S .
BOOK I .CRAP . PAGE .
I . Whence Devonshire is said to take name,and the divers opinions thereof . 1 9
I I . When the Danmonian Province was severed, and the l imits thereof 25
I II . Of the extent and bounds of Danmonia 29
IV . Of the l imits, hundreds, market towns, and parishes in the County Of Devon 31
V. Of the temperature of the air,and the nature of the Inhabitants 33
VI . Of the soil , beasts, fowl , fishes, grain, and fruits 35
VI I . The constitution, nature, and quali ty of the Inhabitants 42
VIII . Of the sundry degrees of the Inhabitants, and the distinction of theirvocations 44
IX . The second degree is of Yeomanry and Husbandmen 48
X . Of the Merchant, which is the third degree 5 1
XI. Of the last degree, which is Day-Labourers in Tin-works , and H irelings in
Husbandry 52
XI I . Of the Commodities this Country y ields, and ofAgricul ture and Husbandry 54
XIII . Of the second Commodity, of Clothing and Drapery 59
XIV. OfM ines and Quarries of S tone ; and of the several sorts of e ither of them 63
XV . Of Mariners, Shipping, and F ishing 67
XVI . The several Governments of this County distinguished : and first of the Ecclesiastical 69
XVII . Of the Martial Government, with the chief and other Commanders 7 1
XVIII . Of the Civil or Poli tic Government : be ing the third 73
XIX . Of the Admiralty and Government for Maritime and Sea Causes 75
XX. The S tannary Laws and Governmentwhich concernTinners and Tin Causes 75
XXI . The description of the Forest of Dartmoor where Tin is mined 79
XXI I . Of certain Tenants of the Forest called Fenfield-men 84
XXII I . Of the Forest of Exmoor 88
BOOK I I .
I . An entrance into the E ast Division, togetherwith the orig inal and progressof the R iver Exe .
I I . Of the Hundred of Bampton, containing six ParishesI II . Of the Hundred of Tiverton, containing five Parishes
CON TENTS .
CHAP. PAGE.
IV. The Hundred of Halberton containeth three parishes 1 05
V. The progress of the R iver Culme 1 12
VI . The orig inal and progress of Creedy R iver 1 1 8
VII . Of Crediton and the Bishops thereof 1 20
VIII . Of the farther progress of the R iver Greedy, and the places adjacent 1 27
IX. Of the progress of the R iverGreedy to Cowley-Bridge, where itjoinswith Exe 1 31Of the Antiquity and divers Names of the City of Exeter 1 35
XI. Of the S ituation and Places worthy observation in this City 1 38
XI I . Of the Dukes,Marquises, and Earls of Exeter
XII I. Of the Monasteries and Alms-Houses belong ing to the City of Exeter 1 45
X IV . Of Bedford Houseand the noble Family of the Russells 1 47
XV . Of the Guildhall, Magistrates, and the several Corporations thereof 1 49XVI . Of the Cathedral -Church of S t. Peter’s.— The antiquity andbuilding thereof 1 53XVI I . Of the Bishops and other Dignitaries of the Church of Exeter 1 57
XVII I . The Bishops of Exeter after the Reformation 1 72
XIX. The Bishops of Exeter since the present Author’s time unto this day, 0 0tober 2oth, 1 695 , by John Prince
XX . Of the Inferior Dignitaries of the Church of E xeterThe Monuments and Epitaphs in Saint Peter’s Cathedral , Exon
XXII. An Epilogue or Conclus ion on the View of Exeter
XXIII . Of the progress of the R iver Exe below Exeter
BOOK I II .
Of the Circuit of the R iver ClystOf Powderham Castle and the Noble Family of CourtenayA Catalogue of the Earls and Dukes of Devon before the ConquestOf the Earls of Devon after the Conquest, and F irst of RedversOf the right noble Family of the Courtenays , Earls of DevonOf those other noble Famil ieswhich have since been Earls of DevonOfKenn, and some other p laces on thewest side of the R iver ExeOf places on the east side of the R iver ExeThe Passage of the R iver Otter .
Of Ottery St. Mary, and other places near itOf Colaton-Ralegh and SirWalter Ralegh
Of Budle igh Hundred in the E astOf Colyton Hundred and the Parishes adjacent to that TownThe Progress of the R iver Axe, and the Hundred ofAxminsterThe Conclusion which should be the epiphonema of this Discovery
BOOK IV .
An entrance into the view and visit of the North DivisionOf Comb-Martin and the S ilver M ines there
CON TEN TS .
em p .
I I I . Of Berry-N erb ert, Bowdon, and Bishop JewelIV . Of Morthoe Tracy, and Mort-S toneV . Of George-Ham and P idickwell
VI . Of the R iver Taw,his spring and progress
VII . Of Afi'
ton and the Family of S tukelyVII I . Of Chulmleigh, and the Countess of Devon saving seven l ittle Children
thatwere carry ing to b e drowned 273
IX . Of Rings-A sh, with the orig inal and course of the River Mole 276
X . Of Molland Botreaux,the N ymets, and other p laces near by 280
XI . Of the meeting ofMole and Taw,the ir passage afterwards to Umb erlegh 283
X II . Of Brightlegh and the Family of G ifl'
ard 286
XI I I . OfTawton-Bishop,Goodley, Newland, &c .
XIV . OfTawstock, and the noble Fami ly of the Bourchiers, E arls of BathXV. Of the Borough of Barnstaple with the Description of the Town, with the
H istory of the Lord Audlegh
XVI . Of the progress of the R iver Y eo, of Cha lacomb e with the strange Burrowsthere in, with some other ne ighbouring Parishes
XVII . Of Youlston and Ralegh, and the noble Family of the ChichestersXVIII . Of M arwood and the Family ofWestcote , with other Places and Families
in that tract 305
X IX . OfWest-Down and the Hundred of Braunton 308
XX . The orig in and course of the R iver Torridge , with Hercules-Promontory . 3 1 1
XXI . Of the progress of the R iver Torridge , and the most eminent places near itsfirst orig inal, as Putford, and the Hundred of Shebbear 31 5
XXII . Of the Hundred of B lack-Torrington and places adjoining 3 1 7
XXII I . Of the progress of the R iver Okement, and Of Okehampton 32 1
XXIV . Of Iddesle igh, Winkleigh, and other places in the way to Torrington 324
XXV . Of Torrington, and there in of the potent Famil ies of Roll e, Barry, &c . 327
XXVI . O fMonkley, and the Family of Hankford 33 1
XXVI 1 . Of Buckland-Brewer, Parkham,Bideford, 85 the noble Family of Grenville 335
XXV II I . OfWestle igh, Northam,Kenith Castle , and Abbotsham 341
XXIX . Of the Island of Lundy , ly ing near this county , in the Severn Sea 343
XXX . The Conclusion of this Northern Journey 345
BOOK V .
I . The orig in and progress of the R iver Tawmeer (Tamar) 346
1 1 OfTamerton , Collacomb e , and the Family of Tremayn 352
II I . The orig in of the R iver Lyd of Lydford, his antiquities and present state . 355
IV . OfTrenchard-Lew, Marystow,L ifton, other places in ourway toTavistock 36 1
V . Of the progress of the R iver Tavy, St of the Borough 8c Abbey of Tavistock 365VI . Of the progress of the Tamar to the town of Plymouth b y Buckland, Beer,
Tamerton,&c.
CONTENTS .
VII . Of Plymouth : and there in of S ir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins . 376
VIII . Of the progress of the R iver Plym,its issue at Plympton, Plymstock, &c. 383
IX. The orig in and progress of the R iver Yealm,his issue and ne ighbours 388
X. The R iver Arme, ( E rme ,) and the progress thereof . 390
XI . Of Kingston, Ringmore,Ugborough, and other places in our way to Kings
bridge and near those partsXI I . Of Stokenham, Black-Awton, and other place s near there aboutXI II . The R iver Dart
’s proceeding, andwhat places he passeth by
XIV . The A ntiquity and Description of TotnesXV. Of Ashprington, Brixham,
Greenway, (and there of the ancient Family of
G ilbert and other places in our way to Dartmouth .
XVI . The Port-town of Dartmouth, Paignton, Torr, and Cockington ; with the
noble Family of CaryXVII . Of Chagford, Drewsteignton, Gidlegh ; with the noble Family of ProuzXVIII . Of Cheriton, Dunsford, Bridford, Dunchideock, Ashton, and other places in
our way to Chudle ighXIX. Of Chudle igh, Bovey, Newton, n ell
,and Haccombe ; where in of the
noble Family of Carew ; with some other places and famil ies 437
XX. Of Comb inte ignhead, the Teigntons, Te ignmouth, Dawl ish, and Mamhead 441
Author’s Apology 446
P E D I G R E E .
Ameredith of Crediton and Slapton .
Arscot of Arscot
Arscot of Annery
Arscot ofTidwellArscot of HolsworthyA rscot ofTetcot .
Arundell of Talvern
Arundell of Lanhern
Ashford of Ashford
Atwill of Kenton and Mamhead
Babington of Knoll
Bampfield of PoltimoreBarry of W inscot
Basset of Umb erleghBattishill ofW estwyke
Bear of Hunsham
B eaumont of GitteshamBecket
PAGE.
Becket in M enwynyk 459
Bennet of Chudle igh . 61 9
Berry of Croscombe 496
B erry of Berry-N erb er 497
B erry of Barley . 497
Bishop of Choldash 557
Bluetof Holcombe-Rogus 5 1 2
Bodle igh (al ias Bodley) ofDunscombe 499Bonv ile of Comb-Ralegh 465
Bourchier, Earl of Bath 460
Bowerman of Hemyock 5 18
Broughton of W arbrightleigh 632
Brown of Brownlarsh 589
Budokeside of Budokeside 465
Bullon,E arl of Ormond Wiltshire 482
Burgoin of South-Tawton .476
Burgoin of Bideford 55 1
Burneby of Burneby .494
CON TEN TS
PAGE .
Bury (al ias B erry) Of Berry-N erb e r 495
Bury (al ias Berry) of Coleton 496
Butler, E arl of Ormond andWiltshire 483Callard of Callard . 582
Calwodeley of Calwodeley 5 1 4
Cary of Castle -Cary 507
Cary of Hunsdon 509
Cary of Cockington 51 0
Cary of Clovelly 5 1 0
Carew of East Anthony 528
Carwithen of Carwithen,&c 552
Challons 6 1 4
Charles of Moreton and Tavistock “ 54 1
Cheyney of P inhoe 5 1 8
Chichester, Viscount Carrickfergus 608
Chichester of Ralegh 604
Chichester ofArl ington 607
Chichester of Hall .608
Chichester ofWidworthy 609
Chudle igh of Ashton . 462
Cloherty of Bradston . 555
Clotworthy of Clotworthy, &c 480
C lotworthy of C lotworthy . 563
Cole of S lade , &c 5 1 9
Col ins of Baron’s-Down 562
Colle ton of Exeter 61 9
Cooke ofThorne 555
Copleston of Copleston W arlegh 503
Copleston of Bow 505
Copleston of B icton and Eggesford 505
Copleston of Otterham andWoodland 506
Cople ston of Bowdon . 506
Copleston ofWyke 506
Cottle of Sampford-Peverell, &c . 475
Courtenay, Earl of Devon 570
Courtenay of Powderham 573
Courtenay of Molland 574
Courtenay ofWotton and Ladock 575
Courtenay of Upcott 576
Courtenay of Ugb rook 576
Crocker of Lynham 550
Cruwys of Cruwys-Morchard 5 1 6
b
o o o o o o o o o o
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PAGE .
Culme of Chamston 5 1 5
Davils of Balston, &c . 61 1
Davy of Sandford 598
De Aub ernon of Daub ernon 5 1 7
Dennis of Holcombe -Burnell 8r Bicton 6 1 5Dennis of Orlegh 61 6
Dennis of Colliscomb 6 1 7
Dennis of Malcot 6 1 7
Desmond, E arl of 477
Dillon of Chimwell 549
D inham 494
Donne ofDonne -Ralph 5 1 5
Dowrish ofDowrish in Sandford 61 8
DowrishofHeath-Barton ,Whitestone 61 8Drake of Ash .
467
Drew of Sharpham,&c. 582
Drew of Drews Clifi', &c. 583
Duke of Poer Hayes, & c 559
Edgcomb e of S tonehouse , &c. . 494
Edmonds of Sal isbury and Plymouth 524
Ellacot of Exeter 479
E sse (or Ash) of Thub orough 633
E sse (or Ash) of Clist Fomison 633
E ston of E ston 565
E velegh of W est Evelegh, &c 563
Farringdon of Farringdon 464
Farringdon of Farringdon . 609
F itz of F itz-Ford 466
Floyer of Floyers-Hayes 556
Forde of Chagford, &c 527
Ford of Fordmoor 528
Fortescue of F ille igh, &c 498
Fortescue of W impston . . 625
Fortescue of Buckland Fille igh 625
Fortescue of Fallopit 626
Fountain of Bawcombe 548
Fowel of Fowelscomb e 52 1
Franceis of Combe -Flory 462
Frankcheyney of Cl ist-Gerard 51 7
Fry of E xeter and Pawlet 562
Ful ford of Fulford 6 1 2
Fursland of Bickington 598
CON TEN TS .
Gale of Dartmouthand CreditonG ay of GoldsworthyGeare of HeavitreeG ifi
'
ard of Brightlegh
Gifl'
ard ofWeare
G ifi'
ardofTiverton .
Gilbert of ComptonG iles of Bowden and Dean Prior .
Godwine of Cl istwill and GodwineGove (al ias Gough) of W oodburyGrenville of S tow, CornwallGrenville of Penheale
Hakewell of ExeterHandcock of Comb-M artinHarris of HayneHarris of LanrestHarris of RadfordHatch of AllerHaydon of Lympstone , &c.
Hele of South-Hele
H ele ofWisdomHele ofW embury .
Hele of HolbetonH ele of Exeter and Fle etHele of Newton-Ferrers
Hele of Brixton .
Henscot of H enscot
H erle ofWest-Herle
Hext of K ingstonH ill of ShilstonH illersdon of H illersdon, &c.
Holb eam ofHolb eam
Holcomb of HolcombHone of Ottery S t. Mary
Honychurch ofTavistock, &c.
Hoper of B lackmoreHuckmore of Bokeyt
Huddisfield of ShillingfordHuish of Denniford
Huish of SandHull of Larkb ear
Hurst of Exeter and Oxton
Jewell of BowdenKelly ofKe lly
Kenisham of B rixton .
Kendal of Treworgy, &cK ildare, Earl of
5 KirkhamK irkham ofBlackdon
,&c.
Knolles of L ittle -HempstonLangford of Langford
Larder of Pynes .
Le Hart of Yarnacomb e
Levermore of ExeterLippincot of Lippincot, &c.
Love is o f Ogb erd in Tamerton
Lowman of Uplowman,&c. 580
Lumen, or De Lumine, of Uplowman 579
Lutton of Cofi'
ord 478
Lynne of Exeter 457
Mallock of Axmouth 548
Marshall OfTe igngrace 502
Marshall of Exeter, &c. 502
M artin of Comb-Martin 594
M arwood of W estcot . 604
M athew of Dodb rook, &c 599
M e lhuish ofWitheridge 623
Mohun of Hall in Cornwall 6 1 0
Molford of Chulmle igh, &c. 603
Montague, Lord Chief Justice 633
More of Moorhays 624
Munck of Potheridge 468
Newcombe of Great-Worthy 531
N ewcourt ofPickwel 478
N oble of Exeter and Belston 561
Norris of Chulmle igh 541
Norris ofWinkleigh 626
Northcote ofUton, &c 599
Parker, (al ias Jorden) ofN orthmolton 538
Parker of Exeter 564
Passemere of Passemere-Hayes 525
Paulet of Sampford-Peverel 488
Pawlet of Rode , H inton, &c . 474
P erriam of Exe ter, &c 584
CONTENTS .
PAGE .
Pery ofWater in Membury 545
Petre of Tor-Brian 546
Pointingdon of P ennycott 547
Pointingdon of M eryfield 547
Pollard of K ing’s-Nymet 493
Pollard of W ay and Horwood 552
Pollard of Knowston-Beauple 553
Preston of Up-Ottery, &c 588
Prestwood of Exeter,North-Huish
,&c. 545
Prideaux,S ir Edmund
,of Farway 472
Prideaux ofOrchardton 8rThub orough 470Prideaux of Orchardton 47 1
Prideaux of Soldon 472
Prideaux of Nutwell 486
Prouse of Exeter 597
Prouz of Gidley and Chagford 568
Prye of Horwell in Colebrook 61 1
Putt of Gittisham 629
Pyne of E ast-Down, &c . 544
Ralegh of Fardel 535
Reynell of Trumpington, &c 576
Reynell ofMalston 578
Reynell, S ir R ichard 578
Reynell of Greedy-Widget 578
R isdon of Bab le igh 507
Roberts of Comb-Martin 609
Rolle of S tevenstone . 593
Roskimer of Haylford, Cornwall 632
Rouse (al ias Le Rouse) of Modbury 580
Sainthill of Sainthill, &c 537
Samuel of Restormel 533
Samuel of Cornwall 623
Sapcotts 55 1
Saverey ofTotnes 562
Seward of Stoke inteignhead 559
Seymour of Berry-Pomeroy 479
Shapcott of Exeter 602
Shillingford of Shill ingford 468
Skinner of Cowley 599
Slader of North-Tawton, &c 524
Slanning of Ley 563
Somaster 55 1
O O O O O O O O O
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PAGE .
Somaster of Painsford 55 1
Somaster ofWide combe 500
Southcote ofMohun’s-Ottery 537
S taplehill of Bremble in A shton 624
Staveley of E ast-Buckland, &c 562
S t . Leger of Annery 483
S towford of S towford 592
Strode of Ermington and Newnham 542
S trechlegh of S trechlegh 5 1 4
tukeley ofKenn and Faringdon . 579
S tukeley of Afi'
eton 585
Sture ofMarridge 5 1 2
Thorn ofThorn in Holsworthy 525
Todenham of Church-Taunton 478
Tothil l of Exe ter and P eamore 520
Trelawnev of Pool in M enhenniot 561
Tremayne of Collacomb 587
Trevil lian of Nettlecombe . 558
Tucker (al ias Tooker) of Exeter 526
Upton of Puslinch and Trelaske 5 1 9
Vowel (al ias Hooker) of E xeter 526
Wadham of E dge 634
Waller of S idbury and Hampshire 623
W alrond , 484
Waltham of Brenton,&c 583
Warr of H estercomb e 49 1
Westcote (al ias Lyttleton or Luttle
ton) of Frankley 621
Westcote of W estcote and Raddon . 622
Whitlock of Frithelstock 583
W hyddon of Chagford, &c . 581
W ichalse of Chudle igh 627
Williams of Stowford 521
Willoughby ofKnoll-Adrian,W iltshire 6 1 9Willoughby, Lord Brook 620
Willoughby of Payhembury 620
Wise of South-Sydenham 553
Wivell of Crediton .61 1
W ollacomb of Comb .539
W ood(alias de Bosco)ofNorth-Tawton 589Wood of Lewtrenchard 590
Wood (al ias A twood) of Hareston 59 1
CONTEN TS .
Worth of Exeter,&c .
W orthal of Cotley
Wrey of W rey, &c .
Wykes of North-Wyke .
W ykes of BindonYard of Bradley, &0 o o o o o o o o o o
Y eo of Heanton-Sachville
Y eo of HuishY eo of Hatherle ighY erworth of IpplepenYoung of Axm inster, &c .
Zouch,Lord John
M E M O I R
THOMAS W ESTCOTE .
A DEVONSH IRE FAM ILY of some repute , bearing the name of Westcote ,was established at an early period at Westcote , in the Parish of M arwood ,near Barnstaple . One of its members of the name of Thomas , in the former
part of the fifteenth century, married Eliz abeth , daughter and heiress of
S ir Thomas Lyttelton , of Frankley , in the county of Worcester, knight
the fru it of this union was that celebrated Lawyer and Chief Justice of the
King’s Bench, Sir Thomas Lyttelton ,
* Knight of the Bath, who died on the
23rd of August, 1 48 1 . From the s ilence of Sir William Pole we are di s
posed to think that the subject of this memoir was not descended (though
he himself entertained such a belief, ) from the Family in the Parish of
M arwood . Perhaps hi s came originally from the parish of Bishop’s -Tawton , in Devonshire ; at least we read in the Reg ister of Edmund Stafford ,Bishop of Exeter, vol . i . folio 1 49 , that thi s noble Prelate , in consideration of the faithful services rendered by Richard Westcote , of the manor of
Bishop’s-Tawton , manumitted and discharg ed him and his offspring on the
23rd of April , 1 4 1 2 , “a Jugo et onere nativ itatis , villenagii et servitutis cum
tota sequela sufi.
”About a century later Thomas Westcote , the Grandfa
ther of our H istorian , and Heraldi st, held an E state in West-Raddon , in the
Parish of Shob rook , Devon , of Sir John Talbot, of Grafton , in the county of
Worcester, knight, and M argaret (Troutbeck) , his wife . This E state wassubsequently purchased b y the W estcotes of the Talbots but certainly later
than October , 1 5 89 , as the Talbot Rental of that year sufficiently proves .
Thomas Westcote , the author of The View of Devonshire , and of
i , Arms ofgWestcote ; Argent, a chevron between three escallops , sable .
Lyttelton ; Argent, a bend cotized sable , within a bordure, be zanty, gules .
V .M EM O IR OF THOMA S W ESTCOTE .
The Pedigrees of most of our Devonshire now for the first
t ime submitted to the public , was the third s on of Philip Westcote , of
West-Raddon , who married Katharine , daughter of Georg e Wal tham, of
Brenton , in the Parish of Exminster , Devon , gentleman . Their marriage
was celebrated on the 1 7th of October, 1 55 7 as we learn from the Re
g ister of Shob rook, which also records the baptism of our Author onM ‘3 M
the 1 7th of June , 1 5 67 . Speaking of Shob rook, he says , “Here mypomw waf fifsEEErggd. Of his early life we can glean but slender
material s . In hi s Apolog etical Epistle to the Reader , he says ,“Alas !
Sir , you know , how little I busie myself with , and among so many
offices the Country yields , I coul d procure none , nor any friend that
would solicit for me . To the objection started,
“that in his youth
he was a soldier, a travell er, and a courtier, and had now a long time
retired to a private country life ,-
and in hi s Old and latter age little qualified
for undertaking a work of such magnitude , whi ch required not only
labour, but painful travels and expenses ;” he replies , that “having byordinary reading , observation , search, and discourse , collected long since
some few particulars of the antiquities and other notes and ob serving s of
this County, it was my chance (as often I did ) to come in presence of an
honourable personage ( Edward , Earl of Bath,) whose eminent virtues assure
me he is now with G od —it pleased him in discourse of the state of thi s
Country to propose certain questions to those that were present : to some
of them, when I had g iven a more satisfying answer than he on the sudden
expected, he perceived I had a great des ire that some one would undertake
thereoi i £6615Opportunity te'
he'
theprimed):mebiie‘
e f thisDisagree”
;and at the
next fit convenience did powerft persuade , and he cheerfully animated and
seriously required me to un dertake this work , (as he was pleased to term it
ofiicm) and not to suffer the ancient renown of the generos ity of this Province
to b e any longer neglected and buried in oblivion , whi ch had bred so many
famous men in all professions .
”At firstM r . Westcote , pleading hi s inability
A M anuscript on Heraldry, belonging to the Dean and Chapter of E xeter, had beende scribed to the Editors as having been written by Mr. Westcote , b ut on collation it wasfound to have been more ancient ; beg inning with 1 573, and finished about the period of
the H eralds’last visitation in 1 620 ; ne ither was i t confined to Devonshire . From pag e
9 , we may infer that itwas compiled b y R ichard S t. George , esq. ,Norroy king of arms .
MEMO I R OF THOMA S W ESTCOTE . V .
and unfitness , declined the undertaking ; but his Lordship would admit noexcuse ; and “his continued persuas ions encouraged my faintne ss for a briefprivate discourse ,
”but which the author never intended for publication .
M r . Risdon ,
“his worthy friend,
”testified , in page 95 , of his Survey
of Devon ,
” “that M r. Westcote was endowed with many good parts , and
was a lover of antiquity ;”
and several passages of the work prove that hewas acquainted with the best society in the county .
Every reader will give M r . Westcote credit for his laborious zeal to pres erve the remembrance of past times ; and though in these days of deeperresearch and more refined criticism, he may smile at the author
’s credulity
and far fetched observations , yet he will b e disposed to make every allowancefor the ag e , and will b e entertained with the quaintness, candour, and goodhumour of his guide . What is inserted between brackets in the text has
a w z -«n ’ at’n u '“ 1 45 3-7 " r d"am—YM Q-A‘u -S M
b een added by the Rev . JohrTPfiii‘
df
efA’
u'
tlior of the Worthies of Devon .
”
that he is chargeable with some eg to whichM r . Prince has added many more . W e have done what we could to reviseand correct several ; but regret that we are unable to present this Work tothe reader with more satisfaction to ourselves .
In all probabili ty M r . Westcote resided at West Raddon , with his elder
brother, Robert , who died a bachelor , and was buried on the 6th of M arch,
1 636, old style ,’I< but whom M r . Prince , in his Worthies of Devon , page
75 7 , kill s many years before .
The second brother was Georg e a capta in in the army , who perished in
TheWill of this RobertWe stcote , of Raddon, in Shob rook, Gentleman, bears datethe 20th of February, a fortn ight before his burial . H e desires to b e s ilently buried nearthe feet of his parents, at Shob rook. For my worldl y goods I need not trouble myselfabout to distribute it. I t may b e done with ease
,having so l ittle , I may say, none . But
had I been greedy ofwealth I had means sufiicient to have been rich. But I thank mygood G od that his word persuaded me to negl ect it, and not to b e careful for to morrow,
every day y ielding tome whatwas needful .” He g ives to theWarden and Overseers of thePoor of Shob rook six pounds as a perpe tual stock for the benefit of such poor ; so that it
shall b e put out at the interest of e ight shill ings , which shall b e distributed to e ight of thepoor inhabitants of Shob rook, of twelve pence a-piece on the feast of S t Thomas . [2l stDecember.] H e mentions his dearly loving and care ful sister- in-law
,M rs . Mary W estcote
,
and his faithful loving brother, M r. Thomas We stcote ; and he appoints his nephew,
PhilipWestcote,his sole executor. TheWill was proved at Exeter, 20th Augus t, 1 637 .
V I .MEMO IR OF THOMA S W ESTCOTE .
May, 1 589 , at the age of twenty- seven , in the disastrous expedition against
Lisbon in favour of Don Antonio .
W e have it in evidence that the third brother, ThomasWestcote , in 1 624 ,
was holding a lease of Thom -Park in the ne ighbouring parish of HolcombeBum ell , and four years laterwas , by deputy , discharg ing the office of Church
warden of Shob rook .
In the Act Book of Bishop Hall is a l icence to Thomas Westcote , of
Shob rook, gent . , dated 1 9th October, 1 632 , to eat flesh meat on prohibited
days , and during the Lent next ensuing the said licence to hold good for
one twelve-month .
That he was buried at Shobrook is certain , but unfortunately the leaf
contain ing the li st of interrnents from the 1 7th of April , 1 639 , to the 29th
of July , 1 644 , has been wan tonly cut out from the Parochial Reg ister .
Our author married Mary , eldest daughter and co-he iress of RichardRoberts , of Comb -Martin , in the County of Devon , gentleman ,
* by whom
he had one son and four daughters , who survived him .
First, Philip , who married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Georg e Tanner,alias M ortymer, of Greely , in the parish of Farringdon , Devon , gentleman ,
b y whom he left issue , Thomas , who , according to Prince , “ruin ed his
Arms of Roberts ; A zure, on a chevron argent, three mullets pierced sable .
Before the porch in the Church-
yard of Comb-Martin was a fair tomb to the memory of
this R ichard Roberts, the poor-man’s friend, who died on Christmas-day , 1 622 . H is
three other daughters, Joan was married toWilliam Squ ire , of Town-House , SouthMol ton ; Prudence to John Amory, of Whitechapel in the parish of Bishop’s-Nympton ; and Grace to Francis Isaack ofWest-Down. I t is lamentable to learn from the
respected Vicar, the Rev . H . W . Toms, that“the early Reg isters of Comb-Martin are
utterly lost— that the firstmarriage now to b e found there is dated 27th August, 1 736 ,
and that no mention whatever occurs of the Roberts’ fami ly .
” Mr. Roberts had ac
quired the Advowson of Berry-Narb or in Queen El i zabeth’s re ign . William M errick hadbeen admitted Rector, 1 3th July, 1 564, to the vacant L iving on the presentation of Henry,
E arl of Arundell, hac vice , by reason of the grantmade unto him by John Skynner, sen ior,and John Skynner, junior, which they had obtained of Robert, Prior of the late Monastery
of S t. Pancras, at Lewes in Sussex . On Merrick’s death,Thomas Robinson succeeded
,
22nd January, 1 595 ,‘on the presentation of R ichard Roberts
,the true Patron : W illiam
H erle succeeded to the Rectory 23rd May, 1 603, void by the death of Thomas Robinson :Patron, the said R ichard Roberts . S trange that Mr. Lysons, in his Devonshire , vol .
I I . , pag e 42, should assert that “R ichard Roberts , esq . , possessed the Advowson aboutthe year 1 700, having left four daughters,” &c.
V 1 1 1 . MEMO I R OF TH OMA S WESTCOTE .
Pomeroy , to George Westcote , M .A . , who had been admitted to the Rectoryof Berry-N arbor on the 1 7th of January , 1 630 , void by the death of Willi amHerle , clerk , on the presentation of Thomas Westcote of Shob rook, g entle
man , and M ary , his wife , eldest daughter and sole surviving he iress of Richard Roberts , of Comb -Martin , gentleman , true patrons , hac vice . For some
cause he was re - in stituted to the same Rectory by King Charles I . , on 3oth
December, 1 635 and appears to have held it undisturbed until his death .
His will bears date 2nd March, 1 673 -4 : he desires Grace his second wife ,to present his son , Thomas , to hi s living ; and he mentions his son , Hugh ,
and his daughters , Grace and M ary . Thomas , D. A . was accordingly ad
one other Tenement now in the possession of Pe ter Reade or his Assigns, one Tenement
now in the possession of EdmundWeeke or his Assigns, all which Tenements are in the
parish of Shob rook and county of Devon To have and to hold the Premises aforesaid to
the said child,being male or female , for the term of s ixty years, the said term to beg in in
every of the said Tenements immediately after the determination of the E state now grantedupon this condition, that if the said child b e a son
, and the said Thomas W estcote or his
He irs shal l pay unto the said son,at his age of one and twenty years, the sum of F ive
Hundred Pounds,that the E state in Edmund We eke’s Tenement, and the E state in
Peter Reade’s Tenement he reby g iven shall b e void and cease , and that after the death of
my said son the Estate in theWidow and Walter W estcote’s Tenement shall cease and
b e void l ikewise but if the said child shall b e a daughter, then upon this condition that if
my sonThomas shall pay unto her Seven Hundred Pounds of current Money of England,
within twe lve months after she shall accompl ish the age of one and twenty years, then
her E state hereby g iven shall also b e void and cease and if it shall happen that the particular E state in any of the said Tenements shall de termine during the minority of my saidson or daughter, thatmyWife shall take the issues and profits of the saidTenements for the
better education and maintenance ofmy said son or daughter during the l ife of my Mother,
Mrs. MaryWestcote,and after her death it shall go to the He ir of my son Thomas until
he shall come to the age of one and twenty . Item, I g ive untomy son, ThomasWestcote,
all my Books and Papers whichwere formerly my Father’s ; al l the rest of my Goods andChattels, not hereby formally g iven and bequeathed, I g ive and bequeath unto myWife,E li zabethWestcote, whom I make Executrix of this my lastWill and Testament : and
I des ire Anthony Salter, Doctor of Phys ic ; Samuel Tanner, of Farringdon, Gentleman ;and George W estcote , of Berry -N arb er, Clerk, to see this myWill performed . Dated
,
and publ ished the day and year first above written . PH ILIP WE STCOTE .
”
Witnesses hereunto,— SAMUEL TANNER . GEORGEWESTCOTE.ROBERT FARR. JOHN Corr .
”
Proved in the Court of the Archdeacon at E xeter, b y the said Eli zabeth W estcote,the
Executrix, on 1 2th January, 1 647 -8.
MEMOI RS OE THOMA S WE STCOTE . IX .
mitted to the Rectory on 1 1 th July , 1 674 , vo id by his father’
s death, on the
presentation of the said Grace Westcote , the relict and executrix of Georg e
Westcote ; but hardly lived to take possession of his preferment . His willwas
made 9th August, 1 674 , and he was buried in his church the day following .
The second daughter, Prudence , was married , on the 3rd of November ,1 635 , to John Fulljames , of Pitminster , gent ° the third , Katharine , was
married to Edward H ill , gent . ; and the fourth daughter . whose christian
name we cannot recover, was married to Robert Cannon .
To the Rev . H inds Howell, the present Incumbent of Shob rook, we
tender our grateful acknowledgments for his valuable assistance in compilingthis Memoir had we relied on M r . Prince
’s account in his Worthies of
Devon ,
” pages 75 7— 8 , we shoul d have been betrayed into gross inaccuracy .
W e subjoin a copy of the Will of the Rel ict of the H istorian , tog ether
with a Pedigree of the Westcote Family .
GEORGE O L IVER , -PITMAN JONES .“In the name of God, amen
,1, MaryWestcote
,of Shob rook, in the county of Devon,
widow, taking into cons ideration the frailties of this present l ife , the certainty of death,and the uncertainty of the time thereof, and be ing at this present (though somewhatweakin body , yet, blessed b e G od, ) of a sound and dispos ing memory, do , for the s ettl ing of suchworldly E state wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me
,make this my last Will and
Testament, hereby revoking all former and other Wil ls by me madewhatsoever : F irst Icommend my soul into the hands of A lmighty God my Creator, trusting through the meritsand mercy of Christ Jesus alone to have remiss ion ofmy s ins and to enjoy everlasting l ife ,and my body to christian burial , to b e laid so near my deceased Husband in Shob rook
Church as may b e . Item,I g ive and bequeath unto the poor of the parish of Shobrook
Forty Shill ings to b e distributed amongst them at the time ofmy funeral according to thediscre tion and direction ofmy Executors hereafter named . Item, I g ive unto the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of Comb-Martin F ive Pounds of lawful Money of
England to b e b y them and the ir Successors from time to time preserved as a Stock forthe Poor, the increase and profit thereof I would have yearly g iven by them and the ir S uccessors on S t. Thomas’Day before the Nativity of our Lord God, unto the most aged and
indigent widowwomen of the said Town, byTwelve-Pence a-pie ce , to as many of them as
the profit of the Moneywill reach unto . I tem,I g ive and devise unto my grandson, John
N orthcot,the elder, the great S criptoire remain ing in my chamber. Item,
I g ive and de
vise unto my grand-daughter, Katharine N orthcot, my Cypress Chest. Item,I g ive and
devise untoThomasWestcote,son ofmy daughter, FrancesWe stcote
,the Sum of Fifty
Pounds of lawful Money of E ngland, to b e paid within one year after my decease .Item,
whereas I am se ised in Fee S imple of the Fourth Part or of some other Part of severalLands, Messuages, Tenements
, and Hereditaments , situate in the parish of Comb-Mar
X . MEMO IRS OF THOMA S WESTCOTE .
tin, in the county afore said, and in the parishes of Ilfracomb , Berry-N arb er, and BrattonFleming , in the said county, I do hereby g ive and devise the same unto my grand-son,
Thomas Hill , and the He irs of his body lawfully to b e begotten and for want of such issue
,I do g ive and devise the same unto my grand-son, R ichard H ill, and the He irs of his
body lawfully to b e begotten ; and for default of such issue , I do g ive and devise the same
unto my grand-son, Edward H ill , and his He irs for ever . Andwhereas also I am possessedand interested for a great number of years of and in the Fourth Part or Of and in some
other Part of several M essuages , Lands, and Tenements,situate in the parishes aforesaid
of Comb-Martin, Ilfracomb , and Bratton-Fleming , or in some or one of them, I do herebyg ive and devise my said Part, Purparty, and Portion of and in such Messuages, Lands ,
Tenements, and Hereditaments unto the aforesaid Thomas H ill, my grand-son, for and
during so many of the said years as the sa id Thomas shall happen to l ive : and if the
said Thomas do happen to l ive unto the age of one and twenty years, or to b e married,I do then g ive and devise the same unto the said Thomas during all my E state in the same ;
but if the said Thomas shall happen to die before he do attain the age of one and twentyor happen to b e married
,I do then give and devise my Part of the said M essuages, Lands,
Tenements, and H e reditaments, whereof I am so possessed, unto my grand
-son , R ichardH ill, for and during so many of the said years as the sa id R ichard H ill shal l happen to
l ive and i f the said R ichard H il l do happen to l ive unto the age of one and twenty or to
b e married, I do then g ive and devise the same unto the said R ichard during all my E state in the same b ut if the said R ichard shall happen to die before he do attain the age
of one and twen ty or happen to b e married, I do then g ive and devise my Part of the saidM essuages, Lands , Tenements
,and Hereditaments, whereof I am so possessed
,unto my
grand- son, Edward H ill , his Executors , and Assigns during all my E state , Term,and In
terest there in . I tem, whereas I am se ised in Fe e S imple of the Fourth Part and Turnof the perpetual Patronage and right of Disposition and G ift of the Vicarage of ChewM agna in the county of Somerset, I do hereby g ive and devise my said Fourth Part Of thesaid Advowson and R ight of Donation unto Edward H ill, my son -in-law, and his He irs forever : and I do desire the said Edward and his He irs to present thereunto his son, R ichard,if God shall ever make him capable thereof and after his presenting Of him thereunto to
grant the Fe e S imple of the sa id part Of the sa id Advowson unto the said R ichard H illand his He irs for ever . I tem
,I g ive and devise untomy grand-son, Phil ipWestcote, and
unto my grand-daughter, MaryWestcote,the S um of Forty Pounds of lawful Money of
England, a-piece , to b e paid unto them within one year after my decease . Item,I give
and bequeath unto the aforesaid Thomas H ill,my grandson, the Sum of F ifty Pounds of
lawful M oney of England, to b e pa id unto him within one year after my decease . Item,
I g ive and devise unto R ichard H ill and Edward H ill, my grand-children, the Sum of
Two Hundred Pounds a-piece of lawful Money of England, to b e paid unto them withinone year after my de cease : and mywill is that the two last Legacies hereby g iven to thesaid Richard and Edward H ill should b e employed for their best benefitbefore they attainto the age of one and twenty years or b e married and if it happen that either Of them the
said R ichard or Edward shall happen to die before he attain the said a ge of one and
MEMO IR OF THOMA S WE STCOTE . XI .
twenty or b e married, then my will is the survivor of them shall have the Legacy of him
so dy ing and benefit thereof ; and if it happen they both die before they attain the saidage of one and twenty years or b e married, then my will is that my said grand-son
, Tho
mas H ill, should have both the said Legacies hereby to them givenwi th the profit thereof.I tem,
I do g ive and bequeath unto John N orthcot, son of John N orthcot, e sq. , my grand
son,the Sum of F ifty Pounds of lawful Money of E ngland, to b e paid unto
l
l
him withinone ye ar after my decease . Item, I g ive and bequeath unto my grand- son, Thomas
Westcote , son ofmy son Phil ip , deceased, the Feather B ed in the north chamber and theTwo Dust B eds in the maidens’ chamber, performed. I tem, it is my will that my saidgrand
-son, Thomas Westcote , son of my son Philip,deceased
,shall have all Ce i lings ,
Benches, Forms, Shelves, B edsteads, and Table -Boards which shal l remain in or aboutthe house I now dwel l in, called Raddon, a t the time of my death, (the Table -Boards inthe parlour, and the Table -boards in the parloure chamb er only excep ted.) Item,
I g iveand devise unto my servant, M ary Fry ( if she continue my servant unti l my;death) TenPounds . Also I g ive unto Thomas Johns Ten Shill ings . A lso I g ive un to Mary Harri s( if she continue my servant until my death) Twenty Shillings, and Old Joan Ten Shillings .
A lso I g ive unto W illiam Reed, W i ll iam Short, and E li zabeth Teap in l ike manner F iveShillings a -p iece : which last seven Legacies my wi ll is shall b e paid unto every of them
W ithin one month next after my de cease . A ll the rest of my Goods, Chattels, and P e r
sonal estate , (my plate only excepted,) my Debts , Legacies, and Funeral Expenses be ingfirst pa id and discharged, I g ive and devise unto my son -in-law
, Edward H ill, KatharineN orthcot, and Sarah Fullj ames (that is to say) the one moie ty or halfendeal of the saidGoods and Chattels unto the said Edward H ill , and the other moie ty or halfendeal unto
the sa id Katharine N orthcot and Sarah Fullj ames, be tween them equally to be divided ;which said Edward H ill , Katharine N orthcot, and Sarah Fullj ames I heI eb
pr make my
whole and sole Executors of this my lastWill and Testament. And I do desire my twofriends , Thomas Poyntingdon, of Comb
,esq. , and Christopher Squire , of Tliwn-House
,
esq. ,to b e Overseers of this myWill, and to see a just performance thereof ; b y whom I
des ire my Executors to b e ruled in al l doubts and differences that may arise concerningthis my W ill or any thing there in contained : and to each of them I g ive Twenly Shillingsto b uy them rings towear in remembrance Ofme . And I further g ive and devise unto my
two sons-in-law, GeorgeWestcote and Robert Cannon,Twenty Shillings a-piece to buy
them rings also in remembrance of my love unto them. Inwitnesswhereof I have hereuntose tmy H and and S eal the Third Day of December, in the S eventeenth year of the reignof our Sovere ign Lord King Charles the Second of England, and Anno Domini, 1 665 .
S igned, S ealed, and Publ ished b y the saidMary Westcote to b e her last Will and Testament, in presence of THOMAS HUGH , Junr. MARY WE STCOTE .
MARY FRY . The Seal b ears the A rms ofWest
The mark of THOMAS 1“R ICE. cote impaledwi th Roberts.
Proved in the Court of the Archdeacon of Exeter, by the said Edward H ill,KatharineN orthcot, and Sarah Fulljames, the Executors, on 1 6thNovember, 1 666.
B S?
P E D I G R E E O F
OF SHOBROOK,
A N N THOMAS W ESTCOTE,
ALICE, only daughter and
rel ict of John second son ofThomas he ir of John W alter,of
Raddon, of Westcote,by Mary his Comb , Devon, gent. ,
Shob rook, wife
,sa id to have come buried at Shob rook,
Devon, ob . s .p . into Devon with S ir 6 October, 1 557 .
Thomas Dennis ofHolcomb-Burnel , knight,
ob . 28 March,
1 549,buried at Shob rook.
PH ILIP WESTCOTE, KATHARINE,daughter
of Raddon, gent. , George Waltham,0 1
married at Shobrook Brenton, in Exmins tei1 7 October, 1 557 , gent . , buried near her hob . 4, and buried band 1 9 February, 1 6 1there 7 February,
1 600.
GEORGE, THOMAS W M . PACKER,baptized MAJOR. of Shob rook,
22 Mar .,
1 561 -2,Ob . coel ebsMay ,1 589,
aged 27 .
FRANCES, GEORGE WESTCOTE ,married 27 N ov.
,M . A .
, Rector of
1 631 , at S tockleigh B erry-N arb or,Pomeroy, oh. 2 March
,1 674.
Ob . 1 6 March,1 649-50 .
PH ILIP, THOMAS, HUGH . GRACE .
(a posthu also Rector Ofmous child.) B erry-N arb or,
born 7 May,1 639, ob . 9 ,buried there
1 0 Aug .,1 674,
JOHN ,r’
rAsLICE .= THOMAS =ARTH
l
URELI ZABETH ,SUSAN ,
=W I LLIAM
bapti zedMATTHEW. baptizedHorwell in 25 7 S en. ,
Colebrook,
Novem. 1 577,1 57 1 . married
ob . 1 584 , 3 Oct.,
5 . p . 1 603 .
KATHARINE,
EDWARD H ILL, JOHN NORTHCOTE.buried gent.
at Shob rook
1 7 August,1 665 .
THOMAS . R ICHARD. JOHN . KATHARINE .
buried
at Shobrook.
XIV . INTROD UCT ION .
what cause , the name of the great city Rome (in that time the g lory of the
whole world,) was first imposed on it : for their conjectures were variable
in regard there was not any synonime , or word , answering in s ignification
to that of Rome .
And some have gathered , out of ancient writers , that the Roman s (moved
with a particular superstition ,) would have the true and first name of the ir
city to remain hid ; which Pliny expresseth plainly (speaking of that city , )in the se words cujus nomen alterum dicere , Arcanis ceremoniarum nefas
habetur .
”— The secret ceremon ies forbid to tell the other (mean ing the
true and proper) name thereof.
W e will pass over the all edg ed reasons hereof, and forbear to make guess
among fore ign wr iters , in regard it is so apparently seen in our own cou ntry,
whether you name it Al bion , Britain , or England ; (whose fame is now farther
Spread than Rome’s in its greatest glory ;) for about each of these several
names , and the first plantation thereof, many worthy , wise , and learned men
have long time bus ied, wearied , yea ! and clean tired themselves ; and yet,
in fine , left it b ut upon supposals and uncertain conj ectures .
Let us together herewith seriously cons ider the alterations of the names
of such other countries in the history whereof we are most conversant, andfor our more steady assurance , leave poets and uncertain reporters , and suchas come casually by tradi tion ; and solely observe how the countries , cities ,and mountains in the promised land ( to the he irs of Abraham ,) had theirnames altered from his time (or when M oses wrote ,) to our Saviour’s birth,
some 1 500 of years and again, from that time to this our ag e , some 1 630
years longer and not only that, but therewithal the alteration of the nature
and qual ity of the soil ; and we shall find much matter worthy our seriousconsideration and Observation ; and that not without some admiration inthe viciss itude and interchangeable course of those places , both in name and
nature ; which divers travellers have rightly cons idered,when in their late
travels they have viewed it, not only with the eyes of the ir bodies , but withtheir chiefe st and most judicious consideration ; especially when they not
only beheld but also endured the starving penury and barrenness of that
region , and could hardly b e induced to believe that it should b e the landthat Jehovah ( the great God of heaven , ) had assured his elected servantAbraham, should b e so fruitful as to flow with milk and honey : for
INTRODUCTION . XV .
That pleasant soil that did even shame ere -while,
The plenteous beauties of the banks ofN ile ;Void now of force , or vi tal vegetive ,Upon whose breast nothing can l ive or thrive.
As the divine poet s ing eth .
This duly cons idered , who will b e able ( if the world Should continue thel ike time to come ,) to render a reason why the ports , havens , islands , andkingdoms in America have the ir now new imposed denominations by theirlate discoverers and latest conquerors , (the ancient be ing irrevocably lost,)as Peru , Florida, Virg in ia , and especially the lands of Famin e and Desolation ,
which two may , long within that supposed time , b e found habitable , and
made , by the chastising hand of husbandry and careful industry, as fruitful
and beneficial for the use of man , for thing s necessary , as any of the other .
If we intend to bu ild our foundation on sure ground, I may question what
hath been left us wr itten worthy our undoubted belief (the sacred Scriptures
only excepted, ) before the wars of Thebes or the destruction of Troy ,
(which is supposed near the ag e that Jephthah judg ed Israel , ) and yet
both these are left us , delivered rather poetically than hi storically ; which
emboldens me to demand the question , with the poet Lucretius ,
Cur supra bellum Theb anum,e t funera Troj ae,
N on al ias quondam ve teres cecinere Poetae
Of Actions ere the Theban war, or Troy’s fal l,W hy have the ancien t poets notwrit at all ?”
You cannot fail of a probable answer , that few languages had then characters ,and fewmen were then learned men, and those learned were not all writers ;and those that wrote in those ages , treated of matters of greater worth and
consequence , and more needful to b e known and perpetuated to posterity ;and such books so written , ( being in ne ither of the strong and durable
substance of Seth, his pillars , to endure and resist the two contrary elements ,
of fire and water, ) have perished altogether in those great libraries .
If the orig inal of kingdoms , their prim itive names , and especially the
reasons or causes of the impos itions of them b e so laborious in quest, and
so difficult to b e found . much more industry will b e required, and far more
obscure will b e the search for subjected several prov inces within them . Of
XVI . IN TROD U CT ION .
one of which , Devonshire , my native soil, I intend , by God’s assistance
(after my poor skill and reading ,) to shew you a slight superficial view .
D11 CCEptis O God with thy favoursAspirate me is Prosper my endeavours .
Wherein , if among the confused chaos of varieties ofmatters , as etymologies ,antiquities , names of towns and men , epitaphs , charters , rhythms , histories ,and traditions 1 shall endeavour to make choice , to yield content by followingthe poet’s advice , when he saith,
Omne tul it punctum, qui miscuit utile dulci .W ho profit and delight shall join in one ,
Doth win the chiefest price,and he alone .
I hope I may intermix a pleasant tal e with a ser ious di scourse , and an unwritten tradition with a chron icled history , old ancient armories and epitaphs ,well near buried in Oblivion , (matters not supervacual nor unworthy to b erece ived and kept l iving , unless we could b e content to have our own name
and remembrance to perish with our bodie s , ) ancient families now extinct,or rather transanimated into others some etymolog ies seem ing and perchancestrange and far fetched ; Old , new, serious , jovial curious , trivial for these
and matters of such nature may , without peradventure , g ive recreation to a
wearied body and mind (that reads for recreation , ) with more delight and
content for variety, than di slike the severe critic for s implicity ,vulg arity,
or doubt of verity .
Some few things will occur in reading , and to b e collected out of divers
authors ; b ut much more is to b e sought for variety , in dark and obscureplaces , b y industrious labour ; wherein , aiming conjectures , if they err, are
to b e pardoned , (for he that di vineth in thing s of this qual ity , upon bare
supposals , may as well shoot short, as overshoot, the mark he aimeth at, )for they b e not seriously al ledged, but only to furn ish and beautify the edi
fice , as pictures and maps in a gallery .
In reading the epitaphs , you shall , as it were , converse with the dead
(whose rel ics , long s ince dissolved to dust, will ne ither flatter nor accept
thereof see their Obelisks and monuments , read the ir remembrances in
IN TRODUCT ION . XV I I .
dorsed on their grave - stones ; (which shew us e ither what they were , or
what we shall b e ; or, sometimes , what we should b e and the ir worthyactions registered, to persuade the ir posterity and encourage them to imi
tation .
Y et I would not wish you to think to have more good of the fox than
his skin , for so your expectation may b e unsatisfied ; whi ch, if it b e ,“sciant
presentes et futuri” — that this poor cot was erectedwi th bri ck , burntwithstubble gathered with mine own hands in such barren fields as I have
gleaned ; wherein they , of whom I have had any assistance , ( b e it never so
slender ,) shall not b e forgotten ; but his county somewhere rememberedand their m ite made a bezant : and if such, as upon request, have refused
to yield me any help , shal l (as I am assured they virill before others ,) tax me
of neglect for forg eting their ancestry , as I passed by their houses , I coul d
wi sh them more courtesy and affabil ity , and not so penuriously sparing ;and first to know themselves before they do imag ine to know others ; and ,
when they have learned that— nosce teipsum , not to chest up that knowledge ,
nor scorn to refuse to participate it to others and to remember this verse ,
Scire tuum n ihil est,nis i te scire : hoc sciat alter .
N o praise to thee that. thou knowest much,
When none else knows thy knowledge such.
But you will expect a large hall , where the portal is so great . I will
only make this motion, and give you free entrance — that if any thing sound
or seem to your judicial understanding harsh or averse , contrary to myintend t, that in regard of my will ingness , my errors of unskilfuln ess
may have a favourable and mild interpretation . And in all serious matters
of an tiquity , those authors I have followed will plead my integrity .
It is dull , doubtful , and uncertain travelling in unknown ways without a
guide ; yet he is driven to a far greater e xtremity that, at every doubtful
place or turn ing lane , is taught a several way by each traveller he meets
with ; yet, howsoever, ( if you please to travel thither,) have with you about
DEN SH I RE .
F I R ST B O O K.
CHAPTER I .
Whence Devonslzire is said to take name, and the divers op inions thereof .
DEVON IA , DEVON SH IRE , now by Synaeresis , Denshire (a province of the
little world of Great Britain , as Claudian said ,
Nostro deducta Britannia mundo,The Brita in nation foundFrom all the world disj oin
’d, )
was sometimes one and the same province with Cornwall , and so b y all
ancient writers reputed, and both included under the Latin name Danmonia ;
b y Solinus Pylyhistor , Dunmonia ; by Ptolomaeus , Damnonia ; and in somecopies , Danmonia, as derived from M onia , which the Britons used for m ines ,or from the ir habitation under hill s in low and deep valleys . These worthyancient writers lived far remoted ; and intellig ence by such as travelledhither and only touched at our havens , or perchance travelled some part ofthe country , (hardly understanding the lang uage ,) whose relations must b e
very uncertain ; and they (as we may conjecture ,) added to the names a
20 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK 1 .
Greek or Latin cadence , which might much alter the words and the proprietythereof.
For, in my Opin ion , (saith a learned writer ,) those that declare the first
names of strange countries far remoted, are as the poor which wear the ir
g arments all bepatched and pieced , whereof the pieces that are added and
sown on of new, are much more in quantity of cloth than the garment b e
fore when it was first made , and differ in colour ; which is plainly to b e
seen in the first discoveries of the Indies ; and the l ike you may think of
this western world ere it was thoroughly diSdovered and inhabited ; whereof
I have observed no weak conjecture by two places especially, written by
g ood authors , and are thus , When the Spaniards had conquered M exico
and were purpos ing to proceed farther, their commander, in his manner,
demanded of one of the natives he met withal , what the country was named,
who answered , Peru ;’
by which name it is known unto thi s day ; which,
in hi s languag e , was , I know not what you say . Again , when the Al arb es ,or M oors , first invaded Spain , meeting a poor Besonio driving an ass loaden ,
asked him what those territories were called ; who, understanding not the irspeech ,
gave no answer , but spake to hi s ass ,‘An doluz ia ; whi ch, in his own
speech was , gup Luzia , for so had he named hi s ass ; thence that provincehath the name of Andoluzia .
”These examples , if not feigned, may serve
to expre ss unto us that the orig inal of names are most uncertain , and many
times , b y strang ers , imposed upon strang e Improbable and unlikely occaSions .
I should rather , therefore , ( in regard it is a work that needs ass istance ,and that I shall not b e able to overcome b y my own strength) crave aid
of the Britons , the ancient inhabitants , whose posterity yet remaining are
the Welch . They named it, Difiinent, Duffenevn , or Dennan ; all which,
in one sense , s ign ify deep and narrow valleys ; and doth, in some sort, ex
press the nature and condition of the soil, which is mountainous and hill yand where those are , consequently are valleys , for there were never seen
two hill s without a valley . And yet I cannot depend on this neither, for I
have been informed by one that speaks that languag e , and seems to under
stand it well , that in that speech they have another word for valleys , whichis , Lhan , and by that they name their valleys ; as in Denbighshire , they name
that rich country of Crosse -Vale , Lhan Gwest .
v rnw or DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK 1 .
Conven iunt rebus nomina saspe suis .The names of things we often se e
With things themselves fitly agree .
The light of reverend antiquity and knowl edg e M r . Camden maketh proof
without exception , that the G awlish or British speech was all one and the
self- same . Be ing granted , Diu , in the British speech , signifieth, with us ,
G od : and Avon , a spring or river, as Ausonius saith , (writing of a fountain
near Bordeaux ,)
Divona celtarum l ingua , f ons addita D ivis .
B ivona, in the Cel tishwords,A well sacred to God affords .
Or a divine well or river , whereof more Shall b e spoken .
First I must tell you that there are divers r ivers in this kingdom that
have no other name or attribute but Avon , the river ; and may b e sai d to
b e anonyma, without name ; as in our ordinary common phrase we say ,
when g o you to the town ? not g iving it any other name , b e it Exeter,York , or London ; intending the most near . So may we also say , when
will you go to avon ? the r iver ; naming neither Ex , Ouse , nor Thames .
An d these are also dispersed in other countries also ; but in our own
first . There is one of very g ood note in Wiltshire , that falls from Dorset
shire into the ocean . Another of that name , that breaketh out Of the earth,
at Avon -wells , in Le icestershire , by M almesbury , called , Avon - the - less
passeth through Northamptonshire , and cleaveth Warwick , Worcester, andSomersetshire ; running many miles to visit Bath and Bristol , and then
increaseth Severn .
In Glamorganshire you have a town bearing the name of Aber-Avon ; as
if we should say, the river’s mouth ; for so indeed is the site thereof. In
M onmouth also and M erioneth, in each of these is a river that hath no
other denom ination .
And that structure of admirable magnificence , built by Cardinal W olsev ,
in ostentation (as it was said ) of his superabundant weal th, Hampton -Court,now a royal palace of our sovere igns , was first named Avon , for that it
stood close upon the river, as Leland avoucheth
CHA P . I .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .93
Nomine ab antiquo j am tempore dictus Avon .
Hampton Court is the same
In elder times that Avon had to name .
And for the g enerality thereof in the sheriffdom of Stirl ing , in Scotland,we find that Adrianus the emperor, or his adopted Titus fEliuS Hadrianus ,Anton inus Pius , or his lieutenant, Lollius Urb ius , did there for the defence
Of the country erect a wall of turf ; which began (as the Scots write , ) atAvon , or the river, that fall eth into Edinburgh Frith .
And that it was in more languages , which have now little (yea no) con
currence with our speech, is plainly seen in the kingdom of Ireland , in the
countie s of Cork and Waterford . There runneth the river now lately , of
u s , called Broad-water ; but in elder time s , Avonmore , the great or larg e
r iver : on the banks whereof standeth Ardmore : of which place and riverN echam , long since , versified thus ,
E t urb em L ismore p ertransit flumen Avon -more .
A rdmore cermit ub i concitus aequor adi t.Thy river, Avonmore
,
Through Lysmore town doth run ;
Ardmore him se es,and there apace
To sea he speeds anon .
But to conclude , all what might b e farther said, b y the sentence of the
dictator of knowledge , whose words I will only exemplify :“Avon , in the
Camden ,
“ importeth a river, whereof Avon
iio more“
stz
faiigé’
than 11 1 the same sig
nification ,Watertown ,
Rivertown , and Bourne , to omit many others , for so
the Latins used Aquinum et Fluentum .
The like is also all edg ed ( by authors of great authority ,) of countries and
reg ions in foreign parts ; for IVO Cam otensis affirmeth that Aquitania (a
g reat dukedom in France , well near a third part thereof, ) took name of
Waters -de Aquis . Jun ius maintaineth that Denmark took denom ination
from denne , fir trees , where they abound . Verstegan alledg eth, out of
Englehusius that the Saxons took appellation from their short swords or
knives , which they wore and foughtwithall ( it was with such they made the
24 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK 1 .
massacre of the British nobility upon the plains near unto Amesbury ;) of
which in reg ard their armories also were ag reeable thereun to, viz , three
seaxes in pale arg . were these Latin rhymes made ;
Quipp e brevis gladius apud illos Saxa vocatur
Unde sibi Saxo nomen traxisse putatur.
”
The short swords that theywore had Saxes unto name ,
And therefore Saxons they were called of the same .
It is also written of the Britons , b y Gildas , that they y ielded divine wor
ship to waters and rivers , as formerly , out of Auson ius , hath, b y the name
of B ivona , (God’s well , ) been alledged ; especially in the ordeal - trial (as
they termed it ,) of cold water for the discovery of witchcraft ; wherein their
Opinion was , that the element of water was so pure and holy that it would
not suffer itself to b e contaminated and defil ed by rece iving the body of anysuch contag ious or vile person ,
though cast thereinto bound hand and foot ,
but that it woul d bear the witch and not suffer him to sink ; for such as sunkto the bottom were presently drawn on land and held gu iltless .
It is not for chri stians to make such use of r ivers , or to trust them so
far ; yet are we to take it as a great blessing of the Almighty that we havesuch store of waters to enrich our lands and portag e of commodities ; and
as the kingly prophet s ings ,
H e sendeth spri ngs Into the brooksThat run among the hills,Wherewithwild asse s quench the ir thirstAnd all beasts
-
drink the ir fills .
”
Yet thi s nation in curred not thi s aspersion alone for having rivers in thise stimation , for the German s honoured the river Rhine , making it a judg ein case of defiled wedlock ; and those of Thessaly did the like to Peneusfor his virtues ; and Julius Solinus ascrib eth the like to a spr ing in Sardiniain the trial of theft ; for whosoever by oath den ied the fact and washed hiseyes with the water thereof, if he swore truly hi s s ight became the clearer ;
b ut perjur ing himself, the fault was presently discovered by his blindness ,and the del inquent was enforced to confess the fact and lose his sight .
CHA P . V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 2 5
‘But in these ordeal trials , though the way b e spacious and pleasant I willlead you no farther .
But to return to the name of thi s province , whereof you have heard myconjecture with others ; which I leave to your censure , which I can ne itherentreat nor persuade you to favour ; for I am not so ape
- like - afl'
ected to it
to applaud it ; ne ither have I reason to fear opposition : for this aetiolog ie
can ne ither seem harsh nor ab surd, in regard the words and quality are so
consonant ; and the name also doth, as a true picture , plainly represent thenature of the thing , which , in etymologies , is chiefly required and soughtafter .
N ow leaving the better explanation of the name of Devon to him that can
with N aevius , cotem novacul a scindere , - cleave hard stones with razors ,I will tell you when Devon and Cornwall were sundered, divided, and parted .
5
CHAPTER 1 1 .
When the Danmonian P rovince was severed, and the limits thereof.
TH I S province of Danmonia (now di vided into two , and named Cornwalland Denshire ,) continued a long time unseparated, even to the re ign of K .
Athelstan , son of Edward the elder , in the year of our salvation 939 ; for
the Briton had possessed this country wholly many years before the incar
nation Of Christ , even (as the chron iclers ofWales and other British writers
have cal culated ,) 1 1 37 , until they were invaded and brought into a kind of
unwilling subjection (for they were never wholly conquered, ) by the Ro
mans , who kept a powerful unquiet possession here some 500 years ; after
which time , their glory declining and power decaying , and having almost ,
b y the ir many battles , and the transportation by the here elected emperor ,M aximus , of the valiant natives into the continent to try their civil (or un
26 - V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
c ivil , rather .) and private quarrels , almost dispeopled
might weep what Lucan sang ,
Desuntque manus poscentib us arvis .
There wanted handsFor tillage of the lands .
Then they yielded the government again to the natives , who were brought
into so small a number as the question m ight b e demanded , with the poet ,
“Gene ris quo turba redacta est
Humani .
Full hard i twas to find
Any rema inde r ofmankind.
And that weak and small remainder were most cruelly vexed and pursued
by the ir northern ne ighbours , the Picts an d Scots , (as Gildas larg ely and
lamentably relateth in hi s history ,) so that in their distress they were
enforced to crave aid of foreign nations , and made choice of the Saxons asmost to b e trusted .
And Vortig ern , the ir new elected king , (for he was first but earl , orgovernor of Danmonia, ) sent ambassadors to entreat their loving ass istan cefor a time ; who presently came as loving friends to aid and assist the
Britons . But some (perceiving the weakness and fertility of the land, )became tyrann ising , suppress ing , and supplanting enemi es se izing upon thebest part of the whole land : expell ing the poor and weak natives ; some
into South and North Wal es , others into the land of Armonica ; (now called
Little Brittain for there was a colony of this nation formerly seated , and
as yet (as it is said,) retain the ir dialect and languag e , Very little altered,
this great long time . For as a French poet saith,
The anci ent Britons ( b y the Saxons chas’dFrom native A lbion
, ) soon the Gauls displac’d
From Armorick, and then VictoriouslyAfter the ir name surnamed it Brittany .
Others retired into these western “
parts ; for it is reg istered in the hi story
CHA P . IL] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .2 7
of the church, that Theonis and Thaduceus , Archbishops of Canterbury and
York, were , by the Huns , Picts , and Saxons (who made desolation in the
outward face of the church,) dr iven into the deserts of Danmonia .
It was not long also ere these domineering Saxons began to intrude and
usurp upon the Britons in this province likewise , and to co - inhabit jointlytog ether with them both in the country an d city of E xeter, with equality of
use though not of right ; and therefore ne ither with love nor good agree
ment . For the Saxons being natural subjects to the king and of his lan
guag e , bearing all offi ces , and having all authority under him, yielded all
duty and due obedience . But the Britons wanting the means (not havingthe language , ) to speak for themselves , and kept in hard subjection ,
grew
impatient in their hard and slavish servitude , under the yoke of strang ers ,
and much repined to have their freedom fettered with such heavy chainsunder new lords and new laws , yielded only an unwil ling and forced sub
jection : and be ing of courag e and spirits naturally martial , conce ived themselves much injured in not having equal favour and authority with the
Saxons , whi ch were indeed but inmate s unto them . So b y a wearinessand loathing conce ived ag ainst the g overnment, they sought liberty ; and
so averting their hearty love from the ir sovereign , and incensed with hatredtowards the ir co - inhabitants , the ir muttering and murmuring was so apparent as it could b e no longer pall iated , and therefore , as the poet saith,
Withwrongs and servitude now grown desperate ,With loud proud terms they do expostulate
and so proceeded by degrees from words to blows , quarrels , debate s , and
murders ; even to civil wars . Little considering the reproof that Solongave the Athenian s in the like case ,
when he said,
If presently your burden heavy b e ,Y et murmur not aga inst the gods therefore
The fault is yours, as ye yourselves may see
Which granted, have of mighty M ars the lore .
To such as now by your directionDo hold your necks in such subje ction ,
But K . Athelstan, to prevent an absolute rupture and to compass his end
without precipitation , used all gentle means and royal clemency ; admonish
2 8 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
ing them by letters , messag es , proclamations , to pacify and qual ify the ir
implacability and furious rage . But ne ither of these prevailing wi th the
stiff-necked Britons , he was inforced to use his royal authority (in extremity)by arms . So after he had subdued the Scots (and the Welch at Hereford)he
'
came into these parts with a powerful army , and after Sundry conflicts
chased the Britons (whose courage was far above their strength , and to
move without might is bootless , ) out of these parts , now called Denshire ,(an ordinary event when rage runneth faster than judgment and power can
keep pace with it ,) driving them beyond the river now cal led Taw -meer ;
making that r iver the bounds , l imits , or meer between the two counties ;whereof it may not seem improbable to take the addition of meer .
For in this province we have four fair and larg e rivers , which beg in the ir
nam es very l ike in the first syllable , Taw, Towridge , Teavy , and this Tawmeer . For this then being called Taw might have the addition of meer ,
which signifieth a bound or limit so Taw-meer , Taw the bounds : and so
it is for the major part , even to this day ; a little encroachment of Devonexcepted .
Then the British name began to decline , and shortly after was Whollyextinguished ; and from thenceforth they were , by the Saxons , termed Cornu
Gualenses , or W allenses , and the ir country , Cornwall in regard they
were separated from the Saxon s , and were to dwell in a narrow strictcorner , or nook , of the land by themselves . And so , by some men
’s inter
pretation , doth the word Cornwall s ign ify ; be ing compounded of Kernaw
( in Latin , Comu ,) and Walli ( in Latin , Peregrinus :) Cornu in English is ahorn which is bigg er at the one end than the other and crooked vvithal .
And even so is thi s country ; for in the east-most part , where it bordersupon this province , it hath near miles in breadth, but b y degrees
waxeth lesser and lesser ; for as , at the point, it is l ittle more than a mileover .
Wally (by which word we denominate W elchmen ,) is a Saxon word,s ignifying a strang er or alien , (for so do the Germans al so term al l those as
are fore igners , ne ither of the ir nation or languag e , as learned M r . Camdenhath duly Observed , ) and this I presume to b e the reason that we call those
Britons inhabiting Wal es , Walli ; in English, W elchmen ; and those of
Cornwall , Cornua-W allenses , Corn -W elchmen , or Cor nishmen .
30 vmw or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
reason, that it is now with Denshire under one bishop ; ( though in some
times they have been several sees under several bishops and also thi s
instance , that in a fair sun - shine day , sea-faring men see and di scern plainly
sundry ruins , as monuments of houses and churches under the waters b ut
I will leave it for them to make it g ood ; I will give no security for it .
Yet needs it not so strong a belief altog ether as Volsius his affirmation ,
that this the country of Great Britain was sometime one continent with
France , and that the tracts between Dover and Calais was gained by the
sea ; as Ovid writeth of Helice and Bury , cities of Achaia ,
I f you go seek for Hel iceAnd Bury, whichwere cities of Achaia, you shall see
Them hidden underwater, as to shipmen yet doth showThe walls and steeples of the towns drown’d under
, as they row.
These provinces also united were called Corin ea ; taking denomination(as some stiffly affirm) of Corineus , a supposed kinsman of supposed Brutus ,a wise and val iant man and in much esteem with his lord,) by him rewardedwith thi s country . But he that will credit thi s must consequently believethe whole hi story of Brutus and his descent, whi ch is strongly opposed and
shrewdly shaken by the chi efest writers of our ag e .
An d I see no greater reason why this country shoul d not take name of
him more rather than Circiter , Circester , or Ciren-oester , which Ptolomi enames Corinium , and the river fleeting by it Corinus , now Churne , in the
county of Glocester .
But being left unto us as a tradition (albe it, not, as some think , veryancient,) from mouth to mouth, I will not b e so void of civility utterly to
reject it, (although some thing s seem more fabul ous , interposed perchanceb y some augmenting transcribers ,) but leave every man to the choice of his
own mind where to fasten his belief. Forbearing to speak farther of Cornwall , be ing eased of that labour by the industrious labours of the rightworthy and worshipful gentleman, Richard Carew , of Anthony , who, underthe name of a survey, hath very eloquently descri bed it .
CHA P . IV .] V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . 3 1
CHAPTER IV.
Of the limits , hundreds , market towns , and p arishes in the county of Devon.
N ow, according to my purpose , I will proceed onl y with Devon ,which
hath long lain in obscurity , illustrated only by the valiant actions of the
worthy heroes thereof, and not by the quills of the natives ; who are such as
dare rather to adventure in their travels by sea and land, to discover new
worlds , to find them , and to conquer and people kingdoms there in , than to
encounter the squint eye of envy , or black heart of malice , by treading the
ridged , untrodden , uncouth path, by which I have undertaken to guide you ;which promiseth neither reward nor regard, but scornful backbiting and
s candalous detraction .
This province , in the south east, borders on Dorsetshire ; and then in
Thorncomb , or, if you will , Lime , whereof this town may perchance ( Icannot avouch it, ) take nomination . Lime , the limits between both Shi res ;in the north- east Somerset, and there in Culbone and Exmoor , and Coun ~
tesb erry on our s ide .
On the west, not the river Gamb ia, (as in the lear ned Lhuid’s Eng lish
edition , the transcriber’s or printer’s error, as I suppose ,) but Tamb ria,Taw-meer ; and Hartland Point in the north-west ; between which and
Thorncomb it is in length 54 miles ; and in breadth, from the south British
ocean at Salcomb to the north Severn sea, 5 6 miles : which shews it inlarg eness the second to the greatest in the kingdom : within which c ircumference of 206 are included at this present 33 cantreds , centuries , or hund
reds . ( I say at this present, for in former ages I find e ither more , or these
otherwise named .) This division of centuries was first made (as I find ,) byK . Alfred, near the year 897 that by the res idence of subordinate officers ,peace at home might b e the better maintained, foreign invasion (by the
32 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 ‘
quick assembly of the inhabitants) the timelier resisted, the taxes and reve
nues laid more evenly and levied more easily , justice (at the hundred courts
at home at the ir doors ,) with less charge and travel admin istered . An d
in these hundreds , by the sheri ff’s book , are parish churches ; in the
lord bishop’s registry not so many : M r . Camden numbers less , M r . Speed
more .
The cause of thi s difference is easily known and as soon reconciled ; for
the sheriff, in hi s book of freeholders , for their appearance at the ass izes
and ses sions , numbers all , whether they b e mother- churches or chapels of
ease appendant ; when the reg ister acknowledgeth none but such as have
spiritual promotions . In former times those were accounted for mother
churches (as I am taught, ) as had right of baptism and sepulture ; and all
other held for field churches , or chapels of ease : but this distinction is longs ince abrogated .
Concerning our par ishes and the number of them I farther find thus ; ina parliament holden at Westminster, in the first week in Lent, in the 45th
of Edward III . anno 1 37 1 , the clergy granted to the king an aid for the
wars in France , of and the temporal lords and commons gave thel ike , to b e levied of all the parishes in England , in this manner — everyparish to b e rated at 23s . 4d . , and the greater to help the less and ease
them supposing , according to the vulgar account, that there had been so
many parishes in Eng land to have raised that sum at that rate . Wherefore
writs were directed to the several Shires to certify the number of parishes ,and it was found that the sums of coul d not b e levi ed after that
proportion . Whereupon the king summoned a council at Win chester at
Easter following , and every parish was rated at £ 5 . l 6s . one with the other .
At which time there was found in this county 38 ] parishes ; whi ch was
towards the grand sum £ 2209 . 1 6s . But by this rate of £ 5 . l 6s . the sum
amounted to £ 50 1 8 1 . 8s . , and therefore the parishes of this county , bymeans of the ir poverty , were abated, and cessed but at £ 5 . 1 2s . 1 0d . each,
and the £ 1 8 1 . 8s . abated in this shire . And I dare boldly say , that if it
had at any time need of abatements , it hath as much at this present, if not
more , by the mul titude of poor abounding in it.
Of market towns , bes ides the city of Exeter, it numbers whereof
are incorporated ; and it serves the king and commonwealth, at the
CHAP . V .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .33
parliament, with two knights and sixteen burgesses ; and the city of Exeter
addeth two citizens .
BARN STA PLE . two . PLYMOUTHBEER -ALSTON two . PL IM PTON .
DARTMOUTH . TAV I STOCKCL IFTON TOTNE S .
HARDNE S S TIVERTONThere are al so two forests , Dartmoor, that lieth wholly in this county, and
part of Exmoor . Of parks , some few are yet remaining of the great store
our fathers could speak of; the others , b y the frugality of the owners ,converted to a more profitable and beneficial use for themselves and the
republic . But of the market towns and forests we shall have Opportunityto speak more largely hereafter, and will therefore forbear at thi s place .
With waters and rivers (as I have formerly said,) it is plentift and
bountifully stored ; for brooks and r ill s , becks , bourns , riverets , and such
like , the number is infini te ; di vers whereof meeting and incorporated to
gether are enl arged to rivers of that largeness and amplitude , that ere theycome to pay tribute to Neptune , are navigable ; as Ex , Dart, Tamer , Taw,
Towridge , and Plime : all whi ch abound with sundry sorts of dainty fish ;
but chiefly salmon , andl
thereof plenty ; whereof Ex is said to have the
preeminence , as yielding them always in season .
CHAPTER V .
Of the temperature of the air, and the nature of the I nhabitants .
THE air in these parts (although much subject unto rain and showerydews , as is the whole island, (far more than were in the continent,) andtherefore called by some Matul am Planetarum,) is verv healthy , temperate ,sweet, and pure : ( 1 mean not that purity which an ancient father believed,
34 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
or rather supposed, is upon the mount of Olympus , Where the air, he saith,
is so thin and pure that it can neither support the birds that offer to fly
there in , nor useful for the breathing of men used to a grosser air but
healthy , clear from damps , breathing long life to the Inhabitants for our
forefathers , who accustomed themselves to measure the del icacy of food
and rest by the yard of hunger and weariness , lived temperately and fru
gal ly ; content with what the earth afforded for satisfying of nature’s want ;
yea , in the most ancient times , as Diodorus Siculus affirmeth, With b ark androots , and especially a certain confection , whereof the quantity of a beanwould satisfy nature in such sort, that after the taking thereof they neitherhung ered nor thirsted (as Dio N icaeus saith,) in a long t ime after .
They were then strong and mighty men of renown , able to endure much
labour and travel in all weathers , lived to a great age , (as we read in
Plutarch, who reporteth to 1 20 years ,) in health and ability of body : thelonger (as it is thought) for not be ing weakened with delicacies : for when
they neglected their strong and manly exercises and temperate diet, delighting in the sweetness of foreign dainties , and in the excess Of the ir own , it
weakened the strength of the one , and shortened the length of the other .
It was Caesar’s opinion of the Gauls , that their ne ighbourhood and ac
quaintance with other nations had taught them a more plentiful and n icemanner of life ; which, by little and li ttle , had effeminated their minds andweakened their bodi es , and made them far inferior to the ir ancestors . In
cons ideration whereof some have been confident avouchers that such as taste
deeply of the sweetness of ease and delicacies, and are habited with the
compliments thereof, have thereby an indi sposition to labour , strong exer
cises , or martial actions . For use continueth, as the learned say , the
property of a tenure , and non-usage implyeth a forfeiture . This delicacyand excess is described and sharply reproved by a noble and divine poet,when he saith,
O ! plague ! O ! poison to the warrior’s state !Thoumak’st the noble hearts efl'
eminate .
W hilst Rome was rul’d by Curios and Fabrices,W ho fed on roots , and sought not for del ices,And when the only cresses was the food
Most delicate to Persia. then they stood.
CHA‘P . VI .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .35
CHAPTER VI .
Of the soil, beasts , fowl, fishes , grain andfruits .
THE soil of this country, be ing very uneven , full of hill s and valleys , is
very uneasy for travellers and their horses , and gives a barren and unfruit
ful show to the beholders ; and b eing al so very full of stones , is troublesome
to pass through : whi ch caused a travell er to compare it to Homer’s description of Ithyca, the territory of Ulysses , where he saith,
Of al l the isles, I thyca doth least provideOfmeads to feed a horse, or ways to ride .
”
And in another place , somewhat after,
“And I thyca hath ne ither ground to b eFor any length that comprehends a raceTo try a horse
’s speed, or any place
To make him fat in : fitter for to feedA cl iff-bred goat, than raise or please a. steed.
But to him for answer was replied, out of the same author and of the same
isle , by a native gentleman of this country ,
With barren rocks and cl iffs it’s overrun,And yet of hardy youths a nurse of fame ;
N or could I find a soil, where ere I came,
More sweet and wishful
likewise farther proceeded with another place ,
Rocky tis and rough,
And so for use of horse unapt enough;Butwith sad barrenness notmuch infested,S ince clouds are here in frequent rains digested,And flowery dews .
”
36 v IEw or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
And for the ill travel for horses , our common English proverb maketh fullamends ; which is versified and says thi s ,
The country is best for the biderThat is most cumbersome to the rider.
William of M almesbury describeth it to b e in very poor case in his time ,when he said, it yielded scarcely any grain b ut oats and pulse , and that
coarse and slender ; which may not b e untruly if we give credit to Tacitus ,Who , speaking of the inhabitants , said, they are a people thou canst not so
eas ily persuade to manure the ground as to' provoke the enemy and adventure
wounds ; holding that vile and base which is gotten by sweat of brows ,when it might b e obtained by expense of blood .
Yea ! and before the time of Henry I . , third son to the Norman Conqueror,thi s country was all forest ; and (as we have formerly said,) the two arch
bishops of Canterbury and York were forced, by their persecutors , into the
deserts of Devon and Cornwall ; and Exeter, the emporium and chief cityof the same , was then named Caier-
pen-hul -goit, the chief town in the
forest or deserts . And yet it may b e rightly deemed that the people’s
negligence , unwillingness , carelessness , ignorance , or contempt of agriculture in those days to b e greater than the barrenness or leanness of the soilthe natives being, in all ages , more inclinable to war than husbandry ; as
rather depending upon provis ion gotten from others , than by the plough tob e their own purveyors .
And the earth being full of metal s , it may, by all likelihood, b e as trul y
said of them as of the Tub alines , or Calib es , who lived, as Apollonius saith,
only by exchange of their metals for other commodities
Haec gens tellurem rig ido non vertit aratro,
Sed ferri venas scindit sub montib us altis.”
The Tub alines ploughnot up the ir barren soil ;But mining b ills for iron is the ir toil .
An d Naples (now held the garden of Europe,) was sometime named the
Land of Labour, as yielding none or little profit and commodity , without
great industry , and labour , and pains . And the inhabitants of this country
38 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
Where heat kills not the cold, nor cold expels the heat,N or calms too mildly small
,nor winds too roughly great ;)
e ither for food or physio, profit or pleasure ; useful for us , and that plenti
fully , so that to read what we find it hath been said to b e in elder times ,and to see whatwe do at this present, we might b e persuaded to think that
What the ancients have written was either in jest, or bel ieve it as a dream
but I rather think , as the poet Claudian rightly speaks ,
R erumque remotas
Ingeniosa vias paulatim explorat egestas .
Want did inforce them wi th a sharp edge ofwit
To seek out things remote , unknown as yet.
W'
e cannot allow ourselves the le isure to think upon the particular ities
of every thing ; it woul d b e laborious , tedious , and unnecessary ; and the
nature of our undertaking will not brook to have every thing described at
larg e : you shall have the g enerals briefly .
Of grain we want no sort that the kingdom yields . W e are al so furnished
with great variety of fruits , and of most of them sun dry cho ice of species .
Of herbs and plants , such divers ity in colour , fashion , taste , smell , and
nature , as Gerrard’s best aid will hardly b e able to describe them . And for
variety of flowers (for those are not un sought for ne ither of our ladies and
g entry ) lady Flora herself (though canonized by the Romans for a goddess,)will b e to seek , to find out, or coin names severally to distinguish them .
Some quantity of timber we have yet left of the great store we had in elder
times : for as trade and traffic began and increased , that commodity waslessened to build ships : and as the inhabitants multipl ied, so fields were
grubbed for enlarg ing of tillage , as far more necessary and needful : and
as weal th augmented , the like vastation was made thereof for building of
towns , and in fine , fair and large houses , both in city and country .
For fi sh , because you shall judge and bel ieve me in the rest , I will g ive
your caterer a bill (such as was once g iven me by M r . M ayor’s ofl‘icer) what
our market yields , for our better remembrance : but our unskilfulness tomarshal] them in their due place hath caused me to follow the alphabet
CHAP . VI .J V IEw OF DEVON SH IRE .39
Muscell s .
Herring . M ullet .
Hake . M illers . Scad .W
Haberdine . M inows . Salmon . Wh iting .
n . Hound . N . Shott . Whelks .
Dace . Holibut N ewlandfish Seal . Wrinkles .
It might b e much more enlarged, but your sewer shall stand no longer
at the dresser, lest the first dish b e stale ere the last come to the table .
Yet, notwithstanding , I will here confess that had you supped with AulusG ell ius , the Roman Emperor, you might say my bill came much too short ;
yea ! by 1 800 : for, as Suetonius , in lib . 9 . and Josephus , lib . 5 . alledg e ,
he was served at one meal with 2000 ; (if you please to believe there are
so many species of fish ;) but he had indeed a large country to make hisprovis ion in , the whole then known world . Some part of thi s kingdomwas called the garden of Ceres and granary of the western world , and many
times supplied the Romans’wants : so from hence they might make some
provis ion of fi sh to make out the full number . But for the other supper of
7000 , divers kinds of fowl , I will not undertake to name them here , nor in
Africa, and As ia, with all the assistance that G esnerus can afford me .
By this time you know how our country is provided of entertainment for
40 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
diet and travel , both for horse and foot . Of other commodities I shall
more conveniently speak elsewhere hereafter . N ow I do remember mypromise , and will according thereunto g ive you a s ight of the charter of
King John for disafforesting Devonshire , except Dartmoor and E xmoor .
*
M emorandum,quod carta orig inalis Reg is Anglic de Lib ertatibus Com i
taths Devonic remanet in custodia Abbatis et Conventfis Tavestock , sub
hac forma.
HENRICU S Dei gratia Rex Anglic , Dom inus Hib ernie , Dux N ormanie ,
Aquitanie , et Comes Andegav ie , Archiepiscopis , Episcopis , Ab b atibus ,
Prioribus , Comitibus , Baronibus , Justiciariis , Forestariis , Vicecomitibus ,
Prepositis , M inistris , et omnibus Balliv is et fidelibus sui s , Salutem : Inspex
imus cartam quam Dominus Johannes Rex , Pater noster , fecit omn ibus
hominibus de totaDevon ia in hec verba .
JOHAN N E S , Dei gratiaRex An glie , Dominus Hib ernie , Dux N ormanie et
Aquitanie , Comes Andegav ie , Ar chiepiSOOpis , Episcopis , Ab b atibus , Comiti
bus , Baronibus , Justiciariis , Forestariis , Vicecomitibus , Prepositis , M in istris
et omnibus Ballivis et fidelibus suis , Salutem . Sciatis nos deforestasse
totam Devoniam de omn ibus que ad Forestam et ad Forestarios pertinent,usque ad metas antiquorum regardorum de Dertemora et Exemorfi, que
regarda fuerunt tempore Regis Henrici prim i : ita quod tota Devonia et
homines in ea manentes et heredes eorum s int deafforestati omnino , et
qu ieti et soluti de nobis et heredibus nostri s imperpetuum de omnibus que
ad Forestam et ad Forestarios pertinent, Exceptis duabus moris prenom i
natis , scil icet, Dertemore et Exemore , per predictas metas . Volumus etiam
et concedimus quod predi cti homines de Devonia et heredes corum hab eant
consuetudines infra Regarda morarum illarum , sicut habere consueverant
tempore predicti Reg is Henrici, faciendo inde consuetudines quas inde
facere tun c consueverant et debuerant ; et quod liceat eis qui voluerint
extra predictas metas essartare , parcos facere , omnimodam v enationem
capere , canes , arcus et sag ittas , et alia omnimoda arma habere , et salta
toria facere , nisi in Div isis predictarum m orarum, ub i non poterunt salta
toria vel haj as facere . Et si canes eorum excurrerint in Forestam nostram ,
As the Author’s copy is very incorrect, we have thought it more satisfactory to supply
a Transcript from fol . 1 52 of the Reg ister of Walter S tape ldon ,Bishop of Exeter : the
original was kept, A . D . 1 320, at Tavistock Abbey .- G . O .,
— P . J .
CHA P . VL] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 4 1
volumus quod ips i inde deducantur, sicut et alii Barones et mil ites indededucuntur qui sunt deafforestati, et quod marchiant al ib i foreste nostre .
Et volumus quod unus turnus Vicecomitis tantum fiat per annum in comitatu Devonie , et ille turnus fiat post festum Sancti M ichaelis , ad inquiren
dum Placita Corone , et alia que ad Coronam pertinent sin e occasionibus
alicui faciendis , et quod plures turnos non faciat, nis i pro Placitis Corone ,cum evenerint attachiandis cum coronatoribus et propter pacem asseou
randam . Ita quidem quod in itinere illo nichil capiat ad opus,suum . De
personibus vero qui capti fuerint in comitatu Devonie , de quibus vicecomeshab eat potestatem eos repleg iandi , et quorum plegiag ium comitatus Devonievoluerit super se capere , volumus et concedimus quod per cons il ium eorum
repleg ientur ; ita quod per Odium v el occasionem Vicecomitis ul terius in
prisonfi. non detineantur . Et si vicecomes injuste gravaverit predictos
homines Devonie , et inde convictus fuerit, incidet in misericordi am nostram,
et nos de eo misericordiam capiemus , et al ium Vicecomitem :eis sub stitu
emus , qui eos bene et legaliter tractab it . Teste , Domino Hereb erto, Sarum
Episcopo ; Galfrido, filio Petri , Comite E ssex ; Baldwino , Comite Alber
marlie ; Willelmo , Comite de Fferariis ; Henrico, Comite Hereford ; W illelmo de Braos ; Hugone de Nevill ; Will elmo Briwerr ; Simone de Pateshull .Datum per manum Domini Simonis Cicestriensis electi, apud Wynton ,
decimo octavo di e Mai i , anno Regni nostri quinto . [5 John ,
N os autem concess iones predictas ratas hab entes et gratas , eas pro nobis
et heredibus nostris concedimus et confirmamus , sicut carta predicti Domin i
Johannis Regi s , Patri s nostri, plenius et liberius testatur . H iis Testibus ,Venerab ili Patre W altero, Eb oraci Archiepiscopo, Anglie Primate ; Petro de
Sabaudia ; MagistroW illielmo de Kilkenny, Archidiacono Conventrie ; Ber
tramo de Croll ; Ricardo de Gre i ; Johanne de Grea ; Roberto de Bustegg s ;G ileb erto de Segrave ; RobertoW alerand ; Bartholomeo Peech ; Roberto de
N oreis ; W illielmo de Cheemy ; Johanne de Gerres , et aliis . Datum per
manum nostram apud W yndeleshoure , vicesimo qu into Aprilis , anno Regni
nostri trices imo sexto . [3 7 Henry IIIEt N os , W ALTE RUS , permiss ione DivinaExoniensis Episcopus , existentes
London , et videntes dictam originalem Cartam in manibus cujusdam Thome
N eulegyn , clerici dicti Abbatis, cum ipsa original i per fratrem Rob ertum
Champeaux , tunc Abbatem Tavistochie , London ut dicebatur missi , Trans
42 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK I .
criptum seu Copiam ipsius ut suprascrib itur nobis fieri fecimus , vi ii die mens is
Octob ris , anno Domin i milles imo cccm°°
vicesimo , et Regn i Regis Edwardi,filii Reg is Edwardi , quarto decimo , et in hoc nostro Registro rescrib i ad
pleniorem memoriam futurorum .
CHAPTER VII .
The constitution, nature, and quality of the I nhabitants .
TH I s county , as it is populous , so are the natives of a good and
healthy constitution of body ; of proportion and stature g enerally tall ,
strong , and well compact ; active and apt for any forcible exercises ; (andif I may have leave to borrow a stranger’s words in the ir encomium , ) bold,martial , haughty of heart, prodigal of life , constant in affections , courteousto strang ers , yet greedy of glory and honour . And Diodorus S iculus saiththe Danmon i i were accounted most civil and courteous people .
An d our pleasant witted poet, M ichael , extolleth them extraordinarily forvalour and strength of body ; and yet taketh not there in the liberty allowedto poets , to add to the subject whereof they write, but truly reporteth whatis well known and seen by them performed ; who in activity surmoun t many
other people , especially at foot-ball , hurling, and wrestling . wherein theyare generally equal with the best in any county . And I may boldly say of
my countrymen as Horace did of his ,
Luctamur Achivis doctior unctis .
Inwrestl ing weThe skilful Greeks surpass in high degree .
A full report of their skill in wrestling and nimbleness of body whereof theDanmonii have been and still are so famous you may find in the Survey of
CHA P . VII . ] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 43
Cornwall . But to make a question (as one hath done ,) whether they have
it from the ir first planter, Corineus , (that famous wrestler, ) or from the
nature of the climate of the country, or (as I may best say ,) from their
diurnal practice , I think it will not b e answered without some difficulty ,
unless you say from all .
In knowledge of arts and variety of studies in all sciences and learning ,
very capable and ingen ious ; and hath yielded, and presently doth (whomin their convenient places I shall have fitter opportun ity to remember,) as
many worthy div ines , civilians , physicians , and men excellent in all other
profess ions and arts as are elsewhere in any so small a compass to b e found .
In matters of civil policy, causes of justice , judi cature , and government
of the common weal , wi se , pregnant, and politic , discreet, and of sound
judgment and integrity ; so that the chief seats of justice have been veryOften most worthily supplied : whi ch this our ag e can very sufficiently tes
tify, as well as many former .
For mart ial affairs , by land or sea, forward and val iant ; and , as a great
and noble commander of late times sai d of one , (intimating , as it seemed ,
the like in general ,) in service , painful ; in peril , resolute ; in action , indus
trions ; in execution , quick and ready ; in council , provident ; fierce , yet
with judgment : as the ir fierceness was nothing abated by advisement, nor
their advisement dazzled by the ir fierceness , but both so equally compounded
and conjoined, that they have been hold to take QU ID N ON ? for a motto, (as
S ir Humphrey Gilbert .)Thus their valour and fortitude hath been misconstrued, and termed b y
some , audaciousness , and the actors , boisterous : but the action that procured
them thi s harsh epithet I will offer to your censure , and will tran scribe v er
batim in Sp eed’s own words .
There presented themselves (saith he , ) unto him ( intending King
Henry IV .)“a boisterous troop of plain western men , who brought unto hi s
View three lords and twenty knights of note , the ir prisoners , and Whom the
country people near Dartmouth in Devon had g otten in plain fight . The
king b y them was g iven to understand that the Lord Castle , the Briton ,
(who had formerly burnt Plymouth, ) thinking to do the like at Dartmouth,
came on shore with his forces , where these and the like people fiercely en
countered them ; at which their women , l ike Amazons , b y hurling flints and
44 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
pebbles , and other such like artillery, did greatly advance their husbands’
and kinsfolks’ victory . The lord of Castle himself was slain , and many
other together with him . These other were saved ; as many more of
them might have been , but the ignorance of language confounded alike
the cries of indignation and pity . They therefore , in reward of thi s hazardand service, do pray they may reap some commodity by their captives . It
was but reason : wherefore the king, who took great pleasure to talk with
these lusty Denshire-men , himself caused the ir purses to b e stuffed with
golden coin reserving the prisoners to pay himself with advantage out of
their ransoms .
”
Here it plainly appeareth that every hearer and author hath hi s private
opinion , and every opin ioni st hi s peculiar judgment and censure ; not alwaysaccording to his true apprehens ion , but often agreeable to his melancholic
( I will not say envious , but asper) nature, by which he censureth other
men and the ir actions , as here . But we neither hunt nor travel after men’s
opinions ; but when we shall see others perform the like actions , we do
(and still will ) entitle them valiant, famous, illustrious , heroical . But not
a word of thi s more , nor of them ; only a verse of the poet P-indar, whichhe wrote to Lacedemonia , comes to my mind, in regard it may b e fitlyapplied to this country .
Their grave advice is found in aged brains ;The ir gallant youths are lusty lads indeed,Which can both s ing and dance in courtly trains,And daunt their foeswith many a doughty deed .
CHAPTER VII I .
Of the sundry degrees of the Inhabitants , and the distinction of their vocations .
IN this province , as in all others of the kingdom, there are (as I conceive)but four degrees , or difference , in vocations . ( I meddle not with the supreme
46 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
All men well and worthily deserving the name of prince and country , are
to b e esteemed as precious jewels of dear and‘
high esteem , and their pos
terity persevering in their Virtuous qualities , (the true stamp of nobility , )more excellent and of richer value than the most costly diamond set in
gold ; quia duplex in eo fulget dign itas propria et snorum'
. Of such
Homer speaketh,
For he is,questionless
,a ri ght born son
That of his father hath not only wonThe person , b ut the wisdom ; and that sireComplete , happy , that hath a son so entire .
With him al so joineth Pindar, when he speaketh of such as
Do match the ir noble ancestors
In prowess of the ir own ;And by the fruit commend the stockW hence they themselves are grown.
A nd the other, (if never so lately by virtue advanced,) jewels al so of esteem ,
though set in brass , tin , or lead .
It was the right and plain Opinion of Lycurgus , the Lacedemonian law
maker , that so much as a man was Virtuous , so much was he honourablespeaking to his fellow- citizens , who much vaunted and gloried of the ir descent from Hercules . But this di scourse , whereunto I am casually fallen ,
befits an higher style and learneder pen : I will only conclude with one of
the quadrans of Pib rack,
If thou b e born son of a prudent sireW hy tread
’st thou not in his fair beaten trace
If otherwise , why dost thou not desire,By virtuous de eds , to cover his disgrace ?”
A double dignity belongeth to this county , (for I speak of no other,
nor to no other , than those within the precincts thereof, ) where princes ofstate have borne the titles both of Devonshire and Exeter . Of which citythere have been both earls , marquesses , and dukes entitled ; of whom weshall have occasion , at fitter opportunity , to speak more at large hereafter .
But of knightly rank this shire is fruitful ; by whose houses , as we pass ,
CHAP . VIII ] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 4 7
we will tell you of their worth and antiquity , and other occurrences as good
occas ion shall b e offered : for alb eit'
their houses bear not now their posses
sors’names , (as is recorded of some gentlemen of ancient race in other
shires , though of most of them, it may b e more rightly said, they have takennames from the ir seats yet can they prescribe with many of those for an
tiquity, and not subscribe unto them in any point of worth .
Some it also yields who are not propt and upheld by ancestry, (whose
great grace might chalk the ir successors the way ,) nor allied to strong and
eminent ass istance , and yet do give good and full assurance of the ir proper
virtue and merit ; who may pass for good in a strict muster , and current
for we ight and touch in payment upon bond . Let it not b e as much as
once thought that I compr ise under these words any (if any there b e , as
there may b e some ,) that b y unworthy and unlawful means have amassed
up abundance of riches , and being wealthy (and thereby ingraffed themselves
in some g enerous stock , take on them the attribute of esquires , (before
they are g entlemen ,) and perchance b y mere intrusion : a mere synonime or
sympathy in name with some ancient tribe , have stolen armories , (for these
shifts , as I have heard, are sometimes made ;) for such commonly are of
base and unworthy condition and ignoble spirits .
But for other gentry ( I will speak boldly and confidently ,) they are civil,affable , and kind : courteous to strangers ; in the ir hospitality, bountiful , and
in their entertainment, loving and pleasant .
Their ancient exercises have been archery, hurling, wrestling , foot-ball ,dancing, and such like forcible exercises of strength and activity ; recrea
ting and hardening, and enabling their bodies and minds for more noble
(though more uneasy and dangerous) martial employment ; for which theyare apt and in readiness with the foremost at all times . But these ex
ercises have been of late (by a strong and potent zeal , and a severe execution
of laws ,) forced out of the country, neglected and out of use ; and hunting ,
hawking , and bowling crept in , and somewhat in request with the better
sort ; and with the infer ior, actions of far worse qual ity . These generous
persons are distinguished from the vulgar by certain privileges , immun ities ,and tokens , (as anciently the Grecian and Roman knights , b y crowns of
divers sorts , rings , chains , g ilt spurs , and such like ,) b y rewarding virtue ,
honouring desert, animating and encouraging others with armories , crests ,
48 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK I
and cognizance of Special and particular note . For, as a worthy learnedlawyer saith, (meet to b e noted and observed ,) as names were first inventedand given to distinguish one man from another, so was the bearing of arms
to make a separation and difference between the noble , and the plebe ian and
ignoble .
But this theme being of so high a strain requires to b e handled seriously,by a most sol id and sufficient abili ty, and loftier phrase ; and you should
not have heard a word of me concerning it, yet it stood accidently so di
rectly in my way that I could not shun it ; and being spoken but in thi s
county , and to none but the natives thereof, I know it will not b e misliked
nor spread farther .
CHAPTER IX .
The second degree is of Yeomanry and Husbandmen.
THE next to these I place the yeomanry , (the g emen , or yemen ; the g
changed into ye ; a commoner of the realm whi ch cons isteth of freehold
ers , farmers , men employed in agriculture , til lin g and manur ing of land
in former time , franckling s ; for they are free , by law, nature , and dispos i
tion , and well qualified in condition ; yet not perchance of like ability of
wealth w ith him whom noble Sir Geoffery Chaucer describeth under the
title and style of a Franklin, in these words ,
A Frankl in there was in his company,White was his heard as the daisy,
An householder, and that a great, was he,
S ir Jul ian he was in his country .
H is table dormant in his hall alwayS tood ready cover
’d all the long day.
CHAP . IX .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 49
AtSessions was he lord and sire ;Full oft times was he kn ight of the shire
A sheriff had he been, and a countor
W as nowhere such a worthy vavasor.
W e will not meddle with his like ; we are past such : I intend those that areintended by our laws— boni et legal es homines ; for the better sort of them
are (together with our gentry) returned to pass upon trial s of matters of
fact, in causes civil and criminal ; and are upon their oath to deliver thetruth (as near as God shall g ive them grace) of the matter given them incharge , which allowed and sentenced by the judge , all matters are ended
and controversies decided .
Many matters of quality, in former times were tried in courts baron and
the sheriff ’s turn , where men of this rank were the triers and called baronescomitatus— the barons of the county now freeholders ,— quia liberas ineis terras hab ent : and that not only in matters formerly named, but in
probate of wil ls and testaments , questions of tithes , et debita verae religionisjura .
M any of these with us are gentlemen , (descending from younger b ro
thers , ) or gentlemen’s equal s b y estate , and are saluted with suitable terms
of master : and live here indeed more frankly (according to that name ,) and
l iberally (for the most part) than elsewhere ; some having land in fee - s imple
of their own , others have leases from landl ords for term of years or three
lives , or by copy of court-roll ; not at a rack-rent, or highest improvement,
(as in some other countries , ) but paying a fine at their income or taking ,
and do hold tenements worth some 1 0036 . or or or 4038 . per
annum, for the rent of or per annum, or perchance less .
Their fine once paid and they out of debt, they l ive freely, contentedly, and
r ichly .
His endeavours for the most part are employed in husbandry, manuring
hi s land and feeding . He speaketh to his servants as a prince to his sub
jects , in the plural number, we will do this , or, let us do that ; we will set
forward such a business ; as intending to participate with them (in some
easy sort) in their labours , at least in direction thereof; and so is well assured to have it done to his liking .
50 VIEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
So much 0 thou example dost effect,
Be ing far a be tter master than command ;That how to do, b y doing dost direct,And teachest others actions by thy hand.
His own eye fattens his flock , which yieldeth him both food and raiment,and setteth forth and deviseth sundry sorts of manure , making choice of
that which best agreeth with the nature of the soil he dwelleth in . These
are the l iver-veins of the common wealth, yielding both good juice and
nourishm ent to all other parts thereof.
The meaner husbandman is of much inferior degree , employing himselfwholly in labour and holding the plough : and of these men it is that the
wise man putteth the question , and in conclus ion answereth him self : How
can he g et w isdom that holdeth the plough, and he that g lorieth onl y in
manag ing of the goad to dr ive oxen , and is always busied in the ir labours ,and talketh only of the breed of bullocks ? he g iveth his mind to turn furrows , and is dil igent to g ive the kine fodder ; yet these do maintain the
state of the world, and the ir whole desire is knowledge in their work and
occupation . Of s ome of e ither of these ranks (or of no degree else , as I
suppose ,) It may b e that Theocritus Spake in these verses ,
The things I wish are ne itherwealth,N or sceptre , robe , nor crown ;
N or yet of swiftness, nor of strength,To hear away renown .
But s ing ing with a merry heart,
In simple shed to lookAloof upon the troub’lous seasThat are so hard to brook .
”
CHAP . X.] V I Ew OF DEVON SH IRE .5 1
CHAPTER X .
Of the M erchant, which is the third degree .
NEXT stands forth the merchant, for the good of his country . These
inhabit the towns (yet many of them, of the richer sort , do purchase liv
ings in the country, in thi s county , by reason of the vicinity of the British
and Severn seas z) they abound more than in the inland countries ; and their
trade much greater than in former ages , as in more diversity of regions , as
generally in every place where gain is to b e gotten ; transporting cloth, tin ,
lead ; (or wherew ith we abound ;) returning for it what is most needful for
the common weal ; (or profitable for themselves ;) and are generally careful ,
frugal , and industrious ; attaining thereby great wealth, worthy of their
endeavours .
Divers of them are esquires and g entlemen’s vounger sons , who , by
means of then travel and transmigration , are very well qualified, apt , and
fit to manage great and high offi ces in the republic ; some attain ing to good
places of preferment . In the days of King Canutus , or Knout, this was
established as law or ordinance in their behal f, that if a merchant so thrived
that he passed thrice over the wide sea of his own craft he was thenceforth
a Thane ; which was a title of dign ity . (for the better understanding of
which word , the living l ight of antiquity , M r . Selden , must b e your inter
preter .) But here I shall b e strongly opposed by some Hippolitus a valli
bus ,-
saying , a gentleman ceaseth to b e g enerous and noble as soon as he
b eg inneth trade in merchandi s ing ; yet perchance with some caution , i . e .
unless it b e otherwise provided by the statutes of some particular states , pro
vince , or city , as Venice , London , Florence , Genoa, Barcelona , or such like
and will al so (itmay b e) all edge this speech of Cicero ,
“mercatura, si sit tennis ,est sordida putanda . Si magna et copiosa, multa , undique apportantia ,
multasque sine vanitate impartiens , non est admodum vituperanda .
”— Poor
merchandising is base and contemptib le : but plentiful and rich abundantly ,
52 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
bringing home from all places necessary commodities , liberally impartingthe same : it is not utterly to b e despised . Both these , in their behalf, may
b e answered . The last by the reply of Dionides the pirate , who, being
taken by Alexander the Great, and demanded why he robb ed on the sea ,
answered, I , because I keep the seas with one ship , am called a thief and a
pirate ; but thou , which rob b est day and night both by sea and land, art
called a king and a conqueror .
”SO this distinction is confuted Quia
majus et minus non variant speciem .
”And for the first the exception of
one citv clears all , as I suppose .
So I cannot b ut number the honest merchant (expos ing both goods andlife to the hazard of infin ite dangers , both by land and sea,) among the b e
nefactors of the commonwealth, and worthy of praise and : preferment ; for
true it is what the poet saith,
Neque fervidisPars inclusa caloribusMundi , nec Boreas finitimum latus,Durataeque sole n ivesMercatorem ab igant horrida call idiVincunt aequora navitas .
”
N or southern heat, nor northern snow
That free z ing to the ground doth grow,The subject reg ion can fence
To keep the greedy merchant thence
The subtle ship -man waywill findS torm never so the sea andwind.
CHAPTER XI .
Of the last degree, which is Dag-Labourers in Tin-works , and H irelings in
Husbandry .
THE common day- labourer, or hirel ing , as meanest, is last remembered .
I speak of them that work by week or day in husbandry labour, or there
54 VIEw OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1
thereunto . He labours without dang er and much more easily , dieteth more
liberal ly and after a better sort . Both are g enerally of a strong constitution
of body to undertake any painful action , by the ir rustic, un -nice , and la
horions education .
Their holy-days’exercises were al so toilsome and Violent, as wrestling ,
hurl ing , foot-ball , leaping , running , dancing with music, especial ly in their
festival s , to exhilarate their hearts and such like ; which made them fit for
the wars or any other employment whatsoever , where in hardiness , or
streng th, or ag ility was required . But these exercises are , by zeal , dis
commended and discountenanced, and so utterly out of use ; yet no better,nor any so g ood, used in their stead ; which may in time breed some in
conveniencies : but no more of this lest it bring me some also .
These people though the most inferior , are yet, notwithstanding , liberi
homines— free -men of state and condition : no slaves . Of these the w iseman saith, they are not asked nor sought for in public council , nor yet
high in the congregation , nor are placed in the judge’s seat, nor understand
they the order of justice . They cannot declare matters according to the
form of law ; nor are they meet for hard parables : yet without these cannota city b e inhabited nor occupied .
”But I will now tack about and alter my
course from the country people to the country soil and speak somewhat ofthe pleasures and commodities thereof.
CHAPTER XII .
Of the Commodities this Country yields , and of Agriculture and Husbandry .
THE chiefest thing s which yield a grace and glory to this kingdom and
have the chiefest commendation , are in this one only verse comprised,
Angl ia, mons, pons, fons, ecclesia, foemina, lana.
Which may thus b e poorly Englished,
CHA P . XII .] V I Ew OF DEVON SH I RE .
O f stately churches England hath great store
Of pleasant hills and fountains , many more
Bridges, large and fa ir ; and dames,for beauty rare ;
And finestwool it hathwithout compare .
Or thus, more b riefly,
England hath store of bridges, hills, andwool ;O f churches, wells, and women beautiful .
Of each of these much m ight b e Spoken ; but the chiefest commodities of
this province I will comprise within these four heads especially , husbandry,
clothing , min ing, and navigation . But these may require to b e subdivided,
and every one severally to b e spoken of and therefore first of husbandry .
This consisteth in the culture , manurance , and tillage , with the improve
ment of grounds which is the mistress or lady of all mechan ical arts than
which there is none more necessary , none more laudable , nor better agree
ing with nature , ne ither more decently or worthi ly beseeming a free , g entle ,
or generous spirit .
Thi s soil , as is formerly said, being hilly and mountainous , cannot b e by
nature fruitful , (the meadows and marsh feedings only excepted ,) but requir
eth and expecteth some help b y the labours and manurance of the husbandman ; who spareth no cost, refuseth no pains , leaveth nothing untried
whereby he may , in any sort, enrich hi s land and make it more bearable ,profitable , and fruitful : and therefore, according to the nature of the soil
where he inhabiteth, accommodateth hi s manurance , which is very diverseand of sundry sorts .
Those that are near neighbours to the sea, on either s ide , gather a certain
weed gron on the rocks, whi ch they name oare , spreading it on the
earth, whereby it yields a rich crop . This kind Of manurance , I shouldhave thought, newly invented, had I not been otherwise informed b y Mr .
Chapman, out of the old poet Homer, where I find this of its antiquity,
And as two lateral s itedwinds,The westwind and the nore,
M eet at the Thracian sea’s black breast
,
Join in a sudden blore ,
V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
Tumble together the dark wavesAnd pour Upon the shore
A mighty deal of froth and oare ,
Withwhich men manure ground,” &c .
O thers , at low water, gather the sea- sand that by some storm or violent
tide is thrown and forced into the creeks , and therewith quicken the ir land ;than which there is no better manurance for grass , and good also for corn .
In very coarse and barren heathy and furze ground, remoted from the
sea, they cut the superficies , upper face , or spine of the soil with mattocks
into turf, whi ch, after it hath lain some while and is withered and dried bythe heat of the sun , they cast together into small hillocks , like little haycocks , and with some combustible matter (as furze , ferns , straw, or such
l ike , ) fire it ; which, burnt to ashes , they spread them for manuran ce , whichfor one harvest yields profit and this they name peat-burning .
Another very ancient improvement is also yet used among them
whereof Pliny wrote in his time thus ,— “they dig marle out Of deep pits
like unto tin-works and the land therewith covered will b e bettered some
80 years following . W e use the same , but it will hardly hold'
Out the
fourth part of that long time . This is of divers sorts both in colour and
substance ; but not to b e particularly remembered here .
Late practices we have begun within the memory p f Old men , as chimneyashes , soap ashes , (dear an d much in request,) salt also ; and now newlyand most in use , lime , which is employed many several ways . All these ,
wi th fallowing , folding , compost, and such like , do yield (though with no
small charge ,) g ood increase at harvest, and better the succeeding pasture .
They are also very ingenious and careful for conveying and convertingof watercourses , whereby they reap good benefit for increase of pasture indry land, which is commonly effected with less charge than any of the for
mer, for this once perfected needs l ittle farther cost nor much labour .
They have of late years much enlarged the ir orchards , and are very curi
ous in planting and grafting all kinds of fruits , for all seasons , of which
they make good use and profit, both for furnishing the ir own table as fur
h ishing of the ne ighbour markets .
But most especially for making of cider, a drink both pleasant and
healthy ; much desired Of seamen for long southern voyages , as more fit to
CHAP . V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 5 7
make beverage than beer, and much cheaper and easier to b e had than
All these , with many other kinds of manurances , as dress ing of corn for
seed by steeping it in certain liquors , mixtures , and powders , (at first likenew fruit much longed for and sought after, but that desire was soon satis
fied setting corn also , and other like , far too tedious to b e spoken of. Yet
all these are the more beneficial in that the land is enclosed and severed
with strong fences , hedges , and dykes ; which bringeth with it these fartherseveral commodities, as sheltering cattle and sheep in violent storms and
extremity of wind, snow , and such like weather ; and their beasts also, bytheir sundry changes in divers pastures , feed still as in a new spring, need
ing ne ither cowherd nor shepherd ; and at the plashing and stooping downof the ir hedges it yields to the owner sufli cient fuel for their fire all year
long .
By these divers ities-
Of improvements they have much b eautified and en
riched their soil , so that the inhabitants will not easily b e persuaded to yield
(the authority Of reverend M r . Camden notwithstanding ,) the precedency ofgood husbandry in the three special points , viz , of skill to invent and de
vise , ability to undergo the charge , and will ingness to undertake the painfullabour and toil thereof, not to G ormancester, ( in Huntingdonshire , ) so
highly by him commended and praised : for here you may behold a certain
kind (as it were) of emul ation ; what seems to b e defective in the one is
supplied by the industry of the other .
But this much of thi s matter will seem to some overmuch, for it cannot
but b e thought a wide digress ion if not a wandering clean out of the way ,
when the intent is to give you a View of the country . I read you a lecture
of husbandry , supposed to b e taken out of Mr . Tusser, or hi s like ; but b e
content, there is no such matter ; I only acquaint you with the industry of
the husbandmen of this coun try , and how to the ir great charge and greater
commendation they have brought the soil so profitable that it is some years
able to maintain the multitude of the inhabitants .
An d for the love I bear them I wish I could teach them a point or
two either in the theory or practice of husbandry ; for it could not but b e
pleasing to every (and not offensive to any) degree ; for of al l vocations
there is none more honest, more commendable , nor better befitting a g en
VIEw OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK I .
tleman : all of whi ch degree , of what state soever, (not called to great and
serious employm ents in the republic,) I could wish them not to think it a
disparagement to the ir generosity,while the most renowned of the noble
ancient Romans . as Serranus , Curins , Cincinnatus , Torquatus , Cato , are so
highly extolled by hi storians , for that they establi shed the qui et and tranqui
lity of their country with hands worn , hardened, and grown rough withholding the plough and husbandry labour . And King Cyrus (that I speak
not of the patriarch Noah,whom the holy scripture names a husbandman ,
and other,) did Often gloriously relate his skill , labour, and industry in
agriculture .
They that exercised it in elder times were privileg ed with many immuni
ties or freedoms, overlong to b e repeated all . Some few that serve as that
he might lay any exception peremptory, after sentence g iven , where in he
was equal ly pr ivileged with the soldier and knight : again , that his cattle
and plough , with other thing s belonging to his necessary uses , as cloths
and household stuff, coul d not b e taken in execution for a di stress or pledg e .
And I have been also taught, that there is a rule in our common laws that
where a gentleman is sued by the name of husbandman , he may only say
(though he exercise husbandry , ) that he is a gentleman and demand judg
ment of the writ, without saying that he is no husbandman . For though
a g entleman profess husbandry , he ought to b e sued by his more worthyaddi tion .
Ne ither do our laws on thi s point differ from the laws and practice of
other nations . Yea, the farthest Indians , most rude and uncivil , refrainedto use force against ploughmen and tillers of the land, even in time of
wars reputing them sacred, and the most chief and necessary ministers ofthe common wealth . But hereof enough, if not overmuch : but it servethto so good purpose , that sooner I could not conveniently end my tale .
CH A P . XIII .] VI Ew OF DEVON SH IRE . 59
CHAPTER XIII .
Of the second commodity, of Clothing and Drap ery .
LAN IF ICI UM , the skill and knowledge of making cloth, is another most
beneficial manufacture practised in this country ; under which genus are
contained the species of spinning, knitting , weaving , tucking , pressing ,dying , carding , combing , and such like . This art , or hand-work , is lauda
b le for antiquity , and needful for necessity in supplying our wants , with
apparel to keep warm our weak bodi es in extremity of weather, and cover
decently our nakedness lest we should offend G od, and b e like beastlysavages , or savage beasts . And thi s province , for quantity ,
quality, and
variety ( in these three kinds , I am confident to say , ) may compare with, if
not exceed, most countries .
Let it b e supposed (as some have written , ) that we wrought at first butfryzes and plain coarse cloth, until the time of Edward IV . ,
when (as a
cur ious searcher of antiquities and inventor of thing s saith) one An thonyBonvise, an Ital ian , taught us the knowledg e of maki ng kersies and our
women to spin with the distaff no marvel at all , for such cloth was fine
enough in that age , when kings wore a pair of hose but of three shill ings
price ; as the old poet, Robert of Glocester, telleth us in these ancient
words , of King William Rufus ,
“As his Chamberla in him brought, as he ros a day ,
A morrow for towear, a pair hose of say ,
H e asked what he costned ; three shilling sa id the other.
Fie a dehle s,quoth the king , who say so vi le deed ?
King towear any cloth, b ut it costned more
Buy a pa ir of a mark,other thou shalt b e acorye [corrected] sore .
A worse pair of yuon the other swi th him brought,And said they were for a mark , and unnethe so he bought.Y ea b el amy, quoth the king, they were wel l bought ;In this manner serve me, other thou n e shal l me serve not.
i t The orig inal passage may b e seen in his Chronicle , Oxford 1 724, vol . 2, page 390 .
G . O .,
-P . J .
60 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
But to our kersies , which are well known in most countri es ; into whichsort of clothwe converted at first, only the wool grown in our own country ,which indeed is more than any stranger travelling only through the country
can well perceive or think ; for her sheep are not to b e seen in greatflocks as in champaign countries , but are palliated under the coverture of
the high-grown hedges of enclosures , (Dartmoor, Exmoor, and some other
hill s of common pasture excepted,) yet are there good plenty , and for the
most part good .
But they now work Cornish and Dorset wools , and are also supplied out
of divers other parts of the land ; as weekly from London , (though distant
from us , by the new measure , 1 50 miles , ) Glocester, Worcester, Warwick ,Wales , and Ireland : all which is here wrought into some sort of cloth or
stuffs ; where in most towns have appropriated to themselves a several or
peculiar kind, which I may not forbear to particular ize , (though as brieflyas may b e ,) the better to express their industrious hands and minds , apti
tude to learn , and diligent labour here in , as in other matters , whereby thekingdom is generally enri ched, and the multitude of the poor people thereof
not only kept from idleness and wandering abroad, but well maintained and
rel ieved, as those also of other inland countries that after a poor voyage are
here set on shore , sometimes in great number , and penury , and weakness .
The north and south parts of this county (as was formerly said, ) border
ing on the seas , is by nature aptly fitted with convenient ports , to transport
and vent these commodities into fore ign countries , whereby it hath engrossedgreat trade , yea , well near the drapery of the western parts , and therebygrown so populous that albe it in former times it was able to spare , veryconveniently, corn , fat beeves andmuttons , and such like victual ing commodi
ties , for supplying the wants of other countries when they needed, it is now
hardly able to feed itself in any large sort, communibus annis , the fruitfulness , dexterity , and promptitude of the inhabitants (as is formerly said,)notwithstanding .
The divers ity of cloths and stuffs newly devised in this province gives me
fit occasion to remember a predi ction Of Seneca, when he said, “multa veni~
entis sevi populus ignota nobis se iet,”
- future ages will invent many thingsto us unknown .
The late made stuff of serges , or perpetuanos , is now in great use and
62 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK 1 .
so much for this country, (some few excepted , ) to whom it is more burden
some than profitable ; for having eng rossed so great a trade , it hath made
the towns and country so populous , that notwithstanding al l their best endeavours in husbandry, yet yields hardly suffi cient of bread, beer, and victual
to feed itself, (notwithstanding the plenty of fi sh, ) but is commonly beholden toWales and Ireland ; and in anno 1 6 1 0 there was as much corn brought
into one harbour (that I speak not of the rest, ) as was sold to the countryfor I speak not with the most . And in every rumour of war or
contag ious s ickness (hindering the sale of these commodi ties ,) makes a
mul titude of the poorer sort chargeable to their neighbours , who are boundto maintain them . The meanest sort of people al so will now rather placetheir children to some of these mechanical trades than to husbandry , (es
teemed more painful ,) whereby husbandry-labourers are more scarce , and
hirelings more dear, than in former times , so that the generality may say of
this trade as Virg il of his verses , whereof Bathillus had both praise and
profit
Hos ego v ersiculos feci,tul it alter honores .
S ic vos non vobis nidificatis avesS ic vos non vobis vellera fertis oves ;Sic vos non vobis mel lificatis apes ;S ic vos non vobis tertis aratra boves .
This verse I made, another had,
The profit that I lack ;So sheep a fleece do bear
,and leese ,
To clothe another’s back .
S o bees,to feed another
’s need
,
From flowers do honey gather ;So oxen toil and plough the soil ,And yet for others labour.
So birds nests build, the ir labour yieldN o profit for their pains
W e spin and card,andweave full hard,
While others have the gains.
But not a word of this in any case , especially that I told you so ; and we
will proceed to the next and speak of mines .
CHAP . XIV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .63
CHAPTER XIV .
Of M ines and Quarries of S tone ; and of the several sorts of either of them.
THE mines of this country have been also very profitable , which I therather remember, for that they are not found generally in every country ,and will therefore require a more particular description ; most especially inregard of the species of them , as gold, ( in small quantity and little grains ,)s ilver, copper , tin , lead, iron , and the loadstone , with other min eral s : al l
which have been (and some also are now) very commodious to our Sovere ign , and the owners and workers of them .
For the two first sorts I shall have somewhat to do, perchance , to pr'ocure
belief; for that Cicero , in his 4th book ad Atticum (when the first news was
brought to Rome that Cmsar had attempted the conquest of this country , )said, jesting at him , Cogn itum est illud, quod nec argenti scrupulum
unum in Brittannia, neque spem ullam praedae ni si in mancipiis ;”— “It is
most certainly known that the island of Britain yields not so much as a
scruple of silver, or any other hope of gain but b y captives and slaves and
Caesar himself thought the like of copper , saying ,“the Britons had the
use Of copper , but it was brought them from transmarin e countries .
Y et for the antiquity of mines here I can tell you, out of Polybius , (that
ancient Greek wr iter who accompan ied Scipio in hi s wars some 209 years
before the Incarnation of our Saviour , the 372oth from the creation , as some
have made computation , ) that the island of Britain is plenteously stored with
metals ; and Strabo, together with Diodorus S iculus , do plainly deliver that
mines of silver and tin were wrought in these western parts of the kingdom
long before the Romans arrived here : and that mineral knowledge was first
taught in thi s country by fEthicus , that admirable Scythian , or Thessal ian ,
philosopher : and I dare confidently aver that if Cicero had, with Pythagoras .made transmigration into another body, and lived in this country and ag e ,
64 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
he would recant his words and yield us a better verdict and report both for
our mineral s and civil ity ; and without peradventure meet with divers I
could name that would fully match him in his own proper weapons
eloquence .
Some also of our neoterick writers have erred in the same opin ion , sup
posing our cl imate not warm enough to produce gold or s ilver ; relying
more on natural reason than God’
s special blessing . But to come nearer
this ag e b y degrees , and Speak of the working of these m ines . After the
Romans had left this kingdom poor and weak , the Saxons , their immediate
successors , wrought them ; yet in times of wars and troubles , it might b e
b ut in small manner . But after the Norman conquest, in the time of
Edward I or his father, Henry III they were diligently applied : for albeit
the stanneries and politic g overnment of the same were before their time ,
(as may appear by the charters of those kings ,) yet not after so direct and
legal form as in the ir days , and now at this present : for then , Edmund Earlof Cornwall (son to Richard, King of the Romans , the uncle to the said KingEdward, ) did, by the favour and approvement of the Sovereign, perfect those
laws for their better government ; appointing courts a mense in meh sem , to
b e kept in several places where the coinage was , and ordinary custom paid ;wh ich, thus establ ished, hath ever s ince continued , to the great benefit ofthe then Earldom , now Duchy of Cornwall , and maintenance of many good
famil ies in the country , and profit of many other places ; London especially ,
where it is wrought into divers sorts of vessels and transported into fore ign
countri es .
But he that des ires to know somewhat of the divers ity of loads , and the
manner of finding , digg ing , washing , melting , refining , let him read the
same in the labours of Richard Carew, of Antony , E sq . : and of the go
vernment of the stanneries I shall have fitter occasion to speak more largelyelsewhere .
And now to speak of our silver mines , much more in request . It is veryapparent, b y divers records and manuscripts , not to b e contradicted, that
the said Edward I . made much use and profit of them in this province ; and
after him his grandson , King Edward III . , and the supplanter of his successor, Henry IV . ; b ut most chiefly his son ,
King Henry V . , for the bettermaintenance of his wars in France , especially at Combe -M artin , Where there
CHA P .XIV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .
65
were of late (and I am assured yet are ,) divers monuments remaining of
them —one , the king’s mine ; the king
’s store house , blowing house , and
refining house .
And in our time , in the latter age of Queen Elizab eth, there was a new
rich load found there , in the lands of Richard Roberts , gent . , wherein I
now claim an interest, and wrought by Adrian Gilbert, esq . , and after b y
S ir Beavois Bulmer , knt . , by whose ab solute and excellent skill in mineral
knowledge a great quantity of silver was raised and refined there . Those
m ines have been lately renewed , but b y such as relied upon silver hopes ,but wanted e ither skill , or ability , or both, to proceed in a bus iness of that
weight and quality ; and therefore , as the poet saith,
S ed inutile fecitIlle male usurus donis ;”
B ut he made them unprofitableTo use themwell being unable ;
and therefore had answerable success .
M ines of tin are many wheres , and in several places , b ut chiefly in and
about Dartmoor and the purlieus thereof. Lead m ines , intermixed with
s ilver, in Comb -Martin . Iron mines were sometimes wrought near North
M olton and Molland ; but in our time b y Brent, A shburton , and HoleCopper at Newton -Ferrers . And at Brent a mine , rather quarry if you
please , of load- stones : in Latin , magnes , a precious gem, and of admirable
use ; the quality whereof is generally known, but in most especial use with
the navigators , directing the needle of their compass (be ing but slightlytouched therewith) to the north pole : a jewel far excell ing all other pre
cions stones , were they not so plentifully to b e sold and bought . Greatdifference there is of opin ions among writers concerning the invention or
first knowledge of the virtues and use of these stones . Some thi nk it to
b e as ancient as Solomon’s time , and that b y the help thereof his fleet per
formed the Ophirian voyages : to which others reply, that then he might
have performed that course in far shorter time than three years : wherebyit is supposed that the virtue hereof hath been unknown until these latterages , and then discovered by one named, as they say, Flavio , of M alfi , not
66 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
far from Naples ; before which time the exact and perfect skill of
navigation was unknown . But whether by him, or brought us from Chinaby Marcus Paulus Venetus , it is yet uncertain ; and not much material , said
one ,when such a matter was in question , for he said,
“As for my part I care not a j otWhether I know him or know him not.
Yet I am of another mind, wishing the man (to whom God hath given so
rare a judgment and knowledge to seek out those hidden secrets of nature , in
any ag e , of what quality soever, so much for the b enefit of mankind,) per
petual remembrance with deserved honour ; for so hath divine Du Bartasthought fit to give him in those eloquent and excellent verses of his concerning him and hi s invention ,
W ’are to Ceres not so much bound for bread,
Ne ither to Bacchus for his clusters red,A s S ignior Flavio, to thy witty trial,For first inventing of the seaman
’s dial
The use of the needle turning in the same
D ivine device ; 0 ! adm irable frame ;Whereby through the ocean in the darkest nightOur highest carracks are conducted right.”
These stones were said (upon what reason or assurance I know not,) to
b e male and female , differing both in Virtue and colour . Those so found
here were not much in request ; for that those brought from the Pers ian
gulph near Ormus are said much to excel them in their Virtuous qualities .
N ow I have ended with mines , yet not with minerals ; for I may not si
lently pass the quarries of stone for buil ding, whi ch are to b e found almost
every where ; but so various in sand,colour, qual ity, quantity , and substance ,that it is imposs ible to distinguish them by several names or descriptiori : I
will therefore speak of three , not long since found , for their rarity . Two
of them, if not perfect porphyry, yet equalling it in beauty ; one of a dun
nish, murrie colour, diapered with blue and green, with running ve ins alsoof White ; the other of marble dye intermixed with white of divers formsand fashions , very delightful to the spectator’s eye . These polished by the
CHA P . XV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .6 7
hand of a skilful artificer make excellent fair buildings ; for arising three or
four feet in length and in largeness according ly , whereof are made columns ,pillars , pilasters , and such like work . The discovery of these was lately in
Berry-Pomeroy, (as I am informed ,) where is the seat of a noble gentleman ,
S ir Edward Seimar , knt . and bart. The third is natural touch- stone ; some
aris ing nine foot in length and one in thickness , or , if you please , more
thick . This quarry is on the river Dart, on the west s ide of it.
Here I will omit, what m ight b e the seed of a great crop of di scourse and
argument, probably of e ither s ide, whether stones do grow ; but for that in
this treatise I shall pass over many things more necessary to b e spoken of
for the ir worth, am not purposed to handle needless , especially over and
above my strength .
CHAPTER XV.
Of M ariners , Shipp ing , and F ishing .
SEAFARING men and means , I intend mariners and shipping , is another
and no slender ( I assure you , ) commodity to the kingdom in g eneral , and
this county in particular , in time e ither of war or peace , for merchandi sing
or fishing ; with whom , from hence , upon all occas ions , our sovereign’s navy
(the sinews of our strength, ) is partly manned and furnished ; for our havensare well replenished with shipping fit for war or peace ; and them employedin merchants
’
affairs or in fishing voyag es , upon our own coasts , and else
where in many fair remote countries , as Canada , Virginia , Newfoundland,and other reg ions , whence much fi sh is brought home : or, in times of peace ,
into the Straits , Spain , or Portugal , with profitable return ; and in Ire
land , and Clovelly and Linmouth upon our own northern coasts for her
ring, the king of fishes ; and upon our southern coasts , generally throughout
68 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
al l , for pilchards , preserved and sundry ways prepared is a very vendible andprofitable commodity , The variety of sundry other dainty fish taken on our
coasts are elsewhere Spoken of. Concerning their adventuring for whales
upon the coasts of Iceland , and somewhere for the sea horse, how it is now
in practice I can say l ittle , but in former. times good use hath been made
thereof.
A far larg er discourse and much more might b e spoken in commendation
hereof, but I affect brevity , and therefore , in'
a word, this will I say (and
confidently) of our mariners , that the whole wide world brings forth no
better .whether you will impress them for valour to adventure , or knowledge
to perform any action ; painfulness to undergo , or patience to endure , any
extremity , advers ity , or want whatsoever : all which in one I may boldlyaver, and yet not b e taxed for over-valuing of them or the ir worth ; and I
hope I stand clear and free from the imputation cast upon the ir predeces
sors by E gesippus , who said, long s ince , “the western Saxons are a most
valorous kind of men , apt and ready for all venturous actions , especial lypiracies , where in they excel all men . The like aspersion is laid on them
b y Isodorus ,— “
a people , (saith he) most stout, valiant, and hardy ; and far
outstripping others in piracies .
These authors , though I cannot deny them to b e of good estimation and
worthy credit, yet not in all things ; for theymight speak this p erchance upon
a rumour or uncertain information , or upon the allegation of some envious
adversaries ; for I am assured they cannot b e charg ed therewith now, and
therefore in this po int you may b e careful what you believe ; but in other
matters do your pleasure . All these commodities , fruitfulness , and pleasures , formerly spoken and rehearsed , are of great and high esteem ; of
them therefore I will in a word conclude with Chaerea in Terence ,
O JupiterServa, ob secro, haec nobis bona
O G od pre serve,augment, and ble ss
Those goods whichwe do nowpossess
and join with those in words , though I hope with a far better and christianfaith, that M enander bringeth in making this prayer,
7 0 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
O f the eccles iastical government under the lord bishop of Exon , and
where he was first seated .
The chiefest of the five is the ecclesiastical or Spiritual government ; theoverseer whereof hath the title of lord bishop of Exon only ; albeit , that
his see and authority extends to the three counties of Devon , Cornwall , and
Exeter, and the islands of Scil ly and Lundy . At the helm now stands the
elegant and learned wr iter and peace -maker , the judicious and orthodox Dr .
Joseph Hall : a hall indeed , richly furn ished and fairly b eautified with the
most rich ornaments of zeal a nd learn ing , integrity and christian humilityin these only words I will briefly confine what might fill a volume in his
deserved encomium ; for his adversaries ( if he hath any, and who is he but
hath some ?) cannot deny this I have said .
These have been distinct dioceses , and have had two several bishops for I
find registered that in anno 905 , Formosus , then pope , wrote to Edward, son
OfAlphred , or Alured , then king , admonishing him to set a governor over the
church of the West-Saxons , which had been long destitute thereof ; and
that thereupon , by the advice of Plegmund, then archbishop of Canterbury ,
and other his council , Herstanus was consecrated bishop of Cornwall , and
had his seat at St . Germans , for that the church and palace of St. Petrock’s ,
in Bodmin , was ru inated by the Danes ; andW orstanus , aliasW estanus , was
installed bishop of Devonshire , and had his seat at Tawton near Barnstaple ;which is yet well remembered b y his lordship
’s residence there , and hath his
name for addition , and is named to this day Bishop’s -Tawton . To him suc
ceeded Putta ; who being slain as he came. from thence to Crediton to waiton the king , Eadulphus , brother to Alpsius , then duke of Devon , (so Ifind ,) was there consecrated and install ed ; and thence denominated bishopof Crediton .
But having waited on his lordship from St . Petrock’s in Bodmin to St .
Germans , and from thence to Tawton , and having seated him there in so
sweet and rich a soil , and so pleasant and fair a palace , as at Crediton ,I
will humbly take my leave of him until some fit opportunity bring me thitheragain , to tender my best service unto him , to wait on him to the city of
Exeter , where he must b e settled in his only seat : for it is needless and s»
unnecessary to particularize the several degrees of ecclesiastical dign itiesand offices , be ing in every diocese alike .
CHA P .XVII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .
7 1
CHAPTER XVI I .
Of the M artial Government, with the Chief and other Commanders .
THE second and next government is of martial affairs , where in the an
cient virtue of this county and the natives thereof have anciently and de
servedly g ained this reputation ; (as the light of reverend antiquity saith ;)
that they , with the Cornish and Wiltshire men , were entrusted with the
subs idiary cohort , or band of supply, in the greatest extremity .
“An
honour (saith the illustrator of Cornwall , ) equal to the Roman Triarii , as
the surest trust and Sheet anchor of the battle .
”
The command and chiefest direction of these affairs is comm itted to the
r ight honourable Francis Earl of Bedford, by comm ission lord lieutenant
of thi s county and the city and county of Exeter ; who hath ample power
and authority, at all time and times , to levy and call together all men , of
what estate or deg ree soever they b e , meet and apt for the wars , and them
to arm, or cause to b e armed and weaponed for the wars , and mustered ;
and so arrayed , trained, and mustered , to conduct and lead as well ag ainst
the foreign enemies as rebels and traitors against their sovere ign , his crown
and dignity ; and with such enemies and traitors to fight, res ist, invade , re
press , and subdue , and put to execution of death, by all means and ways ,and execute martial law at his discretion : to whom all justices , mayors ,
sheriffs , and all other inferior officers are , with all their strength and power,to b e attendant .
And for that the said lord lieutenant cannot execute the same at all
times as is required , he hath power, for his better aid and ass istance , and
for the better performing and execution of the service , to authorize , appoint,constitute , and assign certain worthy g entlemen of the county hi s deputies ;which at this present are these [not recorded in the M .S .]These , for the eas ier, speedier, and better managing and directing of the
martial affairs , have divided this county into three divisions or severed parts ,
7 2 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
naming them the south, east, and north divis ions ; in every of whi ch thereare two regiments of trained soldiers , (the south hath the addition of a
demi-regiment,) under selected and choice gentry of the country, who are
their colonels and captains .
Those of the south division are these , (June ,
Sir Edw. Seimar, kut. bart. , col . John N orthcot .
John Seymer . Hugh Clifford .
Edmund Tremain . Simon Worth .
John Bastard . The other regiment being butChr istopher Blackhall . of companies .
John Connock. Henry Champernon , col .
The 2nd regiment. John Crocker .
‘John Bampfield, col . v/ Arthur Ashford .
George Cary ; John Pollexfen .
Humph. Fruz .
These are all mustered in the south divis ion , besides the companies within
the two town s of Plymouth and Dartmouth .
In the eastern division . The north divis ion two regiments .
The l st regiment . The l st commanded by
Francis Courtenay, col . S ir Lewis Pollard , bart . , col .
Henry A shford . Edmund Parker .
Henry Walrond . Edward Pine .
Peter Carew . Robert Dillon .
S ir Walter Leach . John Giffard .
John Francis . John Berry .
The 2nd regiment. The 2nd regiment commanded bySir John Drake, knt . , col . John Acland, esq . , col .
S ir John Pole , bart. John Ar scot .
Thomas Drake . Leonard Y eo .
William Drake . Arthur Arscot .
Robert Duke . Francis Weekes .
Will iam Frye . Jonathan Prideaux .
CHAP . XVIII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 7 3
All these are well armed with pike and musket .
There are also three cornets of horse , under the command of Colonel S ir
Ferdinando Gorge .
CHAPTER XVII I .
Of the Civil or Politic Government being the third.
TH I S is done chiefly by the judges of the ass izes , who , twice every year,pass this circui t, called the western circuit, hearing and determining all
causes within the power of the ir commiss ion . In self- same nature , but in
some lower degree, is the custos rotul orum, and the justices of the peace ,who keep their quarter sessions to inquire and punish all offences again st
the peace of our sovereign lord the king, and tranquillity of his people .
The justices now in commission, and res ident in thi s county , to conclude this
matter briefly , we will call over by the commission : and so vous avez :
Edward Earl of Bath .
Francis Earl of Bedford .
Edw. Viscount Chi chester,Joseph (Hall ) Bishop of Exon .
Al exander St . John .
Edw . Seimar , knt . b art .
Fran . Vin cent, kut . bart . Knights .
Peter Prideaux , bart .
George Chudl eigh, bart .
John Pole , bart .
.Rich . Grenvile , kut . bart .
Ferdinando Gorges .
RobertKelligrew.
.William Strode .
Thomas Prideaux .
Thomas Drew .
George Southcot .
Edward Giles .
Richard Edgcumb e .
John Speccot .
Francis Fulford .
Shilston Calmady .
Samuel Roll e .
Francis G lanvill .
7 4 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
Ralph Sidenham . John Woode .
Edmund Fowel . Henry Walrond .
Rich . Reynel on well . Richard Reynel .JohnChichester ofHall . James Welsh .
James Bagg .
n hts ’
Thomas Risdon .
Henry Rosewell . John Davie .
Simon Leach . Walter Young .
Nicholas Martin . Henry Ashford .
W m . Peterson ,D.D Dean ofExon . Nicholas Frye .
Thomas Clifford, D. D.
fNicholas Lutterel . Esquires .
Ed . Cotton , Archdeacon of Totnes . Richard Cabell .John Bamfield . Bartholomew Berry ,
John Ackland . Humfry Berry .
Arthur Champem on . Edmund Arscot .
Elias Hele .
E squiresThomas Ford .
William Cary . Al exander M aynard .
Richard Waltham . Samp son Hele .
John N orthcot . John Upton .
William Bastard . Humphry Fruz .
And so there have appeared Sixty - four : all whi ch may say ( I hope
think ,) boldly and justly with Job ,
I f ever I delay’d the poor’s desire ,
Or let the widow’s longing hope to tire,I f ever I against the impotentPoor, fatherless, or friendless innocent,( For fear or favour of a friend or foe ,For gain or grudge that I did ever owe, )Have l ift mine hand, or him in rightwithstood,Orwhen I might, I have not done him good ;If I on gold have fix
’d my hope or heart,Or to the wedge have said, my trust thou art
,
I f I have joy’d for be ing grown so rich,
Or for my hands have gotten me so much,
Then let my arm off from my shoulder fall
And from the bone b e groun’d in powder smal l.
N ow let us proceed briefly to the fourth .
CHA P . XIX. XX .] V I Ew OF DEVON SH I RE .7 5
CHAPTER XIX .
Of the Admiralty and Governme ntfor M aritime and Sea Causes .
THE lord admiral’s authority by commission in sea causes , for preserva
tion , maintenance , and supply of the navy , and for all causes questioned
concerning controvers ies , piracies , and matters of that nature , are executed
by power and authority of the civil law : which being the self- same in all
sea-bordering counties , may b e well passed with this small remembrance ,and the rather for that the next will requ ire a far larg er discourse .
CHAPTER XX .
The S tannary Laws and Government which concern Tinners and Tin Causes .
TH I S last is severed from all the rest, and only peculiar to this county
and Cornwall , appropriated to tinners , tin -works , and tin causes only, and
apperta'ineth to the honour of the duchy of Cornwall , and is heredi tary primo
genito Domin i Reg is , whereof he is born duke , by virtue of an e special act
of Parliament, and the very day of his birth he is holden of full and perfect
ag e , b ut is created Prince of Wales . H is deputy , or chief ofl‘icer, in Latin
is named senescallus ; in English, warden of the stannaries , of stannum ;
in English, tin : or high seneschal , or steward of the duchy : whose autho
rity is very larg e ,be ing both chief justice and chancellor ; giving sentence
both for law and equity : from whom there is no appeal but to the duke
himself, and from him to the sovere ign .
7 6 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK I .
When sundry causes of deep consequence do concur together among
them, the lord warden doth summon a Parliament, whereunto are elected
and sent out of each of the four courts and precincts of the stannary twenty
four burgesses or jurats ; who enact statutes and ordinances , and constitute
laws and orders concerning Such occas ions as are in question . For the keep
ing of which high court of Parliament there is a very ancient and fair palace ,appointed only for this meeting, erected long time before any tin
-workswere wrought, and is continually repaired and maintained at the founder
’s
charge , seated in an Open fresh air , with a very large prospect on every
Side . If you will have the place and s ite rightly described and named, it is
a high rock whi ch we call Tor , and thence is our word Tower, in the forest
of Dartmoor, named Crockern Tor, subjected to the furious assaults and violence of al l winds and weathers , blasts and storms , and tempests ; affrontingand bearing up against all ne ither yielding to , nor Shrinking from, any ; as
not fearing the ir fury , nor hellish mal ice of undermining gunpowder moles ;
near unto which there is neither house , refuge , nor Shelter by divers milesthe borough of Tavistock being nearest, and yet ten miles distant .
All whi ch laws and statutes thus there made , enacted , and publi shed , andb y the lord warden , ratified and confirmed , are in full force for al l causes intertinner et tinner , life and limb excepted . One of these Parliaments was
there holden the 24th September, anno 2 King Henry VIII . , [ 1 5 1 0] which,
for that I think is not vulgarly known , and that some (if but for the nameof Parl iament, ) will b e desirous to know the manner thereof, I will Showyou how it is enrolled .
Devon .
M agna curia Domini Regis Ducatus sui Cornub iae , tenta apud CrockernTorr in Comitatu Devoniae , coram ThomaDenn is , Armigero, locum tenenteHenrici Merny, M ilitis , Custodis Stannariae Domini Regi s in ComitatuDevoniae, 24mo . die M ensis Septemb ris , anno Regni Regis Henrici octav isecundo .
”
Where appeared for the four stannary divis ions or courts , viz , Chagford,A shburton , Tavistock , and Plimpton , for each Of them twenty -four burgesses , or jurats ; who be ing elected according to former ancient customs and
sworn, have full power , as the whole united body of tinners of Devon, to
consent and assent . They do therefore enact, confirm, and ordain, and
7 8 VIEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
Et quod quieti sint de omnibus talliag rrs , theoloniis , stallagns , auxilns , et
aliis custumis quibuscunque in v illis , portubus , ferns , et mercatis infra comi
tatum predictum de bon is su is propriis .
Concessimus etiam e isdem stannatoribus quod fodere possint stannum et
turbas ad stannum fundendum ubique in terris moris et vastis , nostris et
aliorum quorumcunque in comitatu predicto , et aquas et cursus aquarum ad
operationes Stannariarum predictarum divertere ub i et quociens Opus fuerit,
et emere buscam ad funturam stanni, s ica t antiquitus fieri consuev it, s ine
impedimento nostri vel heredum nostrorum , episcoporum , abb atum, pri
orum , comitum, b aronum seu al iorum quorumcunque .
Et quod custos noster predictus vel ejus locum tenens teneat omnia pla
cita inter stannatores predictos emergentia, et etiam inter ipsos et alios
forinsecos de omnibus transgressionibus querelis et contractib us factis in
locis in quibus operantur infra Stannarias predictas s imiliter emerg entia ; et
quod idem custos hab eat plenam potestatem ad stannarios predictos et alios
forinsecos in hujusmodi placitis justiciandos et partibus justiciam faciendam
prout justum et hactenus in Stannariis illis fuerit usitatum .
Et Si qui stannariorum predictorum in aliquo deliquerint per quod incar
cerari deb eant , per custodem predictum arrestentur et in prisona nostra de
Lostwythiel et non al ibi custodiantur et detin eantur quousque secundum
legem et consuetudinem regni nostri delib erentur .
Et Si aliqui stannatorum predictorum super aliquo facto infra comitatum
predictum , non tang ente Stannarias predictas , se posuerint in inquisicionem
patrie , una medietas juratorum inquisicionis hujusmodi sit de stannatoribus
predictis , et al ia medietas de forinsecis ; et de facto total iter tangente Stan
narias predictas fiant inquisitiones sicut hactenus fieri consueverunt .
Et Si quis eorundem stannatorum fug itivus fueri t vel utlagatus vel aliquod
delictum fecerit pro quo catalla sua amittere deb eat, catalla ill a per custodem
predictum et coronatorem nostrum comitatus predi cti apprecientur et per
ipsos proximis v illatis lib erentur ad respondendum inde nobis et heredibus
nostris coram justiciariis itinerantibus in comitatu predicto .
Volumus insuper et firmiter precipimu s quod totum stannum tam album
quam nigrum , ub icunque inv entum et operatum fuerit in comitatu predicto ,
ponderetur apud Lostwythiel , Bodmynyan , Liskiriet, Treueru v el Helleston ,
per pondera nostra ad hoc ordinata et signata , sub forisfactura tocius stanni
CHAP . XXL] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .79
predicti et quod totum illud stannum coignietur in eisdem v illis singulis
annis coram custode predicto ante diem Sancti M ichaelis in Septembre sub
forisfactura predicta .
Et concessimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris quod omnes stannatores
nostri predicti totum stannum suum sic ponderatum l icite vendere possint
cuicunque voluerint in v illis predictis faciendo inde nobis et heredibus nos
tris coignagium et alias consuetudines debitas et usitatas , n is i nos vel heredes
nostri stannum illud emere voluerimus .
Quare volumus et firmiter precipimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris quod
stannatores nostri predicti hab eant omnes lib ertates , l iberas consuetudines ,et quietancias suprascriptas , et quod eis Sine occasione vel impedimento
nostri v el heredum nostrorum , justiciariorum , escaetorum , v icecomitum , aut
aliorum b allivorum seu ministrorum nostrorum quorumcunque rationab iliter
g audeant et utantur in forma predicta . H iis testibus , etc . Dat . per manum
mostram apud Westm . 1 0 April . A . D .
CHAPTER XXI .
The descrip tion of the Forest of Dartmoor where Tin is M ined.
N ow we have Spoken suffi ciently concerning tinners , the ir laws , privileg es ,and government ; let us Speak somewhat of the places whence tin is mined .
The chiefest place where tin is found is in the forest of Dartmoor and the
purl ieus thereof, and places near adjoining thereunto . This forest swelleth
The Stannaries and earldom of Cornwall were , at this time,in the crown in couse
quence of the death of E arl Edmund in 1 300without any other he ir than his cousin, theking . They had be longed to E arl R ichard or his son Edmund
,from 1 0th August, 1 231 ,
and perhaps from an earl ier period . The above charter was repeatedly confirmed b y thecrown in succeeding re igns down to that of E l i zabeth. Rot. P at. 2 El i z . part. 1 . The
charter of confirmation, 5 Ed . 4, contains an additional grant of turbary and pasture on
Dartmoor.
80 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK I .
up with many mountains , hills , and tors of larg e vastness , especially the
moorland , which is very spacious . It is called moor, not only because it is
mountainous , b ut withall less fruitful and full of bog s , (which kind of soil
we cal l , in our common speech, moors , ) and in the winter season hard and
comfortless , bare and cold : keeping his whi te winter l ivery lying upon it
long time , if not washed away with rain . Y et hath bountiful and prudent
nature , for such defects , supplied it with another necessary commodity"
, and
made amends for the want of corn and fruitful herbage in the moor , fur
nishing it with metal s .
And as each one is prais’d for her pecul iar thing s,
S o only she is rich in mountains,meers
, and Springs,And holds herself as great in her superfluous waste ,A s others in the ir towns and fruitful tillage grac’d,And chiefly for her mines .
W e have formerly said that Devonshire was difforested b y King John ,
Exmoor and Dartmoor excepted . The first intent thereof was (as I find, )begun by Henry I third son to the Conqueror, and seconded b y KingJohn , but perfected by Henry III . , yet without limitation or boundi ng the
said moory wastes , until authority was granted by the last mentioned Kingto Richard Earl of Cornwall , hi s brother , to take survey thereof, and to limit
and bound it ; who , accompanied with twelve esquires and gentlemen of the
country adjoin ing , di d perambulate the said forest, and as they passed, did
name certain rocks , rivers , rill s , tors , &c . as bonds and meets thereof, as
appeareth b y the foll owing documents
COMM I S S ION TO THE SHERIFF OF DEVON TO CAU SE A PERAMBULATIONTO BE MA DE OF THE FORE ST OF DARTM ORE .
*
Inter Recorda Curiae Cancellariae in Turri London asservata, scili cet Rot .
Claus ; de anno Regni Regis Henrici tertii v icesimo quarto , [ 1 240] m . ii .sic continetur .
9“.For the satisfaction of the Reader
, we supply a copy from the Tower of the orig inalCommission for the Perambulation of the Forest of Dartmore , hearing date 1 3th June ,1 240, and which was unknown to Mr. Westcote . The Re turn to thisWrit is not to b efound ; but as M r. W estcote
’s copy of the Perambulation in that year is very imperfect,
CHAP . XXL] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 8 1
DE PERAMBULACI ON E FACIENDA . Rex Vicecomiti Devonie salutem
Sciatis quod dil ectus frater noster Ricardus , Comes Pictavie et Cornub ie ,
pro parte sua, et Henricus de M ereton , Hamelinus de Eudon , Rob ertus de
Halyun , etW illi elmus le Fruz , pro partemilitum et lib erorum tenencium ha
b encium terras et feoda juxta Forestam ejusdem Comitatus de Dertemore ,
posuerunt se coram nobis in Peramb ulationem inter terras eorum et pre
dictam Forestam ejusdem Comitatus faciendam ; et ideo'
tib i precipimus
quod Si al ii de Comitatu tuo hab entes terras juxta Forestam predictam
cognoverint coram te et coram custodibus Placitorurn Corone nostre , quod
predicti quatuor milites de consensu aliorum omn ium posuerint se in Per
ambulationem ill am pro omn ibus aliis , tunc assumptis tecum duodecim
legalibus militibus de Comitatu tuo in propria persona tua accedas ad
Forestam et terras predictas , et per eorum sacramenta fieri faciatis Per
ambulationem inter predictam Forestam et terras predictas . Ita quod
Peramb ulatio ill a fiat per certas metas et di visas ; et scire nobis facias ub i
cunque fuerimus distincte et aperte sub Sig illo tuo et per quatuor mil itesex illi s qui Perambulationi illi interfuerint, per quas metas et divisas Per
ambulatio facta fuerit, et habeas ibi nomina militum et hoc Breve . Teste
Rege , apud W estmonasterium, decimo tertio die Jm m.
PERAM BULATIO FORESTE DE DE RTIMORE .
Inter Recorda in Thesaurario Curiae receptae Scaccarn asservata , Videlicetin libro indorsato “Feoda in Capite ,
” p . 1 00 continetur ut sequitur .
Hec est Perambulatio facta per commune consilium Ricardi , ComitisCornub ie et Pictavie in Comitatu Devonie , per preceptum Domini Reg is
Henrici, filii Johannis , anno coronacionis dicti Henrici vicesimo quarto , in
vig ilia Sancti Jacobi Apostoli , per sacramentum mil itum sub scriptorum ,
we have endeavoured to offer one far more correct, b y collating it with the copy in theHarle ian Collection, N o . 5827 , fol . 58, b . ;
-with amanuscript copy of Serj eantMaynard’s,
at L incoln’s Inn — and alsowi th a copy in a book in the Treasury of the Court of Receip ts ,at the Chap ter House,Westmins ter, indorsed “Feoda in Cap ite,” p . 1 00. To these we
add a copy of the Perambulation made in 1 608, which is now acted upon in the Office of
the Duchy of Cornwall — G . O .,— P . J .
82 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
scili cet, W illielmi de la Bruere , Guidonis de Brittev ill , W illielmi de W id
worthi , Hugonis de Bolley, Ricardi Gifford, Odonis de Feverbyn . Henricifilii Henrici , W illielmi Trenchard, Philippi Perer, Nicholai de Heaunton ,
W illielmi de M orelegh, et Durant Fil ii Botour , qui incipiunt Perambulationem ad Hoga de Cossdonne , et inde linealiter* usque ad parvam Hog a que
vocatur parva Houndtorre , et inde usque ad Theurleston , et inde linealiter
usque ad W otesb rokesfote que cadit in Tenge , et inde linealiter usque ad
Heng ston , et inde linealiter usque ad Y esceton , et inde linealiter usque ad
mediam Turbariam de Alb eresheved et sic in longum W aleb roke , et inde
linealiter usque ad Furnum Regi s , et inde linealiter usque ad W aleb roke
Sheved, et sic in longumW al eb roke usque cadit in Derta, et sic per Dertam
usque per aliam Dertam ascendendo usque ad Okeb rokfote , et Sic ascendendo
Okeb rok usque ad la Drylake , et ita ascendendo usque ad la Drydellford ,
et inde linealiter usque ad Cattishill , et inde linealiter usque ad Caput de
W estere W aleb roke et Sic perW estere W al eb roke usque cadit in Avona, et
inde linealiter usque ad E ster W ightburgh, et inde lin ealiter ub i Redelakecadi t in Erme , et inde ascendendo usque ad Grymesgrove , et inde linealiter
usque ad Elesb urgh, et inde linealiter usque ad Crucem Syward, et indeusque ad E stfothere et Sic ad aliam E stfothere , et inde per mediam M istmore
usque ad Mueburgh, et inde usque ad Lulling esfote , et inde usque ad Ra
kerneb rokesfote et Sic ad caput ejusdem aque et inde usque ad W estsoll , et
inde linealiter usque ad Ernestorre , et inde linealiter usque ad vadum proximum in orientali parte Capelle Sancti Michaelis de Halgestok, et indelinealiter usque ad predictam Hoga de Cossdonne in orientali parte .
PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR . 6 JAMES I 1 608 .
On the Sixteenth day of August, in the Sixth year of King James the
First, a Court of Survey was held at Okehampton , before S ir William
I twill b e observed that where the word “l inea liter is used in the Perambulation,the boundary is represented by a straight line, although a different construction may
possibly b e put upon the word. N or should it b e overlooked that,according to the Fore st
Laws , the obj ect which forms the boundary (if it b e a road, river,&c. , and not a house
or mill,) is wholly included within the franchise of the Forest. S ee 4. Coke’s Institute ,p . 31 8.
— G . O .,- P . J .
CHA P . XXL] V IEW O F DEVON SH IRE .83
Strode , kn ight ; Richard Connock, e squire ; Robert M oore , esquire ; and
Robert Paddon ,gentleman ; Auditors of the duchy of Cornwall , and Com
miss ioners appointed for that purpose : when the Jury, Edward Skirnett,
Walter Hole , Roger Cole , Henry Burges , Richard Edmond , Gregory Grey ,
John Bickford ,Hugh Elford , John M assey , Rog er Drake , Walter Lillicrap ,
John Chubb , Stephen Taverner, Andrew Heywood , Roger Wicket , RobertHannaford,
John Wil ls , John Hele , Walter Tuckerman , William Mudg e ,
William Ilbert , Thomas Sturges , and E lias Harr is , inter alia , found the
bounds of the Forest of Dartmoor to b e as underneath, Viz . :— Beginningat a high hill lying in the north quarter of the Forest , called at this dayCosdon , al ias Cosson , and in the old records Hoga de Costdown ; and from
thence lineal ly eastward , b y estimation one mile or more , unto Little
Houndetorr , which in the said record is called Hoga de parv a Houndetorr ;
and from thence lineally to a place named in the same record Thurleston ,
now, as we suppose , called Water Donter , be ing about three - quarters of a
mile from Houndetorr aforesaid, and from thence near a mile to Wates
Brook head, (foot , as corrected in the margin , ) which fall eth into Teigne ,and whi ch lake they now think to b e the same which is now call ed HoodLake , at whi ch place they account the north quarter ends . And from
thence near one m ile to Hengeston , alias , Heighstone , in the east quarter ,lying near Fernworthy Hedges ; and from thence lineally near one mil e to
Yelston , al ias , G esstone , now commonly called Hethstone ; and from thence
l ineally through a fenny place now called Turshill , b ut named in the records
permediam Turbariam de Alb eresheved , to a place cal led King’s Oven, and in
the said records named Furnum Reg is and from thence to W allb rook head,
and so al ong by W allbrook until it fall into the East Dart, and so down
wards by the said East Dart to another Dart called West Dart ; and from
thence ascending b y the said West Dart to W ob rook foot, Where the east
quarter endeth . And from thence lineally ascending to Drye Lake , alias ,
Drywork ; and from thence ascending b y Dry Lake to Creyselford , or Drydelford ; and from thence to Knattleb orough, which they take to b e the
same which, in the old records , is called Gnattishill ; and from thence as
cending lineally to We ster W ellb rook head, and so by the same Wester
W ellbrook until it falleth into Owen , or Avon ; and from thence lineally toEast Whitab orough ; and from thence lineally to Red Lake foot, Where it
84 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 .
falleth into Erme ; and from thence lineally ascending unto Erme head,
which they take to b e the place in the same record named Grimes Grove
and from thence to Plym head , where the south quarter endeth. And from
thence l ineally to Elli sb orough ; and from thence lineally to Sewards Cross ;and from thence lineally to Little Hisworthy ; and so from thence to ano
ther Hiswort hy ; and so from thence through the midst of M istermoor td
a rock called M ister Pan ; and from thence lineally to Due Lake head ,which they think to b e the next bound, and which is called in the said
records M ewb orough and from thence lineal ly northwards to a place called
Luntesb orough, which they think to b e the same that is called in the re
cords Lulling sett ; and from thence lin eal ly to the Wester Red Lake ,between which two bounds the west quarter endeth . And from thence
northward to Rattlebrook foot, and so from thence to the head of the same
Rattleb rook ; and from thence lineal ly unto Steynchatorr ; and from thence
lineally unto Langford, al ias , Sandiford ; and so from thence l ineally to the
Ford which lieth in the east s ide of Saint M ichael’s Chapel of Holstock ;
and so from thence lineally to the said hill called Cossdon , alias , Cosston ,
where they began .
CHAPTER XXII .
Of certain Tenants qf the Forest called Fenfield-men .
THERE are some special tenants inhabiting within the limits of the forest,or near it, which by the tenure are more free than others , in the nature of
free -tenants , or freeholders , doing suit and paying the k ing’
s silver , and are
named fenfield-men , or v enfield -men ; Whence the name should b e derived
86 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [B OOK 1 .
I may doubt to b e arrested if I stay you any longer here with a tin-war
rant for imprisoning you so long here at Lidford . Some will say it will
bear an action ; and doubtless it would, if I should lead you to see the
b ounds of the fenfield-men in such a fenny, rugged circuit ; I had therefore
plotted it out .
A DIAGRAM OF DARTMOOR FORE ST .
And here were a fit place to conclude with Dartmoor and all stannary business ; but a matter worth note is come to my remembrance , that the large
charter and privileges , notwithstanding attempts have been made sundry
times to weaken and infringe the same ; as in the time of Queen Elizabeth,
when the deputy l ieutenants would have mustered , trained , and impressedtinners and tenants of the duchy , contrary to their charters and customs ;
whereof her highness be ing advertised, did, by her letters , command thecontrary : the tenor whereof is thus
CHAP . XXII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .87
Elisabeth .
Trusty and well-beloved, we g reet you well . Whereas among other
royalties and jurisdictions granted heretofore by our noble progenitors to the
Prince OfWales and Duke of Cornwall , that the tinners and duchy tenants
of Cornwall and Devon were committed to his government, and because
the success of the ir labour in seeking for tin was very uncertain , divers
privileges , liberties , and immunities (for the ir better encouragement) were
granted unto them ; amongst which, the chiefest were that they should not
b e mustered, taxed,charg ed, or rated with any impos ition , charge , or ser
vice , but only by their warden or chief steward of the duchy for the time
being , or b y his authority , by the direction of us , or our privy council ;ne ither b e convented , sued , or compelled to answer for any cause (pleas for
life , land , or mayme excepted ,) before any judge , offi cer, or magistrate , save
of their said warden ,Sheriff, or steward of the said duchy of Cornwall , or
his officers . And for want of justice to b e done by the said officer, b y wayof appeal to the said warden or chief steward ; and from him , if they had
wrong , to our privy council ; and from them , to our royal person ; as b y
their charter doth appear . Which course having always heretofore beeninviolably kept amongst them, hath now of late , as we have been crediblyinformed , by some that have intermeddled with the government of the tin
ners , been infringed, and b y foreign authority have charged and rated them
for divers payments without consent of the ir warden ; and have taken upon
them the correction of abuses which they suppose have been committed bythe tinners and officers of the stannary ; and have bound some baili ffs andofficers of the said stannaries to the ir good behaviour , and compelled themto appear and answer at the ir quarter sessions for executing stannary pro
cess , before any complaint made to our warden , our council , or to us , con
trary to the liberties and privileg es granted to them, and the man ifestderog ation of the authority granted and reserved to the said warden , our
council , and our self. For reformation whereof our will and pleasure isthat the tinners and duchy tenants of Cornwall and Devon Shall hereafter b egoverned by their warden and his officers according to their charter and the
ancient customs an d privileges of the stannaries as heretofore hath beenused and accustomed ; and therefore we will and command, that no sheriff,commissioner, or other offi cer whatsoever do from henceforth muster, rate ,
I
88 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK 1 .
or charge any of our tinners or duchy tenants ; or otherw ise offer any grief,molestation , or disturbance to the jurisdiction of the duchy or stannarie sne ither do convent , precept, or compel any bailiff or officer of the stannaries ,or any of the tinners , or duchy tenants to answer for any abuses arising or
growing within the said stannaries , determinable there . But that the go
vernment, examination , judgment , and correction of all and s ingular suchcauses and matters b e permitted and suffered to have their passage beforethe officers of the stannaries and duchy by appeal to the warden , and from
him to our privy - council , and from them to our royal person , as heretofore
hath been used and accustomed . Which our pleasure and express commandment we will and require you to signify to all our offi cers , m in isters ,and loving subjects in Devon and Cornwall , at the next general assizes , tob e holden in those counties , requ iring them effectually to observe and fulfil
the same , according as they tender our pleasure , and will answer the con
trary at the ir perils . An d yet, nevertheless , our mean ing is not, but that
during the time there Shall b e any lieutenant- general of the said counties ,or either of them , the authority of the said lieutenant Shal l b e of force , and
continue , for the mustering and levying of any forces to withstand any In
vasion or rebellion , so as the said lieutenant do join with our warden of our
stannar ies on the execution of such needful services . To which purpose we
will and command them both to join and agree together to the furtherance
of our said service . Given under our Signet at Nonsuch , the 27th day
of June , in the 3 1 st year of our reign , 1 5 89 .
To our trusty and well -beloved the justices of assizes in the counties of
Devon and Cornwall .
CHAPTER XXIII .
Of the Forest of E xmoor .
WI THOUT dang er , at leng th, though not void of tedious and wearisome
travel ; are we freed out of the liberty of tin-warrants ; and a s imple and
unskilful pilot though I b e , (so you find , and so I frankly confess myself,
and would never have so boldly undertaken to b e y our guide had not the
90 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK 1 .
O ther there b e that affirm them rather to b e set as guides and directions ,the better to conduct strangers in the ir way over those wastes . But let us
forbear to inqu ire farther of the cause , and find the stones , which I cannotas yet, neither can they which I have purposely employed in quest of them,
learn of any such, either in the north moor between Hore -oak- ridge and
Snabhill ; nor southward from Exab orough to Exridge ; or in the middle
moor westward , between the long chain to Rexab le and Settacomb e ; or
in the south from Druslade to Vermy -ball ; neither from Wester Emmot
to Lydden -moor ; and all the other noted hills and valleys (whi ch we termcoombes , ) there in . To reckon up al l I doubt would b e over-weari someunto you , as the journey unto myself ; for I was vexed with a j ealous care toa seri ous and particular inquis ition of what occurs in reading taken up of the
wr iters (as the subject of our upon the credit of the reporters .
For I find only near Porlock Commons a stone , not pitched b ut lying ,
which they call the long stone ; b ut that may breed another question , whyi t Should b e SO named, be ing not five feet in length and much less in cras
Situde . Also in the west from Woodborough to Rodely-head, which we
cal l Collacumb Commons , is a plain stone erected, in he ight near six feet,
in thickness , two ; yet without any antique or other engraving s . But some
what nearer to our purpose do I find in the parish of East Down , in the
farm of N orthcot the Seat sometime of a g enerous fam ily of the same deno
m ination , John N orthcot, who was Sheriff of this county in the 29th year of
Edward 1 1 1 . 1 355 ; and though it b e now out of the name , we Shall find one
of his name and of hi s posterity , his equal , in the 2nd year of our now So
vereign Lord King Charles I . 1 626 . In a large spacious field enclosed, b y
the name of M attocks , or Maddocks Down , near fiv e miles from the forest,
certain great stones are erected in this manner z— first, there stand two
great stones in nature or fashion (yet not curiously cut,) of pyramids , di s
tant the one from the other 1 47 feet ; the greatest above the ground nine
feet and a half, every square bearing four feet ; the height of the other
stone is five feet and a half, but in every square near equals the other,
be ing somewhat above three feet . These two stones , pyramids and pillars ,stand in direct line one opposite to the other, s ixty- Six feet ; on the s ide ofeach of these is laid a ridg e , a row, or bank of three - and- twenty large
9“Coranto, (Italian Corranta, ) a
,
French runn ing dance ; also a new news-book .
Blount’s Dictionary .— G . O .
,— P . J .
CHA P . XXIII .] V IE W OF DEVON SH I RE . 9 1
(yet not equalling b y half the other) stones , stretching out in length evenwith the other two , in straight and equal line , making a reciprocal figure ,as having the Sides equally proportioned , but double as long in length thansquare and more , (whi ch, as I am told, is called a parallelog ram . ) But on
none of these stones are there any characters to b e seen , ne ither are they
to b e engraven they are so hard and rough .
That these stones should naturally grow here it cannot b e thought byany spectator ; neither can I as yet satisfy myself with any reason or occa
s ion (by reading or tradition , ) why they should b e thus erected, but for
some victory here gotten , and the monument of the interment of some fa
mous person of eminent place or worth .
But to conjecture by the name of M addock or M attock I know not how
to allude to any authentical history or person : for first to think uponM adock who , anno 23rd Edward I 1 294 , raised an uproar and rebellionin Wales , from whom , in time , the king won the Isle of Ang lesea, and
after anno 25 of the said king was taken , drawn , and hanged ; his rebellionbeing in Wales and hi s death in London ; it holds with no congruity . To
fetch it as far as Madock , the fourth son of Owen Grisneth, Prince of
Wales , who, seeing his three elder brethren strive and Violently to contend
for the government of the country , or equal partition of the ir Shares there in ,
could not endure it, and therefore rigged a fleet of ships and adventuredthe seas to seek some waste or desert place where he might inhabit quietly ;who is supposed , by great probabil ity , to b e the first discoverer of the West
Indi es , and inhabiter thereof ; imposing British names to divers things ,which continue to this ag e . (440 years Since , for he l ived anno Of
him M erideth, the son of Rhesi, (als ap Rhese , ) who l ived anno 1 477 , hath
this written,
Madoc wif mw y die wed,
Jawn genan Owen Gwyneth,N i funnum dir fy enridd oedd
N i da mowr ondy moroedd.
It is Englished thus ,Madoc, I am the son of Owen G uynedd,
With stature large , and comely grace adorned
92 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I .
N o lands at home, or store ofwealth me please,
My m ind was whole to search the ocean seas .
Thus Englished in M r Herbert’s travels ,Madoc ap Owen was I call
'
d,
Strong , tall , and comely not enthrall’d
With home -bred pleasure , but for fame
Through land and sea I sought the same .
This man , employing himself in search of strange and uninhabited coun
tries , I cannot, with any likelihood, place him here , but will leave it to him
that hath dived deeper in the British tongue than myself ; and so will take
our leave Of Exmoor ; only with thi s note , that in the reign of Henry IV .
Gorg es had the whole command of the forest .
I haveheretofore somewhere told you that the lord lieutena nt, with hisdeputies , have , for the better and easier manag ing of the martial affairs and
other politic causes , divi ded thi s province into three parts , which they call
divis ions , the south, north, and east . To guide you through every of these
in several , and to separate the one from the other , or to follow the alpha
b etical order of some other will b e over troublesome . If you have a ny
occas ion to survey the map , and cannot b e without dang er of double dealing , by taking view of one place twice or thrice , and so reduplicate our
way, I therefore intend to make use of the next river of name we shall find,
and to pass with it from its spring until he emptieth himself in the sea to
gether with all other rill s and riverets that shall yield him any subs idy : and
in our journey we will view every borough and market town , each hundred
d parish ; and not neg lect any ancient seat, e ither ecclesiastical or tempo
ral ; or generous family that possesseth it now, or in former times , as near as
we can : wherein , if I sometimes err, (as I fear me I shall , ) let the apologythe divine poet made for himself, b e my defence also : for he saith,
Most famous peoples’dark antiquityI s as awood, where bold temerityStumbles each step
,and learned dil igence
Itself entangles ; and bl ind ignorance(Groping about in such C immerean nights)In pits, in ponds, in bogs, and quagmire lights .
But now will we pass from the general , to come to that which is more
particular .
END OF THE FIRST BOOK .
94 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK I I .
you may see the first spring of the river Exe , which welleth forth in a
valley between Pinckerry and VVOOdb orough, whi ch runneth far to make
itself famous b v g iving denomination to a more famous city , Exeter : as
Al exander N eckam writeth
Exoniae fama ce le b errimus Isc ia nomen
P raab uit.”
Iscia , now E xe , a famous river.
To Exete r did his name del iver.
But whence itself should take first denomination are divers opinions . Some
will derive it of Iskaw, which in the Briton - speech signifieth elder trees
others from Hesk , by which name they called such reeds as grow on moors
and rivers ; wherewith the northern nations covered the ir houses , and fasten
ed together the joints of their ships . But to these conjectures , in regard
there are no such store of elder trees , not any at all , at this time , in the
forest, nor any other strange reeds , ( for I am assured they intend not
juncus aquaticus , common every where , and unfit for those forementioned
purposes ; but rather spartum , or spartum herba , which are strang ers to this
country , and known only to herbalists , ) the more solid judgments are not
hastily to yield credit .
Some interpret Iske , a swall ow ; and so it m ight take name from the
swift current, or the multitude of birds of that kind flocking in the summer
season about it . But to him that shall derive it from Eske ,
*son to Hingest
the Saxon , who first, b y matching his daughter , Rowena , with King Vorti
gern , got footing in Kent , and laid the foundation of those future fortunes
that the Saxons got in this kingdom , I think there needs no reply ; for thi s
river had this nomination divers hundreds of years before ; for he came not
hither before the year 445 : yet I cannot deny that the Kentishmen were
long time after called Erskins , from him .
An d it were not from the purpose to b e resolved of another doubt whichis or may b e made , whether the river took name of the forest, (as some
suppose ,) or the forest of the river , as I with more probability conceive : forthe ancients and first discoverers , after the impos ition of name to the land
or promontory , do the like next to the rivers into whose mouth they are
arrived , before they search so far into the land as to find the orig inal of
E sk is an original Cel tic word for a river.—DR . LYTTE LTON .
CHAP . I .] V IEW O F DEVON SH IRE .9 5
of rivers ; as the discoverers both in the West and East Indies , and other
places , lately found out .
But leaving the name , let us for your more ease , and the sooner to b e
quit of this barren soil , cold air, uneven ways , and untrodden paths , swim
with the stream the better to hasten our speed ; so we are sure not to devi
ate , though we walk the farther way about, yet it may prove the nearest
way home . In his smal l beg inning he keeps Somersetshire ; and passingby Exford , a place where he is fordable , he leaveth his name ; and at Extonhe doth the same after his passage byWinsford ; and there rece ives a small
nursing from Carhampton and Cutcumb e : he hath further - augmentation
from a rill that ariseth beyond Hampton -Reg is : then , grown somewhat instrength, hasteth to Dulverton to meet his fair s ister Barle hoping , with her
rich portion , to better and enlarge his state . They were , at their first springs ,congenuited, being sprung not 500 paces distant one from the other .
Barle yields nothing to Exe in quantity, and seems as if she would strivefor superior ity, as having the first bridge of stone , as otherwise unpassable ,and that in the midst of the forest ; near which is a large deep pool whichthey name Symon
’s Bath, as a place where one Symon used to bathe him .
self, and is said to have been ( but upon what small colour of warrant) another Robin Hood , and standing in outlawry , kept this forest : and in the
moors of Somerset there is a burrow or fort called , by the inhabitants ,Symon
’s Burrow, which he made his winter strength to retire unto . But
for that I can tell no Robin Hood’s tales of him , I will follow Barle , whichwasheth the feet of an ancient castle , (so they called it, ) Cowcastle ; whichwas there cast up for some (long s ince) forgotten occasion ,
whereof neithertradition nor writing maketh mention . There is also another such fort,
south-west from Challacombe , call ed Solsbury Castle . W e will not stay solong as to describe the site thereof, yielding no matter worthy the remem
brance ; only Barle by this time is come to Longacre , his second bridge , anddraweth near to Withy-Pool and Hawkridg e , to meet Dunsb rook, and bothtog ether to subscribe to Exe ; which at Exb ridg e rece iveth the whole of
another pretty brook .
And having by this time g iven name to three or four parishes , and hadthe augmentation of the like number of riverets , it begins to look b ig ; yetfor all his greatness findeth nature a sparing n iggard on either s ide , Of the
bountiful favours she elsewhere liberally b estoweth upon such her children ,
96 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
as fattening meadows , enriching pastures ; for as yet it g ives the husband
man little comfort, and therefore vows to leave Somersetshire , as h0 ping to
find a more bountiful extent Of nature’s bless ing in Devonshire ; and so ex
pecting no farther honour in his native soil , turns hither ; and we , in hope
of commodity by him , b id him welcome ; and he presently g ives the spring’
s
l ivery, and clothes our meadows and pastures with a smiling verdure , ena
melled and embroidered with variety of flowers , both in savour and colour .
But while there is no remarkable matter to b e spoken of, let us , b y some
pleasant conference , abbreviate our way b y putting a question of the progress
Of this river, which is found at Exmoor and lost at Exmouth : one distant
from the other near fifty m iles , in direct l ine ; double , perchance in his
mean der- like ambages . How much, in so long a course , the Spr ing may
b e elevated above the fall ? for no stream can fleet without some declivityand falling Of the ground . Pliny (as I remember , ) requ ireth to the current
of a river unum cub itum in binos actus” — a cubit in two acts : an act, by
Columella and others , is the dimension of 1 20 feet : but that allowance
may seem somewhat with the larg est, and will mount to a great height ;for the convey ors of waters in these days , which have performed admirable
works both in Plymouth and London , content themselves (as I am inform
cd ,) with one foot in 200 feet, which may perhaps serve the ir turn in pipesof lead and in a very slow and still current or mot ion ; but in the descent of
this and such l ike rivers , whose motion is continually strong , in some places aswift current and here and there a stickle torrent, it cannot b e less than trip
led, and so not far under Pliny’s allowance , and will b e somewhat high in per
pendicular, half a m ile at least . This was only moved to pass our way withmore content : we have not time nor leisure to dispute the question any longer .
Let the unsatisfied repair to M r . Pond, M r . Carpenter, or other skilled g eo
metricians for a more solid resolution : we must hasten to Bampton .
CHAPTER II .
Of the Hundred of Bamp ton, containing sixParishes .
TH I S town of Bampton , al ias Baenton , was g iven b y the Conqueror to
Walter de Doway, and is s ituated in the north- east-most part of this shire .
93 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK I I .
it passeth carelessly by Stoodley , and therein by W arb rightsleigh, (com
monly W arpslegh, ) Beacon -hill under which is the seat of S ir Roger de
Acastre ; and his issue brought it to Sackevill , al ias de Sicca Villa ; and his
only heir brought it to the generous tribe of - Broughton , who now posses
seth it , and married Giffard , his father the co-heir of E stcote
Then it sees Loxbear , Lockisb ear, ali as Locheb ere , the inheritance of
Avenel , in the ag e of Edward I I . Domesday Book shows that Algarus had
it before the conquest ; and thatWill iam I . gave it to the Bishop of Coutance .
NextW ashfield , where the river washeth the field, and therefore so called .
A manor there is possessed by the family of Harris . There is also Worth,
which bestowed his name on a family of very long continuance and worshipful
state ,flourishing to this ag e . This house may seem to b e denominated of
the s ite , which in the ancient Saxon speech signifieth a fruitful place fit
for habitation , between two waters . He marri ed Frye : hi s father, Fortescue .
Calwoodly , long pos sessed b y a family of like denomi nation . S ir M iloCaldwoodleigh held it in the time of Edward I . , lately al ienated to Southcote ,a young er branch of that tri be . He married his father married M ary,the daughter of John Crocker Of Lynham , esq . ; his grandfather, a daughter of
Robinson , an alderman of London . Here I cannot forg et M r . Atwill ,* some
time incumbent in this rectory ; a man g enerally well learned and a professorof physick , and named The Poors’ Phys ician ; to whom he not only gave
medicine but reli ef, for what he took from the rich (which was very mode
rate , ) he presently bestowed on the next poor he met : to whom he gave all
his estate ; never des iri ng more than to serve present occasion ; laying up
his treasure in heaven , where the rust corrupteth not, ne ither do thievesbreak through and steal .
CHAPTER III .
Of the Hundred of Tiverton, containing five Parishes .
N ow are we come to the borough, barony , and mayoraltyLOf Tiverton ,
more rightly Twy - ford- town , as standing between the two rivers of Exe
H e was admitted to this l iving b y Bishop Turberville , on the 27 thof January , 1 558 -9
but resigned it for St. Ewes in Cornwall, late in 1 596, where he was buri ed on 4th of May,
1 6 1 7 , aged 9 1 . Hiswill bears date the 4th of February that year.— G .O - P . J .
CHAP . III .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 99
and Lowman-water ; called b y Leland the Sunning Brook . The passag ethrough the se two fords , ere the bridg es were built, gave cause of thi s no
mination ; as Twynam -bourne , now Christ Church, in Hampshire , and InterAmna in Italy ; both s ituate between two rivers . This borough is veryancient, with a market, Tuesdays and Saturdays : and King Henry I . ho
moured it with the title of a barony ; giving it ,“
with Plimpton , to Richardde Ripariis , Redvers , alias Rivers , for b y all these he is wr itten ; creatinghim afterwards Earl of Devon ; giving him the third penny of the yearly
revenues of the county , amounting then to ten marks .
Here was his chief mans ion house , very near the church,whereunto b e
longed two parks for pleasure , and large and rich demesne for hospitali ty .
He was lord of the Whole town and patron of the church ; which puts me
in mind of a pretty incident between one of them and his incumbent saidto b e thus
Hugh Courtenay , the second or third of that name , father and son ; one of
them in the time of Edward III . g ave this rectory to a chaplain he had ; who ,
having lived incumbent on it some time , and being , as it is to b e supposed ,
of a generous and bountiful nature , would complain in generality , and some ;
times particularly to his lord’
s Offi cers , that the rectory yielded not a suffi cient
maintenance for one of his place , and mind to keep hospital ity answerable to
hi s calling . This Often spoken , came in time to his lord’s ears ; who , in a
convenient time , conferred with his said chaplain concerning his complaint,and told him he had cons idered thereof and was purposed to procure him a
l iving more proportionable to his mind and more conven ient, if he would
res ign this . The incumbent ti ckled with these words , and fil led with
hopes of higher promotion , was ready at the very instant to resign and the
noble earl (a work Worthyhi s wisdom, ) div ided it (which then might easilyb e done ,) into
’
four parts ; or quarters , Prior , Tydcomb , Clare , and Pitt , with
intent to bestow it on four divers men ; but with some respect to his old
chaplain , the last incumbent , offered him the choice ; which he , see ing no
other preferment ready, and perce iving his lordship’s intent, g rateful ly ac
cepted ; and thereby taught to live b y a crown , that coul d not live b y a
The whole Of the church had been g iven by Baldwin de R ivers to S t. Jame s’s Priory ,
Exe ter,before the year 1 1 46 ; b ut the d ivision into four preb cnds had taken place a full
century be fore any of the Courtenay fami ly had succe eded to the patronage ofTiverton .
G . O .,— P . J .
1 00 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK II .
pound : and may counsel and advise all men to b e content when they are
well and have enough .
Nature ’s with a l ittle pleas’d — enough’s a feast
A sober l ife but a small charge requ iresBut man, the author of his own unrest
,
The more he hath, the more he still desires.
Each of these is now held a sufficient competency for a worthy man :,three
of them being supplied by leariied amen ; the fourth has been impropriated,or appropriated, to King’s Coll eg e , Cambridge , s ince the re ign of :King
Henry VI .This pari sh is the head of the hundred and g ives it its name , the honour
whereof was held by the numerous and potent tribe of Leigh . This b o
rough is much benefited by its weekly marlfet of kersie s of all sorts , and
m ixed and coloured cloths , which are e ither transported thence beyond the
seas , or conveyed to London and there profitably sold, which may b e eas ilyconce ived by cons idering the great wealth gotten by an inhabitant thereof
not long s ince deceased ; who , for his bountiful larg e legacies to pious uses ,is right worthy Of a perpetual remembrance , and the parti culars thereof ( if
I could relate them .) fit to b e reg istered, never to b e forg otten . A worthyliving monument is the fair free school by him erected and perpetually sti
pended . His name is Peter Blundell ; in whose memory , on St Peter’
s day ,
there is yearly , there and in other places , a feast kept .
But I must now pass to a subject of sadness . This town had a woeful
market on the 3rd of April , 1 5 98 , when the whole town , cons isting of 600
houses , was , in less than two hours , utter ly consumed, with divers persons
to the number (as I am told .) of fifty . This sudden fire began in the wes
tern part of the town over the river , cal led thereby West-Exe , about one of
the clock in the afternoon , and kindled with so violent a wind that, to the
great terror and amazement of all the spectators , itwas suddenly blown overthe large river, and all the town generally and instantly in one flame , and
consumed to ashes , the church and two al ins -houses only (and not withoutwonder,) preserved ; the last be ing in the midst of the fire and the flamekindl ed therein , and yet quenched of itself without help of man . So pow
erful is the great G od Of Heaven , and so prone to mercy , and so vigilantand watchful of those whom he taketh into his protection .
1 02 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK I I .
4th. MORTIMER — Barry of six, or, and azure on a chief of the first three palle ts . Gules a b ar between three plain crosses, or. Cheeky a zure and or, a chevron erm . COURTENAY impal ing BOHUN azure , a bend, arg .
,between two cotices
and s ix lions rampant, or. COURTEN AY impal ing gu . a cross , or . COURTENAYimpal ed with ST . JOHN .
— Arg . on a chief gu. , two mullets, or. COURTENAYimpal ing SPEN CER .
— Quarterly, arg . ,and gules in 2md and 3rd, a frettee , or
,
with a bend, gules . COURTENAY impal ing CAM OIS . —Or, on a chief gu. three
plates . COURTENAY impal ed with BRIAN .— Or
,three piles in point, azure .
R IVERS. — Or, a lion rampant. COPLESTON .— Arg . , a chev. gu . betwe en three
leopards’ faces, azure,impal ing HEWES . —Gu . frettee a canton
,arg . E N G
LAND and FRANCE,with BEAUFORT . -A bordure arg . and azure gobony . TAL
BO'
I‘.
— Gu. a l ion rampantwith a bordure or. LACY .— A zure, three shovellers’
heads erased, arg . CLAVEL .— Sab . three keys, arg . , impaledwith GAMBON .
~
Arg ., a b ar between three legs couped at the knee , sab . GAMBON impaledwitharg . , three escalops between two chevrons, sab . CHAMPERN OUN .
— Gu . a saltirevairy between twelve billets, or, impaled with S IR JOHN COURTENAY, secondson of S IR PH ILIP COURTENAY of Powderham.
Al l these foregoing coats appear ancient those that follow are lately se’
t
GREENWAY .—Gu. a chevron, or, betwe en three cups covered ; impal ing, or
on a chief arg . three griflins’heads erased azure . WA LROND .
— Arg . three bullsfaces sab . attired, or . SPURWAY .
-Arg . on a bend between thre e cross crossletssab .
,three garbs arg . FRANC IS. -Arg . a chev. between three mullets, gul .
pierced. SHARPE.-Quarterly arg . l st. three ravens’heads erased, sab . a bordure
azure . 2nd . PYCOTT .
— Sab . three pickaxes,arg . The 3rd as the 2nd ; the 4th
as the l st. CHOLM LEY . (query, COCKA IN E .)— Arg . three cocks’ azure . D I
MON T . -Gu. on three fufils, mg , a b ar of the first. WEST .—Sab a l ion b e
tween six billets, or. BLUNDEL. -G u. two pales, arg . ,ACKLAN D.
—Checkee
arg . and sab . a fess gu.
N ow for the monuments and epitaphs . First there is a fair monument
Roger G ifl'
ard, with his arms and quarterings thus
GIFFARD .—1 . Sab . three fusills in fess e rm. impal ing . COBLE I GH .
— 2 .
Gyrony of e ight sab . and gu. on a bend betwe en two swans, each bearing in hisbeak a cross fleury fitchy arg . thre e pellets . 3. Indent. per fess gu. and arg .
4. Three bugles, garn ished sab .
Sacrummemoriae monumentum generosisimi
V iri Rogeri G ifl'
ard Armige ri .
Armigeri quondam G ifl'
ardi membra RogeriHaze tegit in cineres terra soluta suos .
CHA P . III .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .
M iles erat gen itor dominus de Brightlegh RogerusQuintus et ipsius filius ille fuit.
Consors prima thori , nati genetrixque Georg iNata E quitis de Affton, Andria S teucla fuit.Corporis externo multum spectabilis ore
,
M entis et internae gratia major erat.Cultor amicitiae constans, et cultor agrorumSummus egenorum cultor, amansque fuit.
Ex tripl ice binos generavit conjuge natosN ee vidit stirpis germina plura suae .
In cunis unus moritur, remanetque secundus,
Hoe patri sacrum conficieb at Opus .
Sep tuaginta senex postquam compleverat annos
E cce ! an imam caelo reddidit,ossa solo.
Obi it et sepultus Tiverton 8 Octob , A . D . 1 603.
Another a plain stone is this ,
Mary Shepherd, a tender blossom,
Only e ight years old ;Whom death pluckt quickly off,
Lyeth cover’d here in mould.
M ay 5 , 1 622 .
Another,Margaret Garnet — G od gave me l ife,But lest I sin should see
,
H e took ’t away againThat gave it unto me .
April 26,1 62 1 .
On another stone ,
“Quae j acet hic fuit uxor amans,bona, pulchra, benigna,
Pauperibus verax, provida, munda Parens .
Al so ,
Dormit hic,Johanna sata Almericis
Caja cum Gajo Samuele Butler,
Quae suo vixit p ia, p erque Jesum.
Here sleepeth Joban,from the armories descended
,
W ho Caja dear to Samuel Butler lived ;H er Cajus, when her godly l ife was ended,To the heavens due , by Christ she is rece ived.
Here are two more , which, though they want metre , theyof matter more worthy to b e perpetuated than the other .
1 03
vacant
1 04 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 1 .
Here under lyeth buried the body of George !Slee of Tiverton,Merchant,
who departed this l ife the l st of September, 1 629 . He gave by his will, to b edi stributed to the poorest people of Tiverton, to the pari sh church and
church-yard ofTiverton,
to and for the building of an a ims-house,for six
poor, aged, and honestwomen, and to purchase rents for the ir maintenance , at1 2d. theweek to each of them, to fifty poor crafts-men
, of good and honest
fame, to the poorest, honest, and pa infullest labourers in Tiverton,to the parish church of Coleridge , for the rel ief and keeping onwork of the poore st people there , to the poor of the parish of Halberton, 405 ; to the poorof the parish of Uplowman
,405 . H e le ft behind him l iving , two sons and three
daughters .
”
The next is ,
Here lye th JohnWaldron , Merchant, of Tiverton, founder of the alms -house
by west
In this parish are divers tithing s and manors , as at Cheverston , now
Cheathorn , which was the seat of Richard de Chiverthorn , in the age of
Edward I after of Culme ; now of Francis of Comb -flory In Somersetshire ,
Pasmore of Pasmore -hays . Loman -Clav ile , where Sir George Clav il inhabited in the time of Henry III . Bollam , or Botham , owned by the abbot
of Dunkeswell . Chetelescome , now Chetscomb e , whereof Sir Wal ter de
E scudamore , and after Robert Avenel , were possessors . N ethecot, held by
Robert M audyt .
Here Exe is crowned with a fair bridge of stone , and at the town’s endrece iveth a continual subsidy of the riveret Lumen , or Loman , called Of
Leland the Sunn ing Brook ; who fetcheth his orig inal in Somersetshire ,near Clehanger , pass ing byHuntsham , the seat Of Bear , Rob ertus Beare , tenet Huntsham, under
The inscription on the cornice ofWal dron’s alms-houses is as fol lows — [over the first
door, ]“Depart thy Goods whil” [over the second door, ] Thou hast Tyme for after
”
[over the third door, ] Thy Death theyre are not thyne .
” Inscription runn ing under theroof “JohnWaldron merchaunt and R ichard his wyfe , builded this house in tyme
of the ir L ife,at suche Tyme as the walls were fourtyne foote hye, he departed this worlde
even the E yghtynth of Julye . Anno Dom . 1 579 .
S ince Youth and Lyfe doth pas away— and Death’s at hand to end our Dayes— Let
us do so that men may saye— we spent our Goodes God for to prays- he that uppon the
Poore doth spende— the Goods that he hath here— too God agen the same doth send— and
paye the same wi th greate enore es .
R emember the poore . G .
— P . J .
1 06 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I I .
Cruwys~M orchard, which name yet possesseth it, and married Trefry ; his
father , Hatch ; his grandfather, Kains .
Then it passeth through Cadley, ( Park , I was saying , for so it had beenlately , but the now possessor , as many others now do, employs it to a
more profitable use than to gratify the gentlemen , his neighbours , with fatvension .) It was anciently the lands Of William Chivere , Mohun , and
Courtenay , now Of Sir Simon Leach . And now hath it found
Bicklegh, the ancient moted towered house Of S ir Will iam de Bickley ,
under Henry III . since Of Poyntingdon , Courtenay , and now of the anci
entest Of the noble and famous stirpe Of the Carews : the etymology of
whose name is expressed by a worthy gentleman , of the family, in these
verses ,Carew of ancient Carru is,And Carru is a plough
Romans the trade,Frenchmen the word,
I do the name avow.
”&c.
That their original was (as is supposed ) from the dukes and kings of
Swabia , is very probable , (a region in the higher Germany,) whose inhab itants Plutarch termeth Gens populosa, fortis , audax , et belli cosa, et Germanorum praestantissima, the most of the family hav ing been , in all ages ,martial men , and worthily deserving to their prince and country, as thispresent age (as well as former) can suffi ciently approve . Their armories
have also a near s imil itude to the Swabian kings , viz , three lions in palepassant Of the diamond in a field Of the topaz the Swabian differing only
in being gardant . Some younger brother of that royal house coming hither
in quest Of honour, with the Saxons , or Danes , or Normans , might seathimself in this kingdom ; Of whom the first I can remember was Edmond,said to b e named Moun tgomerie , who marr ied Elizabeth, daughter Of Rhe
s 1us , alias Rice , Prince Of South Wal es , whose dowry was Carew Castle ,whence they might take the name of Carew.
To search no higher , it will b e averred by authentical evidence that he
flourished in the time Of Henry I . , (son to the Conqueror,) who gave him
the manor Of Mo lesford, in the county Of Berks . After , they got much
lands in Ireland , in the County Of Cork , b y the s ister and he ir of M iles
Courcy, and by another match the barony Of Odron . But I will forbear todelineate their descent ere I find the monument of Sir Peter Carew in the
CHAP . IV . ] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1 07
cathedral church of St . Peter in Exeter, on which the ir matches are fairlyexemplified . Divers , of ancient times , of the name are reg istered in the
chronicles ; and that, worthy of our ag e , noble Sir George , dignified with
the honour to b e Earl of Totnes , in his own native country , merits a far
better register than my weak pen ; I will therefore speak only a word or
two Of his uncle , Thomas Carew , Of Bickley , e sq . , while we are at the
place , whose valiant action no pen hath yet recorded .
This gentleman was second brother to S ir William Carew Of Mohuns ,
O ttery , knight ; both sons to Baron Carew , slain at Turpin , as he sat in
council, With the shot Of a great piece , A? 1 5 1 3 ; married Elizabeth, the
only daughter and heiress of Humphry Courtenay, esq . , lord of Bickley ;s ixth son to Sir Philip Courtenay , Of Powderham, knight , who hadmarriedElizabeth, daughter to the Lord Hungerford ; which, Humphry , dying before
his father, left the care Of his daughter unto him ; and he again entrusted
her to the overs ight of S ir Will iam Carew , with whom our esqu ire l ived .
Be ing both in one house they were soon familiar , and it was not long ere
he won the young gentlewoman’s love ; which they kept so secret, that he
marr ied her and carried her away ere the matter was any way suspected ;whereby b e incurred the high displeasure both of her grandfather, S ir
Philip Courtenay , and of hi s brother ; the which to regain after a time
Of due cons ideration , be ing young and of an able and active body, being
born of a warl ike race , and having in him the inherent seeds Of hereditaryvirtue, as Homer speaks of Achilles
It irk’d his noble heart to sit
A t home in slothful rest,
When martial matters were in hand,The which he loved best.”
He therefore put himself to serve Henry Earl Of Surrey, Lord H igh Admiral of England ; who, having the king’s fleet at sea, landed his men to
assist his father, the Duke of Norfolk , at Flodden Field in Scotland : some
what before which battle a Scottish knight, of a high spirit, made a challenge to any Engl ishman to fight with him in single duel for the honour of
his country ; which was entertained by our esquire , and upon request madeto the Lord, admitted he was to answer the challenge . In the field, ao
cording to agreement, these two champions met, when Mr . Carew was van
1 08 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
quisher ; which got him great commendation g enerall y, and especial favour
Of the Lord Adm iral ; which was augmented by another like service shortly
after in this manner —not long after the Lord Admiral riding forth upon
some serv ice , a band of Scots was suddenly descried very near and coming
towards them , so that the Earl was very doubtful how to make an honour
able retreat , for he was in danger to b e entrapped at a strait and narrow
passage Of a bridg e ; in which sudden and unexpected danger M r . Carew in
stantly entreated the Lord Admiral to change armour and martial attire withhim , for by such means he might make the easier escape , if need were ; which
the Lord , by earnest persuas ion , at length yielded unto . Our esquire , in
rich habit, presently crossed the bridge on horseback , and for a time vali
en tly defended and kept the passag e , gaining tims for hi s Lord to retreat ;
but the match being very unequal , he was at length taken prisoner , to the
no little rejoicing Of the enemy, who foll owed not the rest of the troop ,thinking they had sufficient in having the g eneral prisoner , for , by the rich
ness Of hi s arms , they had reason to think so : they carried him to the
Castle of Dunbar , where he was courteously entertained and respected, in
regard that the lady Of the castle had then a brother prisoner in England,hoping by exchange to have him delivered ; for by that time they knew and
perce ived the ir error , and that it was not the g eneral .
The lady was always affable and courteous to her prisoner ; b ut the por
ter of the house , a malicious and currish fellow , dealt most cruelly and dog
g edly with him ; for on a time when M r . Carew was s itting quietly and
securely by the fire in his chamber, this porter came suddenly on him with
his sword drawn , intending to murder him ; which hi s prisoner perce iving,rose suddenly up , catching the chair he sat on to defend himself, and us ingthe best means he could to save his life , he gave the keeper such a knockas he lay dead in the place ; whereupon he was cast into a deep dung eon ,
and there was he kept in such hard and poor manner that he fell dangerously sick , but especially Of a dyssentry that never left him until hi s death
yet after long time he was redeemed and returned hither to hi s manor Of
Bicklegh ; and the noble Lord Admiral forgot not his good service , but entertained him with manifold courtesy and friendship , making him hi s ViceAdmiral Of this county , assisting him in all hi s occas ions . His son , Humphry , married Hurst ; his son , Peter , Chudlegh ; Sir Henry , M ohun .
Here our river Exe , sometimes overflowing his banks , roveth a great
1 1 0 v i nw OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
S ilferton , now Silverton ; but whence it should take its later rich name
we may doubt, unless from the fertility Of the glebe for the parish is larg e
and frui tful . It was anciently the land Of Beauchamp , lately of Wadham,
and now of his heirs g eneral . It hath a l ittle market every Saturday , and
two fairs , the one on M idsummer day , the other on Saint Bartholomew’s .
Silverton was in the possession of Peter Corbet in 24th ofEdward I . , and Of
Gourny in 3rd of Richard II . In the church is a fair remembrance Of
Gilbert Bourne , bishop Of Bath and Wells , who died here 1 0th September ,A . D. 1 569 .
M onkculm is a hamlet in thi s parish, whose name expresseth to whom it
belonged, and the river it adjoineth . Hayne al so, which I the rather speak
Of, in regard there is an Ob servation had by tradition Of a pool in that b ar
ton ,whereof they sav it was never emptied but there fell some great storm
or violent weather ere it was fin ished , which some gentlemen Of good worth
would lately make proof of : thinking it but a frivolous relation . For theirbetter proceeding , on a fair morning in the summer time they timely pre
pared themselves and their people , and to work they go, and by three in
the afternoon they had near finished their work , when suddenly there came
such a violent tempe st Of thunder and lightning , and great rain , that they
were enforced to leave Off and seek shelter , even when they were jesting at
the ir Old ne ighbours that maintained the sundry trial s thereof, which they
also found true .
Exe on the right hand leaveth Thorverton , or rather Thorowford-ton , so
called of a brook runn ing through the town , where it yields good commo
dity by driving the ir m ills and fatten ing their meadows and pastures ; forwhich kindness it decks him with a fair bridge of stone , Of much use , as
being in the trade way from the Land’
s - end in Cornwall , and all that coun
ty , to the city of London ; and gives him also a continual tribute of the
waters of her brook which spring in
Cadb erry , al ias Caderbyr , the land Of William de Campo Arnulphi , and
after of Willoughby , Fursdon , and now Carew . The castle may b e seen
afar Off, so they term a high upright topped hill , by nature and slight artanciently fortified , which in those Roman or Saxon wars might b e Of greatstreng th, containing within the compass thereof near two acres . Henceyou may see some fiv e miles distant to the south- east, in the parish of
Broad- Clist, another down called Dolbury-H ill . Between these two hills
CHAP . IV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1“
(you may b e pleased to hear a pretty tale , ) it is said I set not down thesewords to lessen your belief of the truth of the matter, but to let you knowthat N il praeter auditum habs o ,
Take it on this condition,I t holds credit b y tradition, )
that a fiery dr agon (or some ignis -fatuus in such likeness , ) hath been Oftenseen to fly between these hill s , com ing from the one to the other in the
n ight season , whereby it is supposed there is great treasure hid in each Of
them, and that the dragon is the trusty treasurer and sure keeper thereof ;
(as he was Of the golden fleece in Colchos , which Jason , by the help of
M edaea, brought thence for , as Ovid saith, he was very vigilant,
A watchful dragon set
The golden fleece to keep ,Within whose careful Open eyes
Came neverwink of sle ep .
And these two relations may b e as true , one as the other, for anything I
know, for this is constantly believed Of the credulous here , and some do
aver to have seen it lately . And Of this hidden treasure this rhyming pro
verb goes commonly and anciently,
If Cadbury Castle and Dolbury H ill dolvenwereA ll Englandmight ploughwith a golden share .
”
Hardly so true as that of H ingston H ill in Cornwall , and yet that needs a
strong belief also the proverb says ,
H ingston H illwell wroughtI sworth London town dear bought.
But a discreet gentleman Of this country hath, b y altering one only word .
Of the verse , made it much more credible , as thus ,
I f Cadbury Castle and Dolbury H ill dolven wereA ll England might ploughwith an iron share .
”
But whether this Cadbury, or North Cadbury in Somersetshire , were Cath
Brigion where famous King Arthur (as N ennius writes , ) in a memorable
battle defeated the Saxons , you may learn perchance Of some other ; it is
my part only to move the question .
1 1 2 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK 1 1 .
But we will retire into Thorverton church to clear our minds of these‘
idl e fantasies ; (for places dedicated to relig ious purposes put holy thoughts
in our hearts ;) and here am I grieved to see wrong Offered to the deceased,
— the monument Of Wallis , Of Raddon Court, (so they term the lord’
s
mansion house , where he keeps his law- courts ,) fairly b eautified and inlaid
in brass , utterly defaced : it was a tribe of the chiefest rank ; one of them
a knight in the time Of Edward I . The daughter and he iress of the last Of
the name brought this and other good inheritance to Digby in the time Of
Henry 7th, of whi ch dignous tribe is Sir John Digby , Baron O f Shi reburn
and Earl Of Bristol . The chief manor in this parish belong s to the dean
and chapter Of E xon , the g ift Of Sir John VViger, kn ight, in 1 280 .
Nether-Exe hath taken name and changed it with the river . It hath
been enjoyed by divers families , as Tracy , Clivedon , Cruwys , Limpany,and Hurst .
Our river cometh now with a larg e extent to Stoke , surnamed of hi s
ancient lords Canon , as belonging to the Canons Of St . Peter’s Of Exon ,
given , as some say , in perpetuam elemosynam , b y King Athelstan others
say , b y a g entleman Of that name that l ived at Athelstan’
s -Hall , in the
South-hams : b ut we suppose , b y a window in the church, that it was given
by that puis sant prince King Canutus , or Knott, in the way Of expiation of
the cruel slaughter whi ch hi s father , Swavn , the Dane , made Of the citizensand monks Of Exeter ; for in one of the wmdows he is portraited with thi sinscription ,
S tock-Chanon, a place of residency for canons, and belong ing to the canonsof the cathedral church of Exon .
”
This is but a tradition : thi s window was not glazed in divers hundred
of years after nor in his ag e , nor long after were there any canons ; and
therefore I do rather consent to E squire Athelstan’
s donation .
CHAPTER V .
The p rogress qf flze River Culme .
N ow thi s river we have followed so long shall meet hi s equal , where you
ght expect a great and strong contention -for superiority ; but the river
1 1 4 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK II .
honour of the blessed Virg in ; and enlarged by M aude , Countess Of Clare ,wife of Roger Earl of Clare and Hereford, and daughter and he iress to
Jame s St . H ilary .
* At the surrender, valued at £ 1 97 . 3s . 1 d king
Henry VIII . granted it to St . Leger, and he to Culme , though his ancient
seat b e at Champston , b ut more ancient at Culms -John ; he married
Courtenay ; his father, Fortescue ; hi s grandfather, Fry .
Ashford is also to b e remembered , al ias E sseford : anciently possessed by;
a worthy family of the same name , and ficfi sheth yet in this ag e , walkingwith hi s white staff, commanding , under our royal sovere ign , the whole
county for this year , 1 630 . He married Blewet ; his father, Michel ; hisgrandfather , the daughter and co -he iress of Whiting OfWood , in Kentis
bear . But I cannot so leave this place ; for though I find John A shford, Of
A shford, in the time Of Edward I . , and elder in the time Of King John , yet I
do think good to give this caveat by the way , once for all , that when you find
g entlemen and their houses in name alike , you b e not confident, as some are ,
to maintain that the hou se took name Of the man ; which in this and many
other I cannot conceive to b e so , but rather the contrary, the house to g ive
denomination to the possessor ; for who will imag ine , think , or believe , or
can yield a reason , why a g entle tribe , or any man , shoul d b e call ed Ash
ford, Grenv ile , Fulford , N orthcot, and We stcote , with many other the likein this country, but from the place Of their habitation : as de Ashford , or de
vado fraxino ; Grenv il e , or de villa viridi ; or campo viridi de Fulford, devado pleno , or as others , de turpi vado , de N orthcot and de Westcote as
they are according to the site Of the ir house with the addition of their
place .
Yet will I not conclude all , for there are some again of the other sideal so ; but the most part Of those places have former names, and the ir lords
’
names for some cause , e ither for virtue , val our, (worthy perpetual remem
brance ,) or distingu ishing them from other of the like name , are added to
them ; as here presently at hand ; M oore Of M oorehays ; a tribe Of verygood worth and antiquity. He married Coffin ; hi s father, Bampfield ; hi s
grandfather, Sir John Pomeroy . And next Forde of Forde-M ore .
Here our author has confounded the res idence of the family Of Challons, in the
parish of Plympton ; nor was b e aware that there was a priory of Augustine Canons settledhere byWalter de Clavil], almost a century before the convent of nuns was established bythe Countess Matilda, afterwhich this house was Often called fil ynckynleye.
- G . O .,— P
,J
CHA P , V .] V IEW O F DEVON SH IRE . 1 1 5
And not far thence is Oreway , possessed by Will iam de Oreway in the
time of Henry 1 1 1 after b y Farringdon , Drake , and Flea . In the com
mons there is a stone yet pitched bearing the name of Oreway- Stone .
Holcombe is well known from another so called by the adjunct Of Rogus ,
(not, as some have imagined, of bondmen , called also villains and rogues , )but of an ancient and generous kindred ; for we may read Of S ir Rogan , or
Rogus Fitzsimon de Holcomb , knight, under Henry I I . ; and in the time
of Henry III . Of Sir Simon Fitz Rogan , Of Holcomb , knight b y the he ir
g eneral Of which line it came to the knightly house Of Blewet, who marriedPortman ; his father , Lancaster
’s heir ; his grandfather , Chichester ; hi s
but I will stay here lest antiquity prescribes my knowledge far . Robert, Of
that family , was , in the time Of King William Rufus , bishop Of Lincoln .
W e are come with our river to Culumpton , a market town denominated
from him , a g oodly larg e parish, and hath two fairs , on 1 st . M ay, and on
S t. Simon and Jude’s day . (28th October .) It was the king’
s demesne
in the elder time ; King Alfred gave it b y his testament (with much other
good lands in this country ,) to Ethelward , a younger son Of his . In the
Confessor’s time Godwin held it, and after O thelyne King Henry VI II .
gave it in exchange to St . Leg er, and he al ienated it unto divers persons .
It hath a fair church and a good tower built in the memory Of some yet or
lately living , whi ch graceth it much . It hath not many epitaphs ; but
some I remember , as
Hic j acet Johannes Lane , M ercator, hujusque Capelle fundator fu it, cum
Thomasina , Uxore sua ; qui dictus Johannes Obi it 1 5 die Feb . A . D . 1 528.
An other,
Orate pro animab us Johannis Moore,Arm . et Elizab e thae Uxoris ejus ; qui
quidem Johannes Obi it 4t0 0 die Jan . A . D . 1 509 . E t Elizab e thae, A . D .
Also Of that family,
H ic j ace t W illielmus Moore gen. e t Mauritius M oore frater ej us ; necnon
Dorothea uxor ej usdemWill i ac omnes corumWil li : et Dorothea. F i lm. H ic
quidem ab luce migravit 61 0 die Decemb ris A . D .
The truth is, the Conqueror gave it to Baldwin, the Sheriff of Devonshire , and
O telinus he ld it under Baldwin .
— Exe ter Domesday , fol . 306 . I t continued in Baldwin’
s
family until Amicia, Countess Of Devon,in 1 278 , bestowed it
“
on her foundation,Buck
land Abbey .— G . O P . J .
1 1 6 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 1 .
Here is Langford which gave habitation and denomination to the old and
long line Of Langford , Of whence was S ir Richard de Langford, under Henry
III and after him in descent divers knights . John , the last Of the tri be ,bestowed it upon Corpus Christi College in Oxford . The ir now tenant is
Hatch . Another manor is Aller-Peverel , which shows whose inheritance it
was . After, in our time , purchased by Sir Willi am Periam , kn ight, Lord
Chief Baron ; and with the eldest Of his co-heirs , it is now the inheritance
of Sir John Pole , bart . Pontesford , or Pontford, was held by Philip Basset
Colbrook b y but enough of this . Here is yet a remnant of the nameOf M olton .
Here falls in a riveret called Wever , which names a manor or two, and
spring s at Kentisbeare , where Windham possesseth a manor ; and Whiting
held Wood, a fair seat and demesne , by one Of whose co-he irs it came to b e
a second seat to Walrond .
W e pass by Water- staff , and draw near to Bradnese , so named whenBrightwoul d held it ; and William Chievre had it Of the Conqueror ; now
Bradninge which is a barony Of the earldom , now duchy, of Cornwal l . It
belongeth to our right noble prince . King Edward II . bestowed it on his
dearly beloved favourite , Piers G av eston whom he created, first Baron Of
Wall ingford, and after Earl of Cornwall . It cons isteth Of three parts . The
fee , which is Of such g entlemen as hold thereof in kn ights’
serv ice , withwardship and relief, and suit at court twice in the year . The manor is Of
such as in ordinary with other manors . The borough, first limited by the
lord himself, by charter, (so it was in those days ,) by which they challenge
to make choice yearly of a mayor , to g overn the same , and to have cogni
zance of pleas : and for their better proceeding have a recorder and ser
geants . They have al so forches , tumbrel , and pillory ; the view Of breadand al e , and freewarren . It is very ancient, and so it must b e to claim
prior ity and antiquity Of E xeter , and yet should seem to have some reason
for it, if the proverbial speech b e true which saith, that the mayor Of Exeteris to hold the mayor of Bradn inch
’s stirrup when they meet together,
which is strange ; and yet no stranger in some men’s opinion than for the
emperor to do the l ike service to the pope , and that we read hath beendone ; b ut how the pope holds this privileg e and continueth it I know not ;
but Bradninch (they say ,) hath lost it, for which a pretty reason is all eg ed ;but our journey is long , and the reason also , and therefore I cannot stay to
“8 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II
the 8th Henry VIII . ; and although he b e now transplanted into a richer
soil , yet was he as powerful here as there for there are yet in remembrance
certain b y-paths over enclosed lands , which they call Speke’
s Paths , as law
ful for him and his people to ride , go , and drive that way , b ut for no other ;
but they are all well near forgotten and shut up now .
Here might we expect some violent contention between these two rivers
for superiority , but Culme being calm yieldeth to Exe , who cometh with a
strong and swift current , and so united they come to Upton -Pine , some
times called Branford-Pine ; which addition of Pine came from the ancient
tribe of great reputation , Of Pine . Herbert de Pine possessed it in the age
of King John ; and Sir Simon de Pine was near to that time , but whetherof this place or Combe -Pine I cannot say . Al so Edward Pine , high sheriff
in the l oth Of Henry IV . The l ine Of them was long , yet the longest dayhath its end, and so had this race , falling into the female sex , which entitled
Larder therewith ; and by the heir of that name it is now in the possession
Of a young er house of Copleston . TO which seat of Pine , Exe be ing thus
enlarg ed, is both a pleasant Object and profitable neighbour ; g iving fatnessto the soil , and clothing it with a green livery verdure Of all flowers and
veg etables ; and so draws towards Cowley -Bridge but ere it arrives thereit rece iveth a large tribute Of the pleasant river Creedy .
CHAPTER VI .
The original and p rogress of Creedy River .
CREEDY’S first Spring is somewhat above Puddington , anciently Pudde
legh ; and W olsworthy , alias W olfordsworthy both which parishes RichardSpencer , alias Le DeSpencer held , under Edward I . Puddington is now
possessed by Hays . As it passeth Sandford it sees Dowrish, the ancient
seat of a g enerous family Of the same denomination , which is very variablywritten by the scribe or transcriber, for it hath been written Dowre of Dow
re , Dure Of Dure , Doub trich Of Doub tri ch, Duris of Duris ; and Richard
Deurigg tenet Deurigg ,in the time of Henry III . : and all these but one
CHA P . VI .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 1 1 9
stirpe and one house . One Of the tribe was upon the commission at the
first creation Of justices Of the peace . The last married Munck ; his father,Walter, married Mary Carew, only s ister to George , Earl of Totnes ; his
grandfather, Farringdon ; his eldest son , Walker .
His next neighbour , Bremridg e Of Bremridg e , or rather (as it may b e
supposed,) Of Bremel - r idge ; a place full Of brambles and briers ; hath had
the like g ood fortune for antiqu ity ; that race having enjoyed that place thebest part of 400 years , with such a temperate moderation in every success ion , that greedy des ire Of riches hath ne ither much increased , nor prodi
g ality decreased , it .
Kennerly, alias Kingwardley , is so l ittle that we had almost passed itunseen . It belong ed sometime to S t . Cleere ; alienated to Dowrish, and
now to N orthcot . Down St . M ary , or St . M ary’
s Down , which you please ,was the land
~
of Coll of Delbridge , in this county ; b ut now hath seated
himself in a fatter soil in Somerset . Chascomb and Ash,or Esse , were
held by M allet .
N ot far from Bremridg e we re ce ive a good larg e tribute from a riveret
com ing from Stockley-Luckham , in the parish Of Cheriton -Fizpaine . Luck
ham was the seat Of S ir Hugh de Luckham in the time Of Edward I ; now
Arundel possesseth it . Poughill Of his s ite , the land Of Robert de Kingston ,
after Of Carwythen .
There are two other Stockleys ; one call ed Pomeroy, from the ancientfamily Of that name ; the other hath the addition Of E nglish. This Engl ish
possessed it some descents S ir Robert Engl ish under Edward II I . , a man
Of good worth and command in the French wars ; by the daughter and he iress of his son Robert, named Dion isia, it came to S ir Henry Champernon ;now severed among d ivers persons : in the farm whereof - is seated one Of
the ancient family of Bellew .
Then passeth it Uptons , or Uppeton , which hath by his adjunct a kindremembrance Of his Old Lord Heli on , and so call ed Upton -Helli ons . Thisfamil y was Of g reat e state in the time Of Richard Coeur de Lion and at the
conquest ; S ir Herveyus de Hehon and his posterity ; until an heir female
brought it to Dowrish, who bestowed some part thereof, and Of StockleyEngl ish, and Hal sb ery, with his daughter , to Snytishill , (now, as I think ,Snedhal ,) who alienated it to Carew ; whose son , the -noble Earl Of Totnes ,passed it to Young .
1 20 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK 1 1 .
Then Greedy takes on him more streng th, and beg ins to nominate places .
And first g ives his name to a farm house , which hath s ince adjoined there
unto Widger , the ancient possessor’s name , and therewith commonly term
ed Creedy-Widg er ; whereof S ir John Widg er wrote himself in the reign
of Edward I . since which time it hath had vari ety Of possessors ; but now
resteth in the possession of a branch Of the stock Of Reynel Of M al ston .
In hi s course he passeth the more joyfully for that he seeth so foul a name
decked with so fair an house , Foulford ,
* where Sir Will iam Periam , knight,Lord Chief Baron Of the Exchequer , in the time of Queen Elizabeth, erect
ed, Of a mean habitation , a beautiful and fair house . His zeal in true reli
gion and unspotted integrity in that judicial seat, gained him a due respect
of all men , as well as his deep knowledge in the laws ; whereby true honour
kept him company even to his grave ; and returned not (as with many ,)with the heralds , by whom he was (according to his degree) laudably inter
red , but will sit over his hearse as long as his monument or memory
continues .
CHAPTER VII .
Of Crediton, and the Bishop s thereof .
BUT now our river thinks somewhat better of himself, and gives hisname to his chief son , a borough, a market town , yea more , a bishop
’s see ,
Greedy- town , or the town upon Creedy ; which may b e said to b e two
towns , or rather one made Of two joined, yet disting uished b y the names Of
the east and west towns— the bishop’s see and the borough . The Saturday market being always (two Or three days excepted, ) kept in the borough,
or the western town . It is s ited seven mil es from E xeter , and was the
cathedral church of; the bishops divers ages ; and the fairest, in hi s - chiefstate , of thirteen palaces , and richest demesnes : for here he was said to
Commonly called L ittle Fulford . Fole ford, or Voleford, was long the seat of the
Dirwyn family . Jane , rel ict of Robert Dirwyn, made her wi ll on 2nd December, 1 39 1 ,which was proved 5th April , 1 4 1 5 . Bishop S tafford had l icensed an oratory for the
family, 29th September, l 4l 3 .- Reg . vol . 1
,fol . 1 85 .
— G . O .,—P . J .
1 22 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK II .
E thelgarus was second, who lived here but two years , and was here
buried . In his time King Athelstan separated the Britons from the Saxons
b y mak ing the river Tamar the boundary of e ither shire , and new-builded
monastery Of S t . Peter’s in Exeter .
The next was Alg arus , who , having continued ten years , rested there in
his own church .
The fourth, Al fwoldus , in the time of Dunstan . He was , after s ixteen
years , buried in his own church . OdOgarus , Earl Of Devon , in his time
builded the abbey Of Tavistock .
Alwolfus succeeded him ; and after he had ruled this see n ine years was
here interred .
The next, and s ixth,was Alphredus , who was translated hi ther from
M almesbury , where he was abbot . In thi s man’s time the Danes burned the
abbey Of Tavistock , and bes ieg ed Exeter . He kept the seat nine years , and
was here buried .
Sydemanus was the seventh, who , after twelve years ; was here bur ied ;in which time the Danes burned Bodmin in Cornwal l , with the cathedral
church Of St . Petrock and the bishop’s house there ; whereupon the bishop
’s
see was removed thence to St . Germans . (Hooker’s catal . Of bishops ofE xeter .)The e ighth was Alwolphus , who continued fifteen years , and was buried
here A . D. 1 054 . In hi s time Sweno , the Dane , took the city Of Exeter, and
burned both cathedral church and city ,leav ing it almost desolate .
Next Alnoldus , who , after fifteen years , was here buried .
Levigus , or Levingus , was translated hither from the abbey Of Tavistockand consecrated bishop . He was nephew to Brythewaldus , bishop Of Cornwall . He Obtained to have the bishopric of Cornwall , which had continuedsome hundred and twenty years , incorporated after his uncle
’s death, (such
was his favour with King Canutus , ) as an augmentation to Crediton ; whichhath continued ever since tog ether united . But Levingus staid here but
fifteen years , and removed to Worcester, where he di ed .
Leofricus was here also consecrated , who was so highly in favour with
King Edward the confessor , that he removed his see to E xeter, where itnow is ; and where we will farther attend and wait on his lordship when wecome ( in our intended journey , ) there : for ag e , and the sharp teeth Of
time , (and want of reparation , ) hath so deeply entered into this palace, that
CHAP . VIL] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 1 23
it is almost utterly demolished , showing only a poor remainder v et living( if I may so say of him that is in a desperate apoplexy , ) as relics to posterity , to admire the strength, magnificence , beauty , and magnitude it some
time had .
This town had also another augmentation of honour as be ing the birth
place Of St . Winifred , the apostle of the Bavarians , Hess ians , Fris ians , Saxons , and Thuringers ; for he was born at Crediton , which was a college
for twelve prebendaries , which are now vanished . This man being present
at the national council , holden at London , under Britwaldus , Archbishop Of
Canterbury , he obtained letters from him , and Daniel , bishop Of Winches
ter , unto Pope Gregory II . , who kindly rece ived him , and soon perce ived
that, for his learning , excellency Of memory , integrity of life , and vivacityof Spirit, he was fit for great employments , and therefore , naming him BO
niface , sent him into Germany to those said nation s , consecrating him
Bishop of M ogunce ; [M entz ;] Of whom he converted many to the faith
of Christ, and wrote divers books , as Bale , in his centuries , recordeth . In
fine , be ing earnest against heathen superstition , he was slain with fifty-four
more Of his disciples that were his associate s , by the river Bour , A . D . 755 ,
j Et . 60 .
W illib aldus was nephew to this St . Winifred , a man Of g enerous family,and here also born ; whose acute wit, memory, and facundity of speech ,
with other good parts , were much admired . When he was grown Of suffi
cient ag e he travelled to see his uncle , and was made Bishop of E ichstadt,where he was buried ; leaving divers books of his penning .
l t hath a fair church well worth our view , where in these monuments and
armories were to b e seen .
Ou a large fair stone in the choir was the picture of"
a bishop , inlaid in
brass , with escutcheons ; b ut all is now taken away ,with the epitaph also ,
which was thus rhymed ,
S is testis, Christe , quod non j ace t hie lapis isteCorpus ut ornetur, sed spiri tus ut memoretur .
Quisquis eris, qui transieris, sta, perl ege , plora ;S um quod eris , fueramque quod es ; pro me
, precor, ora .
When I see the dead thus wronged, b v defacing Of their monuments and
memory,I cannot forbear to shed tears with Heraclitus ; but when I see it
done even b y those which think , by the like monuments , to eternize the ir
1 24 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK I I .
own memory, I cannot but smile with Democritus , and with a late worthypoet , under his name ,
say ,
I laugh to see how fortune,l ike a ball
,
Plays with the globe Of this inconstant allHow she disgraceth these , and graceth those ;
How, whom she l ifts up, down again she throws .
Noting the ir Old guise , I laugh at all the ir newI laugh at more
,b ut dare not tell it you .
”
There is another more fair monument (Of alabaster,) of a knight clad in his
armour , with his lady lying b y him ; at his feet, a lion ; at her’s , a lamb .
It is said to b e the interment Of Johannes de Sull ey , or Silly, and that it
had sometime such an inscription
Dominus Johannes de Sully.
He was Baron of Torrington in the time of Edward III . : his seat at Rooks
ford, lately the land of Chi chester , and al ienated to Davie . His arms in the
window , by his tomb , Viz ,
Arg . three chevrons gul . A lso, erm. three chevrons gul .
There is also a worthy memorial Of S ir Will iam Periam, knight, Lord ChiefBaron Of the Exchequer, b eautified with hi s armouries and his son
’s - in - law,
which are as followeth
PERIAM.— Quartering , gu . a chev. ingrailed between three leopard’s faces, or.
Arg . , 3. chevron between three pears, gul. [Query, if notmeant for CALMADY .
A z . , a chevron between three pears slipt’d, or. ] PERIAM . two bars underbetwe en three hones, sab . HONE .
— The 4th as the l st. PERIAM impal ing HOL
s or ,— Lozengy , or and gul . PERIAM impaled with PARKER .
—Sab . , a buck’sface cabossedbetween two flaunches , arg . PERIAM impaled with BACON .
—Gu .
on a chief arg . , two mullets, sah. POLE — A zure , semee de-lis, or, a l ion
rampant,argent, impaled with PERIAM . BASSET .
— Barrywavy of six or and
gul .
,impaledwith PERIAM . POIN TZ .
— Sab . a chev. betwe en three plates, arg .
chargedwith pales ‘
gu, impaled with PERIAM . WILLIAMS . — Ar, a grey
hound current between three daws , two and one , sable ; a border engra iledgules, charged with be zants and crosses patee, or, placed alternately, impaledwith PERIAM .
There is his true representation in his robes , with this inscription ,
Dormit, non e st mortuus
1 26 VIEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK 1 1 .
s ix l ions rampant, or . Argent, two chevrons, gules, betwe en three torteauxes .
A rgent, a chevron ,sable , betwe en three roses , gule s . Argent, a chevron between
thre e hurts . Gules, on a b ar between thre e birds , argent, an annulet of the first.BODRUGAN .
— A l'gent, three bends, gules . TROBRIDGE — Argent, a bridge Of
three piers , with a fane , gules, on a poin t under, argent and azure . DAVIE .
A zure , three cinque - foils on a chief, or, a l ion passant, sab le , impaled withSOUTH COTE .
— Argent, a chevron, gules, between three coots, sable .
Another kind of impaling Of M r . Gale , that had two wives , thus set ,
GA LE.- Azure , a fess, argent, fre tty of the field . Yu an — Argent, a chevron,
gules , between three water-bougets, sable . VVH ITE .
— In bust, gules, a chevron
be twe en three roses, argent.
Some , yea, many other , have been there to b e seen , which e ither time or
envy hath wrecked, and so not now discern ible .
In this parish I should Vis it divers places of note , and hamlets , and tith
ing s , but it would b e tedious and perchance yield neither profit nor pleasure
to your content yet I may not pass Spencer’s -Comb , now abbreviated
Spence -Comb ; the seat anciently of the Spencers Of this country , who lived
here in great estate and reputation ; as may appear b y the last mal e Of the
house , Sir Robert Spencer , who married Eleanor, eldest daughter to EdmundBeaufort, Earl Of M oriton in Normandy, Lord of G irke and Circkland in theM arshes OfWales , Marqu is Dorset, and Duke Of Somerset ; for such werehis titles and dign ities in the time Of King Henry VI II . , for in him he put
his chief confidence . By her he had two co-heirs ; the eldest, Katherine ,married to Henry Lord Percie , Poining s , Fitzpain , and Bryan , and fifth
Earl Of Northumberland ; M argaret, the second , was wife to Thomas Caryof Chilton -Foliot, second son to S ir William Cary of Cocking ton , knight,b y a daughter Of Sir Bal dwin Fulford , Of whom is the Baron Of Hunsdon ,
Viscount Rochefort, and Earl Of Dover , and the Lord of Lepington , Earl
Of M onmouth ; with many other honourable personag es . It was lately the
inheritan ce Of Prideaux , now di smembered .
Divers other generous tribes would b e remembered , as Davie of Creedy ;
he married Stroud and Hele ; his father , Southcote Gal e likewise , who
married Furse ; his father, M arbury . There are others that are far out of
our way , and we shall hardly have the leisure to Vis it them ; as Dunscombe ,W ivel , and others .
CHAP . VI II .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .1 2 7
CHAPTER VIII .
Of thefarther p rogress of the River Creedy,and the p laces adj acent.
N ow are we clear of the town Of Credi ton we will follow our river
which gives name to a farm house , which yielded the same again to a generons family ,
whereof was Johannes de Cridi e in Edward II .
’s age ; after
of Bidwel , and Denis , now of Prydham . And as we pass to Newton St .
Cyres it rece ives Fordton water, a pretty bourn that cometh from Hitslegh,
where Furse , an ancient name as you shall understand elsewhere , and is
increased from Horwel the most ancient inheritance Of the race of Cole
brook ; now and long time possessed by Prye , who married Corington ; his
father, Slader hi s grandfather, Trig amus , Giffard, Trobridge , andWestcote .
Then meets it another coming from Copleston , the ancient seat of the
great Coplestone . (For so they were termed, and rightly might both for
command and estate .) Whence the name should b e first derived divers
have diversely conjectured ; but most yield to this ,— at a quartre Voies , which
we term a cross -way , where four ways meet, near the house there is erected
a fair square stone some feet high, and inches in every square ,
which is termed Copston Stone , whence Cople- stone , or Le - cOp- stone . It
is a family Of high esteem and long continuance , and hath spread his
branches fruitfully and largely ; yet find I none Of them dign ified with the
honour Of knighthood ; contenting themselves , as I suppose , with an here
ditary title Of honour, (given to them only in this country ,) which we term
white - spur ; an attribute Of honour, now almost worn out of use ; yet so is
he to thi s day named , Coplestone the white - spur ; Of which title of pre
eminence you may b e elsewhere b y some better informed : yet this will I tell
you ere we part, there b e that make four degrees Of esquires , and some five ;
this is then the fourth and hereditary rank . A gentleman of desert, to Whomthe sovereign intends to give this title , at the time of his creation , leavin g
other ceremonies , he gives him a s ilver collar or chain Of and silverspurs ; whence in these parts they are called white - spurs ; and so distin
guished from kn ights which wear g ilt spurs : and have this prerogative Of
knights , that they leave this honour descending by inheritance to their he irs ,for the right Of primog eniture in lineal descent is accompanied with it inperpetuity . The last married Chichester ; John , the father, with Pollard ;
1 2 8 vmw or DEVON SH I RE . [Boox II .
Christopher, Courtenay and Paulet ; his father, St . Leg er ; and was , as Ihave said, termed the Great COplestone : and so he might for e state , he
being rated on the subs idy book , 1 3th Henry VI 1 00 56 . in terris .
These two riverets joining together chang e the ir name , and are call ed Y ewand denominate Yewton which, in the time of Henry III . , Johannes de Um
fravile possessed ; after him Arundle : and now the g enerous fam ily ofNorth
cot ; which, with Hayne inNewt on , sometime the land ofDrew , enables him to
b e a good freeholder . He married Rouse and Pollard ; his father, Dowrishhis grandfather , H ill hi s son , the he ir of Halswel . These and other his de
mesnes enable the present possessor to hospitality , whi ch he l iberally and with
afi'
ab ility g ives to those that visit him . S irArthur N orthcot, his son , marriedEl izabeth, the daughter and heir of James Welsh of Alverdiscot in Devon , by
whom he had issue John , who marr ied Alice Le igh ; and Arthur , who married
M argaret G ay : they both di ed without issue . Secondly he married Elizabeth,
the eldestdaughter of S ir FrancisGodolphin of Cornwall , bywhom he had issueS ir Francis ; who , by Anne , daughter of Sir Chichester Wrey of Treb eigh,
Cornwall , hath issue . I have foun d Sir Walter de Forneaux , and after him
S ir M atthew , both kn ights , and the last sheriff in the 4th Edward I who
wrote themselves of Hughton : whether thi s b e the same I cannot aver .
Y ew enjoy eth the name not long , for coming to Fordton -Bridg e theyname it Foreton -Water , where it sees Trobridg e : house and possessor of
one and the self- same name . Peter de Trob ridg e held it under Edward I .
This man married Champnys his father , Dunscomb and Dowrish ; his
grandfather, Bodley .
In hi s passag e our river takes in a rill from Tedb orn , alias Tetteb orn ,
with the adjunct St . M ary . Thomas de Tetteb orn held it, together with
Oldridg e near it, in the reign of Henry II I . now, as I think , Basset . In
this little chur ch I found a monument with a larg e epitaph, well worth the
transcrib ing , being the sighs and sobs of a loving husban d for hi s dear
wife ; so I think it, and so you will find it .
An epitaph by Edward G ee , parson of thi s church , upon the death of his
dear wife , Jane G ee , who deceased the 2 1 st of Feb ruarv , 1 6 1 3 .
0 that in Hymenaeus’books S carce two years hadwe l ived in bl iss,
I ne’er had been enrolled B ut death took Jane away ;
0 worth, alas ! my l ight, my Jane , Envious death woe worth my light.L ies here yclad in mould. My Jane l ie s here in clay.
1 30 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK I I .
and after him Sir . John St . Amond , or de Sanoto Amando ; now the land
of Arundell . Coddeford, which imparted hi s name to a family ; but latelyinhabited by Cruwys , and now by Gover .
Uppecot, where in time passed lived a race of that name , afterwards the
seat of the learned Judg e Radford, whose violent untimely death, and by
his godson , woul d require to b e spoken of at large ; after of Guy ; then of
a younger branch of the noble family of the Courtenays of Powderham ; b ywhose daughter and sole heir M oore now enjoys it .
In the church are these armorie s ,In Edgcumb e
’s Isle
COPLESTON .— Argent, a chevron ingrailed gules, be tween three leopards’faces,
azure,impaledwithHUY SHE .
-Gules,fretty of s ix, and a canton, argent . RAME.
— Sable,a ram’
s head cabossed, argent , attired or, impaledwith DURNFORD .
Argent, a bend wavy, sable . EDGCOMB .- Gule s, on a bend ermine, cotized or
,
three boars’heads couped, argent, impaledwith RAME. BIGBURY .— A zure , an
eagle displayed, or.
In Prowse’s Isle
PRowsn.
— Arge nt, a b ar, sable , between three ogresses . Sable,a chevron
between thre e eagles’wings, under each a leg . RADFORD .
— Sable,three man
tigers passant, argent , Sab le , a chevron, argent, between three broad arrows, or,
head and feathers argent. [qy., PLOYER.] A rgent, a chevron, sable , be tween thre e
barnacles proper . COURTEN AY .
— Or, thre e torteauxes, a fi le of three labels, azure ,each charged with three plates within the royal garter. TREASURER of ST .
PETER’S, Exon.— Gul es, a sal tire ingrailed between four leopards’heads, or, ima
paledwith D I N H AM .
— Gules, four fusils in fess ermine . FITZPA IN .— Argent, a
pair of wing s in lure, gules . Argent, on a. b ar,a zure, between three stags
’
heads in chief, or, and three pheons in base , sable , a bishop’s mitre of the third .
So it passeth through Stockley , having addition of hi s ancient lord, Pomeroy ,
by him al ienated to Amerideth, and b y him to Davie . I find it to b e some
time the possession of Robert de Stockhay ; and in those times both names
might b e but one .
Then comes it near Collis -Combe , belonging sometime to a priory , after
of Denn is , now Isack . Then it divides Shob rook parish in two parts , or
rather Raddon and Shob rook ; for they were sometime two distinct parish
es ; (and at the union of churches , for want of sufficient maintenance in
several , Raddon was joined to Shob rook ;) which manors have had many
changes of possessors in late years . Shobrook had Fitz stephen and Hac
CHA P . IX .] e w or DEVON SH I RE .1 3 1
comb , Lerchdeacon , Courtenay , Vere , Carew , Periam, Basset ; and now it
resteth in Reynel .’Tis vicissitude that maintains the world . It passeth
near Pennicot, the inheritance of a g enerous family of Pointingdon .
CHAPTER IX .
Of the p rogress of the River Greedy to Cowley-Bridge, where it j oins with Ewe .
HERE Culver joins with Creedy , where the river leaves his name , and
it was the habitation of a noted fam ily of the same name , whereof I find
Johannes de Greedy ; of late years , Bidwel , Denn is , and now by alienation ,
Prydham . Greedy here seems to vaunt of the fruitful soil he passeth
through , (which never proves ungrateful to the labourer for his pains ,nor dece iveth the husbandman
’s h0pe of expected or wished encrease ,)
thinking it the richer for be ing bathed b y his stream , and so it is found in
deed to b e . So it comes to Newton , for distinction from other , having theadjunct of St . Cyres ; in passed ag es held b y the prior of Plimton ; now in
copersignory between N orthcot and Qu ick , both of them be ing there fairlyseated : N orthcot at Hayne , whose daughter and heir, M ary Drew ,
Walter
N orthcot married on 1 7th M ay , 1 5 85 .
Below this place falls in the Jackmoor water, whose first spring is at Rad
don , al ias Red-Down Top , taking name of the colour of the soil , for the earthturned with the plough shows a deeper red dye than any hill adjoining ; and
it is ne ither strange nor unusual that the tincture of the soil g ives some ad
dition to the names of hills , places , rivers , seas , and lands : as in Lancashi re ,
the Red-Bank ; in Cheshire , the Red-Rock ; in Hertfordshire , Black-Water ;
this noble island , Albion , ab albis rupib us ; and between Egypt and the
promised land of Canaan , the Red- Sea ,which gave passag e to the children
of Israel ; and many other, over-many indeed to b e particularly named ,
being so in most languag es and countries . Raddon hath, with Shob rook ,
( in which parish it stands , ) seen the variation and interchangab le v icissi
tude of many possessors ;— John de Stockhay , John at Raddon , M artin
Audleigh,Courtenay ,
Troutbeck , H illary ,Talbot, Dennis , and now the poor
1 32 VIEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
seat of your simple guide the author hereof, ThomasWestcote . On the height
of the b ill , which we call Raddon Top , was some time a large kind of forti
fication , now well near made even , by the plough, with the other ground .
There ,in the fair walk of the leng th of a quarter of a mil e , or more , in a
clear day you may see the city of Exeter , the town of Crediton , and well
near twenty parish churches besides .
Then b y Yendicot , which Phil ip de Yendecot held in time of Richard II . ,and after the change of many possessors it is held now by Tross ; near it
possesseth Stenson , ali as Stephenstown , long time the inheritance of Ash
ford ; and b y Bidwel , al ias By-the -well ; anciently possessed by one of the
same name , whose armories are quartered by Denn is and Cary ; but the farmin Kyrkham
’s possess ion .
At M arsh-House (so named of its s ite in W et-marsh- land, ) it fall s intoGreedy . This was the seat of Kirkham ; after of Barnhouse , whose sole
he ir, married to Southcote , had two co -he ir s , the one married to Ridgeway ,
of whom is Sir Thomas Ridgeway , knight , created by King James , Baronet,25th November, 1 6 1 2 , and shortly after Earl of London-Derry ; the other
to Sir Anthony Rouse , and from him to N orthcot . Here our river (thoughin his greatest strength and fullness) falls into a melan choly fit, and, as
loath to b e seen , creeps b y the s ide of a high hi ll , under two bridg es near
together , and s inks deep into the earth, and , at Cowley , desperately drownsherself in Exe , where is the seat of Skinner .
Hence Cowley-Bridg e , built of fair square stone , takes name ; where Exe
musters g loriously , be ing bordered on each s ide with profitable mills , fat
green marshes and meadows , (enamelled with a variety of g olden spangles
of fragrant flowers , and bordered with s ilver swans , ) makes a deep show as
if she would carry boats and barg es home to the city ; b ut we are opposed
b y Exwick wear ; and indeed wears have much ~ impaired his lustre and
portable ability,which else m ight have brought hi s denominated city rich
merchandise home to the very gates , which hath endured (to the ir great
damage ,) the want thereof many years : the occasion thus
This river was navigable from Exmouth, where it falls into the sea, unto
the city gate (be ing e ight miles distant, ) until the time of Baldwin the 4thand Baldwin the 5 th of that progeny Earls of Devon . After whose death
Isabella (daughter of the first and s ister and he ir of the last,) married to
William de Fortibus , Earl of Albemarle and Lord of Holderness , and of him
1 34 “VIEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK 1 1 .
whole year , but it must b e of choice cheer ; nothing else but the skins of
roasted geese , whichhe called goose -vells . The agreement was made , and
at the year’s end he was to make dedi et concessi , which he denied to do ,
b y making a question ( by some wiser man’
s advice ,) whether they would
swear he had eaten the skins of geese only , and none of ganders : and for
that they would not swear that directly , he was cleared (as the tale saith, )
of the bargain . But not long after he covenanted with the mag istrates of
the city to pass it unto them for as much money as he could bear , or for as
many pieces of s ilver (which we now call old groats ,) as would lie , one byone , in a l ineal row,
between Dyrwoodwell and the great conduit which
stands in the umbril point of the city : he made choice of his burden Of
s ilver , which was paid him . But within a few years after he comes that
way , having spent all and being in great want and penury , refreshed him
self with a draught of the water of the well , and with many sighs and sobswoeful ly cried out
“0 Dyrwood ! Dyrwood ! had I known thy water to b e
so sweet I would never have sold thee .
” I cannot aver this for a truth ,
ne ither perchan ce will you take it so ; but it is a tale of great ag e and often
reported, and not unfit to give a caveat to young men , that they draW'
not
hastily manors and farms through the ir throat, lest such morsels chokethem ; or lay them too heavily on the ir backs , and so break them .
By this time are we come to Exb ridg e , where was sometime a ferry ; but
the citizens (as records speak) built this fair bridg e , whereunto one Wal ter
Gervais was a Special and bountiful benefactor , g iving all his rents and lands
to the perpetual maintenance of the same ; and he and his wife were bur iedupon one Of the piers thereof, whereon was erected a chapel ; which be ing
in these days al ienated to a dwelling house , the monument was demolished ,and no more memory of so charitable and l iberal -minded man left to pos
terity but what I have here told you .
N ow you may b e frolic, for though in this travelling discourse I have (asI doubt) tired your utmost patience by guiding you , as the poet sung ,
By the hills, by the dales,By the deserts, and the vales,
yet have I now found fit Opportunity to g ive refreshment to your bodies ,and to recreate and exhilarate your spirits , by conducting you into this pleasant little city of Exeter, of which we have so Often made mention , and is
CHAP . X.] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1 35
now in our view : we are at the gate , here you cannot fail of kind entertainment, bountiful cheer, good discourse , variety of pleasing objects the s ight
of some , and the hearing , if you please , of learned sermons ; b ut if your
expectation b e frustrated and I fail of my l iberal promise , let the imputation
charge me , (though I do my b est, and therefore deserve to b e excused , )and essoine the rev . clergy, worthy mag istrates , and kind gentlemen and
citizens , who can and will amend it at some other time, when they please .
And here is a conven ient place for me to crave pardon Of the noble
knights and learned gentry of this province , if I have moved the ir spleen
b y my presumptuous undertaking to entertain and conduct you through
this shire , (the unab lest of a multitude ,) that, having posse- comitatus , could
have done it more directly and ordered your journey by a straighter mea
sure , pleasanter ways , abbreviating the tedious leng th thereof with ele
ganter discourses , larger histories , interlaced with fairer conceits , showingmore ancient descents , pregnant with variety of antiqu ities and mul tipl icityof old and new armouries , with choice of selected epitaphs , with a much
more ful l copy and exact register of the worthies of all degrees and quali
ties of this county ; with a more perfect exemplification and ample relation
of the ir famous actions : all of which you may expect of them hereafter .
For when I saw them all strain ing courtesy at the present, who should
begin , (having ever loved good fellowship , and to b e accounted rather for
ward than froward,) began to lead the measure , and have plainly gui ded
you thus far in your journey ; wherein, if I have casually erred upon relation
of others , or in my own imbecility and misunderstanding , ( humanum est
errare ,) I will only all edge the apology of the worthy and ancient poet Ln
cretius , for the like cause .
“Avia P ieridum peragro loca , nullius antetrita solo.
”
I tread a pathless way and seek it outWhere yet no former muse hath set her foot.
CHAPTER X .
Of the Antiquity and divers N ames of the City of E xeter .
TH I S fair city, now the Object of sight, is the emporium of the western
parts ; very pleasantly seated on a hill (gently aris ing among other hills , )
1 36 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE [BOOK I I .
with an easyascent, and therefore anciently called Pen -Cair, also Penhalt-Cair,
the head or chief city . It declines towards the west and north parts after such
a manner, that b e the streets never so foul , yet with one shower of rain they
are presently cleansed and made sweet ; as is sung of Hierusalem,
For One fa ir flood doth send abroadH is pleasant streams apace ,
T0 fresh the city of our God
Andwash his holy place .
That it hath been also anciently called Corinia, or Corinea, is very apparent ;
b ut that it had denomination from Corineus the Trojan , who, for his valour,was , presently after his arrival with Brutus into this land, first created Duke
Of this province and Cornwall , I cannot aver ; I have it not upon so sound
a warrant as I dare trust, for Cicester was al so , b y Ptolemy , called Cori
neum , yet no man will believe from Corineus .
It is of great antiquity, far beyond the opin ion of some , who think it in
rerum natura, at most but an embryo in the time that Claudius, the Roman
Emperor, sent hither Vespas ian , A . D. 49 . For it is manifestly apparent
b y many , and those authentic writers , that King Arviragus , the commander
of Britain , willing to preserve the freedom of the nation , and repining to
b e subject to the Romans , (so far remote ,) and longer to suffer the ir domi
neering, under so heavy a yoke of subjection and tribute so great, whichheld the same .
Whereupon Vespasian , dux exercituum Romanorum, was sent hither
from Claudius the Emperor to receive the tribute , or conquer and subdue
the whole land . His first landing was at Porta Rutupii , now Richborough ;but be ing there strongly res isted , sail ed into these west parts and landed in
this county at Dodonesium, or Totonesium Littus , ( Totnes or Torbay , ) and
marching into the inland country b eleagured this city of Exeter, which Arviragus understanding, hasted hither with all possible speed , and encoun
tered the Roman duke ; but after a long fight, neither party prevailing, aparley being by G enissa (wife of Arviragus and daughter of Claudius , )procured, a cessation of war was granted, and a loving league in short time
concluded, and the tr ibute continued . The chronicle of the church deliversit after this manner
Vespas1anus cum Romano exercitu , civitatem nunc vocatam Excester,
1 38 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
majesty and eminency ; and was , by the Romans , g iven to great and flour
ishing cities , as London , &c . : for Dio saith of the Emperor O ctavius that
he was named Augustus , as one most royal and majestical in the chiefest
degree , even above the nature of man ; and so , after him , things sacred,
excellent , and of high estimation , were titled Augusta : which title beingadded to this city showed it was then so , or they hoped it would b e , or
wished it should b e ; and so now it is .
The next conquerors were the Saxon s and their associates , who , for the
honour Of their victories and intention to'
perpetuate the ir habitation here ,
and languag e withal , altered the names of many towns , castles , and ma
nors ; and this city , with the rest, was new-named M unckton , for that it
seemed to them to b e inhabited by monks and no other people ; such store
there were here in those day s : as Newcastle -upon-Tyne'
was also called
M unckchéster, the monks’ city . It held this name until King Althestan
(some 300 years after ,) came hither to subdue the rebell ious Britons ; and
confining them beyond the river Tamar , encircled this city with a fair strong
high turreted wall of squared stones whi ch formerly was , perchance , but
immured with earthen walls and palisadoes ; and new named it (or rather
restored it the ancient name) Exeterra , or E sse -terra ; Exeter, or the citys ituate upon the river Exe : as Polydore writeth, E st Exonia urbs Devoniae comitatus , loco praecelso ad occidentem versus po s ita ; ab luiturque flu
mine Exea a quo nomen habet .
CHAPTER XI .
Of the S ituation and P laces worthy observation in this City .
TH I S city is seated in a salubrious air, exceeding pleasantly for the in
habitants , and commodiously l ikewise for the whole country for the ir con
venient assembl ies . For though I cannot say it stands equally in the midst
thereof, as the yolk in the egg , or centre in a circle , yet opportunely and
convenable for the farthest remoted . in a day’s travel , for g eneral meetings .
It stands on a hill among many , the whole country being mountainous and
CHAP . XI .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 1 39
f ull of little hills about it ; towards the sea , at the mouth of E‘
xe , only ex
cepted . In form, rather circular than square ; and in circumference near
1 600 paces , (allowing five feet to the pace , ) which is somewhat above a
mile‘
and half : and though it b e highly placed , yet is it well supplied with
water both in itself and ne ighbouring springs conveyed in leaden pipes .
The four principal streets are from the four great gates , which take name
from the four quarters of the heavens , west, east, north, and south, and
meet in the umbril of the city , where standeth a great water- conduit, and
the place called Carfoix ,which I think more properly Quatrevois ; and di
vides the whole into four quarters , or several parts .
In the north- east, in the most high and'
eminent part thereof, (as com
manding the whole , ) stands ' I may yet say so , an old ruinous castle called
Rugemount, whose gaping chinks’
and ag ed countenance presageth a downfami eq ng ; yet hath it not any occas ion to complain e ither of battery ,
undermining , or fire , b ut rather of ag e , storms , and neglect . (The ruin of
most edifices .)Whence it takes name is questioned as doubtful , unle ss of the redness
of the soil whereon it is seated , or of the like colour of the stone wherewith
it is built : (as is formerly said of the whole c ity :) ne ither is the first foun
der known , but supposed to b e the structure of Julius Caesar , or some em
peror his successor, or the ir deputies , when they lorded here ; which is
avouched confidently by John Lidg ate in his Serp ent of Divis ion , where hesaith, that Jul ius Caesar built in this land divers castles and cities for theremembrance and perpetuity of his name , as the castle of Rochester , Canterb ury, and one not far from Dover, with the most ancient part of the
tower of London . The castle or town of Caesar’s -Bury , now Sarum or'
Sa
lisbury ; re - edifying also Caesar’s - Chester , or Chichester, and the castle of
E xeter : and upon this word , re - edifying , some will have it more ancientb ut the books of accompt being lost, no man can certainly guess at the paymaster or time .
And although it b e strongly Opposed ,I cannot but think that a Roman
leg ion was here settled ; and that this Isca Danmoniorum (or Danmonio
rum -Augusta, rather , as Ptolemy and Antoninus , ) as of the second leg ionAugusta here res iding . But M r . Camden ,
Whose authority is greater thanto b e Opposed, Will have it to b e at Isca S ilurum , Cair-Leon , or Uske , in
M onmouthshire which he conjectureth, and the rather affirmeth, by the
1 40 V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK II .
finding of a certain imag e of Diana with other such tables and altars ; nei
ther of which can I produce for our Iska . But some e ight years s ince two
or three labourers , making a dike to fence a plot of ground, a smal l way
distant from the castle , where no dike was in former times , they found cer
tain bricks three feet deep in the ground, and under them a little pot of the
same matter where in were divers pieces of Roman coins , both s ilver and
gold ; the youngest of them was of Antoninus Pius , and could prescribe forantiquity 1 500 years , whereof thirty came to my hands , most of them of
divers stamp and fair, whi ch I intended to have exhib ited to your View, for
the better illustration and clearer manifestation of thi s matter, had they
been now in my custody , with divers other found not far off that place .
Somewhat nearer the castle , about the same time , there was found in a
garden a fair ring, in which was a beautiful stone set and thereon engraventhe true idea of Cleopatra with the asp at her breast . I was desirous tohave seen those bricks found with the coin , which I suppose , in regard of
the largeness , were rather altars than common bricks , but the poor fellows
were so greedy for the money, that they neglected them, that they never
came to s ight . But to turn back and seek the founder of our castle .
There he that suppose it to b e the work of the Saxons in the heptarchyof this land, for then some West Saxon king might make this city his royal
chamber, and fortify the castle for his better security against the un
tameable Britons .
To those that pretend a right there in to the Danes I must answer , it isof all other the most unprobable and unlikely ; for they won thi s city twice ,and with their destroying feet trampled on the beauty thereof, and religi
ous houses therein , and after consumed it with fire ; for those unchristianheathen hated the relig ion as much as the people , and dealt with it as the
Chaldeans did with Hierusalem, of whom it said,
The cruel words of Edom’s sons,
When, aswith one accord,
They cried on, sack , and raze those walls ,In despite of the Lord.
”
In this castle the chiefest princes and rulers of thi s province made their hab itation , the last of whom were the Hollands , Dukes of Exeter ; and Henry ,
the last of them , that lived in it . The amplitude and beauty thereof cannot
1 42 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 1 .
that he should end hi s days ; but falling suddenly sick at Westminster , he
was carr ied into a chamber of the abbot’s , Where lying , he demanded what
name the chamber had : it was answered , Hierusalem : then the king , witha heavy deep s igh, said,
“then here is an end of my intended voyag e ,
”and
so shortly after di ed . So King Richard , fear ing the Castle of Rugemont
in Exeter, found it at Bosworth in Le icestershire , where he was slain b ythe Earl of Richmond . For as one saith,
Thus Satan doth de ce ive us with equivocy
That seek of him to know our destiny.
”
Before we depart from thi s castle (now the ruins of time ,) in reg ard it
was the seat in this city of those that enjoyed the honour to b e styled dukes ,marquesses , or earls thereof, I think it most fit in thi s place to give you a
catalogue of such nobles as have hom e those titles , with their wives , children , and arms .
CHAPTER XII .
Of the Dukes , M arguis es , and E arls of E xeter .
OF Holland, Duke of Exeter .— Sir John Holland, knight, second son of
Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, and of his wife Joan , daughter to Edmund
Plantagenet, surnamed of Woodstock , sixth son to Edward I and heir to
her two brothers , Edmund and John , both success ively Earls of Kent, was
created , in the l l th year of Richard I I . , Earl of Huntingdon ; and in the
2 1 st year, Duke of E xeter ; and upon the surrender of Aubry de Vere , Earlof Oxford, of the offi ce of great Chamberlain of England, had that Officealso by letters patent , bearing date the same year . He married Elizabeth,
daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster , and Blanch his wife ; and
had is sue first, Richard that di ed young ; second, John his successor ; third ,
Edward that died issueless ; Constance , first married to Thomas M owbray ,
Duke of Norfolk , banished by Richard II . , and after to Sir John Gray , Lord
Gray of Ruthin .
CHAP . XII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1 43
This Duke , in the l st year of Henry IV was , b y parliament,"
deposed
from his dukedom, and after, in the same year, beheaded at Cice ster . He
bare the arms of Edward , King and Confessor , with a label , and therewith
impaled England with a bordure of France .
Thomas Beaufort, son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, begotten on
the Lady Katharine Swinford , his third wife , was created Earl of Perth,
and Earl of Dorset, Lord Admiral of England, Captain of Calais , and
Lord Chancellor of England the 1 2th of Henry IV . ; and in the 4th of
Henry VI . , Duke of this city of Exeter . He had the leading at the battleof Agincourt, of the rereward ; and the government of King Henry VI .
committed to him during hi s minority . He married M argaret, daughter
and he ir of Sir Thomas Nevil of Hornby Castle , but sans issue . He di ed
at his house at East-Greenwich in Kent, and was buried at St . Edmunsburyin Suffolk , leaving the king his he ir . He bears France and England, a
border , gobony arg . and azure .
John Holland , son of John aforesaid, was Earl of Ivory in Normandy ,
Lord of Sparr, Lieutenant General of the Duchy ofAquitaine , Lord Admiral
of England, Constable of the Tower of London , and A . D . 1 443 , created
third Duke of Exeter at Windsor . He marr ied , first, Ann , daughter of
Edmund Earl of Stafford, b y whom he had Henry his successor his second
wife was Ann , daughter of John M ontacute . Earl of Sal isbury , and by her
had issue only a daughter named Ann ; first married to John Lord Nevil ,son and heir of Ralph Nevil , second Earl of Westmorland , sans issue : she
was re -married to S ir Thomas Nevil , uncle to her former husband , by whomshe had issue Ralph, the third Earl ofWestmorland : and thirdly she mar
ried James Earl Doug las . Thisduke died the 26th of Henry VI . , and was
buried in St . Katharine’s Church, near the Tower of London , by his two
wives . He bears as his father before him ,
Henry Holland , only son of John , was the fourth Duke of Exeter, and
Earl of Huntingdon . In the l st year of Edward IV . he was , tog ether withHenry Duke of Somerset , and Thomas Earl of Devonshire , di sinherited byact of parliament ; and in the 1 3th was found dead in the sea, between
Dover and Calais : yet he had married the king’
s s ister, Anne , daughter of
Richard Duke of York , b ut had no issue . She was married secondly to
S ir Thomas Saintleg er, knight . His arms as his father’s .
Henry Courtenay ,Baron of Okehampton , Earl of Devon , son ofWilliam
1 44 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK I I .
Courtenay , Earl of Devon , and Katharine his wife , daughter of King Ed
ward IV . , was created M arqui s of E xeter the 1 8th of June , 1 5 25 . The
1 7th year of Henry VIII . he married , first, Elizabeth, daughter and heir of
John Gray , Viscount Lisle , but without issue : secondly , he married G er
trude , daughter ofWilli am Blunt , Lord M ountjoy , and he ir to her mother,
daughter and heir to S ir Will iam Say , knight , b y whom he had issue Ed
ward Earl of Devon . Thi s Lord M arqu is was of no long continuance , for
he was attainted and executed for high treason 3 l st December, 1 538 ; soon
after his wife , Gertrude , was attainted also , b ut not executed . He bear
eth France and England within a bordure counter quartered of the one and
other . Quartered with or , three torteauxes (Courtenay , ) and or . a lion
rampant , azure , armed and langued gu . Rivers .
S ir Thomas Cecil , Baron Burlegh, after thi s dignity had lain s ilent from
that age to the reign of King James , was honoured with the title of Earl of
Exeter, b y letters patent bearing date at Greenwich the 4th day of M ay , in
the 3rd year of the king’s reign . He was son to S ir Will iam Cecil , Lord
Burlegh,Lord H igh Treasurer of England , the Nestor of his age . He
married to hi s first wife , Dorothy , daughter and one of the co-he irs of John
Nevil , Lord Latimer, and had issue fiv e sons and six daughters z— first,
William Lord Burlegh ; second , S ir Richard Cecil , kn ight ; third, Sir Ed
ward Cecil , kn ight ; fourth , Thomas Cecil ; fifth, Christopher Cecil , drown
ed in Germany : first, Lucy , married to Will iam Pawlet, Lord M arqui s of
Winchester ; second , M ildred , marr ied to Sir Thomas Read, knight, secondlyto S ir Edmund Trafford , of Lancashire , knight ; third , M ary was wife of
Sir Edward Denny ; fourth, Elizabeth,first wife to S ir Will iam Hatton ,
knight, after whose decease she was second wife to Sir Edward Coke , kni ght,Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench and one of his M ajesty
’s most ho
nourab le Privy Council ; fifth, Dorothy was married unto Sir Giles Ai lington , of Horse -Heath, knight ; s ixth, Frances , wife to S ir Nicholas Tufton ,
knight .
This Earl married to his second wife , France s , daughter ofWilliam Lord
Chandos , the relict of Sir Thomas Smith,knight, and had by her only one
daughter , Ann a- Sophia , that died young .
Will iam Lord Burlegh, son and he ir, succeeded his father ; who married
to his first wife , Elizabeth, the only daughter and heir of Edward M anners ,
Earl of Rutland and Lord Roos , by whom he had William, his son , com
1 46 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I I .
pital for poor, and education Of orphans ; if the like envy which was in! Esop’s cur, that would ne ither eat the hay himself, nor suffer the labouringox to feed , hindereth not this hopeful purpose , and the perpetual benefit of
the city .
The fourth b y the name of the Priory of St . Nicholas , for BenedictineM onks ; be ing a cell to Battle Abbey in Sussex . This and the first (as I
now find,) were erected by William the Conqueror, A . D . 1 066 ; value at
the surrender , 1 2s . 0d . The View of these will give us cause to
remember , and so to consider, how charitable and devout our predecessors
were , ( in the times termed bl ind and ignorant, ) and so e ither move and
persuade us to the like actions , or condemn us in our greater knowledg e and
lesser charity .
But those former votaries and rectors , abus ing the intent of their pious
founders , accumulating treasure and purchas ing manors , whereby pride and
excess entered among them , whereby disdain ing the laity , the ir first benefactors , they laid themselves open to envy , which soon blasted the ir flowers
and wholly subverted them , by plucking them up with the very roots .
Of the alms-houses .-N ow after the great vicissitude and alteration of
these ancient relig ious structures , let us seek to find somewhat that may il
lustrate this latter age with the honour of charitable actions of some welldisposed people .
Here may you see G rendon’s alms -houses for poor old women , called the
Ten Cells . Secondly , St . Ann’s Chapel . Thirdly, M ary M agdalene’s
whereunto one Orange , a citizen was a great benefactor ; who , be ing infested with the leprosy , humbly accepted thereof, and leaving his own house ,
dwelt in this house among them . Then W ynard’s and Hurst’s aims -houses ,
also Gilbert’s at Newton Bushel , which belongs also to this city , though itstands at that town’s end . Of later erection : Davie
’s alms -houses , the struc
ture of a worthy magistrate and alderman of this city . I was writing the seventh , for such one they report is in embryo, of whose birth there is pregnanthOpe if, not envy, but some Hebrew-like affected woman , b e m idwife . To
each of these aforenamed there is some yearly revenue belonging and weeklypay ; and also an annual allowance for other some that have no house s .
Then may you see the grammar- school for breeding of youth, of the
foundation of the dean and chapter of the cathedral of St . Peter’s of Exon ,
with a stipend of twenty pounds per annum .
CHAP . XIV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1 47
CHAPTER XIV
Of B edford-House and the N oble Family of the Russells .
N OT far thence is Bedford-House , so called for that it is the seat of the
Earl of Bedford in this city , and was formerly the Dominican Priory .
And so be ing at this place , in regard his lordship hath two or three
more mans ion -houses in this country, and he Lord Lieutenant thereof,and of the city , this county doth challenge him as a native , and one of
the chiefest ornaments and honours thereof. I have therefore emboldened
myself to record hi s descent s ince they enjoyed the attribute of this honour .
S ir John Russell , Knight of the noble order of the Garter , Controller of
the household of King Henry VIII . , son of James Russell , esq . , and Alice
his wife , daughter and he ir of John Wise of Sydenham , by Thomasin his
wife , daughter of S ir Baldwin Fulford , of Fulford, knight, was created
Lord Russell A . D. 1 538 , Lord H igh Admiral of England, and Lord PrivySeal ; and in the 3rd of King Edward VI . he was created Earl of Bedford ,
and died 1 4th M arch, 1 554— 5 . He married Ann , daughter and sole he ir
of S ir G uy Sapcotts , knight, the relict of Sir Joh nBroughton, of Tudding
ton in the county ofBedford , knight, and byher had issue an only son , Francis .
This Francis Lord Russell and Earl of Bedfordwas Knightof the Garter andone of the Privy Council to Queen Elizabeth . He married , first, Margaret,daughter of Sir John St . John , knight, and s ister to Oliver Lord St . John
of Bletso , by whom he had four sons and three daughters . First, EdwardLord Russell, that died issueless . Second, John Lord Russell , who married
El izabeth, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke , knight, and widow of S ir Tho
mas Hoby , knight, by whom he had issue two daughters ; first, Elizabeth,
that died without issue ; second , Ann , married to Henry Lord Herbert , sonand heir of Edward Earl ofWorcester . Third , Francis Lord Russell , (afterhis brother’s death . ) He married Julian , daughter of S ir John Forster,knight , (Lord Warden of the middle marches ag ainst Scotland .) He was
slain b y the Scots at a day of truce in his father’
s life - time , having issueEdward , after Earl of Bedford . Fourth, Sir William Russell , knight ; cre
ated by King James Baron of Thornhaugh , at Hampton Court, 1 603 , LordDeputy of Ireland . He took to wife Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Shen
1 48 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK‘
IL
g ayLong ,
of Cheng ie in the county of Cambridge , esq . , and had issue
Francis , now Earl of Bedford .
Ann , the eldest daughter , was married to Ambrose Dudl ey, Earl ofW ar
wick : Elizabeth , the second, to William Earl of Bath : M argaret, the third,to George Lord Clifford, Earl of Cumberland . This earl married to his
second wife Bridget, daughter of John Lord Hussey , the widow of HenryM anners , Earl of Rutland, but by her had no issue . He died full of honour
and years , and much lamented , 28th July , 1 585 .
Edward Lord Russell , grandchild to this last Earl Francis by hi s thirds on ,
Francis , slain as aforesaid ; was Earl of Bedford ; and married Lucy,
daughter of John Lord Harrington of Exton , and s ister and co-heir to John
Lord Harrington of Exton , by whom he had no issue that lived . He di ed
3rd M ay , 1 62 7 . He bears as his father and grands ire arg . , a lion ramp . ,
gu . armed and langued, azure , on a chief sab . , three escalops of the field .
Francis Lord Russell , son to Will iam Lord Russell of Thornhaugh ,
youngest son to Earl Francis , succeeded his cous in Edward, and married
Katharine , the sole daughter and he ir of Giles Bridges , Lord Chandos , who
di ed M ay 9th, 1 64 1 . He left issue four sons . First, William Lord Rus
sell , made Kn ight of the Bath at the coronation of King Charles 1 1 . Se
cond ,Francis , who di ed unmarried . Thi rd , John , a colonel in the late
troubles on the king’s part . Fourth , Edward . And four daughters .
First, Katharine , married to Robert Lord Brook . Second, Arm, to George
Earl of Bristol . Third , M argaret, to James Earl of Carlisle . And fourth,
Diana , to Francis Lord Newport .
Which William, so succeeding in his honour s , was elected into the societyof the most noble Order of the Garter A . D. 1 672 : and by Ann , his wife ,
daughter and heir to Robert Earl of Somerset, hath had issue seven sons .
-Francis Lord Russell ; John who died in his infancy ; William , who wed
ded Rachel , daughter and co-heir to Thomas late Earl of Southampton ,
(beheaded by King James II . for being found in a plot against the govern
ment ;) Robert, James , and George : and three daughters . First, Diana,
first married to S ir Grev il Vernev , of Compton -Verney in the county of
Warwick , Knight of the Bath ; afterwards to William Lord Alling ton : Ann ,
who died young : and Margaret . Duga . Baronag e , vol , 3 . pag e 380 .
W hich William Earl of Bedford was created Duke of Bedford by KingWilliam 1 1 1 . l l th M ay , 1 694 .
1 50 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I I .
was formerly HELE . ) 1 3. SP I CER .— P e r pale , sable and gules, three cas tles
triple -towered in bend, or, betwe en two cotises and a bordure engrailed, ermine .
1 4 . LEVERM ORE .
— Argent, a b ar and two b arule ts , sable , between three tufts of
leaves, vert ; now p ine apple s proper. 1 5 . HE LE .-Argent, abend of five fusi ls,
gules . 1 6 . DREW.- E rmine , a lion passant, gule s . 1 7 . TOTH 1 L .
—A zure,on
a bend, argent, cotised or, a l ion sable . 1 8 . CHARLEs .— Party per fess , undy ,
gules and ermine , in chief an eag le displayed, or. (N ow destroyed, ) 1 9 . STURE .
— Or,'
nowarg .,a star of e ight points sable . 20 . HARRIS .
— Sable , three cre scentsarg . within a bordure of the same . W YNARD.
— ~Argent, a bend azurecharged with three mullets of the first. N ow argent a chevron azure betweenthree mullets , gules . 22. HOLLAND .
— A zure, a l ion sal iantgardant, between fivel il ies
,argent. Nowwithin a bordure argent. 23. DOW R ISH .
— Argent, a bendcotisedwithin a bordure sable . 24 . H Exr .
— Or, a castle triple -toweredbetweenthree battle-axes, sable . 25 . HUNT . —A zure on a bend or, now argent, three
leopards’faces gules, between twowaterbougets , or. 26. HUDI SF I ELD.—Argent,
a b ar sable charged with a crescent for difference between three boars, sable . 27 .
GANDY .— Gules, thre e saltiers argent, now or ; formerly SOM ASTER .
— A l‘gent,
a castle triple-towered between seven fleur-de -l is, sable . 28 . CROSSIN G — Or,on a chevron azure
,three besants betwe en three cross crosslets, fi tchy, gules ;
formerly W EEKEs .—E rmine
,three battle-axes, sable . 29. WA LKER.
— A zure,a griffin segreant armed and ungued, or ; now argent a bordure engrailed ermine ;now argent ; formerly NEWCOMBE . 30 . (qy .) GRAY .
— Or on a bend azure ,three martlets
,argent ; now quarterly, first and fourth sable, o. chevron argent
chargedwith five gontas between three martlets argent, second and third, argenta chevron between three cross crosslets gules . 31 . BURGOIN .
— A zure, a talbotpassant, argent, langued and collared gules cha ined, or. 32. TI CKE LL .
— Ermine,
on a chief indented, gules , three crowns, or . 33. KITSON .— Sable
,three fishes
hauriant argent, a chief or ; now gules, three fishes hauriant argent. 34. BAT
ISHULL .— A zure , a cross crosslet saltier-wise between four owls,argent. 35 .
DUPORT .— Barry of six
,or and sable ; now azure a saltier within a bordure ,
both ingrailed, gules . 36. Qy . BRADE STON E -Argent, a chevron betweenthree boars’ heads, couped sable . 37 . NOBLE — Or, two flanches, and on a
b ar, sabl e , between two l ions passant, azure , incensed gul es, three besants ; nowargent two flanches sable and on a b ar sabl e
,three roundlets between two lions
passant, sable, incensed sable . 38. Qy . CHALON s .— Or
, two bars between an
orle of martlets, gules ; now BRIDPORr .— Argent, a bend, azure , between six
double roses, gules . 39 . OXEN HAM — Ermine , a b ar between three crescents,
gules ; now BAMPFYLDE P— Argent, a bend, azure , charged wi th three mullets ,argent . 40. Qy. HELION .
— Or, on a bend
, sable , three martlets, argent ; now
argent, a fess between three crescents, gules . 41 . Qy . GOULD — Party per pale ,argent and sable , a l ion sal iant
, gules, within a border counterchanged.
To the leftof theM ayor’s seat. 1 . SM ITH .
—Sable , a fess b etwe en two b arulets,and three martlets, or, now argent. 2 . PERIAM .
— Gules, a chevron engrailed
CRAP . XV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .1 5 1
between thre e leopards‘faces, or . 3 . HURST .
—Argent, an etoile of e ight pointswavy, gules . 4 . POLLARD .
~— Argent, a chevron, sable , between thre e mullets,now escalops, gules . 5 . TUCKER .
~— Barrywavy of twelve, azure and argent, on
a chevron crenelle,or, be twe en three sea horses, sable, now or
,finned
,trailed
,
and maned, of the third, five goutes of the fourth, gontas now omi tted .
6 . PRESTWOOD .
- Sable , a l ion sal iant, now rampant, between two flanches, or .
7 . PRIDEAUX quartered with ROAC H .
— F irst and fourth,argent a chevron sable
,
a label , gules ; second and third, three roaches , two on e , na iant, argent. 8 . BUL
LER .— Argent, on a cross
,sable , pierced of the field, four eagles displayed, sa
b le . 9 . Arms of the JOINERS . 1 0. H ILL of H ill’s Court.— Gules, a saltier
vairy , now argent, between four mullets, pierced, argent ; now or. 1 1 . BALL .
Argent, a chevron, gules , between three fire balls, sable fused, gules . 1 2 . N EW
COMEE .
— Argent, a fess crenelle in chief, three e scallops, sable, now gules, a chevron, or, between three escallops, or. 1 3 . The TA ILORs
’Company . 1 4. HUTCHIN SON .
— Per pale , azure and gules, in fess, a l ion rampant, argent, semee withtwelve crosslets
,or ; now sable
,a l ion rampant, argent, between fifteen cross
crosslets, or . 1 5 . WH ITE. —Gules, on a canton,ermine
,a l ion sal iant, now
rampant, sable , within a bordure , sable , charged with stars, argent, now or.
1 6 . GERVIS . — Argent, six ostrich feathers in pile,three
,two, one
,sable .
1 7 . BERRYMAN .— A rgent, a chevron
,sable , between three talbots
,sable .
1 8 . BONVI LL .—Sable
,six mulle ts, three, two, and one
,pierced gules, now
argent. 1 9 . G I LBERT . Argent , on a chevron, sable , three roses of the field .
20 . CHAMPN EY S .— A 1’gent, a l ion sal iant, now rampant, within a bordure en
grailed, gules . 2 1 . AM ERIDETH .— Gules, a lion rampant regardant, or. 22 . A T
WI LL .
— Argent, a chevron , sable , a p ile in point, counterchanged. 23 . Qy .
M A INWARING .
— Barry of ten, or and gules, with an annulet for difference,gules. 24. PETRE .
— Gnle s, on abend, or, between two escalops, argent, chargedwith a Cornish chough between two cinque foils, azure , with a crescent for dif
ference , argent, a chief, or, charged with a double rose, gules , between two demi
fleurs-de -lis,or . 25 . DUCKENF IELD .
—Argent, a cross sarcelly, sable , voidedof the field. 26 . HAYDON .
— Argent, three bars gemelle s, sable , on a chief,gules, a b ar, dancette, or. 27 . PLEA .
- ~Party per pale, azure and gules, now
a zure and sable ; a l ion passant, now rampant,argent, crowned or, with a label of
three points, azure, for difference . 28.-Barry of e ight, sable a
chief, gules, charged with three leopards’ heads, or. 29 . WEAVERS and FULLERs . 30 . GLOVERS. 31 . BAKERS. 32. HABERDASHERS. 33. Qy. An
MOURE RS . 34 . COOPERS. 35 . BUTCHERS .
This being the place and seat of justice , I will briefly speak , what M r .
Holl ingshed hath largely from Mr . Hooker, concerning the government
thereof.
The whole senate cons isteth of twenty -four besides the recorder . The
1 52 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
annual offi cers are the mayor, sheriff, receiver , (which are always of the se
nate,) and three stewards or bail iffs ; constables , and sergeants , and some
other inferior offi cers . The government consisteth of two sorts , (yet bothpolitical , ) civ il and criminal . Civil causes are decided by the mayor and
hi s offi cers according to an ancient rule ; they having cognizance of plea,
(tenere placita, et cognitio placitorum,) hearing and determining all causes
between party and party . Their court is kept every Monday . The like
authority have the bailiffs or stewards in the ir Saturdays’ court . These
have , for the ir better proceeding , the assistance of the recorder and council
of the city .
In causes criminal , the city being b y letters patents, and those confirmed
and ratified by act of parliament , made a county, the mayor with the justices do keep their quarterly sess ions and goal -delivery .
There are within it eleven societies , or companies , incorporated ; every
of which, at several days appointed at their private hall s , make election of
the ir yearly masters , wardens , or governors who have al so a certain lim ited power to hear and determine (or mediate and persuade ,) matters in con
troversy which concern the ir own trades only, and matters thereunto appro
priate ; whereby many matters are fairly and speedily , without any trouble ,ended .
The first of them for priority of worth and place , and sufficiency every
way , is that of the M erchants .
Tailors are the next, and for antiquity prescribe the merchan ts as firstincorporated, A . D. 4th King Edward IV . In the l 6th year of the same
king’s re ign the lords of hi s privy council reconciled the controversy b etween them, giving priority to the merchants .
Cordwainers the third . Brewers the fourth . Cappers , Hatters , and
Haberdashers the fifth . Weavers and Tuckers the s ixth . Skinners and
Glovers the seventh . Smiths and Cutlers the eighth . Coopers and Hell iersthe ninth . Butchers the tenth . The eleventh and last are Bakers .
In martial affairs — It is commanded b y the Earl of Bedford, Lord Lieutenant hereof as of Devonshire ; who doth al so substitute deputies withinthe same : for be ing a county of itself, it acknowledg eth no subjection to
Devon . (The castle and purli eus thereof only excepted, which they confessto b e in the out- shire .) They muster four companies , each an 1 00 strong ,
very well armed, under the command, at this present, of these captains
1 54 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
sacred of the church and of the kingdom in those times , all so excellent
that it is grown even to the height of a wonder .
The first stone whereof was laid about the year 1 050 , and yet not totally
and absolutely finished, with cloisters and chapter-house, until A . D. 1 448 ,
so that it was well near 400 years to bring it to the perfection you now see .
Tantae mol is erat Romanam coudere gentem .
So huge a labour it was to frame,
A work should carry so great fame .
As it now doth present itself to the spectator’s eye it cannot b e (the true
and perfect uniformity considered, ) without admiration ; and not to b e more
exactly accomplished had it been finished in one age and by one man’s
hand for
I f on the same you do b ut cast your eye,
The stones are j oin’d so artificial ly ,
That if the mason had not checker’d fine
Syrian alabaster with hard serpentine ,And hundred marbles no less fair than firm,
The whole b ut one stone you might rightly term.
But s ithence thi s kingdom in other cities yields both larger and as fair ,it is needless to use any particul ar description ; or speak of the two fair
spacious and high towers, which standing oppos ite one against the other in
the fess-point thereof, divide the choir from the body of the chur ch . That
on the north hath a continual motion or dial , showing not only the passageof the day , but together therewith the days of the month and variablechanges of the moon , subscribed with these verses ,
Festinando dies sub solis luce jucundiD iuturna quies docet , et modo tempus eundi .
And under these again ,
Praeterit ista dies, nescitur origo secundi,
An labor an requies? sic transit gloria mundi .
The rare invention of clocks and dials if it cause me to wander a littleout of my way , let it not seem strange ; for I have been informed by a
writer of great fame that the Romans were 593 years without them ere
they would admit of them ; but once entertained, were very carefully and
CRAP . XVI .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .
curiously preserved : whereof he describes three divers sorts ; one of the
sun , devised by Scipio Nasica ; (b ut I rather think he should have said ,
brought to Rome b y Scipio Nasica ; for we read long before his time that
b y the prayer of Isaiah the shadow of the dial of Ahaz was brought ten
degrees backward ;) the second of hours , by An eximenides : and the third
of the water, by Thales . But the first use of clocks in churches was in the
time of Phocas , the fifty-ninth emperor, by Sab inianus , the s ixty-third pope ,
successor to Gregory the Great .
Surely I cannot b ut admire the invention , for before that we could not
say , we will rise at six , dine at twelve, or sup at seven ; but we will risewith the sun, dine at mid-day, and sup at sun- set . This clock strikes
(which must not b e forgotten) on a bell named Peter’s Bell , as g iven b v
Bishop Peter Courtenay , whose we ight is pounds at least .
And here , though it may seem to some a triv ial subject, to speak of the
invention and first devisor of bells , yet cons idering the musical sound , and
nece ssary use we have of them for clocks and convocating people to divine
service , (which G od commanded M oses should b e done with s ilver trum
pets ,) I cannot think b ut they were first invented b y Divine Inspirationfor when christians began to multiply and disperse abroad in remote places ,they could not easily b e call ed together b y the voice of man (as is now in
use among the Turks , ) nor by sound of trumpet , but b y a louder and fuller
sound . And it is worthy observation that no law sect, or any professed
rel igion , have any use of bells for service in their temples , b ut only chris
tians .
These are said to b e first invented at Nola by Paulinus , an excellent b ishop there , Of equal standing with St . Augustine and St . Jerome , betweenwhom passed several letters yet extant he was the first that used them in
his church and bishoprick and hence it may well b e thought that bells inthe Latin word are called Nola . O ther properties ascribed to bells are
somewhat strange , as resisting tempests , dividing thunders , extinguishingsudden fires , expelling devils and making them quake and tremble ; whichthough by reasons and arguments strongly maintained , yet in reg ard it willrequire a large bel ief, I will speak no farther .
The antiquity of this magnificent church can hardly plead 600 years ; forM r . Hooker saith (we will acknowledg e his sedulous lucubrations in search
ing and enlightening the dark and obscured treasures of this church and city,
1 56 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK 1 1 .
though we read it also elsewhere ;) that in this place stood three rel igious
house s : two of monks ; one builded by King Etheldred, the other by King
Athelstan ; and a third for nuns , which he calleth moniales , which one readunto me , monilia ; which was not much am iss , both being pretty ornaments
for monks . I knew of three religious houses here , which were so furnished
with relig ious people that the Saxons , at the ir conquest, finding the city so
replete with such persons , and those so venerable and reverend , thought
there had been no other inhabitants therein , and so called it M onkton , or
M onkes - town .
N ow whether there were any nuns among them I never inquired after,
not doubting but the monks did that in their time , especially if they wereso affable , courteous , and kind as the Sumpner
’s Friar in Chaucer to the
farmer’s wife , of Whom he saith,
This friar ariseth up full courteously
And her emb raceth in his arms narrow,
And kisse th her sweet, and chirketh as a sparrowWith his lips dame , quoth he, I fare right wel lA s he that is your servant, every deal .
Thanked b e God that you have soul and l ife ,Y e t saw I not to day so fair a wifeIn al l the whole church, so God save me .
And indeed I must confess it was an oversight in me , I might well have
imagined there had been nuns also , for it was consonant to nature and rea
son ; and very necessary for the mutual comfort one might have of the
other, that where were two houses for males , there should b e one of females .
But the lustre of these houses lasted not long , for they were in short
time trodden under the Danes’ profane feet : for having run over , or over
run the greatest part of this land, sacked and ransacked this city, together
with the monasteries , the poor carcases lay waste, (the votaries having forsaken them, seeking places in the deserts of more security,) until g ood King
Edgar came to Tavistock to Visit his queen’s father , Odogarus Duke of
Devon ; who taking tender compassion both of persons and houses , called
home the one and re - edified the other , and so restored the monks to the ir
houses , and the houses to the monks ; which continued for a time , b ut not
without trouble , until Sweno , the Dane , like a strong overflowing torrent.
with great cruelty and fury irresistable affl icting this kingdom, fell with ex
1 58 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I I .
twenty-three years . In his time this kingdom was conquered, and this citybesieged and taken by William the Norman Conqueror . This Bishop Leofri cus Baton died A . D. 1 0 73 , and was buried in the cemetery or church
yard of the church, for church-
yards were procured of the pope , by Cuth
bert , archbishop of Canterbury , 300 year s before his time ; for ere that age
dead bodies in this land were not buried in cities , (for that was held unlaw
ful , ) but in the fields , whi ch is plainly expressed by the monuments usual ly
found in sundry places ; and Honorius , when he divided this province intoparishes , appointed no church-
yards unto them . But by the enlarg ement
of this church , his sepulture came to b e in the floor of the south tower, onwhom ( in memory of so worthy a personag e) a new monument was erectedby the instance of M r . Hooker , at the charge of Lord BishopW olton [Query , Will iam Alley and the dean and chapter , with a long large epitaph toogreat to b e transcribed , but under that there is a briefer dialogistical -wise ,which I judg e well worthy your View
P . Urna pol ita quidem ! sed cujus, dic m ihi , sodes ;M . E stne Leofrici ? M . S icvaga fama volat.P . Attamen haud isto tumulo sunt ossa sepultaM . N on
,nam sub fractomarmore trita jacent.
P Quis qualisque fuit? M . Primus fuit Exoniensis .
M . Praesul . P lura tibi, scripta superna dab unt.P . Grata deo pie tas hominum meminisse bonorum .
Aspera dic quando fata tul ere virum ?M . Quatuor adde decem lustra et tres insuper anuos
M ille Leofricum M ors tremebunda petit.1 568. W . Exon .
And now finding his lordship here at his palace at the cathedral church
of his see , by duty and promise (when I parted from him at Credi ton , ) I amobliged to wait on him, which you see me ready to perform : but I am hin
dered from doing it at the present , being call ed on earnestly, yea, urged toreply to an unanswerable (as
’tis said) objection , at least very difficul t and
eag erly maintained ; for I am taxed for often call ing Exeter a city beforethis time , which they say could not b e before the installation of this BishopLeofri cus : a city be ing derived a sede , the see or seat where the bishop isresident , and thereof doth take denomination .
It is somewhat to the purpose , I confess , yet I cannot presently yieldand subscribe , until I have some learned man
’s opinion ; I will therefore
CRAP . XVI I .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1 5 9
demand Aristotle’s , (whose opinion is taken for law, ) and examine hisdefinition , (or rather Patricius out of him :) -
"a city ,
”saith he , “is a con
course or colony of people gathered together to live by one law, rule , and
order of justice .
” This was long before there were any bishops ; and by
this definition every commonwealth,country , and parish is a city . Let us
therefore entreat another to speak What he thinks . Isodorus , what is youropinion P— “A city is a collection of divers dispersed people who combine
themselves to live together civilly , under such customs , laws , and statutes ,
as shall b e appropriate to the same .
” These learned men differ very little
in sense and meaning, yet so every subject in Great Britain is a citizen .
To derive civitas -a-civilitas were somewhat pretty , and urbs from urvo
or aratro, near alike , and yet both these synonima ; for N iniveh, Babylon .
Bizance , Athens , Sparta, and Rome , were noted by e ither or both names ,
yet all along before there were any bishops . But now the use of speech
hath somewhat by custom introduced this distinction , applying civitas to a
bishop’s see, and urbs to any mured or fortified town or fort. But to con
clude and reconcile this variance , there is yet a better distinction civitas
et urbs in hoc differunt, quod incolae dicuntur civitas , urbs vero complec
titur aedificia . And Polidore saith that bishops in elder times dwelled in
pagis and villages as our bishop at Tawton and Crediton , which by this
objection are concluded to b e cities — A bishop , a city .
But leaving to speak a word more of this matter, we will attend his lord
ship and all his successors , and record them as bri efly as we may ; their
places of interment, epitaphs , monuments , and arms .
And first, the church of Exeter beareth, gul . a sword erect in pale , arg .
pomelled, and hilted, or, surmounted by two keys , in saltier of the last .
Leofricus Baton , first bishop , bears , arg . on a cross fiory, sab . , a mitre
proper.
O sb ertus, aNorman, nobly born , sat next, A .D. 1 074 yet it is supposed
by some that one Gaulfred was somewhile between them, but be ing but a
suppos ition , and the time very short that he enjoyed it, we will forbear togive him a place in our catalogue . O sb ertus kept the place thirty years ,and died blind , and was buried in his own church . He gave gul . a b arand bend or .
To him succeeded W illiam W arwast, a Norman also ; for the Conqueror
and his two sons , William 1 1 . and Henry I . , preferred their countrymen
1 60 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I I .
for he was chaplain to all three . This man was said to b e founder of the
priory of Plimpton ; but in a case of law in the 3rd King Edward 1 1 1 . the
king was adjudged founder, in which case the antiquity of the priory was
discovered . The Conqueror gave him Plimpton , Braunton , and St . Ste
phens . The firsthe bestowed on the priory there ; the second on the dean ,
*
with whom it continues even to this age ; the third , be ing St . Stephens ,the fee thereofhe kept for himself , and successors , whereby they are barons
of the parl iament . He enlarged the church by laying the foundation of the
choir or quire . He possessed the place twenty years : but in hi s ag e beingblind, he retired to l ive privately at the priory of t pton . His arms , per
pale g u. and or, in the first, two keys paly of the second, The second ,
charged with a sword point in point of the field .
His successor was Robert Chichester , Dean of Salisbury , who governed
twenty-two, some say twenty - seven , years , and was bur ied in his own
church,which I take to b e in the wall of the same . H is arms , checky or,
and gul . a chief vairy .
Next to him sat Robert W arwast , nephew to William W arwast, formerly
mentioned , A . D. 1 1 50 , and after n ine years died and was buried at Flimp
ton . He bears as hi s uncle . This belong s to John the ChauntorAfter him came Bartholomew Iscanus , or of Exeter, taking his name from
the place of his nativity . He was consecrated in the year 1 1 5 9 : a man of
rare g ifts for those times , for he strongly Opposed [at first] Thomas Becketboth at home and at Rome , even before the Pope himself, both in speechand writing . He governed fourteen years . Of his interment the place isuncertain . He bears, per pale sab .
.and arg . , six dolphins transmuted .
John the Chauntor succeeded him A . D . 1 1 84 , who ruled but six years
proceeding somewhat in the building of the church . He was buried in thesouth wall , over against the bishop
’s door leading to the palace . He gave ,
argent, a cross sable , a chief of the second .
Henry Marshall , Ar chdeacon of Stafford , succeeded A . D. 1 1 92 . His
birth was noble , being son to John , the king’s marshal , and brother to
This is manifestly incorrect, as is indeed much of his chronology of the S ee . The
office of Dean of Exeter was not created until 1 225 ; when the bishop , Will iam Brewer,annexed to this dignity the church of Tawton
,with its chapels of Swymb ridge and
Landkey ; the church of Braunton, wi th its appurtenances ; and the church of Colaton,commonly cal led Colaton Ralegh — G . O . ,
— P .J .
1 62 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK II .
church, b ut immediately assumed all , and the fifteenth day was installed ; a
very short time , for so many degrees as those times required . He di d many
things for the increase of the l ivelihood of his church and successors , whichwere not thought to b e commendable in any man , much less a spiritual
mortified man . He governed twenty-three years, and was buried in the
south s ide of our lady-chapel , un der. a stately alabastermonument with hiseffigy and this epitaph,
Ol im sincerus pater omni dignus amorePrimus W alterus
,magnoj acet hic in honore .
Edidit hie plura dignissima laude statuta
Quae tanquam jura servant hic omnia tuta .
A tque hoc colleg ium quod Glasseney plebs vocat omnisCondidit egregium, pro voce data s ibi somnis .
Quot Loca construxit, pietatis quot bona fecitQuam sanctam duxi t vitam, vox d icere quas scit,Laudihus immensis j ub ile t gens Exoni ens isE t chorus et turb ae, quod natus in hac fu it urbe .
Plus s i sc ire vel is, festum statuit Gabriel isG audeat in coelis ig i tur Pater iste fidelis .
”
His arms , or , on a chevron between two keys in chief and a sword in
base , sab . , three cinquefoil s of the field .
Peter Quivel succeeded next, A . D. 1 28 1 . He first instituted a chauntor
in this church , his name was Walter Lichl ade , who was slain as he came
early in the morning to s ing hi s matins ; and a subdean impropriating
Paynton and Chudlegh for the one , and Egleshayl for the other . He im
propri ated also Newlyn and Stoke-Gabriel , and united them to the chan
cellor of his church ; obl iging them to read a lecture of divinity or the
decretals , or it was to return . The date of the grant was the 1 2th of
the kalends of M ay, A .D. In his time a difference arose between
the chapter and the mayor and commonalty about the enclosing of the
churchyard ; which, with all other differences arising and execution of jus
The truth is, the bishop collatedWalter Lichdale to this ancient offi ce of Precentoron l st August, 1 282 ; having, on the 8th of the preceding month, improved its revenuesby the annexation of the churches of Pa ignton and Chudleigh. H e was pleased to addto the chancellorship , on 20th April, 1 283, the b enefices of S toke Gabrie l and S t. N ewlyn ;and on 9th July, 1 284, inst ituted the offi ce of sub -dean, to which he appropriated Egloshe il . —G . O . ,
- P , J .
CRA P . XVII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .1 63
tice upon the murderers of the chauntor , were compromised and accorded
by King Edward I . , who kept his Christmas in this city . At which timeal so there
'
was a jar between the bishop and the Gray Friars Franciscans ,who , b y the intercess ion of Humphry Bohun , Earl of Hereford, (who had
lodged with them at the king’s being here , ) they procured a license to re
move their house to some more convenient and amenons place ; to whichthe bishop promised not only to give leave and consent, but to yield al so
his best assistance . N ow they, soon finding out a place , petition the bishop
to perform his promise ; but he perceiving it to b e in his own fee , refused
to g ive leave , and often denied their importunate request, with this imprecation against himself , wishing that whensoever he should yield consent totheir request he might b e choked .
N ow St . Francis , careful of his votaries , watched , as the friars said, some
opportun ity to b e revenged on the bishop .
Tang it e t ira Deos .
None shall’scape fre e that ofl’e r scath,
For saints themselves are prone towrath.
As Ovid said Of the goddess Diana , where her altars were neglected .
And it may b e true ; for it was a common proverb in former times that
St . Lawrence was an angry saint and no marvel , for broiled meat is cho
lerio. An d thus it proceeded ; Deodatus , warden of the convent of friars ,came to the bishop , importuning him very earnestly for the place to erect
his new seat ; at which conference , g rowing earnest and warm in arguingthe matter, and at length to a g reat heat, that the bishop be ing thirsty calledfor drink , (or rather , as others will , for julipe , ) which taking over hastily(St . Francis perhaps jogging his elbow ,) he was presently choked . (Walter
Winborn , one of the king’s justices , being present , who was also a testis
when the bishop promised the king to favour and assist the friars and so
this was presently blazed abroad by the friars for a miracle wrought b y St .
Francis in behalf of his votaries .
A pretty miracle ! I cannot deny ; and yet, methinks , hardl y to b e termed
a saint’s action . But let it pas s for once ; we have many much worse in
this age of such as are newly canonized for saints ; and of other some that
for their purity would b e held saints upon earth . This happened A . D. 1 283 ,
W e will deny him nothing of his rights he was a bountiful benefactor to
1 64 e w or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
his church, and first laid the foundation of the body thereof. He was bu
ried in the midst of our lady- chapel , under a very larg e marble stone en
graven with a great long cross , and in the circumference this verse for an
epitaph,
Petra tegit Pe trum,nihi l ofli ciat s ibi tetrum .
Which verse , written in an ancient character, each letter distant from the
other at least four inches , so that this short verse supplied the whole larg ecircumference , and cost me some labour the finding out and reading it . He
bears , azure a cros s arg . between two roses in chief and two fleur-de - lis in
base . or .
Thomas Bytton was his successor, and proceeded in bu ilding the church
a great favourer of learned men , and was of fourteen years continuance here ,and then died A . D. 1 306 , and was buried in the chancel of his church .
His arms , ermine a fess gul .
Next to him sat Walter Stapledon , A . D . 1 307 , of noble birth, acute
wit, great learning , and very pol itic . All which g ood qualities concurringin one subject , procured him special favour with King Edward I I so he
made him of his Privy Council , and Lord H igh Treasurer of England, and
was here installed with great pomp and solemn ity : but as honour and richesincreased (a worthy observation, ) so did his bounty to learning and learned
men ; for he erected two houses in Oxford , Hart’
s -Hall and Stapledon’s
Hall ; and impropriated Ernscomb e for the maintenance of poor children inSt . John’s Hospital within the east-gate of this city . He was faithful , withperfect constancy to his sovere ign , (a noble remembrance in those troublesome times ,) which cost him his life : for being made custos of the city of
London (the king being retired from thence with the Spencers , ) he requiredthe keys of the lord mayor, and thereupon was by the furious commons
taken and beheaded in Cheapside , the 1 5th ofOctober, 1 326 , withhis brother,S ir Richard Stapledon . Their bodies were first buried in the rubbish b y thes ide of the river Thames but after the coronation of Edward III . and all
thing s qualified and quieted, and settled, the queen -mother, forgetting old
discourtesies , became more charitable , and caused him to b e brought intohis own church and native country : (for he was born at Annery , as his ar
mories testify z) he was buried in the north wall of the choir, next the highaltar, with this large epitaph ,
1 66 V IEW or DEVON SH I RE . [ Boox II .
Regifice mstructos transtul itExoniam.
Praesulis hic tumulus sed militis e reg ionePataque s ic fratres una eademque pe tunt.
Anno 1 568 . W . Exon .
”
His paternal armories , arg . two bends undy sab .
Successor unto him was James Berkeley , of the noble family of the LordBerkeleys , and was installed A . D . 1 32 7 ; b ut lived for a short time to makeshow of his g enerous mind , for he died in the fourth month ; but the place
of hi s interment is not directly known .
* He bears gul . a chev . between
ten crosses pattee , or .
At the death of Berkeley , John Grandisson , Archdeacon of Nottingham ,
was ambas sador for the king at Rome to the pope ; to whom the king pre
sented him b y letter to b e Bishop of E xeter, who consecrated him with his
own hands. He was son ofGilbert, and brother of O tho , the greatLord Grandisson ; they descending of the ancient royal house of the Grandi s
sons , Duke s of Burgundy . He was afterward one of the pr ivy council to Ed s
ward III . He builded the college of St . M ary, O ttery, which shall b e spoken
of in its place . In his church he builded the two last arches in the west
end , vaul ting the roof throughout the whole church, and perfectly finished
the body of the same . He was noted to use all possible means to g et
wealth, as frugal ity (which some termed n iggardliness , ) in expenses and
hospitality ; keeping no more servants than urg ent necessity requ ired : and
made a decree that all eccles iastical persons in hi s diocese shoul d , at their
death, bequeath the ir goods to him, or some other in trust— ad pios usus
for this his procuring of r iches proceeded not (as appeared) from a covetous
desire to b e rich , but to benefit and enrich the church .
His wisdom surely foresaw (or at least feared) some heavy burden or fatal
chance would fall on the clergy, and therefore erected upon his sanctuary
at Teignton -Bishop a very fair house , impropriating to it the parsonag e of
Radway , to the end (as his will expressed ) ut hab eant locum , unde caputsuum reclinarent , 1 forte in manum regi s eorum temporalia caperentur .
”
His legacies were larg e ; but as he was frug al in hi s l ife , so commanded he the
like to b e used at his funeral ,— that no charge should b e bestowed in blacks ,b ut every man to b e attired in their accustomed habit, which was grey .
H e was buried, says Leland, vol . 3, Itinerary, p . 45,on the south part of the choir
,
with this inscription, ~ In Berkeley natus j acet hic Jacobus tumulatus . —G . O . ,— P . J .
CHAP .XVII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 1 6 7
He Opposed himself against the metropolitan’
s vis itation within this his
diocese ; and when he came to the church for that purpose he resisted his en
tran ce . His time here was twenty-three years , for he died anno and
was buried in the westwall Of his church in a chapel there purposely built, and
was shrouded in lead , which was not long s ince taken up , the lead melted ,
and the chapel defaced . An unworthy deed ; and it is to me a marvel that
it escaped unpunished ,in regard the very heathen had laws against the vio
lating or defacing of monuments or sepul chres . He bears , w ith his ancestors , with some addition express ing his episcopal vocation , palyof six , arg . and
azure on a bend gu . , charged with a mitre between two eaglets displayed , or .
Thomas Brentingham was next preferred to this diocese ; he was at one
self- same instant elected bishop both of this church and of Hereford, but
accepted this , anno 1 370 . He was chosen one of the thirteen peers (whereof
seven were of the spirituality, ) in the l 0th of Richard I I . to govern and
manage the affairs Of the realm . He was a chief benefactor to the vicars
choral ; and sat twenty -four years : his interment was under a chapel bu ild
ed by himself in the body of the church, between the north door and the
north tower . The chapel was lately demol ished ; but the stone , sometimeinl aid with brass , only remains to testify it : for his epitaph is worn or rent
away with the brass . His insignia, sab . a fess crenelle between three caw
therine wheels , or .
Edmund S tafford , of noble parentage , be ing brother to Ralph , (created
Earl Stafford by Edward succeeded next, and was installed 1 395 .
His excellent endowments Of wisdom , learning , and generous behaviour ,wrought him into the king
’s love , and so endeared him that he was made
one of the privy council , and anno 20th Richard I I . Lord Chancellor of
England . He increased two fellowships in Stapleton’
s Inn , in Oxford ;
reformed the statutes , and called it Exeter Colleg e . He died 4th Sep .
tember , 1 4 1 9 , having continued bishop twenty- four years with much ho
nour and due reverence ; and was buried in a stately monument of alabaster
in the north s ide Of our lady chapel . His mutilated epitaph speaks thus ,
H ic j ace t Edmundus de S tafi’
orde intumulatus,
Quondam profundus Legum Doctor reputatus,
Verbis facundus, Comitum de stirpe creatus .
Felix e t mundus pater huj us Pontificatus.”it H e died 15 th July, 1 369 , having nearly completed 42 years’ government of his S ee .
G. O .,
- P . J
1 68 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
The arms Of the family are , or a chevron gul . ; his addition, entoyred withbishops’m itres proper .
James Cary, be ing in Florence with Pope M artin the 5th, was institutedand consecrated there by him anno 1 4 1 9 ; but never returned home to b e
installed , but there ended his days , and was there also buried . The ens ignsof hi s ancestry were , arg . on a bend sab . , three roses of the field . To him ,
for distinction , was added , a bordure azure entoyred with mitres proper .
To him succeeded Edmund Lacy , anno 1 420 . In his time the contention
between the dean and chapter , and the mayor and commonalty , concerningtheir liberties , was revived , and after much business referred to the arbitratement of several worthy personages , whereof Thomas Earl of Devonand Sir William Bonvile of Shute were principal , who made a palliative
cure thereof. He was learned , affable , and courteous , and very zeal ous
and devout ; for which he was greatly esteemed, and had even in admiration
with the vulgar . He was generally in high regard and reverence for hisexcellent speech he made concerning a bill preferred in parl iament againstthe most vile and lewd abuses Of the Black Monks , which was so patheticaland effectual , that with certain articles also in the convocation house b y him
ing eniously and pithily penned and presented, that his only motion and
speech was after held a sufficient censure and definitive sentence . His in
tegrity and zealous devotion was so marvelled at, that after his decease many
miracles were supposed to b e done by him at hi s tomb ; which caused greatrepair thi ther , and many pilgrimages to b e made ; but that continued not
long . His government was of thirty -five years continuance . His corpsewas laid in the north wall of the chancel , and his ensigns were , azure ,three shovellers’heads erased arg . Some name them swans’heads .
George Nevill , fourth son of Richard Nevill , Earl of Sali sbury , by Alice
his wife , daughter and sole he ir of Thomas M ontacute , Earl of Salisbury ,
sat next. He it was that finished the chapter house begun by hi s predecessor, and after eight years was translated to York . ( he was made Lord
Chancellor of England while he was Bishop of Exeter,) anno 1 465 . His
paternal coat was , gul . a satire arg . , a fil e of three gobony arg . and
azure : hi s mother’s coat, arg . three lozenges in fess gul . yet there is set
for him , gul . three lozeng es in fess arg . within a border or .
After the translation of Georg e Nevill , John Booth was consecrated and
installed, anno 1 466 . He governed well for his time , but be ing of a mild
1 7 0 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
comes were great, and that they were rich and aforehand, or else they
woul d l ive more frugally ; and therefore they might not refuse to supplythe king’s wants , and a little sparing would soon bring it in again . To
those that pretended poverty he said , that forasmuch as they wore suchplain apparel and lived so frugally , yea, sparingly and n iggardly , it was
not possible b ut they must needs b e wealthy ; for what they spared from rich
clothes and vain expenses filled their purses , and therefore they might not
refuse ( in reason and duty) to supply the king’s occas ions . He bare ,azure , a pelican feeding her young with her blood in her nest, or .
After the translation of Fox , O liver King was consecrated , 1 492 . He
was formerly Dean OfWindsor , and the king’s chaplain , and registrar Of the
noble Order of St . Georg e . In hi s time Perkin Warbeck assaul ted this
c ity , whose illusion was the overthrow Of many good fam ilies in this province , who simply m isled by that cunning counterfe it, whom the Duchess
of Burgundy (an implacable and irreconcileab le enemy to the house Of Lan
caster,) had bred , fashioned, and named Richard Plantag enet , Duke Of York ,second son to Edward IV as if he had been resuscitated from death to life .
This bishop sat but fiv e years , and was bur ied at Windsor, 1 497 His
arms , arg . on a chev . sab . , three escallops of the field .
Richard Redmayn was his successor , transferred hither from St . A saph in
1 496 ; and after five years was translated to E ly, 1 50 1 . He bears , gul .
three cushions erm . tassels , or .
A native Of a dignous family of this diocese was the next incumbent, John
Arundell , of the house Of Lanhern in Cornwall ; who, more for love of his
country wherein he was born than any benefit or preferment, came hither
from Coventry and Lichfield ; but enjoyed the place a small time , the space
only Of two years . Dying in London , he was buried in St. Clements with
out Temple-Bar , 1 503 . The ensigns of his family are , sab . six martlets
in pile 3 . 2 . arg .
Upon hi s decease came Hugh Oldham ; a man more esteemed and com
mended for zeal and devotion than learn ing and science , yet was he a greatfavourer of learned men , and purposed to have augmented Exeter College inOxford, both in building and fellowships ; but be ing denied a s imple request
of the rector and fell ows , he joined with Bishop Fox , of Winchester , for
9"H e was translated to Bath in 1 495 , and was buried in the abbey church there late in
1 503 .
— G . O .,—P . J .
CHAP . XVII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1 7 1
the erecting of Corpus Christi Colleg e in Oxford . After sixteen years hedeceased, anno 1 5 1 9 , and was buried in a sumptuous private chapel of hisown , at the higher end of the south ambulatory of the cho ir, where his arms
are multiplied z— sab . a chev . , Or, between three owls . arg . on a chief Of the
second , three roses , gul .
John Voysey , alias Harman , Dean of the chapel to King Henry VIII . ,
Lord Pres ident ofWales and Governor of the Lady M ary , the king’s eldest
daughter, (whose learn ing was commendable , but his court- like behaviourexcelled , be ing g enerall y accounted a better courtier than preacher or scholar, ) was next consecrated . Alas ! the while !
My tear-drown’d eyes a night Of clouds bedims,
About my ears a buz zing horror swims,My fa inting kneeswith fe ebleness are humble ,My faltering feet do sl ide away and stumble .
I must alter my style and learn a new rule in arithmetic , for whereas s ince
the install ation Of the Lord Leofricus Baton I have used nothing but mul
tiplication and addi tion to this church and the revenues thereof, and at the
coming in Of this man to see to What Opulent estate , and magnificence it
was come unto from slender and small beg inn ing s ; now I must try the rule
of subtraction , and speak of the wasting and decays thereof ; b ut thereof
briefly , for ill news will admit no c ircumstance s nor long discourse .
0 h ! woe is me to b e the messenger
Of this sad news that now I bring you, s ir.
A s he is said to speak that brought the first il l news to Job .
In the 2nd King Henry V . , anno 1 4 1 4 , at a parliament holden at Leices
ter , a bill , or suppl ication was preferred , which had relation to a former ,
presented to the parliament holden at Westminster , 1 1 th King Henry IV(which at that time , by reason that the king was then not well settled , b ut
ever like to b e troubled with civil discord , took none effect.) both of them
tended to this effect, that the temporal lands devoutly g iven , and disordi
mately spent b y those (named ) relig ious and spiritual persons , should b e
seized into the king’
s hands , s ith the same m ight suffice to maintain (to the
honour of the king and defence s of the realm ,) 1 5 earls , 1 5 00 knights , 6000esquires , and a 1 00 alms -houses for the relief only of the poor, impotent and needy persons , and none else ; and the king to have y early into
1 7 2 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 1 .
his coffers At which time it was found by survey , and an extent
thereof made , that the church Of Exeter could then dispend yearly 700096
which, according to the value Of the ounce Of silver in those days to the ratenow current , I suppose to b e now tripled : then , if you please but to consi
der of the improvement , I might say tripled again : so at your best le isure
you may make audit ; for it had in thi s county , seventeen manors ; in Com
wall , e ight ; and seven in other Shires ; in all , thirty-two ; and fourteen fair
palaces , each severally furn ished with all competent necessaries . ( Plate and
linen excepted .) Of all these troubles this courtly bishop Voysey eased his
successors I will forbear to name them s ince the count is already cast upand brought to thi s catastrophe , that all is gone , and the now diocesan hath
only one house to rest in ; and as Bishop G randi sson fore prophesied, ub i
caput reclinaret ; for with his bounty at court and building Of Sutton-Col
shul , (where he was born and buried, and intending to try conclusions
there ,) wasted all , or the greatest part .
After the death of King Henry VIII . the state of relig ion be ing altered ,after some time he surrendered the bishoprick into the hands Of King Edward VI . , anno 1 550 .
CHAPTER XVIII .
The Bishop s of E xeter af ter the Reformation .
UPON his surrender , a learned div ine M iles Coverdale , a diligent preacher
of the gospel , (who , in the time of King Henry VIII . , had translated theBible out Of Hebrew into Engli sh, and for so doing was forced for safety to
fly into Germany , to the Count Palatine , who greatly favoured him, but
after King Henry’s death returned, and ) was preferred to this church, and
consecrated anno 1 55 1 ; where , in the small time of his residence , (whichwas little more than three years ,) although he were much envied and ma
ligned, yet continued he his exercise Of preaching and lecturing , much b e
nefitting the church thereby . But King Edward VI . be ing called to hea
v en , he was deprived and in much trouble for his relig ion , (whereof you
may b e more learnedly and largely informed elsewhere , if you desire it,) yet
1 7 4 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK II .
Hie j ace t reverendus Pater G ulielmusBradb ridge , nuper Exon . Episcopus ,
Qui Obi it 27 die Junii, AnnO Domini1 578 .
To him succeeded John Woolton , a s ing le canon , anno 1 5 78 , who was
commended for his learning ; yet it surpassed not politic wisdom , for which
he gave place to few of his predecessors . He governed fourteen years , and
died the 1 4th of March, 1 593 , and was interred near the south wall of his
choir, opposite to the door that enters the palace . Upon his stone is this
engraven,
H ic j acet reverendus ille JohannesWoolton
,Exoniensis Episcopus, qui
P reefuit huie ecclesiae anuos 14. Ohm1 4 die Martii, Anno Domini 1 593 .
And upon his fair monument this epitaph,
Johann i W ooltono, Episcopo Exon . , natus in W hal ia in agro Laneast.
Quem Ob ejus praestantem in omni virtuti s genere animum,mirari magis quam
laudare l icet . In (1 11 0 fides, pietas, et re ligio cum doctrina certab ant. Qui
(vita sacrarum l iterarum studiis diligentissime acta , multasque doctrines monumentis posteritati relictis) hominem exuit E xoniae
,Mar. 1 4, Anno Domin i 1 593,
E tat. 57 . Cui Margarita, fil ia moestissima, parenti amantissimo ac bene merenti posuit.
On the dexter part of the monument , in a table , are these verses ,Epitaphium in Ob itum reverendiss imi
Patris JohannisWoolton, Episcopi Exon .
H ie j acet— hand j acet hie tumulo quem credis inesse ;
Terra nequit tantum contumulare Virum.
Ingenium, genium, mores , pietatis honores,E loquiumque pium, busta perusta tegent.
Falleris,ultonus tonus est sic spiritus unde
Hoc nostri tonus est,coel icus orbe tonans .
On the sinister part are certain Greek verses— sed has non vident me . His
arms , a lion ramp . , jessant, a sal tier engrailed gul .
After him came hither Gervase Babington , translated from Llandaff in
Wales , and was consecrated anno 1 595 . He was a sedulous preacher ; and
divers of his labours are extant in print . He sat only two years ; yet that
CHAP . XVIII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 1 7 5
short time made a mayme of the episcopal temporals incurable . He was
removed hence to Worcester . The coat of the name , arg . , ten torteauxes
in pile , 4 . 3 . 2 . 1 .
To him succeeded Doctor William Cotton , who was consecrated anno
1 597 . He governed the space Of twenty- e ight years with great commen
dation : to whom was granted authority in certain branches Of the high com
miss ion- court, which he kept at Silverton , where he lived for the most part ,
and there di ed 26th August, 1 62 1 . His paternal ensigns , arg . a bend sab .
between three ogresses . He was buried in the south ambulatory Of his churchunder a fair marble stone , which hath this inscription ,
Depositum W illielmi Cotton, quondam Exon . Epi . : cujus vitam vicinum
monumentum indicab it. Obi it Aug . 26, Anno
Near whereunto, in the wall of the choir , is erected a very fair monument
with his lively representation and this epitaph,
Venentur titulos al i i atque encomia captent,Tu propria Virtute nites
,dignissime praesul .
Corda virum tumuli, tibi sunt epitaphia linguae ,Virtutesque tuae titul i quae dissita multisJuncta tibi
,zelus prudens, prudentia mista,
Serpentum innocua caute moderata columba,Foeta operumque fides , opera edita et abdita , mundoAbdita, (sic humil is pie tas jubet,) edita coelo,
M i te superci l ium,fac ies augusta sereni ,
Vul tus maj estas frontis veneranda sereni,Ira fugax solem rarO visura eadentem,
M ensa benigna, domus patens, aditusque paratus ,Condivit tua dicta lepos, gravitasque leporem,
Paeificis placidus, tantum hostis seditiosis .
N on tibi sublimi more s in sede Superbi ,Vita nec in prima (utmultis) fuit ima Cathedra,Praelatusque greg i, sed non elatus honore .
A Paulo ad P etrum p ia te Reg ina vocavit,
Cum Paulo et Petro coeli Deus arce loeavit.
S ic P etrum Paulus, sic claves adj uvat ensis ;Perge Petro plures mittere , Paule , tuos .
”
Doctor Valentine Cary, the second Of that illustrious family, Dean of
Paul’s , was consecrated anno 1 62 1 . In his short time the city was greatlyand heavily infected with the pestilence , so that he l ived not much at the
76 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK II .
palace but in the country . He sat only six years . The arms of the house
are , arg . On a bend sab . , three roses of the first ; his difference , a mullet .
He was buried in the southern part of our lady’
s chapel , under a fairerected monument, with his effig ies thereon and this brief remembrance ,
In memoriam Valentin i Cary ol im huj usE ccles iae episcopi , qui Obi it 1 0 . die Jun . 1 626 .
Sanguis Jesu Christi purgatme ab omn i peccato .
.This monument and inscription was removed , and now standeth in the north
wal l of the choir, oppos ite to the vestry door .
N ow are we come to the period of our proposed purpose , to him that now
s its at the helm to guide thi s ship in all weathers , as well storms and tem
pests , as calms and still waters ; who is the sedulous and learned wr iter , Dr .
Joseph Hall ; of whose watchful and careful attendance , being oculatus tes
tis , I might speak freely and confidently, as of his most worthiest predecessors , following the counsel Of Ovid ,
Principibus placuisse viris, non ultima laus est.
I t is praiseworthy, not in the meanest place ,To b e Obsequious to men ofworthy grace .
But he stands so assuredly firm on the streng th of his own worth, that my
poor suffrage were b ut as the imperfect echo of a more perfect sentence , I
will therefore proceed with this conclus ion ,— long may he supply the place .
His ensigns , sab three dog s’heads , erased arg .
Wherein I seem to see a secret mystery ; for b e they ancient, it is a
strang e and true prediction ; if neoteric , the wi sdom Of the learned heralds
have , under an unvulgar symbol , expressed a rare and excellent conce it ; for
have not his learned labours and patient endeavours wrang Off the heads of
three barkers : the Papist, the Arminian , and the Separatist ?
CHAPTER XIX .
The Bishop s (f E xeter since the p resent Author’s time unto this day,
October 20th, 1 695 , by John P rince .
B I SHOP HAL L , after he had well governed thi s church the space Of fourteenyears , was translated hence to Norwich, anno 1 64 1 , where he continued the
1 7 8 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK II .
heaven , anno 1 663 , much lamented by the whole kingdom, and most of all
by the church and the king, who was much concerned for him . He lieth
interred in his cathedral church of Worcester . His bearing is , azure, achev . between three leopards
’faces , or .
The next to him was Dr . Seth Ward, born in Hertfordshire , educated in
Cambridge , where he was amember Of Sydney College , from whence he was
expelled for his loyal ty : though afterwards he was chosen astronomy-pro
fessor in Oxford for his great skill and learning in the mathematics even in
those worst of times . After the restoration he was made Dean of Exeter ,and July 2oth, anno 1 4 . Car l 1 662 , he was installed bishop Of this church,
where he pres ided with great honour about five years, and was then trans
lated hence to Sal isbury , 1 667 ; where he continued to the time Of his death,
which happened about the year Of our Lord 1 689 . He was a prelate of
very graceful presence , a ready utterance , a comprehensive mind, a conde
scending nature , and charitable dispos ition : witness that stately building ,richly endowed , which in or near the close of his Cathedral of Salisbury, athis proper charge , b e erected for necessitous clergymen
’s widows . His
shield bears , azure , a cross fiory, or .
The next in succession to Bishop Ward was Dr. Anthony Sparrow , bornin Suffolk , and brought up in Cambridge , where he became Master of
Queen’
s Coll ege ; from whence he was advanced , by the permission of God
and the favour Of King Charles II to thi s episcopal throne , N ov . 23rd, 1 9
Car . 2 1 667 . He was a great rituali st and a strict exactor Of canonical
conformity . After he had well governed this church the space of aboutn ine years he was translated hence to Norw ich, where he died anno 1 685 ,
and lieth interred in his own cathedral church . He bears , ermine , three
roses , arg . seeded or .
His immediate successor in this chair was Dr . Thomas Lamplugh, de
scended from a gentle family in the county Of Cumberland . He had his
education in Queen’s College in Oxford, where he became prin cipal of Alban
Hall , Oxford . He was promoted also to the rich Vicarage of St . M artin’s
in -the -Fields , near London ,where he was King Charles II .
’
s parochial pas
tor, who liked him so well that he preferred him to the episcopal chair Of
this church anno 1 676, unto whi ch he was consecrated by Gilbert Lord
Archbishop of Canterbury on the 1 2th Of November the same year . He
was a pious good man, and had one excellent property (among many others , )
CHAP . XIX .] V IEW O F DEVON SH I RE . 1 7 9
of a christian bishop , that he was a lover of hospitality , which he expressedto all , especiall y to his clergy , whom he b id very welcome to his table .
Having very well governed this church to a general satisfaction for the
space of twelve years , upon the landing of the Prince of Orang e (our presentsovereign ,) on the 5th N ov . , 1 688 , in Torbay in this county , Bishop Lamp
lugh the day following fled to London to King James I I . , which that prince
took so very kindly that immediately he conferred upon him the Archbishop
ric of York , which had then lain void s ince the death of Archbishop Dolb en ,
near about the space Of a year and half; he was installed the same month ;
but did not long enjoy that honour, for within three years continuance in
that high throne , he was summoned to appear before an higher , anno 1 69 1 .
He lieth interred in York M inster . He bears or, a cros s flory , sable .
Upon the translation hence of Dr . Lamplugh , our late bishop , to the see
of York , S ir Jonathan Trelawny , baronet, Lord Bishop of Bristol , was , bythe favour of King William and Queen M ary , removed hither . He was
born at Trelawny , in the county of Cornwall , of an ancient g enteel fam ily ,
and was the second son of S ir Jonathan Trelawny , bart . ; upon whose death
and that of an elder brother , the title and estate descended upon this g en
tleman , after he was in holy orders and b eneficed in his native country . He
had his education in Oxford , and was some time a student of Christ Church
there . He was preferred to the see of Bristol by the favour of King James
II . : and afterwards committed b y him (to his never dying honour , ) to the
Tower of LOndon , together with the Archbishop of Canterbury , the Bishop
of St . A saph, the Bishop of Ely , the Bishop Of Chichester, the Bishop Of
Bath and Wells , and the Bishop of Peterborough, for the grievous crime (as’twas aggravated by the popish party , ) of petitioning his majesty that their
clergy might b e excused from publishing his late declaration of libertyof conscience (as they were thereby obliged,) two Lord
’s Days following , in
time of divine service , in the ir parish churches . For this fact they were
committed to prison , indicted , and brought to trial ; and after a long hear
ing , be ing zealously if not maliciously prosecuted on the one hand , and no
less bravely and learnedly defended on the other , they were all acquitted , to
the confusion of popery and the general satisfaction of the whole kingdom .
His lordship governs well , but that he is pleased to keep his re sidence chieflyat his house at Trelawny ; less convenient to the occasions of his clergy and
the public exercise of charity and hospitality .
1 80 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
CHAPTER XX .
Of the I nferior Dignitaries of the Church of E xeter .
W E will now reckon up the other dignitaries of this church, which are
four .
The Dean hath priority , (first instituted by Bishop Brewer, and his name ,to whom he impropriated Colaton -Ralegh a nd the manor of Braunton, whichcontinues with him at thi s day ;) and hath the name of Braunton -Dean . He
is principal in the chapter which is assembled by him , yet hath but a s inglevoice . The arms belong ing to this di gnity are , azure , a stag’s head cabos
sed and insigned with a cross , arg .
He that now supplies the place is Dr . William Peterson , [Dr . Annesley ,]
young er son of the late Earl of Anglesey .
The next is the Chauntor, ordained b y Bishop Quiv ile ; (the first that
supplied the place was Walter Lichfield, who was slain in coming timely to
matins ;) to whi ch he impropriated Paynton and Chudleigh . He hath charge
of the choir Of s ingers . H is ensigns , arg . a saltire azure charged with a
fleur- de - lis , or .
The present Chauntor, William Cotton . N ow Georg e Hooper , Dean of
Canterbury .
The Chancellor is third ; appointed also by Bishop Quiv ile ; to whom he
allotted Newlin and Stoke -Gabriel . His arms , gul . a saltire arg . betweenfour crosslets or .
Dr . Laurence Burnel hath the office . N ow Dr . James , Vicar of Harberton .
The last is the Treasurer , to whose care the ornaments , bells , burials ,buildings , and treasure are committed . The arms , gul . a saltire engrailedbetween four leopards’ faces , or .
Dr . Robert Hall , son Of the bishop , is the Treasurer . Dr . Nic . Hall,born at Bridford in this county ; son of Emanuel Hall .
There belong hereunto also four archdeaconries , which are not called
dignitates sed quasi dignitates , and yet are termed oculi episcopi ,— the
bishop’s eyes .
The first in place is Exeter, which v is its n ine rural deaneries , and in the
‘E ( pVIEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
maintenance thereof he g ave them certain revenues and impropriated the
rectory Of Cornwood.
CHAPTER XXI .
The M onuments and Epitaphs in Saint P eter’
s Cathedral , E xon .
I have endeavoured to g ive you a compendious ab ridg emeiit of what occurred in my vis it, vet hath it been more enlarged than I wished it, b ut I
could do no otherwi se , for I meant to present you with all material passagesI could find ; and was the more precise in particulars , for that I purposedit should b e my last : yet I am assured I have left some articles untouched
though not unenquired after : but with all dutiful respects I will leave themfor those that shall follow my steps with better authority and more abil ityand suffi ciency .
N ow having retained you thus long in this sacred place for devotion , (and
fasting , as I suppose ,) I seriously meant to have g iven you a sweet refee
tion of choice epitaphs , to have stayed your stomach for a while , until some
other gave you a better banquet ; for the variety is so great , as the chapels ,choir , nave , ambulatories , cloisters , and towers’ floors are almost pavedwith them ; and such a collation would , ( I suppose) for their variety of
smacks and tastes , have been agreeable and pleasing to most men’s pal ates
and appetites ; as also for that I must tender their perpetual preservation ,
and come with a settled purpose to redeem them from the devouring teeth
of ag e , which hath swallowed up some wholly , and eaten deeply into others ,
(as you find already in my catalogue .) I will b e no niggard of what I have ;and more you might have had , but that they are kept close prisoners lately,
( in reg ard of my desire .) or shut up as a concealment, by some new- come
inferior Ofli cer, that they cannot b e Vis ited by those that tender the ir per
petual preservation . I would have procured them for you at a more than
in community ,— that Bishop Lacy had appropriated to them the church Of Cornwood on
the 6th Of June,1 432
, towards the ir better support, — that Bishop Oldam had assigned tothem the churche s of M elan andWe stle igh on the l Oth of February , 1 508m 9 , and thre e
days later the chapel of Cl i st S t. Gabriel,and the hospital o f the Holy Ghost at W e rland ,
near Totnes .—~ G . O —P . J .
CHA P . XXL] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .1 83
valuable consideration , yet maug re the turpitude of envy , you shall havesome which I reserved long since In expectancy Of some fit Opportunity tovent them : such are these I here set before you ; take what you like , and
much good may it do you .
In our lady- chapel , (with which I will beg in , as Leofricus did in his build
ing ,) in the higher end thereof, stands a fair monument erected for the LadyDoddridge , with her lively shape represented in alabaster, with this inscription ,
H i0 j ace t domina Dorothea uxor Johannis Doddridge mil itis, un ius j ustitiariorum domin i reg is ad placita coram rege tenenda assignati : et filia Amisn
Bampfield militis : quae Obiit primo martii Anno Domini
Mortua jam statua est illustris foemina vivens
Viva typus verae quas pietatis erat,Hanc ig itur pietas terrae deplorat ademptamHuic pie tas cael i regna tenenda dedit.
Apostrophe ad spectatorem,
M ens mea quam gremio corpus conceperat anuosBinos terdeuos
,filia parta Deo est.
Mors Lucina fuit ; Lucem dedit illa fruendamCoeli, quo primes luceo s tella notae .
”
Aswhen a curious clock is out Oi' frameA workman in small pieces takes the same,And mending what amiss is to b e foundThe same rejoins
,andmakes it true and sound
SO God this lady into two parts took ;TOO soon her soul her mortal corpse forsook ;But by his might at length her body soundShall rise rej oin’d unto her soul now crown
’d .
Till then they rest, in earth and heaven sunder’d,
Atwhich conj oin’d, all such as knew themwonder’d.
H is matri charae, cor gnati triste parentatMortem ejus celeb rans, qua sibi vita data est.
[Caztera desiderantur, in M .S .]
1 84 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK II .
CHAPTER XXII
An Ep ilogue or Conclusion on the View of E xeter .
TH US have I communi cated to you (far unlike a scholar, but) as a poor
travelling pilgrim pass ing on his way , what I have seen and observed of the
antiquities , names , situations , government, and other thing s which I found
remarkable , worthy your View registering also all such famous men , whether
natives , or by some other good occasion here seated, whose virtues and good
qualities have merited much better than to b e raked up in the dust Of obli
vion ; wherein , how great soever my painful endeavours have been to yield
you profitable or pleasurable content, yet b e it far from my purpose to en
dear them to any such he ight as to think to gain applause of any ; for I
cannot perform suffi cient to satisfy my own private l iking , much less am I
assured I shal l do it to others , chiefly the inhabitants ; for of them divers
will say , (and that rightly, for I cannot gainsay it, ) that I have Observed
nothing but common and ordinary thing s . But let them b e pleased to take
thi s answer, that strange and wonderful relations and things of admiration
are to b e expected from places far remote and newly discovered, and not
among ourselves . And for myself, to whom nature hath gi ven a weak ins ight in high and intricate matters , do appeal from the common suffrageto the most learned and judi ciously accomplished , whereof (the compassconsidered,) this city is very fruitful ; for they rightly understand that it is
not in every man’s power to procure the liberty Of any imprisoned an tiquity
or concealment where there are so many vigilant Arguses , so many bars andkeys to hinder entrance , even into public places , (without a bountiful hand, )either in church or common hall .
And in this my pilgrimage I could never win a consort or assistan t, only la
horions M r . Hooker forewentme long s ince , and his steps little apparent ; andhe only chalked the way, (as Scogg in did his wives
’to the church, ) making
the longe stway about, the nearest, because the fairest, yet the more doubtful , Obscure , and uncertain to strangers ; (for broken and independent piecesand fragments have l ittle l ight, pleasure or profit in them yet questionles s , having al l assistan ce that e ither clergy or laity could yield him , and
himself an officer of the c ity , had he lived some long er time he would have
illustrated the same with more than ordinary method and bare relation , such
1 86 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK II .
purpose , I will seek some better means for your recreation by country contentments ; which be ing matters of sundry natures , may someway b e pleasing and an swerable to the several disposition and variable humour of everycomplexion . This matter will require some pains and is worthy thereof,and demands a good judgment and much le isure : but since nature hath
den ied me both, I will make a brief and bare relation of What I find, and
leaving al l unnecessary vagaries , take only the choice of things ; for the
multitude and variety of matters which present themselves to our View is so
c0 pious , that if a good election b e not made , and those related with brevity ,it woul d oppress the b earer and reader with too tedious and heavy a bur
den . But here is an Object for your s ight not unworthy the noting .
Yonder stands Floyers-Hays , the seat, by a long descent, of the generous
name of Floyerf'
who , if the Earl of Devon (or his heirs general , hi s chieflord,) were here present, would not fail to tender his service, (by himself or
his tenant.) decently apparall ed, with a fair sweet towel on , his shoulder, a
flagon of wine in the one hand, and a s ilver bowl in the other, and so Offer
to serve his lordship with drink : for b y that tenure he is said to hold hislands . This gentleman married Pole : his father, M artin : his grandfather,Kirke .
W e pass on the left hand Lark-beer , long held by the ancient family of
Hull ; lately of Smith .
Next is Heniton , (so called of Old,) nowWear, of the wears there set cross
the river, long s ince the seat of Augustin de Baa, al ias Bathe , who had great
possessions in his time ; but s ince the fourth year of Edward III . , anno 1 348,
[ l 33o,] it hath been enjoyed by the Hollands , as the ir evidence testifiethwhose seal s thereunto annexed express their ancient armories , Viz , azure
s emee de fieur-de - lis , a lion sal . gar . arg . (A valiant knight after some com
b at or martial exercise , recreating himself in a field of l ilies .) The ir first
ancestor was a younger brother to S ir Thomas Holland, one of the noblesociety of the first founders of the royal Order of the Garter . This married
the coheir of Thorn : hi s father, Pollard : his grandfather, Wotton .
Here falls unto us the streamletW onford, whose first spring is near Pols
loe , sometime a nunnery of Black Nuns , d edicated to St Catharine , valuedat the surrender at £ 1 70 . 2S . S‘i 'd . And here I am put in mind to con
s ider and seriously to meditate upon the fore - intentions of mortal men’s
purposes in thinking of the first founder of this fabric , endeavouring to make
CHA P . XXIII .] V IEW O F DEVON SH I RE .1 8 7
use thereof ( if you will join with me ,) for ourselves , not in any case to
question him , b ut that we may b e informed of this world’s vanities .
If this free and bountiful g ift and relig ious action were done b y the founder with a charitable design and pious intent for the service of G od and
good of his church, (as I verily believe , and so are all obliged by the rules
of Christian ity to do , ) no doubt is to b e made but he hath his reward, (his
sheaves in his b osom z) but if he did it to the end and purpose only to per
petuate and illustrate the memory Of his name to posterity , he hath utterly
lost his aim , and his desire is frustrate ; for it is no where (that I can find , )remembered .
I will think him therefore a true disciple of Bernardus de Laudrico , that
famous school -man , and by him taught not to expect merit or reward for
any pious or religious work we do in churches , chapels , monasteries , hospi
tals , bridges , or such like , which we build , repair , or bestow any ornaments
on ; if we deck and adorn them b y setting up our names or armories thereon , or any thing that may b e a means to perpetuate or eternize our name .
Then this riveret nameth the manor of W onford , which is thought to g ive
denomination to the greatest hundred in our shire ; which for his larg e extentand multiplicity Of par ishes is divided into three parts , b y the names Of East,
We st, and South-W onford : the honour of which was sometime in the te
nure of S ir Simon de M ontague , whose Son was Earl of Salisbury ; and
after of Courtenay s , Earls of Devon . This stands in the parish Of Heav i
tree ; which dull name shows it not ancient, but seems to come from sor
rowful matter, which we term heavy and sad : I take it therefore so to b e
named for be ing the place where malefactors are ordinarily executed after
the assize s and se ss ions ; for whose more christian - like burial there is ( in a
spacious larg e tread~ way near the place of execution , ) a plot of ground en
closed with strong stone walls , and land appropriated to buy them shrouds .
And that the memory of a woman so charitably disposed may not b e utterly
overwhelmed with Oblivion , I think it fit here to record her : it was the work
of Jane the relict of John Tuckfield , of the city of E xeter a relig ious woman ,
another Dorcas : and as in this , so in other pious actions , showed her g ood
works to the g lory of God . The manor was anciently the land of Kelly .
W e pass b y M atford , where S ir Georg e Smith erected a house for his
posterity . He married Walker , and one of the coheirs of Viall : his son ,
S ir Nicholas , (of whom I may say with Quadrigarius , optimi minime diur
1 88 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK II .
nant, —the best men are of least continuance , for he was taken away in thechief of his time :)
Y et here methinks b ut l ittle wonder needs
DO not we gather rather herbs than weedsDO not we take the timber for our turn
,
And leave the dockrels in the ir time to burn ?
And in the shambles, who is b e b ut wouldBe rather sped of young flesh than of old ?
with Horsey : his son , (whose issue soon followed him, ) a daughter of the
Lord Lambert of Ireland .
Near unto it is a new and fair erected house built by Radford, and of
him named M ount-Radford : from him to Doddridge and Hancock .
On our right hand , on the other s ide of Exe , we have a little supply froma riveret coming from Whitestone , Saxum Al bum ; (taking name perchancefrom the whited towers so conven iently standing that it is a mark to Shipping at sea ;) which Bohun , Earl of Hereford and Essex , held under EdwardII . as having the wardship of the heir of John de Powderham . In thisstands Heath-Barton , held some time by Heth ; by Langdon ; b y Dowrish ;and nowb y abranch of the dignous family of Pollard, by match with thehe ir of Dowrish . Then it cometh to the parish of
St . Thomas the Apostle , whereat Barley inhabiteth one of the ancientfamily of the Berrys . Of Floyers
-Hays is spoken already .
And here , in regard modest, wise , and grateful antiquity, hath not made
use only of the thankful and affectionate actions of men , but al so of brute
animals , and have recorded sundry strange discourses of rare deeds done bythem , even to admiration the ir nature rightly cons idered . In imitation of
whom I may not forbear to show you of one that happened in thi s later
time , not yet out of aged people’s remembrance ; answerable to , if not ex
ceeding , Xantippus’s dog , of whom Plutarch, in the life of Themistocles ,
maketh remembrance in this sort, — that for love he bore to his master swamby the side of his galley from Athens to Salamina ; and at his arrival , his
breath failing him, he presently died upon the promontory , where his mastercaused him to b e buried, and the place to thi s day is called Cynoscenia— the
dog’s grave . If such a tal e , of such a dog , for such a slender cause , he not
unworthy the pen of such a famous historiographer, let me not b e thought
idly disposed to tell you a tale to pass the time (far more worthy remem
1 90 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK II .
the king advertised, commanded the man to b e strictly examined . He pro
testeth innocency y yet the cur ceaseth not bawling and barking at him ;
whereby he was with a general consent thought guilty . It proceeded so far
that the king , for the better tr ial , ordered that it should b e decided by a
combat between the man and dog ; and the dog had the day . This history(sai th he ,) is curiously painted in a certain castle in France ; and the work ,wearing by age , hath been Often renewed by the king
’s command : worthy ,
saith the author, to b e set forth in pictures of brass that it never perish
and farther addeth, I should rather erect a monument and epitaph to this
dog than to Sultan Solyman . Though I have told you a tale or two of
dogs, yet it is not my purpose to write a treatise of dogs , or the isle Of dogs ,for I am presently come out of France , and am with the riveret atAlphington , which John de Nevil held under Henry I II and Theobald
Nev il in the time of Edward I I . Since which time it hath flourished under
the Courtenays .
W e must proceed to Exminster, anciently Exanminster, pronounced Exm ister ; which King Alfred many years s ince bequeathed to a younger son
Of his ; but, in the time of Henry VI I . and VIII . , the seat of Henry Courtenay , M arqui s of Exeter , and son ofWilliam Earl of Devon and Katharinehi s wife , seventh daughter to King Edward IV . He was created M arquisof E xeter b y king Henry VI II . , 1 8th of June , 1 5 25 , and designed higherpreferments . But his high parentag e in time brought him great troubles ,and subject to many suspicions , as affecting chang e of state , and assistingReg inald Pole , after Cardinal Pole , of the title of St . M ary of Cosmeden ,
then a fugitive ; practising with the emperor and pope against his native
country ; was judicially arraigned, found guilty, and condemned, with some
other , and executed the 3oth of Henry VIII . , 1 538 .
Here stands Peimont, commonl y Peamoor , which William le Speke ipos
sessed under Edward I I in the minority Of Thomas Fitz-Ralph ; but nowthe seat of Henry Tothill , who was lately high sheri ff of this county , and
married [M ary] the heir of Spark : his father, Geoffry Tothill , recorder of
Exeter, married Dill on : his two cohe irs , Tothill and N orleigh. I have readthat John Giffard held Ackot of Alice de Tothill in the 20th year of KingEdward I .
Passing over the river we find T0ppisham, now called Apsham for whichlordship King Henry I . gave M eriet and Coll iton in exchang e . It is now,
CHA P . I .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1 9 1
b y means of the stoppage of the river between it and the city, (for therebythe merchants -
unload most of their commodities at that quay ,) and some
other means , grown to very good state ; and the river Clyst, as it emptieth
itself into our river, makes it a peninsula, or head land .
END OF THE SECOND BOOK .
TH I RD B O O K
TREATETH OF THE EASTERN DIVIS ION OF TH IS COUNTY.
CHAPTER I .
Of the Circuit of the River Clyst.
W E may fetch the original of thi s river beyond Plimtree, perchance PalmTree , of a fair yew tree used to b e carried by some instead of palm ; and
such a tree is there now, cur iously cut and kept like a pyramis , but circular and gradatim . V illa de Plimtree was posses sed by Nicholas de la Ludein the age of Henry III . ; and under Edward II . by Bartholomew Clyvedon ;and by Hungerford in the time of Henry VI .Tale -Court was in these later days held by Goodwine and Stump; and
now divided among many .
Ford-M oor, the ancient seatOfFord, whomarriedAshford : his father, Bal l .This river giveth name to more parishes , villages , manors, and farms,
than any in this country .
Lawrence-Clist, or Clist St. Lawrence, having that addition for distinctionfrom others .
Cli st-H idon , (now Clehidon ,) be ing the possessions ofWilliam de H idonin the 6th of Edward III . , and in a latter age of Roger Novant ; and the
former was the land of de Valletort.
1 92 V IEW OF‘ DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
Rockb ear steps in between this and the next Clist and was In the tenure
of Gilbert de Clare , Earl of Glocester, in Edward I . s time .
Cliston , or Broad-Clist, which with four parishes more make a hundred,
the honour whereof, as al so of Clisto House , had S ir Roger Novant in his
time ; after, Chudleigh ; now Count Arundell , Baron of Wardour . Brock
well , anciently Cromwell’s ; now Chapple
’s . Killerton, alias Killerinton , was
long s ince held by Punchardon ; but after many changes it came to Drewe ,and now is Ackland
’s .
Tyle-House , which a g enerous name of Tyle long inherited ; now Reynel .
A sh-C list, held b y E sse ; after b y John Vawtort . Clist Gerard, the land
ofWilliam Gerard ; of Dennis ; of Manwaring , and Hele .
Southbrook , the inheritance of Oliver Dynant, or Dinham ; but passed to
another tribe .
Clist-Honiton , alias Hiniton , possessed byCourtenay, who held also the ma
nor ofWhimple ; for it bare hi s name and was namedWhimple Courtenay .
Then have we on your left hand Clist-Moys, now call ed Poltimore ; which
Sir Richard de Poltimore held and his predecessors , and posterity for a whi le
after him . From him to Sir Simon de Montague . But since the time of
Edward I . it hath been the patrimony of the well - desce nded, well-respected,well -beloved family of the Bampfields ; who is lord of the whole parish and
patron withall : his mans ion-house seated as it were in the navel thereof,well provided for al l commodities for hospitality . By the match of his pre
decessors he draws his pedigree from Baron St. Maur ; who likewise derived
his from the heirs of the Lord Zouch, of Ashby-de-la-Zouch ; who descend
ed from Alan Viscount Rohan in Little Britain , and Constantia his wife ,daughter to Conon le Gros ( Earl of Britain,) and M aud his —w ife , natural
daughter to King Henry I . Thi s gentleman married with Drake : his father, a sister of the Lord Cliftons : and his grandfather, Sydenham .
Next in our way is Pin-hoo, (or, as the young grammarian said, splin
trum quis Pinckhoo, or Pinhaws wherein stood Pincourt ; a fair mansion
house , now utterly demolished, or ruinated, I know not whi ch. It was the
seat of Stretch, of which progeny was Sir John Stretch, in Edward I l .
’s
days , and another of the same name in Richard II .
’S time ; one of whose
coheirs brought it to Cheyney, al ias de Casineto, or de Caneto ; whose race
lived in great estimation for some few descents , and then his patrimony was
divided among four distaffs .
9 4 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
W e come now to Sowton , or rather South-Town ; but anciently ClistFomizon , (but more anciently Clist St . M ichael ,) then the land of Richardde Fomizon , under Henry III . , but b y his daughter and heir, E sse , alias
A sh, was inducted there , and yet there continues : the only remainder of
that long living name and clareous progeny of Esse , who is said to derive
his name from the river Esse , now Exe , and he A sh ; whose well -knownensigns of generos ity are quartered by many families of this county and
elsewhere ; as none more vulgar , and therefore it shall not need to blazon
them here . Of thi s tribe , besides many worthy tribes and famous men , (for
it was a very frui tful stirpe, and transmitted or transplanted itself into manyseveral places , and flourished in great state , ) there was in the time of K ingJohn one very rarely learned and famous , for those times ; a diligent wr iter,named Simon de Fraxino , alias E sse or Ashe . But I cannot yet leave M r .
Fomizon . I must have another bout with him, and tell you how he was
served with a pretty prank .
*
This M r . Fomiz on was not only lord of the whole parish, but patron also
of the church, having the perpetuity of the donation of the b enefice , whichhe lost somewhat strangely, for the variety thereof and cunning therein , not
al together unworthy of your ears . Bishop Wal
ter Bronscomb e having gottenthe manor house and demesne of Clist-Sachevile , (now Clist-Bishop ,) buthow you may chance to know when we come to it, and buil ded a fair palace thereon , and l iving there, a friar , hi s chaplain and confessor, fell s ick
and died , and was by right to have been buried at Farringdon , the palacestanding in that parish ; but because the church stood somewhat far remotedOff, the ways dirty and deep , the weather wet, (or some other politic cause
not divulged,) the bishop would have the corpse to b e carried to Clist-FOmizon Church, there to b e buried, (which was somewhat nearer, yea border
ing upon the bishop’s demesne,) the two parishes being divided only b y a
standing pool . It was not kept so secret but M r . Fomizon was advertised
thereof, and that maugre hi s teeth a new lich-way (a thing of some mo
ment in those days,) should b e made over his land . He therefore muster
eth up hi s servants and tenants, and with that strength stands at the bridge
that severed the bishop’s lands and hi s , and when the corpse was brought9“The pretty prank is fortunately refuted b y the Deed of Purchase and E xchange pre
served in the B ishop’s Reg ister, and attested b y the most respectable names in the county
ofDevon. It is printed in p . 34, vol . 2, Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Devon.—G . O . ,
— P . J .
CHAP. I .] VIEW O F DEVON SH IRE . 1 95
forbiddeth them to enter upon his land . The lord-bishop’s men respectedit not, but notwithstanding the denial press forward . The g entleman withstands them , at length the contention grew so eag er and hot that my
lord’s friar was thrown into the water . The bishop’s men for the present
there let him lie ; but the ensuing night, Very secretly , took him up and
buried him . But my lord takes the matter tenderly and as a very he inousOffence , that a religious father— a holy friar— his own chaplain and confessor,
should b e so unreverently cast into the water ; and so , instead Jf going to
heaven by the way of purgatory, might chance light on Charon’s boat, and
so b e carried b y water another course sends the next day (to have himbrought back again with) many of his brethren , the fr iars , and with all ce
remonies fitting . But here sprung a m iracle , the friar was that night takenaway by the angels and carried with Enoch into heaven , and so was canon
ized a saint ; yet his lordship was not therewith satisfied , but continues hisspleen against M r . Fomizon ; and first by exeommunication , and so succes
sively b y other Violent and exhorb itant v exationS, (too long and tedious tob e rehearsed,) so troubled and tormented him , that after much contestingand stronger patience , the gentleman , unable to hold out, was enforced to
prostrate himself to the bishop , which could not b e accepted without themediation of great friends ; yet their intercession and his humble submiss ion
was not powerful enough to expiate the offence and procure pardon and his
favour, but that he must g ive him the patronag e of the parish, and a pieceof land therewith to b e annexed to his manor and demesne of Clist . The
Bishop of Exon is still the patron thereof.
It might b e thought somewhat hard measure and a dear purchase to payso great a fine for his lordship’s friendship ; and some of you would have
been , per chance , hardly drawn unto it , yet I commend his patience there in ;for considering how he dealt with the canons for Cornish-wood , and M r .
Sachv ile for the manor of Clist, he did not amiss to do as the pheasant did
to the gripe , when he took out two of his young , when he might have taken
al l and himself together ; for , as the poet saith, b e thanked him for his
favourable kindness
A pair of young one s take th from hi s nest,And leaves the fearful re creant the re st ;
W ho g ive s him thanks his goodness would so do,
That might taketh airy and the old ones too.
”
1 96 Vi Ew OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
In our way is Farringdon , whence was the long continued race of Farringdon , which had in this age a fatal catastrophe by the untimely and unfortu
nate death of a fair conditioned, well qual ified , but most unhappy gentleman ,
who ,wanting patience to endure the untimely loss (as he took it, and as I
am told ,) of a most loving and beloved wife , cut off his days violently and
strangely . He had the right spirit of an ancient Roman ; among whom,
had he lived, he should have had equal honour and commendation withPublia Cornelia Arria, so highly magnified and extolled by their writers for
having l ived twenty years with her husband without strife or jarring, whenhe died, at his funeral cast herself into his grave , and so ending her life was
buried with him : an d these had hardly lived together the e ighth part of that
time . But howhonourably soever the Romans thought of such actions , yet
differs it much from christian virtue ; and reprovable , together with Ra
zias’ audacious resolution , though approved of, 2 Machabees , c . 1 4 , and
all books that allow of it are Apocryphal . W e will conclude with the di
vine poet,
For no men ought to Offerwilful forceTo his own sel f, or his own soul divorce
But patiently attend the cheerful call,
Then to God’s hands gladly surrender all .
In this parish is the lordship styled Clist-Bishop to this day, though it haslost that lord and found another . In the time of Henry III . it was call edClist-Sachvil e , of the then possessor ; of whi ch name there were sundry
worshipful famili es in this country, whereof divers of our g entry are descended . They gave three several charges in the ir armories , and yet per
chance all of one orig inal . But this M r . Sachvile of whom I am speakingwas outed of his house and land by Walter Bronscomb e , the then lord
bishop of thi s diocese , by so subtle and artificial wit- craft as I think it well
worthy the relating , for it excelled in cunning guile the getting of Sowton
patronage , formerly spoken of.
When St . Lewis King of France , of whom the heroical poet saith
H e that to free from captive fury fell,The fieldswhere erst our captain conquer
’d hell,
(Courageous zeal setting his soul on fire ,Led armed France aga inst the As ian ire
1 98 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 1 1 .
not to strive with our mightier lest we fall into his hands ; and again , not
to make variance with a rich man lest he bows us down with his weight ;and had heard the tale of the canons for their Cornish-wood : and the bishop
was his mightier , and Walter Bronscomb e had more wealth and cunning ,
and therefore there was no contesting or contending . But what became of
all this at last— ( it is a lesson for all men, ) so gotten , so spent : which Sa
mazara , a neoteric poet hath well expressed in two verses , which in our
tongue speak thus ,
Whoso feeds fat on fortune’s wealthAnd swallows it too fast,
N ot able to digest itwellWil l surfe it at the last.
and put up all ag ain : for this bishop was not more griping and greedy to
scrape and gain , than some (especially one) of his successors have been as
wasting ; reducing the episcopal patrimony to a far less portion than Leo
fricus found it at his first instalment here . But as wealth and the desire
thereof increased , so virtue decreased ; as now we have seen .
Here I should forbear to speak further of Clist Bishop , but I may not ere
you know that here was crushed the Viperous head of that serpent, commo
tion , raised in Cornwall in the reign of Edward VI . : for after those rudeinsurrectors had received a great overthrow at Feniton Bridge, retiring
hither , they fort ified both bridge and town ; which, though it were the general
’s own land , was fired and consumed : but the bridge , planted and
strong ly fortified with ordnance , could not b e forced with the valorous at
tempt of Sir William Francis of Combe -flory , who there winning fame tohimself and posterity, lost his life . At length, by the conduct Of one Mr .
Yard, a native near the place , the river was found fordable , where he passing with many other, they came on the back of the defendants , who (little
expecting such a matter,) retreated thence to the lower end of the heath,
where they entrenched , fortifying their hasty-made fort with their ordnance ;to which, as their last refuge , they brought the crucifix in a cart, (for wantof a better altar ,) with many other like things , to abate and dull the edge of
the assailants’swords ; yet the whole rout was here utterly vanquished and
suppressed . The whole discourse is elsewhere to b e read at large ; to whichI refer him that is desirous to b e more sufficiently informed .
And here I do observe by this action (as many other that religion is the
CHAP . I .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .1 99
most forcible motion to provoke the blindest, basest, and dullest hearts Of
men to the most dangerous , audacious , and resolutest enterprises : as the
Romans , in the time of Romulus , flying before the Sabines , so that the Vic
tory plainly Showed itself on their adversaries’
s ide : Romulus only remem
bering them of leaving Jupiter and the rest Of their gods in the capitol to
the possession of their enemies , was sufficient to turn and alter their desperate fortune .
Yet again to another Clist with the addition Of St. George . Here hathinhabited the family Of Suckb itch, even (as they affirm) from the conquest
though of no great estate , yet worthy Of our remembrance , for that Godhath so blessed the tribe that one name should continue so long and ih
herit one place . But I suppose it hath been sometime written Sackeby ,
or Suckby ; for it was a generous tribe , and their armories allude to the ir
former names, which are to b e seen in Brixton Church, and are quartered
by Fortescue of Fallopit .
So we leaveWoodbury , sometime the land ofDamerle , alias de Al bemarle ,
or de Albamara ; for by all these we find him written ; b ut now of the vicars
choral of St . Peter’s of Exon , with his castle standing in the heath, some
time a wood , as we may conjecture , and thereof to take its name ofWood
berry, or Bury ; (the fort in the wood not far from the church, as I re
member ; built with little cost, without e ither lime or hewn stone : only a
hasty fortification made of mother-earth for the present to serve a turn for
need , with plain ditches : the Saxons’usual structure , who commonly lay
sub dio, with no other shelter or coverture than the starry canopy ; for their
custom was not to carry trunks with them, nor troubled they themselves
with anything more than their arms .
Here , near the bank of the river Exe, stands Nutwel , ( in elder time)Castle : but translated to a fair dwelling house by the Lord Dinham , Lord
H igh Treasurer of England under Henry VIII (Of this name Leland writeth, Dominus Dinham, (it was then Dinant, ) fuit Fundator Sancti Nicholai ;[N ectani ;] apud Hartland .) His great estate of his own inheritance andmatchwith the daughter and heir of the Lord Fitzwalterswas parted amongst
his four daughters and coheirs, thus married, Margaret, the first, toNicholasBaron Carew ; (ofwhom are all the noble house of the Carews ;) Jane, the second, to Lord Zouch : (ofwhom is the nowLord Zouch the third,
Elizabeth ;first wife to Fulk Bourchier, Lord Fitzwarren ; (of whom is the now Earl ~o f
200 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 1 1 .
Bath ;) and secondly to Sir John Sapcotts of Rutlandshire , (of whom is theEarl of Bedford Katharine , the youngest, was married to S ir Thomas
Arundell of Lanherne in Cornwall . Of his natural son , S ir Thomas Dinham,
knight, I will not Speak , but leave to him that travels Kent to remember .
This N utwel-Court at the partition came to the Lord Zouch, by whichname it was alienated to George Prideaux , Serg eant-at-Law, much respectedfor his knowledge there in and general learning . His son
’s son now pos
sesseth it, with equal Virtue to his predecessors . S ir Thomas marri ed thecoheir of Cole : his father, COOper : his grandfather, Stukeley .
CHAPTER II .
Of P owderham Castle and the noble Family of Courtenay .
HAV ING passed Lympstone andW ithecomb e , (whichAlbemarle so held byno common tenure , but only to find the king two good arrows stuck in an
oaten cake when he pleased to come and hunt in Dartmoor,) we will now look
over the river Exe to the other s ide , to take view of that fair object which
offers itself to our View : we cannot survey it well unless we g o nearer unto it .
Exe is here large and navigable , and scorns to b e forded ; in this boat we
may take a better View of it than before . It shows like a strong defensible
castle . Is there no doubt to approach near it? no : fear not : it is indeed a
castle , but fortified chiefly by a noble heart that keeps b ountiful hospitalitylike his honourable ancestors , and gives kind and courteous entertainment
to all comers . This Powderham Castle, the seat of long continuance of the
illustrious family Of the Courtenays , lineally descended from the famous
earls of this county, all ied by affinity to most honourable houses of thi s
kingdom , and yet flourisheth in high estimation, worthy their descent fromsuch parentage . He married Pole and Seymour : hi s father, Elizab eth,
daughter of Henry M anners ; second of that name , Earl of Rutland : his
grandfather, El izabeth , daughter of John Pawlet, Marquis of Winchester .
This castle was built, saith M r . Camden , by Isabella de Ripariis ,*
not
it It never belonged to Isabella de Fortibus, who died in 1 293, but to the Bohuns,
202 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK III .
press ; for he married M abel , daughter of Robert Fitzhamon, Lord of Car
boil in Normandy, Cardiff in Wales , and Tewkesbury in England ; and had
fair and fruitful issue .) This son he had by Edith, sister of Ive , son to
Forme , the son of Segewolfe , a baron in the north parts . Some doubtmayb e made of this second Robert Fitzroy, Baron of
_Okehampton, but there b e
many deeds y et to b e Showed to prove it, besides the red book in the Exchequer : and that the Earl of Gloucester and he were not both one and the
selfsame man : for Mr . York never saw all thi s king’s natural issue ; for hehad two sons more and as many daughters , of whom you may have further
intelligence hereafter .
Robert Courtenay, son and he ir, (for leaving the two younger brothers, Iwill speak only of him,) married Mary , eldest daughter and at last sole heir
ofWilliam de Vernon, Earl of Devon, (to whom her father gave caput ho
noris sui‘
in Devon , cum castello de Plimton ; after whose decease she was
re -married to Peter de Fruz , or Prous , of whom there is al so issue remaining ;) by whom Robert had issue S ir John . This man was buried at FordAbbey, anno 1 242 , with thi s epitaph, if rightly transcribed,
Hic j acet ingenu i de Courtenay gleba RobertiM ilitis egregii virtutum laude referti .Quem genuit strenuus Gul ielmus Courtoniensis .
Qui procer eximius fuerat tune Devon iensis
Sir John Courtenay, knight, Baron of Okehampton , married Isabel ,daughter of John de Vere, seventh Earl of Oxford, and had issue Hughhe died anno 1 2 73 .
Hugh,Lord Courtenay, married Eleanor Spencer, (alias le Despencer, )
and had issue Hugh, and Philip of Moreton : and Isabella married to St.
John . Avellina wife to Gifford : and Margaret married to Nichols . [John
de Moelis . Hugh, Lord Courtenay was by letters rnissive to the sheriff of
the county, dated at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, [22nd Feb . 9th Edward 1 1 1
1 335 declared Earl of Devonshire .
And now having brought this family to the earldom of thi s county , I think
it will b e expected as coherent and agreeable to our proceedings to offer untoyour View a catalogue of such as have been honoured w ith that title ; and
yet perchance of some it will b e thought superfluous , in regard there are
two or three extant already by men of great sufficiency : yet, they differing
CHA P . II I .] V IEW O F DEVON SH I RE .203
in divers points , I will mediate between them , and do my endeavours to
make a reconciliation . Some I find preceding the Norman conquest (whichI think rather temporary commanders and l ieutenants than hereditary ho
nours ,) which they have not noted I will Show you what I have read, for
I have no other warrant .
CHAPTER III .
A Catalogue of the E arls and Dukes of Devon before the Conquest .
I should begin with Duke Corinaeus, but some may say he was of Com
wall ; if he were so, then (if there were such a man, ) he must also b e of
this county : for before King Athelstan’s time ( it is generally consented)
they were but one province : but hi s existence being uncertain , we will leave
him without farther speech .
Vortigern is next named , of whom nothing in the MS . Ceorle had the
title of Earl of Devon , who at W inleshore gave a great overthrow to the
whole power of the Danes in the time of King Ethelwolfe , A . D. 839 , so
that in despair they withdrew themselves unto the Isle of Thanet, wherethey abode all the winter season ; and if destiny (saith one) had not opposed
the English, the Danes by this defeat had been clearly expulsed the king
dom .
Ordgarus , or Odogarus , was Duke of Devon ; whose fair daughter El
phreda was second w ife to the noble and val iant King Edgar, thirteenth
monarch of this kingdom .
Ordolph, his son, succeeded him ; of whose length and strength is much
spoken (wonderful lie , as some think :) this man , admonished by a vis ion
from heaven , built the Abbey of Tavistock, anno 96 1 , of whom you shal l
know more when we come thither .
Hugh, Earl of Devon , (as Dicetus saith,) by whose traiterous instigation
Sweno , King of Denmark , came with a great army and besieged the city of
Exeter , took and burned it, torturing the inhabitants with great cruelty,leaving it at his departure waste and unpeopled : a man very unworthy tob e registered : but we find them, and make none . He lived a small time in
that command .
2 04 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
Goda (as saith Simon Dunelmensis ,) was Earl of Devonshire . He fought
a great and long battle with the Danes , and defeated the ir whole power ,anno , 989 ; in which fight he also lost his own life , together with Stemwold, a man highly commended both for his valour and martial skill ; in
great love and esteem in these parts in those days ; who at this fight
served the earl .
Almarus was also near ab out this time , who , by the advice of the country
people , was contented (with the willow to wave with the wind, and temporize in that furious storm) to yield to the sharpest sword, and pay tribute tothe Danes .
Ethelmar , (saith Matthew of Westminster,) a powerful man and Earl of
Devon , met Sweno at the city of Bath, and submitted himself and all his
people unto him and to pay contributions ; which, through want of victual s ,he was enforced (for a sum of money) shortly to release ; and so he returned
forthwith into Denmark . He may b e supposed to b e one and the same with
Almarus next before .
Elfius , Prince of Devonshire : whose son, Brithricus, a very hopeful man,
was slain by King Canutus .
Albert, Earl of Devon , was a testis to a deed made by M artin, Duke of
Cornwall . O f him I have no other authentical remembrance whereon to
depend .
These are all those that I find registered by wr iters of those times . But
after the Norman conquest we have a more certain and assured testimony,
in regard these tribes were made hereditary .
CHAPTER IV .
Of the E arls of Devon the Conquest, and First of Redvers .
R ICHARD DE RI PARI I S, al ias Rivers , intitled Le Sire de B iviers , son of
Baldwin , to whom King Henry I . gave Tiverton and the barony Of Plimton ,
creating him also Earl of Devonshire ; granting him the third penny of the
revenue of the county , which was ten marks . He had issue Baldwin .
206 V IEw OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK I II .
And Maud"my wife that was ful l dearW e l iv
’d together fifty-five year.
That we have we gave ;That we spent we had;Thatwe left we lost.”
I remember I have somewhere read in a printed poem this epitaph hardlycensured and condemned (unjustly, as I suppose , ) of a smack of sensual de
lights and beastl iness , (so are the words ,) and compared in a sort (though
as it seems to me it expresseth a pious and religious mind,) to that of the
luxurious , riotous , and beastly King Sardanapalus ; who caused certain
verses to b e written on his tomb in Greek , which by Cicero (as some say)are thus translated ,
Haec hab ui quae edi, quae que exsaturata libido
H ausit,at illa manent multa et praeclara relicta
and thus put to me in Eng lish,
All that I eat did I enjoy, and al l that I greedily gorg’dAs for those many goodly matters left I for others.
”
This seems to me a very unfit comparison , and too severe a censure ; for
christian charity would understand this old, bountiful , and relig iously affected earl and his poet
’
s meaning thus ,That they spent no more than was their own rightfully, without extorting
from others unlawfull y or unjustly ; and that he died not indebted — That
what he g ave to the poor or to charitable and pious uses , as very fair land
to the Abbey Quarrer , to pray for the soul of King Henry , hi s lord ; theEarl Baldwin , hi s father ; Adelicia, the Countess , hismother ; Earl Richard,
his brother ; and for the health of Maud, his Countess , and Baldwin , theirson ; as is to b e seen in his deed dated 4th Sep . , 1 206 ; whi ch in those dayswas not only approved as good and lawful , but laudable and meritorious,was lent to the Lord , and so they had it repaid them again and what theyleft behind them chested and heaped up in treasury might rust, and was to
Another reading (p: 1 42 , Cleaveland, ) M abel is incorrect. There can b e l ittlequestion of the effigies be ing intended for E dward Courtenay, the first of that name
,E arl
ofDevonshire,who died 5 th December, 1 4 1 9 ; yet he attained the age of 62 only, and was
buried, with many of his ancestors,in Ford Abbey .
Were they not marri ed 35 insteadof 55 years
— G . O . ,—P . J .
CHAP . IV .] VIEW OF DEVON SH I RE .207
them as lost, not being employed to the ir right use . I hold therefore this
comparison very unfit : the one a religious and bountiful knight, and chris
tian soldier ; and the other a dissolute and ignoble -hearted epicure ; rather
to b e termed only a mere animal than a reasonable man : for he was so far
unlike a man , that he kept himself always chambered, carding and spinning
with his lewd strumpets ; waitering , wantonizing , and beast- like tumblingunfit to b e rehearsed by a christian mouth . For be ing deceased, there wasmade a statue for him in this manner : a man dancing by himself alone , after
a barbarous and brutish fashion , knocking his fingers (as it were ,) over hishead like an antic, with this inscription , [ in English thus ,]
What I did eat and drink I have ,The sports alsowere gain ;That lady, Venus, did vouchsafeA ll e lse to me was va in .
But leaving the examination of this rigorous comparison to your favourable
consideration , we will proceed with the seventh earl .
Baldwin , son of Baldwin , son of William de Vernon , was he . He mar
ried Amicia, daughter of Gilbert de Clare , Earl of Hertford and Gloucester ,
and foundress of the Abbey of Buckland ; and had issue Baldwin his suc
cessor, 1 245 . Isabella married toWilliam de Fortibus , Earl of AlbemarleM argaret made nun at Lacock .
Baldwin was the e ighth Earl of Denshire , and the fifth of that christian
name . He married Avice , the daughter of a Savoyan born ,
near kinswoman to Queen Eleanor, and had issue a son named John , who
died young, without issue leaving Isabella , Countess Of Albemarle , his sis
ter, his he ir ; anno 1 262 .
Isabella, sister and heir Of Earl Baldwin , was , as is formerly said, mar
ried to William de Fortibus , who enjoyed the profits of the earldom all his
life , yet was never styled Earl of Devon . Her issue was John , Thomas ,
Will iam ; all three died before her, sans issue ; and Ann , who died unmar
ried ; and Aveline , first married to Ingram de Percie , and secondly unto
Edmund Earl Of Lancaster, second son to King Henry I II . ; b ut had issueb y neither of them yet she gave much of her inheritance to the last, (being
so persuaded by her lady-mother, ) from her nearest kindred, the Courte
nays . W e will not therefore number Will iam de Fortibus as one of the
earls , but pass to another line .
“208 V IEw OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK 1 1 1 .
CHAPTER V .
Of the right noblefamily of the Courtenays , E arls of Devon .
H UGH LORD COURTENAY , Baron of Okehampton , was , by his g randmother ,
Mary , eldest daughter, and now, by the death Of Isabella de Fortibus , heirto the Rivers b ut was not presently admitted b y the treasurer and barons
of the E xchequer, to rece ive the third penny , be ing not admitted earl ; and
Walter Stapeldon , Bishop of E xeter and treasurer to King Edward II . ut
terly denied it ; whereupon he was enforced to petition King Edward I II . ,
who , in the n inth year of his reign , by letters missive , dated at Newcastleupon the 22nd of February, gave order for the payment thereof ; and more
than so , sent a mandamus to the sheriff of the county ,charg ing him quod
tam in comitatu tuo quam in aliis locis , in Bal iva tua facias pub licari , quod.
omnes de cestero praefatum Hugonem comitem Devon nominent ; an d the
morrow after sent to the treasurer and barons of the Exchequer that fromthenceforward they should cause the sum of 36 1 8 . 6S . 8d . (for so much it
was raised s ince Henry I .
’
s time ; for then it was but ten marks to b e
yearly paid according as his ancestors had rece ived it, nomine comitis . He
married Agnes , sister of Sir John St . John , kn ight, b y whom he had issue
Hugh ; Sir Thomas Courtenay , knight, whomarried M uriel , one of the two
cohe irs of John Lord M ule ; John , Abbot of Tavistock ; Robert ; Eleanor ,wife to John Gray; Elisabeth, married to Bartholomew de Insula, or the I sle
ofWight ; Egline , wife to Robert Lord Scales . This earl died anno 1 340 ,
and was buried at Covvick .
Hugh Lord Courtenay , son and he ir , was tenth earl , and married M arga
ret, second daughter of Humphry de Bohun , Earl of Hereford and Essex ,b y El isabeth, daughter of King Edward the relict of John Earl of Hol
land ; and had issueHugh, who married Eli sabeth, daughter of the Lord Guy de Bryan , and
had issue by her another Hugh ; who married M aud, daughter of S ir
Thomas Holland ,knight, (she was after re -married to W alleran Earl of St .
P0 1 in France b y Joan , his wife ; (called the fair maid of Kent daugh
ter of Edward Earl of Kent ; (she was afterward wife to Edward The BlackPrince and died without issue , before the earl his grandfather, as his fa
2 1 0 V IEW O F DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IH .
his brother , John , who was the fourth before him, was then an actor with
high commendation .) But in short time after Sir Peter , of a high Spirit,ful l of valour and military virtue , obtained leave of King Richard 1 1 . to pass
to Paris ; where , after he had rested a few days , he challenged M onsieur
Tremoulye , a noble gentleman , who, accepting it, Obtained l icense to an
swer it, and appointed both day and place . The King , associated with theDuke of Burgundy and many other great estates , were present to behold it .
The first cour se was exceeding well performed of both parties , and with highcommendation : b ut the king inhibited farther proceeding ; seemed Offend
ed with our knight, whi ch made suit to do his uttermost Sir Peter there
with grieved, thought good to leave the country, wherewith the king was
very well pleased and sent him an honourable gift , (the Duke Of Burgundydid the like , ) and commanded M ons ieur Clary (a great lord,) to accompanyhim to Calais , then English . By the way they visited W alleran , third of
that name , Earl of St . Pol’s , (who had married King Richard’s half- s ister,
M aud, daughter to Sir Thomas Holland, and the widow Of Hugh Courtenay ,
the younger son of Sir Hugh, Sir Peter’
s eldest brother ;) where he had fairentertainment ; and sitting at supper had commun ication of divers matters ;
and among sundry other questions , the earl asked him how he liked the
realm of France , and his Opinion of the worth Of the nobil ity thereof.
To which demand our kn ight, with a somewhat sour countenance , replied,that he found in France nothing to b e compared with the magnificence of
England, yet for friendly entertainment he had no cause to complain ; but
for the chi ef cause that moved him to come thither he was unsatisfied, for ,s aith he , I protest before all thi s honourable company that if M onsieur de
Clary had come into England and challenged any of our nation , he should
have been fully answered ; but other measure hath been tendered me in
France ; for when M onsieur Tremoulye and I had engaged our honour, after
one lance broken the king commanded me to stay : I have therefore said,and wherever I come I will say, that in France I was denied reason and
leave to do my uttermost.
M onsieur Clary was much moved at these speeches , (yet having chargeto conduct Sir Peter safely to Calais , ) for the present forbore ; but the earl
replied, “ let me tell you , Sir Peter, it appears to me that you depart from
France much honoured, in regard the king vouchsafed to entreat you to
stay the fight, whom to Obey is wisdom and praiseworthy .
CHA P . V .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 2 1 1
N ow having taken his leave of the earl , he passeth forth with M ons ieur
de Clary, and as soon as they were entered the confines of the English ter
ritories , Sir Peter Veryheartily thanked him for his noble company : b ut
M onsieur de Clary having a deep impress ion in his mind of the eag er speech
es uttered at the Earl of St . Pol’s table , repl ied in this sort ; S ir , now I
have done my duty in performing the king my master’s commands in con
ducting you safe to your fri ends , I must, before we part, remember y ou of
your incons iderate speeches uttered in contempt of the nobility Of France ; and
that you may have no reason or cause to boast (when you arrive in England , )that you were not answered in France , so here I am , though inferior to
many other, this day or to-morrow ready to answer and encounter you ; not
for malice to your person , or gloriously to vaunt of my valour , but to pre
serve the true fame and lustre due to our French nation , which never want
ed gentlemen in arms to answer any Eng lish challenge .
You Speak well and nobly (quoth our knight, ) and with a very g ood
will I accept your challenge ; and to-morrow I will not fail to attend you
armed with three lan ces , acc ording to the French custom . Upon this
agreement and resolution S ir Peter goes for Calais , there to b e furnished
with arms for the combat ; and the Lord John Warren, then g overnor , was
made privy to hi s intent . The next day he returns to meet M ons ieur deClary between Cala is and Boul ougne , and with him were the Lord Governorand other gentlemen to behold it . At the first course e ither party brakewell ; but at the second, by default of the English knight
’
s armour, he was
hurt in the shoulder , which moved the Lord Warren to tell M ons ieur deClary
“you have dealt discourteously to hurt Courtenay , his armour be ing
broken . To which he answered , I am sorry ; but to g overn fortune is
not in my power ; it might have happened to me that befell to him ;”
and
so they departed each his way .
But de Clary’s welcome to the king his master was very harsh, heavy ,
and sharp , worthy the relation , in regard it learneth us how to carry our
selves in princes’ affairs , not to exceed our commission ; but it would b etoo long and beside my purpose to treat of. But to conclude with our
knight : he died in the flower of his age , and was interred near his father
under a fair blue marble stone , with his picture in brass , armed cap-a-
pee ;
which is still to b e seen , with this epitaph in metre ,
Devonic natus comitis,Petrusque vocatus
Reg i cognatus camerarius intitulatus
2 1 2 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
Calesie gratus : capitaneus ense prob atus
V ita privatus fuit hinc super astra relatus
Et quia sub latus de mundo transit amatusC elo firmatus : maneat sine fine beatus .
”
But to return again to our Earls , and to do our best to reconcile some
differences among our learned antiquarians . Here M r . York , in his eata~
logue and confutation of other men’s errors , runs into two gross mistakings ;
first, in placing Edward , the last earl’s son for the eleventh earl , which can
not poss ibly b e , he dying before his father ; as plainly appeareth by diversinqu isitions found, whereof you may take this for one .
Juratores dicunt per sacramentum suunr quod Hrrgo Courtney comes Devon,(meaning this Edward’s father,) Obi it 2do die Ma i i, anno 5 1 . Edward 3tii
,e t
quod Edwardus, filius Edwardi filii dioti Hugonis, (here you see it most manifest and apparent plain,) est consanguineus e t haeres ejusdem Hugonis , est aetatis20 annorum et amplius .
Edward Courtenay, surnamed the blind , (for I will enlarge this no faru
ther, ) son to Lord Edward , second son to the last Earl Hugh, is by right
account the eleventh Earl of this county ; and married, as M r . York boldlysaith, Eleanor , second daughter of Roger M ortimer, Earl of M arch and UI
ster , and had issue Hugh, and so forth . But this was a strange oversightin a man so long experienced in his profession , for it is manifestly contrary
to all other men’
s Opin ions , and opposite adverse to the parliament roll s ofthe l st of King Edward IV . , which speaketh thus .
Lyonel Duke of Clarence , who was third son to King Edward III . , had,
by Elizabeth his wife , daughter and only heir to William de Burg o , Earl
of Ulster, issue Philip, his only daughter and heir, and died ; and the same
Philip was married to Edmund M ortimer, Earl of M arch, and by him , the
said Edmund, had issue Roger Mortimer, Earl Of M arch, her son and heir ;and so Edmund and Phil ip died . Roger M ortimer , son and heir of them,
married Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Holland, Earl Of Kent, and had issueEdmund Earl of M arch ; who , by his wife , Anna, daughter of Edmund Earl
of Stafford , had no issue at all ; second Roger, the second son , died youngalso , without issue and unmarried . Anna, eldest daughter, was married to
Richard of Conesburgh, Earl of Cambridg e , and had issue Richard Duke of
York , father to King Edward IV . Eleanor , second daughter, died without
issue . So this marriage , and especially to have issue , can in no wise b e v e
rified .
2 1 4 V IEW or DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK III .
junior ; with many other to b e produced . His second son was Hugh, who
succeeded him in his honour and lands .
Hugh Lord Courtenay , second son and he ir , was the twelfth Earl of De
von . He married Ann ,
* daughter of Richard Lord Talbot, and had issue
Thomas , his successor .
Thomas Courtenay was the thirteenth Earl of Devon , and married M ar
garet, daughter of John Beaufort , Duke of Somerset, (Joan , her eldest sister ,
was wife to James , first King of Scots .) and had issue , first, Thomas , who
succeeded him ; second, Henry, beheaded 6th Edward IV . , in the city of
Salisbury ; third , John , slain at Tewkesbury 1 0th King Edward IV Joan,
wife to S ir Rog er Clifford ,knight ; Elizabeth, married to Sir Hugh Con
way, knight . This earl was beheaded the 3rd of April , in the 1 st year of
King Edward IV . , 1 46 1 .
Thomas , his eldest son , was fourteenth Earl of this shire , and held it a
small time after his father’
s death, who was put to death the 3rd of April ,l st Edward IV . , and this Earl the 4th of November following , in the same
year ; upon whose execution , the elder line of the Courtenays e ither extinctor out of favour, this honour was conferred upon another line .
Humphry Stafford, of Southwike , son ofWilliam Stafford, of Hook, esqwas , by King Eward IV . , created fifteenth Earl of Devonshire , anno 1 469 .
He married Isabel , daughter and heir of Sir John Barry, knight, but died
issueless ; for he was an earl but of three month’s continuance ; for revolting
at the battle of Banbury from hi s advancer, he was taken b y some of King
Edward’s friends , and for his cowardice was , without process , executed at
Bridgewater . After his death his widow was marr ied to Sir Thomas Bour
chier, knight . He bears , or, a chev . gul . Within a b ordure engrailed sab .
N ow you are to remember that I have showed you that Edward Lord
Courtenay (second son and heir of Hugh Courtenay , tenth Earl of Devonshire ,) who died before his father the earl , left two sons ; Edward, suma
med the Blind, the eleventh Earl, whose line (b y the sword) is now expired ;and secondly, Hugh .
Her circular brass seal , richly g ilt, was found in Catharine -Street, Exeter, 2ud S eptember, 1 839, and is now in the possession of Will iam,
E arl of Devon . The legend is
S I G I LLVM ANNE COVRTEN AY COM ITI SSE DEVON IE . Probably after the death of her
lord,she removed from Tiverton Castle , to the Rectory House of Tydcombe in Tiverton
parish, where Bishop Lacy l icenced a chapel for her use 21 st January, l 425 .~ —G . O . ,
—P . J .
CHA P . V .] e w or DEVON SH IRE .2 1 5
This Hugh married daughter to S ir John Beamont, of Sherwell ,
knight, and had issue Sir Hugh Courtenay , knight ; secondly hemarriedPhilippa, daughter and one of the three coheirs of SirWarren Lerchdeacon ,
of Haccomb , knight, and by her had one only daughter (and heir to hermother,) named Joan ; first married to Sir Nicholas Carew, and secondlyto S ir Robert Vere , knight, (second son to Richard de Vere , eleventh Earlof Oxford,) and by her he was father of John , that was father of John fif
teenth Earl of Oxford .
Sir Hugh Courtenay, of Boconock, knight, married Margaret, daughterof Thomas Carmino, esq . , and had issue Edward Earl of Devon , and four
daughters , who in time came to b e heirs of the family and to divide that
large patrimony .
Edward Courtenay , son and he ir of Sir Hugh, after the death of Earl
Stafford was , by the favour of King Henry VII . , (26th O ctober, in the 1 styear of his reign ,) restored to blood and to b e the s ixteenth Earl of this county . He married E lizabeth, daughter of Sir Philip Courtenay, of M olland,
knight, and had issue William . He died in M ay , 1 509 .
William Lord Courtenay , only son and heir , having been attainted in his
father’
s lifetime was not created the seventeenth Earl of this shire until
the l oth M ay, 1 5 1 1 . He had married Katharine , the seventh daughter of
King Edward IV . , and had issue Henry : he di ed at Greenwich the 9th of
June , 1 5 1 1 , and was buried in the Black-Friars , London .
Henry Courtenay was the e ighteenth Earl of Devon , and Baron of Oke
hampton, and by King Henry VII I 1 8th June , 1 525 , created M arquess of
Exeter . His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter and heir of S ir John Grey ,
Viscount Lisle , by whom he had no issue after he married Gertrude ,daughter of Will iam Blunt, Baron Moun tjoy, b y whom he had issue only
one son named Edward . Thi s Lord M arquess of Exeter, with the Lord
M ontague and S ir Nicholas Carew of Bedington , were attainted of treason ,
and executed at Tower-H il l , January, 1 5 39 . He bears , quarterly France and
Here is much confus ion and inaccuracy . This M atilda was the daughter of S irW ill iam Beaumont of Heaunton, and was the third and lastwife of S ir Hugh Courtenay of
Haccombe . The l icence for the ir marriag e dated l 6th October, 1 41 7 , “in capella diotiW ille lmi Beaumond de H eaunton
” maybe seen in Bishop S tafford’s Register, vol . 1 . fol .
235 . She survived her husband many years, and dying 3rd July, 1 467 , was buried in theLady
’s Chapel of the conventual church of S t. N icholas’ Priory, Exeter.
—G . O . ,— P . J .
2 1 6 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [Boox II I .
England within a bordure counter quartered of the one and other . In the
2ud and 3rd quarter his paternal coat viz , or, three torteauxes whereashis predecessors gave the same with a file of three lab les azure in the fourth
quarter, or, a lion ramp . azure , armed and lang . gu . , by the name of Rivers .
Edward, son and heir to this Henry Marquess of Exeter, was long detained in the Tower of London ,
prisoner ; but in the 1 st year of the reign of
Queen Mary was set at l iberty and restored in blood the 3rd September,1 553 , which he not long enjoyed ; for travell ing into Italy he died in the city
of Padua (not, as some say ,without suspicion of poison ,) the 4th O ctober,
1 55 6, and was there buried in St. Anthony’s Church, on whom was set this
epitaph
Anglia quem genuit fueratque hab itura patronumCourteneum celsa haec continet Area Ducem.
Credita causa necis regni affectata cupidoReg inaeoptatum tune quoque connubium.
Cui regn i proceres non consensere , Philippo
Reginam reg i jungere posse rati,Europam unde
'
fuit j uveni peragrase necesseEx quo mors misero contigit ante diem.
Angl ia si plorat defuncto principe tantoN il mirum ; Domino defecit illa pio,
S ed j am Courteneus coelo fruiturque b eatis
Cum doleant Angl i cum sine fine gemant,Courtenei probitas ig itur, praestantia, nomen
,
Dum stab it hoc templum vivida semper eruntAngliaque hinc e tiam stab it, stabuntque Brittanni
Conjugii optati, fama perennis crit.Improba natures leges L ibitina rescindens
Ex aequo juvenes praecipitatque senes.”
In this ma n ended the mal e line of the elder house of this noble family ofthe Courtenays , Earls of Devonshire for ten descents ; and the patrimony
was distributed among the he irs of the four sisters of Edward, the eleventhEarl of Devon , which were married into these families — Elizabeth to JohnTrethurffe ; Maud to John Arundel of Talvern ; Isabel to William Mohun ;
Florence to John Trelawny .
2 1 8 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [Boox III .
in the county of York, knight, by whom he had issue S ir John Cavendish,
made Knight of the Bath at the creation of Prince Charles , 1 6 1 6 ; whodied in February, 1 6 1 7 His arms , sab . three stag s
’heads cabossed arg .
attired or,
Will iam Cavendi sh, g randson to the last mentioned Earl of Devon , was
created Marquess and Duke of Devonshire the 1 2th M ay, 1 694 , by KingWilliam I II .
CHAPTER VII .
Of Kenn, and some other p laces on the west side of the river E xe .
TH I S task is finished, now may we pass Powderham and dr aw towards
Kenton , taking name of the riveret which here yields tribute to the sea .
Thi s manor did sometimes belong to Thomas Holland, Duke of Surry . (half
brother to King Richard Here dwelleth Lutton at Cafford .
This riveret, Ken , is first seen at or near Holcomb (known from another
of the same name by the adjunct of ) Burnell ; an ancient and generous inhabitant there , and of g ood ac count and larg e possess ions both here and in
Shropshire . Af terward Humphrey , and Sir Gilbert de Kayle , knight, em
joyed it . But in these later days divers descents of Denn is have possessed
it ; and Sir Thomas Dennis , knight, bui lt a very fair house upon it . This
family took their original and name from the Danes , (the only one that is
supposed to do it in thi s coun ty,) and were anciently written Le Dan Denis ;b y which name
'
the Cornish name the Danes .
Then passeth it Dunchideock , the land of Martin , and after of Gorges ,and so comes to
Shill ingford. In the time of Richard I . a family of the same name pos
sessed it, (and in the time of Edward 1 . Thomas Fitz -Ralph held it ;) ofwhich the two cohe irs were married to Alleyn and Brook ; so it was al ien
ated to Sir William Huddesfeld upon whose large monument, in a little
church, is this inscription , whi ch speaks him at large :
Here l ieth S irWill iam Huddiffe ild, knight, A ttorney-
general to K ing E dward IV .
, and of the Council to King Henry VII ., and Justice of Oyer and De
CHAP . VII .1 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .2 1 9
terminer ; whichdied the 20th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1 499 . On
whose soul Jesus have mercy . Amen . Honor Deo e t Gloria .
”
Above , over the tombstone ,
Conditor e t Redemptor corporis et an ime
S itmichi medicus et custos utriusque .
”
In a window, above his picture in g lass ,
H i tres sunt mihi spes, Jhesus, Maria,Johannes .
On another part of the monument is wr itten ,
Dame Kateryn, the wife of S irWill iam Huddesfe ld,and daughter to S ir
Phil ip Courtnay, knyht.
Over the head of her picture ,
Quae peperit florem, de t nobis fioris odorem .
Under both their pictures ,
Orate pro bono statu W illihemi Huddesfeld militis e t Katharina: uxoris ejus .
On the church are these arms to b e seen ,
“Argent a fess sabl e betwe en three boars passant, sab . Impal ing or, three lionsin pale passant sab le . Argent a fess between three boars passant sab . impaledwith gul . three bolts arg .
It is now the inheritance of Southcote one of which name lies there buried .
Upon the stone that covereth him is this inscription ,
“John Southcote , E squyer, sometymes lord and patron of this church, whodepart ed this present life the 6th of S eptember, Anno Domini
I saw also there
Here l ieth the body of N icholas Tottle , son of H enry Tottle , esq .; who diedthe 22nd December, anno 1 622 .
There stands near it the farm house of Bowhay , the ancient seat of the g e
nerons family of Bowhay , (not long s ince extinct, ) of good state and repu
tation in their time : now the seat of Peter ; of whose son , (which as it
seems died young ,) on a stone , is left this remembrance ,
John Peter,the son of John Peter, of Bowhay, esq.
L ies under this stone,
A blessed little one ;
220 V IEW or DEVON SH I RE . [ Boox III .
W ho, clean by Grace , he drew untainted breathAnd ere made b ad by l ife, made good by death.
Then this rivulet nameth a village Kenford, through which it fleeteth.
And here is a fit opportun ity offered to tell you of a wonder, or old fable
or what you please to think it : I coul d well forbear to relate it, but that I
intend not to stem the tide , but to swim with the stream and current of the
world : for I think ( let me well remember,) I have seen few men in my
time which were free from speaking some fool ish (at least idle , vain or com
mentitious fancy,) at one time or other ; but his fortune is worst that Speaksthem in earnest and with affectation ; curiously and ambitiously seeking to
procure credit and belief where little or none is due . It shall not b e said
of me ; if it b e , I reckon not
N e iste magno conata magnas
Nugas dixerit
This fellow sure, withmuch ado,
W ill tell strange tales and trifles too.
It shall not b ite me . You shall have it freely at the same price it cost me ,
and in the same measure as near as I can
Somewhat above this village as you descend from the great hill Haldowntoward Exeter, at the foot thereof stood a long time ( I cannot say now
stand,) two stones pitched in the ends , which to strange travellers seemed to
b e there placed for passengers with the more case (especially women which
there perchance were not used to b e lifted up , and in that age went not incoaches , ) to take their horses ; for commonly all men walk down that steepdescent . But from the neighb ours and those that anciently dwelled near it
you have another and strange relation , thus
They first name them the giant’s stones : and they say, by an ancient tra
dition , that a giant (so men of an extraordinary stature are called, and some
such are seen in every age ,) was there buried ; who, not only for his largebulk and length, but for his strength and valour, surpassed (by far) all menof his time . And that 1 spin not out the thread of this tale to a farther
length, how he fell here suddenly down dead , and the cause of his death,
worth ( I can tell you) good fire in a winter’s cold night, that he was buriedin this place ; and these two s tori es were placed, one at his head and the
other at his feet, which expressed him to b e no pigmy but of the longest
222 v i Ew OF DEVON SH IRE .. [BOOK 1 1 1 .
The time will come one day when m that boundThe painful husband
,ploughing Of the ground,
Shall wonder at the huge bones there in found .
So we come to Kenn Church, which parish is beholding also to our riverfor imparting his name unto it , fleeting very near it . The church is beautified with some ancient, and lately, with many fair armories
Or a torteaux . A zure semie deur-de-lis, a l ion sal . gard. arg . Sab . a chev
ron between three suns arg . Arg . a chevron between three escalops sab .
”
Here is an epitaph on Amias Southcote
Fear not to die N O ill in death
Learn this of me , I f good thou b e .
I will "eave the poet to express hi s own meaning . we Will visit Trehill (ortown place ,) to see what hospitality the owner keeps . It was sometime
the seat of the g enerous family Of Drew, now ofWaltham, recorder of the
city of Exeter . I have had good cheer there and been merry oftentimes
with Sir Nicholas Smith, S ir John Hobb ard, knights ; M r . Nicholas Duck ,(sometime recorder of the same city ,) and divers other the like company ;and he is the same man still . I remember I have read of one of his name
that was Bishop of Sal isbury and M aster Of the Rolls in the time of Richard
II . , and Lord H igh Treasurer of England in his reign a man that deserved
marvellous well Of his sovere ign or he had never had such favour for his
interment as Walsingham wr iteth
Hoc anno (saith b e , which was Obi it Job annes deWaltham episco
pus Sarum,et Regn i Thesaurarius . Qui tantum Reg i complacuerit ut (etiam
multis murmurantib us) apud monasterium inter reges meruit sepulturam.
Thi s seat is close under Haldon, a large champaign-hill , Of which a sweetyoung cygnet of the muses being there , wrote these verses extempore ,wherein regard of her youth I thought not unworthy your remembrance
My muse , b e thou propitious to mywill,And thou
,M inerva , grantme wisdom’
s quill .I will not speak Of high Olympus’fame
,
But of an alp-l ike hill , Haldon by name
Olympus, Ossa, Pel ion, all threeA re but as mole -hills towhat I did see .
But shall I make an end so soon ? (0 spite ! )Wilt not permit me speak in Haldon
’s right ?
CHAP . VIII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .223
Should the best poe t seek Haldon to raiseThey could not speak enough in Haldon
’s praise .
Next place of note is Oxton, which Al exander de Oxton , alias Okeston ,
held under Henry III . ln later time s , Hurst ; which family extinct after a
while , it is nowMartin s . I have read of Hugenius de Hurst in the time of
Edward I . , and of the worthy family of the M artins . Comb -M artin and
M artin -Hoo will inform you Of their antiqu ity ; from M artin de Tours ; to
whom the Norman Conqueror gave Combe , which from him was called
M artin’s -Comb ; and Of his honour the barony of Keyrnis , Dartington , &c
can show you . In our ag e S ir Nicholas married Symms his father, Prest o
wood : his grandsire , Yeo .
CHAPTER VI II .
Of p laces on the eas t s ide of the River E re .
BUT let us haste to the farther s ide of the river, for it is unsociable and
unsuitable to our purpose in hand to talk Of thing s so far separated and out
Of sight . Near Exmouth and the southern part Of this county to talk of
Comb -Martin , the north-west-most part well near . But
Quo me cunque rapit tempestas deferor hospes .
As wind and tide my boat doth carry ,
So I my mind and course do vary .
Somewhat lower upon the mouth of the river stands Exmouth, that is ,
the mouth of Exe ; anciently Exanmouth ; b ut then only known by the
name , as be ing but a poor fisher-town , yet it should seem it had a castlefor its defence above 600 years s ince ; forM r . Hollinshed saith about the year1 00 1 the Danes with the ir navy returned out of Normandy , came to Ex
mouth and there assaulted the castle , b ut were valiantly repell ed by the
guarders thereof. It hath no castle now, but of far better worth than in
that age , and in more respect, as graced of late with the presence of our
royal sovereign King Charles I . Here our river, like the great Sultans
and Khans Of that powerful monarch, the Great M ogul , pays to her sove
224 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
reign , the mighty ocean , whatever treasure of waters she hath collected from
every those rill s , brooks , riverets , streams and rivers whatsoever fore - spoken
of as they at their decease to the emperor what so they have b y any means
whatsoever wrung , wrested , or exacted from their inferiors .
It is a barred haven , and before the mouth thereof stand two huge stones
or rocks , (a great and a less ,) call ed Chick- stones (it may b e rather, chuck
stones , as choaking the haven ;) Of which is grown a usual proverb in these
parts : for if anything stumble us or he a rub in our way, whenWe are hasty,if anything hinder our purpose , or if we desire to b e rid of any thing , weforthwith wish it to b e on Chi ck - stone .
W e have this far proceeded in our di scovery without danger or obstacle ;the weather continues fair , the wind calm , the coasts clear, the sea smooth,
a trim tide , b e pleased to take a boat and view the eastern coasts as far as
Lyme , (the limits or marches of our shire the law and neces sity of our
journey and talk exacteth no less . I am enforced to say with the good Old
knight,
W hate’re b ety’d,for sithe I have b egonne ,
My j ourneywill I follow as I kone .
If your stomach wamble (as mine hath often done at first setting forth,)
your health may b e better by evacuating choler, which once well purged, ( Imay perchance escape the clearer from censures , taxations , and aspers ions , )we will land at every river
’s mouth, where and when you please : the steers
man at helm is at your command .
CHAPTER IX .
The Passage of the River Otter .
THE river Otter, or river of Otters , (water-dogs ,) taking name from the
abundance Of those animals , (whichwe term otters ,) sometime haunting and
using it . The first spring is near Otterford and Hackpendown , b y Church
Taunton ; where , in an Open field .called Churchen - ford, (where stands not
above a house or two ,) is kept a great yearly fair, on the feast-day of St .
Paul . It was the inheritance of Todenham in the reign Of King Henry III .
226 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
is Southcote’
s ; a fruitful and flourishing family . Thi s gentleman married
Pole ; his father, Seymour : his son , S ir Popham .
Yonder monastery Of Dunkeswell was founded by Sir Will iam Brewer,an abbey for Cistercian M onks , which (obscured by the concomitants of
wealth, ease , and rich fare , and that succeeds them, or rather springs of
them ,) was suppressed , or if you will have it rightly, surrendered, 30th
Henry VIII . , and valued (not at the highest, I think ,) at £ 298 . 1 1 s . _ 9d .
On the right hand we leave
Munckton , (or Muncks-Town ,) where a generous family of the Lentai s
doth inhabit ; and on the left, Off-well : and so come we to the borough of
Honiton , to which is adjoining the manor of N orthcot.
The borough of Honiton . Thi s town claims priority for antiquity b efore many other . But for the name , if I should say it was taken of the
abundance of honey there made or found, I persuade myself you woul dsmile ; and yet that must not b e al together sans reason , in regard of thene ighbourhood of the hills adjoin ing , on whom abundance of thyme or tyme
grows , in which these pretty creatures are much delighted and feed mostwillingly thereon ; whereof the poet speaks ,
“Crura thymo plena.
There thighswith thyme ladenwereFor thyme he means honey there .
But the cause of the name cannot easily (but rather difii cultly) b e known
b ut by conjecture which as it doth sometime deceive the imagination , so it
doth al so , and as Often, (grounded upon probable reason ,) hit the white,and expresseth the aimed-at verity . It is a great thoroughfare from Com
wall , Plymouth, and Exeter , to London ; and for the better receipt of tra
vellers , very well furnished with Inns . Isabella de Ripariis (alias de Fortibus ,) gave it (when the heirs male of that noble family failed,) to King Ed
ward I in whose reign Gilbert de Knov il had it ex dono regis . But b e
fore that, in the reign Of King John , Fulcasius de Brient, Fulco de Brient,(alias Fulco de Breant, ) held the borough in the right of Mable , alias M ar
g aret, hi s wife , daughter of Robert, Earl of M ellent , the relict of William
de Vernon , Earl of Devon . This was g enerally held an unfit marriag e for
her as it seems , and not very well agreeing with her mind ; (but it was theking
’s pleasure to have it so ;) b ut the ir love was little , as may b e gathered
out of these verses , which were then dispersed
CHA P . IX .] V IEW OF DEVON S H IRE .22 7
Lex connectit eos, Amor , et Concordia Lecti .S ed qualis Lex ? Amor qualis Concordia qual is E’Lex exlex ; Amor exosus ; Concordia discors .
”
JOin’d by law,by love , b y concord in b ed
What law? What love ? or concord may it b e said ?Lawless law; hateful loveConcord
,discord did prove .
Here is made abundance of bone lace , a pretty toy now greatly in request ;and therefore the town may say with merry Martial ,
Il le ego sum nulli nugarum laude secundus .
In praise for toys such as thisHoniton to none second is .
Their Saturday’s market, for all kind of victual s , fowl , fruit, and corn ,
is
accounted next the best in this country : their yearly fair is on St. M ar
garet’e Day . And here they say the lord hath ve iw and assize Of’
breadand al e , hi s tumbrel and pillory .
G itsham, a long time the seat of Beamont, a worthy race . Once in theirtime there befell a pretty accident, which I could well forbear to relate , b ut
that I perce ive you are somewhat melancholy you shall have it therefore toquicken your spirits and make yourselves merry withall ; for ,
‘
as noble S ir
G iffery said, so say I
If so that it may please you,Thenwote I well it is good ynow.
Sir Thomas Beamont, knight, (son Of Henry Beamont, had very fairissue— six sons at least, besides daughters , but by two venters : b y the
first, Richard, William, and Philip ; by the second, Thomas , Hugh, and
John . Richard, the eldest, died without issue ; Wil l iam , the second son
and he ir to his brother , after much wooing, suiting , and courting , oh
tained Mrs . Joan (whose daughter I speak not,) and married her ; and the
general conclusion was verified ,
Nullum violentum est perpetuum :
Those things that are violentAre never permanent
for after a short time that he had entered new E lys ium , hi s violent fancyforsook him, and fell so far on the contrary hand that
2 28 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK II I .
E t quam modo voverit OdItFor what he most desir
’d of late
H e now doth most extremely hate
for del ighting in variety of pasture , or possessed with some other suspectingfancy , estranged himself both— a mensa et a thoro— from table and b ed ;
and she being then in prime of her age , finding herself thus neglected and
disjected, took it very unkindly, and l ived, as Cressidas was said to do inher father
’s absence ,
And as awidowwas she al l alone,
Andmist towhom she might make her moan ;
but having no long nor settled fancy to this solitary , Cloister- like , recluselife , she rece ived v isits of her kindred and friends . Among divers g entlemen that came to comfort her, one grew more familiar with her than any
Of the rest, even to her own contentment, for he was
Prompt and discreet both in word and action,And doth her business with good satisfaction .
By the ir Often and secret meetings and private conference together came so
good success that a pretty b oy was conceived and born , which she secretlybred up and might well do by reason Of her husband’s continual absence ;and no notice was taken thereof. At lengthWilliam, the husband, deccased, and Philip , hi s brother, (for want of known issue) succeeded him ; and
he also having no issue , conveyed hi s land to Thomas , his next brother
by his father’s second Wife , and to the heirs mal e Of his body ; who for a
time quietly possessed it ; until John , the son Of Joan , (wife OfWilliam , )came of age , who presently made claim to the land as right he ir to William
his father .
This was the seed sown of many and long suits in law almost in all
courts ; divers parties and friends on each side , and as many sey eral opin
ions Of the lookers on that played not the game . Mrs . Joan pleaded for
her honesty , fame , and reputation never spotted, ever without scandal
and aspersion . The case was spun out to a tedious length, and in fine was
made a case for parliament in the re ign of Henry VII . , which censured
John to b e a bastard , and so to b e proclaimed throughout all Eng land ;
yet there is no act found thereof, neither was there ever any as I suppose ;for after, by a composition , John had 8056 . land allotted him, (whereof this
230 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK III .
say, at his death he owed not a penny which I might register for a marv el ,
for it is not ordinary . Here is a plant of the W illowby’s set ; whi ch liking
the nature Of the soil , prospereth fairly and spreads . He married Stennlng s : his father, Culme : hi s grandfather, Spencer .
Owlescomb e . Of this name I remember I have read of a generous tribein thi s county ; it may b e he was of this place : hi s armories , alluding fitlyto the name , which was arg . a bend engrail ed between two owls sab .
Feniton , passed in our time to Cary from Kirkham, whose predecessors
had it by the daughter and he ir Of M alherb with which name his coat
armor consorted rightly - 0 r a chev . between three nettle leaves vert .
N ow whether he took name Of the charge of his arms (as Hugh Lupus , second Earl Of Chester , son of Richard , surnamed Goz , Viscount of Avranchesin Normandy, is said to have done , by hearing a wolf’s head craz . arg . in a
field azure ,) or by the herald’s gift, alluding to his name , I will not take on
me to determine . This place is memorable only for that in the 3rd year Of
King Edward VI . some 6000 hair-brained simple (no cowardly) commo
tioners , (no more said our fathers that then lived,) but the hi story tall
soldiers , first made insurrection in Cornwall and by degrees begirt the city Of
Exeter with a s iege ; yet unable by divers (an d those sharp and desperate) as
saults to prevail , proceeded eastward to this place , hoping their bulk would ,l ike a snowball , (for like that it soon melted ,) increase and multiply as it rol
led forward . H ither they came , and in a fair meadow spread their colours .
TO encounter whom Lord Russell was ready, with the Lord Gray OfWilton .
(Under whom served a band Of Italians , 300 strong .) The general having
the better cause , thought it to stand with his honour to give the assault,
and Offered to enter the ir fortification which they had made at the bridge ,whi ch was courageously attempted, and with like violence resisted ; the
like they did valiantly di vers sundry times , and so Often strongly repuls
ed : but in fine the bridge was taken then forcing the main battalion
of the commotioners , the fight for a while was sharp , cruel , and full of
blood ; but (as it is most Often ,) the worser cause had the worst success ;they were put to the rout and fled . The chase was not long followed, forthe Italians di sbanding , fell to the spoil ; which soon the rebels perce ived,
they suddenly reordered themselves , and wheeling about began a second
more sharp fight, furious and Violent, full of desperate resolution but their
arrows spent, and the g eneral supplying his men with fresh troops , they
CH A P . X.] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .93 1
were again scattered, leaving 300 dead in the place , and then retired to
Clist ; where what was the ir catastrophe you have already understood . But
for a conclusion of this matter , if I should relate what hath been vulgarlyreported, (and verified by some that felt it,) of the strength, and force , and
resolution of these commons , (the archers especially,) you might, peradven
ture , take it with some doubt lest it increased somewhat by time or penning,but I intend to gather no more harvest than comes of the seed of truth .
Pass ing b y Buckrell, Talecourt, and Tallaton , in which stand four poor
cotes , or cots , (in times past cottages) Tenements , distingui shed b y the
four chief points of the compass , Eastcot, W estcot, N orthcot, Southcot,
and so seated from the church, standing as centre ; all of which, in former
times , were inhabited by some of the same denomination , though all now
altered . They were all poor cottagers , of whom one gave this metre , which
though it seemed old, savours not of antiquity, but howsoever’tis true ,
Of b orrle coats yclipt theywere"I‘is l ich sooth vor they were erst
That fvorst this name ytaked, Than palaces ymaked.
"
Of the now possessors I know only the Lord of Southcot, who hath beauti
fied it with a house far beyond a cottage . It is now the seat of the chiefest
and most accomplished treasurers Of the choice antiquities of this county ;
[Sir William Pole ;] and if it had pleased him also to have been the illus
trator , the worth of the natives of this province , and his own sufficiency ,
would have been the more vulgarly expressed and known , the one for the
other ; but he is seriously employed in matters of more importance, and
much more necessary . But if we shall meet him at his chi efest res idence ,and at convenient leisure , we will entreat him to vouchsafe us some direc
tions for our travel the remainder of this journey for our better proceeding ;and he is so generous , affable, and courteous , and so respecting to all loversof antiquity, that he can deny them nothing they demand ; yea, he holds ita favour done to himself that they will b e beholding unto him .
W e pass Rockb ear and the next mile with great ease and pleasure , forby the evenness and smoothness Of the walk it is termed fair~mile z and we
Wil l haste from Strictwood, al ias Streat-wood-head, as Speedily as we may,
for many have feared and shunned it, and others have paid heavily for the ir
passage or before they were suffered to pass ; for in former times it was veryinfamous for sheltering Of thieves , and a place fit for robberies , and there
2 32 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
fore remembered as a cautionary note for such as are to travel that waybut it is now made a more Open and large way , and hath not lately merited
any such scandal , but as freely passed as any other place on London way .
W e are come to Cadhay, the house of the race of Haydons . He married Da
v ie : his father, Pawlet : his grandfather , his son , Gould . And
here Tale falls into Otter .
The borough of Ottery St . M ary . This town taketh name of the river;
and as it is ancient, so is part thereof (or lately was) ancient demesne . The
foundation was from Edward the Confessor, and by him given to the dean
and chapter of Rouen . In the ir possess ion it continued the reign Of nine
kings ; all whi ch time the dean of Rouen sent yearly his offi cers for their
rents and perquis ites whi chwas so charg eable , troublesome , and sometimes
dangerous and miscarried by the way , that they des ired to sell it, and met
with a very fit Chapman , John Grandi sson , Lord Bishop of Exon , who, in
the time of Edward III . , purchased it ; and being zeal ously affected to the
curious and ceremomous liturgi es of those times , did here institute and or
dain a quarter coll ege of secul ar priests and other secondaries and choris
ters , according to the order of the cathedral Of St . Peter’s Of Exon , al lowingfor their continual maintenance the whole hundred (this only parish, ) and
manor ; not only lands , rents , profits , and perquis ites , b ut together there
with the garb and tythes , with all spiritual profits and commodities to the
church any way belong ing out of that pali sh and hundred ; which , withother incomes and sundry other gifts , amounted at the surrender , 30th
Henry VIII to the yearly value of £ 304 . 2s . 9d .
It was (as it should seem) inhabited and manured by bond-men ; which,
redeeming their freedom , held their land by sundry services and customs ;
some , Saxon ; some , French ; some , English ; and some customary of five
acres : some , socage tenure ; other, Old Barton ; other some , new Barton ;and some , freeholders every of which had several customs appropriate to
themselves , whereby many questions and differences arose among them . It
b ath a weekly market every Tuesday, and three fairs ; one the Tuesday b efore Whitsuntide , another the Tuesday before Palm-Sunday, and the thirdthe 1 5 th of August .
In this parish is Thorn , sometime the inheritance Of Walter Thorn , or
Gwalterus de Spineto, under Henry 1 1 1 . By a sister and heir of Roger of
that name it came to the family of Cook , who married Sherman his father,
234 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK _Il I .
consanguinea e t haere s Johannis Cadhay, quae fuit uxor Hugonis Greinvilegenerosi ; qui quidem Johannes fuit primus gubernator incorporatus hujusParochiae ; et Obiit sine exitu nono dia Junii, A . D. 1 587 . Dicta autem JohannaObi it sine exitu decimo nono die Decembrie, A . D . 1 592. Pro quibus sit laus
Deo.
”
EpitaphiumAmicii Haydon, filu Roberti Haydon Armigeri, qui Obi i t1 2 Januarii
,An. Dom. 1 6 1 4 .
Quis j acet hie quaeri s percussus vulnere mortis ?Virtutis socius nobil is , alter Ajax .
M ortuus ah ! dixi ? R evoco ; s ic esse videtur ;In ccel is vivit, nescius il le mori .”
Sarah Haydon filia Roberti Haydon, Armigeri , Quae Obnt 24 Aprilis ,An. Dom . 1 620.
Apollo moist this tomb with tears, Wit’s perfection with pure spiritFor such great loss in tender years Doth an angel
’s place inherit.
Virtue’s hope now is dead, S tay in that celestial sky ,And from earth to heaven fled . W here thou shalt l ive and never die .
On John Turling , g entleman
Terra cadaver habet,Spiritus astra colit.
Upon John Sherman , who died and his son both in one day : 1 6 1 7
Under this monument l ies one Y et this seem’d short
,the other strong .
Did good to many, hurt to none ; H is l ife above, his death here under,Friended the rich, reliev’d the poor, W as full of goodness, full ofwonder.
W as kind to all . W ho can do more S ix years beyond man’s common age
That loved hospital ity, H e walked here in pilgrimage ;That loathed prodigal ity ; And then one month, one very day,That rais’d his state and portion, Took both the sire and son away ;Yet used no
.
extortion . As if time for the sire and sonEach dweller and each tenant roar
’d A s much as time could do
,had done ;
For such a neighbour, such a lord . Making them l ive and die uneven,
When agedweakness did possess And yet to l ive as twins in heaven .
His aged body, netheless Letus that are here standing byHis steps
,his church-path, sowouldwear, Learn so to l ive and so to die ,
The church should often have him there . That after l ife’s and death’s annoyH is l imbs were weak, hiswalk was long , W e may revive and live in joy .
”
The epitaph of Dorothy, his wife , s ister to John Drake , of Ash, esquire
Within this monument doth also lye
A pattern true of our infirmity ;
CH '
AP . X.] VIEW O F DEVON SH I RE .2 35
Whose infancy, childhood, youth, and age ,
W as still attended by the wrathful rageOf thatwhich crept in by our father’s fall ;H erwelcome entertainment
,end, and all,
S eem’d all al ike , from first till latest breath,She always se em
’d to die a will ing death.
Small griefs sometimes seem great, b ut her’s
’
were so,
A s greater seal’d or never made l ess show.
Thesewere her passions : now her actions stoodL ike the Samaritan’s, intitled good.
Had she a respite from her proper woe ,That day should respite others
’pains also .
It was her custom and her comfort here ,
As soon as her own rod did disappear,The comfortless to comfort, and restore ,
According to her talent, sick and sore .
Hence envious death did slaywithout remorse,
H er, that in others did withstand his force ;And pitiless to her no pity y ie lded’Cause others
’pains she pitiful rel ieved.
What needs more ? works show her l ife was actionH er dyingwords- her deathwas contemplation.
”
She died 27th August, 1 620.
Upon the wife of Gideon Sherman , esquire , the daughter of N icholasOf Yarty , esquire, who died the first week of her marriage :
Ifwealth, wit, beauty, youth, or mode stmirth,Could here persuade
,entice , prolong , beguile,
Death’s fatal dart, this fading flower on earth
M ight yet unquail’d have flourished awhileButwealth, youth, beauty, wit, nor mirth, nor all ,Can stay or once delay when death doth call .
N o sooner was she to a loving mateFrom careful parents sol emnly b equeath’d,
The new alliance scarce congratulateBut she from him,
them all,was straight b ereav’d.
S lipp ing from bridal b ed to funeral bier,She soon fe ll s ick, expir’d, —l ies buried here .
0 Death ! thou may’st have waited on the field,
Onmurd’ring cannons, wounding sword and spear ;
236 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK HI .
Or there where fearful passengers do y ieldAt every surge each blast Ofwind doth rear ;
In stabbing taverns, or infected towns,On loathsome prisons
,or on princes’ frowns.
There , not unlook’d for, many one abidesThy dreadful summons : b ut a nuptial feast
Needs not thy grim attendance : maiden bridesIn strength and flower Of age , thou may’st let rest.Withwings soweak mortal ity doth fly,In height of flight, death strikes, we fall and die .
CHAPTER XI .Of Colliton-Ralegh and S ir Walter Ralegh.
THEN come we to Colliton-Ralegh, by which addition you may perceive
to whom it anciently belonged . Sir W imond de Ralegh had it in frank
marriage with the daughter of Robert de Chilton in the reign Of King HenryIII and lately and last in the name of S ir Wal ter Ral egh, knight, captain
of the guard to Queen Elizabeth, and warden Of the stannaries ; a man Of
noble descent, rare gifts , and great sufficiency : the knowledg e of whose
var ieties Of fortunes (as a sea driven with variable winds an d tides , ) may
g ive example to future ages of her unconstant dalliances and Of the unstayed
felicity Of this life , void of any the least assurance , what firmness soever itpromises : he might well have said to that inconstant dame as Demetrius
out of fE schylus , that ancient poet,
Thou seems’t to have begotten me on purpose for to showThy power in lifting of me up me down again to throw.
”
He was a younger brother , and spent his youth in the un ivers ity, his riper
age in wars and travel ; and in his most chief ag e came to court , where he
wanted no favour s of his sovereign , nor in himself sufficient abilities to con
tinne them . But there is no man that hath discretion and judgment per
feet at all times ;Semel insanivimus omnes
H e is verywise and sage
That plays not the fool once in his age ;
2 38 V IEW OF D'
EVON sH i EE . [BOOK Il I .
aggravated , as is supposed, by a heavy and envious adversary, he left hishead on the scaffold .
I cannot nor may not ascribe all these passag e s to the mutabil ity Of for
tune’s changeableness , b ut rather come nearer to the truth, and say with
Stob aeus out of Euripides ,
Some punishments b y men’s own foll ies come
,
By God’s just judgment Often other some .
”
And to speak somewhat of the variety of censures , of his worth, valour , wit,
and other abilities , (both before and after his death, ) in regard that some
Of his actions expre ssed man’s frailty and weakness , and showed him a right
natural man , desirous to prolong life , (so dear are a few ling ering hours of
life to all mankind, and christian knowledge teacheth us how much we owe
to nature , not to neglect any means for our preservation ,) they are not un
worthy a serious meditation let him express himself in a sentence Of his
own , treating of a matter much resembling thi s “A s fortune’s man rides
the horse , so fortune rides the man ; who , when he is descended and on
foot , the man taken from the beast and fortune from the man , a base groom
beats the one and a bitter contempt spurns at the other with equal liberty”
and therefore I think the que stion moved b v a noble and religious poet well
worth Observation and due cons ideration
Say that on e might fortune choose
Under heaven to have his will ;”l‘would he a doubt among thewiseWhether it betterwere to riseTo high estate , or sit still .”
But since we must play our part in this world, (every man his own for hi s
time ,) we may Observe these mutabili ties and alternative changes , and see
how this spoke Of the wheel is now highest and suddenly again lowest, and
never constant at any time . When we are well , let us rest contented, and
carefullv and patiently follow the counsel the poet giveth us
Nemo confidat nimium secundis
Nemo desperet mel iora lapsusM i scet haec ill is, prohib etque Clotho
S tare fortunam.
L e t him that stands b e wary lest he fall ;Le t him that
'
s down hOpe he may rise again
CHAP . XL] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .
The Providence Divine that mingleth all,
Chains mirth to moan b y l inks, and loss to gain .
W e will now forget him, and suffer him to rest in his grave quietly, withhis own epitaph
Even so is time which takes in trust, When we have wander’d al l our ways ,Our youth, our j oys, and al l we have ; Shuts up the story of our days
And pays us b utwi th age and dus t, And from which earth,and grave , and dust,
Within the dark and silent grave . The Lordwil l raise me, as I trust.
”
Divers other manors in this county retain yet the remembrance Of the name ,
for it was a faithful tribe , ancient, and worshipful , and of large possessions ;and the branches spread themselves into divers other shires ; and by the
g eneral heirs of divers houses Of them,have enriched sundry worthy fami
lies ; as W halesb orrow, Of whom is the Lord Scales , Mullens , and Hungerford , Chichester , and Trevillian .
By the way , somewhat on the right hand, we passed Venn u Ottery , al ias
Fen-Ottery, a dirty place perchance for fen and dirt is al l one . It was
held , in the time of Edward I . , by John de Furneaux .
Buketon had his name of beech trees , among which it was built, yet none
are there now to b e seen . But let me remember, it is not safe adventuring
near it : some have been there forthcoming , b ut not coming forth :’tis true ,
but I hope none of our company are of that quality whereby they need fear
to he stayed , and the case is altered as the world is changed ; for here is
now no ill staying , but bountiful hospital ity kept : indeed King Henry I .appointed this place for the gayle Of the county ; and b y the service of the
keeping thereof John Janitor held the manor . Joan , the daughter and he irof that race , brought it to Richard Al ab al ister , alias Bal istarius , in the timeOf Henry I II . ; and by a second Joan , sole heir of that tribe , it came to
Ralph de S iccavi lla, alias Sachv ile , who removed the g ay le to Exeter , ad
joining the castle ; and b y a third Joan , the only child of Humphrey Sachvile , made it the inheritance of Humfrey Copleston ; whose he irs , after twoor three descents , alienated it to S ir Thomas Dennis , knight, together with
the keeping Of the gayle : and now, b y Anna, the eldest cohe ir of his ne
phew of the same name and rank , (worthy a longer life ,) it is come to the
dignous tribe of Rolle ; of whom elsewhere . It is a very pleasant seat, and
for many and those good commodities profitable . 1 have found S ir Joel de
240 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK III .
Bucton upon records very ancient Of this country , whom I know not where
to place but here .
Budleigh adjoins it ; which, though it b e no spacious larg e parish, gives
yet name to the hundred of East Budleigh, which numbers n ineteen parishes .
CHAPTER XII .
Of BudleighHundred in the E at‘t.
THE hundred of East Budl eigh (as is said,) numb ereth nineteen parishes ,the honour whereof King Edward II . kept in hi s royal possess ion . Here instands Todwill ; I may guess whence it took name : but that skills not, for itgave it again to a generous race of the same denomination , who possessed it
for divers descents ; whose he ir female enriched therewith the ancient name
of Saintcleer . But the sun shines not here so clear and with that lustre as
in former ages ; the beams are eclipsed, and the name extinguished ; and
the inheritance , b y the heir g eneral Of that family, is passed to Arscot, who
showed me that there was near the house a larg e pool maintained by a
spring so warm , that when all other well s , brooks , rills , and springs adjo ining are frozen , this only stands clear of ice ; yea, in most extremity of coldweather ; and in such times multitudes of fowl of divers kinds flock thitherboth to his pleasure and profit .
On the other s ide the bank is O tterton sometimes a religi ous housewhi ch, di ssolved by Henry VIII was purchased b y Duke , by whom it is
newly and more fairly buil t, commodiously seated for pastures , corn fields ,warren , and dove -house . He married Basset : his father Prideaux .
Having waited on Otter to Ottermouth, where it unloads herself into the
sea ; we must double the headl and of Otterton point, the shore running
eastward with many winding and waving creeks . The wind and tide will
soon bring us to Sidmouth and Seaton , in former time very famous ports
(and every place and man hath but his time ;) now the havens are so choaked
with sand brought in by the reciprocal course and strengthJ Of the tide , an dheaped up again st them, that they have lost almost all the benefit that havens yield .
242 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK II I .
and large lati-funds ; [broad acres] but seldom any good neighbourhood, fa
miliarity , or friendship between them . This emulation increased at length
to a quarrel , and eagerly taken a both s ides , about a couple of dogs , or
hounds , if you will , which could not by any mediation of friends or inter
cession Of the ir equal s b e qual ified or appeased , until it was val iantly tried
in a s ingle combat (which is now b y a fitter word termed a duel ,) upon
Clist-Heath,which manfully and constantly performed by both parties , and
after they had well tried one the other’
s strength and val our , and with their
sharp swords , they at last (as it was said of the two king s , Edmund and
Canutus , in the Isle of Olney , near Gloucester , lovingly agreed and
embraced each other, and ever after there continued great love and amitybetween them . Here Adam de Sampford held land, and in Whitford ; and
Rog erus de Vall etorta and Alicia Le Basset ; in King Edward 1 . days .
But I may not pass Colcomb e thus , before with due respects 1 tender myservices to my honoured and generous friend Sir W illiam Pole , knight , andto entreat his ass istance to finish thi s our journey with some more solid mat
ter, e ither ancient or neoterique , and some excellent learned di scourses wor
thy your observation ; with the Old and new possessors Of manors , with thel ineal descents of antique famil ies ; with whose assistance (richly furnishedwith the treasury of such l ike matters ,) we shall not only polish and beautify our former matters , but more perfectly proceed and finish our wholepurposed journey to your satisfaction and contentment .
W e are come to Southle igh, so named in respect of another Ley, or Leigh,
more arctuously placed . This was held by Philip and William de Southlegh in Henry III .
’s time , and after by Oliver de Todenham , together with
Bear and Branscomb for in the age of Edward 1 1 1 . I meet with Richard
Bran scomb de Branscombe , Arm , and Sir Richard de Branscomb , knight ;all sheriffs of this county in three sundry years .
Here is Edg e , anciently written Egge ; possessed, from the reign of Ed
ward II . to our age , b y the worthy family OfWadham ; of which race W il
liam , in the time Of Edward III . , was justice of assize ; of whom is left thisencomium,
— that being free of speech, yet was it mingled with such di seretion that he never touched man, how mean soever , out of order, e ither forsport or spite ; b ut with alacrity of spirit and soundness Of understandingmanaged all his proceeding s . The sisters and he irs of Nicholas Wadham ,
(for he died sans issue ,) the daughters of John , being endowed with fair in
CHA P . XIII .] V IEW O F DEVON SH IRE .43
heritance , brought and divided it among three worthy familie s , Strangways ,Wyndham , and Martin . Dorothy, , the relict of Nicholas , daughter of S ir
Will iam Petre , knight, followed her father’s worthy example , and erected a
very fair work in Oxford , naming it Wadham College , which she endowed
with very good livelihood for the maintenance of certain fellowships
therein : so that by this it may b e proved that this ag e of our’
s is not so
penur ious and barren Of pious and charitable works as some adversaries
have bitterly se andal ized it .
Colyford, lying in the parish Of Colyton , hath neither market nor fair, nor
any ancientmatter recorded to grace itself ; yet in this our age hath merited
a thankful remembrance , for be ing the native place of a very worthy and
valiant soldier, who hav ing passed all Offices (not favourably , but de serving
ly ,) from the meanest to the highest, b y degrees , was , in convenient time ,by the abundance of his deserving s , honoured with the degree of knight
hood , S ir Thomas Gates who be ing by birth (withM arcus Tullius Cicero , )b ut de plebe virum , might say wi th the said consul on as firm a g round , b ut
his modesty woul d not,
Ego me is maj ori bus Virtute praeluxi ;Wanting my parent’s ancient glory,My virtue shall fil l up the story ;
yea completely to make him equal to the best of his rank . M y purpose is not
to derive him from his youth, but pass many of his worthy services in the N e
therlands and other places for his prince and country I will only rememberthat being made a g overnor of the colony planted in Virg inia 1 609 , in his v oyag e thitherward (over long to b e al l recorded, for my purpose shall now b e toabbreviate what I intend to speak ,) in a most violent , cruel , and dang erous
tempest, the great God , clothed with might and majesty , by a shipwreck , likean other Jonah , made himself the first di scoverer of the island cal led Bermu
das , now Summers I sland ; which being formerly supposed not inhabitable ,
(nay ! a hell , ) is planted and possessed , and the gospel there preached . His
government in Virg inia was with so temperate discretion , that ensuing ages
will enlarge his commendation , and say that for his many g ood parts he wasa famous man . But why shall I say of him and his like they were , as if he
could any time cease to b e , whom fame , by worthy deserts , hath made im
mortal .
244 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK III .
Seaton , which the learned illustrator of Great Britain, reverend Mr .
Camden , guesseth to b e Old Moridunum , which Antoninus speaketh Of, and
is placed between Durnovaria and Isca ( if the book b e not faul ty ,) and call ed
in the table of Pentigerius b y a name cut short, Redunum : cons idering both
the distance and the s ign ification of the name for M oridunum, in the British tongue , is the self- same as Sea-town in English, viz , a town upon a
hill by the sea . It did belong anciently to the Abbey of Sherborn . Hereunto adjoineth Wiscombe .
Wiscombe : where l iveth a g enerous family of Drake ; Of which race there
were lately two brothers , (besides others , ) Robert and Henry : (the sons of
Robert :) the first, a colonel Of much worth and esteem with the Prince Of
Orange in the Netherlands ; and the other a captain : both taken away in the
flower of the ir age : a great grief to the ir friends and loss to their country .
This place is memorable for be ing the habitation Of the Lord Bonvile , an
unfortunate man : ( For unwise I dare not nor may not term him :) yet this
may I say b y the way , good fortune and wisdom , folly and ill fortune or
mischance , go masked, and that very Often under one hood ; yea, unmasked
do so near resemble one the other, that they are hardly known or rightlydistinguished (b y those that look them directly in the face ,) each from other,
and therefore one bears very often the other’
s faults ; and on the contrary ,one steals away the other
’
s praise and commendation which is truly averedby Athenaeus , when he saith,
Longissime a sapientia sors dissidet
S edmulta perfecit tamen simillima.
”
Seldom the traitor,though much haste he make
,
Lame -footed vengeance fa ils to overtake .
This extreme mischief succeeded ; first his only son was taken from him byuntimely death, and hi s nephew (the third Will iam,
Lord Harring ton , byhis mother
’s right,) slain at the battle ofWakefield ; and immediately after
(that his old ag e m ight want no kind of misery,) while he waited still and
long expected for better days , himself was taken (at the battle of St . Ai
ban’s ,) prisoner , and having now run out his full and long course Of nature ,
could not yet come to the grave in peace , but lost his head ; leaving behindhim for heir , Cicely , his grandson
’s daughter ; a damsel of tender years , who
brought a larg e and rich inheritance to Thomas Gray ,Marquess Of Dorset,
half- brother, b y the mother , to King Edward V .
246 V i Ew OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 1 1 .
so famous for its fine thread there spun , nor Saturday’s market, nor M id
summer fair , as renowned for preserving the monuments of Saxon princes
slain at the cruel battle of Brunaburgli , and from thence brought hither .
It is s ituated in the frontier and mar ches of this province , against Dorset
shire . Robert de Uphey held Uphey in Edward I .
’s days . W ycroft , near
hereunto , was held by Richard de Tengemue in the same age .
Here Reginald de M ohun , Lord of Dunster, the last of the family ( in
that place ,) that was Earl Of Somerset, built the abbey of Newnham , 1 246 ,
and gave thereunto the manor Of Axminster with all its emoluments ; to
which g ift are signed witnesses , Richard , Earl of Cornwall , the king’
s b ro
ther ; Simon , Earl of Leicester ; Henry , Earl of Oxford ; John Fitz-Geoffry ;Ralph Fitzhubert, Henry Tracy , Hugh Peverel of Ermingt on , and William
M alherb ,knights ; with others . He had this manor by the right of the
fourth daughter and cohe ir OfWilliam de Brewer, Baron of Torb av .
Here is Smalridge , the most ancient seat of the Rawleghs in this county ;
where in some have supposed them to b e settled before the Norman Con
quest, and say , that one of that race being taken prisoner b y the Gauls , at
his return built the chapel Of St . Leonard’s* at Smalridg e ; which he the
rather dedicated to that saint, for that he was cast on shore on the day de
dicated to that saint ; and in the same hung up his fetters and target of
steel g ilt : and that the record Of all this , together with the foundation of
the chapel , his hard imprisonment , and strange escape , was lately and yet
to b e seen .
Cotley , or Cotleigh . A place of that name was anciently held b y the
name of Jew, a family of good estimation z— Sir Roger Jew in Edward I I . ;S ir Walter in Edward Il l .
’s time : but in the reign Of Edward II . b y Tud
denham . At Water (this lyes in M embury,) dwelled a gentleman of the
name , and lately , Perry .
Then Offwell (where Stephen de Offwel , Roger le Vere , Mulierade Bra
kisford , William de Perto, and Richard de W hitewil held land in Edward 1 .
time ;) and Widworthy , whence a knightly family took name : William de
Widworthy was in King Edward I .
’s days . By Alice , daughter and heir of
fit More probably S t. John the Baptist’s chapel ; for we find in Brantyngham’s Reg is ~
ter,vol . 1 . fol . 66 , a l icence dated 24thMarch, 1 377 , to John de Ralegh, knight, to have
d ivine service performed “in Capella Sancti Johannis Baptiste infra manerium de Smalrig .
” —G . O .,— P . J .
CHA P . XIV .l V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .
S ir Hugh de Widworthy, knight, and his wife , daughter and cohe ir of S ir
Will iam Reigney, knight, it descended to S ir William Pruz , knight ; and
then , b y Alice , daughter and sole he ir of S ir Hugh, (his third son , ) to
M eoles ; and by a writ of partition in 1 7th Edward 1 1 1 . between his threedaughters and he irs , it came to John N orthcot, and so it fell to HenryWotton : and Alice , he ir of that line , gave it, b y her marriage , to Chi
chester ; and he to a younger son , whose issue now enjoys it.
Here a little brook comes in from N orthl egh, (an ancient race of genti
lity is Of that name in this country, which might take denomination hence ;)and all do end at Seaton . And so shall we in this our eastern journey ,
having seen Musbury, held sometime by Ol iver Dinant, nomine dotis de
Isabella de Courtenay .
In this stands E sse , now Ash, the seat of the knightly family Of Drake ,who hath long possessed it from Billet and Compton . This knightmarr ied
Butler : his father, Button : Sir Bernard, his grandfather, a valiant knight,Fortescue . It comes now to my remembrance that I have seen a very an
cient deed, whereunto VValterO Dracone , W ymondo de Dennex , O smondo ,
milite , cum multis al iis , are witnesses .
In Axmouth is Donne Ralph, in the reign of Henry III . the habitation of
Ralph Donne ; and some e ight descents after Hugh Donne had divers cohe irs , one of whom was matched with Holcombe , to whom , by partition,
this fell ; whose successors al ienated it to M allock, who now possesseth it .
In the church, awhile s ince , this coat of arms was to b e seen ,— Arg . three
bars gemels , azure a chev . engrailed gul . ; which they say belonged (and
so I think they did,) to him .
This line , with most Of the former, might, with some study and labour ,
have been pedigristically delineated and made a fair show with much (per
chance , ) commendation , and without, per adventure , more disgust and sus
pect of hateful partiality : but that of right belongs to my g ood masters the
heralds ; and I intend not, with others , to thrust my s ickle into their har
vest, it being their profession , and which to do rightly their oath enjoins
them ; and their practice , wisdom,knowledg e , and experience doth enable
them .
So will I conclude with Bindon , which by Blach came to Weeks , and
resteth now among his heirs general . And so this journey is finished.
248 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK 1 1 1 .
CHAPTER XV .
The conclus ion which should be the ep iphonema of this Discovery .
BY following the river Exe in his progress and those other rivers , brooks ,and streams , that have added the ir best subsidy and store to the augmenta
tion Of his small beginnings, when we fetched him out Of Exmoor, to raise
him to that largeness , and profundity , and strength, we left him at Ex
mouth, and three or four more easterly rivers we have perambulated and
taken a superficial View of all the eastern , and part of the southern, division
of this county : and now by this time , I suppose , you can censure whetherDevonshire may not say with Achelaus in Greece , that famous river, whichspeaks by Ovid’s pen,
Dominumme cernis aquarum,
Cursihus Ob liquis intermea regna fluentem.
Of many rivers, lord I stand,W ith crookedways that cleave my land.
And b e you ordained and constituted judges (although you have not as yetviewed a third part, ) whether she may not rightly b e named De Avonia,the county Of rivers : but when , with some better judges and Of greater
skill, you shall take a full and more perfect view of the whole body of thi s
province , I shall little doubt of verdi ct and judgment Of my side against all
gainsayers . And so much, I must confess, I myself intended and in some
sort promi sed ; and with that resolution was ready, with the words of myinstructor, Horace, to comfort my consorts and encourage them
“0 ! fortes pej oraque passiMecum seepe viri
,nunc vino pell ite curas ;
Cras ingens iterab imus aequor.
”
Val iant and noble hearts,That ofmy toil have had your parts,
Make yourselvesmerry Tomorrowwe againW ith a cup of sherry : Will launch into the main.
But this former tedious and long journey hath been so wearisome unto myaged years , the ways so intricate , (and no Adriane with her thread to help
250 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK IV
FO URTH B O O K ,
CONTA INING A VIEW OF THE NORTH DIVIS ION .
CHAPTER I .
An entrance into the view and visit of the N orthDivision,
I shoul d here endeavour to indi te some eloquent and pathetical preambleor complimentary exordium, to countenance , at least to excuse , my rude
unpolished discourses but I wil l not study for it : and for my apology onlydivulge and publish that you* who have power to command, have vouchsafedto persuade , that I say not by your authority urged me , to launch forth myweak , crazy , and weather-beaten bark into these rougher seas than erst she
hath been acquainted withal ; setting short, subject to storms , and where I
shall need a skilful steers -man to stand steady at helm , and a good pilot to
escape the rocks and shelves : b ut in hopes of such a consort and Fidus
Achates I am not terrified with the poet’s rumour, when he saith
Hark ! hark ! with heed unto the dreadful voice ;The horrid rumbling of his hideous noise .
”
But s ince we have enjoyed ourselves so far, let us , in God’s name , adven
ture one voyage more , always with this caution, that you b e pleased to tol
crate my vulgar phrase , and to pardon me if, in keeping the plain highway,
1 use a plain low phrase ; and in rough, rugged, and barren places ,'
rude ,
rustic, and homely terms and so how painful soever my labours have beenor shall b e , I will proceed with pleasing content ; and how s imple soever itseem, b e pleased to remember who saith
M ulta etiam ab Ol itore recte atque in loco proferri possunt.
Edward, fourthEarl of Bath, who died atTawstock 2ndMarch, 1 636 -7 .-G . O .,
—P . J .
CHAP . I .] V IEW OF DEVON sH I EE .25 1
Even a herb-wife sometimes may
Things right and to the purpose say .
But let us spend no idle time ; and for our eas ier and better proceeding s let
us again return to Exmoor ; doubt nothing of the name . After thi s pause
we will with an easy pace ascend the mount Of Hore - oke -ridge , not far from
Whence we shall find the spring of the riveret Linne ; which in his course
will soon lead us into the north divis ion : for I desire you should always
swim with the stream , and neither stem wind nor tide .
This passeth b y Cunsb ear , alias Countesbury- Coffin , the land sometime
Of the abbot of Ford , now OfW ichhals and therein is Coffins HeantOn , the
landv
of Basset, now of Scoare ; who be ing a verderer of the forest, hath
thereby freely a lees heifer in the forest . Which riveret nameth Lynton ,
where Galfridus Lovet and Coecilia de Linne held sometime land ; and spee
dily falls headlong (not a great downfall ,) into the Severn at Linmouth : a
place unworthy the name Of a haven only a l ittle inlet ; which in these last
times G od hath plentiful ly stored with herring s , (the king of fishes , ) which
shunning their ancient places of repair in Ireland, came hither abundantlyin shoals , offering themselves , as I may say, to the fishers’ nets , who soon
resorted hither with divers merchants ; and for five or six years continued ,
to the great benefit and good of the country ; until the parson vexed the
poor fishermen for extraordinary unusual tithes , and then (as the inhab i
tants report, ) suddenly clean left the coast, unwilling , as may b e supposed ,by los ing their lives to cause contention . But (G od b e thanked ,) they b e
g in to resort hither again , though not as yet in such multitudes as heretofore . Henry de Linmouth, and after him Isabella de Albino , and now
W ichhal se possesseth it : a generous fam ily . He married Pomery : his
father , Ackland : his grandfather, M unck .
Brendon , lying close to Exmoor, may take his name e ither Of barren
down or brent down , for here they used to burn their land to have a good
crop Of corn . St . Albino , after Hevering ton , alias Harring ton , and now
Chichester possesseth it . From this comes a brook that passeth Parra ~
Combe , or rather Per-Combe , (the a being a usual attribute to words inancient time , ) or Pedrecomb e . Herc S t . Aubin holds land, and Walter,
and Squire . To the lord whereof belong ed great privileges and had a
prison and execution Of Offenders within itself.
M artins-Hoe , or Martins -H ill, (which owneth his Old landlord M artin ,
252 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
now Berry ,) on the one s ide , and on the other Trenslo . There Galfri dus
Trendesho tenet in Trendesho et Stevenaish, now Sevenash.
Here the land is so uneven that you shall have these words Of hoe and
combe often repeated, which signify hill s and valleys .
In the last named stand Tatchcomb , which Beamond, Muttleb erry, but
now a younger branch of Chi chester, of Arlington, possesseth. This parishis separated from Comb -M artin by bound-stones only ; one of whi ch theyterm hang -man - stone : the reason demanded , it was answered, that a thief
having stolen his neighbour’s sheep , bound the legs together, and casting
him upon his shoulders , the legs compassing his neck, he came to the stone,
(which is some four feet in height, pitched in the earth,) and thinking thereto ease himself for awhi le Of hi s heavy burden , the sheep , laid on the stone,on a sudden so struggled drew him backward beyond hi s power to recover
that he was choaked . And now are we clear of this parish.
CHAPTER 1 1 .
Of Comb-M artin and the S ilver M ines there .
TH I s borough deriveth its name of the s ituation , being a low and deep
valley , surrounded with very high hi lls on every s ide , (toward the sea
excepted,) and the addition Of M artin from Le Sire M artin de Turon , a man
of much worth, and assistant to William Duke of Normandy when b e con
quered this land ; of Whom he had thi s and other great possessions givenhim : so we name it either Comb -Martin , or Martins-Comb . Some of hi s
issue were called, in those days , Fitz -M artin , and flourished to the height Ofa barony , and had in time that title from Barnstaple , Dartington, and Ca
mois in Wales : I intend a place, and not the family of the Camois thatwere barons of Broodwater in Sussex ; of which name Sir John , son Of the
Lord Ralph Camois , freely passed away his wife (daughter and heir to Johnde G aydesdon ,) to Sir Will iam Panell , knight, and quit claimed all her
goods and chattels whatsoever, so at his death she lost her dowry ; as youmay see exemplified out Of the parliament records . But I think I havenothing to do with those , but with the Martins ; some Of whose posterity,
2 54 V IEW OF DEVON SHIRE . [BOOK IV .
But the anclent inhabitants not therewith satisfied, (nor yet the modern , )they have mined for silver with very rich success , and have verified the
poet’s saying ,
N on tantum sege tes alimentaque debita divesPoseeb atur humus, sed itum est in viscera terras ,Effodiuntur Opes irritamenta malorum.
”
N ot corn alone and other fruit, for food extracted wereOut of the earth ; b ut they proceedwith pickaxe for to tearThe very bowels of the same for silver and for gold :The chief provokers unto ill and mischiefs manifold.
For this town hath been rich and famous for her silver mines of the first
finding and working whereof there are no certain records remaining . In
the time of Edward 1 . they were wrought ; but in the tumul tuous re ign of
his son they might chance to b e forg otten , until Edward III . , who , in his
French conquest, made good use Of them ; and so did Henry V . of whichthere were divers monuments , the ir names yet to this time remaining ; as
the king’s mine , the store house , blowing house , and refining house . And
lately in our age , in the time of Queen Eli zabeth, there was found a
new lode in the lands of Richard Roberts , g entleman ; first begun to b e
wrought by Adrian Gilbert, esquire , and after by Sir Bevois Bulmer, kn ight ;b y whose mineral skill great quantity of s ilver was landed and refined ; Of
which he g ave a rich and fair cup to the right honourable William, Earl of
Bath, whereon was engraven (as I remember, ) this posy,
In Martin’s-Comb long lay I hid, And adding ye t a farther grace ,
Obscure , depress’dwith grosser soil ; By fashion he did enable
D ebased muchwith mixed lead, Me worthy for to take a placeTill Bulmer came
,whose skill and toil To serve at any prince’s table .
Refined me so pure and clean Comb-Martin gave the ore alone ,
A s richer nowhere else is seen . Bulmer fining and fashion .
“Anno nostras salutis 1 593, Reg inae Virg in is, 35 .
Nobil issimo viro W illihelmo Gomiti Bethon,Locum-tenenti Devoniae et Exon.
He gave al so another , with a cover, to the honourable S ir Richard M artin ,
knight , Lord M ayor of the city of London , to continue to the said city forever : it weigheth 1 3 7 ounces , fine , better than sterling : on which these
verses are yet to b e seen ,
CHAP . II .] VI Ew OF DEVON SH IRE .9 55
When water-works in Broaken -wharf In place call’d Combe, where Martin long
At first erected were, Had hid me in his mould .
And Beavis Bulmerwith his art I did no service on the earth,
The waters gan to rear, N or no man setme free ,Dispersed I
,in earth did lye Till Bulmer by his skill and charge
S ince all begi nnings Old, D id form me thus to b e .
“Anno nostras redemptionis 1 593, Reginae Virg inis 35 .
R ichardo Martino M il iti, iterum Majori s ive vice-secunda civitatis London .
These mines have again been lately renewed , but by such as either wantedskill or other sufficiency to proceed in a business of that quality and charg e ,and therefore yielded none or little profit .
In thi s parish stands West-Challacomb , a seat of Fruz , with whom weshall meet ag ain elsewhere .
In the church were sometime to b e seen these armories ,
Sab . three l ions sal iant arg . inscensed'
gul . Gul . three bars or. Sab . a gaunt
le twithia border engrailed arg . A zure on a chev. arg, three mullets sab . pierced.
Gul . on a chief arg . three cocks Of the field.
In the church-
yard before the porch is erected a fair tomb with this inscription at the head,
Christus mihi vita .
In the umbril point,
An hour-glass on a death’s head .
At the foot,
Mors mihi Lucrum.
On the side this memorial,
R ichard Roberts of this parish, gentleman, whose christian faithwas approved
b y his b eneficence to the poor, both in his former and later days ; rendered his
soul to his Rede emer on the festival day of Christ’s nativity, Anno Domini
His four coheirs were married to Westcote , Squire , Amory, and Isaak .
N ow let us proceed .
256 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK IV
CHAPTER 1 1 1 .
Of Berry-N erbert, Bowdon, and Bishop Jewel .
NEXT in our way is Berry, alias , Bury-N erb ert, sometime the seat of
W illihelmus N erb ert de Bury ; (such evidence Of that name I have seen
divers but in this age of Berry , or Bury de N erb ert or to speak with
the vulgar, Berry of Berry-N erb ert . The vicissitude , interchanging of
‘these names in this manner (being all but one stirp , ) is not obvious , and
seemed very strange to me at first, (as no marvel was it that it should, ) for
it did the l ike to the illustrator Of Great Britain , M r . Camden . But s ince I
have found some such like somewhat (but little) differing , as John Culme
of Culme John , Will iam Coffin of Coffins -Will , of whom in the ir places .
This tribe hath been of very long continuance in this place , and continueth
in worshipful state unto this day ; and b ath branched forth many fair boughswhich have taken good root in sundry other places .
In this parish we may not pass Bowdon for if rare and admirable qual ities
of our ancestors do merit a grateful acknowledgment of posterity , then ought
we most respectively to do the like to the s ingular natural endowments andsuper-natural graces Of a most reverend prelate here born , that he may live
and flourish in perpetual remembrance : b y whom (as an especial means ,) the
s incere relig ion we now profess rece ived much vigour and strength in its
new spring : John Jewel , Bishop of Sal isbury , a perfect rich g em and true
jewel indeed for if I may allude to the name , there is one that saith, the
price , prosperity, and happiness of Aurelius Augustinus’labours and works ;
the industrious vigilance of Gregory ; the heavenly g ifts of Theodosius ; the
divine spiri t of Ambrose ; the golden mouth of Chry sostom ; the sweet ve in
of Lactantius ; the shining style of Fulgentius , are very conspicuous in the ir
names so that if any where the Observation Of Chrysostom b e true , that
there lies a great hidden treasure in names , surely it may rightly b e said to
b e here g race in John and eminent perfection in Jewel . His l ife is alreadywr itten in larg e volum es , and the light of my dim candle might b e spared
in such a fair sunshine , yet blame me not ( intending to illustrate this pro
vince ,) to take this fit Opportun ity to enrich my barren discourse with an
ornament of such value .
2 58 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
two learned men it may fitly b e applied which was spoken of Jugurtha and
M arius ,— that they learnt in one , they practised in two contrary camps withrepugnant affections . He di ed 1 5 7 1 , in the 50th year of his age of whichit is credibly said he prophetically foretold to his friends ; and was buried
in the cathedral church at Sarum, near that stout champion and prelate of
the same church,Robert W ivill ; who , upon a writ of right, fought a due].
for recovery of the castle of O ld Sarum . And well it was to place them
near together, they being both noble defenders , one of the church land, the
other of the church faith,
Dr . Humphrey wrote the following epitaph for his episcopal friend,
Johanni Jewello Anglo-Devoniensi ex antiqua Juellorum familia Budenaeoriundo, A cademies Oxoniensis laudatissimo Alumno : Mariana Tempestate ,per G ermaniam exuli ; P raesuli, regnante Elisabetha Reg ina, Sarisb uriensis
Dioecce seos ( cui per annos xi, menses ix. summa fide et integritate praefuit)rel igiosiss imo, Viro singulari eruditione, ingenio acutissimo, judicio gravissimo,p ie tate , humanitate egreg ie praedito ; Theolog ise cum primis cognitione instructissimo ; Gemmae G emmarum, immaturo fato Munckton-Farleae praerepto ; Sarib uriaesepulto
,coelorum crvr, Laurentius Humphredus hocmonumentum ob ser
vantiae ergo et benevolentiae consecravit, Anno salutis humanae Christi meritorestitutae 1 57 1 . 90 calend . Octob . vixit annos 49, menses 4 . Psel . 1 1 2 . In me
moria esterna crit justus .
An other epitaph was set on him by S ir John Wolley , knight, principal se
cretary to Queen Elizabeth, of famous memory for the Latin tongue , and
speaks thus ,
Heu ! m ihi quam celeri fugiunt mortal ia cursu
Quaeque minus debet surripit atra dies.
V ivere tu longo fueras dignissimus sevoFlende mihi nimium chare Jnelle j aces .
Moribus, ingenio, Doctrina
,Rel ig ione
Nulla ferent talem saecula longa virum.
In this church of Berry-N erb ert was interred Nicholas Harper,his stone this epitaph,
Harper : the musrc of thy lifeSO sweet
,so free from j ar or strife
To crown thy skill hath rais’d thee higher,
And plac’d thee in the angels
’choir :
CH AP . 1V .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .259
And though that death hath thrown the e down,In heaven thou hast thy harp and crown .
Setting hence from the little haven at W atermouth we are present at l lfar
combe , or l lfIi decomb e , and perchance Alfrincomb , which one Robert held
at the conquest ; Sir Oliver Champernon under Richard I . ; and three or
four in descent until Richard 1 1 . In Henry V .
’s reign S ir John Herle pos
sessed it . Queen Elizabeth gave it to SirWilliam Parr, M arquess OfNorth
ampton and Earl Of Essex ; so it came to Sir Edward Gorges , now Baron
Gorges of Dundalk in Ireland . It is a pretty harbour for ships of small
burden , but dangerous to come in in some winds , especially for strangers ;for whose better security they keep a continual pharos to direct the ir course ,
which may b e called Speculum W al liae , as that Orosius speaketh Of Bra
g antia in Gal icia, Speculum Brittaniae . The town is one scattering street
at the end whereof stood sometime a chapel dedicated to our Lady of Thorn .
The manor ofWest Hag ington hath changed sundry possessors ; but Dama
mage continues his Old Lord, Cutcl iffe . In the church I only noted this in
scription ,
H ic jacet corpus E lizab ethae Basse t quondam uxoris Johann is Basset, quaeObi i t 240 . die Jurrii A . D 1 41 9 . Cujus anime propitietur De us in aeternum.
”
CHAPTER IV .
Of M orthoe Tracy, and M oort-Stone .
JO IN ING to the sea- shore is M ort, or M ort-hoe , remarkable for be ingthe seat Of Sir William Tracy . knight, and the place where for a while herested in case ; until some ill - affected persons seeking for treasure , but disappointed thereof, stole the leaden sheets he lay in , leaving him in danger
to take cold . This was the man that, accompanied with S ir Reynold Fitzurse , alias Bearson , Baron of Braynes ; S ir Hugh M orvill , alias M ortiv ile ;
and Sir Richard Bryton , were the four knights who , hearing their lord and
master , King Henry II complain of the unsufferable wrong s and affronts
g iven him by Thomas Becket, (whom from mean deg ree he had advanced
260 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV .
to b e Lord Chancellor of England, and afterwards to b e Archbishop Of Canterbury ;) and yet no man revenged him of this insul ting traitor, they came
presently for England, and on the 29th December, 1 1 70 , killed the said
archbishop in Canterbury church ; for which fact they fled into divers re
mote places ; and this knight came into this place and here lived and hi
posterity ; the Pope bann ing, curs ing, and excommunicating, (then so for
midab le and powerful , that it made the wind to blow always in hi s face ;whereby grew a common proverb in this tract to those who had adverse for
tune or ill chances ,— thou art like S ir William Tracy , wind and weather is
always against thee z) notwithstanding got great possessions and honour,and added their names to places , as here , W ollacomb -Tracy , Bovey-Tracy,Nymet-Tracy , Bradford-Tracy , and others : concerning whose armories it
pleased once M r . Camden to tell me that the coat noted in this countryfor his , viz , or, a lion in bend , gul . between two cotizes , sab . , was but a
supposed and mistaken thing ; and that his coat was the same now borneb y the honourable family of the Tracies . [Or, an escallop in chief sable ,between two bends , gules .]In an ai sle Of the church is a monument whose fashion warrants antiquity,
and inscription pleads to b e his at the head whereof is engraven a cruci
fix , and on either s ide a woman mourning : on the right s ide three escutch
eons ; the first a plain cross charged with five roundles , which may b e St .
Aubin’s : three lions in pale passant ; this may b e Carew’s : two barrs ; whi ch
may b e set for M artin : for the colours are worn out long since , and these
men had possessions near .
On the other side Of the tomb is an inscription or epitaph not wholly le
g ible , and on a grey marble his portraiture .
Certainly not : he was buried at Cosenza , in Calabria, and the figure is evidentlythat of an ecclesiastic in his robes , holding a chalice in his hands . Unfortunately the
French inscription is now imperfect, but enough remains to record an invocation of
God’s mercy on the soul of a member of the Tracy family . Most probably this wasWilliam Tracy, the Rector of S t. George
’s Church at Morthoe, formore than a quarter
Of a century, and the founder of this chantry in honour Of SS . Catharine and M ary
Magdalene , in the year 1 308 . H e died in 1 322, and was succeeded in this Rectory onthe l 6th December that year by Thomas Roberts , clerk . ( Bishop S tapeldon’s R eg ister,fol . In the Fabric Roll of Exeter Cathedral , A . D . 1 323, is recorded a legacy of
205 . to thework De Testamento Dni W illelmi de Traci quondam Rectoris de Mortho.
"
The last Ex-chantry Priest of Morthoe , Thomas Rogers, was in the rece ipt of a pensionof from the Crown in 1 553. — G . O .
,— P . J.
262 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
b e : we therefore think it must b e a stranger . Some say a Russ ian ; for
the women Of that cold country think themselves not beloved of the ir hus
b ands if they b e not beaten , at least once every week , though causelessly
and an ambassador, that lay long there , told divers pretty tales thereof ; Of
which this is one , for commonly one draws in another .
Being ambassador (saith he) from the Emperor Ferdinando to Bas ilius ,Duke and King of Muscov ia , I was lodged in the house of a honourable bur
gess in the city Of M oscow ; and I sawmy host oftentimes to beat his wifeupon no occasion and yet notwithstanding she left not to love him , and
they spake still kindly to one the other without the least show of di scon
tent ; and yet the woman was Often beaten , sometimes with his dagger , or
stafl’
, or kicked with his foot .
”He proceeds .
There was also a goldsmith in the same city , to whom , by means Of
former acquaintance , I Often frequented . I remember his Wife sent him
word by one of his children , who delivered it in my presence , that he had
not beaten his mother so much as once all that week , but if he did not she
would neither love him nor provide any more diet for him . The goldsmith,
busily employed about his work , little regarded hi s son’s words , ne ither re
membered the country’s custom so generally in use as those naturally born
there , (for he was a German , and allowed not of this custom to strike hiswife , or to show her any unkind countenance ;) yet afterward, upon her im
portunity , (redoubling the messag e , ) he discharged his duty by g iving herhal f a dozen good blows with a cudg el , plucking Off her head attire , wherewith she was so well pleased that she forthwith called him to an excellentdinner presently prepared for him : otherwise , if a week should pass and she
not beaten , there could b e no quietness in the house , nor should he get a
g ood word of her .
” I repeat not these tales as alledging these customs for
orthodoxal in Great Britain ; but do rather express the strong ambition to
rule of that sex which we term weak and that the husbands in Russia are ,
in a sort , compelled to maintain this custom ; and where men are under
command or dare do no other , there is no mastery . And so I think thatM ort- stone will stand there for ever ; for you hear that my associates thattravel with me have no leisure , and per chance as little des ire to try thismatter , being earnest to coast the country and see George -Ham .
CHA P . V .] VIEW OF DEVON SH I RE .
CHAPTER V .
Of George-Ham and P idickwell .
THE parish of Ham ,which Verstegan will have to b e set for Heyne ,
and so with the addition of George , to b e the residence or seat of George .
In this is Cryde , a hamlet, whence the b ay under it is named Cryde Bay ;
held by St Baldwin le Fleming , Baron Of Slane , from whom it came to
Bellew and Dillon : now divided among many . Buckland Dinham carrieth
his lord’
s name in his forehead Of antiquity ; but after Champernon and
Chichester .
Here is the large barton of Pidiswell , vulgarly Pickwell ; compounded ,as it should seem, of two or three tenements : for we find that S ir Robert
Ferrers , Richard Talbot, and Sir Maug erus de St . Al bino held land in Pidiswell in one age . Yet some will add a third name , and call it Pitchwell,
and should take that name upon thi s note-worthy and remarkable occas ion
In the latter days of Henry III . the inhabitant was Sir M augerus de St .
Albino , or St . Aubyn : this knight and hi s lady are interred in the church,
under a fair monument of free - stone , with the ir representations neatly cut ;
and lying in his armour makes show Of large stature , somewhat more than
ordinary . The inhabitants report, from their ancestors , that he was Of a
giant- like stature , and therefore named Major St. Aubyn ; mistaking Major
for M aug erus , or M augis ; a common name in those days . Of this knight
also the tradition is , that he was Of so great and extraordinary strength that
he was able cast a huge main stone a very large length . The stone is yet
there to b e seen , and the throw marked out b y two erected monuments yet
extant, and the stone so weighty that two strong men of thi s age are but
able to lift it . Such a one as is mentioned b y Homer to b e thrown by
Diomedes to E neas : for he saith,
Saxum accip itmanuTyd ides magni ponderis, quod non duo viri ferrentQuales nunc homines sunt.”
Then in his hand D iomedes took To l ift the like in this our ageA wondrous massy stone ; Would make two strong men groan .
2 64 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
\Vell to come to the name ; the distance of these two marks is so large , that
the place should thereof b e denominated Pitch-well , as if you should say ,
thou hast pitched well . He might b e , I will not gainsay , of great strength
and of somewhat more than ordinary stature ; but if he were such a g iant
as they report him , his lady must b e his equal , or the monument is not well
made , for the ir proportions are of one stature . For his great force I willnot question , for I have seen myself some of great strength , and yet b ut of
ordinary stature . And leaving Camerarius’
report of George ofFronsb erg e ,Baron of M indlehaim , who was known to b e of far g reater streng th than
common men , in that he could lift a cannon ; we will rest upon a tenant of
M r . Carew’s , of Antony in Cornwall , named John Bray, who in thi s age ,
in the s ight of hi s landlord, carried upon his back at one time , by the space
Of a butt- length, six bushels Of Wheaten -meal , accounting fifteen gallons to
the bushel (which is eleven bushels , Winchester, ) and the mill er, a lubber of
twenty-four years of age , upon the whole .
All thi s granted of his stature and strength, yet it could not give the name ,
(which is that I insist ou ,) for I find S ir Robert de Pidickswell some fortyyears before him and another of the name yet more ancient . Next cameBatcombe thither, then Carew , and now N ewcourt . His father marriedHarris : his grandfather with Dillon .
In the church were to b e seen these armories
Argent'
a cross engra iled gul . between thre ewater bougets sab .— BOURCH IBR .
Quarterly argent and gu . per fess indented .— F ITZWARREN . E rmine on a plain
cross gul . five be zants — Sr . AUBYN . Or three l ions passant in pale sab .
CAREW. Checkee or and gul . a chief verry .— CH ICHESTER. Argent on a
chevron between three talbots sab . a fleur-de -l is of the first. -TA LBOT . Barryof six verry and gul .— BA TCOMBE. Argent three l ions ramp . gul .— CRYDH OE .
Gules billety and a fess argent.— CRYDW I LL. Sable three fus ils ermine .
GIFFARD.
In the churchyard upon‘ John N ewcourt, esq. , is erected a tomb with
this epitaph,
This is my home ere trumpet soundAnd Christ for me doth call ;
Then shall I rise from death to life ,And die no more at all .
”
And under it,
966 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV .
family of great age . He marr ied Arscot his father Parker : his grandfa
ther Giffard . Cockatree also came to this tribe by match with the coheir
Of Burnell .
West-Wyke , the inheritance of Batteshill , a family of good respect . He
married Hole hi s father, Dinham his grandfather the heir ofWood .
And Wiginton , or W ykinton , the inheritance of Milford , lineally descended from the ancient Judge M ilford , a man Of great worth in his time . Hen
ry I . gave the manor of South-Tawton toWilliam de Bello M onte , or Bea
mont ; whose issue mal e , in the re ign of Henry III . was created a baron
but before him Rog er de Tony was possessed thereof. That name was
standard-bearer of Normandy in the Conqueror’s days ; and another Roger,if not the same , was Baron Of Flamstead .
Spreton , or Spriton , comes next in our view ; who called Tabot Of Tal
bots-Wyke , Cheval ier, escheator of Devon ; (no small Office in those days
in the time of Henry V . landl ord : now Kelly and Gilbert .
North-Tawton , another adopted child of this river, which William de
BellO-Prato (Beaupre , ) held in the 3rd Of Edward I II but the hundred,which takes name of the parish, and contain s n ineteen parishes , was in the
tenure of Hugo de Valletort, or Vawtor . Sir Joelus de Valletort wrotehimself of Tawton under Henry I II . , and S ir John in the time of Edward I .By one of the coheirs Of Oliver Champernon and Egelina his wife , Richard
Wood, alias de Bosco , sergeant-at- law, derived himself from the royal blood
Of the Earl Of Cornwall , and John Wood Of Ashr idge , in that parish, now
from him. He married Copleston hi s father, Windham hi s son Powell .Here al so is a generous tribe of Cottle , who married Wood : his father,
My purpose in thi s my wearisome travel had this end to see and inform
myself, and to make use Of the best things and Observations , but not tofeed myself or you with raw indigestib le meat or trifles, such as e ither bytheir strangeness might cause a suspicion of untruth, or by the ir vanity add
to my other imperfections , a weakness and defect Of judgment in choice of
intelligence ; nor to depend too securely upon report and what I find any
where written : yet b e pleased to b e advertised Of what I have heard avouchedbefore a right honourable personage and one of the privy - council to Queen
Elizabeth, being at the place .
There stands a house in this parish named Baath, the inheritance first of
the family ofBaa , or Baath, and, after the inheritance of Samford ; by whose
CHA P . VI .] V IEW O F DEVON SH I RE .967
he ir it came to Slader, who descended from the S laders of Barrow -Down in
Kent, and was in his time a justice Of peace ; who reported, and so did di
vers before him, that before the door of that hou se there is , in the winter
time , a pool , not made by any spring but b y the downfall of rain water , butin the summer-time commonly dry ; of whi ch pool this was Often observed ,
that before the death or change Of any prince , or some other strange acci
dent Of g reat importance , this pool , in the dryest times , would b e so full
that it would overflow its banks , and so continue to maintain a stream until
the matter happened that it prognosticated .
Credi sic ipse voleb at,H e would have us be l ieve it to b e thus
,
and I can al ledg e no reason to the contrary ; and in divers authentic authors
you shall Often encounter with the like report : and as I have been informed
it hath been in these latter days three times seen in little more than thirty
years .
Crock-Burnel : a hamlet which b y Burnel’s coheir came to Cole Of Som
erset .
Nymet-N ichol was the inheritance Of Simon Lamprey , whose heir wasmarried to Parsloe , or Perseulew, of West-Horwood two ancient tribes .
I t hath a fair on St . M artin’s day .
Taw on the wester side leaves Sampford , which, for distinction from ano
ther of that name , hath yet his ancient lord’s name , Courtenay, joined to it .
Here is nothing remarkable , b ut that the Commons here began their firststirring to assist the Cornishmen in the time Of Edward VI . , 1 549 ; whosedepressing you shall find elsewhere .
Honeychurch, in ancient deeds , Honi-Cheu , is a little parish g iving name
to a family now elsewhere inhabiting : after possessed by Haydon ; and
now b y the g enerous family of Risdon Of Bab leigh,
Bundlegh now, formely Boneley ; so from the Norman you may call it
Good-Ley , Lease , or Good Pasture . Rob ertus de Campeleston , now
Champston lorded there ; after Gambon now Wyndham .
It leaves on the right hand Zeal , or Seal , with the addition of M ona
chorum ; for it belong ed to the abbey of Buckfastleigh : it is now called
Munckton- Seal . Here Pasmore held land ; and now the illustrious familyof Seymour .
268 VIEW OF DEVON SHIRE . [ BOOK IV .
Then Coleridge , or Coldridge , de Frigido jugo . Alanus held land in Col
rig , and so did Saulfe in the Conqueror’s time . Courtenay , Bonvile , and
Basset held land here ; and in the 1 3th King John , Hen . de St . George ,knight .
Nymet with the addition of Rowland showeth to whom it belonged .
Walter de N imeton held it more anciently , and Copleston more lately .
Henry de Umphravile , a potent l ineag e , held both these last in the time of
Edward I I .
In all this course our river hath been very well nursed by divers rills ,brooks , and bourns ; but here it rece iveth a good ass istance to strengthen
by a pretty river , made of two riverets not above an hour since , one ris ingnear
Puddington . (It may b e you have heard of the poor man of Puddington ,
alias Poting ton .) Ralph de S iccavilla , after Cruse , and now Hays possesseth it .
The other rill comes from Witheridg e , which g iveth name to a hundred
of twenty-three parishes , the honour whereof belonged to Robert le M ar
chant ; now to Hatch. Vi'
ill iam Poleyn and Stukeley held land here : now
M elhuish. And
Dart Ralph took his first name Of the river , and gave it to a generous
family ; who , g iving it to a young er son called Ralph , hath now both names ,
and is called Dart Ralph . It hath a fair every M idsummer-day . In the
church I once saw the se armories ,
Argent two barrs a zure . The second was argent three fusi ls fess gu. The
third, azure three wolves in pale current argent. The fourth, a ladder or bierin bend sab . A zure three shove llers’heads erased argent.
-LACY .
In the chancel on a tomb is this epitaph engraven ,
Hic j ace t Thomas Me lhuish Arm. hujus EcclesiaePatronus, qui verum coluit
verse religionis et pietatis dogma ; Litig iosorum Pacificus ; Infirmorum Adjutor optimus ; qui Obi it 5to die Febr . Anno
Near it, upon a marble stone thus
H ere lie th E l isabe th,the w ife of John Gaydon, Vicar of Wi theridge , who
died 2 1 st Octob . , 1 6 1 3 . M ore mihi vita .
”
And on another stone , adjo ining close unto it , this inscription ,
2 70 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV .
water like dogs ; you shall find the history in the 7th chapter of Judges ;and the addi tion of ford makes it, said he , very probable . It was the land
of Henry Umfravile , of Arundell and Basset ; an d of Oliver St . John , or
de Sto . Johanne , in Edward I II . s day ; after Umfravil e another account
says the family of St . George ; whose arms and inheritance , coming by his
daughter and heir to Bozome , is now possessed and born b v the ancient
family of Fulford .
Then coming to Brushford, or Brysford, it cleaveth the earth for a larger
channel to contain its waters . (These additions of ford are to such place
as in times passed were passag es over rivers ere that bridg es were built .)Abbotsham is a manor here ; which from holy uses came to Harvey ; and
from him , by his daughter and heir, to Paulet .
Eggisford, or Egenisford , anciently the seat Of Thomas de Bilchester ; and
under Henry II I . S ir John de Reyney wrote himself Of this place , which
was a tribe of sundry descents in these parts , and one Of them a reverend
judge of great fame in his time . A daughter of thi s house enriched a second
house Of Copleston therewith : whose issue mal e failing in the fourth de
scent, the sole he ir of John brought it, with herself, to Sir Edward Chichester , knight now Viscount Belfast in Ireland .
W emworthy belong ed to the family of Le E speke . In this standsRashl ey , belonging to that name ; but now to Clotworthy of ClotwOrthy,
who married with the daughter of Rashl eigh, and so had a house of hi s
own , and another of his wife’s name . His father, Parker : hi s son , Roll
and Lawrence .
CHAPTER VII .
Of Af ton and the Family of S takely .
HERE we are enlarged by a river that riseth near Crecomb e , or Crawcombe , whi ch Angerus held, and now Harris of Lifton : and passeth byRakenford , alias Rachenford . In the Saxons’ time it was a borough pri
v ileged with certain liberties and freedoms ; but that it was such a place
CHA P . VIL] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .2 7 1
then , it yields but little show, as Lidford does , now. The Cruses , Syden
hams , and Kingstons held land here, and Herbert Le M aries .
Afl'
eton , or Afi'
ton , now the seat of a worshipful family of Stukely . It
was sometime a parish of itself, and now it stands between the two W or
lingtons , east and west . It gave name to a great progeny , whereof Thomas de Affton was sheriff, 44th Edward I II . Agnes , the heir of the house ,
brought it with a fair inheritance to Stukely . This gentleman married
Halse and Coades : his father, Munk : his grandfather, St . Leger .
W estcot : wherein lived a tribe of the name ; as also N orthcot : now
with the rest belonging to Stukely .
Of this family was Thomas Stukely, called commonly the lusty Stukely ;Whose spirit was of so high a strain that it villified subj ection (though in
the highest and chiefest degree ,) as contemptible , aiming (as high as the
moon ,) at no less than sovere ignty . This man , though a young er brother ,
yet by rich matches got so good an estate as might have qualified a mode
rate mind to have lived bountifully and in great esteem, equal to the chief
Of his house , which were of knightly rank ; ,but his profluous prodigal ity
soon wasted it ; yet then , not anyway dejected in mind, he projected to
people Florida, and there in those remote countries to play rex : havingthis proverb Often in his discourse, I had rather b e king of a mole-hill
than subject to a mountain :” verifying Aristotle
’s Observation ,
— “cupidita~
tis natura infinita ;”— man
’s desire is of infinite nature : and as Seneca saith,
Avidis, avidis natura parum est.
TO such as are ambitious and so greedy, All nature’s self doth seem to b e too needy.
And it was a common report, spoken b y divers worthy credi t, that Queen
Elizabeth, in the height of his intended project, demanded him pleasantlywhether he would remember her when he was settled in hi s kingdom? yes ,saith he , and write unto
!
you also .
“An d what style wil t thou use ?”
saidher majesty . He presently answered, To my loving sister, as one prince
writes to another .
But as the great spirits of Ajax and Chares cast them suddenly into a
madness ; so he , unable , e ither by delays or di sabilities , to proceed to theattainment Of his purpose , (as appeareth by a ditty made b y him, or of him,
whi ch saith,
2 7 2 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK IV
Have over the waters to Florida , In Plymouth town, in a thread-bare gown,
Farewell good London now And money never a dealThrough long delays on land and seas, Hay ! trixi trim ! go trixi trimI’m brought, I cannot tell how,
Andwill not a walle t dowel l
he ran a far more dangerous course and di sloyal ; for passing to Rome he
became the pope’
s pensioner, who employing him with a band of some 300
or 400 Ital ians to assist certain rebels in Ireland, and to fill the sails of his
ambition with a full wind Of his desire , intitled him a marquess , a mightyand powerful provocation to such a nature , to vindi cate any enterprise
whatsoever : and bankrupt as well of faith as wealth, he proceeded . But
G od not approving his cause , dashed it ; yet gave him the fortune to die
honourably : for he chanced to put into Lisbon at the very instant that Don
Sebastian ,King of Portugal , was preparing his voyage for Barbary , (to as
s ist M ules M ahomet Xarifa, expelled his country b y his uncle , Muly Abdel
melechM aluco,whose fleet then was at that place ; and wi thout any
great difficulty he was persuaded b y royal promises to serve , (or rather,
according to his own speech and letters ,) to assist the king in this action
wherein he failed nothing to perform the part both of a skilful leader and
val iant soldier ; and, as it was vulgarly reported, had the council Of war
approved, and the king foll owed his advice , and forborne the fight for that
day , the vi ctory had been clearly his but otherwise persuaded by his un
experienced nobles , young and full of courag e , who also taxed Stukely Of
cowardice for g iv ing procrastinating counsel ; to whom he replied, “Out of
your unexperience and ignorance in the stratagems of war you deem me a
coward ; yet this adv ice would prove safe and Victorious , and your great
haste b e your overthrow , yet proceed, and when you come to action , you
will look after me , and shall apparently see that Eng li shmen are no cow
ards .
”All which he verified in hi s proceedings , and died nobly . And so
Alcacarquib ar, called commonly Alcazar, was made famous 4th August,1 5 78 , for thr ee king s in re and one in spe there slain that day .
Shall we consider thi s man’s actions , and inform ourselves by his exam
ple ? Surely much suffi ciency and many good parts were in thi s man ; yet
b y the serious view Of his proceedings is expressed unto us , that thoughmany in the understanding of the world are accounted valiant, wise , learned, and worthily minded , yet if the ir projects proceed (not from a good re
lig ious honest purpose aiming at virtue , but) from the windy swollen bub
9 7 4 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV
to himself and his wife , he , despairing of Divine Providence (whi ch neverdece iveth them that depend thereon , but giveth meat to every mouth
'
and
fi lleth with his bless ing every living thing ,) resolveth to let them swim in
our river, and to that purpose puts them all into a large basket and takes
his way towards the river . An d here again ,—aspice Opera Dei et admirare ,
he is here prevented again . The countess having been some where abroad
to take the air, or doing rather some pious work , meets him with his basket,and b y some , no doubt, Div ine Inspiration , demands what he carried in hi s
basket. The silly man , stricken dead well near with that question , answered
they were whelps . Let me see them , quoth the lady . They are pup
pies ,”replied he again , not worth the rearing . I will see ,
”quoth the
good countess ; and the loather he was to show them , the more earnest
was she to see them which he perce iving, fell on his knees and di scoveredhis purpose , with all former circumstances which understood, she hasteth
home with them ,provides nurses and all thing s else necessary . They all
live , are bred in learn ing , and being come to man’s estate gives each a
prebend in thi s parish . Which I think are vanished not to b e seen , but
the seven crosses near Tiverton , set up by this occasion , keeps it yet in
memory, unless they are appropriated to the free - school there erected .
The fruitful birth with the whole history, will , perchance , b e thought
s trange ; yet if you will b e pleased to hear the history of the beginning of
the noble race of W elfes , (much alike to this , but far strang er, ) reg istered
by Camerarius , counsellor to the free s tate of N oremb erg , you will make
no wonder of it . Irmentrudes , (saith he ,) w ife of Isenb ard, Earl of Altorfe , accused a woman of adul tery for bringing forth three children at a
b irth ; adding withal l that she was worthy“
to b e sown in a sack and throwninto the sea, and urged it very earnestly . It chanced in the year followingthat she herself conce ived , and in the absence Of her husband was del ivered
of twelve mal e children at one birth . (though very little .) But she fearing
the imputation and scandal she had formerly laid on the poor woman , and
the law of like for like , caused her most trusty woman to make choice of
one to b e tendered to the father, and to drown all the residue in a neigh
b ouring river . It fell out that the Earl Isenb ard return ing home met this
woman , demanding her whither she went with her pail ? who answered ,
‘to
drown a few baggag e whelps in the river .
’The earl would see them ;
and notwithstanding the woman’s resistance did so, and di scovering the
CHA P . VIII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .2 7 5
children ,pressed her to tell the matter , which she also did and he caused
them all to b e secretly nursed ; and grown great, were brought home
unto him , which he placed in an Open hall with the son whom his wife
had brought up , an d soon known to b e brethren b y the ir likelihood in everyrespect . The countess confessed the whole matter, (moved with the stingOf conscience, ) and was forgiven . In remembrance whereof the illustrious
race of the W elfes (whelps,) got that name , and ever s ince hath kept it .
”
M ary, the Countess of Henneberg, daughter of Florent, Earl of Holland,and Of Maud his wife , daughter of the Duke of Brabant, 1 3 1 4 , was deliver
ed, at one birth, (upon the like occasion, ) Of 365 children . This history is
verified by chronicle and epitaph in the monastery of Lodun , b y the Haguein Holland ; which being much spoken of I will forbear to exemplify , lest I
b e thought as fruitful of tales as these women of children .
The barton of Coleton was sometime the land of Roger Cole , by the he ir
of which house it came to Berry of Berry, in Lapford . He married Stukely z his father, Mountjoy : and his son , Arscott .
At Cadib ir, al ias Cadbury, was seated a family of the name ; now M ol
ford ; if not divided among the cohe irs . In this borough was also some
time ah ancient family Of Borage ; of which denomination is a great wood
near thi s place .
N ow I thought I might have left Chulmleigh, but I am sta id at Stone
Castle . Asserius speaking of the overthrow Of Hubba the Dane , who hadso horribly vexed our country , says it was at Kenwith-Castle , and the place
after was called Hubble-Stow , or Hubb es ~ Stone . W e shall seek thi s place
at Henna, or Hennab orow, in Northam, and at Instow ; and what we shall
find there we will impart to you. Some woul d have Hubble - Stone to b e
this castle , (now by the ruins a heap Of stones ,) for s ite , strong on everyside but east ; so was this : and as it hath lost its strength and beauty, so
it hath lost ( if it b e the same ,) the two first syllables of its name .
2 7 6 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV
CHAPTER IX .
Of Rings-Ash, with the original and course of the River M ole.
W E are at length gotten free Of this good borough, and are to vis it RingsA sh, or E sse-Regny , compounded of two names , Esse the ancient possessor ,and Regny succeeded by one Of the cohe irs they were two great families ;and the last the greater in birth, and estate b y the first . After it came to
Stukely, then M allet, and now Akeland .
This parish having three tithings , had therewith three chapels Of ease .
The first came by the he ir of Sir Wil liam Broughton to Howard, and fromhim to Paulet of Winchester . Han ckford was possessed byWilliam of the
same denomination ; and from him to Pollard and Harris .
Ryddl ecomb e , G osceline de Ryddlecomb held at the conquest ; afterwardsSir Richard de Lumine , then Beaumont ; next Basset, and after Carew . I
find there was here a fair anciently , but we see none here now.
M r . Doctor Anthony Short will inform us what there is in the church,
and save us the labour to go so far . There is only one escutcheon of
arms ,—
per fess indented arg . and gul . , which they say was the coat Of Si
mon Silvester , the Saxon , at the conquest .
Here you may expect the sight of a combat ; for here comes M ole , whichsee ing the sun first in Exmoor, so having one parent with Exe , hopeth of
equal fortune with his b rother , to grow large and famous , and to suppress
the name and di gn ity Of all r ivers he meets with ; and so he does for a
While , and is now come to encounter Taw, and strive for superiority . Theyare mere strangers one to the other, as coming out Of divers climates Our
river out of the south, and this from the north, at least miles distant .
Mole is much encouraged after he has passed Twitchin (a chapel Of ease ,)to North-Molton, to whom he gives name ; and was sometime taken for a
hundred of itself ; now it is under hi s younger brother, South-Molton, who
hath gotten the better state and 1 s Incorporated . In this parish, written
anciently North-M olton , was the seat of the Lord St. M aure , Whose heirsentitled it to the Lord Zouch and Bampfield now, by purchase , all Bampfield
’s . Here is also the l ineag e of Parker , who married Seymour his
father, the heir of M ayhow : his grandfather, Smith.
2 7 8 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
vided among divers . Frencheston Tything, g iven , by the Courtenays of
Molland, to a younger son of the house . East Bray, the land Of Fill egh
and Fortescue . Let us Vis it the fair church, whose many armories I do for
g et ; but the epitaphs are these
On the monument of Arthur Hatch, esqu ire ,
E arth and heaven did contend Though publ ic place he stillwithstood,For their title to one friend ; Y et sure he was a publ ic good ;God then see ing the ir debate , None ever knew him b ut, what ICame ’
twixt them to arbitrate Confess, affi rmwi thwe eping eye .
And to the earth his body gave, Y et Death notmoved beneath this hearseH is soul toheaven Christ’sbl iss to have . Laid the subj ect Ofmy verse .
The next is on Gabriel Webber , second mayor Of the town
Under this floor, a putrid bone , I was the same that thou anon ,
Doth GabrielWebber lie ; Thou art the same that I .
Secundus hujus Oppidi consulatum accepit, primus integrum gassit.To 7 2} rpm} .
As I do find upon this tomb I say,Then Molton died whenWebberwent away .
On Robert Clotworthy, g entleman
The richwith honestmirth he fed, Y et never gave offence to any
The poor he cherish’d with his bread ; B elov’d he was of great and small
H e freely Spent his pencewith many, And now l ies here b ewail’d of all .On the Wife of John Pollard, gentleman
Credo Carnis resurrectionem e t vitam aeternam. Amen .
Next I find the deep grief of a loving father for the death of a hopeful
daughter , Prudence Squier
The assured hope of thy eternal bl issDries all my tears : the end of flesh is this.
But casting my eyes as ide and seeing her grandfather laid close by hershortly after , I could not but participate with M r .William Squier in this hisdouble grief. On the old Christopher Squier was this ,
Years e ighty pass’d, my lease of l ife expir’d,
In house of flesh I could no longer stayIt to repair, I car’d not nor desir’d,My Land-Lord call
’d, and thus to me did say,
CHA P . IX .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .2 7 9
Come livewithme : in time Iwi ll restoreThy house with j oy, which shall decay no more .
’
I wet mine eyes with him , and drying them again I presently espied two
epitaphs , whi ch need no paraphras ing , they so prettily and pithily expressthemselves and the poet’s worth. The first speaks thus ,
Here l ies George Clase In his grave to b e seen
Wi thin this place Anno I 6 l 9 .
Be ing mayor, now gone , H e is gone to that dust,
Anno l 6 O and I, TO l ive with the just,
W ho this l ife pass’d away Where we all must.
March the l l th day ; Anno [E tatis 78 .
Another of the same muse’s fabrication , made upon old Joan Allen
In this tomb the body doth lye Aged they were by true report ;Of Old Joan Allen
,that late did die , Lovers of husbandry in good sort ;
Near her husband,which she did love, Ever desirous the ir G od to please ;
Even that Thomas Allen next above . N O lovers of loiterers or takers of ease .
“Anno fE tatis suae
I had almost passed Bremridge , alias Bremelridg e , which in time past
and per chance brooked its name , then held by Cob leigh ; b ut much im
proved and b eautified with a fair house b y the chi ef ornament of this town ,
Sir John Dodderidge , knight, secondary Justice of the King’s Bench ; whose
s incerity held the scales Of justice with so steady a hand, ( he died not so long
since , but that every man can testify what I say,) that neither love nor ln
cre , fear nor flattery, could make it shake or yield the we ight of a grain .
He was very learned, and generally in all literature well versed ; and a lover
and searcher of venerable antiquities ; whose notes and collections I havemuch, for my better direction , desired to see , and have been promised , but
was never yet so happy . Of him, I heard somebody say , the poet alludedin these verses ,
Ingenua de plebe virum, nec census in illoNobil itate sua major ; sed vita fidesqueInculpata fuit.”
H is wealth was not exceeding great, nor pedigree of high fame ;But li fe and actions so upright, as none could justly blame .
He was thrice married ; to Germin , Bampfield , and Culme ; yet
less ; and was buried under a very fair and costly monument in
280 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
called our Lady’s , in St . Peter’s Church, Exon . His epitaph you have seen .
Here is also a generous tribe of Pincomb , whose mother was s ister to the
last-named judge .
CHAPTER X .
Of M olland Botreaux , the N ymets , and other p laces near by .
N OT far hence M ole meets his equal , and perchance of his name , for it
comes from mole - land , which some interpret high- land as fen - land, low
land . This parish had sometime the name and honour of an hundred , but
now it is covered under South-Molton , and hath the surname of Botreaux
of that honourable stirpe who were lords there . I find Sir Will iam BO
treaux in the time Of King John , and others after him . Will iam was created
a baron in the time of Edward I I . The he ir Of which fam ily was married
to the Lord Hastings , of whom is the Earl Of Hunting ton , and hath titletog ether with Hasting s , Hung erford, M oiles , and M olins . N ow it is the
seat Of the honourable name of Courtenay of M oll and . I find also that
Radulphus de M ortuO -mario and Radulphus Sarazenus were se ized of land
in M olland-Sarazans , and S ir Robert Champeaux de M olland-Champeaux ;after of Sir John Lutterel , tempore Edward III . : now, as I think , commonly
called Champeston ; and is the seat of the ancient family of Culme , or
Colum . Sir W alterus de Colum l ived in the time of Richard I . And in
this church I think I saw the remembrance Of an old aunt Of mine ; a gen~
tlewoman furnished with all Virtues belong ing to her sex . Her epitaph is ,
Here l ieth AgnesWilloughby, widow, daughter of W ill iam Frye , e squire ;firstmarried to Hugh Culme, esquire , and lately to JohnWilloughby Arm .
”
Another remembrance is on John Courtenay , esquire
H ic j acet Johannes Courtenay Arm. qui Obi i t 27 0 . die Martu Ao . D . 1 5 1 0 .
Cujus animae propitie tur Deus .
”
This esqu ire married Wyndham : hi s father Cole : his grandsire , Bois
Knodston , nowKnowston , hath addition by his ancient landlord, Beaple .
2 82 V IEW OF DEVON SH IEE . [BOOK IV .
Romans-Legh, or rather Rumons-Leigh, nominated of good S t . Rumon ,
who was interred in Tavistock, but here honoured, for to that abbey this
church appertained ; and there as well as in the legend is much worthymatter recorded of him . Some will have it from the Romans and Of a b at
tle here fought in the time of Vespas ian but I find no warrant for it .
Here our river Mole streng thens himself with a brook that comes from
another Nymet, known from the others b y the royal name of King’s , and
passeth through the park ; (a thing which hi therto we have not been much
troubled to describe ;) but hereafter we may chance to meet with such like
more Often , and peradventure taste a piece of venison , for the owner thereof
is no n iggard . It is the inheritance of Sir Lewis Pollard , baronet ; who
married Barcklay : his father, Chichester : his son ,Vere , s ister and cohe ir
to the right honourable Henry , Earl of Oxford,Lord Bulbeck , Lainford,
and Lord great Chamberlain Of England, and the relict of Fran cis , LordNorris , Viscount Thame and Earl of Berkshire . But by naming these
honourable earls , let me not commit so gross an error to pass thi s place and
not remember that so dignous a member of our county and common weal ,Sir Lewis Pollard, knight , s erg eant
-at- law in the time of Henry VIII . ,whose knowledg e in the law and other commendable virtues , together withhis fruitful issue , eleven sons , each having as many sisters matched in wor
shipful families , and most with knights , hath made famous above most Of
that ag e and rank . In a window in the aisle of the church of Nymet-Bishopis thi s remembrance of him ;
— first his and his lady’s pictures , kneeling ;
with him eleven sons , with her eleven daughters ; and this subscribed,
Orate pro bono statu Lodovici Pollard militis, unius justitiariorum Domin iReg is de Banco, e t E lisab ethae uxoris ej us, Qui istam fenestram fieri fecerunt.
”
And now joins with us the river Bray , not much in quantity inferior to
M ole ; it comes from Stock (surnamed of the family of the first Denshire
Earls ,) Rivers . It is now inherited b y Chichester and Pine ; but in the
time of Richard II . by Pawlet . In the chancel there is an ancient monu
ment of a woman with her portraiture , in free- stone, not known what shewas ; b ut over it are Beaumont
’s armories .
At H igh-Bray , in elder times Hat Bray , as seated in high ground, our
river leaves his name . It was the land of S ir Baldwin de Flanders , called
al so Fleming . Here is , nay ! rather was , a military fort ; they called it a
CHA P . XL] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .283
castle , and named it Shorsbury ; which I could not b ut show you : others
may , perchance , learn more of the,
antiquities thereof, or gather somewhat
by the name , than I can . In Little-Bray, Baldwinus de Ackelond, Robert
de Pydickswell , and Thomas de W estcot held land . The tithing of Grattan
was held b y St . Aubyn and Arundell .
Iuz the church there is a remembrance of one Henry Herder, who was
drowned . Thus we read,
Grieve notmy friends at this my sudden death,
S ince b y the fates I was deprived Of breath ;But joy in this that heaven is my rest ;God takes them soonestwhom he loveth best.
Next comes it to Charles , wr itten also Charneis . There was a g entle family of this name ; another Of Charleston ; as S ir Alanus de N orthmolton
I cannot presume to settle e ither of them here ; b ut di vers of the great fa
milies of Rawlegh and Punchardon .
Then the two Bucklands , East and West . In the last the two latest
named famil ies had land ; now Welsh . The Easter Robert de M aredon
and Simon de M ocheland ; after them Fillegh , and now Fortescue . All
parishes of this denomination are thought to b e derived from beech-
groves .
W e are now come to Fill egh with its park . Sir Nicholas de Fillegh en
joyed it in the time of Henry III . ; after Bensel ; of that family Wil liam
was sheriff, 28th Edward II I . : it is now one Of the seats Of the g reat and
multiplied tribe of the Fortescues ; of which worthy family I shal l have oc
cas ion to speak hereafter . This gentleman married Rolle his father, Spec
cot : his grandfather, Chichester .
CHAPTER XI .
Of the meeting of M ole and Taw, and their p assage af terward to Umberlegh.
N OW are we come to a fit place to b e spectators of the encounter of the
two rivers , M ole and Taw, near Burrington . G alfridus de N orthcot pos
sessed land in Burrington in elder time , so written . The abbey of Tavistock
2 84 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK IV .
had sometime interest in this manor ; now the Earl of Bedford . Callard
had here a larg e farm of his name . And Hydon was here Lord of Hal sburyM anor ; whereof Thomas Hal sbury was a free tenant, and after marrying
Hydon’s he ir and possess ing the manor, called it Hal sbury Thomas . After
him Fulford and Snedal had interest in it .
Bridge was held by Holland, who passed it to Harvey , and he to M ole
ford .
M ole comes on very roughly, and having some advantage Of the ground
g ives Taw a shrewd push ; b ut res isted with a g reater Violence retires for a
while , b ut like a high di scontented spiri t sweats with choler ; yet at length
seeing no poss ibili ty to prevail or to take any other course , joineth patientlywith Taw upon terms of equality, only leaves hi s name there .
At thi s union they do demi-insulate Chyttenholt, (a title g iven to places
of such streng th as are thought tenable and defensible against sudden inva
ders as this was a large spacious wood , thick and dark in those times ,but now well cleared Of those faul ts now possessed by Pollard .
Here it fleets with a large and deep channel, pass ing W arkely, which in
Edward II .
’s time Sir G ervatius de Ralegh, knight, held ; and now the
Earl Of Bath and the Hamlet of therein passed from St . Ledger
to Giffard .
Satterlegh, or Saterly , whereof Walter de Down was se ized for Richard
de Down granted a farthing land to Wil liam le Coper in the re ign Of Ed
ward III . after Cockworthy ,Trevill ian , and now Hatch .
H igh Bickington is now in sight, or Bickington -Loges ; the first from
s ituation , the last from the land lord ; which together with Athering ton are
risen out Of Trin ity Chapel In Umb erlegh .
Our river Taw passeth in his course , separating W omb erlegh and hi s
park in Atherington , and Brightly in Chittle -hampton with his park ; and
fleets so equally , as well he may , to keep all friends , and so would werehe not crossed by wears .
W omb erlegh, or Umb erlegh, and so might take name of the great sha
dow underneath the high and large spreading woods and groves adjacent.
It is supposed by some not unlikely reasons that it was the seat Of King
Athelstan , in his residence in this country , and here he erected a chapel in
honour Of the blessed Trinity ; which was , in those days spacious enough
to receive the whole assembly Of that large territory that now fills the two
2 86 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV .
templar, or that had vowed himself for the holy wars , for hi s legs were
crossed .
Bickington gave name to a tribe who granted this Parish to Loges , who
added his name unto it . His cohe irs were married to Pawlet and W ibbery :
by both of these it was al ienated part came from Bonvile to Copleston .
Here stands Langley , the seat of Pollard . It came to him from Bryt
ton ; and with his good matches with the he ir Of Hantisford, and his afore
with Posb ery , his estate is raised to a very competent sufficiency ; and hath
bred divers proper, tall , and suffi cient gentlemen , fit to serve any prince
whatsoever . One Of them, Georg e Pollard, was Gentleman Usher to QueenEliz abeth, and after to our Sovereign King James I . Galfridus de Snapewas lord of the manor of Snape ; and Baghill of the manor Of Stowford, andmarried the heir of Snape . SO William filius W illielmi Bagwel confirmab at
terram de Gratclyfl'
, VValterO filio et Heredi . W alteri de Gratclyfl'
Edward
II I . From Fortescue to Brightlegh, to Fitzwaren , Cornue , Cob legh,
Giffard .
Barry was anciently lord Of South-Hele and North-hele and there is
a deed to b e seen wherein Will iam Hyb ernensis gave this to his son Robert .
It should seem he descended from the Lord Barry of Ireland . Here is al soWotton the seat of Eyer .
CHAPTER XII .
Of Brightlegh and the Family of Gif ard.
N ow Brightlegh is to b e spoken of, Of whence a good family took name ;
for W ill iam de Brightlegh was sherifl of the shire 38th Edward III . , 1 363 ,which confirms my assertion elsewhere , that men took names of their seats ,and not the ir seats of them for I find that Anno 1 1 33 Richard de Brioniis
buil t here a monastery , and was here buried, 1 1 40 . His s ister and heirlaid a new foundation at Ford, and removed her brother
’s corpse thither
and laid her own bes ide him , 1 1 42 . Next I find Sir William Fitzwarrende Brightlegh, 1 1 35 , and married Alice , sister and heir Of Sir John White
CHA P . XII .] V IEW or DEVON SH I RE .2 87
of Stoford in West-down, and had issue S ir William his son , who marriedAgnes , daughter Of S ir Richard Merton , knight, a powerful man in these
parts , and had only by her a daughter . To his second wife he married a
daughter Of William Corbin of Shropshire , and had issue , first, John ; se
cond , Thomas both which died without issue ; and the inheritance fell totheir half- s ister, who was married to Robert Cornue , alias Cornutus , as
some tell me but by computation Of years Brightley l ived near this timeso he might marry the heir Of Fitzwarren , and Cornue his . From him it
came to Cob legh, and by his heir again to the dignous family of Giffard .
He marriedWindham : his father, Leigh : his grandfather , Grenvile : Earl,
(his son, first, Bampfield ; second, Fane : his grandson , Clotworthy’s heir .)
I have been somewhatmore precise than ordinary , for if this were Brightly,where the monastery was erected , (for as yet I can find no other of the
same name , ) then I know not how to set all these men in their right timesotherwise ; b ut I will leave it to those whose pedigrees it concerns .
This lies in the parish Of Chittinton , alias Chittlehampton , but in the
Conqueror’s survey Cedelintona ; and then it was the king
’s demesne . G il
bert, Earl of Glocester and Hereford , held land here under Edward 1 1 in
Edward III Hillersdon . It is no great town , but rather to b e termed a
village ; famous only for that good St . Hieritha, whose miracles are able tofill a whole legend, who lived there , and was there buried . And I observedthe tower Of the church to b e a work more curious and fair than any in that
country . Henry Dawb eney , Earl Of Bridgwater ; Carew, and Pollard pos
sessed lands here .
William de Horwell held the manor Of Whitstone , and after him John
Colb rook de Horwel] ; and so from Bellew to Pollard, and so to Yeo .
Latched and Head-M ill , Gray , M arquis Of Dorset, alienated to Hatch . In
this church is a remembrance of Will iam Snow and Joan hi s wife ; who
saw a fruitful posterity , viz , ninety persons descending from them : and
this was their epitaph,
One were we twayn, one was our joy, one smart,One was our grief, in each we had l ike part ;One was the Death that us al ive did sever
,
One is the stone that us, be ing dead, doth cover.
In the north aisle is raised a fair monument of alabaster, erected in memory
V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV o
of John Giffard , esq . , whereon is his simil itude armed, and b eautified withescutcheons of his matches —the inscription thus ,
Hic jacet Johannes G ifiard Armiger pietate, prob itate, prudentia, providentiainsignis qui ex Honora uxore , e famil ia Earl iensi, prolem suscepit faecundissi
mam ; primogenito autem ejus Arthuro defuncto, patre adhuc superstite , JOhannem Arthuri filium haeredem s ibi sub stituit. Familia itaque suam splendideet foel iciter composita, natis
,natorumque natis sufli cienter dotatis, atque hae
rede suo JOhanne conjugi selectissimae JOhannae ex illustri W indamorum prosapia, Somerset, sociato, j am septuagenarius e vivi s excessit : cujus contractam
urnam, 2 . Regum 1 2. quas i resurrexisse videntur nomina illa praeclara Ol im de
functa. Rogerus Giflard Miles, e fami l ia Hallisb uriensi oriundas, qui uxoremhabuit Margeri filiam et hasredem Johannis Cob leigh, de Brightlegh. JohannesGifl
’
ard Armiger, cui uxor fuit Maria filia Richardi G renvile , militis ; et summae
speiArthur G ifl'
ard, qu i uxorem s ibi ascivit Agnetam filiam Thomas Le igh Armigeri . Hoc monumentum piissimae ob servantiae symbolum posuit Johannes G iffard
,nepos devotissimus A . D .
Above al l is written,
Portaverunt eum Angel i ; in sinum Abraham.
After,
Calcanda semel via Lethi.
At the foot,
Morsmihi Lucrum.
Upon another tomb is this epitaph found,Hic jacetH enricus Cob legh, etAl icia uxor ej us, Parentes Johannis Coblegh.
Qui quidem H enricus Obi it 21 , die Octob .
, A . D.
Another like ,
Hic jacet Johannes Cob legh et Isabella uxor ejue ; nuper uxor RobertiCornue, armigeri, quas quidem Isabella, Obi it 2 1 Oct., A . D .
Another thus,
Johanna, uxor, predicti Johannis Coblegh obnt ultimo diemensis Sep., A . D ,
290 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
issue male Of the first line ceased in John , Lord Moelis whose two coheirs ,Isabella was married unto Will iam , Lord Botreaux so the honour resteth
now in the noble family of Hastings ; Henry, Earl of Huntingdon , Lord
Hastings , Hungerford, Botreaux , M oelis , and M olins : and Muriel , the se
cond, was wife to Sir Thomas Courtenay, knight, second son to HughCourtenay , first of that name Earl of Devon ; and the name is continued in
this gentleman , John M oelis Of Yalmston, whose company and assistance
in this our journey would b e very delightful and profitable unto us , for hi s
many good parts .
I had said nothing of Coddon -hill had you not mindedme Of it. On the
high top of this mount is the Hundred-Beacon placed, and it yieldeth a very
pleasant and large prospect both to sea and land ; and here , that Alba li
gustra candunt, I cannot aver ; but I am assured that vaccin ia nigra le
guntur .
And now let me remember the good Tawland-men ; for here certain parishes are known by the name of Tawland : not for circuit large , but for
soil exceeding fruitful ; not inferior to many places in thi s kingdom for cornand pasture , as never dece iving the careful husbandman
’s expectation ; W e
have here a continual tribute from a river that descends from
Loxhore ; which in the 2 7th Of Edward I I . William Weston possessedb e armories of which famil y being five times diversified in St. Peter’s ,Exon , maketh a fair muster . It passeth through
Swimbridge , and therein doth serv ice to M ar sh, the land success ively of
many noble families — Broughton , Howard, Paulet, Denni s , and now Rolle .
Dinnaton , in this parish, gave name to a stirpe , and passed afterward toHandford, and now to Chi chester . And
Yem sb orough, or Eam sb orow, of whom al so a good race had their de
nomination ; from whom, by a daughter, it came to Moelis ; and from him,
b y the like , to Dawb em oun ; and by equal fortune to G ifl'
ard .
Another brook comes from Goodley : (famous for its name and mazardfeast ; for that fruit aboundeth more here than in any part of thi s country
bes ides -Goodley quas i— Good Lesues ( Leas) for so it hath. Williamde Bruer had land here ; and under Edward I II Stanton ; whose he irswere Dennis and Crouckhorn ; G ifl’
ard and now Cary .
Then Landkey , or Londkey ; and therein Ackland, or rather Aukelond,
as taking name from a grove of oaks , (as it is said of Garron in Greece , )
CHA P . XIII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .99 1
for by such an one the house is seated, and hath g iven name and long ha
b itation to the clarous family of the Acklands , which have many ag es here
flourished in worshipful degree . He married Vincent : his father, the sole
he ir (that had issue ,) of Mallet : the grandfather, Munk : (his son, one of
the daughters of Dennis Rolle : whose son , S ir Arthur Ackland , bart died
sans issue . The estate is now in a younger son) S ir Hugh, who married
Daniel ; whose son married the daughter and heir Of Ackland, a rich mer
chant in Barnstaple . .
You may see Ryv erton , the seat Of Riverton ; whose daughter and heir
brought it to Ackland .
W e have travelled very dully this hour ; we need a fit Of recreation bysome pleasant tale , and here is a good opportunity . For I must leave out
nothing that I find worth the relation .) In this parish are two towns ,
( indeed both wil l but make a pretty village were they joined, ) named Easter
and Wester Newlands a thoroughfare much travelled, as be ing not pass
ing two miles from Barnstaple . These are somewhat dangerous to b e
passed by strangers not for thieves or such like , b ut to those whose
tongues are ushers to the ir wits and walks before them ; such, I mean , as
bring the cause with them for if out of their blindness , or boldness , (for
it is no other, though they term it valour,) they shall b ut cry out these
words , ( I am almost afraid to whisper them ,) Camp - le -tout, Newland ,
”
held Of the good women very scandalous to their honesty, they are instantlyall up like a nest Of wasps with the first alarm ; the streets are corded , the
party (or more , if more there b e in the company ,) beaten down from his
horse ( if he ride) with stones , or other -like dog -bolts , always in readiness ,so taken and used at the pleasure Of the good town
’s -women , washed ,
shaved, and perfumed , (and other like dainty trimming , not for modesty to
b e spoken,) that he that travels that way a fortnight after may smell what
hath been there done and he that hath made the trial will confess , by ex
perience , that it is folly for a wise man to anger a multitude causelessly .
Bel ieve what I set down for your behoof,Or come that way and find it true by proof.
292 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK IV
CHAPTER XIV .
Of Tawstock, and the noble Family of the Bourchiers , E arls of Bath.
N ow Taw turning to the left hand vails bonnet to Tawstock , in our ana
cestors’speech : a seat upon Taw, a pleasan t and delicate seat indeed, in a
rich soil and inhabited by worthy personages , as of Bruse , alias Braos ; forS ir Will iam Braos lived here in the time of Richard I after that the noblestirpe of Tracy, in Edward III .
’s time ; after Of the Lords Fitzwarren ; and
now of the illustrious family ofB ourchier . Edward Earl of Bath,Lord
Fitzwarren , Lovayn , and Denham, whose high descent delineated, by a
learned and skilful pencil , I might ( but without his lordship’s leave I dare"
not) publish .
Yet, by his lordship’s favour , in regard they have their res idence in (and
are natives Of ) thi s country, and a chief ornament thereof, I will tendermy service to him that was the primum mobile Of these my labours ; a
strong persuader, and would have been a great assistant ( b eing s ingularlyadorned with the best sciences ,) had not fate otherwise decreed .
The Lords E tzwarren deduce their pedigree from Sir Guarine de Metz ,of Lorrain , who took to wife the daughter and heir
’
of William Peverel ,
(who is said to have built the castle ofWhyttington in Shropshire , which wasaccounted caput baroniae,) and begat Fulk, the father of that thrice renowned Sir Fulk Fitzwarren ,
kn ight, of whose doughty deeds and variable ada
ventures in the wars our predecessors spake wondrously, and many poems
were composed . This honor passed from Hankford to Bourchier ; of
which heroical family John (the son of Fulk , Lord Fitzwarren ,) was cre
ated by King Henry VIII . , the 8th July, 28th of his reign , Earl of Bath ;the second that enjoyed that honour . He married Cicely, sister and heir
to Henry , Lord Daub eny, Earl of Bridgwater, and had issue John , Lord
Fitzwarren , Am ias , Giles , Elizabeth, married to Edward Chi chester of
Ralegh, esq . , Dorothy ,wife to Sir John Ful ford, knight ; Eleanor , Marga
ret, Anna .
John Bourchier, second of that name Earl of Bath, married to hi s first
Elizabeth, daughter to S ir Walter Hungerford, knight, and had issue Eli
9 94 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV .
S imon Lamprey , whose armories express his name , was Lord Of West
horwood, from whom it Came to Passleu . One of that house , an especial
favourite of Henry III . , was afterward so shaken b y a court tempest thathe retired himself to Norfolk , and was there Parson of Deerham ; unto
whom , while he was in the sunshine , was alluded,“pass-le - eau ,
”as sur
passing the fair water ; which, if you will believe Pindar, is the most excel
lent element of all from him to Cornu ; and as yet Pollard , who has kept
it long in the name ; and divers of them are remembered yet , either in thewindows or monuments — as in a window ,
Orate pro bono statu Johannis Pol lard e t Wilmot uxoris ej us ; qui istamG ildam fieri fecerunt.
”
Elizabeth Pollard lieth entombed in the north ai sle ; her picture is curiouslycut in alabaster, with two chi ldren on each s ide of her .
Newton , though it has a new name , forgets not his old lord, whose ad
dition he yet faithful ly reserves z— Tracy : yet hath he had his equals ; viz ,Talbot, now Champneys .
CHAPTER XV .
Of the Borough qf Barnstap le with the Descrip tion of the Town, with the
H istory of the Lord Audlegh.
W E are now come to Newport, ready to enter into Barnstaple . It should
seem to b e an ancient borough ; for I find in the 8th year of Henry IV .
Thomas Perret M ayor Of Newport ; wi th Thomas H ill , Will iam Licheston ,
Thomas Conyer, and Henry Holman , ( his brethren per chance ,) witnessesto a deed of very good value .
Barnstaple , or Barstaple , is a very ancient borough, near the mouth Of
Taw, and thereof may b e said to derive name . In the British speech,
Aber Taw, the mouth Of Taw,Leland will have the word Barnstaple , a
chief mart town upon Taw : others will deduce it from Barum ; (the ancient
name , taken from the b ar at the river’s mouth and Stapolia , which should
s ignify a fair market, or place Of trade and merchandising . It is one of the
CHAP . XV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 295
eyes of the country, and the northern emporium and may ,without Offence ,
b e compared with some cities , having liberties and privileges equaling some
of them . The inhabitants trade into foreign countries especially , in regardof the situation to Spain and the islands . The streets are somewhat low,
yet well paved and thereby clean and sweet in all weathers . For antiquity,fair buildings , and frequency of people it may pass equal to some of greaterfame .
It is placed among hills standing in form of a semicircle , the river being (asit were) the diameter ; which, together with the river call ed the North-Yeo ,
at the two high springs by the swell ing of the sea so overfloweth the fieldsthat it seemeth a demi- island ; but when the sea retires itself these riversseem to creep between shelves and sands , as hardly able to carry small
vessels .
The south part is b eautified with a stately bridge , built, as M r . Cam
den was informed, by one M r . Stamford , a rich citizen Of London . He
might b e a g ood benefactor to it, but tradi tion delivers that it was begun b ytwo maiden s isters , who b y spinning and teaching young children their skill
finished the two fir st piers ; and there was sometime (and lately, if not
now,) to b e seen a charter (among other the ir mun iments , ) whereby it
appeareth that the licence was given unto them to seek and implore the
benevolence Of good and charitably disposed people towards the finishing
thereof.
At the north end of the town there is also a long bridge called Pilton
Bridge ; nothing for beauty or height equal to the ‘
other,'
but rather to b e
termed a cawsy ; whi ch, as the common voice delivers , was bui lt b y Judg eStowford , or Judge West Of Stowford : for he coming from his house ,
Stowford , in West-down , towards thi s town , found a woman and her childdrowned in thi s river ; upon whi ch woeful accident and woeful spectacle hewas presently moved to erect this bridg e for the security Of travellers , andpiously performed it : which might b e taken for the south bridge ; for b e
tween Stamford and Stowford is not such great difference , but the one in
so long time may b e taken for the other, as well as Emige for Ewige in thearticles between the Emperor Charles and the Landgrave .
This town was Of g ood esteem in the time of King Athelstan, 924 , Of
whom it Obtained di vers liberties , freedoms , and immun ities , whi ch to thisday (with augmentation from other princes ,) they now enjoy . He bears
296 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
the name to b e the builder of the ir castle ; but some refer it to a later time ,
to Judael de Totteness , to whom the Norman Conqueror gave this town ,
for keeping and defending whereof divers manors and parcels Of land wereheld in Castle Gaurd . I name what hath been there , b ut now the rel ics
are nothing but ruins , and can scarcely testify what it hath been , only to
b e pointed out by relation Of those that have seen it in some better sort ; as
Penelope saith, that those that came from the destruction Of Troy did, with
their fing ers wet in wine , upon the table del ineate and describe that city:
H ic ib at S imois, hic est S igaeia tellus,
H ic steterat Priami Reg ia celsa senis .
”
H ere ran the river S imois ; here was S igeum town ;Here Old K ing Priam’
s palace stood,so famous for renown .
It was in success ion held b y the Tracys , Fitz-Martins , and by James Lord
Audlegh under Edward III Of whose heroical spirit, valour , and bountyto his servants , g ive me leave (in reg ard he was a native here and possessed
a great estate , and inhabited , though he had his hdnour from Heligh, ) to
exemplify a history taken out of M r . Graflton ; be ing a worthy precedent
for all nobles and gentlemen , to show them how to reward faithful and
trusty servants , especially such as have adventured their lives in their de
fence and services .
This noble knight and baron had made a vow that, in some battle of Ed
ward III or one of his children , he would strike the first stroke : so beingwith Prince Edward , commonly called the Black Prince , at the battle of
Poictiers , he with his four esquires fought so long in the front of the battle
that he was very sore wounded, and having performed many noble feats Of
arms , was carried by his four esquires out of the field . The battle ended,
and the French King and his son taken prisoners , the heroical prince forg ot
not the Lord Audl egh, but inqu ired after him,and answer was made that
he was sore wounded and lay in a litter not far off . I am sorry,”said the
prince , “for his hurts , but go and know if he may b e brought hither , or else
I will go see him where he is .
”The two knights that were sent relating
thi s to the Lord Audlegh,I thank the prince ,
” quoth he , “that he w ill
remember a poor knight as I am and forthwith was carried by eight ofhis servants to the prince’s tent, who took him in his arms and embracedand kissed him, and said, I ought greatly to honour your valour, for this
298 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK IV .
done this without your licence , I humble crave pardon and b e assured thatbothmyself and four esquires will ever serve you hereafter as well and truly,
as we have now done .
”
The prince replied, Sir James , I cannot but highly commend you forall vour actions Of valour and bounty ; and for the service Of your four
e squires (whom you so highly commend, ) I allow willingly to them your
g ift ; and I will render to you ag ain 600 marks in like manner as you hadthe other granted to you before .
”
But ag ain to Barnstaple . King Richard II . gave it to his half-brother,John Holland, Earl Of Hun tingdon , after Great Chamberlain Of England andDuke of E xeter b ut to the crown it again returned, and Queen Mary gaveit to Thomas M arrow, whose son possessed Chichester therewith .
By order of King Athelstan it was governed by two bailiffs one for the
king to collect his duties , the other for the town to receive the ir customs .
These bailiffs had the ir cognizance of pleas and deciding all matters in con
troversy between party and party , which continued some 280 years .
Next, King Henry I . incorporated it, as appeareth by a recital in one of
their ancient charters ; which King John by his letters patent confirmed,with addition of more ample prerogatives , that they should have a mayor
and bailiffs ; so it continued to the 2nd year of Queen Mary, when the ir
privileges were again enlarged , as a mayor , two al dermen , yearly to b e
chosen , and twenty - two burgesses . Then again , Queen E lizabeth, in the
3 7th year of her reign , enlarg ed their liberties , granting them three justi
ces of the peace and quorum , with all other Oflicers appertain ing to the
same ; and to keep quarter sess ions as the county doth. In former ages it
was guildab le to the king , as Exeter , and Totnes , and Lydford, and served
as them in all expeditions at sea .
Domesday-Book testifieth that at its engrossing it had forty burgesseswithin and nine without . Sir Jeffry and his son , S ir William Canv ile , held
thi s al so sometimes , as at a barony to find his sovereign two knights and
four esquires for his servi ce by land or sea, with all armour and furniture at
his own cost for forty days, as valued at twenty pounds .
Here was sometime a priory founded by Joel, son of Alphred, (formerlymentioned,) and replenished with monks of the Cluniac order, call ed now
The M agdal en , as dedi cated to M ary M agdalen . It was first a cell to St .
Martin’s -in-the-fields juxta Paris : at the surrender valued at £ 1 23 . 6s . 7d .
CHA P . XV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .299
The last prior (now I remember b y a g ood token) was Robert Thorn ,
who being a benefactor somewhere had this pretty remembrance of him , in
name -device , or (as they now term it, ) rebus for whereas a posy is said tob e a speaking picture , so this is said to b e a speechless poesy : they weremuch in request in former times ; so that he was thought Of no worth thatcould not hammer out of his name some pretty invention by this wit-craft,and so picture it, as was this ,
In an escutcheon a roe-buck leaning to a haw-thorn tree with these lettersBERT : as much as Robert Thorn . Subscribed with a better verse ,
Capram cum spina protegat Potestas d ivina .
In January, 1 607, this town with sundry other places on the Severn side
were much annoyed and more terrified by a great inundation , which by the
force of a strong wind at a high t ide was driven forcibly in , and the surg
ing billows came with such violence as it subverted houses , drowned beasts ,and divers were so terrified as they retired from the ir houses when they saw
the water come in so fast to the height of the lower story, and yet at their
return at the ebb found no great hurt done .
It serves the parliament with two burg esses , and hath every Friday a
great market much frequented, and a fair at the Assumption Of the Blessed
I have told you that at the north s ide of the town comes in a little river
called Yeo , whence they are furn ished, for the major part , with sweet water ;of which, and Taw, one gave me this epigram as a prosopopeia, ~
To thee fair town for s ite del ightsome to the eye ,
Through pleasantmeads and marishes Taw merrily doth hieFrequentedmuch formerchandise and trafii cing so good,
For that his stream is intermix’dwith Severn’s swelling flood.
Y et Barnstaple , grac’d though thou b e b y brackish river Taw,
In all thy glory do thou not neglect swee t little Y eo.
”
You may b e pleased to vis it the church and guildhall , and then we willaway . N ihil amplius in M S .
300 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV
CHAPTER XVI .
Of the p rogress of the River Yeo, of Chalacombe with the strange Burrows
therein, with some other neighbouring Parishes .
TH I S little river seeth the sun first at Chalacomb e, or Choldi comb e , or
rather Coldecomb e , of its cold s ituation , next neighbour to Exmoor . The
M artins , Cockworthy, Trevill ian , and Hatch now hold lands here .
Within the precincts Of this parish are divers hillocks of earth and stones ,
cast up anciently in large quantity , which are termed burrows , and di stinguished by sundry names ; which are imagined to b e nothing but the monuments Of some interments of men Of some g ood note in those days slain in
skirmishes . Of some of them are yet remembered inveterate tales , how
fiery dragons have been seen flying and lighting on them but those I will
leave to some other to relate . I will only, if you b e pleased to give ear to
a strange accident, impart unto you what happened lately, within these
seven years , verified by oath by the party, who otherwise might have hadcredit for his honesty :A daily labouring man by the work of hi s hand and sweat of his brow
having gotten a little money, was des irous to have a place to rest himself in
old age , and therefore bestowed it on some acres Of waste land, and beganto bui ld a house thereon near , or not far from , one of these burrows , namedBroaken -Burrow, whence he fetched stones and earth to further his workand having pierced into the bowels of the hill ock he found there in a little
place , as it had been a larg e oven , fairly , strongly, and closely wall ed up ;
which comforted him much, hoping that some great good would befall him ,
and that there m ight b e some treasure there hidden to maintain him more
liberally and with less labour in his Old years wherewith encouraged he
plies his work earnestly until he had broken a hole through this wall, in thecavity whereof he espied an earthen pot, which caused him to multiply hisstrokes until he might make the orifice thereof large enough to take out the
pot, which his earnest desire made not long a doing ; but as he thrust in
his arm and fastened his hand thereon he suddenly heard, or seemed to
hear, the noise of the trampling or treading Of horses coming , as he thought,
302 vmw or DEVON SH IRE . [Book IV .
v er he was instantly surprised with the like faintness whi ch continued not
long with either ; but their defender told them the birds were flown away
and the nest only left, which they found true for recovering the ir strength
they lift away the stone and take out the pan , wherein was nothing at all
b ut the bottom thereof, where the treasure shoul d seem to have been , very
bright and clean , the rest all eaten with cankered-rust . The relator protest
ed that he saw the pan , and they two that laboured told him severally all
these circumstances , and avowed them .
It is at your choice to believe either or neither ; I have offered them to
the shr ine of your judgment : and what truth soever there is in them, they
are not unfit tales for winter nights when you roast crabs by the fire , whereof
thi s parish yields none , the climate is too cold, only the fine dainty fruits of
wortles and blackberries .
N ow will we leave this coarse country, and pass with this little riveret
to Bratton , surnamed Fleming, of its ancient lord the Baron of Slane ; from
whom it descended to -Dillon . There in is the ancient s eat of Tregose ,
named Chimwell ; after of Fleming ; from that tribe , by match, it came to
Dillon and from him, by purchase , to Chichester and then by
Charles , al ias Charley , held by Rawlegh ; and taking in another brookfrom East-Down , known by that addition from another more westerly, and
called We st-Down , which long since came to Oliver de Pine b y the daugh
ter and he ir of Phil ip le Down ; and in that name it now prospereth . He
married with Fry : his father, Dart : his grandfather, the heir of Penfound .
In that parish is N orthcot, appertaining sometime to a g enerous family of
the name ; and after, by daug hters and heirs to Bickley , Cutcliff, Jewel ,and now Ley . In this Farm is M attocks -Down , which for the monument
there erected hath been formerly spoken of. There is also Churchill , b e
longing to one of the name ; after (as some will , a priory, which I cannotaver ,) to William de Ralegh ; and now to Ley .
W e are come to Alrington, c ommonly called Arlington ,whi ch from Bea
mond came to the dignous family of Chichester ; who bestowed it on a
younger brother, who multipl ied fruitfully ; for God’s blessing towards him
is worth observation , in making him, b y the daughter of Sir Roger G ifi'
ard,
father of nineteen sons fourteen of whom, at least, were very able , strong,and active g entlemen , and so well qualified that they were thought fit toserve any prince in peace or war : yet I think not above three of them had
CH'
A P . XVII .] vmw or DEVON SH IRE .303
issue . But this is not all that I intended to offer to your consideration as
somewhat strange , but this rather, that each of these nineteen brothers had
four sisters .
In the church there is a remembrance of some of the Chichesters ; and
on a stone laid on Will iam Burgoin thi s inscription
H ere l iethWilliam Burgoin, an esquire by descent,Whose death in this world many people lamentThe rich for his love, the poor for his alms,The wise for his knowledge, the s ick for his balms .
Grace he did love ahd vice controul :The earth hath his body, and heaven his soul.
Somewhat under is written ,
The 1 2th day of August, in the morn died he,1 6 2 and
CHAPTER XVII .
Of Youlston and Ralegh, and the noble Family of the Chichesters .
OUR riveret with due respect salutes Youlston , passing the park held byJohn de Beamond by the he ir of which house it is now enjoyed by Chi
chester . It stands in Sherwell, (fons limpidus ,) which for some esteem
giveth name to the hundred , containing twelve parishes . W al terus de
Reigney , and now Denni s hath lands in Plestow.
Upon a stone in the chancel I find thi s ,
Orate pro an ima Blanchae S t. Leoger, filiae W illihelmi Bourchier dominiF itzwarren, uxoris Bartholomaei S t. Leoger, quas obi it 4to die Januarii
,A . D.
1 483, Cujus ah -imae prOpitietur Deus .”
Rawlegh in times past had many noble lords of the name, but now, for di
vers descents , the like of the name of Chichester for two coheirs of thatfamily divided the inheritance inter Chichester and Trevilian a seat whichis not defective of any of those commodities which Cato setteth down to b e
304 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
requisite in a place well and fully accommodated . Sir Robert married first
a s ister and cohe ir of John ,Lord Harrington ; ( by whom he had only a
daughter, he ir to her mother, married to the Lord Bruse ;) his second wife ,H ill : his father, Denn is : his grandfather, Gertrude Courtenay .
This worthy knight, the grandfather, was Of great reputationw
for h is
many virtues , but much more famous for hi s issue five sons , whereof fourwere knights , and one of them created a baron and another a Viscount ; and
nine daughters , all marr ied to the chiefest fam il ies of this county .
To leave the rest, (though all Of worth, ) we will chiefly remember thethird , Sir Arthur, to pass whom , without
'
a due acknowledg ement and com
memoration Of his many noble deserving s both of prince and country, wereingratitude in the highest degree . His youth was spent in learning, and
his next ag e in the wars , at every place , both at sea and land, where his
sovere ign’s occasions required . But in course Of time his next brother, a
valorous knight, Sir John , the young er, (for the eldest and the fourth were
of one name and r‘ank, ) be ing slain in the Irish wars , he put himself into
that service ; not so much (as some may think) to revenge the death Of his
brother , traitorously murdered, as for the recovery Of that kingdom , whichlay languishing in desperate estate : in which his continual actions manife sted to the world both valour and wisdom so fairly and evenly tempered
the one with the other, that his daily proceeding s expressed g enerallyextraordinary sufficiency . His attempts prospered with so good successthat in process of time he was made Lord Deputy of that kingdom ; whosegovernment was with such prudence that all the swarm and brood of rebels
were , in short time , e ither vanquished or executed , or upon humble sub
mission received to mercy . TO him may rightly b e appli ed that is writtenb y a learned poet of Joseph in Egypt, the names only transmuted
With all these honours and withweal th confer’d,
With all applause,Chichester is prefer’d
To rule all Ireland ; whichwith great dexterity,Wisdom, and worth, care, courage , and s incerity,
H e executes .
He was created Lord Chichester 23rd Feb 1 6 1 2 ; and Belfast was caputhonoris . When his time of government expired, his time of labours was notended . for after his return he was employed ambassador to the Imperial Ma
306 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .
“
EBOOK IV .
“
Thomas Westcote de Westcote, ( a gentleman well esteemed - b y King
Henry IV . , and much favoured by the terror of France , King Henry V .“f
"
P rincipib us placuisse viris non ul tima laus est’Tis praise to W in a prince’s favour,For it of wit andworth doth savour
Obtained the love and affection of Elizabeth, sole heir of Thomas‘
Littleton
of Franckley in"
Worcestershire , and of his wife , only-heir of S ir Thomas
Quaterman . But the Old knight, her father, de s irous to perpetuate his
name , (and his purpose failed not ,) would not yield consent to the marriage
but upon his son - ih - law’s assured promise that his son enjoying his mother
’s
inheritance should al sotake her name , and continue it ; which was justlyperformed; and the eldest son , Sir Thomas , stiled Littleton, alias Westcote ,that famous and learned law-
g iver, Justice in the King’s Bench in the time
of Edward IV . ,whose Treatise Of Tenures are as yet the chief principles
for all young students Of the common law ; to whomthey are no less b e
holden than the civilians to Justinian’s Institutes . Fromthi s man the name
is transplanted and prospereth in sundry places ingreat estimation .
But for the name whi ch descended to the three other b rothers , Guido,
Richard, and Walter , that worthy trumpet hath sounded nothing, living infar meaner estate and perchance Obs curely, as may b e seen b y the poor an ,
thor hereof, descended of the first Guido though by some others otherwiseranked that learned pen went not higher than Thomas . But I find beforethat age Jhhn Westcote , OfWestcote, in the l oth of Edward I I . for he was
warden Of the great hospital of St . John Baptist within the east gate Of the
city of Exeter, and canon Of St . Peter’s of the churchi
of Exon . He, gavea
fair manuscribed book to his brethren the canons, as appeareth by a supers cription to b e seen and the book itself. Thus
'
we read,
Sermones Domin icales fratris Jacob i O rdinis Fratrum Praedicatorum, Ar
chiepiscopi Januensis . L iber Hospital is S ti JOhannis .
Istum librum dedit et conceditMagister Johannes W es tcote deWestcote, Ca
nou ions Eccle siae C'
athedralis Exon . Custos Hospitalis Sancti Johannis Baptistasinfra portam Orientalem Civitatis etF
’
ratribus ejusdem Hospitii
in puram e t perpetuam‘E limosyna
’
m et corum Successoribus in perp'
etuum ;et
ejusdem lib eravit possessionem,dum tamen eorum consensu e t assensu hab eat
usum ejusdem ad terminum vitae suae .
‘
Datum Exon. decimo quarto die mensisFebruarii, A. D .
CHAP . XVIII .) V IEW Oirf DEVON SH IRE . 307
Another somewhat near, or before that time, was abbot Of Hartland ; itwas in the time of Henry III . : and I do think (under correction b e it spoken ,) the ir armories are transmuted with the ir names ; but hereof more
when we shall come to another place Of the same name at Bridford . Whitefield, ih this parish gave name and habitation to a g entle tribe , from whom ,
by the he ir general , it descended to Garland .
In this parish now Chichester holds Westcote ; Basset, Brinham, or
Brimlands . W edon sometime belonging to a . rac e of the name , now to
M onk . M edcomb e , or more likely M iddlecomb , the seat of Poyntz .
A shford , or E ssefOrd, as also Haysford, which Sir Joel de Buckton , and
after him Philip de Bellomonte, held ; by whose he ir it came to Sir JohnBasset ; who passed it to Courtenay ; b y whose sole he ir John M oore , alias
at
.
M oore , possesseth it. West-A shford was held by Beaple and Barnhouse .
Then Taw washeth the feet Of Heanton-Court, which John Beamond
held ; and now, b y his heir, Basset : a tribe nobly descended and of greatantiquity in many several places . He married one of the coheir s of Periamhis son the like Of Le igh : his father, Chichester : his grandfather, the co
he ir of Sir Arthur Plantagenet, knight, Viscount Lisle , natural son to KingEdward IV .
Heanton , with the addi tion of Sachv ill , was , together with Branton ,
given by King John to S iccavilla , al ias Sackvile , (to which belongethHeanton -Forain, ) by whose heir general Yeo had it ; and by the like itcame to Rolle .
Heanton , surnamed Punchardon , the parish reserveth charilv the Old
lord’s name Of long antiquity, and therewithall copious in some ages : for
you shall peruse few ancient evidences in those parts whereunto the Punchardons have not been witnesses ; yea, sometimes two or three Of them .
I will not avouch a
.
remainder of them yet in being (but it is very proba
ble z) if there b e , they have lost their don , and are now ycleped only by the
name Of Punchard . In the church I found, with other armories , sab . six
plates in pile , which some do take to belong to that tribe .
Pollard Of W ay was se ized Of the demesne ofWroughton, which descended to Sir Lewis Pollard ; now in the possession of the remainder Of the
worthy race of Dillon .
Our large river on the other s ide passeth by Fremington , al ias Freemen’s
Town, and is the head of the hundred and gives name unto it : that con
308 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
tains eleven parishes . At the conquest it was the demesne of the crown
Tracy , M artin , and Audl egh had it next afterward : but return ing to theroyal house , King Edward VI . granted the fee-farm thereof to Hampton ;who did the like to M r . Sloley , who holds it in this ag e . It is in the heart
Of the North-Hams , a very rich glebe ; and whether it b e worthy note or
no I know not . The best clay for potters’use , in all this country , is here
found.
CHAPTER XIX .
Of West-Down and the Hundred of Braunton.
TO take the right-hand again we rece ive the tribute Of a stream that
ariseth at West-Down , which by the adjunct of West hath almost clean
lost hi s ancient attribute and lord, Colomb ers . Philip de Columb ariis , with
divers Of his successors , possessed it ; whose predecessor came hither with
the Norman Conqueror : and from him, by hi s heir , to Gyon , or Guin e ;who seal ed a deed, in the 8th Henry IV . , to which were testes John Wolfe
and Richard Cutcliffe .
Here is Stowford, the seat of a reverend judge , Sir John le White ; vul
g arly of his seat named Stowford, 38 . (e .) who lies there interred , withhi s resemblance , under a large monument in a little church . There is not
much recorded of him, b ut that he was a mild and merciful min ister Of jus
tice , very precise in equity , yet withall lanifull favour ; which proceedednot Of a femin ine pity as coming from too great a tenderness and weaknessof mind, but rather that he never ministered justice with such rigour and
extremity that Summum jus might b e thought Summa injuria .
Next adjoining is Braunton , the head of a great hundr ed, which hath under
it twenty-one parishes ; the honour whereof Martin , and after him Audlegh,
held . Some will have it to b e call ed Branockstown , and to take name from
a holy man , a saint ; of whom, if you will b e attentive to a legend, I willread you briefly what I have found in the history of this place ; which saiththat he was the King
’
s son of Calabria, a province (as I take it) of Naples ,
3 1 0 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV
it hath but one roof. On a stone , inlaid with brass with the resemblance
of a woman , is thi s written ,
H ere lyeth Lady E lisabethBourchier, daughter of John, Earl of Bath, and.sometime wife to Edward Chichester, esq. She d ied the 24th day of August,
anno 1 5 1 9 : on whose soul God take
I have the rather set down thi s epitaph to approve the descent of the Earlsof Bath, where , in this point , I have differed from some others that have
wr itten thereof before me .
Here let us cross the river Taw to Instow, on the left hand, whi ch some
call Yonestow, stands as a witness to the marriage Of Taw and Torridge ,whi ch with the ir close amflections have demi- insulated this parish . Herewas sometime a nunnery , but the founder not anywhere remembered that I
can find . Here is a manor that came from Hankford to St . Leog er , and
now to Speccot ; and W olri ngton from Sir John de Chartery to the Earl
Fullingcot was owned b y the priory of St . Mary M agdal ene in Barnsta
ple , and now b y a younger branch of the Old and great stock of Cople
stone . Here was lately found a piece of gold, coined by Valentin ian theEmperor, with this inscription ,
“DO . Val entinianus Impu Aug . , on the
reverse the picture of two women elevating a cherub , with these words ,“Victoria Aug : Trevers .
”under all ,
“TR . OBS .
” I have the rather offered
it unto your view for that I find not the like , nor any of hi s coin in g old in
M r . Speed’s laborious and excellent work . The most worthy treasurer Of
antiquities , Sir Robert Cotton , knight and baronet, named “Trevers” to b ethe place where it was minted ; and that from Claudius the Emperor’s time
to this Emperor, 500 years , the Roman coin only was current in England .
Here I shoul d seek for Kenwith Castle , where Hubba, the Dane , was
overthrown , and the place after called Hubb lestow : now whether it should
b e here or not is questionable . The congruity Of the names may somewhatpersuade and import much, as Instowe abbreviated from Danestow, and that
again from Hub -dan- stow and over against it, on the farther side Of Tor
This is incorrectly copied : it ought to stand thus,
Here lyethe Lady E lyzab ethe
Bowcer, Daughter of John, Erle of Bathe , and sumtyme W yfi‘e to E dwarde Chechester,
E squyer, the whyche Elyzab ethe de cessyd the xxiiij th day of August, in the yere of o"
Lorde God MVCXLVIIJ. Apon whole soule G od have m'
b y.
”— G . O .— P . J .
CHA P . XX .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .3 1 1
ridge , the inhabitants Of N ortham have a place which they call Hub b lestow,
or Hub b lestone . Let every one applaud his own Opinion : you know mineand What I find elsewhere I will impart unto you .
CHAPTER XX .
The origin and course of the River Torr idge, with Hercules-Promontory.
THE nuptial rites of these two great rivers finished, let us seek out thedescent Of Torridg e to see there b e no di sparagement in the match, and so
proceed in ouimfénded journey .
The original spring of this river, alb eit that it wells not far from the
place we now are in , yet with his circular ambages runs far and with a largecircumference before it arrives here , and hath many nurses and coadjutorsere it b e enabled for such a match.
W e shall find it near Har tland , not far di stant from Herty-Point, or Her
cul es -Promontory ; which to derive down from Hercules (that natural sonof Jupiter , ) that renowned tyrant- queller, woul d requi re more time and 1a
bour than your haste will suffer me to bestow ; yet, for that some wouldhave it so, I will deliver the censure of a far more sufficient man than my
self, even the dictator Of knowledge , Rev . M r . Camden , who, I doubt not,yield them sati
‘
s
’
fggtigfii
tbk ’
coiiy
tent ;W m nfess I cannot.
From Cornwall , the first shore In this shire (saith he ,) that stretchethout itself is length toward the Severn sea, is b y Ptolomy , called the Promon
tory of Hercules ; and retaineth yet some l ittle smack of the name , be ing
at this day called Herty -Point, and hath in it two pretty towns , Herton and
Hartland ; famous in elder times for the relics of your holy man St . N ec
tan , in honour of whom was here erected a l ittle monastery by G itha, Wifeto Earl Goodwine , who had this saint in especial reverence , for that she
was persuaded that for hi s merits her husband had escaped the danger Of a
most violent and dang erous tempest howbeit, afterwards, the Dinauts ,now Dinhams , that came out Of Brittany in France , (whose demesne in feeit Was ,) were accounted founders thereof. At the surrender it was valued
at £ 306 . 35 . Qi d . and given , by King Henry VIII to M r . Abbot, ser
3 1 2 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK IV .
geant ofhis cellar ; b y the cohe ir of which family it is now come to Lutterell .
The name of this promontory hath g iven credit to a very formal tal e , thatHercules (forsooth) came hither into Britain , and here vanquished I wot
not what g iants . But if it b e true that mytholog ers (or expounders of
moral tal es) tell us and affirm, that there was never any Hercules , but thatb y him the power Of human wisdom and virtue is understood , wherebywe overcome pride , lust, envy, theft, and other such like monsters ; or if,
according to the divinity Of the Gentiles , by Hercules they intend the sun ,
and by those twelve labours endured and performed by Hercules the twelves igns in the zodiac which the sun in hi s yearly course passeth through
what it is they say ,let them look unto it themselves b ut for my own part
I willingly bel ieve there was a Hercules ; nay , I coul d b e content to grant
with Varro , that there were of them forty-three , all whose acts were as
crib ed to that Hercul es who was the son of Al cmena : yet can I not b e per
suaded that ever a Hercules came hither , unl ess happily he came hither
sailing over the ocean in that cup that g od Nereus gave him whereof Athenaeus maketh mention . But you will say that Franciscus Philelphus in hisepistles , and Lillius G iraldus in his Hercules , aver no less . I pray you pardon
me : these late writers may well move me , b ut not remove me , considering
that Diodorus S iculus , who went on with the Greekish history in order,
even from the most remote and first records Of all antiqu ity , in plain terms
affirmeth, that neither Hercules nor father Bacchus went ever into Britain .
I am therefore verily persuaded that the name Of Hercules came to thi s
place e ither through the vanity of the Greeks , or from the superstitious
reli g ion Of the Britons for as they be ing most warlike nations themselves ,so had they val iant men in marvellous estimation and admiration , and highly
“
wondered at such as vanqu ished monsters . So the Greeks again , whatso
ever was any where stately Or magn ificent, that they referred to the glory
Of Hercules and because he had b een’
a great traveller, such as travell ed
were wont to Offer sacrifices to him , and to him did likewise consecrate the
places of the ir arrivals . Hereof came Hercul es—Rock in Campan ia , Hercu
les -Aven in Liguria , Hercul es -Grove in Germany ; hence , likewise , Hercu
les Promontories in M auritania, Gal icia, and here in Britain . Well ! what
Hercules soever he were , we are now escaped his fingers and out of the
reach Of his club .
This parish g iveth name to a hundred, which,with this , hath but only
3 1 4 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
up and to distinguish these two I shall need only to repeat a pretty faceteapothegm of a fair young gentlewoman of the Carews , married to Cary .
The day after her marriage , her father, a very di screet gentleman , seeing herto get somewhat sadly , awaked her with this question , How now, daugh
ter ! what sad the second day ?”to which she no less wittily than pleasantly
and presently replied, I have g ood reason , father, for yesterday it was care
you , and to day it is care I ; alluding to the names Of Carew and Cary .
This gentleman married Carew and Gorge : his father , the heir Of Strechley,the relict of Chudley and Russell his grandfather , M illiton .
W olsworthy , orW olfardesworthy , John de Sandton and afterward Fulfordand Hantisford held . Other land here was owned by St . Leog er , and now
by Risdon . Le Worth was lord of a place Of the same name , whi ch by theheir of the tribe came to Boteler, and so b y Chantrel to Docton . In thi s
church is a remembrance Of Richard Cole , esq . , who gave 1 036 to remain in
perpetuity for the better maintenance of the poor ; and bu ilt here also a cobor pier for the use of the fishermen and other ships that should arrive hereat Bucks .
All ington , Alwington, Alwinton , and in Domesday Book Hanitine , (for
by all these names it is written ,) was possessed by David de la Bear . Portledg e there in was held by one of the name ; b y the heir of which race it
came to the ancient and dignous family of Coffin , whi ch in former times
were of great estate ; for in the time of Richard I . I find Sir Hugo Coffinde Combe -Coflin ; in
’Henrv III .
’s reign , Sir Geoffry Coffin Of the sam e
place : several other places retain yet the name , as Coffin in Countesbury ,
William Coffin of Coffins -Will : and as I remember, William Cofiin was
master Of the horse to Queen Anne Boleyn , 24th Henry VIII . The last
marri ed Harding hi s father, hi s grands ire ,YeO, in thi s parish, was the inheritance of Gifi
'
ard ; whose he ir wasmarried first to Berry, and secondly to Cary . At which house , in a privatechapel , he was buried under a monument with this inscription , yet to b e
seen , one Of the name :
Orate pro anima W illielmi Gifford, Armigeri , qui obnt l 2mo die Decemb ris,A . D . 1 400 : cujus animae propitietur Deus. Amen .
”
Tradition delivers , for as yet I have no better warrant for it, that this manwas one of the justices Of the King’s Bench.
can ». XXL] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .
5
CHAPTER XXI .
Of the p rogress of the River Torridge, and the most eminent p laces near its
first original, as Putford, and the Hundred (f Shebbear .
W E have now time to speak of the river whose original we intended toseek for, and found it near W elcomb , a chapel sometime of ease to Hartland, but in its infancy took little notice of it : now be ing grown to some
strength,'it takes on it to separate two parishes of one denomination yet
known by a several adjunct, Putsfords , al ias Poteford, and Cheryputford ,
and Potteworth . John de M orton had land here , and after Fulford, as al soa generous race of the Carys . Lately S ir Nicholas Prideaux purchasedlands here and was pleased to make it his habitation ; by whose worthycarriag e and s incerity all the neighbour country had much happiness . He
married first Henscot’s heir , secondly the like of the coheir Of Viel , thirdly
the cohe ir of Castle : his son , Fortescue .
Bradworthy, or Braworth, where M artin held lands , et heredes M artini ,and Roger Langford ; and Selworthy was in possession Of the Earls Of
Darby .
Thewb orow, alias To Burrow , was the inheritance Of E sse , that ancientfamily . Ingret, the daughter of S ir Al an , brought it to John Giffard and
Al ice, one of the coheirs of Stephen Gifford , made it the inheritance Of
William Prideaux , descended Of the long rank of knights Of that name inOrcharton . This married Gorges : hi s father the heir of Lampen : his
grands ire , Arundell of Trerice .
Then it passeth between Bulkworthy , sometime the lands Of a potent family long s ince almost forgotten : S ir Robert de Bulkworthy in the time of
Richard I after of Sir Rob ert de Stockhay , whose heir was Martin ; after
Hankford, who (as it appeareth by a window) bui lt a chapel here . And
Becking ton , called from its lord the Abbot Of Hartland, Abbots . Arscot
bought it Of the crown , and his heir al ienated it to Rolle .
Next it passeth by Newton , graced with the addition Of holy Irish St .
Petrock . The monks of Bodmin , in elder times , held land here ; now Prideaux , Dean , and Povntz . W e are come with the river to
3 1 6 V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK IV .
Shebbear , (She Arsb ere , or Shepesb ery,) Of which a hundred hath name
whichw
t'ommands twenty-four parishes . The honour Edward II . kept in
his royal hands , b ut Richard I I . gave it to Thomas Holland, Duke of Sur
rey, his nephew : Ralph Nevil , first Earl Of Westmorland, had land in
this parish ; and John Alnethot held lands here in sergeancy to hold the
king’s stirrup when he came to the manor Of Shebbear . Here is the mo
h ument of some lady, with her picture cut in alabaster , without inscription ;but tradition del ivers that it was the Lady Prenderg est Of Ladford .
In our way is M ilton , whose lord’s name is written behind in his back ,Damerel ; and fro
w
h at name it came to the Courtenays . Prodham ownedW hytb ear ; and from him Dean . Al exander de Hermandeston possessedlands in W onford ; which from Cary came to Dennis of Orley . This parishis hemmed in between this river and another that walmeth forth at or near
Bradworthy, and cometh to Sutcomb , or
where Henry
w
dq
é
h
M erton had inheritance , which by the g e ~
neral fi’
é'
ir devolved to Stowell . Attv irworthy from Boteler Earl Of W or
mond came to St Leoger . Thewb row from Esse to G iffard and Prideaux .
By Thornbury , which in the Saxons’ time Al cherd held ; after a tribe
took nafiigm
df the place . whose he ir gave it, with herself In marriag e , to theCornews . In the time of King John I find S ir Roger Cornutus de Thorn
bury ; and by an heir of this race Speccot of Speccot enjoyeth it to this day ;which ancient and worthy family took this name of the ir seat Speccot, but
their descent from Robert Fitz -Bernard ; unto whose government King
Henry II . committed the trust of Waterford, called in the ir speech PortLarg e , when he invaded the kingdom of Ireland . He married first Edgcomb , secondly M ohun , thirdly Tross but his father, Walter and his
son , M allet ; whose daughter brought it to her husband, John Tanner of
Cornwall , esq . , Whose son’s now it is .
At Cokeb erry we rece ive a good augmentation Of a riveret made lately of
two rills , one aris ing here in the land that St. Leoger sometime held, now
Speccot : the other at
Bradford , or de Vado Lato, Of a large passage through our river Torridg e . G ifl
’
ard was se ized of lands here . Donnesland , or Dunsland , gavename to a prog eny , by whose heir Cadiho had it ; b y the inheritance of that
race , Thomasin , it descended to Daub ernon , or de Alb ernoun . There is nolong continuance Of one tribe in one place , for Elizabeth, the only Offspring
3 1 8 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV
by whose heir it came to Davils of Badestone , and b y the like from him to
Harris . For
W alterus filius , W arini Domini de Ponte , dedit Benedicto de Beard unum
tenementum in villa de Black-Torrington , hiis testibus Thoma de W amford,
W illielmo de Stapledon , W altero Pollard, Henrico de la Wolley , Helion deArnile , tunc Bidello .
Here , or near it, is Giddicot , which Ralph de Tyrigg held ; after Sir
Walter Dennis , knight : Of whom was Dennis of Holcomb and Bicton,
Rodulph de Trevag o .
H igh-Heanton is next in our way , possessed by John de M erton ; also
Hollaway Of Holloway enjoyed lands here , which by his daughter came to
Cary . Baverdon , ali as Burydon , now Bourden , hath here a fair demesne
of his name and is very ancient .
N ow let us look toward the east side to find somewhat there worth our
labour W e see first Buckland, surnamed Fillegh, of his Old lord ; from
whom, by Bensil’s he ir,
“
it" "
carfie to‘
FOrtéscue er
m
e
em
is
s
tum
fipcOt ; awhiles ince possessed by one of the same name .
Sheepwash, which the Norman Conqueror gave to Aunel , or Avenel , interpreted Comely , together With Chilton and Black -pool , where he seated
himself ; after Baa ; now Thorn : anciently de Spineto , as W alterus de Spi
neto , 24th Edward I . This g entleman married Rolle , in whom is like toend the elder race Of that ancient g enerous tribe : his father, Fortescue : hisg randsire , Chamond . Near this place is Loveis , a generous familv seated .
Here our river entertains kindly a brook , or riveret, called M eer, whichnameth M eerland, in which there is a circuit of lean hungry land, lying flatand level , much differing from any adjoining , which at times overfloweth
with waters , as if nature delighted to show her var ious powers meant here
to make a sea , hence comes this riveret, being many lakes lodged in one
channel ; yet hath it yet somewhat more strang e and worthy Of our Ob ser
vation , that out of certain pits , like ox steps , these spring s ebb and flow as , and
with, the sea , and hath therewith the smell and saltness thereof, (though farremoted , the nearest at least twelve miles ,) the mud thereof is like a slimyouze , and such rushes grow there as in the salt marshes , much haunted withall sorts of fowl ; and trial being made did yield salt, not unl ike to thosepits at Wich in Lancashire , so admirably strange to man
’s reason . This
belonged to the priory of Frithelstoke . (Cornworthy .— G . O . ,
—P . J .)
CHA P . XXI IJ V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .3 1 9
A lso it nameth M erton ,which gave denomination to a dignous tribe , Sir
Thomas M erton ,knight, Edward L ; thence it descended to the Stowels b y
the heir Of that house . Richard de Speccot held lands of his name here In
the time of King John , and Sir Richard de Speccot under Henry I II . , and
S ir John now.
A g enerous family of the Dav ils inhabited this parish, whose heir brought
the estate to Harris ; of which race I may not forg et Captain Henry Davilsa man of great valour, wi sdom , and honesty ; all which good qualities he
often showed in the Desmonds’wars in Ireland, whereby the traitorous deal ”
ing s of S ir John of Desmond, brother to the earl , he was most inhumanlyand traitorously murdered in the reign Of Queen Elizabeth.
On a high ridge stands Potheridge , almost insulated by our r iver ; of which
place and owner I find this recorded in a worthy author It is the man
s ion house Of the family surnamed M unk , ( by dispensation to continue his
house ,) returned to temporal , for that one of them happily was a professed
monk ; anciently Le M oyne as that noble house in France , surnamed
Archivesque , ( i . e . archbishop , ) took that name to continue the memory
that one Of the ir progenitors , of an archbishop returned ( b y di spensation)to b e a temporal man .
Certainl y, whencesoever the name came , it is ancient, and they have been
worshipfully matched ; and not long since the, great grandfather with Frances , second daughter and cohe ir Of Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle , natural son to King Edward IV . ; (the rel ict of John Basset of Heanton ,
Anthony with Arscot ; Sir Thomas w ith Smith ; Thomas , that now is , with
Gould . Prince adds , George, hi s second brother, late Duke Of Albemarle ,with Elizabeth, s ister to Sir Thomas Clarg es Of London , knight ; Chris
tOpher , his onl y son , late Duke Of Al bemarle , with the daughter of Caven
di sh, Duke Of Newcastle ; sans issue . The name expired about the year
of our Lord 1 688 : and Potheridge is now in G ranvile , Earl Of Bath ;who gave it to his second son , John , Lord Granvile , created a baron 1 703 .
I found al so somewhere that William le M oyn , one Of this family, in the
time Of King John , held a manor , in grand- serjeancy to b e clerk Of the king’
s
kitchen , at the coronation . It m ight b e the manor Of W enlesworth for
Will iam le M oyn e had it under Edward II . , and it was noted thus , Sed
omnes tenentes sunt stagnatores et ideo non est in subjectione vice
comitis .
”
390 V IEW O F DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV.
W e are now in s ight of Hatherleigh, which hath a market every Fridaywell frequented, and two fair
’gfi ine on the 24th August, the other on the
Feast of St. Simon and Jude . It anciently belonged to the Abbey of Ta
v istock,as is to b e seen by a deed wherein the abbot and convent grant a
waste , call ed the M oor, ( lying on the north and east s ide Of a brook fallinginto the town,) to the poor inhabitants of the borough ; and some other
part to Walter M edl and and his heirs . Le Worth was lord of lands of the
same denomination ; whose cohe irs brought it to Monk and Boteler as
before .
The brook that falls into our river is made of two spring s , the one rising
at Ashberry , alias E ssebury . (Sedes inter fraxinos .) Adam Crodinet held
it in the time of Edward II . , after Fulford ; now there is seated a generous
tribe of Walters , who having removed himself out ofWarwickshire , flourisheth here as in his own soil , much more full of sap . The other springwalmeth forth the earth at
Inwardleigh, al ias Ing erley, where Elias Coffin had a fair house and park
near adjoining to the church but he dying issueless , and the land divided,
the park is changed to a more profitable use and the house ruinated . HereCrodinet had al so land ; which com ing from him to N orleigh, hath beenenjoyed by that name these 300 years ; and his neighbour Bysset the like
Of the farm ofWestcote , which he had from one of that name . Also
It passeth Jacob sg
tow, James his place , anciently Jacob scherh . Here isBromeford, soméjfirhe the inheritance of one Of that denomination , and so
continued divers descents ; and b y his heir it came to Prideaux Of Adeston ;
b y hi s to Stretchlegh ; and by his to Chudlegh . Next it passethEcheb orne , Ikysb orn , now E
ffbfiorn . Our ancestors had , in the Imposi
tion Of names to places , great respect always to waters and rivers , as here .
Here inhabiteth a good family of Sneddal and here M eolis had land ; and
now Upton .
32 2 V IEW OF DEVONSH I RE . [BOOK IV .
heir to Sir Reginald M ohun (whose grandfather, Will iam , married Isabella,third s ister and cohe ir to William Courtenay , seventeenth Earl of Devonis created, by our dread Sovere ign , King Charles , Baron of Okehampton .
It is a very large parish and hath sundry manors and hamlets within it .
The tribe Of Alford , of g ood respect, had a manor here ; and in the time Of
Richard II . Risdon had the like ; from whom is Risdon of Bab legh, who
yet enjoyeth it .
Kadickb ere , Eekeb ere , or Kegb ear , was once the inheritance of LittleWeeke as may b e gathered by an inscription on a plain stone in the
church ; and after of Deutoke , or Devioke ; but many descents Of the hO
nourab le race Of Cary ; of which name Lancelot Cary , esq . , gave a bounti
ful g ift, the sum Of 6036, for to continue in stock , to b e employed for the
better education of poor children in trades“
and occupations ; the remem
brance whereof is more delightful than the inscription”
on his tomb . On a
flat stone inlai d with brass ,
H ic jacet Rob ertus Tuker de Okehamp ton, qui Obi it 1 0mo. die Octob ris,
anno 1 439,etMargarita, uxor ejus : quorum animabus prOp itieturDeus. Amen.
”
In the south wall is a monument of Thomasin Godolphin , wife of
Peter, gent . , with her picture in brass , and three children ,with this
She was to G od and husband true ,A mirror for all wives to viewThe poor
,the lame, sick, and needy,
She did rel ieve most liberally .
She l ived so good and godly a l ifeAs neverwronged man
,maid, norwife
And made so good and godly an end
As none the same In earthmay mend.
But I may not forget to tell you that I understand it is lately incorporated
and graced with a mayor . Here dwelled sometime divers other famil ies
besides those formerly named, as Al ford, Furse , Peter, and some others .
Anthony, alias Peters .
Our r iver in the way leaves the little parish of Honey-Church, in elder
times Honecheave . It gave name to an ancient generous tribe , now planted in a more fruitful glebe . Heydon and Risdon possess lands here .
M onk-Okehampton takes nomination both from the river and his l ords,
CHA P . XXIII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE 323
the M onks ; for it served as a g range to the monastery Of Tavistock many
ages s ince . Robert de la Mare , or M aries , (for that was a powerful tribein these parts ,) held lands , and after him Saul, or Sall , Of W oodb arton ;
whoseheirs , by marriage rite , brought it to the two families of Berry and
Pine . And the tenants Observe that it was found upon a court- roll , in the
time of Edward IV that a fat cow happen ing to the lord for a heriot, was
priced but at six shillings , and the farm then let at justment for £ 4 . 1 3s ,
now little less worth than a whereby we may suppose that in those
days there was e ither great plenty Of these commodities , or great want Of
money .
Bondl ey . ( But in a very ancient deed, wherein William de Campel , or
Campnel , gave all his lands of M oor , with the appurtenances and liberties
in this manor to Robert Bryon , it is written Boucly , as you would say good
pasture or feeding .) Robert de Camlestone sometime before held it .
Which two names may b e reconciled and made one ; as in the time Of Ed
ward II . W ill ihelmus Campnel filius G alfridi Dominus de Hagginton . It
is now possessed by Windham of Somerset .
W e had almost passed Belston , al ias Bellescham , or Bellartan ,possessed
W .‘-N k 1‘s
by Sir Baldwinus de Belston In the time Of Richard IN
of which christianname I find three knights In descent : for I find that name from Richard I .
to Edward II . , whose only heir was equally matched to the knightly fam ilyof the Fulfords , who now enjoy it . Here , or my notes fai l me , (then it is
at Parkham,) that I found this epitaph upon M rs . Grace Beare ,
S tone was my birth-place Grace,my name ,
M ade me the child of Abraham.
A nd here beneath another stoneI make my second mansionFrom whence , because his child I was,To Abraham’
s glory I shall pass .
Thus out Of stones, unto his praise ,God can to Abraham children raise .
324 VIEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV
CHAPTER XXIV .
Of I ddesleigh, W inkleigh, and other p laces in the way to Torrington.
W E will swim with the stream to Ideslegh, alias Edeslegh, b y the Sax
ons Idesleg e , now Iddesly , the seat of a doughty Chevalier, Sir John Sulley,
alias Silly, one Of the four barons of this province* that subscribed to theanswer sent to Pope Boniface VIII . in the name of all the temporal lords of
this kingdom assembled at the parliament held at Lincoln, February 1 2th,1 30 1 , in answer to his letter, wherein he forbad King Edward I . to v ex the
Scots further by wars , because that the kingdom of Scotland was by g eneral consent g iven to him . The three others were SirWilliam M artin ,
Baronof Camois ; Sir Nicholas de Carew , Lord ofMewlesford ; S ir Mathew FitzJohn , Lord of Stokenham . For I will not confidently set down Fulk Fitzwarren , Lord ofMyttingham ; and John de Moelis , Lord of North Cadbury ;both inhabitants here in that ag e .
This S ir John Sulley descended from S ir Reynold Sulley, one Of Sir RO
bert Fitzhamon’s associates , with Sir Richard Grenv ile , at the conquest Of
Glamorgan . At thi s place he had a fair house and two parks .
This val iant knight, in 6th Edward II . , vowed himself for the holy warsOf Jerusalem , where he continued long , and at length was very dangerouslywounded ; and then , not able to do further service , returned ; to whom hisOfficers came to render an account of their rece ipts , and brought him a
great sum of money ; which he beholding , caused them to cast it down on
the floor, and threw himself upon it, and pleasantly said he would once tum
b le in gold ; whi ch having done , he divided it in three parts , one whereof
he gave to the poor , the second to his wife , the third to his servants, and
within short time after died of his wounds .
In this church there is his resemblance cut in stone , cross legged ; buthe was interred with his lady in the church of Crediton , as hath been said .
On a stone on Hugh O sborn are inscribed these verses,
This answer was signed and s ealed b y 1 04 Earls and Barons , in the name Of theCommonalty of England — C . O .
,— P . J.
396 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV .
may not pa’
ss , ) that one Of the manors was customary land , and that if any
woman in her widowhood did e ither marry or live unchaste she forfe ited
her estate ; which to redeem, if, after conviction , she came the next court
day riding on a ram , she was admitted to her state again . Hence fall s ina brook to increase our river ; and another from
M eeth, a l ittle parish, the inheritance Of Sir Thomas Stanton . Here alsoLamprey ,
Giffard , and Francis held land . The chief manor now belongeth
to S ir Edward Cary .
Huish had lords Of the name long time , b y whose heir it came to Cople
ston . Sir J ohn Colswell had land here . Leonard Y eo descended from
Trey
'
eo . The ancient house of the family bought it and his heirs possess
it.
Beaworthy , alias Beaworth, was anciently pos sessed by Isabel de Bloio
an d Gilbert de Langford but now b y Arscot .
At Beauford, (as some will of the prospect to borrow the name Of the
French, Belvoir , as a castle in Le icestershire upon the like cause ,) de la
W ay , de W ay, and now contracted to Davy , a generous and ancient tribe .
N ow will we speed to W ollegh (lying in the parish of Beauford,) withhis sometime park ; (now improved to a more commodious use it was
long the seat Of a respected family Of the Hatches . Geoffery Hatch livedhere in the
'
time Of Richard Coeur de Lion ; and Robert de Hatch was sheriff Of this county 2 6th Edward III . , and many more descents , until a daugh
ter and heir of Thomas Hatch gave it, with herself, to Baldwin M allet, so
licitor to King Henry VIII (for so long time the line of that name con
tinued and after two descents in the name of M allet, Eleanor , the only
coheir that had issue , joined it to the inheritance of Ackland in this our ag e ,being married to S ir Arthur Ackland Of Ackelond .
Here falls in a river f rom Rougaburga, in Old deeds , now Roborough.
Places Of this termination our ancestors esteemed, as we do forts or sconces ,or as some will , burials or hiding s for burials are hidings of the dead and
so they say the old word b irigh, or b ehorges , doth signify : such places indeed are near hereunto . And among the Saxons every soldier was enjo inedto carry his head-piece full of earth to the covering Of every such as was
slain , whom they laid only Open on the ground , and so with the earth
they brought covered them and the nobler the person , or how much the
better beloved, so much higher was the hillock or burrow . Alexander
CHAP . XXV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .327
Cloigny and Joel Pollard had land here . And O sbert Clerkeston gave
lands to one surnamed Barry ; Of whose two cohe irs , Elizabeth and Emma,came W ollacomb and Coll .
CHAPTER XXV .
Of Torrington, and therein of the potent Families of Rolle, Barry, &c .
N ow our river takes on him some courage and thereupon g ives name first
to a little parish, and hath that adjunct, to b e known from a greater, and is
called Little-Torrington . The old family of Cruse held it, and in time was
severed among the female issue . M enander de la Forrest inherited landhere , and Cornue . Bagb ere was possessed by match with Cantle’s heir .
His ancient name was de la M oor, Of Moreton in Whitchurch .
Woodland which the heir Of VVibb ery brought, by Bonvil , to Copleston ,
now the Earls of Bath . At Tadiport in thi s parish is a hospital of St . M ary
M agdal en , said to b e built by Ann , daughter to Thomas Boteler, Earl Of
Ormond, and wife unto S ir James St . Leger, knight, whi ch she endowedwith sufficient maintenance and for a minister allowed to say divine servicethere in the chapel .
Another Torrington is at hand, or rather with the other , Towridge- town ,
which, though the younger brother, hath, in wealth and many other things ,
got the priority of his elder, and therewith surnamed Great, yet ancientlywritten by the name Of Chepin -Torring ton , as a place of buying , selling ,
and trade and to that purpose it b ath a weekly market much frequented,and for abundance and good victual s few markets in this country or else
where better furnished ; and hath yearly three fairs , one on the Feast ofSt . George , St . John Baptist, and St . M ichael .
It is built scatteringly, lying in length, as it were , upon the brow Of a
hill hanging over the river . It is now incorporated by the name of a
mayor and recorder, (and inferior Officers ,) which are robed in scarlet : and
not to forg et their greatest honour , it was once caput baronise , when the
Tracys , the Brians , in the 35th Edward I . dominus Johannes de Silly in
328 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK IV
20th Edward III . , and after him Umphrav ile ; yet that they were parlia
mentary barons I cannot avouch . [That eminent restorer of the King and
Church,George M onk , born at Potheridge , was , b y King Charles H made
Earl of Torrington and Duke of Al bemarle ; which title expired in his son
Christopher, late Duke of Albemarle . King Will iam 1 1 1 . created Admiral
Arthur Herbert, who conveyed him into England, where he landed at Brix
ham, Baron of Torbay and Earl Of Torrington ,
Some of those ancient lords out of their bounteous l iberality bestowed a
larg e waste , now called the Commons , on the poor for their better main
tenance and built here a castle , the structure of Tracy : of which much
good land is held in Castle -Gard, though the castle itself b e brought to the
period of his estate , showing itself more by its ruins than anything else .
Sir William Umphrav ile , or Humfrevile , held it in the time of King John .
In the church are divers very facete epitaphs , Of which you shall read
ome . Upon John Clark and his wife
Two lie underneath this stone ,Rather the two halves of one .
Two they were , so l ike, so evenNatured, statured, bred, that heavenMade them one by wedlock knot ;Whom e
’en death divided not.”
Upon M r . Henry Greenwood , four times mayor of this town , who departed
this life 26th April , 1 6 1 9 and of Mary, his second wife , the 1 7th M arch,
1 606
Invida Mors quamvis jung i nos amplius unoN on sinat in thalamo, non vetat in tumulo .
Somewhat under in allusion to his name
Sylva fui quondam viridis, nunc arida; tempusCum viror et vires restituentur, crit.
The circuit in this parish was very large, and divers men of great estateand worth settled there , and every demesne had its appropriate chapel yet
the remotest inhabitants thought good, in a mutual pious consent, to erectanother church more convenient for them, whi ch they dedicated to the memory of St . Giles the herm it ; unto which structure the Herwards , Durants ,Pollards , and Barry s were chief benefactors .
330 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV .
that brought the hawk to hand . But the he ir general Of this house dying
issueless , conveyed to her brother by one venture this inheritance , enjoininghim al so to bear her armories : it is called W inscot, or W inescot, whichRichard de W inescot held tempore Edward I . 1 1 . And now I have him,
I
have long sought and much desired to meet withall an admirer and studious
lover and treasurer of venerable antiquities : my good fri end M r . TristramRisdon ,
I am glad to find you at home : you can supply the imperfections
of s imple discourses , showing what I have overpassed or forgotten ; ac
quainting these gentlemen with many antiquities and delightful occurrences
they never heard or read of. Well , S ir, we desire your company awhile ,the better to illustrate and make known the worth of your country ; and
for han sel (that we may make no long stay ,) tell us what epitaphs yourchurch yields .
UponM ary, the wife of John Rolle , esq. , and daughter of John Ford , esq
who died 30th June , 1 592 , and is portraited in brass , her sons on the righthand and daughters on the left and this is her epitaph :
H ie S tevenstonn Roll i j acet incl ita mater,N il habuit vera quam pietate prius .
Cum quibus e t vixit, sex mascula pignora l iquitQue is de siderium mortua triste tulit.
Pars mel ior superis adiit coetusque piorumEg idii templo ossa sepulta cubant.
S i quis plura velit,vel noscere plura lab orat,
V icino hoe praestat scripta tabella loco.
On the tomb ofWill iam Risdon is this inscription ,
H ic requiescit W illihelmus R isdon, quondam de W inscot generosus , expec
tans carnis resurrectionem et Christi ; qui plenus annorum Obi it 1 2mo die Augusti,A . D. 1 622 .
Vixi, ut vivis morieris
,utmortuus sum. S ic vita traditur.
Under which his sorrowful son caused this to b e written ,
Accipe, chare pater, quas munera dedico natus,
S intque precor cineri munera grata tuo .
Tu mihi das lucem vitae, do mortis honoresH eu ! heu ! quam dispar gracia nostra tuae est.
But a more ancient is this ,
CHA P . XXVI .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .33 1
Hie j acet Johanna Pol lard quae fuit uxor Johann is Pollard, ac fi lia JohannisCopleston . Quae Obi it 2 1 die mensis S eptemb ris, A . D . 1 430 : cujus animas
prOpitietur Deus . Amen .
W e are now with speed come to Hunshaw, or Hunshew ; in former ag es
overspread with trees , and in this time not unstored . Shaw is in our most
ancient languag e a shadow , so this may not unfitly b e interpreted hunter’
s
shadow . The chief manor was anciently belong ing to a worthy tribe of the
St . Johns , and after to Welling ton , and now to Chichester, and Sir HenryFitz Reginald was written Dominus de Hunshaw in Henry III .
’s time .
N ow is We ir in our View , taking name from a dam cross ing the river on
which it is seated : sometimes the inheritance of Giffard , whose name it
bears to this age : after of Densel , a tribe of very g ood estimation . The
daughter of Richard brought it to Fortescue . William , one Of his prede
cessors , was sheriff in the 28th Edward III . Here at
Southcot is a remainder Of the eldest race Of Southcot of which familythere was one a justice in the re ign of Queen Elizabeth .
A lake comes in from Frithelstock ; b y which name Robert held it of the
Conqueror . S ir Robert Beauchamp founded here a priory Of canons reg u
lar , dedicated to St . Gregory ; valued at the dissolution at £ 1 27 . 25 . 4&d . ;
yet the tuneable bells are very delightsome to the hearers . At the disso
lution the king g ave it to S ir Arthur Plantag enet, Viscount Lisle . There
lately inhabited W hyb lock and Chichester .
CHAPTER XXVI .
Of ZVI onkleg , and the Family of Hankford .
M ONKLEY takes name from his lords the M onks of the M onastery Of
M ontague in Somerset ; and now purchased b y Coffin .
Aumery in this parish was held by Adam de Annery , and 1 7 th EdwardIII . b y S ir Richard Stapeldon ; b y the he ir of which race it came to Hankford ; Of which race there was one chief justice , as appeareth by his remem
brance on his monument , whereon is his representation , in his robes , kneeling , and this superscription ,
332 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK IV
Hie j acet W illihelmus Hanckford,m iles, quondam Capitalis Justiciarius
Domini Reg is de Banco ; qui Obi i t l 2mo die mens is Decemb ris, 1 422 : cujus
animae prOpitietur Deus .
"
and this prayer proceeding out Of his mouth;
M iserere mei,Deus
,secundum magnam m isericordiam tuam ; et beati qui
custodiunt judicium et faciunt j ustitiam omn i tempore .
”
I find him highly commended for gravity , sobriety , wisdom , learning , and
integrity fair ornaments for men in authority ; but chieflv fitted for such
as min ister justice , and required of them by God and expected b y men of
all relig ions . The Prophet David tells them ,
If ye b e wise , defend the cause
Of poor men in the ir right ;And rid the needy from the jawsOf tyrants
’ force and might."
The Heathen Prince Cambyses caused a corrupt judg e to
with his skin covered the judi cial chair, in which he placed
judge excoriated to execute his father’s Office ; and bes ides
of his father’s skin , gave him this caveat to remember ,
S ede sedens ista j udex inflexib ilis esto .
S it tibi lucerna , lux, lex, pellisqne pa terna .
A manibus reseces munus , ab aure preces .
Thou judge that sittest in this seat,Uprightly deal there in
And for thy guide take thou the light,The law, and father
’s skin .
To finger bribe s in any case forbear,N or prayer nor threats let enter in thine car.
But this our judge was deemed clear of this error, and furnished withsundry virtues ; yet surely somewhat was defective in him. You mayplainly behold as in a mirror man
’s frailty, and that our l ife is either the
prologue or catastrophe of a trag edy ; for in this last act Of his last scenewherein it was expected he should have expressed hi s chiefest wisdom and
fortitude , he fell short Of many , yea, s imple , weak , and ignorant people : hefeared some frowns , and the apprehension thereof cast him into so desperate
33 4 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [Boox IV .
land at which time the sword was unsheathed and laws could not b e heard
for sound of drums and trumpets . Knowing ,perchance , to whom he
should justly adhere , but not to whom safely , fearing also (as it was
thought, ) some royal frown , and terrified with the s ight of infinite execu
tions and trag ical actions , and thereby vexed with continual agonies how
with a careful watch he might avoid the mischiefs b e supposed might
threaten him also . Some ass ign another occas ion hereof : that having
committed Prince Henry to prison for striking of him upon the bench when
he stoutly refused to deliver a criminal at his instance , he feared what would
become of him when he became King of England, by the title of Henry V .
A noble heart that can break when it will , you may perchance say, and
term it a resolution equal to the ancient Roman s , Cato, and Pomponius At
ticus ; and say also therewith, that it is extreme folly to live long in painand affli ction , dishonour , or want, and only to wish death, when nature af
fordethman remedi es to ease himself at his pleasure , according to Epicurus ,approved by Seneca malum est in necessitate Vivere ; necessitas nullaest, quid ni nulla sit : patent undique ad lib ertatem viae multae breves faciles ; agamus Deo gratias quod nemo invite teneri possit .
” I grant (saithhe , ) - it is misery to l ive in necess ity ; but there is no necessity for a man to
live so ; there are many qu ick and easy means to free ourselves : let us
therefore thank G od that no man can be constrained to l ive against hiswil l , or longer than it shall please himself. And as Quintillian , nemo
nisi sua culpa diu dolet no man endureth pain or sorrow long but by hisown fault.
You have all edged these sentences rightly , and it accords fitly with human reason and philosophical arguments to b e very convenient, and not
only lawful but laudable , and hath been practised by all nations and religi
ons ,— Greeks , Romans , Persians, M edes , Indians , Jews : witness that old
man Rhasis , named the father of the Jews . Among the Christians , those two
canonized saints , Pelag ius [query] and Apoll onia ; and whole cities of somerelig ions . But the sacred rites of Christian ity do not approve it, nor al
low them any dispensation , but utterly condemn it : and so far as pun
ishment may b e inflicted on the dead, they suffer for it by all laws , as for
feiture of goods from the posterity, and disgraceful unchristian o like bur ial .Of the two daughters of his nephew S ir Richard Hankford, Ann (whom
he had b y his second wife , Ann , daughter of John M ontacute , Earl of San
CHAP . XXVIIJ vmw or DEVON SH IRE. 335
lisbury,) was married to Thomas , Earl Of Ormond, of whom was Queen Elizabeth of famous memory , the Earls of Dover and M onmouth, and St . Le
g er : of Thomasin , his elder daughter, which he had b y the s ister and co
heir of Fulk, Lord Fitzwarren, is the noble Earl of Bath .
His statue is also in the church in armour, kneeling , and his mother’
s ,
b eautified with the armories of their house and matches ; with some other
remembrances of Dame Ann S t. Leger, the foundress of the chancel , and
wife to Sir George St , Leg er. And in this church of M onkley, in a win
dow, are represented the seven works of mercy , and subscribed with theseverses ,
Hac non vade via nisi dices Ave Maria,S emper sit s ine vae qui mihi dicit Ave .
CHAPTER XXVI I .
Of Buckland-Brewer, Par/chant, Bideford, and the noble Family of Grenvile ,
W E pass Buckland, surnamed of its lord Brewer , who gave it to the Ahb ey of Dunkeswell , when it came into the king
’s hands he sold it to Rolle .
VVinslade gave name and habitation to a generous and long continuing
race, who was increased much in.
Cornwall : his seat at Tregarrick : now
possessed by Bull er ; until a frantic rebellion forfe ited all to King Edward
VI . : yet Queen M ary’s pity restored hi s son again to this farm of his name :
but it is now possessed by another tribe, and the race extinct withall .
Here is also Orley , long possessed by the worshipful race of Le Dan
Dennis now only Dennis . He married Grenvile hi s father, M onk his
grandfather, Sydenham .
Parkham , al ias Porkham, was the inheritance of S ir Baldwin Bellestian ,
alias Belstan , who wrote himself of Parkham in the ag e of Richard I whichworthy tribe transmigrated into the more dignous family of Fulford . Bea
mont , Basset, and now Rolle possesseth it . The ancient name of Risdon is
se ized of land here : which William Risdon , who descended from Robertthat lived under Edward I . , dying without issue , conveyed it to his kinsman ,
lord of a manor in Okehampton . Giles , of that name , (for we may not passany good benefactor , ) built the north aisle of this church and Hay-bridge
336 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK IV .
over this river . This gentleman (whose seat is Bab leigh, or Bab eleigh, )
married H ill : his father, one of the coheirs of Viel ; his grandfather , Giffard .
In the north aisle Giles lieth interred, with this remembrance ,
Here l ieth the body of Giles R isdon, esq.,be ing at his death of the age of
90 years, the 2l st April,On a widow Of that family
Hoc tumulo requiescit corpusW ilmotae R isdon viduae quondam uxoris -Tho
mac R isdon, armigeri quae vixit et mortua est in fide catholica,
On Balthazar Butler, gent
Twice born I was, b ut thrice bornmust I b e,Before I shall that heaven of heavens seeF irst of awoman butboth she and I
This sun can witness we are born to dieNext ofmy mother church, she of a man
G iving l ife’s pledge made me a christian ;Lastly the bearing grave I ’11 call my mother,The womb-bredworms my sister and my brotherUntil the sea, and death, and hell deliverThe dead to God, to l ivewith Christ for ever.
The 8th September,1 623 .
The Botelers and Le Gray possessed lands here .
Hal sbury,which hath bred many good men of sundry families , may not
b e forgotten . It first gave name to a generous family which ended in Pe
ter de Halsbury , son and he ir to Peter de Halsbury , whose daughter , JOhan
nah,joined it to the inheritance of Le G ifl
'
ard ; (the bountiful ;) which name
writes himself thereof at this time , and flourisheth worthy his great ances
tors . But the descent is so c0 pious for variety Of houses of which theyhave been anciently possessed , that I must pass him without farther remembrance ; only after our usual manner to tell you he married with Cham
pernoun of Dartington : his father, the coheir Of Tremayn his grandfather,Smith .
W e are arrived at the ancient borough of Bideford, or rather By- the -ford ,
which parted the town in two, ere the fair bridge was built and made it
one . It is a market town kept on the Tuesday, and is incorporated and
hath a mayor and Officers answerable thereunto ; and with Instow and Ap
pledore are witnesses at the union of this river with Taw. It is a town of
3 38 V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK IV .
fixed firmly, whi ch he never remembered to have seen formerly ; and there n
fore , upon serious meditation did suppose it rolled thither by Divine power.
This persuaded him that his dream was no other than an heavenly inspira
tion ; and therefore di sclosed it to Peter Quivil , then Lord Bishop of this
diocese , who zealously incl ined to further so pious a work , granted indul
gences and gave licence to gather the benevolence of all brethren and sis
ters within his precincts . Whereupon , in regard of the vision , multitudes
Of people Offered cheerful ly and largely their devotion : some, far remoted,
money ; others , near and adjoining , workmen and carriage ; so with the as
sistance of Sir Theobal d Grenv ile , this excellent work was finished . For
that name and family hath been Of long antiquity , the chiefest inhabitant
and prime glory of the town ; and my third theme .
Of the worthiness of this knightly tribe I am much unable to speak so
sufli ciently as that deserveth ; pass ing therefore the ir actions at the con ~
quest, and come to the Conqueror’s son , William I I . , or Rufus . In’
his
reign Sir Ro bert Fitz-Hamon , (son to Haymon Dentatus , Lord Of Car
boyle in Normandy,) a knight Of great suffi ciency and of the king’s privychamber , (assisting En ion , son of Cadivor, Lord Of Diuet in Glamorgan
shire ,) gave a great overthrow to Rheseup Tudor , Prin ce of South-Wales ,
and Jesten , Lord Of Glamorgan , and thereby Obtained great territories ,a perpetual and fruitful inheritance to him, hi s associates , followers , and
assistants ; the chief whereof were twelve kn ights , whom he termed Douze
Peres , or hi s twelve peers . Among whom b e divided those large terri
tories , with thi s condition , that they should hold their land Of him in free
vassal age as the ir chief lord, to maintain one the other in common with
their aid or auxiliary forces , to defend every one his own ward in his castle
of Cardiff, and to b e present and assistant to him at his courts in the ad
ministration Of justice . All this proves little to our purpose ; I will therefore set you down the names of hi s twelve magnanimous peers and noble
assistants , all knights .
1 . Will iam Of London , or de Londres . 2 . Richard Grenvile , or de G ranav ile . (the man I now speak of.) 3 . Robert de St . Quintin . 4 . Pag an ,
alias Payn Turb erv ile . 5 . Oliver de St . John . 6 . Roger de Bekerol . 7 .
William de Easterling, now Stradl ing . 8 . Gilbert de Humfrav il e . 9 .
Richard de Siward . 1 0 . John le Fleming . Reynald de Sully, of thiscounty . 1 2 . Peter de Score .
CHAP . XXVI I .] VIEW OF DEVON SH IRE .339
Divers Of their posterities , and some of the self- same name , enjoy those
lands to this day . But our noble and bounteous -minded knight, S ir Rich
ard Grenvil e , having Neath in Glamorganshire allotted for his partfiid ildb dthere a monastery, dedicating it to the Virg in M ary , and gave all his con
quered lands to the perpetual maintenance thereof, (which at the surrender
was valued at £ 1 50 . 4s . 9d .) and returned back again to his house here at
Bideford .
I intend to pass divers others Of that family deserving perpetual remem
brance , and will speak onl y of one Of his posterity, making choice of a man
of his name and rank , S ir Richar even he , I mean
who, in the reign OfQu ory , 1 5 9 1 , made
that admirable sea-fight in her ship named the Revenge ; memorable (saitha noble pen, ) even beyond credit, and to the very he ight of some heroicalfable and though it were a defeat, yet it exceeded many (accounted great)victories for in thi s ship ( like a fat stag among many hounds at b ay ,) hewas seized, and fought with in turn , in a succession of supplies , by fifteen
great ships of Spain , part Of a greater fleet ; the rest like abettors , lookingon afar Off and among the fifteen that fought, the great San Philip wasone , a ship of 1 500 tons, principal of the twelve sea apostles , who carriedthree tiers Of ordnance of each s ide , eleven in every tier, e ight in the chase ,
besides those at the stern who having received the lower tier Of the Reveng edi scharged with cross-b ar shot, shifted herself with all diligence from her
s ide , utterly disliking her entertainment ; answerable to a common proverb
in Plutarch’s time , which said thus ,
He lets his wings down fall, much l ike the craven cockWhich doth refuse the pit prepared, and list not hide the shock .
This valiant commander, in hi s brave ship having but 200 men ,whereof 80
were s ick and weak , held out against a fleet of 5 5 sail of men of war and
1 5000 men fifteen hours , sinking two by her s ide , besides many more torn
and rent, and yet never came to b e entered, b ut at the knight’s extremity
(after divers deadly wounds , not enduring a word Of yielding, ) was by com"
position yielded : whereby may b e perceived that the sentence Of Sopko
cles deserves little credit (where such men are , ) when in his verses he makes
the virtue of fortitude weak in itself saying this to the king ,
340 VIEW OF DEVON SHI RE . [BOOK IV
When storms of dire adversity, 0 king, do men assail,It daunts the ir courage, faints the ir force , and makes their hearts to quail .
For true magnanimity and fortitude as thi s will never yield to adverse fortune ; but crosses , extremities , dangers , advers ities , and evils whatsoever,are rather bellows , nourishments , and incendiaries thereunto as is expres
sed in the invincible valour of this great Spirit hi s patience and true con
stancy at the very last period and catastrophe : which rightly accorded withthe opinion of Martial and Horace’s verses which speak
R ebus in adffersis facile est contemnere vitam ;Fortins ille facit qui m iser esse potest.
S i fractus illab atur orbisImpavidum feriunt ruinae .
Tis no virtue to despise But to smile on fortunes rudeA l ife long led in miseries ; Is the mott of fortitude .
The ruinous world, should it on this man fall,
K ill him itmay, fear him it never shall.
This good town (with the variety of excellent matter Of discourse , ) hath
worthily entertained us , and will g ive us occas ion to ruminate thereon whenwe come to places barren Of any good argument .
Which notwithstanding for a farewell I cannot forbear to add thi s one
note more , not of any Of the three former, though done on one of them , for
it was publicly seen that one Willi am Alford, Of Beauford, bare , not long
s ince , on his back at one time , for a wager, the whole length of the longbridge , four bushels of salt-water measure , six peck to the bushel , each peckcontaining three gallons , besides some advantage ; a burden sufficient to
load three good horses fully .
My purpose is hereby to show, that there are some men in this our declin ing and languishing ag e (as some term it,) equal Of strength to the an
cients . N ot comparing with those Homer mentions , Ajax and Hector, inthe wars of Troy ; of whom, if he speak a little hyperbolically, you maybear with him ; he spake it upon report and tradition , for he was not b orn
within a 1 00 years after . But V irgil , in imitation long after, augmented thestrength of those heroes , when he speaks of the we ight of a stone thrown
b y TW IN S to E neas Saxum antiquum ,
”&c . Thus I take , it speaks
in English,
349 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK IV
before that lord , one Stanton possessed it ; by whose coheirs it came toDennis and Cruckhorn ; some by Giffard to Cary , and some to Munk .
Northam Is as It were a promontory or head-land, or half- island , made
by the Severn Sea and our river . The church standeth so high that the
tower showeth as a mark for those that bear in for the b ar, where they must
bring the tide with them for the ir security . On the north-west it hath a
large plain shelf, whereon , with some winds , the sea beats with a cruel and
forcible rage , and rolleth in great stones ; concerning which I must Offer
this to b e noted, for that I have read somewhere that in the island Of Cuba
there is a valley containing some three or four leagues in length, which is
full of very hard stones of such perfect roundness like unto bull ets , that no
art can make better or polish more exactly , of all sorts some so small as
will serve for pistols , and so upwards until you come to the cannon : and I
observed in this place a great pile Of stones g lob e~wise and round , though
not with such exact perfection nor of such divers ity in quantity as in Cuba ;for these are all great, far above the height Of any ordnance ; and if I may
gues s , I should think these stones not naturally round as the other, but
rather b y the ir forcible roll ing with the unres istable force of the waves ,the roaring noise whereof is heard far into the inland, serving as a prognos
tication to the inhabitants , for thereby is foretold fair and foul weather .
Here may we see some remains of the Castle Hennaburgh as it is said ,as also that hereby was Kenith- Castle , so famous for that Hubba the Danewas vanquished at the s ieg e thereof and slain , and his ominous banner Refantaken in remembrance whereof a great heap of stones was there pil ed uptog ether as a trophy of the victory gotten by the natives , and the place yetremembered by the name W hib b estow notmuch exchang ed from A sserius
his word Hub b astow . Though the heap of stones be long time since sweptaway by the continual encroaching of the sea . But to tell you truly, I findas many places in this county claim the honour of this victory, as cities inGreece for the birth of Homer .
This parish is grown very populous lately, for in the memory Of man, at
a place called Appledore , ( lying at the confluence of the Taw and Torridge ,half a league within the b ar where the ships commonly stop and lie safe on
shore when the tide is out,) stood but two poor houses and now for fairbuilding s and multiplicity of inhabitants , and houses , it doth equal diversmarket towns , and is furnished with many good and skilful mariners .
CHAP . XXIX ] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .343
S ir Guido de Bryan held land here anciently , [ in another M .S . this was
the land Of Zouch, and after belonged to the Priory of Frampton and af
ter the Lord M altravers ; after Popham and Cary . Here at Borrow inhabiteth Leigh,
whose two cohe irs (as yet) are married to Basset and Barry .
CHAPTER XXIX .
Of the I sland cf Lundy, lying near this county, in tlze S evern S ea .
HERE , had I not casually cast mine eye on the Severn Sea and seen an
island belonging to this county , I had struck sail and cast anchor . But
while our bark is afloat it is but four hours sailing from hence with a good
wind : let us View it .
Between B arty-Promontory (fore spoken Of,) and Bag
-Point there is a
large inroading b ay , the land giving back in form Of a crescent in which
standeth Lundy, or Landy ; and“b y transposition of the I , setting it in the
front, Island ; in Latin , Insula, quae in Salo, posita . On the north s ide
(the barrenest land,) is joined unto it a sharp , steep , high, and great rock,which they term The Constable and may b e brook his name well for keeping true watch as a continual sentinel . On the south is one of far less
quantity, j oined to the land with a little neck , which they term The Lamitor .
It l ieth some fourteen miles distance from Harty-Point, over against
Caldy, ( in British, Imis pix ,) on the s ide Of Wales . It containeth in
length, two miles or more ; in breadth, one ; inaccess ible but at one place ,and that not without fear if without danger, it is so immured with rocks
and impaled with beetle-browed cl iffs , that there is no entrance but for
fri ends . That it hath been tilled in former times the furrows testify yet
plainly ; but what commodities came thereof is not known , neither will anyman try again there is so little hOpe of profit .
There are relics of a castle , and Of a chapel dedicated to St . Helen . The
most profit that is now made of it is by hogs , conies , and sea-fowl : of the
last, that in breeding time , in some places , you shall hardl y know where toset your foot but on eggs .
344 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK‘ IV °
Timber and wood it hath none , only a few low stunted elders , which are
haunted with such a multitude of stares that you can hardly come to them
for the dung ing of the birds .
But I have been too larg e in the description, for that Sir Thomas de la
Mere , kn ight, in his report of that miserable (and as another saith, s imple ,)King Edward II . (when his froward, unreasonable , and unreconcileab le
wife , together with his unruly and revenging barons , thundered out eager
threats and denounced terrible menaces , made him minded to withdrawhimself hither as a place of safety and sure refug e ,) hath for his time rightlydescribed ; and the king’s purpose is also b y a modern poet thus expressed,
To Lundywhich in Sab rin’s mouth doth stand,
Carriedwith hope, (still hoping to find ease
,)Imag ining itwere his native land,England itself ; S evern, the narrow seas ;
With this conce it, poor soul ! himself doth please .
And s ith his rule is over-ruled by men,
On birds and beasts he’ll king it once again.
Tis treble death a free z ing death to fe e],For him on whom the sun hath ever shone
W ho hath been kne eled unto, can hardly kneel,N or hardly b eg what once hath be en his own .
A fearful thing to tumble from a throne
Fain would he b e king of a l ittle isleAll were his empire bounded in a mile .
It lyeth (saith he) in Severn’s mouth, two miles every way long , full of
pleasant pastures, affording conies plentifully, doves, stares , (whichAlexanderN ectan termethGanymede
’s birds ,) it hath continuallyfrom time to time ready
to lay . It serveth the inhabitants w ith fresh water walming out of spring s ,though itself b e on all sides circumpassed about With the sea . One onl y
way it b ath of entrance into it, which two men hardly can do together on
foot ; on every part b es ides the huge rocks , bearing out a mighty height,hinder egress .
Our historiographers do scarcelymake any mention Of it : only MatthewParis speaketh of one William de M arisco who, conspiring the death of
Henry III . , persuaded a knight sometime of his court to murder him, and
w ith that intent got at night by a window into the king’s bedchamber ;
3 46 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE. [BOOK V .
mitted to take them out in any case . Yet somewhere half a dozen of ale
would prevail to procure a toleration .
It may b e expected I should have blazoned every gentleman’s armories ,
and have set down the ir descents in length, as I passed by them, (as .some
others have done ,) with flour ishing anagrams , poes ies , emb lems , impresses ,rebusses , and such like , which have . been e ither by fri ends for love , or foesfor envy and the derivations Of or allus ions to surnames . For the first I
could , perchance , have done well , and sufficiently for some ; and somewhatfor all or any : but that belong s directly to other men
’s professions, into
whose harvest I intend not to thrust my s ickle . But for some of the rest,
much more delightful and pleasant, I purposed divers , until I chanced to
read these verses in Ar iosto,
Butmore here in to speak I am forbidden,Sometime for say ing truth one may b e chidden‘
END OF THE FOURTH BOOK .
THE
F I F T H B O O K .
CONTAIN ING THE SOUTH DIVIS ION .
CHAPTER I .
The origin and progress of the River Tawmeer . [Tamar i]
W E have ( by the favourable assistance of the Divine Power,) taken inthis our journey a slight superficial View of part of two of the three divisions of this shire ; the whole east and major part of the north .
It will , perchance , b e expected, and Of some required, that I shoul d pro
oecd also with the south, being the third and last, and so finish, thoug’
hnot
CHA P . L] v IEw OF DEVON SH I RE .347
perfect the whole : but it much better befits my ag e and weakness , everyway , here to set up my rest ; betaking myself to quiet ease , as unable to
travel so tedious and wearisome a journey , especially in ways much more
strang e and unknown to me than the former considering also that the great
we ight Of this massy burden hath wearied , tired, and disheartened more
able bodies , and terrified more young and active Spirits than mine ; and
would require a support equal to Atlas himself, and impossible to b e sup
plied by my weak abil ities . Yet if according to my willing m ind I should
proceed and undertake to guide you this longest journey , I shall b e enforced
to depend and put over the greatest part Of the burden upon a pair of
stronger arches , my right worshipful and right worthy friends,
For a bl ind man,forsaken of his guide ,
In some thick forest, sad and self-beside ,Takes now a broad and then a narrow path,H is groping hands , his lost eyes Ofli ce hath.
H ere on a stub he stumble s , there the bushesTake off his cloak, there on a tree he rushe s ;
Strays in and out, turns this, and thatway tries,And at the last falls in a p it and dies .
With their assistance , who have den ied me nothing I demanded , but
have voluntarily supplied my wants with additions , my proceeding s withthe ir loving and skilful directions , am I proceeded this far for of them I
have had g leamng s as at a fruitful harvest : when Of some (which wouldb e thought to know more than others , and wonderfully flatter themselvesthere in ,) I could hardly g lean a solid ear , and that not without more than
one entreaty , much repugnant to my nature , and to any g enerous dispos i
tion in them .
I am at an even balance whether I may proceed as my will desireth, or for
bear as discretion requireth : if I g o on it will b e in some sort against reason
yet will I proceed with full confidence that the g ood assistance that G od hathhitherto afforded me will not now fail , but b e propitious to my intendments .
For H e,I hOpe , who no less good thanwise is,
F irst stirred me up to the se bold enterprises .
We’ll therefore over-run the annals Of some ages ,
And choosing out the chie fe st personagesAnd noted seats amidst our country
’s s tory ,
Offe ring them all on th’altar of God’s glory .
48 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V.
And therefore you generous minds that purpose to travel in thi s discoverywith me b e in readiness , your venture shall not b e great ; we will lose no
time , but take the next wind ; ne ither augment the length Of our way by
redupli cating , but taking the Opportunity of landing at
Clovelly (returning from Lundy,) we will inquire after the Spring of the
next river that runs southward, and by him steer our course and direct ourproceedings .
And here presently at W el‘cpr fmbe (a chapel of ease sometime to Hartland,where Richard, the son of John , and after Mertons, and from them the
Stowels , held land ; now Arundell and Risdon walIn out Of one burrowor b ill , two springs of two Of the greatest rivers ii i
/
fi
fhis county, whi ch byreason of the sudden declining of the ground two ways , take two diverscourses , Torridge , formerly spoken of, after a long journey reaching intothe mi dland country retireth itself, and with Taw discharge themselves inSevern ; Tawmeer, and indeed well is the addition of meer and fitly joinedto Tau or Ta, for it is the chief and only meer bond or l imit that doth distinguish and separate this county from Cornwall ; e ither bank , for the most
part being in several shires .
*
W e were here lately, when we sought the spring of Torridge, for theyspring both (as may b e said) out of one fountain , at least the same moun
tain , yea the same hillock , not three feet asunder ; of which the neighboursfain this pretty fable
The nymphs , or genn , of these two springs (for some demi-god or nymphnot only the ancient Briton s , but most nations and poets , have ascribed toeach river,) be ing in a long or earnest di spute , or contestation , which of
them was worthiest or fittest to take the southern way into the warmest climate and fattest soil, (whi ch now for its fruitfulness we di stinguish from the
rest, and for a super-eminency term it by the name Of the South-Hams ,intending thereby a rich and fertil e soil at length, after thi s vehement
contention , they fell both into a sound sleep
Torridge , first awaking, ran slowly away, because he would by hi s silent
passage (unheard) g et the advantage of his brother, and SO was onward wellin his way ere Tamar awaked ; which he presently perceiving, angry indeed
On this passage Dean Lyttleton remarks, This river had the denomination ofTamarlong be fore the counties were fi divided. Tamar is the same with Thame, Thames, Tavy,and the like, which is the Cel tic name of a R iver.” —G . 0 P . J .
360 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK
Full many kisses pass them twain betwixt,With courtesies, more than a thousand mixt ;There Ocka doth with friendly love and heart
Both stream and name unto her mate impartAnd the loud pipes on every side resound,The water nymphs andwanton satyrs round
About them dance , the ir measures tripping neatly,And foot it on the tender grass as featly,
And sing , they do, Of Hercules, the story,
O fWhom so famous is our promontory,W ho vanquish
’d Albion
,Neptune’s son, in fight,
Andwithmain strength in field kill’d him outright.This done, along the vales his course he treadsB eholding marishes and fruitful meads
H ere amorously he clyps Some loved places,Insulating others with kind embraces ;And now in pride and glory of his fame
EB?“
Fififi n
”
aBillDevouring time hath thereonwrought his will.From thence he bends his course to Gifford-we ir,There farther flowing, Neptune doth forbear.
At Bideford with bridge his stream is crOWn’d,
H is tilting tides near unto AppledoreHav e clean swept Hubba’s trophy off the shore
That there was set : posterity might knowAt Kenwith Castle his great overthrow.
SO forcible are those hi s swell ing wavesThey wash the dead again out Of their graves .
Forward she forceth on the sandy burrowsOnwhat we term the Bar, in foaming furrows .
Lastly pays tribute to that peaceful b ayW here Lundy with his hardy guard doth stay .
Tamar at first, for haste , made few indents or wheelings, having an eara
nesm ire to vis it the warmer climate ; but having once Obtained the goal ,disports himself wantonly , yet visits no place worthy our observation , watering only Obscure villages .
The first it salutes is Pancrass-Week, or Pancardeswike , or rather Wike
with the addition of HolVQ'
StT:
Pahhras . Week, according to Verstegan, is
CHA P . L] VIEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 35 1
a fence or place Of refuge . Here Copleston and St. Leger had land, andRobgfi de ’
fi efiisd W Vke St. Pancrass .
On the right hand we may only cast our eye but claim no interest , be ing
beyond our limits , for the river’s western bank is our marches . But next
we seew orthy , converted worthy Pye ; which one Bon iface possessed In
elder times ; alm or OiT
PlyIiipton , Arscot, and now Welsh. It is
wedged on both s ides by our river and one that descends from Holsworthy ,which ariseth with a two fold spring and so in a manner encloseth the same .
Holsworthy Is a pretty market town , kept every Saturday , and hath a fair"w «mi?VM J
. Peter’s . The Duke Of
Moritag ii ghad Itfatter it cariié t6 thehaiids Of Henry VIII .Here Is the barton Of Thorn or de Spineto, which was long owned by a
generous family of the name ; but matching wi th the he ir of Upcot, b e re
sideth at Sheepwash, where we shall meet him .
The manor Of Chelsworthy , herein , belonged some time (as I am told) to
the free- school OfWeek St . M ary .
Tetcot was held b y Alured in the Conqueror’s entrance , and somewhile
after by Pipard ; now Arscot, (a branch of a younger family Of Arscot ,)which is well known by a memorable suit in law between John Arscot, armi
ger, and the then Lord Bishop of this diocese in a quare impedit, which is
set forth in my Lord Coke’s Reports .
Here we rece ive a riveret that, rising in Claw M oor, takes name from
thence andu
giv'
éSHftOClaWtOii This moor is so deep and cumbersome to
travellers , most part Of the year , that the proverb there saith, the devil
was clogged in Claw M oor .
" This one Nigel held in the conquest ; after
W all ays and Digby . Blagdon had anciently and yet, I think , lords so
named .
Ar scot of Tetcot married Walrond : his father, Samford : his grandfa
ther, Walters Of Herefordshire .
W e may not pass Bridg erule in ancient t ime only Bridge : so s ituate
that the one moiety Of the parish l ies In Cornwall and theOther In this shire .
M
A Saxon namedT rauiI inus sometime held it, but theNorman Conquerorgave it to one Rualdus Adob atus , who left his name there , and so named
g m u fl m
Bridge Ruald, OIT
T
ROT
II~
now Bridgerule . It is now the inheritance of
V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK V .
CHAPTER II .
Of Tamerton, Collacombe, and the Family of Tremayn.
TAMERTON is next in our way , which Rualdus Adob atus possessed ; after
Deum whom it came to the family Of Fortescue .
Of the two brothers Of the Tremayns
Collacomb e , or Cullacomb e , where Rob ertus de Alb amara had land bythe Conqueror’s gift ; S ir M ichael Trenchard after him . Then gave itname to the race of Collacomb e ; a respected family long settled there, nutil the heir female of the house was 'wedded to Tremayn ,
whi ch by many
descents and worshipful alliances flourisheth in thi s ag e ; whose armories ,with a pretty conceit, allude to his name , b e ing three hands and arms joined
at the shoulders in the umbril point of the field .
W e will pass all the Tremayns until we come to Thomas Tremayn, who
married Phillipa, daughter of Roger Grenv ile of Stow, armiger, and was tohim as the Psalmist saith
L ike fruitful vine on the house s ide Thy children stand l ike Ol ive plantsSo doth thywife spring out
, Thy table round about."
For by her he was father of e ight sons and six daughters, most of which Iwill silently pass ; yea ! the fourth, which was Richard, only with this re
memb rance that he was a doctor of divinity , canon resident and treasurer
of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Exeter : a very learned and zeal
ous divine and dilig ent preacher .
* The six th and seventh brothers , N i
cholas and Andrew, born at one birth, were so like in al l lineaments Of
body that I may not forbear in regard it came almost to the height of awonder to declare unto you , so equal in stature , so coloured in hair, so re
sembling each the other in face , with such s imil itude in gesture and sound
of words in speech, as they could not b e di stinguished or known one from
the other , no not by their parents, brothers , or s isters but privately by somesecret hidden marks and outwardly by wearing some several coloured rib
band, or such like thing , which they would also on merriment Often change
Hiswi ll was proved at Exeter 1 5th December, 1 584.—G . O .,
— P. J .
354 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V
gave the Emperor what he intended to have put upon him. But we have
stayed long here and must now remove .
Luffincot, in former times Logingcot or Luggehincot, which Robert deLug
‘
gt’é
l
hfi
iiihot sometime held, and N orthcot a hamlet in the parish of Boy
ton which l ieth on the farther bank of our river, wereof GW arque
'
ss of Dorset} lately of Abbot ; b y whose
coheir it descended to Philip Risdon, esq . Then pass we
we intrude somewhat on our ne ighbour’s banks , for th
m a fi a ,“We Will take Werringgton now we are on that Side ,
W
to this county, and did tOthe Abbey of Tavistock ; but
Of Tameer was held b y
Trevill ian, and now b y Arscot .
North-Petherwin was al so , at King Athelstan’
k. u g ‘fnv t 1 ‘d 3r u m a fi. qy.
- tu r d-w
St. I es-‘iri -tli '
éQH eath, so termedé
Of-
l ns b arrbii site . In this is the most
anciggf sea-
tu i
b'm
fwa
he n'
oble house of the Careys in this country being of the
same denomination , which they possessed a long time : and there also
Passmere had land.
Here is our river much augmented with the help of the that
first at B el de
ert held land . It is now Arscot’s , who is lord
and patron .
Ashwater and Ashworthy : these two carry their lord’s name in their
forehead . Hem'
y de’
Heli‘
On, a stirpe of much note , whose two daughters
and coheirs enriched with their patrimon ie s the two eminent families of
Pra z and Challons . Avenel , and Downham were ancient lords here . Af
ter Esse , from whom these and many other manors took the ir prenames ;now Ash. Carminow had land here, and was ancient and potent in these
parts . Sir Roger Carminow in Edward III .
’S time . William Carminow
was sheriff of thi s county 1 4th Richard II . By the heirs of that family it
came to the M aleveres . His heirs were married to Carew and Dournford .
In the south wall of the church there is an ancient monument of Car
minow with his proportion cut, armed cap-a-pee , together with his wife’s ,
CHAP . III .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .355
without any inscription to signify the time . Two of the M aleveres were
sheriffs , Alnethus and Thomas , in the re ign of Richard III . , one succeedingthe other . Hervy de Helion possessed lands in Esseworthy, whose two
coheirs married Pruz and Challons . Robert Challons was sheriff of this
shire 8th Henry V . Here Lanxford inhabiteth.
Virginstow , a place of virg ins , and by that adjun ct known from other
StowW ancestors’time and tongue . Here the Earl of Westmorland,
Nevil, held land : but Tulslo, which is a member thereof, was held by a generons tribe of that name , until it was div ided among distaffs . Here alsothe Carys held land — Robert de Cary .
CHAPTER III .
The origin of the River Lyd qf Lydford, his antiquities andp resent state .
HERE fal ls into our increase the river Lydd whose beg inning is in Dartmoor ; out of which walm springs abundantly . It passeth first byCoriton , a place ofiio
‘
great note , yet gave denomination to a very anciu
ent W orshipful family, Gaulfredus et Elias de Coryton : whi ch hath-
re
moved to a place of more rich commodities , viz , Newton in Cornwall , wherethey now reside . Though the name sound new, yet it is old to them by
succession . It is said of that family that in eight descents no one born he irof the house , at any time , lived to succeed and possess the inheritance .
Then it comes to give name toa town of great antiquity, Lydford, anci
M any and pregnant reasons will plead for the antiqu ity of this borough.
First, the ruins , not only by force of arms , as anno 997 , when it was gr ie
vously spoiled by the inhuman Danes , (arriving at the mouth of Tamar, )when they burned also the M onastery of St . Ordulph in Tavistock ; but
more probably by time and furious force of storms whereunto it lieth sub
ject every way , being in the skirts of Dartmoor . Certainly the first inha
bitant (were he to b e known, ) was no nice , neat, effeminate fellow, but some
robust, sturdy, strong Alb ionist : such an one as is pencilled by an ancient
356 V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK V .
poet (as Mr . Camden reports,) to b e the first inhab itants of this island . It
saith thus ,Here g iants whileome dwelt yclad with skins of beasts
,
Whose drink was blood ; whose cups, to serve for use of feasts,
Were made of hollowwood ; whose bedswere bushy thorns,And lodgings , rocky caves, to shelter them from storms ;
"The ir closets, hollow rocks ; their hunting found themmeatTo ravisha nd to kill to them was pleasure great.The ir violence was rule . W ith rage and fury led
They rush’d into the fight, and fought hand over head.
The ir bodies were interr’d behind some bush or brakeTo bear such monstrous we ights the earthdid groan and ache .
Or some val iant val orous and venturous Trojan , rather one of Corinaeus hisassociates that came with Brutus and overthrew those former giants as pigmies . He would else have sought some more temperate habitation , werethere not much better shelter there in those times than is now to b e found .
Yet all this poet’s strange description of savage men is no other (only some
what hyperbolical ,) than a plain demonstration of a people of some part of
America, and many other places lately discovered in search for the north
west passage in this age .
But howsoever it was then , it justly prescribes for antiquity and ability,before many other, (of much better wealth and receipt at this present,) as
able in his best strength to entertai n Julius Caesar at his second arrival
here for at his first coming Lucan saith,
Territa quaesitis ostendit terga Britann is .
The Britons fought, did him so fray,
He turu’d his back and ran away .
Which may b e true, (though it need a strong belief,) for those ancient~
no
b le Romans were nothing dainty e ither of their diet or lodging, when thebare ground served for a down-b ed for the weary , and cresses and turnipscontented the hungry consuls, dictators , and generals, as a pleasant b an
quet .
Rome thenwas ruled by Curios and Fabrices,That fed on roots and sought not for del icacies.”
And this ungirt youth (for he was noted in his younger years to have a
358 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK V .
their liberties reach farther . W e find also that Barnstaple was guildab le tothe king as Exeter, and did serve by sea an d land as did Totnes and Lyd
quod quidam parochiani Ecclesie de Lideford, villulas que dicuntur Balb eneye et Pushyllinhab itantes, adco distant ab corum E cclesiamatrice predicta, quod eam pre nimia distantianul lo modo visitare possunt quocie s eis fuerit oportunum,
dilecto filio ofli ciali archidiacono
Totton nostris litte ris dedimus in mandatis, ut facta Inquisitione sol emni in pleno capituloej usdem loci , nos l iteratorie reddat certiores an homines predicti ad erectionem sufii cerint
oratorii, Item que parochial is E ccles ia villul Is lpSl S VIc or existat, necnon iidem homines,sine prejudicio j uris al ieni , audire divina et e cclesiastica percipere valeant sacramenta
,e t
quanto e edem v illule distant a matrice Ecclesia predicta , et si tempestatibus et inundation ib us aquarum exortis, parochianis Ipsis matricem E cclesiam predictam visitare volentibus,v ia long ior deb eatur ; cumque per certificationem Offi cial is memorati invenerimus quod, incol is ipsis ad constructionem oratorii m inime sufficientibus , parochial is E ccl esia deWyde
combe locis ipsis plus alns omn ibus est vicina , et quod loca predicta a matrice E cclesia deLideford sereno tempore per octo, et tempestatib us exortis in c ircuitu per quindecem dis
tantmil iaria,salutem animarum sicut non deb emus negl igere ulla ratione volentes
,ecclesi
arum ipsarum rectores ad nostram fecimus presentiam e vocari : rectorib us ig itur predictis ;coram nobis constitutis et exposito e isdem hujuscemodi periculo, ac dc expre sso consensu
utriusque E cclesie patronorum, ordinationi nostre se supponentibus promittentibusqne bonafide voluntati nostre parere in hac parte, ac nostram ordinationem predictam ob servare in
perpetuum, de cons il ioprudentum virorum nobis assistentium taliter ordinavimus Videl icet,quod predictorum et adjacentium locOrum incolis sic in un itate sue parochialis E cclesiede Lide ford perpetuo remanentibus
,In E ccles ia de W ydecomb e imposterum divina audi
ant et omnia in vita e tmorte e cclesiastica percipiant sacramenta . In coopertura et fabrica E cclesie de W ydecomb e , clausura cemeterii, subsidio luminarium e t deferendo pane b enedicto, cum ipsius E ccles ie parochianis contribuant, consuetudines ipsius E cclesie in visitationibus infirmorum,
b enedictionib us nub entium,in purgationibus post partum, in baptis
matiha s parvulorum,in mortuari is e t sepul turis morientium, observent. Ofl
’
erant quoqueibidem solempniter ter in anno, et de cimam nihilominus agnorum e idem E cclesie cum integritate persolvant. In signum vero subj ectionis at agnitionem juris parochial is quilib etincola dictorum locorum terram tenens semel in anno Videl icet die sancti Petroci in E cclesia de Lideford solempniter Ofi
’
erat, et omnes decimas et obventiones maj ores et minores,hi is duntaxat exceptis que superius enucian turmatrici E cclesie sue de Lideford, s ine qual ibet diminutione et contradictione persolvent. In cujus” &c.
The following extract from a survey of the Borough of Lydford,made 1 650, may also
interest the reader .— G . O .
,-P . J .
L IDFORD CA STLE . The sa id Castle is very much in de cay and almost totally ruined.
Thewalls are buil t of l ime and stone within the compass ofwhichwall there are four l ittleroomswhereof two are above stairs , the. floor of which is all broken, divers Of the chiefestbeames be ing fallen to the ground and all the rest is following : only the roof of the said
CHAP . III .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .359
ford ; and it was assessed (as the Survey Book saith,) when and as London
was . Whereby it plainly appeareth it hath been in better state than at thispresent for now
Statmagn i nominis umbra .
Of the great name I wistIt now b ut the shadow is .
It hath neither fair nor market to comfort itself withall , and little frui tfullan d . It is only intrusted with the keeping of the prince’s prisoners , forstannary cau ses . But what mean I to make so long a description of it, in
regard it is so commonly sung by many a fidler ; be ing very exactly and
facetely done in a running metre , by William Browne , a very witty gentle
Castle ( be ing lately repaired by the Prince and covered with lead,) is more substantialthan the other parts.“The seite of the sa id Castle with the ditches and courte contain half an acre of land
,
of which the Burrough of L idford holdeth the Corte at the will of the Lord,for which
they pay the yearly rent of twelve pence . The sa id scite is valued to b e worth, at an improvement, besides the foresaid rent, per arm. 5 8 . The stones about the said Castle are notworth the taking down, but there are divers parcels of old timber which we value to b eworth de claro There is one part of the tower leaded , containing 1 445 square feet
,
every foot containeth (by we ight) n ine pounds ; in all thirte en thousand e ight hundredand ninety five pounds , Which at a penny halfpenny a pound cometh to e ighty six pounds ,s ixteen shill ings, and ten p ence halfpenny b ut cons ideration be ing had to the taking itdown and the portage, we reprise six pounds
,sixte en shill ings, ten pence halfpenny , so
then it amounteth to de claro
LIDFORD BOROUGH .
— Rents of Assi ze . The Quit Rents, or Rents of Ass i ze , of thesaid Borough doe amounte to yearly the sum of £ 3. l s . 4d. ; part ofwhich sa id Rents (vi z .
is paid to the Rector of the parish of L idford in l ieu of all the ti thes of the Forestof Dartmoors ; $ 0 0 that the clear Rent accruing to the Lord amounteth to the yearly Rent
of one shill ing and four pence .
“Rent of the Faire . The s a id Burrough doth pay to the Lord for the fa ire that isyearly held there , viz . at the feast of S t. Bartholomew, the sum Of one shil ling and six
pence per annum.
Ale Rent. There is also pa id b y the said Burrough for ale waights the sum of twe lvepence per annum.
So that the whole Rent which the sa id Burrough paye th to the Lord, with the one
shill ing for the Castle Greene , amounteth to per annum £ 0 . 48 . 1 0d.
”
“I certify that the above is a true extract from the orig inal Survey, pre served among
the records in the Offi ce of the Dutchy of Cornwall — J. R . Gardiner, Auditor.
”
360 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V
man pleasantly disposed, that was employed thither : it saith thus ,
I oft have heard of Lydford law,Near these poor men that lie in lurch,
How in the morn they hang and draw, See a dire bridge , a l ittl e church,
And sit in judgment after. S even ashes and one oak ;
At first I wonder’d at it much, Three houses standing , and ten down,But since I find the matter such, They say the rector hath a gown,A s it deserves no laughter . But I saw ne
’er a cloak.
They have a castle on a hi llI took it for some oldwind~mill ,The vanes blown off b y weather.
To lie there in one night ’tis guess’d’Twere be tter to b e ston
’d or press’d,
Orhang’d,ere you come thither.
Ten men less roomwithin this caveThan five mice in a lantern haveThe keepers
'
too are sly ones
If any could devise by artTo get it up into a cart,
’Twere fit to carry l ions .
When I beheld it, Lord ! thought I,What justice andwhat clemency
Hath Lydford castle’s high hall
I know none gladly therewould stay,
But rather hang out of the way
Than tarry for a trial .
Prince Charle s ahundred pounds hath sent By whom,— if any pass that way,
To mend the leads and planchings rent H e dares not the l east time to stay,Within this l iving tomb ; For presently they howl
Some forty-five pounds more had paid Upon which signal they do musterThe debts of all that shall b e laid Their naked forces in a cluster,
There till the day of doom . Led forth by Roger Rowle .
One l ies there for a seam ofmalt, The people all within this cl ime
Another for two peeks of salt, Are frozen in the winter time,
Two sureties for a noble . Or drown’dwith snow or rain ;
I f thi s b e true or else false news Andwhen the summer is begunYoumay go ask of Master Crews,* They lie like s ilkworms in the sun ,
John Vaughan or John Dob leuf And come to l ife again.
The Steward . t Attornies of the Court.
W hereby you may consider wellThat plain simpl icity doth dwell
A t Lydfordwithout bravery ;And in that town both young and graveDo love the naked truth to have,N o cloak to hide the ir knavery .
This town ’s enclos
’d with desertmoors,
Butwhere no bear nor l ion roars,
And nought can l ive b ut hogsFor, all o
’erturn
‘d b y Noah
’s flood,
Of four-score mil e s scarce one foot’s good,And hi lls are wholly bogs.
And near hereto’s the Gubbins cave ;
A people that no knowledge haveOf law
, or G od, or men :
Whom Caesar never yet subdued ;W ho
’ve lawless liv’d of manners rude ;
All savage in the ir den .
362 e w or DEVON SH IRE . [Boox V .
tate , and the two coheirs enriched therewith the generous famil ies of Munk
and Wise .
Stow St . M ary, or M arystow Stow dedicated to the Virgin M ary .
John de Hampnon possessed it, from whom it came to Trenchard . In thisis Sydenham, whi ch gave denomination to a worshipful family yet floarishing , l li6
'
ii§l1 transplanted into a richer soil . Trevag e had sometime inte
rest in it ; now it is the seat of the dignous family ofWise , who hath beautified it with a fair house .
In the church upon the stone under which Zenobia, wife of Robert Stowford, was buried, is this written ,
L ife is death, and death is l ife ;Free from care
,debate
,and strife.
The family ofWise hath been of long continuance in these parts . Thisgentleman married a daughter of Viscount Chichester : hi s father, the sole
heir of Stoford : his grands ire , Bull er : his son, S ir Edward Wise , Knightof the Bath, the daughter of the Lord St. John, Earl of Bolingbroke ;who se only daughter and heir is married to Tremayn , esq. , of 0 0 110
combe , and hath issue .
Kelly, the an cient inheritance of that generous family . John de Kellypossessed it in the time of Edward I . , continuing to thi s ag e . It had good
improvement by the he ir of Talbot, of Talbot’s -week : of whi ch name there
was one sheriff of thi s county the 6th of Henry V .
Brad-stone , Broad-‘
ston , or Bradiston ; long s ince the seat of such a
name ; after of Cruse ; but now and many descents is the inheritance of
Clowb errye .
N ow are we come to Lydstown, commonly?callgd Lifton ; the land some
time of Thomas Holland,“5 111256 1”Surrey, half-b roth
'
el
r
z
'
w
ifbr
King Richard I I .Here we meet with the river Trussel , which begets
Thrusselton , a little parish b elonging to the Viponts , or de Veteripon
to . This land came to Serlonius Wise , a predecessor of the house of Sy
denham . Here W olcot held a'
b arton of hi s name .
So comes this river to Lifton , by M r . C dstow ; the more
famous for that it giveth
rishes . William Harris , sergeant-at-law, purchased certain fairs here . Lysis
ton was held freely by Godwine before the conquest, and after by Reynold .
CHAP . IV.] V IEW o r DEVON SH IRE .363
Bell escham, now Belston , or Fair- stone ; b y which name Baldwin , the
Viscount, held land here in the Conqueror’s days . It had since lords sur
named of the place . M ary, a daughter and cohe ir of Sir Baldwin de Bel
stan ,brought a fair inheritance to the illustrious family of Fulford , who is
now lord and patron of the church and manor .
S ticklepath Tything had a chantry of St . M ary , in the parish of Sampford
Courtenay .
On the left hand we leave Bratton , which hath the addi tion of ClovellyThe manor did sometime call Frfi is
'
“lortff now
sons . At Ellacot dwelt a gentleman of the name the daughter and heir
of which family was married to Prideaux of Soldon . Burnb ery , or Bur
neby , long and yet possessed by a generous tribe of the same denomination .
His father married Tottle : his grandfather , Pollard .
At Hean , in Stowford parish, these two streams are made one . This
was long possessed by one of the same name and was , b y an heir general ,made the inheritance ofWilliam Harris , serg eant- at- law, and of great know
ledge and sufficiency there in . Near unto it is Stone , which came also to
the name of Harris by the he ir of Stone . By such matches and good fru
gal ity of a younger brother, he is made equal in estate to most elder b ro
thers of thi s country . He married Windham hi s father, the daughter and
he ir of the family ofDavils : and his grandfather , G revil of Beauchamp ~ Court
in Warwickshire : his son married Cordel ia, one of the daughters of the
Lord M ohun of Boconock in Cornwall : his son , Sir Arthur Harris , b aronet, the daughter of S ir William Turner of London ; who dying without
issue , the estate fell to the next kindred, Harris of Cornwall .
The other bran ch of this river comes from VVike -Langford, ancientlyWike St . German , in memory of that reverend man who was one of the
chi ef of the clergy that happily confuted the venemous Pelagian Heresy ,
which often (like the heads of the serpent Hydra cut off ) budded and grewup again in this kingdom .
,Robert de Alb omari held Wike at the Conquest ;
which Ulverton , a free -woman, was formerly possessed of in after ag es
Langford held it . But South-Wike there in was held by Kelly ; and the
Prior of Frithelstock held other land there .
W e pass b y Broadwoodwiger ; the name compounded of a wood that
was large and b r’dddi'm e landlord W ig er ; who left his name al so at
some other places . Nigel held this under the Conqueror . The Abbot of
364 V IEW or DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK V .
Frithelstock held the manor and barton after the dissolution of which priory it was given to Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle . Moore Mallet
belonged to the Knights of Jerusal em ; but is now the inheritance of a
very hopeful gentleman, Dennis Rolle , esq .
In this church is a fair monument for Will iam Shilston,whereon is his
representation curiously cut, armed cap-a-
pie , without any superscription .
Upon a stone laid upon Arthur Dinham, who inhabited Uppecot, in thisparish, is this epitaph,
My corpse here l ies, my soul heavens keep ,Till the angels cry break off thy sleep .’
With many escutcheons of arms .
There is Wortham , that gave name to a family of much respect ; by a
daughter of which it descended to the ancient family of Dynant, now Din
ham, which remains fiourishing in this ag e . He married Tremayn : hi s fa
ther Arundell : his grandfather, Bifield . His daughter and heir brought itto John Harris (whose father was a younger brother of the house of Hayn ,
and lived in Cornwall :i
whose son married Hancock of Comb-Martin ;
whose aunt , the wife of Chichester, and daughter and heir of N ewcourt,
g ave them Pickwell .Our river hath here a benevolence from St . Stephens in Cornwall , where
by well augmented it vis itethDunterton , the manor whereof b elonged to the Abbey of Tavistock .
Here also Sir Rogerus de Trelosk, knight, held land, and the Lord Dinham,
now Clowb orough .
M ilton , yyith the addition of Abbot, shows that the Abbey of Tavistockb ad right unmt
m M M
Davers -Week : which Week belonged unto an ancient knight of the family of Davers , or Danvers , or Danvirs .
Brentor, de alto s itu . A very high hill whereon is placed the church ;and
‘h
BEiiig a near neighbour to Dartmoor, stands subject to the violentblast of all winds and storms . It is of such height that there are manysteps to ascend the churchy ard on the one side , and yet very plain on the
other s ide . The name of Tor (as is formerly said,) is used for a high hilllike unto a tower so if I should cal l it Frog -Hill , I cannot b ut think youwould smile ; yet brent, in the ancient British speech, is a frog : or to takeit from brent’s other signification, which is a loud or a shrill voice ; it might
366 e w or DEVON SH I RE . [Boox V
Shilslestor , Herb ertus de Combe was possessed of certain lands . Al so
Rogerus de N orleigh held lands in N orlegh .
N ow, after a long, cold, and tedious journey , it were good to refresh our
selves and take comfort of some good town . These country walks yield
not such occas ion of pleasant di scourses as cities and towns , nor such vari
ety of matter ; without which our journey will b e wearisome .
I f twice or thrice one and the same we bring ,’Tis tedious ; however sweetwe s ing .
Lo ! here at hand is the town of Tavistock Thi s parish with Milton and
Brentor make a little hundred .
W
THE ANT IQU ITY AN D DESCRIPT ION OF TAv rs '
r ocx , AN D THE ABBEY THERE .
Tavistock, an ancient borough, hath denomination from the river a place
in former times of great note and fame , especially in the time of King Ed
g ar . ( I speak of 650 years s ince , when dukes and earls were officers , and
not only hereditary honours .) Then Odogarus , or Orgarus , was Duke of
this Shire of Devon . This duke had one only daughter, (the paragon of
her sex and wonder of nature ,) beauteous Elfrida ; of whose superexcellent
rar ities , both b y nature and education , fame’s lavish report sounded so loud
and larg ely in these western parts , that the echo thereof was heard at KingEdgar
’s court : and the king
’s ears never shut to such rumours , rece ived
this report not without admiration : yet somewhat doubting of the truth
thereof, sent secretly a favourite of his , Ethelwold, Earl of East-An gl ia,
(who was a skilful lapidary and could judge suffi ciently of such jewels , and
was not ignorant of his sovere ign’s diet, ) to see this pearl ; that if she were so
orient as reportmade her , she should b e se ized on for the king’s own wearing .
Thi s jolly young earl posted into Devonshire and guest-wise vis ited the
duke at his court at Tavistock ; but beholding the young lady , he found
fame rather a sparing niggard than a lavish reporter of her excellencies ; and
was instantly so ravished therewith , that he utterly forgot his sovereign’s
commission and wooed for himself : and receiving , perchance, no unkind
answer , returned to the king , to whom he made known that the lady was
only a seemingly woman . and in those remote parts thought fair, but the
court yielded many .3 r her superiors , more worthy by many degrees to b e
his queen e isfsl'
t
CHAP . V .] e w or DEVON SH I RE .367
Edgar mistrusting no such false play of his minion , slightly passed awaythe remembrance of Elfrida, and riveted his affections the surer elsewhereand after this rumour somewhat ceased , the earl petitioned the k ing’s favourin his behalf, that he might obtain the duke’s daughter , only for the ad
vancement of hi s fortune , as likely to b e her father’
s he ir , (though he had a
son then living , as shall b e shown hereafter.) or at least to have a larg e
portion . The king , little thinking of his favourite’s dishonesty, yielded to
his request, and commended him in his letters to the duke , so that he oh
tained his love and lady, and a happy man was he .
But fortune can never stand steady ; for prattling fame could not but b e
prating and reporting again of the excellencie s of this rare parag on, and a
fresh western wind sounded it aloud in the king’s ear that she was , as Sir
Geoffry said,
L ike Phoebus that above the stars doth shine ,It secm
’d that she was made in mould divine .
”
This augmented b y the number of reporters , and every hour iterated and re
iterated in the court, so that there was no talk but of the happy fortune of
Earl E thelwold , in having obtained a lady of so high parentag e , great por
tion , b ut e specially of such admirable beauty , the king began to mistrustsome false play , and being of nature apt to b e inflamed with such sparks ,took fire presently , and could not admit delay s , b ut see her he would ; yet
remembering the hard penance he was enjoined for E lthelfleda the White ,W olfi ied the N un , and some other, he passed it over as he might for a time
as not thought on , until summer was come ; when under pretence of a
hunting journey he comes to Exeter , and invites himself to Tavistock to
hunt in the forest, (and perchance in his private park , ) to the no l ittle jo yof the g ood old duke , and g race of his servant the earl .
But Ethelwold , whom it most concerned, began to meditate upon this
the king’
s progress ; and call ing to m ind how unkindly and unhonestly he
had dealt with him , beg an to mistrust that this journey was only made
for to lay a bait to catch his beloved wife ; and therefore set his wits on
work as well to prevent the king in this as in his former pretence he had
cunningly done . He thinks of many subtle and cunning devices , b ut in fine
made choice of the very worst, for so it proved , and thus it was
He tells his lady that the king hath written him that he intends to visit
368 v i Ew OF DEVON SH IRE . [Boox V .
them which kindness of his sovere ign might, perchance , bring some ill
event, if she with her wisdom did not prevent it, which he desireth her ear
nestly to do ; and she in s implicity of mind , little thinking how the case
stood, religiously promised him ; whereupon he revealed unto her the whole
truth ; how in his employment by the king he had wronged her beauty,dece ived his sovereign , and now endang ered his life if she were not propi
tious unto him and prevent it ; which how to do he beg an to advise her in
this sort : with a long and serious discourse he told her that the most rich dia
mond rough and unpolished, yielded no sparkle ; the gold unpolished, no
lustre nor the sun eclipsed, any beams so beauty and comely features
meanly clad , and not adorned with curious attire and dressing , would b eslightly regarded and not gazed on with a fixed eye therefore to prevent
his wreck , he des ired her, as much as feminine wit could invent, (which is
dull in this , though sharp and quick enough on the other part,) she should
eclipse her rare beauty and obscure the lustre thereof by any means what
soever ; for that the king was apt to b e warmed by a smaller heat than the
beams of her splendent beauty :“and we are commanded (said he) to shun
all occasions of evil whatsoever ; and herein lies my ruin and utter confusi
on , if your wisdom prevent it not : palliate therefore and mask your rarities
under some scarf of carelessness , or some ve il of deformity , from his lavishlooks , soon to b e entang led in such a net ; for the fairest face soon
draws the gaze , and often many attempts and sometime conclusions , tothe clean overthrow of fame , body, and soul .
”And hereof, it is said,
he rehearsed her many examples out of poets and historiographers , and
some out of the divine history ; not concealing the king’s various mutab i
lity in his love ; not long contented e ither with sacred W olfiied, Ethelfleda
the Vi’
hite , nor the Andover Lass ; all which, when his lust was satisfied,he most shamefully repudi ated ; which should b e strong and prevailing mo
tives to all beauteous and virtuous ladies not to value the ir honour at so
base a rate as a long and, perchance , present repentan ce .
“Yet think not, sweet lady” quoth Ethelwold, that thy husband hath
any spark of jeal ousy in him, or mistrust of thy virtuous constancy ; butonly to forewarn thee , being young , that the old hunter is skilful in choice ,and master of skill in venery ; and a difficult matter it will b e to resist hisassaults if he once attempt and so with many other like persuasions , and
a kind kiss , he leaves her ; nothing doubting but he had won his lady to
37 0 e w or DEVONSH IRE . [Boox V .
head he had been transformed to a stone for with such fair obeisance and
seemly sweet grace she rece ived him , that he rather thought her an ang el
than a mortal creature .
“A s fa ir as she that made a husband’s j ar,Raising ’
twixt Greece andTroy a ten years’war.
As Ovid saith .
So di ssembling his violent pass ions with his wonted careless countenancein show , he passed the night as contentedly as a man in his case could ;only the next day he entreated the Earl
’
s company a hunting at W elverly ,
(now called Horswood, or Horewood,) where the earl was slain ; (casually,as some said, with an arrow b ut as others , by the king himself with a j a
velin and shortly after he took the fair E lfr ida to wife , by whom he had
two sons ; Edmund, that lived not long ; and Ethelred, that was (after his
half-brother Edward, surnamed The Martyr,) king and monarch of this
land .
All writers agree of the truth of this history, but differ somewhat in the
orthography of the name : for Pol idore nameth him Horg erius , who had a
son named Ordolph ; who , admon ished by a vis ion from heaven about the
year of our redemption , 96 1 , builded an abbey here in honour of the Blessed
Virg in St . M ary , and St . Rumon replenishing it with Black M onks of the
order of St . Benedict . You shall have the description of it by William of
M almsbury ; which never gave more commendation to this county than it
justly deserved , and that with a sparing n iggardly pen .
Pleasant, saith he , it is in regard of the woods and groves standingso conveniently about it, and for the plenteous fishing there ; for the sewersfrom the river pass ing down along b y the houses of ofii ce which run with
such force of their own , that they carry away with them all the superfiuity
they find . St. Rumou is much spoken of there , who lies as a bishop , with
as great honour as St . Ordolph the ir founder .
There is also to b e seen , saith the same author, in the same abbeythe sepul chre of the Duke Orgarus , before named . And the huge bignessof his son Ordolph
’s tomb is thought to b e a rare thing well worth the view,
for he was a man of mighty stature , giant- like , and of exceeding great
streng th, as who was able to burst in sunder the bars of great gates , and tostride over the river there where it was ten feet broad .
”So much from him .
But this abbey had scarcely stood thirty years after it was finished ere
CHAP . V .l V IEW or DEVON SH IRE .37 1
the cruel Danes , in the ir spoiling rage , rang ing the seas , arrived in themouth of Tamar-water , and sparing neither house nor church, consumed
this monastery to the g round . Yet it again revived and flourished, and bya laudable ordinance lectures were read there of our ancient languag e , ( I
mean the English- Saxon tongue , ) which continued even to our grand
fathers’days ; doubting lest the history, laws , and antiqu ities written in that
language (a thing now almost come to pass , ) should b e e ither forg otten or
not understood . In process of time this abbot, endowed ( by the piouscharity of that ag e ,) with l arge possess ions , (which at the fatal ruin there
of was , bes ides the jurisdiction of the whole hundred, to the value of
£ 902 . 5 s . 7d . ob . qu . and therewith made rich, ) g rew (as most men do ,)proud, that by great gifts he obtained a m itre and was made Baron of Hurdwick and a member of the higher house of parliament ; and in his later time
feared not to contend with Hugh Oldham , Bishop of Exeter ; who dying inthe time of this contestation , was excommunicated, and his executors wereenforced to sue to the court of Rome , to the pope himself, for a release ,
ere he could b e interred .
This borough hath coinage of tin and keeping ofmonthly courts for stan
nary causes , and hath a market much frequented each Friday ,where much
cloth is sold ; and four fairs yearly, on the Feast of St . M ichael , the Epi
phany, the Day of St . M ark , and the Decollation of S t. John . At the
west end of the town there is (as I am informed ,) a hospital erected b y the
ancestors of the Tremayns , in the re ign of King Richard II . , dedicated to
the memory of St. George .
In this parish stands to which the family of Fitz , of respected
estimation , gave the ad Ford . They lived long there in great re
putation ; b ut the male l ine ended in these our days in a most unfortunate
g entleman , S ir, John ; whose sole daughter and he ir was , according to her
worth, highly married into honourable houses : first, to Sir Al an Percy,sixth son to Henry , Earl of Northumberland, who died sans issue ; secondly ,
to Thomas , son and heir apparent to Thomas , Lord Darcy of Chiche , now
Viscount Colchester, who died also without issue ; thirdly, to Sir Charles
Howard, fourth son of Thomas , Earl of Suffolk, by whom she had two
daughters , Elizabeth and M ary , and one son who died without issue and
now, fourthly, to Sir Richard G renv ile , g randchild to that famous martialist,S ir Richard Grenv ile , knight, b y whom she hath fair issue , which she cast
37 9 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . (Boox V .
off refusing to own them . Sir John married Courtenay : his father, Syden
ham his grandfather, Grenvile . This lady Grenv il e before her death set
tled Fitzford on the honourable Sir Will iam Courtenay of Powderham Castle ; and it is now the habitation of hi s second son .
Here is al so a family deserving a due remembrance , Sir Fran cis Glanvile ,knight, whose father was a learned lawyer, very well
called to the degree of a sergeant . At this call there were two more of
this county in all three ; Drew ,A
Glanvile , and Harris . Of Whom I re
member in my youth I Spoken : one
gained as much as the other two one spent as much as the other two ; and
one gave as much as the other two : but how to distingu ish them and g ive
every one of them his right herein I freely and truly confess it Surpasseth
my knowledge .
Herb ertus de Combe held lands here in Shytelescomb ofW ido de Britevile . All these lands in Tavistock were g iven , at the suppression , unto
John Lord Russell , Lord Privy Seal ; after, Earl of Bedford, Lord Lieute
nant of this County and City of Exeter .
CHAPTER VI .
Of the p rogress of the Tamar to the town of P lymouth by Buckland, Beer ,Tamerton, &c.
W E have at length cleared us of this good town , whose good entertainment retained us longer than ordinary ; we shall therefore make the more
speed and pass with the river even below Harowbrgg e , where we encountera rill that comes from our continual which after it hath
left, or rather which passeth by ,
Whitechurch, a colour so called as be ing , perchance , all whited throughout vVit
’
Hl’fih? Here Rob ertus de Dynant held land in the time of EdwardI . ; after , Giffard and in Henry IV .
’s ag e William Were ; who granted
lan ds unto John Knith under hi s seal circumscribed with his name , Sig illum W illielmiWere .
37 4 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK V .
chester ; and Blunt, Lord Mountjoy . In the issue of the last of them it
continues in this age .
In this parish is Ley , the ancient inheritance of the dignous family of
Ley ; whence it may b e they took name , at least the first degree of honour :
for hereof Sir James Ley , knight , attorney of the court of wards , lord chief
justice , lord high treasurer of England , was made Baron Ley , of Ley and
after, by our sovereign , created Earl of M arlborough . A law-giver in the
chiefes t seat of justice , and a careful preserver of reverend antiquity whose
noble thoughts were so grounded 0 1 1 virtue , and his discourses so aecom
panied with Wisdom , and his doom with integrity , that his words never bite ,nor his deeds wrong any man , to g ive him just cause to complain .
as of his s ite upon the r iver and foliot of hi s
ancient inhabitant Fplpat . Gorges had it b y the g eneral he ir , aiid”
o from
and b y Bonv ile to Copleston . In thisW parish lyethWarlegh.
W e are to passm ocsheadm
Or Butshead , and nc
r_1_pwSt . Budeaux . A
generous family of thea
EE’
aa’
rh’
E—N
&Tfihfit’
fi'
fi possessed itmm hereof
Thomas was sheriff 26th Henry VI . N ow enjoyed by Gorges , by a daugh
ter of the house . The parish church stood sometime in an unhealthyvalley , or damp , near the sea, in the remotest part of the whole parish ; which
Robert Budocshead, esq . , removed , or rather erected another new, in a
much more salubrious convenient place , at his own proper cost, in a higher
and pleasanter ground ; Where in his . own daughter took the first posses s ion .
Here dwelt Warwick , whose sole daughter and heir was married to S irJohn Hele , sergeant
- at- law . So his eldest son, Sir Warwick Hele, borethe name of both houses .
Eggebuckland, Eke , or Ekisb ockland . Here Gifford was seized of land
m dm figfi Tl dfm am ford at the sea’
s ebb , ) dwell ed Richard
W hytlegh, alias W itelegh sheriff of this county 9th Edward III . The
two he irs are married to Grenvile and Halse . The last whereof possesses
this place by the name of Halse of Efi’
ord . [The last of the name alienated
it from his uncle’
s issue male , and settled it on his s isters ; one of which
hath brought it to Trelawny her husband, a younger brother of S ir Jona
than , Lord Bishop Of Exeter , who is a colonel of foot, under King W il
liam , in Flanders , and inhabits here . )The hamlets of Colridg e and Langham in this parish make a tithing , the
inheritance of Carew of Haccomb ; and N icholas Le Bastard held lands here.
CHA P . VI .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .3 7 5
Byckl ey , alias Buckley , is not to b e neg lected , although we had almost‘W
TW Ab b ot of Buckland held it, tog ether with Bucklandand Walkhampton , in the re ign of Edward I II . In King Edward L
'
s
time I read of Sir Will iam and Sir John Bicklegh ; b ut whether of thisplace , or of Bicklegh b y Tiverton , or of both, I say not .
Stoke -Damerel , of the possessor . Henry I . enriched that family b y g ivingm a
i
ds in this county to G alfridus de Alb amara . John Damerle was sheriff here 48th Edward 1 1 1 . And by a match it came to the
ancestor of S ir Thomas Wise , who hath buil t there a fair house , naming itM ount Wise .
On the Cornish s ide we pass Saltash, Villa de Esse , E ssas - town ; takinghis saltness from his near neig
(
shm
tlfie ruified castle of
Tremington . What time hath left standing is as thick and strongly tapestried with ivy
- leaves , as ever it was in the duke’
s time with arras : this
being one of the four palaces .
W e will take a s ight of some places on the west side of the river b alppg“M u e M W -vy m v m m ”w ”
ing unto us,and only name them to continue the regl posses sion of them,
M ilbrook , a little villag e that furnisheth the royal navy with as many
goodfi afihers as any of that quantity . Inswork, a demi - island , in the”m
neck where of standeth an ancient house of mampernoun . ( By the he ir of
Ralph de Vall etorta , or Vawtor, which descended to the three he irs he hadby the daughter and coheir of Sir Humphrey Talbot ; and they therewithenriched the three much esteemed house s of Forte scue , M unk , and Sydenham .) [ It should b e Trevilian ]M aker, to which is added M eavy as sometime possessor thereof. The
promontory of this land is called Ramehead , for the proportion which com
municated both names , and the same also for armories to a notable familythat long time enjoyed it . From that to Valletort, then Grant, after Durn
ford, and now to Edg comb e , a knightly family , who hath builded there a
very fair house for s ite , most pleasant ; for air , healthy ; for prospect, excellent, for it overlooks St . Nicholas Island ,
Plymouth, Saltash, M ilb rook ,Stonehouse , &c . : and as it feeds the eye with variety of delightful obj ects ,with much pleasure and recreation , so hath it rich means to do the like tothe stomach to satisfaction’s contentment ; and so report saith it doth . This
37 6 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V
structure he named M ount Edgcomb e . The now possessor married both
Cary and Cothele his father, Lutterel ; his predecessor, Tregian .
He possesseth also Stonehouse between which there is an ordinary ferrycalled Crimwell-passag e ; fearful , though not very dangerous in
32351937”
weather .
m m “ m m " M
”
Thi s have I passed over these transmarine places briefly, only for a re
membrah'
c'
é'
that
forme’d by a far more judicious and learned pen in the Survey of Cornwall .
CHAPTER VII .
Of P lymouth : and therein (f S ir Francis Drake and S ir John Hawkins .
AN D now are we ready to enter the fair town of Plymouth, at the most
south-west lip of this province . Here Tamar , in finishing his course , is to
pay his tribute , and emptyeth himself into the ocean ;
'
and coming fromHartland, hath measured the breadth of this country , and finds it by directline and our ancient computation 35 mile s at the least ; but b y the new
measure , more ; and to follow him in his pleasant vagaries , e ither for hisown ease or the country
’s profit, he hath doubled the measure now will we
cast anchor and take a View of this famous haven .
THE NAME , S ITUAT ION , AN D DE SCRI P T ION OF PLYMO UTH .
This so much renowned town is s ituated in the most south-west part of
this province ; which by the river Tamar on the west, and Plym (of whom
it borroweth name , ) on the east, is demi- insulated . But concerning the
name , while the West Saxon Kingdom kept his state , this haven was calledO stium Tamaris , Tamar-mouth, or Tamar-worth as you may read in the
life of St . l ndractus . And in this river’s commendation A lexander N echam
thus v ersified
Leogriae Tamaris divisor Cornub iaeque ,Indigenas ditat pinguib us I siciis .
”
3 7 8 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V .
men in the”
l ast insurrection . In the latter days of Queen Elizabeth it wasbetter fortified with a strong citadel or castle, bu ilt upon the Haw, (so theycall the hill that overtops the town , being a delightful Wm pleasantplace of recreation and prospect,) which, with the town forces , is held a
sufli cient protection and defence ag ainst all foreign invasions whatsoever .
Fishing is a very commodious employment for many of this town ,both
at home on their own coasts , where they take sufficient to ease the price of
victuals in the ir market, and send , b y divers called jouters , into the inland
countries with a profitable return ; as also in foreign parts as this country
doth in general ; Whereby our country wants are sufficiently supplied, and
the town hath provision to entertain and furnish the wants of such of our
country or fore ign friends that arrive here ; where you may very often
number a hundred sail sometimes , often double the number ; and the royal
navy hath been received here and suppl ied many times .
Two weekly markets it has , M ondays and Fridays . The streets are
fairly paved and kept clean and sweet, much refreshed by the fresh stream
running through it pl
oefi ofi’
ffié“
Heart“
is‘
sete‘
rfi snes: circling through hills ,dales , and waste bog s , but with greatest labour and cost through a mightyrock g enerally supposed imposs ible to b e pierced, at least thirty : but in
this his undaunted spirit and bounty (like another Hannibal making waythrough the unpassable alps ,) had soon the Victory , and finished it to thegreat and continual commodity of the town and his own commendation .
But to leave a remembrance of this famous hero only for conveyance of
water (which hath so much ennobled his native soil , and not that alone but
the whole kingdom,) were an high ingratitude being to al l navigators (asthe wise man sayeth in the 5oth chap . of the son of On ias , ) as the morning
s tar in a cloud, and as the moon when it is full , or as a fai r cypress tree that
g roweth up to the clouds , or a fair olive tree full of fruit . Al l his first actions and navig ations we will pass over with the only recital , asHis prosperous expedition with Capt . Carlile into the West Indies , 1 5 85 ,
CHA P . VIL] V IEW O F DEVON SH IRE .37 9
in which, to set as ide the surprising of S t . Jago and Sant Domingo in His
paniola , as sudden attempts ; yet the taking Carthagena (where the Spani
ards had notice of his com ing ,) was one of the most valourous , adventurous ,and dang erous services and victories that can b e remembered .
Also , 1 5 87 , when in an expedition al l along the sea coasts , with a small
flee t he braved the Spaniards , and took , sunk , and fired tons at least
of the ir shipping even under the Shelter and safety of their forts , and in the
sight of the ir great admiral , the M arqui s de Sancta Cruce . This , in a sol~
dier’s style . he termed the sing ing the King of Spain’s heard .
The sea-fight ag ainst that invincible (so termed ) Armada ; the only mi
raculous victory of that ag e . Then the Portugal voyage . Leaving these ,I say, let us speak somewhat of his circumnavigation of the whole g lobe ;for having God for his guide , wisdom , skill , and valour for his associates ,and fortune attendant, he was the second that circumpassed the earthly
orb in less than three years whereof one made these verses
Drake peragrati novit quem terminus orbis,
Quemque seme l mundi vidit uterque polus ;S i taceant homines , facient te s idera notum,
Sol nescit comitis immemor esse sui .”
S ir Drake, whom both ends of the world knew,
Which he did compass round,And both the poles of heave n did view,
Which north and south do bound.
The stars in skywill spread thy fame
I f men here silentwere ;The sun cannot forge t the name
Of his fellow-traveller.
His worthy companion , both in life and death, may here justly challeng e a far
more excellent commemoration , for his noble attempts and famous adv en
tures and actions , than I can poss ibly yield him I mean S ir John Hawk ins ,knight : another glori ous native of this country . His first voyag e to the
We st Indies , 1 5 6 1 his second to Nova Span ia in America , and Guinea in
Africa , 1 5 64 ; ag ain another , 1 5 67 , when b e relieved the distres sed Frenchmen ; his service 1 5 88 ; his last action with Sir Francis Drake : all these I
have winded up in a clew , which, were they enlarg ed b y a learned pen , or
pencilled in some fair table , together with the magnanimous attempt of his
3 80 V I Ew OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V .
dignous son , S ir Richard Hawkins , kn ight, would fi ll a large volume . To
these , had fortune been so propitious as the ir skill , Virtue , and valour were
em inent, they might have paralleled the most choice heroes of many former
ages .
W hy should I pass any well - deserving inhabitant of this town , especiallyM r . John O xnam ; who by the report of an enemy, Lopez , a Spaniard, ad
ventured to do that no man durst do before him . Going over the land
from Nombre de Dios to Panama was once possessed of pound we ight
of g old and of s ilver, and had not his company wrangled with him
might have brought it home , and much more ; b ut variance overthrew his
voyag e with the loss of all their lives 1 5 75 .
It shoul d seem that the virtue of fortitude and valour was predom inant
here in that ag e , for it shows many rich coins of her stamp ; but now many
would b e thought to wear her livery , yet do but little service .
M any other , in former and these ages , of worthy merit for the ir stout
and hardy adventures , both by sea and land , might justly require to b e herereg istered, as my desire was they Should ; but envious fates have deniedtheir memory to perpetuate , or to have l ived b y any former pen ; ne ithercan I procure , by my best endeavour, knowledge of their names , to haveentered them in this brief catalogue ; and therefore must rest in obl ivionfor I am of Horace’s Opinion when he saith ,
Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona Urgentur, ignotique longa
Multi,sed omnes illachrimab iles Nocte , carent quia vate sacro .
Many for valour merited great fame
E re Agamemnon, yet lie obscure in grave ,In dark obl ivion ; nor honour we the ir name ,
For that no verse of poet they could have .
In deep cog itation hereof I contemplate and seem to see divers noblecaptains , and many others well deserving of their country in other virtuous
qualities , and to hear them expostulate with the poets and historiographersof their time , as the Neoteric Poet did when he wrote of the like in thesewords ,
W hom do I see out of the dark cloud appearCover
’d almost wi th clouds as with the night,
That here present themwith a martial cheer,Se eming of dreadful yet of lovely sight ?
382 VIEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V
King and Queen of Spain , to b e married to Prince Arthur, son and heir ap
parent to King Henry VI I . , 1 50 1 .
Hence the Right Noble Georg e , Earl of Cumberland, set forth for many
voyages to the Indies . Hence Robert the famous Earl of E ssex and the
H igh Admiral of worthy memory, Charles , .Lord Howard, of Efi’
ingham ,
set forth for Cadiz-Action , which for quick expedition might b e comparedto a flash of lightning , and they might have said with Caesar, veni, vidi,Viei ; for in fourteen hours the Spanish navy was taken or destroyed, and
the city Of Cadiz won , 2 1 st June , 1 596 .
The two famous generals , Norris and Drake , and in the ir company theRight Hon . Earl of E ssex , went out of this harbour to re - establish DonAntonio in his kingdom of Portugal , when he was dispossessed by Philip ,King of Spain , 1 5 89 .
Al so that potent man at sea, Sir Francis Drake , set forth from this portin all his great actions . The like did Sir John Hawkins his father, W il
liam ; and hi s son , S ir Richard .
The Earl of Essex , his island action ; Capt . Carlile , S ir M artin Forb isher,Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sir Richard G renvile made all their voyages from
this haven .
Be patient, I beseech you , I am in a labyrinth, where I find many ways
to proceed but not one to come forth and do not marvel , I was never in
the town until this present and I find it incorporated, first by King HenryVI . , in the 20th year of his reign , 1 44 1 , by the name of a mayor, who is
yearly chosen on St . Lambert’s Day ( 1 7th Sep .) b y the four-and- twenty, outm; .fl i -r . h as “cw : ” W W W
ofwhich number arem
t’
he tw'
eve senators elected, who are commonly with him
everyM onday at his courts : during his mayoralty he is a justice of peace and
attended with three sergeants . In a word, I think it
Epglap d for worth every way : yea , it is so estee
by a few slender
their own ; for , say they, thé’l
éustom for that c
me‘i
'
éliandize £213”
sea~
affair’
s~
;“
alsO‘
tliat
wholly appertain to Cornwall , and ther
But it is apparent by the—
bounds of KingTamar
- r
they none of our S 1de . For the customs , the Prmce , as he 1 s Duke of
Cornwall , may as well have his customs at his b aronv of Bradninch, or else
CHA P . VIII .] V IEw OF DEVON SH I RE .383
where , as at Plymouth, if him please ; also all the ir subsidies , fifteenths ,taxes , and payments are rated and collected by the Officers of Devon . It is
held also by their charter as within this county ; and they appear at the as
s iz es held at the castle of Exeter for this province and their clergy do an
swer before the Archdeacon of Totnes when he Vis its .
W e may not forget the delightful place called the Hoe ; a high hill
standing between the town and the sea , a very delig'
fi’
t'
fiil pléfé’
éYOr pros‘mfi n N -o u w ann u i fi ifl a—fl
p ect and—
p ieasant recreat1On , Where'
on there is an exceeding fa1 r"
compass
" m m —F M' CW
le isure In walking , bowling, and other pleasant pastimes?inthe s ide where‘P‘ , M‘
u‘
of IS cut out thé‘p’
drtraiture Of two menof the largest volume , yet the one
surpassing the other every way ; each having a club 1n his hand these they
name to b e Corinaeus and Gogmagog : intimating the wrestl ing to b e herebetween these two champions and the steep rocky cliff affording fit aptitude for such a cast . But this , of some , is supposed to b e done at Dover
Castle , and not here . Far b e it from me to b e a relator of either’
s pretended right, much less a pleader for e ither, but most unfit to b e an umpire insuch differences ; for both by divers persons may b e true , or e ither or nei
ther, for any thing I find in authentical authors . But these pictures are
here continually renewed by the townsmen , as I am informed .
I am now in a manner g one hence , b ut that I remember there is a fa irlarg e spacious church, which sometime a
ppertained to the Priory of P5555.
tonm par'
sonfi ere , and had al sOa vicar endowed herein . But s incethe
—di ssolution of the priory the town hath purchased it , which they bestow
upon the vicar, preacher, and other pious uses .
CHAPTER VIII .
Of the p rogress (f the R iver P lgm, and its issue as P lymp ton, P lymstock, &c.
HERE meets us the rivu m , and j oining with our river Tamar without
any contention f0 1 superiority : they are both droWiied"
i’
nw
the ocean . Butw b '
g
now In regard Plym had the pre1 ogative to name this fair town, It were good
384 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [Boox V .
we went to search for his orig inal for without peradventure we may meet
with some more of his adopted children in our way to whom he hath also
imparted name .
W e hear news of him first at Walkhampton ; which I take to b e that
Walthams town which the Abbot ofBantamheld in the time of Edward II .
He leaves on the right hand Meavy church, in whi ch, and m Good-a-M eaW ‘
vy and H igh M eavy , Richard de M evy , in the time of Henryfi f had“
a1r
possesswii’
s now in thehands of Strode , of whom élsewherfi W W ”
Ori th e left s ide is Shepsto (1 , who
married Gale , Copleston, and : hi s father, Crocker .
Then Shave , or Shaugh, held sometime b y Cirencester, as also by the
Prior of Plfmmh’
. There in l s Ley, the inheritance of the generous tribe of
Slannm is g entlemanmatched with Champernon ; his father, M aynard ;
next before Harestone .
Here Cornwood sends us a benevolence by a pretty brook, the rectorywhereof b é
’
lm
nged to the Cathedral Church of Exeter . Within it stands
Slade , inhabited by a worshipful race of long continuance of the Coles
S irW illiam Cole , knight, in the time of Edward I . ; and Philip Cole , esqhigh sheriff of this county 8th Henry IV . ; Richard, the last of this house ,bu ilt very fairly , and marrying with Boscoyne died without issue . His fa
ther marriedWilliams ; and his g randfather , Champernoun . Church-town ,
or Cornwood manor, was al ienated to Belman , (transplanted out of West
morland, and lived here at Slade , ) and by his son to Hele . Here is al so
Fardell and Lutton .
*
W e are now come to the prime -named issue of our river
capital seat of the barony of Rivers ; for to Richard, the Son of Bal dwin ,
Henry I . gave this lordship and for distinction sake from his Sister Plympton -M ary, hath the adjunct of M aurice . Before the conquest the kings of
thi s land erected here a castle , and many gentlemen held thereof, clientali
jure , bound to defend and repair the turrets of the wall s from time to timeas occasion required . The Rivers held it eight descents success ively ; and
after them the Courtenays ; and now hi s cohe irs . But it hath so long
wrestled with age that it is hardly able to hold up any long er ; whose deformed ruin s inform us of our weakness and uncertain estate here , and may
give us good admoni tion to reform our lives ; for
i f A Chapel was l icensed at Farde ll by Bishop Lacy for E li zabeth, the rel ict of JohnRalegh, on l 0thAugust, l 432 .
- G . O - P .J .
386 V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK V .
sons SO he hathmatched them as richly with great choices two to baro
nets , three to knights , and two to esquires not much inferior in estates .
He marri ed first, Southcot ; secondly, G lanvile : his father, in the house
of the Lord Cromwell b y a s ister of the Duke of Somerset : his son , Strode
and Erle .
At Saltern 1 s wated rJ ames Bag , knight ; and at Chi dleworth, Snelm m “ .u i -m W
ling , who married Hele .
At Underwood, on M idsummer day, is a great fair , but the benefit comesto the mayoral ty of Plympton M aurice . The tithing of Heneve
rdon was
held by one of the samm fi nd after b y William de Heme? “
Next with the riverwe v is it another near of the name , Plympstock, whichderives its name from the river al so , and was appertaininW he Abbey of
Tavistock ; and how it was gotten remains yet, by tradi tion , this tal eThere was one named Childe , of this place , a man of fair possessions ,
who , having no issue , ordainfi
éii b y his testament that at what place soeverhe was interred, that church shoul d inherit hi s land . It fortuned that ri
ding forth a hunting in a cold season , in the forest, he casually strayed from
his company, and having also lost his way , in long seeking of both he was
so benumbed at length with the cold that he was forced to kill hi s horse
aud embowel him and creep into his belly , b ut that could not preserve himfrozen he was to death, and found dead by the men of Tavistock ; who, withall convenient Speed , carr ied him to b e buried in the abbey ; whi ch was nots o privily done but the inhabitants of his own parish of Plympstock had ln
tellig ence thereof, an d so mustered their best strength to prevent the other,and came with a great multitude to the passag e of the river , whi ch of
“
ne
cessity the Tavistock men must pass , or no where , as they thought, and
there waited but they were dece ived b y a feat of guile , for Tav istock inha
b itants builded presently a slight bridge over the river, and so without trou
b le buried the corpse and had the land ; and in remembrance of this guile ,the bridge , even to this age , is call ed Guile -Bridge . This land is now the
Earl of Bedford’s .
Radford , al ias Redford , which taking name from the colour of the soil ,is as if yOu should Say , a passage over a red earth ; whi ch is neither newnor strange , as hath been formerly expressed . Of this place was W alterus
dfi adford, in the time of King John : now in the possession of fill-Taff
crent and notable family of Harris ; which tribe is spread into divers fairbranches . The last of this house, S ir Christopher, married first, Arscot
CHA P . VIII .1 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE .387
secondly, Sydenham ; and thirdly, Southcot ;‘yet died sans issue ; leaving
his estate , as by right of inheritance , to his sister’s son , married in the same
tribe and name , Harris , of Larest in Cornwall . Her son married the
daughter and he ir of Hert : his son , the cohe ir of Johnson .
Stottescomb e tithing , which Britt was lord of, is now possessed by Wise .
Near hereunto is a family of Bartlet, alias Barkeley .
Then are we in View of Wembury , which appertained to the Priory of
Plympton but at the dissolutl’
O'
H-
imi
aiq
flfl
r
’
gto the illustrious name ofVVryothes
ley , Earl of Southampton ; and from him purchased by Sir John Hele ,knight, sergeant- at- law ; who added much to the fame and honour of thisplace , for of an Old house he newly built a noble mans ion ; for receipt, spaci
ous ; for cost, sumptuous ; for site , salubrious and for Show , right beautiful .It is seated upon somewhat a high ground, so that the houses of office are
all under it, having a fair, large , and delightsome prospect both to land and
sea . But leaving all other commodities at the strand under it, he made a
fair , large , and profitable pond , with a mighty strong stone wall, and a verysub stantial gate to enclose it, which at every flood Opens Of itself, when thetide , at its coming in , bringeth with it all kinds of fish, as bass , mullet,
plaice , and such like ; and when the tide returns , the eb b Shutteth the gateag ain , and the fi sh is reserved and retained for the more bountiful provi
s ion of the house .
This pleasant and profitable work would justly require a more ample des
cription , b ut that the l ike is to b e found most elegantly done in Carew’s
Survey of Cornwall , to which I refer him that desires to b e better iilfd'
fifled
ofM eaty of this device . S ir John married the he ir of Warwick
so his son , S ir Warwick , bore the name of both houses , with Courtenay ;sans Issue : his second brother , S ir Francis , with Rogers .
Here also is the family ofworshipful respect of Calmady . S ir Shilston Cal
mady married Copleston and Fortescue ; his fa‘tfih‘f’
f the daughter and heir
of a young er bran ch of the house of Courtenay of Powderham ; her grand
mother was the.
heir of Shil ston , so he continueth the name also of both fa
milies ; and their dwelling is at Shil ston , in the same parish .
Poslinch is not far remoted which being the inheritance of William
M ohun , his issue female enriched therewith Upton , who now possesseth it .
He married Wray : his father, Kirkham : and before him Bellew .
388 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V
CHAPTER IX .
The origin andprogress of the River Yealm, his issue and neighbours ,
FROM the mouth of this fair haven Where the south shore of the region
b eginneth, the country runs along wi th a large front to the promontory or
cape of Stert in Latin , cauda ; in Dutch, a tail ; and so the English-Saxon
word s ign ifies . But ere we come to the other famous haven of Dartmouth,
many rivers , which empty themselves into the sea, will b e in'
our Vl eW
the first of them is
Alme , or Yealm, which falls out at Yealm mouth, whose spring we cannotfind
' l
iifiiessf we seek him in Darmoofi hmws himself no n iggard to
supply these south parts with his water , but doeth it bountifully . This ri
ver passeth a long way through fenny , moorish, and coarse land, until it
come near Cornwood, and then glides through and waters a far richer soil .In this parish (which I had almost forgotten ,) is Fardel , that long continuedthe inheritance of Ralegh . John , of that family , married the daughter of
Roger Damory , Baron of Fermoy in Ireland ; whose wife was daughter toGilbert de Clare , Earl of Gloster . N OW is planted here a branch of Hele .
Near unto the banks of this river stands Lyn eham , with his little park ,long possessed b y the worthy name of Crock
’
gfw
One of them serv ed va
liantly m the time of Henry VI I . against Perkina mValiarqbeck a counterfe it ,
stiled Plantag enet, as being the second son Of King Edward IV . by the
Duchess of Burgundy, which be ing a daughter of the House of York , was anirreconcileab le enemy of the House of Lancaster . An other , if not the same ,
was Sheriff of this county 2nd Henry VIII . This married Champem oun
his father , the daughter and he ir of Bonvile : the grandsire , Servington’s
coheir . [His son , the daughter of Sir John and s ister of Sir Courtenay Pole ,of Shute , baronets : his son , Courtenay Crocker, esq . , one of the daughtersand cohe irs of Richard Hillerson of M emb land, unto whom she left issue ,a daughter It stands ln Yeahfl p fl
on , and was the land of Ralph Mount
Hermer , or de M onte Hermen l .
At Bowdon spring s a branch of Copleston : this married Davy : his fa
390 V IEW O F DEVON SH IRE . [ BOOK V .
he , or his son Robert, was created , for hi s good service , Earl Ferrers , and hisposterity afterward Earls Of Derby . You shall have his epiW
‘found in the
Abbey Of Tutbury y oumay chan ce to find more sense therein than I can
Hic jacet Henricus de Ferrarns comes, hujusE ccles ie fundator, imago nomine cujusAnnomilleno Domini quater atque vicenoTutb urieque novo domus est fundata patrono.
They bare both one thing in charge of the ir arms , but differing both innumber and colour ; for the earl bare d’argent six ferres de cheval de
sable ; and this knight, d’or sur le bend de sable trois ferres de cheval d’ar
g ent . They gave the ir name , in addition to divers places ; as thi s , Beer
Ferrers , Churchton -Ferrers , and others .
Here is another branch of the fruitful race of Hele . He married
his father, Fortescue : his grandsire , the he ir of Cole .
CHAPTER X .
The River Arme, (E rme) and the p rogress thererf .
HAV IN G ended with Alme , next we meet with Arme at Armouth, where he
mptieth himself ; to fin whose orig inal wemust retire to Dartmoor ; which
forest, out Of hi s larg e and fruitful womb , furnisheth both north and south
with rivers and this our river , though in hi s small beginning he b e lodged
in a barren soil , such as will not yield to b e improved by the husbandman’s
best endeavour, until he come to
Harford ; whi ch having passed with a soft current, he taketh great plea
surefi hold the fertility of the soil , the richest of thi s province , which
for its fru itful glebe and luxurity thereof is distingui shed from the other
parts b y the name of the South-Hams . Of which word itself I can gather
little reason that it shoul d intend a superiority of signifying more profitable ,
yet it glorieth in that name , as being super-eminent and surpassing the re
sidue Of the soil .
Harford, al ias Stoford, was , in elder times the lands of Peverel ; then of
CHA P . X.] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .39 1
Cole and Wood of Haston : in these days of Will iams at Stoford : one or
which family ,Thomas , for his wisdom and sufficiency in divers matters was
chosen speaker of the parl iament, 1 5 63 , in the reign of Queen Elizabeth .
Thi s g entleman married Edg comb his father, Drew his grandfather, the
coheir of Cruse : his son , Speccot . [The heir in direct line failing , it fell to
a kinsman , b y profession a weaver , who married Powel of Fowels-Combe
his son Thomas , Drake of Ivybridge , (a younger branch of Buckland House , )by whom he left issue , a hopeful young gentleman aged
Here he is crowned with a bridge named Ivy-bridge whi ch that it takes
denomination Of that creeping tapestry is totallyw
c
i
gvered, I
cannot aver, biif it“
isveryprobat e ?“
JOiii iIigWl ieireuntOlatelyWas
-
the seat
of thg only house Of the Bonv iles . Near unto this atWoodland, Berrel , or Burel , inhabited : to both which names I find one
s ingle coat belonging : it stands in Holberton church, subscribed Thomas
Burell and in St . Peter’s of E xeter by the name of Woodland . I may
conjecture that Woodland possessing the place first, Burell marrying his
daughter and enjoying his seat might also , for want Of another, wear his
old coat also .
W e are come to the fruitful glebe Of n , the fi rst-beg otten of our
r iver ; whose name he hath no s Imparte'
th it to the hun
dred, which containeth twelve parishes ; whereof the Peverels sometime ,
now Rouse . is lord, and of the manor . This land is naturally fruitful , but
much improved by the multitude of g ood sand , with smal l charge , brought
from the river’
s month . Within it isEdmerston , commonly Empston , whereof a tribe of that name took his
orig inal denomination , and held it long time , until the he ir femal e Of Thou
mas married to William le Rouse (the red, ) possessed him and his posteritytherewith .
Strechley takes place in this parish, long possessed by the self- same nam
e d ancient fam ily , even to our days ; when Chris tian , the sole daughter and
he ir OfWilliam, enriched therewith an d advanced herself b y matching withthe dignous family of Chudlegh ; in which name it flourisheth . In some
part Of this manor, 1 625 , there fell from above ( I cannot say from heaven , )a stone Of twenty- three pounds weight, with a great and fearful noise in
falling : first it was heard like unto thunder, or rather to b e thought the
report of some great ordnance , cannon , or culverin ; and as it descended. so
392 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V .
(lid the noise lessen, at last , when it came to the earth, to the height Of the
report Of a peternel or pistol . It was , for matter , like a stone s inged, or
half burnt for lime but be ing larger described by a richer wit, I will for
bear to enlarg e on it . Here stands also
Preston , (as one saith, n ine priests -town ,) or, as I think , Pruzton : for I
find that John Fortescue , Of W imston , married the daughter and he ir of
that family and that worthy and numerous name inherits this place to this
day .
Langford Leyse , or Le stre , is a tithing in this parish I think in Ub
row. The manor was held by Moelis , and after by Abbot ; and now, by
one of his coheirs to William Risdon, esq .
There borders on it Fleet, anciently written Pluit, with the addition Of
Damerel ; taken from the’
ilIustrious fam ily of Alb amara; who lived here in
the time Of Richard Sir John Damerel, kn ight, was sheriff 48th Edward II I . This seat hath, according to the variable viciss itude Of time ,changed many possessors ; but now inhabited by Hele , of whom I spoke inHolberton , in which parish this house stands .
W e are now arrived at Modbury, written in the Saxon time M ortb erry .
If we shall speak e ither of'
rriiiliiplicity of ancient famil ies , or fertility Of soil ,it yields to no one place of this shire . It hath been distinguished intoGreat and Little M odbury .
Of the first we find most anciently Sir John de Okeston , who lived in the
time of King John ; to whom succeeded Sir Alexander and Sir James ; two
worthy knights , and both martial men . It now acknowledg eth itself to ap
pertain to the clarous family Of Champernon : in old evidences , de Campo
Arnulphi , vulgarly , Champernon . Some while s ince I remember there was
showed me a deed, wherein one of the name gave himself these attributes—Ego Richardus de Campo Amulphi Rex Romanorum semper Augu stus .
At that time I slighted it,* which makes me ignorant Of the reason of this so
high a style , which he that desires to know, may as soon find as myself.
The name was famous , and divers worthy men , and very numerous, in for
mer ag es transplanted into divers places , as here , Umb erlegh, Beer-Ferrers ,Bigbury , Insworth, Tawton , Ilfracombe , and Dartington . The now pos
On this Dean Lyttleton observes, “Whatever his reason was, he acted wisely insl ighting a Deed with such preface .
”- G . O .,
-P .—J .
394 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V
They should have spoken English, but they are so tart I could not translate
them .
In this parish dwelleth, or lately did, the only remainder Of the honoura
b le name of Challons ; very highly descended as deriving themselves from
the great Earl of Chal lons , whose eldest son was Earl Of St. Cyr ; his second,Prince of Orange ; and the third came into these parts , when b e matched
very richly and flourished long . One of them was on the subsidy book inthe time of King Henry VI . , anno 1 4 , but the femal e heirs weakenedit much . The last in our time was Henry Challons ; who having made
three voyages for discovery of the north parts of Virgin ia and plantation of
N ew England , in the fourth was most unfortunately taken , and most in
humanly treated by the Spaniards related by John Stoneman , pilot in the
ship , an inhabitant of Plymouth .
At Yearnacombe is the seat Of Hart, anciently written De la Hurte ; towhi ch his armories allude . The first I find was Vincent Le Hurte , the nowpossessor, married Trobridge his father, Bremel his grandsire , Fortescue .
Next neighbour unto it is the rich demesnes of Shilston ; in elder timespossessed by a race of that name ; after, a long whil e , by H ill . Yet I findin the time of Edward I . Sir John Ai shl egh of Shilston and before him , in
the time of Henry III . , Sir Richard Bauzan : but now lately alienated to Sa
vary . Of some Of these I shall have occasion to speak in another place ;only I will speak of H ill , that I find him at 1 2056 . in the subs idy book , anno
1 4 , Henry VI .Orcharton , as you woul d say Orchards-town , whose , sometime , (as they
say,) it was : but in the t ime Of H enry II I 1 269 , I find Sir RogerPrideaux de Orcharton which name continued there long in knightly de
gree . But the place now is passed to another tribe , and thi s name settled
elsewhere in sundry places , in degree of knight, baronet ; Of which in the ir
places .
It were blameworthy to leave W impston , alias W ymondsham, whi ch hath
bred so many worthy personages unrememb ered . W impston , the first seatof the clarous name of Fortescue in this kingdom . (Whi ch name , saith M r .
Hollenshed , is deduced from the strength of their shield, whereof it tookname ; as if you would say (that I might explain it,) forte scutum, salus du
cum, his posy . There have been many famous and excellent men of thisstirpe , both in arms and s eat Of justice , and s
e parated into divers places in
CHAP . X.] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 395
this county and elsewhere . In most Of them they flourish in this age ; asL.
Wear-Giffard , Fillegh,Buckland-Fill egh , Fal lopit, Wood , Spurleston ,
Pre s
ton , and other ; to rank which in their seniority , and by delineating the descent, to give every man his due place , surpasseth, I freely confess , my ab i
lity at the present I will therefore only make choice of a few, selected of
a far greater troop , which I have found most illustrious . S ir Henry Fortescue , knight ; a worthy and fortunate commander under that terror of
Fran ce and'
mirror Of martialists , King Henry V . , by whom he was made
Governor of the great city of Meaux in Berry . Then another Sir Henry ,
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland ; of great estimation for hi s many virtues , b ut
especial ly for his s incerity in his high place of tempting authority . S ir
John , Lord Chief Justice Of England from the 20th Of Henry VI . to the end
Of his re ign ; who, in that laborious vocation , spent not his vacant hours
(that could not b e many, ) idly ; but, bes ides his continual employments ,
(which he discharged with rare wisdom and sincerity ,) he penned a learned
discourse of the laws Of this land ; commending them to the hopeful prince ,
to infuse in him a des ire to read and understand them . S ir Adrian and
Sir John no less than three times sheriff Of this county in the troublesome
reign of Henry VII . : a prince that well knew how to make cho ice of fit
men for hi s service . What shall I speak Of Polisb orn in Hereford , Fulb orn
in E ssex , Sauldon in Buckinghamshire ; where S ir John Fortescue , that issued from thi s spring, a right honourable knight, hath builded a fair and
lovely house he that for his excellent learning both in Latin and Greek ,
and approved wisdom, was overseer of the liberal studies of Queen Eliza
b eth,Master of her Wardrobe , Chancellor of the E xchequer and Duchy of
Lancaster, and of the Privy -Council to Queen E lizabeth of famous and pi
ous memory .
I will enlarge no farther W impston is lately alienated . W e will visit
others of the name when we meet them at the ir houses . [W impston was
lately Champernon’s ; and about the year of our Lord 1 690 sold to Jetson .]
In the church I found the arms Of M atthew a race Of g ood e stimation
in foregone times now extinct .
Great M odbury (which I think seems greater unto you than it is how
great soever we have passed ; and now we are to View the lesser, Little
M odbury Of which S ir Ralph de la Rouse (alias The Red , ) was possessed
in the time of Henry III . and Edward I and his posterity ever since
“
396 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V .
though his chief res idence b e now at Halton in Cornwall a fami ly of much
antiqu ity and worth of which S ir Robert le Rouse was Captain of Cher
burg in the reign of Richard II . ; a valiant commander . The gentleman
that now is married a daughter of the Baron of TrurO : hi s father, Osborn ;and his g randfather, Sir Anthony, Southcot ; who , by her mother, was sole
cohe ir to Barnhouse .
CHAPTER XI .
Of Kingston, Ringmore, Ugborough, and other p laces in our way toKingsbridge,
and near those p arts .
HAV ING thus got clear of M odbury, we come next to Kingston happilythe king’s town which in former times the kings of the Wg sTSaxons hadin the ir own possess ion . Of this the eminent famil y of the Peverels werelords . The Conqueror , after his coming to this kingdom, had a natural
son , named William Peverel , which was created Lord of Nottingham .
Some branch of that l ine , for kindred sake , might have this in g ift Ofs omesucceeding king : for there were two Sir Hughs , kn ights in the time Of
Henry III . ; after , under Richard I I . , Sir Nig el Loring wrote himself OfKing ston .
At W onwell is planted a branch Of the g enerous family of Ashford .
There also dwelled sometime Hert and Shepherd . Here is also now, Iremember, a manor belong ing to the Earl of Bath .
Ringmoore , written also Reigne-M oore : whether it belonged to Re ig
neysm et them speak , that know . I am assured that Isabella de _Fish
acre held lands in Redmore in the time of Edward I I .
Coasting the country eastward to shorten our course , we come to St .
M ichael’s Island and Hope Bay , famous for fishing for pilchards .
Here the river Aven disgorg eth itself into the sea ; and the first spri ngwhereof we shall the purlieus of Dartmoor . And first it leaves
Brent on the right hand ; which is a l ittle market town , and hath two
fairW Roodmas and M ichaelmas . N ow whether it b e Brent, or Briants ,
398 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V .
He married Martin his father, Strode ; his son , Southcot [ his grandson ,
Izaac of Polslo ; whose son married a daughter Of Sir Gregory Huckmore ofBuckland,] and flourisheth so well in this soil , that for matches and estate
the best of the name in that county need not blush to acknowledg e such a
kinsman .
M orley, or M oorley , which William de M orleigh sometime held and
after Petrus de Fishacre and Walter Clavel , in Edward I .
’s days .
Woodl ey , or Woodland, a place stored with wood . There are many fa
mili es of these names in this country , whereofWoodland was generous ; b ut
to derive e ither from the place I cannot : for Johannes de Albemarle held
it in King Edward I .
’s days .
Loddes'
well , in Domesday Book Lodeswil : here Judael de Totton had
two hides of the Conqueror’s gift ; and in the time of Edward I . S ir Gilbert
de Knovile . It is in the hundred of Stanb orow, alias Stanburgh : which
honour was then in the tenure Of Roger de M oelis , and containeth nineteen
parishes in which, Hatch was held “
by Adam de Hatch . This hundred
should seem to take name of some mili tary fort, some stony rampier or
b orough of stones thrown and heaped together .
Cherstow, or Churchstow, is next : where , at Bowrmg sleigh, sometime
inhabited Bowring ; now‘Webber, with an alias of Gilbert.
East-Al lington , alias Aln-W ington or Aun-W ington , having the adjun ct
of from another of the name with the addition of west ;wherein John de Baks held some land ; and al so the family of Le Bastard,Of whose orig inal some will perchance imagine the worst : b e it so yet the
Duke , with whom he came into England, disdained not the title : and of
thi s fam ily there have been divers worthy men ; as Sir Nicholas Le Bastard de Efford in this county, knight, and continueth in worshipful estate tothis ag e and therefore I think this name to b e given for some other cause ;for Wisdom saith, ch . 4 , V . 3 .
— “spuria vitulamina non agent radices altas ;
”
which you see this doth and flourisheth . [M ost of thi s belongeth, not to
East, but to VVest-Allington ]West-Allington shal l b e next for the name sake , where Turgis possessed
certaiIiI
tenements ; and Webber , whom I have formerly remembered out of
due place in Cherstow . In the tithing Of
W olleston , alias Ulsiston , S irWilliam Crispine , knight, held land . One
of the coheirs of that tribe was espoused to Baldwin Le Bastard .
CHAP . XL] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 399
N ot far hence is VallOpitt, or Fallopitt, (in the parish of East Alling ton , )the seat of another branch of the Fortescues . He married Finesse:Thurlestane , now written Thurlston , where Judael de Totton held lands
andmaft‘
enW‘
ON
EdesW -n
after , Hugo de Ferrers and Will iam de Chiver
stone .
N ow we are come to the little borough Of King sbridge , where IS a market
Saturdays , and on St . Margaret s Day a fair . Hm
i e'
Egmetime dwelled Baker .
South-M ilton is a l ittle parish, where we will make as little stay .
South-Hywish. Algaras tenet terrum in Hywish, in the Saxons’
time
at th‘OEOfififié
’
st, Ralph ; and after , Gilbert Fitz stephens .
M alborough, orw ow , wherein stands the castle of Ilton ,which Sir
Ralp
\
CHiVerstOn possessed in the time of Henry l II . ; and In the re ign of
Edward III . Sir John ; of whi ch name there were many knights 1n descent,and wrote themselves de Ilton . N ow it acknowledgeth, and sometime hath
for lord, the illustrious family Of Courtenay of Powderham . This castle
standeth on the river that comes from Dodb rook and falleth in at Sal comb .
The manor of Badeston was held by Peter de Badeston , b ut in those lat
ter days by Davils . The daughter and heir Of the eldest house was married
to Harris of Hayne .
On the right hand we see Auton , surnamed G ifl’
ard, of that ancient familythat long possessed it ; b ut it Is
h
afiOIentT’fl
wn tten Avone town , as s ituate on
the river Avome . William le Pruz had good possei
s‘
sTO‘
I'
is here ; al so the fa
mily Of Honeychurch hath here his mansion -house . He married Lachin
ton , N orlegh, and Drake his father, the coheir of Rowland his grandsire ,Fortescue . His daughter and heir brought it to Bruton .
Heathfield in this parish, now possessed by Sture . Stodbury was the in
heritance Of S ir Thomas Harris , knight .
Bigbury stands aloft on a high hill , written anciently Bickab erry and
Buclfihfi ry, that gave both name and habitation to a knightly tribe and of
great reputation in the ir time . The mal e ended in S ir William Bickab erry,
knight ; for his sole heir Elizabeth, brought this , with other larg e posses
s ions , to John Champernon Of Beer-Ferrers who (as should seem) claimed
more than was hi s own : for I find Symon de Bradney , Ricardus de Treme
net, et Godefridus de Liefi'
e , Heredes prOpinquiores Hugonis de Vautort,
recuperant versus Oliv erum Camponulphum , et Egelinam uxorem ejus , certa
messuagia et carucatas terrae in Bikeb erri et Sutton Vautort .
400 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V :
W e shal l have little stay more before we have ended this circuit, which
yields little pleasure in ,discourse , but of the goodness Of the soil .
At Salcombe falls in a riveret which divideth King sbridg e from Dod
brook , gi vmg name to the last . Richard the son of Alan, and after the
Champernons possessed it ; whereof some of them lie interred in the north
aisle , with the ir proportions cut in stone .—Henry , the son Of Al an , im
pleadedM atthew the son Of John , and fortymore for throwing down his pil
lory in Dodb rook .
The tithing of Praul and G idshal were held by Roger de Praul ; and
Thomas de W oodm‘a’
fiston held the hamlet there Of his own name .
Charleton , which S t . M aur possessed before the conquest ; and in the
time‘
of Edward 1 1 1 . S ir Alanus Charleton , whose seat was at North-M olton .
It is near Salcombe , a salt valley be ing washed b y the sea water . N ow
Peters’ inheritance .
Portlecomb , or Portlemouth, possessed by Fitz Alan , and lately by the
M arqul s ofWinchester . Fitz Alan possessed it in the time ofHenry III .
CHAPTER XII .
Of S tokenham, Black-Awton, and other p laces near there about.
N ow are we to double the promontory of the south-most parts Of thiscounty whence we take the breadth thereof at
South-Poole , so named Of the s ite , in regard of a tithing in the same
parish named North-Poole : both held sometime byWilliam de la Pomeroyand
Chelmston , or Cb eveleston , by Thomas Scobb ehul l : and Colmoore , by
Then passing by Chilton , whereof Sir Robert de Chilton in the re ign of
Henry II I . was a potent man in his time . W e come next to
Stokenham, where the sea entereth in with a large circuit . In the inw .‘xv i
“
most bent thereof 1 s a larg e spacious pool, or meer, by the inhabitantscalled the Ley in length, at least a mile ; fed with two rills Of freshet, se
402 V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK V .
son , hi s son, Edmund Reynel , married Margaret, daughter of Sir
William Courtenay , sixth of that name , Of Powderham .
Black-Awton , the black or dark soil , upon the river, giveth this name .
TheW f Torr had land here and Mount Hermer In the reign of EdwardI I . ; and In thi s age , Ford and Honychurch .
The river passeth by Norton-Dawney, as if you would say, the north
town belonging to Dawney , or de Alney, or de Alueto, of Al ders a tribe
of great possessions and so of authority tempore Edward I I . His seat was
at Shevioke in Cornwall . There is a tal e , b y tradition , of one of that pro
geny that began to build a church and his wife a barn ; both finished, theycast up their accounts , and found that the barn cost three-halfpence more
than the church ; whereby you may deem it a large ham or a little church .
His patrimony came in time to Dennis of Orleigh and Crocker ; for theyquarter his coats b y match with the coheir s of Churchill . There were twoknights Of the name at one time , both by the name Of Nicholas .
of a noble gentleman Of that country which(1 thi s place , Sir Richard Fleming, al ias Flan
drensis de Stock , knight ; from whom it came , by a daughter, to M ohun and
b y the like to the illustrious fam ily of Carew . Of some of these knights
the portraitures are yet to b e seen in brass , inlaid in stones , in the church .
W e had almost passed Slapton unseen I can yet show it you afar Off ;
you may see it by Stokenh’
a’
fi f’
This the noble knight of the Order of the
Garter, S ir Guy Brian , possessed, and his predecessors long before . He
founded a coll ege near his dwelling house , and was buried in the church un
der a fair stone yet could not rest qui et ; for in hope of some treasure his
tomb was demolished and he not suffered to enjoy rest and restless may
they b e that envy the dead the fruition Of that is laid on them . His
armories are quartered by Cary . Yet Of Slapton I mav not forget to show
you what I have seen .
M anerium de Slapton , Edwardus , Comes Devon , tenet de Episcopo Exon,
per servitium essendi seneschallus suus tempore inthronizationis suae in Ec
clesia Cathedrali, Exon, 7th Henry V .
CHAP . XIII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .
CHAPTER XIII .
The River Dart’s p roceeding , and whatp laces he p asseth by .
N ow we are to double Combe -point, and so for our better proceedingharbour ourselves for a while in the safe haven Of Dartmouth, so named Of
the fair river Dart ; as as some will, Of Dartmoor, where in it first seeth‘W J‘M W
‘1 w . ‘M
Okement, Whose course We have p1 osecuted Ina w —M i t h g hg f t 'l flf
'
y w v w 'fl f ’ h 0
concerning the name Of this noted river we have
may b e , and Of some it is supposed, that the river takes name of the swiftness of the current ; the like is thought OF the river ArrOwin W aI W ick
shif'
ea w
ahd of~
TygI
Hs In M esopotamia, which among the Persians doth 1m
port a shaft that I speak not Of some other . or because it makes not in
its course so many short and crooked indenting s as most other rivers do,
but more direct in line , and straight like a dart ; for in both these it con
curreth with the name , for it fleeth with a swift and speedy current, and
somewhere a violent stream , especially when it is somewhat swollen ; for
then it makes a great noise as it goes , and seemeth angry and highly dis
pleased with the great stones , whi ch lying in its channel hinder the swift
ness Of its course , and therefore somewhere with rushing seemeth rather to
tumble than fleet among them, and often rolleth some of them before it, and
there dangerous to b e forded .
First it sees G idlegh, whence the now (well near worn out) name of that
famous race tookfi i ommation . The daughter of Giles de G idlegh brought
it to the clarous family of Praz , and so termedDominus de G idl egh ; from
him to Coad ; and now b y purchase to Batteshull .Next it Visits W ithecomb e ; (ancient of the coarse and
hungry soil ; uch barren places
that will not easily by the painful labours of the industrious husbandman b e
improved andmade fruitful are here , and g enerally , ( I think ,) call ed moors .
Here dwells Langworthy at Liswel . Of a great tor (so we call rocks inthe forest,) in this parish, named Haytor, the hundred takes the name ,
which numbers within it twenty -two pari shes . Spichwick, or more anci
404 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V .
ently Spicewyke , is a tithing here , which Brytric, the Saxon , held at the con
quest ; after Will iam de Spichwick ; and now, as I think, the Earl of Bath .
Buckland (for the cold place it stands in and to di stinguish it from divers
otheTs‘OI the name , is called Buckland)- in -the-Moor . Here Roger de
Bockland took name . And at
Blackdown - in - the -M oor Rog er Fitz Richard was possessed of a yard of
land . It was a potent family in the time Of King John ; of which was Sir
Ralph Fitz Richard . It washeth
Holne a little parish,where Stephanus de Haccombe and Nicholas de
la Y‘
OZTnOW perchance YeO , were possessed Of land .
Buckfast, where Duke Alford erected a fair
ab Order, dedicating it to the blessed
Virgin : valued at the surrender at £ 466 . l l s . 2%d . Where now is to b e
seen the skeleton of a hug e body , where the beholder may both pity and
wonder to see the ruins thereof. N ow the possession Of Cabell . These
two parishes , b y another river that is sent in from the forest ofDartmoor to
the augmentation Of this river, whose name it bears , are demi-i nsulated .
And on the other s ide he rece ives a larg er subs idy from the same foster
mother , which sees no noted place until he comes to
A shburton , al ias Ashperton , whose Saturday’s market 1 s much frequented .
It hathm
also two fairs , on St Lawrence and St . M artin’s days . It Is one
Of the privileg ed places for the coinag e of tin and keeping stannary courts .
The manor and borough both belong ed anciently to the Bishop of Exeterbut to them now remaineth only the sad remembrance Of how much theirpredecessors have had, and how little they possess at thi s present .
Woodley, or Woodland, Of the abundance of woods in those times .
There have been generous families of e ither name .
It passeth by Hempston , known b y two several or Can‘m ‘ -M a n ;
telupe , alias Cantlow ; whichm imamCan-
felupe,in th
m
reighA
Oi’I
HV
enw II I . , whose armories stood lately in Totnes Church .
Here the great lineage Of Fishacre was possessed of demesnes bearing hisname where many kn ights succeeded in descent Sir M artin de Fixa Acra,or Fishacre , in the ag e of Richard Sir M artin and Sir
aW illiam in the
re ign of Henry III . , and another M artin was sheriff 37th Edward 1 1 1 . One
of the name married the relict of Champernon Of Inswork, and had onlytwo cohe irs married to Walrond and Holway .
406 V IEW or DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK V .
neighbours about him at Ingatestone in E ssex , (where he lieth buried,) asalso at Thorndon .
The other rill comes from M arledon , which is but as a chapel of ease to
Paynton . It was built by the ancestors of the Gilberts , who have an anci
em se here one of them l ieth in the church, with his w ife , their proportions cut in stone .
This rill passeth through Berry-Park , by Berry-Castle , in the parish of
Berry-ligmeroy , which that narfiéw
fi lhfi g"
enjdyi
fii "
Theyderive their descentfrdiii
y
Ralpt omeroy , in the Conqueror’s days and have been very potent
and Of large possess ions . There were knights Of the name in every age ,
sometimes three at a time , and Often trusted with the command Of the
county , be ing high sheriff. M any places are yet intitled with the addition
Of their names , where we shall meet with them again . This fair castle
is now in the possession of Sir Edward Seymour, or de Sancto M auro,
baronet, who is descended from the noble Lord Edward, Duke Of Somerset .
He married Killigrew his father , Champernon his grandfather, son to
the above -named Duke , the he ir ofWelsh . I have read of thi s name long
before the conquest ; and that when ' Hengist conspired with the Scots
against Aurelius Ambros ius he was taken prisoner by Eldulph de Semor, a
nobleman of Britany .
In this church some of them are interred, and also of the Pomeroys , and
the windows b eautified wi th many armories .
d I “
[As for the monuments there are b ut two of more than ordinary remark ;the one in the north wall Of the chancel erected to the memory of Sir Rich
ard Pomeroy and his lady ; being an altar-piece laid over with a fair serpen
tine stone , which had been inlaid with divers coats of arms and mottos in
copper g ilded ; now embezzled or worn away b y time : at the east end of
which is Pomeroy impaled with Denzil ; and at the west end Pomeroy’s coat
s ingle , done in stone or plaster.
In the north aisle is a noble monument erected to the memory of the
Seymours ; where lie , piled one over another, the bodies of the Lord Ed
ward Seymour , (the first Of thi s family that res ided in this country,) his
son , Sir Edward Seymour, baronet, with his lady, a daughter of Champer
non Oi Dartington ; under which are cut out in stone also the proportions
of the ir eleven children .
In a fair marble table , in the middle of the monument, is this inscription ,
CHAP . XIII .] V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 407
Here lie the bodies of the hon. the Lord Edward Seymour, knight, son unto
the R ight Hon . E dward S eymour, Duke of Somerset ; who d ied 2nd of May ,
1 593 . Also of Edward Seymour his son, bart. , who died the l 0th Apri l, 1 6 1 3 ;and the Lady El i zabeth his Wife, daughter of S ir Arthur Champernon, who hadissue by him,
the said S ir Edward Seymour, bart. , e leven children.
”
In the windows of the church are these armories now Vis ible , 1 696 in the
chancel , in the window over the communion -table , are these armories ,
MONTAGUE, or MONTACUTE .— Argent, three lozenges in fess gul es . Borne
Aux .
— Argent, a griffin rampant gules, armed and langued, azure . MERTON .
A zure,thre e bends argent. STAFFORD .
— Or, a chevron gules . COURTENAY .
Or, three torteauxes, with a label of thre e points, gules .In the north window Of the same chancel , only these two,
Gules,a crossST . GEORGE .
— Argent, a cross gules, quarterly pierced.
fleury argent, quarterly pierced.
In the window of the north aisle are these coats Very fresh,
POMEROY .— Or, a l ion rampant guleswithin a border engrailed sable , im
paled with RA LEIGH .— Gules, five fusils in bend argent. POMEROY impal ing
DENZIL . - S able , a mullet in a crescent argent. FILLEGH .—Gules
,a fess v e r
rey between six crosses or.
In the south aisle window are these coats ,
E SSE or ASH .— Argent, two chevrons sable
, a border engrai led gules, impal ing HILLERSDON .
—Argent on a chevron sable three bulls’ faces caboshed, ofthe first. TREVILLIAN .
— Party per fess, argent and gules wavy, a sea-horse
issuant . E SSE or A SH impal ing TREVILLIAN, and the latter impal ing BARNHOUSE — Gules, twowings co-j oined in lure , argent.
In the body Of the church, on the south s ide , in the first window ,
POMEROY with Argent, a chevron sable charged with five mulletspierced, between three choughs .
In the second window none remain . In the third south window these two,
BEAUCHAMP .— Verrey, argent and azure . B owma n — A rgent, three l ions ’
heads crazed gules .
On the north s ide Of the church are these — in the first window ,
An on — Argent, a chevron engrailed sable between three fleurs-de -hs.
POMEROY repeated . Quarterly EN GLAN D and FRANCE, a labe l of three points,
ermine . Argent, a chevron charged with s ix mullets,be twe en thre e choughs
proper.
408 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V
In the second window ,
POMEROY . Quarterly, l st. Three left hands couped at the wrist.— 2nd . S ixannulets, 3, 2, l .
— The 3rd as the l st,
and the 4th as the 2ud . DENNIS Of
Comb Rawleigh. POMEROY .
In the third and fourth windows nothing of armories are remaining ]At the fall of thi s riveret into Dart, oppos ite on the other s ide , comes in
another whi ch descends from Dean -Prior ; which had that title e ither forthat there was some religious house there, (as I think there was ,) or that
it belonged to some such house .
* Here is one of the seats of Sir EdwardGiles and in the parish at M oorshead liveth Furz .
Here is a hamlet that I have long sought for, named Skerydon ; better
storedwith stag s when David andWalter Skerydon l ived there than at this
present : for DaVidus Skeredon (thus it is enrolled, ) tenet terras in Sherydon et Sheplegh de Domino Reg e , in capite reddendo Domino Regi , tressagittas , cum Dominus Rex v enerit ad v enandum in Dartamoor pro omni
servitio anno 33 Henry 1 1 1 . It belonged s ince to the name Of Basset .
Our river passeth by Ratrew, or Rattery . The manor and sheaf b e
longed to the Abbey of St . Dogmael in Pembrokeshire ; ( I hope I wroteit rightly ; I may fail , for it is a saint I never read of before s ince Gibbs ;and
.
after him Savery held lands here .
The hamlet of Luscombe Henricus de Al taribus held at the conquest ;after Anschetill and now Luscomb Of Luscombe .
And now Dart with due respect salutes the barony of Dartinggon ; whi chM artin together with Kemys in Pembrokeshire then was it the
seat Of the illustrious family of Holland, Duke of Exeter : very delightfullyseated for prospect, as overlooking the town of M s now it glories inthe knightly tribe of Champernon ; who married Fulford : hi s father, the
daughter Of Gabriel , Count M ontgomery of France his grandfather, in
the noble house Of Norris .
It belonged to Plympton Priory — G . O . ,— P . J .
4 1 0 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V .
which they account to b e from the creation 2856 years ; before the incurnation , N ow after he had foughtmany cruel battles , conquered manyhuge g iants and hi s cousin Corinaeus , in a fair pull of wrestling thrown theirchief leader, Gogmagog , over the Hoe of Plymouth, (though the Kentishmen will have it done at Dover he took , with an easy journey, the sur
v ey of the whole island ; and coming to the river Thames , for the great delight he took in the fair meadows , pleasant pastures , amenity of the air, and
fruitful soil b ordeIing her banks , ( 1 do but exempl ify the history out Of myauthors , ) he resolved here to build a city, which in remembrance of famous
razed Troy he named Troy-Novant, or N ew-Troy : which some 1 04 1 years
after was b y King Lud al tered, and called it Luds -town , now briefly London . Then let us suppose that Brutus made all poss ible speed, yet he rodenot post, nor could he march with his army in strange untrodden wayssome places woodland full of br iers and bushes , others were boggy and
ry , the rivers unfordable and having no bridges , nor towns of receipt tolodge in ; neither finding any v ictual s b ut what he gat by hunting with anyhaste ; neither could he conquer the whole land whi ch had such robustuousstrong inhabitants , and survey it in less than twenty years . I set but a
short time if you b ut consider our proceedings with our late colonies ; es
pecially adding thereunto the b uilding of a city . This granted, that itwas twenty years before London , it must b e 376 years before Rome ,which is younger than London 35 6, and Gayr -Ebranck , now named York ,builded by King Eb rank, M empricius
’son , some 1 40 years after, anno
mundi 2972 . SO are we clear for antiqu ity .
N ow let us see what other matter it yields worthy our observation . W e
find thatAurelius Ambrosius , with his brother , Uter Pendragon , sons to Con
stantius , (of the mixed blood of the Britons and Romans ,) who fled, very
young, from hence into Little-Britain , (upon the death of their elder b rother, King Constantius , the younger, traitorously slain by Vortigern , term
ed the king-killer and scourge of the country,) returned hither in their
better strength, were rece ived into this town ; with the assistance whereof,and the people of this country, they pursued him into Wal es , and there b e
s ieged him in his own castle , and consumed him and his fort with firewhich was about the year of our redemption 450 .
Yet have we not spoken a word of the etymology of this town, and
whence it should take the name of Totnes . Some would have it of the
CHAP . XIV .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 4 1 1
French word tout-a- laise , which is in English all at ease ; as if Brutus
at his arrival in such a pleasant soil and fruitful country , and healthful
air, after so painful and dangerous navigation , should here assure him
self and his fellow travellers Of ease , rest, and content : and the l in this
long time is changed (which is no great alteration , ) into n , and so from
tout- a- lesse we now call it tout-a-nesse , and briefly Totnesse . This would
I willingly applaud could I think or b e induced to believe that Brutus spake
so good French, or that the French tongue was then spoken at all . Therefore I shall with the more case b e persuaded to join in Opinion with thosewho would have it named Dodonesse , which signifieth the rocky- town , or
town on stones ; which is much more probable , (and it is al so agreeablewith the Opin ion Of Leland, that ancient, industrious , and learned antiquary ,) for it stands on the declin ing of a hill very stony and rocky . Others
shall have leave to make conj ectures and hunt further for the better deriva
tion of this name I have done . For s ituation : it standeth on the gentle
ascent and rising of a hill close by the river side , whi ch swelling at certain
hours with the ocean tides maketh the channel so deep as it is enabled to
carry vessels of good burden close up to the town . It had sometime a
priory .
The first conqueror, Brutus , gave this town and the two provinces , Devon
and Cornwall , (then but one ,) to hi s cousin and great ass istant, Corin aeus ,as is well known ; whereof the western part is (as they say) called Corn
wal l who peopled it with his own reg iment ; and being an excellent wrestler, as you have heard, trained his followers in the same exercises : whereofit comes that the western men , in that sport, win the mastery and g ame
wheresoever they come .
The second conqueror, William of N ormandv , bestowed this town , toge
ther with Dartmouth and Barnstaple , on a worthy man named Judael , who
erected here a castle , to which many services are due ; it long combated
with time , but at length enforced to yield : it yet shows what it hath been .
It hath had change Of lords , as Cantelupe , Lord Abergavenny, from whom
it came to the ancient Baron Zouch, or de stipite S ieco ; between whom
and the burgesses there was a compos ition : he reserves all services due
unto himself ; and the mayor Obtains Of King John divers immunities , liber
ties and freedoms . But it fell again into the king’s hands , and King Henry
VI I . gave it to S ir Peter Edgcomb who , by his excellent wisdom, was in
great favour with his sovere ign .
4 1 2 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V .
At this town , held the south-most part of this kingdom, began the Fossstreet, whi ch, with Watl ing- street, Ikneld-street, and Erming - street, were
the four highways that traversed all England . These were first b egan bythat sapient lawgiver M almutius , king of this realm ; and finished and pav
ed by his martial son Belinus ; upon the credit of the British story 500
years ere the incarnation of Christ. These four ways crossed and thwartedover the whole land . A work not only very necessary and convenient, but
very beneficial to the inhabitants both for war and peace which were pri
vileged not only by Malmutius’edicts , but also by the Roman s in their time
Of government , and shoul d b e in like respect with us the name intimating
as much the king’s highway ; and as Braeton saith they are res sacrae, et
qui aliquid occupav erat excedendo fines et terminos terrae suae dicitur feeis
se purpresturam super ipsum regem— they are privileg ed places , and he
that makes trespasses there commits purpresture even against the king’s
majesty himself.
This Foss - street began at the end of this town , and runneth through this
whole shire and Somerset, (yet in some certain places to b e perceived,) and
so (as my author for this matter saith,) to Tutbury ; and by Chesterton to
Coventry and Leicester ; and so from thence by the w ilds and plains to
Newark ; thence to Lincoln : but hereof enough, if not too mu ch.
[Most of our modern writers have rejected as a leg endary tale the account
of four main roads drawn out as it were to measure an d divide the land bythe British King , M almutius DunwallO , or by his son , Belinus .
Erming- street, so called of the British word armyinth, because it crosseth
mountains and wayless places for the better direction of travellers it is the
same that now is cal led Akeman - street-way , a road pointing east and west .
Those that call it Akeman- street-way say it took its name from them that
being full of ache and acheing made it the ir way to the hot baths in Somersetshire ; which is very probable , that city, b y several old writers , beingcalled Acamannum a more natural derivation than that of Selden or Bur
ton . Kennet VVhite’s Parochial Antiquities of Ambrosden , &c .]
This town is distant from the city of Exeter twenty miles ; and is in the
degree Of longi tude (as I am taught,) 1 6 and 25 scruples ; and from the
pole in latitude 50 and 25 scruples . The weekly market is Saturday ; ithath four fairs ; first on M ay
-day, second St . James’, third fourth
Simon and Jude’s Day . It yields two burg esses for the service at the par
liament ; is governed by a mayor, recorder, &c .
4 1 4 V IEW or DE VON SH IRE . [Boo‘
x
S ith many merchants leave the ir trade ,And merchandi ze is poor men
’s aid,
N OW whither shall the poor man flyWhen trade decays and merchants die
Upon the stone that covered John Wise and his wife , as should seemMarried on earthwe each to otherwere
,
But now to heaven’s highKing we coupled are .
Elizabeth Smith hath this epitaph,
Death stands in readiness all flesh to strike ,But for ripeness seldom hits the l ikeFor though at four this house of clay fell down,Some die at ten not built so high from ground.
”
On M r . Christopher Brookin , and some other l ike him, as the versesimport
Old age, withwisdom and rel ig ion crowned,Hath in this vault a dark pavil ion found.
Ambitious tombs may boast of pompous states,This of two good men and true magistrates.I t’s fit that suchmen
’s prec ious memory
Should b e recorded to posterity .
”
On M rs . Austin’s monument
Some die in youth, some die in age, She was but young , of body strong,Some die in ripest years ; Yet she by death subdued ;
The l ike whereof in the dead corpse TO l ive and die in H im alone,
Interred here appears . Through Christ to b e renewed.
On the stone that l ies on Richard Beer
Here under sleeps my corpse till Christ do callFrom out this b ed to judgment general .
”
John Norris hath this remembrance and caveat,
B ehold thyself by me , And thou in time shalt b eSuch one was I as thou ; E ’
en dust as I am now.
On George Yeo and, as I gather, his mother
Here l ieth the tre e growing approved,L ikewise her fruit ofmostbeloved ;
CHAP . XIV .] vmw or DEVON SH I RE .4 1 5
Here l ie th the stock and branch together,Free from all sturdy storms andweather ;Here lieth the aged and the youth,
The race of all approved truth.
”
This is written on Will iam Yeo,
My l ife was full of misery, I hope at length to l ivewith Christ,Of anguish, grief, and pain, For ever to remain .
”
On Richard Leigh, the same as on Richard Beer before .
This is written on the stone that lies on Edward Bear,Althoughmy flesh b e turned to dust I hope to rise ag ain ,With Christ in number of the just for ever to remain.
”
On Elizabeth BearShe lies in dust, that l ived and died no other
Than a most faithful wife and loving mother.
She l ived in Christ, herworks declare the same ;She died in Christ, whence grew her endless fame .
Elizabeth Pridham , and some other
Such as they are by death we all must b e ,
Such as they were in l ife b ut few we see .
Johannes G iles, armiger, ob 1 1 t 1 201 0 . die Jan A . D . 1 552 : cujus an imepropitietur Deus .
My buckler of defence Towhom he praiseE stDeus omnipotens For his g ifts always .
[ The Rev . John Prince having had the honour for several years to b e
Berry-Pofi éib v‘
adj S'
iiing , hath thought fit to add these of his own collection .
In the south wall of the chancel of Totnes church is a fair monument
erected to the memory of Christopher Blackhal l , esq . , and his four wives
hi s likeness is lively cut in stone , all in armour, finely g ilded , kneel ing b e
fore a desk under which, on a fair stone , is this inscription ,
In memoriam ornatissimi viri Christophori Blackhal, Armigeri , una cum
quatuor uxorib us suis ; quarum tres secum agunt vitam in polo, ultima adhuc
militat in solo. Obi it 2 1 die Aug A . D .
Under which are his four wives cut in stone , lifting their hands in devout
4 1 6 V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [Boox V
manner, with these inscriptions under themUnder the first,
“E li zabetha, filia N icolai Slanning, Armigeri, hie j acet sepulta, A . D . 1 608 .
Under the second
Penelop e,filia Thomas Hele , Armigeri , hic j acet sepulta, A. D. 1 61 6.
Under the third
Susanna, filia Nicolai Halswell, militis, hic j acet sepulta, A . D . 1 622.
Under the fourth
“Dorothea, filia RichardiNorris, bujne oppidimaj oris, adhuc vivit, A .D. 1 634 .
All written in golden letters , enclosed with an iron grate about four feet inheight.Over which, in a frame of timber, is this farther inscription ,
"
Ad Christophorum Blackhal, Armigerum. In ob itum uxoris sues pientis
simae, sororismeae charissimae, Susannae Blackhal .
An doleam,an moriar nihil est ; ego mitor ademptam
Vix reddent sponsam sidera nostra parem.
Proh dolor interiit soror haud aequanda sorori,E t conjux illa conjuga nulla pior .
O soror ! o conjux (qu id inclamemus amantes
H ic j acet haec conjux,hic j acet illa soror.
Rob ertus Halswell fraterrimus.
Over which is Blackhal’s arms ,— paly sab . and or in chief gu . three bezants .
On a flat black-marble stone , in the chancel , are engraven two coats ,Evelegh impal ing M artin of Totnes , and Evelegh impaling Yard : under
which is this motto Ecce quid ens P”then thi s epitaph,
Maria, una filiarum et haeredum G eorgn Monk, generosi, et uxor GilbertiEvelegh, generosi, in Domino requiescit quas 1 30 die mensis Mai i
,A .D. 1 650,
per lachrymarum vallem gloriam in excelsam transivit.
Conjux chara,parensmitis, matrona pudica,
S ic triplici vinclo juncta Maria Deo est.
Caetera fama.
Socrus moestissimus statuit.”
Under which are engraven Evelegh’s coat impaled with Monk , having a
4 1 8 e w or DEVONSH IRE . [Boox V
out any inscription that may now b e found . In the south aisle of the same
church are these monuments ,
In the east wall is a very handsome monument, where in a black marbletable is this inscription ingolden letters ,
To the memory of the worshipful R ichard Martin, merchant, sometimesmayor of this town ; who changed this l ife for a better 24th day of September,A . D. 1 663, be ing of the age of 75 years .
”
Over which stands his coat of arms , viz , arg . three martlets proper, with a
crescent for difference .
Near by , in a black well-polished marble table within an oval b order
finely varnished, is thi s epitaph,
Here l ieth the body of Thomas Martin, bachelor, who exchanged this l ifefor a better the loth day of January, 1 690, aged 58 years who gave the landsof a house andmeadow in Barnstaple for ever to the Poor ofTotnes, to b e g ivenin bread every Lord
’s day in this aisle, as is expressed in his last will and test
ament.”
In the south wall of the same aisle , under a fair arch, is an altar-tomb ,whose inscription is almost wholly worn out by time : only on the upper
edge are these words ,Here l iethWalter Smith
,who died the 8th day of November, 1 555 .
Under whi ch are some letters of his name in fret-work .
Also, in a frame of timber, there is the memorial of Dr . M arker, a Danea long inhabitant of this town having this inscription in golden letters ,
In memoriam Oligeri Antonu Markeri, Medici, viri doctissimi, Latinas ,Graecae et Orientalium linguarum, matheseos arcanorum, artium et scientiarumomn ium peritissimus . Qui, Danis natus parentibus, clarissimi Domini S ennertipraeceptis instructus, sub ipsa juventute in patriam nostram emigravit, huj us opp idi se fecit incolam. Post triginta annorum outsum, cummultis doctorum laudibus per totam gentem difi
'
usis, peractum,ad gloriam transivit coelestem Sextilis
29, A . D . 1 670.
Hanc tabulam, grati animi frwpcéerou, posuit E . E . clericus.
After thi s so great rest in this city-like town, we should make more haste
the better to perform our journey : but I may not forget to tell you of an
honour more belong ingr
Lto it ; for King James of pious memory , hath
CHA P . XV .] vmw or DEVON SH IRE .4 1 9
dignified it with the title of an earldom, and honoured therewith the highl ymeriting and nobly-born knight, Sir George Carew , Baron of Clopton ; a
native of this country : of whom I should wr ite more largely, but he is
eternized by a far more sufficient pen .
CHAPTER XV .
Of Ashp rington, Brixham, Greenway, (and there of the ancient Family ofGilbert) and other p laces in our way to Dartmouth.
To ease ourselves let us take a boat and with the tide pass to Afigffiflfl'
tgpd k held b y the ancient name of Pipard, 1 4th Henry III . ; after of Pomeroy ,
33rd Edward I . In it stands
Pensford, the seat of the family of Summaster (query Summus Mag ister,)of right good note and respect both for antiquity and alliance . They flou
rished first in Widecombe and Exeter, and have matched with sundry heirs ,as De la Port , whose armories they bear and Cornu . This knight matched
with Strode [ his name , Sir Samuel Somaster his father , Arundell ;
whose mother was he ir to and she one of the four coheirs to her
mother : hi s grands ire , Fortescue .
At Bowdon al so is the seat of S ir Edward Giles , knight, : of him not a
word more , lest I should, b y speaking the truth, b e said to flatter . He
married the daughter and heir of Drew of Hayne , the rel ict of N orthcot his
father, Stukely . This knight having no issue hath carefully preserved his
name and house b y his uncle’s son , who hath married Carew .
In this parish was found, anno 1 605 , a famous (for a short time , ) well ;the virtues of whose water was medi cinable for all griefs and di seases ; to
which resorted an incredible number of people from every quarter ; and so
many bottles thereof were carried far into the country as there was not
enough to serve every man’s turn : b ut in little time the people satisfied of
the novelty and the virtue decreas ing , the resort also ceased .
Here falls in a small river called Harb orn,which g iveth name to Harb orn
town , commonly Harberton . Here both W estcot and Eastcot held land
420 v i nw or DEVON SH IRE . [Boox V .
anciently ; and at Harbornford Richard le Bigod, and Roger Vautor, and
John Poughi ll . And at
Sandwell is a branch of the ancient regarded family of Rysdon , who hath
been of long continuance in this tract . He married one of the daughters
and coheirs of Hawkins his father, Gifl'
ord ; before himLanxford ; the reliet of Mountjoy .
At Ingleb orn is the mans ion of a generous and respected tribe of W ot
ton . This esquire matched with Giles .
At Bindley is left a race of the knightly family of Pomeroy , which flourished long in great estate . This gentleman married with Reynell .
Holwell , al ias Halgewell , or Holgalwill , was a tribe of great estimation .
S ir John Halg ewell lived in the time of Henry VII . , and wrote himself of
Halwellscomb e whose coat was to b e seen lately in Bigbury church, and
was sheriff in the 1 4th Henry VII .Dytsham, or Dydisham, whi ch Baldwin le Viscount , and after him Roger
de Halfdrim
giijda
ygdfw i
fifi
which church his armories were lately to b e seen .
Then Bozom- zeal , of long continuance the habitation of the much re
g arded tribe of Bozome , which flourished by the match with the daughterof the clarous race of St. George ; and one again of his coheirs joined it
to the knightly family of Fulford, who now possesseth it .
Next in our way is Cornwortfihy . ( fruitfully , per chance , and profitable to
the seedsman .) Here thewEdgcomb s erected a nunnery , whose worth at
the surrender was valued at £ 63 . 2s . 1 0d . ; which was bought by Harris ,predecessor to S ir Thomas Harris , knight, sergeant-at-law ; whose knowledge in the law was much commended, and his learning and excellency ,and pregnancy of wit, eminent even to admiration . His son, Sir is
now Chief Justice of Munster in Ireland . Here is likewise a branch of the
fruitful and often remembered name of Fortescue .
On the east s ide the Dart sundry places are almost circulated with an in
let of the sea . G almeton , or G aynton , whi ch Beatrix de M ohun held in
dowry ; also Rob ertus de St . Amando and Richard Fitz Stephen , now
Yard and Gilbert.
Churchston , with the adjunct of Ferrers , (and why not Chestin of Cas
tanetum , of chesnut- trees ,) to whom it long appertained . It is s ituate near
the sea , and is now the seat of the ancient family of Yarde , of whi ch name
I shall speak elsewhere . He married the daughter and heir of Giles ; one
422 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V .
The project of this his noble attempt was to discover, possess, and peoplethe remote countries ofAmerica, subj ect to the heathen absurdities ; and to
reduce the natives to the knowledge and service of the true God and christian religion : where in the zeal of this kn ight , deserving eternal remem
brance, and his pious intentions were graced by Queen Elizabeth, Of pious
memory , with a large commiss ion , by her letters patent, to enter, take pos
sess ion Of, and inhabit all remote heathen lan ds not formerly in the posses ;
sion of any chr istian prince . His first voyage was very chargeable to him,
( being but a younger brother, ) and was almost dashed in the bud, in regarddivers adventurers failed of their contracted promises . Yet little daunted, as if nothing had been too difficult for a valiant heart , and quid non ?
was his word, he bravely proceeded ; and discovering much, coul d not ef
fectuate his desire in settling a colony (which in thi s age , to the glory Of
God, his name b e magnified therefore , is nobly efl'
ected,) b y means of some
wants , and so returned . After many delays , (for great enterprises havevery slow motions ,) in June , 1 5 83 , he set forth again out of Causand-Bay ,
and in St. John’s Road, in the south
sin for the crown of England with the ancient ceremony of cutting turf or
rod .
But not to b e tedious , I will leave many his attempts in thi s action , and
come to his lamentable period and shipwreck . Having lost his admiral ,( before the loss whereof what strange voices were said to b e heard by the
watch and those that stood at the helm is needless to report ,) I will onlydeliver his unfortunate loss . Having but two , and those small , ships left,the Golden H ind of 40 tons , and the Squi rrel Of 1 0 tons , he woul d needsadventure himself in the least ; many and earnest persuasions to the contra
ry notwithstanding ; and as he changed his course to return for England, inthe very instant winding about, there passed between them and toward theland ( it is strange, and yet constantly averred by divers ,) a very lion, to
the seem ing of all the beholders in the Golden H ind, in shape , hair, colour ;not swimming after the manner Of a beast with motion Of his feet, ne ither
yet diving sometime under and ri sing again as porpoises , dolphins , or other
such fi sh are seen to do, b ut gliding or rather sliding on the water, with hi swhole body ( leg s excepted , ) in s ight ; and notwithstanding the mariners in
general presented themselves in Open view and gesture to amuse him, (as
all creatures will ordinarily at the sudden s ight of men,) but passed along
CHA P . XV .] e w or DEVON SH I RE .493
with turning his head to and fro , yawning and gaping wide , and for a fare
well, coming against the Golden H ind , sent forth a horrible and fearful
voice , roaring, or bellowing , as doth a lion : which spectacle all plainly saw
and beheld as far as they were able to discern it , as men prone to wonder atso strange a thing . This be ing passed, and instantly after, a great and violentstorm and tempest afflicting them, the general , with hi s book in his hand,cried out, “we are as near to heaven here at sea as by land ; re iterating
M‘ fl — l
the speech verym fi dmgé ié
‘i’iBgdlute 1 n Christ Jesus , as
he was" tB'
s
‘
tifiBd‘
to“
5s : so in shOrt time afterhewas lOst . What opinionothers hBlf thBréOf I but tli é
w
g‘e
'
fieraf h1mself took it for bonum
omen , rejoicing that he was to war against such an enemy , were it the devil .
And what power that roaring l ion , the mal ignant enemy Of mankind,hath had and yet hath on the natives of that country , is now vulgarlyknown by the relations Of many credible persons and therefore no marvel
if he use all the violent force he can to withstand hi s stronger, who is now
coming to overcome him and take away from him all his armour wherein
he trusteth and di vide his spoil ; and withstand the ir convers ion by all
means, as storms , tempests , wrecks , and massacres ; al l which hath been felt
and endured . And now behold the infinite goodness of our God, who ever
from evil deriveth good for out Of those crosses , turmoil s , and afflictions ,he hath caused to grow the fruit we already see ; and much more we are to
hope for in N ew England, Virg inia, and the N ew- found- land .
*
His son , Sir John , practised arms agreeable to the brave spirit of his an~
cestors was held an expert and ancient soldier even in his younger years ,
wherein he expired :1‘ was taken away when he gave not only hOpe but full
assurance of great sufficiency to do his prince and country service .
Here is also the seat Of Hody at N eathway . Chr istopher Hody , esq . ,
married Upton Of Lupton : John Hody , eldest son, married Rogers Of Can
mingtou , in Somersetshire : Gilbert Hody, brother to John , married Yard
of Churston-Ferrers .
In the catalogue of the l ibrary of the late R ichard Heber,esq . , as sold by Sotheby in
1 834,we Observe in N o. 3086 S ir Humfrey G ilbert’s D iscourse of a D iscove rie for a
new passage to Gataia . H . M iddleton, l 576 .— G . O . ,
—P . J .
1“ In the Register of Marldon is the following memorandum, 1608 the worshipful
knight S ir John Gilb erd ended his life 5 th July , and brought from London to his Man
s ion House at Compton 1 6th of the same month, and buried in Marldon Church 1 9 thJuly .
—G . O . ,— P . J .
424 vi ew OF DEVON SH I RE . [ BOOK V .
King swear is . a hamlet in this parish, having a chapel of ease in it ;
whew been an ancient castle for defence of Dartmouth and to com
mand the haven whereunto , as Leland saith, there went a creek into theland from the channel of the haven cal ledWater-head ; a l ittle place where into build ships which was the inheritance of Gale . And now let us call for
a b oat to set us over to the fair town Of Dartmouth .
CHAPTER XVI
The Port- town of Dartmouth, Paignton, Torr, and Cochington with the noble
Family of Cary .
THAT this town taketh denomination from the river Dart,‘
and that theW
river hath relation to Dartmoor , hath been discovered . This was g iven bythe Norman Conqueror to Judael de Totnes ; (which some call Ludhill
after , ln ensuing ages , unto Cantelupe an d Baron Zouch : but in process of
time M ichael de Tewkesbury and the Bryans did purchase this town, b oth
in lands and all manner Of customs , to them and their heirs , to the use of
the town for ever . After, in the time Of Edward III . , it rece ived a new
charter of incorporation in cons ideration Of two ships duly equipped that theyhad and should find (at the ir own charges ,) for the king
’s service ; where in
their l iberties and freedoms are enlarged ; as may b e seen in that charter ,
dated 1 4th April , in the 1 5th year Of his reign .
It hath been Often subj ect, in former ages , to the rapine and spo il of fo
reign enemies : namely , in the time Of Henry IV . , when the Lord du Cha
tel and the Marshal of Britany, res isted by the valiant town’
s -men and the ir
loving w ives , were repul sed with the loss of 400 men, and 200 taken
prisoners .
It hath annexed unto it two other villages , as Clifton and Hardness,which three nowmake but one town , and in some records is named Clifton
Dartmouth-Hardness , as in the parliament writ, to which it sendeth two
burgesses .
This haven is upon occasion chained, and hath a strong castle and other
426 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V .
stratensian Canons, as appeareth by the ir charter at the foundation : and
at the general deluge , that ruined all such structures , was valued at
£ 396 . 0s . 1 1 d . After the dissolution it came to b e the possess ion Of Rudg
way ; who re-edified those almost decayed cells to a newer and better form.
It stands both pleasantly and commodiously both for sea and land, hav
ing Torwood, a fair and large demesne belong ing to it, with other the l ike,and a b ay or pier at the sea s ide . He married Southcot by the mother
coheir to Barnhouse ; his son , S ir Thomas , created by King James 1 . Earlof Londonderry in Ireland .
Near hereunto is Tormohun , taking its surname Of the inhabitants of thatfamily who held it in the time of Henry 1 1 1 . Here a little tribute comesto the sea from Compton -pole , in the parish of
M arldon , and that parish a chapel to Paynton . This Dodescomb e heldin the time Of Edward 1 . Another Compton possessed by a gentle family Ofthe name, which yielded it with the he ir Of the house to G ilbert . Herethe family of Worth set a younger scion , whi ch prospereth well . Petrehad al so a seat at Compton . This church Of M arldon was builded by theancestors Of the Gilberts one of them lieth there w ith his proportion cut
in stone .
Paignton , the sheaf whereof Bishop .Quivil impropriated to the Precentorw
shipBBExeter, I must not forget to take view of, being the richest lordship
in the whole county, and belonged to the see of Exeter, b ut now to the righthonourable Philip , Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery . Somewhat I musttell you , though with as much b revity as I may, of the huge and costlywhite-pot there made Of late ; some term it a b ag pudding . In former
ages it was an annual action , and Of that greatness that it is incredible tothe b earer but thence it hath the addition of white-pot, and called Paign
ton White a
pot .
W e are come to Mary- church : a church builded in 'honour of the blessedVirgin . Of this place Sir W alleron Cirencester, in the reign of Henry I IIand Sir Thomas , in Edward II .
’s time, wrote themselves . Some will have
this name and Chichester to b e all one , but I cannot yield unto it ; for
their names and armori es so far differ .
Aggenswell , alias Eggeswell : held by Fulk de Ferrers ; and after by
Coll , by whose heirs , ‘ with his . Other inheritance , it devolved into other
families .
CHA P . XVI .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .
Blackdon : [this lies in Paignton held in Henry III .
’s days by Sir
Henry le Dennis , knight ; whose heir brought it to the knightly tribe of
Kirkham . S ir Nicholas Kirkham wrote himself thereof, tempore EdwardI I . , and Nicholas was sheriff of this county 1 2th Richard II . ; and his pos
terity possesseth it (as I think) in this age . Richard married Cape : S ir
William Tichb orn [Mary , the daughter and he ir Of Kirkham, brought this
inheritance , and herself, unto her husband, S ir George Blount, ofW orces
tershire ; whose son , Sir Walter Kirkham Blount, bart . , now enjoys it .)Cockington is now in our s ight, worthy, for many good reasons to b e
viewed . Sir Roger de Cockington , knight, possessed it in the time Of Ri
chard I . , and five knights more of the name in succession , to which name
the ir armories do consent and allude . N ow is it the seat Of the illustrious
family Of the Carys whose ancestors may b e derived from Adam (I mean)Cary of Castle-Cary , and hath taken deep root and multiplied in this soil ,and sprung to a fair height in many worshipful branches and by transmi
gration planted itself in other shires , where they like the country and the
country them so well, that it bears honourable fruit . Of the worthies now
l iving I will only name the titles — Robert, Lord Cary of Lepington , Earl
of Monmouth, and Henry, Lord Cary of Hunsdon , Viscount Rochford and
Earl Of Dover ; whose merit will require a far more sufficient pen to relate
than m ine .
I will only speak somewhat of Sir John Cary , knight, Lord Chief Baron
Of the Exchequer in the reign Of Richard 1 1 . This knight neither able nor
willing , like a willow , to b ow with every blast Of wind , (l ike another bold
Bishop Of Carlisle , [Thomas M erkes ,] in the same cause and time , ) so con
fidently and freely spoke his mind, Opposing ( in reg ard Of oath, ) the pro
ceeding s for procurators to take the res ignation Of his master, King Ri
chard , his true and undoubted sovereign , that thereupon he was dis - Ofliced,
his goods and lands confiscated, and he himself banished .
Dic mihi , Musa,virum.
Prompt me, Muses
,if you can,
And shewme such anotherman .
W ho like Achior the Amonite durst speak to Holifernes the tr uth, as noble
Du Bartas saith, or Joshua Silvester after him, in these verses ,
428 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V
Beware , my Lord, beware how you come near
This holy nation to his God so dearB ecause their God will b e the ir sure defence,That God Almighty, whose omnipotenceCan with a breath confound all kings that dare(As thou dost now,)
’
gainst Himmake open war.
Or that more fitly with Nathan the prophet to tell King David, in plainW 0 rdS ,—
“thou art the man .
”
Y ea, thou art he thatwith a wanton theftHast just Uriah’s only lamb bereft ;And him,
0 horror ! [sinwith sin is furthered,]H imwith the sword of Ammon hast thou murthered.
This worthy justicer married in a worshipful tribe of thi s his own country ,
the daughter of Robert HOllaway , Of Holl away, esq . , and had issue Sir
Robert Cary the true image of hi s father, not only, as V irgil said of Ascanins’ likelihood to fEneas
Sic oculos, sic ille manus, sic ora fereb at.Suchwere his eyes, his hands, his face,H e walked and talkedwith such a grace .
But rather in hi s virtues Of wisdom, fortitude , and magnanimity ; for inskill of arms (which was not his father
’s profession,) he far excelled him
procuring thereby great favour Of the noble conqueror Of France , Henry,then Prince , after Henry V . There was a knight errant, or travell ing kn ightof Arragon , that having passed through d ivers countries , and performed
many noble feats of arms , to hi s high commendation and fame , came intoEngland in the time of Henry IV . , and boldly challenged any man of his
rank to make trial Of hi s valour and skill in arms ; which Cary accepted .
Between them there was a fierce and violent encounter and a long combat
the like whereof is b y the divine poet fitly expressed by thi s excellent sim ile ,As when in cock-pit two old cocks do fight,Brustl ing the ir plumes and redwith rage do smiteWith spurs and beak, bounding at every blow,With fresh assaul ts freshing their fury, soThat, desperate in the ir unyielding wrath,Nothing can end the ir deadly feud but deathThe lords about, that on both sides do b et
,
Look partial lywhen one the field should get,
430 VIEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK V .
race hath held it from two ages before Roger , and possesseth it at this time ,b ut with far better appurtenances in more places than one .
An other hamlet in this parish is West-Cli fford , which Stephens held in
the Conqueror’s time . There b e divers illustrious fam ilies of the name of
Clifford, as the noble Earl Of Cumberland, and one anciently in this county,Sir Reginald in the time of Edward I . and II . , and Sir John in the re ign Of
Edward 1 1 1 . but what interest they had in thi s manor 1 find not, for they
wrote themselves Of G oddeford .
Shilston is al so a hamlet there . Of a place of that name Sir Richard
Bauzan , under Henry I II . and Sir John , under Richard I wrote themselves ; and Sir John Ashleigh . But in regard there are divers places Of
this denomination , I cannot precisely aver it was of this ; but for diversreasons do guess it to b e here .
There is Great-Worth , alias G reatworthy , in the possession of N ew
combe ; Of which family I have heard this (which though it b e not strange
to the height of a wonder, yet it is not ordinary ,) reported that
of that name had sons all come to man’s state , of such strength all
and activ ity that at any usual exercise Of our country , as foot-ball , hurling ,and wrestl ing (most excellent employments to enable young men to greater
actions , though now discarded,) to match so many in that or any neighbour
parish ; yet all these , two excepted, died issueles s , and only one continues
the name . this gentleman married Prouz .
N ow are we come to Chegford, the fourth place we are
to speak of where a tin- court is held ; whi ch was very lamentable the l st
August, 1 6 1 6 , for the court held that day, the chamber Wherein it was keptstood upon pillars , and those decay ed, and the assembly at that court greater than ordinary, the pillars and timber cleft In sunder and the wall s fell In ,
and the steward, a gentleman Of good descent and a counsellor-at law, and
n ine others were suddenly slain ; many more had their arms and leg S’
b rO
ken ,being covered in the timber and stones but that which seemeth most
strange , a little child was taken up from among the slain not anything
hurt ; which is not to b e slighted, though not to b e made a wonder : for
we know who saith that the ir angels do always behold the face of our Fatherwhich is in heaven .
At the conquest, Dodo, a Saxon , was possessor of this borough ; and af
ter Hugo , surnamed of the place de Chagford then to W ib bury ; and by
CHA P . XVII .] VIEW OF DEVON SH I RE . 43 ]
his heir, after some descents to Sir Richard Hiwise , or Huish, knight . He
and his father, William, in the re ign of Henry III . , wrote themselves of
Hiwise . (where perchance I forgot to remember them .) This was but onedescent in that name , for his heir female possessed therewith S ir RobertTresil ian , Lord Chief Justice Of England ; Whom we may claim for a native
for his knowledge in the law b ut he was subtle to dece ive himself, which
brought him to a disgraceful and shameful end . His he ir (a simple sillycreature , as it is recorded,) intitled Hawley therewith, of whom we havespoken at Dartmouth ; and his again enriched the White - spur therewith,
by which title the great Coplestons were stiled ; now by al ienation the man
s ion- seat Of S ir JohnWhiddon , knight, whose grandfather, Of the same name
and title , was al so secondary Justice of the King’
s Bench : a man Of high
stomach and very well read in the laws of this land . He married the heir
Of Shilston his son , Chudlegh his son , now Sir John , married A shford .
Here flourisheth also (as saith M r . Camden ,and justly might b e so say , )
the clarous fam ily of Prouz and so it doth at this day, though not per
chance in equal estate or addition Of titles with them yet doth his deport
ment and actions express from whence he descended, and that he is no unwor
thy branch Of so worthy a stock . They flourished in this kingdom ( ifwe may
give credit to traditions and no slight manuscripts ,) even before the con
quest . Thi s among other note s I find , that in the troop of those nobles that
ass isted William Duke of Normandy to conquer thi s realm there were s ent
a W illielmo Comite de la Prouz , al ias Le Paux , octog inta naves cum qua
dragin ta militibus but not to insist longer upon that (where in I could tell
you some not improbable tal es , ) we will descend to the age Of Henry 1 1 1when Peter de Prouz (which it may b e was the first that inhab ited this coun
ty z for before they were seated at St . Probus in Cornwall , and in divers
deeds wr itten diversly , as de Probus , de Prouz ,de Prous , and perchance de
Pratellis ; or else there was another family Of that name married M ary ,
eldest daughter and, in fine , sole he ir toWilliam de Vernon , Earl Of Devon ,
(the relict Of S ir Robert Courtenay ,knight, ) b y M abel his wife , one of the
cohe irs Of Reginald, Earl of Cornwall , natural son to Henry I . He suc
ceeded Robert le Prouz , who married the sole he ir Of Giles de G idlegh .
This , or his father, was steward to Richard, Earl of Cornwall, elected em
peror of the Romans , second son to King John . The next S ir Williammarried the daughter Of Sir Fulk de Ferrers , and had in frank marriag e the
432 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V .
manor of Throwley . Another S ir William married the daughter and heir
(as some will ,) Of Sir Walter le Giffard, the Lord of Aveton Giffard .
And he , I think it was , or his father, that gave his daughter in marriage toS ir Roger le Moelis , Baron Of North Cadbury . That knight ordained byhis last will and testament to b e buried with his ancestors at Lustlegh, but
his executors buried him at Holbeton . After some time the Lady Ali ce
M oelis , his daughter, understanding the will of her father for his interment
was not performed , petitioned John Grandisson , then Lord Bishop of Exeter, that he might b e taken up , and according to his will and desire buriedat Lustlegh, which was granted ; and to that purpose I find a mandatum ;
which in regard that thing s Of this nature are not obvious , and some willb e as will ing to see it as I myself was , I shall fairly g ive the sight thereof.
*
This knight, or another Sir William , his son , who was also Dominus de
G idlegh, had four sons ; the first, S ir William, Whom he left lord of G id
legh and Throwley , &c . ; the second, Sir Richard, to whom he gave Ai sh
riston , now Ashton , &c . ; the third, Sir Hugh, to whom he gave Staple
Helion , Gatcomb , and Widworthy . Of these three knights , having no
heirs but females , are sprung many dignous famil ies . Of the first, Damerel ,
N orthcot, W ibb ery ; and from one of these Coad , &c . : of the second, Chud
legh : of the third, Chichester, &c .
i t As theWriter has g iven it so very incorrectly, we present it in its accurate form. See
the B ishop’s Reg ister, vol . 1 1 . fol . 1 31 . b“Registrum venerabil is in Christo patris Domin i Johann is, Dei gratia Exon iensis
E piscopi, inceptum in manerio ejusdem patris apud Chuddelegh, die M ercurii in festo
Sancti Luce Evangeliste, Videlicet, 1 8 die mensis Octob ris, A . D . 1 329, consecrationis
sue tertio incipiente .
M andatum ad exhumandum corpus Domini W ill ielmi P roucz, M ilitis ,— Quarto deci
mo Kalendarum N ovembris apud Chuddelegh emanavit mandatum Domino Henrico,
Vicario E cclesie de Holbogheton, sub hac forma.
Johannes dilecto fi lio et ex parte nobil is mulieris Domine Al icie de Moeles nobisest intimatum
,quod cum nobil is vir Dominus W illielmus Proucz, pater suus, mi les, paro
chianus Ecclesie de Lustelegh corpus suum disposuisset in ultima sua voluntate in dictaE cclesia de Lustelegh sepeliri ; quidam tamen corpus ipsius in E cclesia de Holbogheton
sepel ire n imis voluntarie presumpserunt. Volentes ig itur ut tenemur pias et honestasvoluntates exequi defunctorum,
vobis committimus e t mandamus, quatenus 51, per leg itimam inquisitionem vocatis et vocandis
,ita esse inveneritis, ossa prefati M ilitis cum
reverencia qua decet faciatis exhumari, et apud E cclesiam predictam de Lustelegh quam
primo commode poteritis, transportari . Datum &c.”— G . O.,— P . J.
434 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V
CHAPTER XVIII .
Of Cheriton, Dunsford, Bridford, Dunchideock, Ashton, and other p laces in our
way to Chudleigh.
N OW have we passed with our river Teign out of the coarse soil , havingseen G idlegh and Throwley near unto it, which came from Ferrers to Prouz ,
and after from Moelis to Coad ; and leaving the vale -dicite of the duke’s
donation to your due cons ideration , we will passCrockernwell , and so come to Cheriton , which hath two di stinctions to
b e known from another of that name , the one South, for the site and the
other of his sometime landlord , the Lord Bishop of Exeter, Cheriton
Bishop . Here is the hamlet ofEgg eb eer, held by one of that name long s ince ; after by Kelly ; now by
Ful ford . Midleton , of some Mydland, possessed by one Of the g enerous
tribe Of Davie . Farwood belonged to the Abbey Of Quarrer, now to Upton .
W e receive here as great a subsidy as a l ittle brook can give us, all ithath : so come we to Dunsford, whi ch the Lord Bishop of Exeter al so
owned : yet one tells me it sometime belonged to Canon’s Legh ; but now
to the knightly and dignous family Of Fulford of Fulford, de vado pleno or
Foul ford, de turpi vado . Of this ancient fam ily I have seen evidence Of
the age Of Richard Coeur de Lion , which at this present ag e flourisheth in
equal state with his noble ancestors . Their condition was much improved
by the match with the daughter and coheir Of Sir Baldwin de Belstone .
Then Sir Bal dwin Fulford, not to be spoken Of Without due respect and re
memb rance of his worth and valour : he of whom it is recorded that for the
honour and liberty of a royal lady b esieged in her castle , he fought a braveand resolute combat with a Saracen , for stature a very unequal match, as
the representation shows— impar congressus Achilli, yet subdued him, g et
ting the victory with the death Of hi s adversary . Of whose daughter, mar
ried to Wise , is descended the noble house Of the Russell s, now Earls of
Bedford ; and by another daughter, to Cary , the two noble houses of M en
mouth and Dover . This knight, the now possessor, married the daughter
and coheir of Samways his father, Bamfield and the next two before
CHAP . XV II I .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . 435
them, Dennis and Bouchier of Bath: his son , his grandson , a
daughter Of Kellond Of Painsford : his great grandson , first, a sister Of the
Lord Pawlet Of H inton -St .-George ; and second, the coheir of Tuckfield ;
but yet without any living issue .
W e leave Dunshideok, al ias Dunchideock , not long s ince the inheritanceOf Budocushed , alias Butshead, by the heir of that house ; now Gorges . And
Doddescomb s-Legh , or Doddescomb s-Farm Of which S ir Ralph Dodes
comb wrote himself in the ag e Of Henry III . whose inheritance accrued toPollard and Tremain . who quarter al so the ir armories .
Then have we on the right hand Bridford, or rather Brigford . Britrica,
a Saxon , held it in elder times ; and in our ag e Champernon . Therein isa farm called W estcot, whose inheritor prescribes above 300 years , as by
the evidence he hath yet to show plainly appears it is not great, but a com
petency ; and therewith the tribe contented itself these many year s ; descended, as should seem, Of generous family : for to their ancientest evi
dence of the name , there is yet to b e seen a seal dependant, whose impres
s ion , on green wax , is , a chevron between three things , but what doth not
appear . Thi s race surely contented themselves with this competent estate ,never putting themselves into publ ic Offices to g et, perchance , fame , but as
suredly envy ; nor ever endeavoured to enlarge the ir possess ions ; yet with
a careful frugality to preserve the main chance and not to lessen it . Of
them and their like the poet speaks thus ,
The vain des ires of Indian treasures greatMade ne
’er his ship to sail or oar to beat ;
The greedy hope of gain with vent’rous dangerMade ne
’er his sword b e drawn to serve a stranger ;
He never sold,within the wrangl ing b ar ,
Dece itful clatters causing cl ients’j arBut quietly manured his little field,And took th’ increase thereof that time did y ield .
Next is in our way Moortown , the town in the moor, or moorish- soil,bordering on the forest of Dartmoor it hath the adjunct Of Hampstead . It
hath a Saturday’s market, and three fairs , St . M argaret
’s , St . M ichael
’
s , and
St . Andrew’s days . It was eminently the king
’s demesne , and afterward
William de M andevile , third Earl of Essex and Albemarle , was possessed
thereof, who lived in the time of Henry II for he g ave parcel of this ma
436 V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [BOOK V .
nor to Elias Foord in which race it continued many descents , even to our
ag e . Then a female brought it to Charles , and his issue male soon ended .
Pipardon , anciently the land Of Sir John Pipard in Edward II . , and W illiam in Edward Il I .
’s days ; where Wood dwelleth. And
Wray, which was long s ince held by Will iam de Cheverston then by
the name of Abbot : for I read Radulphus Abbot fuit seisitus in mane
rio de Wray .
”By Archinalds , he ir female of that name , it descended
for three descents to Norris and in the three next descents , successively,
Laforde and Corset, the last after four descents , possessed by his daughter Southmead therewith . I am the more particular in this in reg ard we
may thereby conce ive the better of the chang eable and interchangeable va
riety of possessors Of manors s ince this in so few years , not by sale , but
succession, al tered seven . In this parish are two great rocks to b e seen
afar Off, distant the one from the other near three m iles , distinguished bythe several names OfWhitestone and Blackstone . The last named seemeth
somewhat s trang e to the spectator ; to some a fearful wonder ; for it is avery huge rock set upon another Of much less quantity , which it overlayethfar on each side , embossed with so great a belly that many men and beastsmay b e sheltered under the coverture thereof ; and though to some it seem
eth fearful and falling , yet it is so equally poised that there is no doubt . SO
it pleaseth nature to frame things ; for by her I suppose it to b e done , and
not by man : for so ( it is so huge of proportion .) how they came there
might supply the repute Of a wonder, but muchmore how so mounted .
W e are come to Christow, alias Christenstow, which the Abbot of Bec,in Normandy, held under Henry III . : and therein is Teign
-Canon ; bywhich addition it should show itself to have belong ed to some canons .
*
There was a very ancient family of the Christenstows , now extinct, whosearmories Denn is of Holcombe quartered .
Then with due respect it salutes Ashton , or Ashriston ; a place , perchance , replen ished with ash trees , and thereof took name , and gave the
l ike to a tribe of good worth ; whose daughter and heir brought it to SirHerveius de Hilion after him Sir Al anus ; and lastly Sir Robert ; whoseheir enriched therewith S ir Fulk Ferrers ; from whom to Prouz ; and b y
him to the dignous family Of Chudlegh,which is very ancient and worship
It belonged to the Canons ofMerton in Surrey .—G . O.,
— P . J .
V IEW or DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V .
Here have we a good subsidy from the river Bovey, which having runequal course with Teign ,
; coming both out of one and the same nursery ofDartmoor, runneth to
North-Bovey and nameth it, and the addition it hath of North is to b edistinguished from other of the name . In this parish Pipard held land ; af
ter the Lord Latimer Sir Thomas Nevil after him ; then Cecyll .
This riveret parts M anaton , al ias M agneton , and Lustlegh . Many havepossessed lands here : in the Confessor
’s time Gilbert ; after Sauls , Horton ,
Le M oyu , and others .
Lysleigh, or Lustleigh held by Galfridus de Mandevile , by Widworthy ,and Prouz whereof this lastwas termed Lord Of Lustleigh ; and we were informed that before the re ign Of Edward I . divers dignous families (whereof,among many, this shall serve for an instance ,) have had the addition of lord
and baron, but he abrogated it ; and after his time none had that attri buteand the honour and title of baron , but such as the king called by special
summons to his high court of parliament . At M anaton S ir Robert le Denisinhabited and held it of Patricius de Cadurcis, Chaworth, or Chawort.
Another Bovey hath the adjunct of her ancient lord, the noble family OfTracy after George , Duke Of Clarence ; from and by whose death it cameto the crown . At Indiho is the fruitful family of Southcot . He marri ed
Poole : his father, Seymour : his son , S ir Popham, Berkeley .
Below which it is begirt, in the way between Exeter and Plymouth, witha fair stone bridge , which bears the name of Jew
’s ;Bridge, as built by a
gentleman of that name for such one there was , a man at arms , in the
time of Edward II . : of which family you will find more in Cotley .
In the church, besides many armories , I find these two or three epitaphs
On M r . Rider
Here sleeps his body, while his soul divine,L ike as the stars, in firmament doth shine .
”
On his wife
Here doth her body sleep in clay, In which her Jesus will it raise ,And sleep it must ti ll the last day ; Untohis glory and her praise .
”
In the church-
yard on a tombThough I died young and laid in grave,
The longest l iver an end must have .
CHA P . XIX .] V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE .439
Ilsingt'
on , or Ilstinton , where the two lords of Zouch and Compton hadland, and sometimes Phil ip de Bellomonte . Here resides in this age a re
mainder of the knightly stirp of the Pomeroys . He married Drew his fa
ther, Copleston .
At Bagtor is a family of Ford ; of which name there are three divers families, all generous , and distingui shed by divers armories . This married a
daughter of S ir Henry Roe : his father, the heir of Drake : his grandsire ,Popham .
Teign-Grace and Teign
-Bruer, the smaller issue of our river . The latter
was held by Geofl'
ery Brewer, by whose only issue , a daughter, it came to
Le Grace ; who held Teign-Grace : so possessing both, his only daughter
entitled Copleston therewith . Here is also a tribe Of the Marshals .
Here have we an augmentation from Ashcombe , which was held b y S ir
N icholas Kirkham, knight, in Edward I .
’s time . And
Ideford, where Arundell (Paulett) and Southcot held land . And
Bickington , where Fursland inhabiteth. Then
Highwick (not Huic , as some pronounce , and make it a pronoun , the da
tive case Of H ic ,) yields us a pretty stream . This was held by S ir Richard
Tremenet, al ias De Tribus M inutis , knight, in the reign of Richard 1 .
Newton is next in our way a pretty little market town , made of two ,
distinguished by the name Of Abbot, as belonging to Tor-Abbey and
Bushel , as being the inheritance Of a gentleman of that name , who pos
sessed it in the time Of Edward II and three descents after Elizonta, ( 1
name her the rather for that methinks the name sounds rarely pretty ,) the
only heir Of the house , brought it to Roger at Yard ; a younger branch of
whi ch race at thi s day enjoys it . It hath a Wednesday market .
Upon thi s riveret stands Ulb ear, or W olb ear, and there in Ford, whichappertained to the Abbey of Tor ; and at the surrender bought b y Gaverick,whose cohe irs were married to Drew, M arshal , and Hayman ; who sold
their several interests unto S ir Richard Reynel , knight, who hath b eautified
it with a fair house . He is a fair branch of the house ofn el but havingbut one onl y daughter increaseth not the name , but hath married her to S ir
W illiamW aller of Kent ; [whose daughter and heir brought it to her husband,S irWilliam Courtenay of Powderham-Castle , whose dwell ing now it is .]This river comes from the two n els , east and west. The first was
held by Robert de M alston , and the other b y Richard Clavil , in the ag e of
440 V IEW OF DEVON SH IRE . [BOOK V .
Edward I now both in the possess ion of the worthy and fruitful tribe of
Reynel ; of which there are branched forth divers fair progenies , both inthis shire and others and at this time fiv e knights , three brothers and twonephews : whereof may b e perceived that the state Of this county differsmuch from Cornwall some seventy years s ince, when all the knights there
in, and the sheriff, had but one eye . This married in his own trib e his
father Aylworth : his grandfather, Southcot . [A younger brother of thepresent g entleman , Thomas Reynel , esq . , is now Lord Chief Justice of Ire
land and a knight, by name Sir Richard Reynel .] This fam ily also posses
seth Holb eam ; which gave name and long habitation to that ancient race ,enjoying it many descents , and in this ag e alienated .
The two Carswels , al ias Kerswels , known by the several names of King’s
Kerswel and Abbots -Kerswel ; the first being at the conquest the demesneof the crown . In the time of Henry VII . Baron Dinham, Lord H ighTreasurer , held it ; which, with his other lands , descended to hi s four sis
ters : but, as I remember, Baron M oelis had it, together with the honourOf the hundred of Haytor, (which contains twenty-two parishes , ) in the
reign Of Edward I . The other
Abbots -Kerswel , so named for that it belonged to the Abb eyof Sherborne .
Then is Coffins-Well , belong ing to the Coffin family . Of this family we
find S ir Hugo Coffin , Of Combe-Coffin , or Coffin-Pyn e , in the ag e of Rich
ard I . S ir Hugh of the same in the time of Henry III . ; and S ir Elias of
this place : but presently after, in Edward’s reign , Sir Robert de Scobb a
hull : in later times , by the heir of Coll , it descended to Prideaux .
Haccombe , whi ch Ulfus anciently held, and after him Sir JordanusFitz Stephens ; called, by his there inhabiting, Sir Jordan de Haccombe .
Cicely, his sole he ir, brought it to Sir John Lerchdeacon ; so call ed of hi s
predecessors , and not . from church dignity, as some have supposed : who,
by her had a very fruitful issue , especially Of males , nine , whereof seven di edw ithout issue only Richard, the third son , had, by Joan Bosower, Thomas ,in whom ended the name Lerchdeacon of all that numerous issue .
Warren , the second son, by Elizabeth, cohe ir of John Talbot de Castro
Richardi , had three cohe irs ; whereof the second married Sir Arundell of
Talvern , and died without issue ; Eleanor, the eldest, was wife to S irWalter
Lucy, Of whom cam e the Lord Vaux ; Philip , the third, was second wife toS ir Philip Courtenay, of Boconock in Cornwall, and brought him only a
442 V IEW OF DEVONSH IRE . [ BOOK V.
At Gabwel dwelt Seward, whose two coheirs entitled Chafl’e and Furlongtherewith. Here at Buckland is the seat of Huckmoor, who married thecoheir Of Mychel : his father Floyer his grands ire , Cruse .
There is a hamlet named Rocomb -Cadhue, which Osmar, then Barnard,and now Speccot enjoyeth. Ringmoore owned by Carew .
Then on the other hand are two Of the chiefest issue of our ri ver Teign,
Teingtown-Bishop and (Teignton surnamed royally) King
’s-Teignton .
In the first, where (for that there was anciently a sanctuary (the sacredprivilege ,) with the immunities and liberties, no man , in elder times durstViolate , though they patronized many ungracious livers.) John Grandisson,
Bishop of Exon , (a noble prelate , descended out of the royal house of the
Duke Of Burgundy,) as prophesying or presaging what woul d in future
times ensue to the great estate of the clergy then held, built a fair houseto the end his successors (the words of his testament are even these ,) mighthave a place to lean unto or lay their heads , if haply the ir temporal ities
should b e seized ; which was oftentimes moved and sundry times eagerlyattempted, and like (as it did,) to take effect at last into the king
’s hands .
But so far was he from being ab le to prevent destiny, (and to effect hi s de
s ired purpose , to preserve and maintain the state Of the clergy.) that hi s
successors have not lost that selfsame house alone , but therewithall well neardis - seised Of all the rest .
Teign-Regis , or Kingsteignton which the conqueror. held in his own
hand . Some land is there held by the Cliffords at this day . M ary Bur
don , relict of Robert Burdon , claimed to hold in dower, 1 295 .
I should have told you somewhat b efore of the manor of Teignweek and
Teign-bridge for length very long and rather to b e termed a causeway than
a bridge yet hence the hundred of Teign-bridge takes name ; which con
tains thirteen parishes . Here the river spreads itself at large , b athing and
thereby enriching much land, whi ch feeds many beasts to the butchers’ gainas well as the graz iers’.W e are come to this river, Single-mouth ; though it have a double name
where it disgorgeth itself into the sea, for it nameth two towns , East andWest Te ignmouth .
At this haven the Danes (then noted for common pilferers ,) used to pira
cies upon these coasts , Normandy, and Fran ce , at the wane of the Saxons’
strength and government, ab out the year Of our Lord 790 , landed ; but
CHAP . XX .] V IEW OF nnq
s E . 443
only as it were to discover the commodities of the havens , the wealth of thecountry, and the strength and courage of the inhabitants , to gather some
advantage ( if they saw means ,) to make way for a greater power which was
to follow them .
The news Of their landing brought to the prefect, sheriff, or king’ lieu u
tenant for that place , he went himself presently with more haste than good
speed to demand the reason'
Of the ir hither coming ; and upon some their
harsh answer, attempting to se ize on some of them to bring them to the
king’s presence, they instantly stabbed him and escaped , which they took
for bonum omen , a fortunate presage of ensuing good success , which proved
true , in the many Victories and inroads wherewith they afterward harrowedand overcame the whole kingdom for from the time Of their first landing
to their final expulsion , by M r. Grafton’s computation , was no less than 255
years whereof they played rex l ittle less than thirty years yet for the
present the inhabitants enraged with the loss Of the ir chief, (val iantly ad
vancing themselves in greater number to revenge this insolency and wrong , )killed divers Of the Danes in the place , enforcing the remnant to save them
selves by flight to their ships . This is said to b e the orig inal cause that
gave provocation to the Danes to attempt their ensuing conquests . Yet
there are two other reasons alledged, whereof one for the strangeness I
cannot forbear to impart unto you .
Lothbrook, ( in English leather-breech, ) a nobleman of the royal l ineageof the Danes , flying his hawk near the sea- shore , hi s hawk with her g ame
fell into the sea, which to save he presently took a boat, but with the Vio
lence of a storm and tempest presently aris ing, he was driven upon the coastof Norfolk at Raddam , from whence he was presently brought to the king
’s
presence , to whom he declared his birth and strange adventure , and was
kindly entertained , and for his skill and experience in hawking was Of the
king much esteemed but Beric , the king’
s falconer, envying thi s his favour ,and storming at his own des istance in the king
’s s ight, finding a fit Oppor
tunity (they being single together in a dark wood ,) murdered Lothb rook ;whose body being found by his spaniel, Beric was convicted and by sentence
Of justice was put into Lothb rook’s boat, and in like sort, without e ither sail
or tackl ing . But hi s fortune was al so very strang e , for he was driven upon
the Danish coast, even into the self- same place whence Lothb rook put forth.
The boat being known and he examined what was become of Lothb rook, he
444 V IEW OF DEVON SH I RE . [BOOK V .
traitorously (as he was amurderer.) laid the murder on King Edmund . The
Danish king herewith incensed raised presently a mighty army , and made
captain s thereof Hungar and Hubba, the two sons of Lothbrook . And thi s
enough. if not too much, Of the Danes .
But now againto Teignmouth, ostium fluvn Ting . The manor Of West
Teignmouth is an ancient borough, (owned by the Bishops of Exeter.) towhich they g ave 300 acres Of land, and the inhabitants vaunt for antiquitythat they may prescribe before Exeter . It hath a fair now every Good-Friday; much
'
frequented ; which in former elder times was kept on the Sun
day , and though the contrary was commanded yet people would not for
bear until King Henry III . commanded the sheriff to raise posse commita
tus , and so to abrogate the same .
In the upper end Of the church in great capital letters (as I am in
formed,) is this written ,
“Pray for the soul s of Thomas Smith and Clement
his wife. John Smith and Isabel his wife , all good benefactors .
”
East-Te ignmouth, on the other s ide of the river, the building whereofargueth antiquity ; in ancient times Of far better esteem and much more
inhabited, and had certain immunities and privileges , and a strong prison ;but, for want Of some castle or fortification , subject to foreign invasions , asby the Danes already spoken of so also as M r . Stow saith in his Annals ,in 1 4th Henry II I 1 34 1 , certain French pirates coming upon the coasts set
it on fire and burnt the greatest part thereof ; [as it was also b y the royalfleet of France that lay in Torbay about the year Of our Lord 1 690 , in the
wars between King William 1 1 1 . Of England and the confederates , and Louis
XIV . the French king ; at which time the French admiral sent in some
gallies and boats, and wholly destroyed it .] The ir fair is on St . Michael’sday . Teign St . George join eth to one of these .
East from this town is Boul es , or Dawlish . The Bishop Of Exeter heldit in the Conqueror
’s time , and it now belongeth to the Dean and Chapter
of St . Peter’s , Exon . Here is plenty
’
Of fish taken , whi ch is the greatest
benefit that it hath .
In this parish Holcombe is a tithing, long time belonging to that name ,which was a generous race of very good respect in this tract ; now the
land of Smith .
Here falls in a little brook which cometh fromMamhead, alias M anhead ;
this may b e M anyhant. whereof one writes Will iam Wickham was parson
TO THE GENEROUS READER.
(A p osr scnrrr BY W AY OF A POLOGY .)
COURTEOUS S ir (for if generous , you cannot but b e courteous.) thathave vouchsafed to turn over this bundle of waste paper, thinking to find
somewhat worthy Of your pains , (but now see your expectation dece ived.)b e pleased to bear with the weakness of my memory in forgetting to salute
you at your first entrance , for now I come tandem aliquando to give you (for
you are not every body.) a farewell at your departure without peradventure
if you b e come thus far , you have viewed all over, and with your own lynx’
eyes , so quick of sight, you have seen more in thi s than myself could and to
your ingenuity not Sphinx’s aenigmata are Obscure . Yea, some I know can
number the atoms in the sun , and shew the we ight of my errors at a grain ,
I am he that must answer for all : the best is somewhat more at leisure
than I have been lately and s ith we live in such an age , in which nothing
can escape the envious touch and backbiting tongue of malicious mouths ,
and every blind corner hath a squint- eyed Zoilus that can look ari ght upon
no man’s doings , and a stomach ill - affected can rel ish no meat how whole
some Or comfortable soever ; if you will shew y ourself to b e as I have en
titled you , and my friend as I take you , discover unto me (for you have heard
all the sundry divers ities of opin ions in what 1 have deviated, ) what things
are most liable to exceptions I intend not in phrase or style , (which is al
ready confessed,) barren , rude , and illiterate ; b ut in the matter itself and
method . You have granted me at first, and therefore I acknowledge youg enerous ; and you , Of all men , and only you , shall hear my defence ; for I
intend not to give sops to the Stygian dog , nor solicit the Viperous tongue
to silence . Let me know my accusations .
l st Objection .— You are taxed for overlading divers with superlative
commendations .
Answer .— And I again , on the other s ide , think (and so do many others , )
that I shoot far short of the he ight Of their merits and this talker , if he b e
THE A UTHOR’S APOLO GY .447
of this county, and shall equal those I have commended in their noble deserts , I will amplify his encomium to an higher strain ; for I suppose if hemay have a good share allowed him therein , he will b e pacified and wellcontented it shall pass as no error : yet there is nothing soundeth so harsh
in the malcontent’s ears as another’s commendation ; whereunto yet, per
haps , he will fashionably and coldly assent, but with such an after- clap ofexception as will quite mar his former allowance . But I hope none will b el ike minded with him, whom a modern poet thus describeth,
They do not love encom iastic storie s,O r for to read the ir predecessors’glories ;For good report to all men they deny,A nd both the l iving and the dead envy ;Y ea
,some of them I do think had rather
Lose all good fame than share itwith their father.
Yea , thi s was the chief of my intention , with the more facil ity and alac
rity to incite and provoke their successors to such like Virtuous and honour
able actions , to merit equal praise with the ir ancestors for examples are
more forcible to persuade to Virtue than bare precepts insomuch as I read
in Cicero that nothing could b e well and sufficiently taught without examples .
The same is confirmed by the tale Of a country lady Of a coarse complex ion ,
who doubting to bring forth children as hard favoured as herself, b eautified
her house with many excellent fair pictures which she daily and stedfastly
beheld whereby is intended that setting before the eyes of our memory the
noble acts and Virtuous lives of excellent men , especially our ancestors , is
the readiest way to fashion our qual ities to theirs . And it is probable that
C . Caesar did ground that imitation Of his grandfather, in whi ch he did de
scend to such particul arities that he laboured as much as in him lay to b e
pari habitu haud multum distantibus verbis , not much unlike him e ither in
g esture , habit, action , or di scourse ; finding , it shoul d seem , that the same
affectation Of nearness and s imilitude , although in thing s Of mean cons ide
ration , did help to settle and enfeoff him In the grace and favour Of Tiberius whereby he had some means to compass likewise and effect his own
designs .
Making therefore choice of some of every family, especially such as I
could justly (without exception) fasten and rivet commendation 0 11 , (not
easily to fall or b e pulled Off.) e ither for martial , civil , or‘eccle siastical vir
448 THE AUTH OR’S APOLOGY .
tue ; those I have registered chiefly in the catalogue of worthies ; for deathcometh by nature to all alike , only there is a difference of memory to pos
terity
2nd Objection .—You have flattered some for favour or profit .
A .— This vain aspersion was cast by some one left-handed, that is apt to
take things in the worst sense ; for you may perceive he never knew thedefinition Of flattery, which is nothing but fal se friendship , fawning hypocrisy, dishonest civility, base merchandis ing of words , a plausible discord of
the heart and lips and to whom should I use this— whom, I beseech you ,
should I flatter ? those that have lain hundreds Of years in the ir graves !
and w ith the famous cynic ask and seek favours , larg ess. and profit, or
gratitude of images , pictures , and statues or, perchance , of some later in
terred, whose worthiness was not fully known or rightly noted ere they werewanted ! Of e ither Of these I have not set down a syllable more than I
have read in authentic works , or learned in such places or of such person s
as for the ir place could not b ut know, and for the ir credit and profess ion
would not b ut del iver the truth, and had l ittle reason to tell idle fables ;which hath drawn me to follow the ir report.
3rd Objection .— Al so it is objected that you have not noted every ancient
house and generous tribe , but purposely neglected some .
A .—I will freely acknowledge that I think I have not seen all in my way
but that I was purposely bl ind cannot by any probable reason b e supposedfor I think I have passed none that I found recorded, or by inquiry couldlearn Of and I dare confidently say I have named more than he , whoso
ever he were that made the objection , coul d hav e done , or ever heard b e
fore . He might name some two or three , perchance , that I have not ; but
that infers not that he knew all .
4th Objection .— Ag ain many famous and worthy men fit to b e enrolled
are left out .
A .— At that I do much grieve ; for I held the number of such not com
plete. but wished them alway greater ; and Bernardus non vidit omn ia ; yea ,
after much vexation and serious quest, 1 was enforced to present you withthese ; and I am assured divers are omitted (Whose memory would havebeen precious , and have g iven a lustre to our country,) only because themselves were , or else the ir successors are , (as it were) the grave and sepul
chres of their great worth and valour : and yet you shall have another rea s
450 THE A UTH OR’S A POLOGY .
none in that degree but such as I know (and so are g enerally deemed ) hO
nest and Virtuous . And why shoul d I willingly deviate on either hand,knowing b y long experience that gratefulness is troublesome and sometimechargeable when revenge is always ready and preferred before gain to any
depraved .
6th Objection .— You have taken a freedom Of speech against sundry er
rors and faults , and it is thought you mean some particul ar persons whenyou note these crimes .
A .-The ancient poets , and some neoterics , have indeed (as it were)
wrapped in the ir writing s divers and sundry meanings , which are called
sentences and mysteries but no one can tax me justly of a personal mean
ing except some one that is guilty, and he Viewing his own character
w ill , perchance , think himself aimed at yet have I mingled this freedom
(for I cannot but speak against Vices .) with the best discretion I had aboutme ; and I am assured I have not noted or touched any tribe or person so
near that he hath any reason to complain he feels harm and if I have given
a general and friendly caveat of faults , noting the crimes but not the persons ,I think I have uncased and shewed as plain a glass as any great man or
otherwise can use to see or spy his own errors in . It is an Open shop in
Birchin -Lane if any one find a suit that will fit him , let him take and wearit, for it was made for him , though I never knew I had his measure yet if
he please to b e s ilent he may pass without question if he like it not his
gall ed back will not b e noted nor perceived .
7th Objection — You might have forborn (since your intent was to glo
rify and ennoble your country and native soil.) to have spoken so Often Of
the commotions , which, though you palliated under the word commotion,
was a plain rebellion .
A .— W as it so ? then you may perce ive I flatter not the generality , much
less‘
any in particular, but deal plainly ; for as I would not willingly over
pass anything that might t end to the honour Of this county, so am I so far
in love with truth that I cannot (if it come in my way) but make known
the slipping and errors committed therein : for who can draw the counterfeit of Venus truly and not paint the mole in her chin ? or the picture of
Alexander without the scar in his face ? He be ing once with Apelles tohave his resemblance drawn , held his fing er thereon ; the painter made his
picture with his finger sticking so ; which the king perceiving , demanded
THE AUTHOR’S A POLOGY .45 1
Why he made it with his fing er before his scar because you held it so,
quoth Apelles . I did it. said Alexander, “that the same might not b e
seen .
“And for that cause I drew it ;”
so said the painter “and that my
skill might not b e questioned and art di sliked .
”And yet that Viper, whi ch
you term rebellion , (for we will not differ upon words , yet it is remembered
to this day by the name Of commotion , and old men reckon their age from
it.) was not hatched here but (as hath been formerly said ) in Cornwall ;somewhat nourished and increased, as it crept through our country , witha few of the
‘ poorer and baser sort ; not a man of worth or name : and in
fine the head thereof was crushed chiefly by those of this county .
8th Objection .-But in divers places you havemade eager and tart invec
tives against those lately sprung up to weal th and g entility .
A .— The general ity , or any particular , whom any Virtuous qual ity , his
own industry, or good fortune hath advanced. were he the son Of a carrier ,or smith, or a common victualler ; yea, were he brother to Verdugo , that
worthy Span iard ; ( if he b e like Verdugo , and his behaviour and deport
ment civil, mild , affable , and courteous , without pride and ostentation I
absolutely deny. upon my oath and deepest protestation I can make : for
with noble Pers ius
N or take I grief and care
If thatmy ne ighbour’s field ’s more fat than mine
Let all poor-born grow rich ; I’ll never pineWith envious rage for that.”
N O ,I am so far from that, as I will honour them, and I shall meet them
with all Observation and alacrity . But such upstart g olden asses , whose
nigg ardly covetous fathers have infatuated with an insolent arrog ancy, b y
leaving them a mass of ill - g otten wealth ; possessing , as the ir own,neither
valour. learning , wit, nor ordinary di scretion ; but swollen hug ely with that
intoxicating venom of riches , and thereby wooing with the powerful per
suading argument Of a great jointure , inocul ated into some g enerous family ,
and then by that grown high in the ir own imag inations , will presently b e
esquires ; when their gentility (G od what) hang s as ill O 11 them as if they
had borrowed it of some near- like name , or bought it with their pennies
and then fret if they b e not saluted with, your worship ; vouchsafing a faint
salute to their honest poor kindred casting a squinting eye on the ir equals
452 THE AUTHOR’S A POLOGY .
yea, vaunting themselves above their betters crowing over the commonalty, their fathers
’equals and are ready to out-brave any man that stands
of himself. and to blow him away with their strong breath (for commonlythey are strong in the mouth and spend freely z) such, I say, if any suchthere b e , and sure there are , or the worthy poet was mistaken when hesaid
W ho in the ir pride vouchsafe not to look backUpon the ir poor all ies , that all things lack.N ay, now they scorn to justify the ir blood,Butwill some other pedigree make good ;For though a brother’s son approach them near,
Y etwill he not his cause by that name hear.
”
And another
Y et suchbase scums must oft entreated b eWith good yourWorship
,andwith cap and knee ;
But sure the world is nowbecome a gul l,To think such scoundrels can b e worshipful .
If some able pen were at leisure to undertake against such mushrooms ,dipped in strong satirical ink, it would soon embowel these w ind-puff bladders , and pluck Off the loose periwig from their bald pates , and restore wor
ship to his right seat and habitation , and those stolen titles to their just andtrue owners ; and like another Aretine , strip these golden asses out of their
gay trappings for most men do infinitely stomach their undeserved titles ;and as they increase , so doth their hate .
9th Objection .— You have filled up the whole treatise with epitaphs ,
whereof many are idle and s imple .
A .—None. as I think , so s illy or s imple b ut that somewhat may b e learn
ed Out Of them, or some while spent in laughter at them . The monuments
are so many open tables , showing our mortali ty the epitaphs as many speaking pictures , or living images , reading us lectures of virtuous living ; and
to entice us thereunto if we desire to b e well spoken of, and to leave a goodmemory after us , and deserve the like epitaph with virtuous men .
l oth Objection .— Some errors are intermingled and averred for truth .
A .— Hardness of belief doth furnish many with matter of suspicion ; for
divers will g ive credit to nothing but what is written in the chronicles as
if succeeding ages should believe nothing done in this time but what is re
454 THE AUTHOR’S APOLOGY .
1 3thObjection .—It was expected you should have blazoned and set down
every gentleman’s coat, with descent and achievement , as others have done ,which would have been very thankfully accepted of the better part of them .
A .— But what think you woul d the worser part (which is most commonly
the major part,) have done taken it, I warrant you , in ill part ; and it
woul d have been enough to have brought all the clubs in town about myears . And b e it I should have performed the ir expectation , yet a burnt
child will always dread the fire . And I am not now so altogether impro
v ident, (though I was some time , as you know, so ill advised and indis
creet,) rashly to intrude myself into the ir sacred profess ion , to whom only
it doth justly and Of right belong to undertake and manage matters Of that
nature and quality . And I suppose it would have been pleasing to few to
have the stirp Of their ancestry derived ab origine ; for some might perad
venture have been encountered by another Juvenal , as the Roman citizen
was that vaunted much Of his ancestors
A ttamen ut longe repetas, longaque revolvasMajorum quisquis primus fuit ille tuorum,
Aut pastor fuit, aut al iud quod dicere nolo.
Y ea, though thou fetch thy ancestry so far,
Thy first progen itor, whosoe’r hewere,Some shepherd was, or elsewhat I’ll forbear.
That he forbears , you may conclude him thief perchance , or as
[t era desunt .]
FINIS .
D I G R E
MOST OF
DEVONSHIRE FAMILIES
THOMAS VVESTCOTE GENT .
That this volume of Pedigrees was written b y Mr. ThomasWestcote may
be inferred not only from the hand, b ut from that passage in his ‘View of Devon,’
— In answer to the obj ection why he had not set down every Gentleman’s coat
of arms,achievement
,and descent, he saith b e it so that I could have per
formed what they demanded and have satisfied the ir expectation ; yet a burntchild dreads the fire and I am not now so improvident altogether, though I wassometime
, as you know, in such a bus iness somewhat too bold rashly to intrudemysel f into the ir sacred profess ion
,to whom it only belongs . &c .
JOHN PRINCE ,
BERRY POMEROY.
458 DEVONSH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Guy Lynne , of Southweek, esq . , marr ied Agnes , daughter of GeorgeKirkham, esq . , sister of Sir Robert Kirkham, who married Ann , daughterand coheir of Armstrong , and had issue William (oh. 8 . p .) and George .
George Lynn e , Of Southweek in Northamptonshire , esq . , married Amy,one of the daughters Of Sir EdwardM ontague , knight, and had issue George,Humfry, Edward, and Frances . Georg e. son and heir, married Martyr,daughter to Clement Throgmorton , esq .
KIRKHAM . Argent, three lions rampant gul es within a bordure en
g rail ed sable .
S ir John Kirkham married and had issue George Annmarried to Bevil ,Amy married to Cruckhorn . George Kirkhammarried Anne , daughter and
one of the coheirs of Armston , and had is sue Sir Robert ; Amy , married
to M iddleton, Of Lytham in Lancashire , esq . ; Agnes , married to Guy
Lynne , esq .
Sir Robert Kirkham married Joan, daughter of Sir John St. John , knight
issue William . William Kirkham married Mary, daughter of Thomas Car
rels , of Egcourt, esq . , and had issue , George , William , Thomas .
BECKET .—Argent three Cornish Choughs proper .
G arlois , (al ias Garolus .) Duke of Cornwall , married Igerne (alias Inger
ina) the Fair, and had by her Alan . (al ias Alanus .) He was slain by UterPendragon. King Of the Britons , in hi s castle of Tintagel , in Cornwall , forlove of his Wife , of whom Uter-Pendragon was enamoured ; who had byher
King Arthur, and a daughter named Ann . He bare a lion ramp .
Alan , son Of Garlois , and half-brother to King Arthur , married and had
issue, first M ark , King Of Cornwall, sans issue ; second Cador, Duke of
Cornwall , who married Gonilla, daughter of Aurelius Ambrose , King of the
Britons , and had issue Constantin e , King of the Britons ; and b are sableten bezants , 4 , 3 , 2 . l , or rather fifteen bezants , 5, 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 . Aurelius
Ambrose bore three crowns in pale. three Alanus Duke of Tintagel .
Alan, the second, (alias Edem ,) married and had issue Aldr ed . Aldred
married and had issue Edwine . Edwine.Duke of Tintagel married the Lady of Bodmin and had issue Tregartus . Tregartus. Lord of Bodmin,
had
issue O swyn . O swyn.Lord of Bodmin, had issue Edmund . He was slain
b y Hungar and Hubba, the Danes , in the time of King Ethelred .
Edmund, Lord of Liskeard, had issue Matthew. Matthew. Lord of Lis
keard, had issue Owanus . (alias Owen .) Owen, Lord of Liskeard, had is
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 459
sue Edgar . He was slain by the Danes led by Canutus (or Knutt.) aboutthe year 1 000 . Edgar married Maud , daughter of Allard Becket, and byher had issue Will iam. William, Lord of Liskeard , lived in the time of the
conquest, and withstood the Conqueror a long time ; but in fine he saw
force would not prevail , he privately chang ed both his name and arms , and
took those Of his mother. whi ch were argent three sea- crows , 2 , 1 , sab .
memb . gul es : he had issue Edmund .
Edmund Becket left issue Gilbert. Gilbert Becket married Maud, daugh
ter of the Earl of Chylye : his mother was of Syria : he was born in Lon
don : of him is the Earl of Ormond and Queen Elizabeth, and had issuebes ides other, Thomas Becket, who was , by King Henry 1 1 made Ar ch
bishop Of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor, 1 1 6 1 , and after slain , 1 1 70 .
BECKET in M enwynyk in Cornwall
ARMS. -Sable a fess between thre e boars’heads coupedbetwe en Six crosslets,or.
1 . 2 . CURTUTH ER . 3 . HYDON . 4 . PADERDA . 5 . TAY LOUR . 6 .
TOTTEW ELL .7
. W AR . 8 . P INCERNA . 9 . DEVYOKB . 1 0. M EN W Y N N ECK .
1 1 . SMITH.
Edward Becket married An astatia, one of the four coheirs of Thomas
Curtuther (Joan was wife toWilliam M alherb Isabel to Stephen Helegan ;
Isot to John Pawlet, sans issue and of Margaret his wife , the sole daugh
ter and he ir of Richard H idon and Agnes his wife , who lived 34th Edward
I II . , son and heir of John H idon and Hawise his wife . who l ived 28th Ed
ward III . : he had two sons more , John and Walter. and two daughters ,
Claricia and Cecilia . He was of Somersetshire . Which Thomas Curtuther
was son and he ir to William Curtuther and Joan his wife , daughter of N i
cholas Loveputa ; whi chWill iam was son and he ir to S ir Fulgens Curtuther,knight, and Of Margaret his wife , daughter of Lucius Tredewy : and Edwardand Anastatia had issue William and Nicholas .
William Becket, son and he ir, married Joan , second daughter and one Of
the four cohe irs Of Thomas Paderda and of Joan his wife , daughter and he irof Roger Taylour, son and heir of ROger le Taylour, son Of John . Isabel,the first, was married to John Lauwarnick ; M argaret was wife to NicholasAshton ; Katharine was wife to John Cock and Will iam and Joan had is
sue John .
Nicholas , second son of Edward, married Joan, daughter andheir Of R0
g erTaylour, the relict ofThomas Paderda , and had issue Edmund Of Bodmin .
460 -DEVONSH IRE FAM IL IES .
John , son and heir of Will iam, married Isabel , daughter of Thomas Uppeton and of Joan his wife , daughter of S ir John Trelawny, knight, and hadissue JOhn, Isabel , Joan , Margaret, Bichord , Eleanor, Joan, Emma, Elizabeth.
John Becket married Joan , daughter and heir of William Totywell , 1 45 6,and of Ann his wi fe , daughter and sole heir Of Thomas W ar. of Plymouthin Devon , son and heir ofWilliam Tottewell and Alice his wife , daughter Of
Henry W emwech, of Sharpenho in the parish of Streately, in Bedfordshire ,by Dunstable, son and heir of Richard Tottewell and Of M ill isent his wife ,s ister and heir of Richard, and daughter Of John Pincerna, lord of fifteen
parts of Grampound and Of Isabel hi s wife , daughter and one Of the two co
he irs OfWilliam Dev ioke , (Alice , the other, was married to Walter Grant,Lord of Rame , who had issue Thomas , that died sans issue and of Emlynhis wife , daughter of S ir Richard Champernon ,
knight ; whichWill iam De
vioke was son and heir to Roger de Devioke and Of Hawis his wife , s isterto Sir Nicholas Halton , knight ; whi ch Richard Tottewell was son and he ir
of Lawrence , son and heir of Robert Tottewell , (who had also a daughter
married to John Cosen , who had issue Morice , who had issue Will iam, who
had issue son and heir of Stephen Tottewell . (who had a second son
called JOhn ,) son and heir of Robert Tottewell . And so John Becket and
Joan had issue first Gilbert, second Roger : first Joan. wife to Walter Coad ;second Elizabeth, married to Charles Cleker third Blanch, wife to JohnCoryton ; fourth Joan married to Richard Wood . Anne first married to
John Harris of Lanrest, secondly to Samuel of Restormel .Gilbert Becket, son and heir, married Joan , one of the three cohe irs of
John M enwynneck. Of St. German’s in Cornwall , and of his wife , daughter
and sole heir Of Smith, (the other was married to Robert Stoward ; Doro
thy, the third , to Robert Pickford and Gilbert had issue Robert, Thomas , Peter, Oliver : M ary, wife to John Hame ; Eli zab eth, Wife to PeterGrislyng ; Joan , married to H ammock . This Joan Overl ived Gilb ert, and
after married with one William Hechins , and had issue John, Thomas ,
Stephen . Robert Becket, son and heir , married Ann , daughter Of Peter
Coryton .
BOURCHIER, Earl of Bath.
William Bourchier, created Earl of Eu, in Normandy. 7th Henry V . , mar
ried Ann , daughter of Thomas , OfWoodstock , Duke OfG loster. s ister and
one of the coheirs of Humfrey her brother , and had issue Henry , Earl of
462 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S .
daughter of Henry Keyns , of Winkley in Devon , and had issue Charles ,Roger , JOhn , Richard .
S ir Gilbert de Bear , knight. was lord thereof 3 l st Edward I . Robertde Bear, 8th Edward 1 1 John de Bear, 1 5th Edward 1 1 1 Henry de Bear,50th Edward 1 1 1 . E lias succeeded and dwelt there 7th Henry V .
FRANCEIS , Of Comb eflory in Somersetshire , and Franceis-Court. De
von .— Argent a chevron engrailed, between three mullets , gules .
John Franceis , Of Franceis-Court, had issue Henry , John . Henry married Katharine , one of the cohe irs of Sir Hugh de Valetort, who died s .p .
JOhn , son and heir , married and had issueWill iam . Wil liam Franceis married
Alice , daughter and he ir of Nicholas de Hele . Lord of Hele in Bradninch,
and Alice his wife , daughter and heir of Flory, and cousin and heir ofW il
liam de Percehay, son ofWilliam de Hele , son of Roger, son ofNicholas , (whomarr ied the daughter Of Atwater 8th Edward son Of S ir Roger Hele ,kn ight. son of Roger, (27th Henry III son of Roger, ( in the beginning
Of the reign Of Henry and had issue Henry . Henry Franceis marriedand had issue Nicholas , and died 35th Henry VI . N icholas Franceis married and had issue John . John married Florence , daughter of Ashford of
A shford, and had issue Nicholas and Mary, second wife to John Cruwys , ofCruwys-M orchard in Devon , esq . N icholas Franceis married Cecily, daughter of Sir William Courtenay, of Powderham. knight. and had issue Sir
William ; who married Mary, daughter of Sir Richard and sister of Sir
Maurice Berkeley , knight ; the ir issue John marriedM argaret, daughter Of
Sir John Wyndham, Of Orchard, kn ight, had issue Thomas ; who marriedM ary , daughter of Sir John Chichester, knight, and died sans issue .
LANGFORD, Of Langford in Collumpton parish, Devon .
— Paly of 6, or
and gules , on a chief argent, a l ion passant, azure .
S ir Richard de Langford, knight. (beginning of Henry II I had issueRoger . Roger (27th Henry had issue Richard . Richard had issue
Roger . S ir Roger Langford, knight, (24th Edward I had issue John .
Sir John Langford, knight, had issue John . John married and had issueThomas . Thomas had issue John . J Ohn , the last Of this family. gaveLangford to Corpus Christi College in Oxford .
CHUDLE IGH , Of Ashton in Devon .
ARMS .— E rmine , 3 lions rampant, gules . Matched with the he irs of 1 . PROUz .
Sable 3 l ions rampant, arg . 2 . H I LI ON . A rgent on abend sable, threemartlets or.
DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES . 463
John Chudleigh and Thomas in his wife , s ister and heir Of John Prouz , sonand heir Of Sir Richard Prouz , knight, of Ashton , held Ashton 1 3th Edward1 1 1 . He was son and heir of SirWill iam Prouz and M argaret his wife , auntand he ir of S ir Robert de Hilion , son and heir of S ir Hervy de Hilion , son
and heir Of S ir Robert de Hilion , (whose other cohe ir, Isabel , was marriedto Sir Peter Challons , knight, ) son and heir Of Hervy de Hilion , son and
heir of Alan de Hilion , brother and heir Of Hervey de Hilion ,son and heir
Of Robert de Hilion , (and Of Mabel his wife , daughter of Sir Alan Dunstan
Vile son and heir of Hervey de Hilion , son and heir of Robert de Hilion,
son and heir of Hen ry which held A shton In the time Of William the Con
queror, as appears by Domesday Book . And this John Chudleigh had is
sue John .
John Chudleighmarried Jane , daughter Of Beauchamp , Of Ryme , knight.who married Alice , one of the daughters and cohe irs of Sir Rog er Nonant,
kn ight, Lord of Broadclist ; whi ch manor John Chudleigh had in marriage
with his wife , and had issue James .
Sir James Chudleigh, knight, married , first Joan , s ister and heir Of VVil
liam Beaumont, son Of S ir John Beaumont, knight, Lord Of Sherwill ; se
condly Joan , daughter and coheir of S ir Richard M erton , the relict of John
Bampfield : by one Of these he had James .
James Chudl eigh had issue JOhn , and died 35 th Henry VI . John mar
ried Thomasin. daughter of Nicholas Kirkham, and had issue James , knight .
S ir James Chudleigh, knight. married, first Margaret, daughter to the
Lord William Stourton , and had issue William, M argaret, wife to John Wise ,
Of Sydenham , Devon ; secondly M argaret, daughter of John Tremayn , the
relict of Oliver Wise , and had issue Robert, John . William Chudle igh
married Joan , daughter Of S irWilliam Hody, Of Pill esdon in Dorset, knight,issue Richard ; Obiit 29th Jannary, 1 5 1 5 , and lieth in Clist Church .
S ir Richard Chudle igh,knight, married M ary , daughter Of S ir Nicholas
Wadham, of M errifield. knight, issue Lawrence , James , (sans issue , ) Chri s
topher, E lizabeth, (first wife of S ir John Gilbert, sans issue ; secondl y Of
Sir Henry Thynne , knight M argaret, (married to RichardHalse of Kene
don ,) Ann , (married to James Coffin of Portledg e secondly to Edward
Whiddon, of Chagford, esq .)Christopher Chudleigh married Christian , sole daughter and heir Of \Vil
liam Strechlegh of StI echley, and Anne his wife , daughter or s is te r and one
464 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
of the coheirs of John Gould Of Seaborough, and had issue JOhn, Mary, (un
married ,) Elizabeth, ( first married to Arthur M eryoke in Somersetshire ;and secondly, second wife to Sir John Dowdal , of Ireland, knight ; Marga
ret, (married to Peter Carew, ofBickleigh in Devon. Amy, (firstmarried
toWilliam Heart, of Yearnacomb in Devon , esq . , and had no issue secondlyto Noble , of Boyton in Cornwall ; thirdly to Rolle .) John Chudleighmar
ried Elizabeth, daughter to S ir George Speke , of VVhite-Lackington in Somersetshire , knight, and had issue S ir George , bart . ; Sir John . Sir George
Chudl eigh, bart . , married a daughter Of Sir William Stroud, of Newnham ,
knight, and had issue three .
FARRINGDON , of Farringdon, in Devon .
1 . Sable three Unicorns in pale currant argent. 2 . HAMPTON .
— Gule8 on a
fess,argent, a mullet sable . 2 . BENDBOW .
—Quarterly, gules and or, per fess
indented on a bend dexter of the 2nd a c inquefoil betwe en two birds azure .
Adam and Richard de Farringdon held themanorofFarringdon 27thHenryI II . The portion OfAdam descended to the he irs of the Lord Of Shillingford .
Richard de Farringdon had issue William . William had issue Robert.Robert had issue W illiam . William had issue Robert : he lived 3 1 st Ed
ward 1 . Robert had issue JOhn , and lived 8th Edward 1 1 . John had is
sue Robert, and lived 20th Edward 1 1 1 . Robert had issue JOhn , Ralph.
John de Farringdon married Joan, the daughter and cohe ir of Mar tin deBendb ow Of Rockb ear, and had issue John he married secondly a daughterOfW alleron , (alias Warren de Hampton.) of Rockb ear in Devon , and had
no issue . John Farringdon , married Elizabeth, daughter Of Robert W ilford, of Oxton in Devon , and had issue Christopher, Charles , Grace ,
(married to Paget, Alderman Of London , and had issue James , of Whom is
Paget of Hampshire ; secondly she was married to S ir William Sherrington, Of Lacock in Vi
'
iltshire M argaret, (married to Will iam Barons ofLondon .) Charles Farringdon, esq. , married M argery , daughter of Sir
Thomas Stukeley, Of Afl'
eton in Devon. knight, and had issue JOhn , Law
rence , Anne married to Thomas Dowrish. of Dowrish in Kirton , esq .
John Farringdon married Grace, daughter ofWilliam Trewunnald, (aliasTrewinnard,) Of Trewinnard in Cornwall. and had issue Alexander, Giles ,JOhn , Launcelot : all sans issue . Lawrence Farringdon married a daughterof Richard Coffin, of Portledg e in Devon , the relict of Addington, and diedfelo de se leaving his two s isters his coheirs .
466 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
Thomas , son and he ir , mar ied Jane , daughter and he ir to John Tren
creek. of Trencreek in Cornwall , and had issue Robert ; who marri ed Ann.
daughter to Pomeroy , Of Berry-Pomeroy in Devon, knight. and had issue
Thomas. Will iam . Thomas Budokeside married Margaret, daughter to
S ir John Halwell, of Halwelstoke , Devon , knight, and had issue Anthony .
Anne married to John Burghley, ofWinterbourn in Dorset, esq . Anthony
Budokeside married Elizabeth, daughter to William Strowd, of Parham inDorset, esq . , and had issue Roger, Thomas , George , Julain. (married to
John Geare of Heavitree, Devon Ann . Rogermarried Frances, daughterto Sir Philip Champernon , Of M odbury, Devon , knight, and had issue Phi
lip , W inefred, (married to Will iam George. (Gorge ,) of Bristol. Ag
nes , (married to Oliver H ill of Shil ston Elizabe th. (married to John Amadas of Plymouth Philip Budokeside married M argery. daughter to RO
bert Smith Of Tregonyck in Cornwall .FITZ , Of Fitzford, Devon .
— AE M S .— Argent, a cross engrailed b etween1 2 goutes .
John Fitz , of Fitzford, had issue JOhn, Walter, Roger . Walter Fitz , esqsecond son to JOhn , and heir to his brother JOhn , married M ary, daughter
Of Sampson , and had issue JOhn , Robert. John Fitz , esq . , son and he ir,married Agnes , daughter Of Roger Grenvile, of Stow in Cornwal l , and hadissue JOhn , Edward, George , Francis , M argaret, (married to Richard Ars
cot Grace , (married to John Eliot of Plymouth Honor, (married to
Will iam Kanzewyowe ;) Katharine , (married to Will iam Bond .) John Fitz ,son and heir, married M ary. daughter Of Sir John Sydenham, of Brimpton
in Somersetshire , and hath issue Sir John .
S ir John marriedM ary. daughter of Sir Will iam Courtenay, of Powderham in Devon , knight, and had issue only one daughter and heir, married
to S ir Al an Percy, knight, sixth son to Henry, Earl of Northumberland.sans issue ; secondly she married Thomas, son and heir apparent of Thomas ,Lord Darcy of Chiche, now Viscount Colchester, sans issue thirdly -to Sir
Charles Howard, fourth son to the Earl of Suffolk, by whom she had two
daughters and he irs , Elizabeth, Mary : he killed himself . [She after thismarried Sir Richard Grenvile , by whom she had issue , whi ch she disinherited.arid settled Fitzford and her other estate on S ir William Courtenay of Pow
derham Castle ; whose second son, James Courtenay, esq . , now dwelleth at
W alreddon, in Whitchurch near Tavistock ]
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S . 46 7
DRAKE , of Ash in the parish Of Musbury .— ARM s .
— Argent a wyvern ,
gules .
John Drake married Christian. daughter and heir Of John Billet, and
Alice his wife , daughter and coheir Of Warren de Hampton (her second
brother Richard and John died sans issue , ) and Of Philip his wife . s isterand heir to John de Orway , (the other coheir, Joan , was first married toJohn Bonvile , secondly to John Sachvile , thirdly to Farr ingdon and had
issue John : secondly she married Richard Frankcheyney and had issueChristopher. who had issue Simon , from whom John Drake recoveredAsh.
John Drake married Christian , daughter and heir Of John Antage , andhad issue JOhn, who married a daughter of John Cruwys of Cruwys -Mor
chard, issue John ; who married Agnes. daughter of John Kelleway , and
had issue John , Robert, Gilbert, Agnes , (wife Of William Pole . after of
Wise of Totnes .) John Drake recovered. by writ Of formedon , Ash, from
Simon Frankcheyney, and married M argaret, daughter and heir Of John
Cole , and had issue John. Gilbert . John Drake Of Ash married Amy ,
daughter of Roger G renv ile of Stow, issue Bernard, Robert, Richard .
Sir Bernard Drake , knight, married Gertrude , daughter Of Bartholomew
Fortescue , of Fillegh, esq . , in Devon . issue John. (Hugh, M ary. sans issue .)Marg aret, (wife of John Sherman Ellen. (wife of John Button .) John
Drake , Of Ash, esq . , Sheriff of Devon , married Dorothy, daughter of W il
liam Button OfWiltshire , and had issue S ir JOhn , William , (Gertrude , sans
issue ,) M ary , (married to S ir Henry Rowsewell , of Ford Abbey in De "
von , knight. Sir John Drake. of Ash,knight, married Eleanor, daughter
Of S ir John Butler, Of Goodhall in Staffordshire , knight, and hath issue
Sir John , bart . , Thomas. Henry , Ann , (married to Briscow ;) Elizabeth,
(to S ir W instan Churchill Ellen , (to Fry of Yarty ;) Joan , (to the Lord
Howard of Etterick Jane , (to Will iam Young , Jane , (to S ir Rich
ard Strode Of Chalmingt on .) S ir John Drake , of Ash. bart married a
daughter of S ir John Young of Colyton, secondly Dewnes , daughter of S ir
Richard Strode. aforesaid .
Will iam Drake , esq . , younger brother to S ir John , aforesaid , married
M argaret, daughter and heir OfWilliam Westover, Of Yardbury in Colyton ,
by Elizabeth his wife , daughter Of John Ellacott Of Exeter, and hath issue
John .
468 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Robert Drake of Wiscombe—Park , in the parish of Southl eigh, second sonto John and brother to Sir Bernard , married Elizabeth, daughter of Humphrey Prideaux . of Thub orough in Devon , esq . , and had issue William, Ber
nard, John , Henry. Robert a colonel in the Low Countries and died sansissue , Nicholas , Humphrey , Gertrude. (third wife to Henry Honeychurch of
Aveton G ifl'
ard Amy, (to Poole of Nottingham and Ursula, unmarried .
Will iam Drake , ofWiscombe. esq . , married Philippa, daughter Of Sir RobertDenn is , Of Holcombe Bum ell , knight, and had issue Thomas .
Henry, fourth son Of Robert, married a daughter of Champernon , knight,and had issue Thomas .
Nicholas Drake , s ixth son , a pens ioner to King James andKing Charles ,married Katharin e. daughter Of William Tothill of Peamore , the relict of
William Kingsley Of Lancaster. esq .
RichardDrake , third son Of JOhn , one of the equeries of the stable and in
favour with Queen Elizabeth, married Ursula, sister Of S ir Edward Stafford,knight, and had issue Francis .
Francis Drake , Of Eshur. esq . , married Jane. daughter and sole heir Of
William Tothill, of London. esq . , and hath issue Will iam, Francis , Jane .
SH ILLINGFORD, of Shillingford, Devon .— Argent a bend gules , a la
b el Of three poin ts azure .
O smond de Shill ingford in the time of Richard I . had issue Ralph ; who
had issue Richard ; who, 2 7th Henry 1 1 1 had issue Ralph Sir Ralphde Shill ingford, knight, l st and 1 8th Edward I had issue Thomas
who had issue Ralph ; who married Cecily and had issue Richard, Ralph,
JOhn , Baldwin . Richard had issue Will iam , who died san s issue . Ralph
and John died sans issue . Baldwin succeeded his brothers , who left a
base son who had his father’s inheritance , and had issue Will iam . This
William , by Mabel his wife, had issue two daughters , coheirs , Anastatia,married to Edward Al eyn and Christian. wife to Philip Brooke . This
Will iam granted Shillingford, W ithecomb e , and Farringdon to S ir WilliamHuddisfield, Attorney General to King Hen . VII .MUNCK (al ias Monk.) Of Potheridg e in the parish of M erton .
ARMs .—Gules a chevron three l ions’heads crazed arg. CREST .— A dragon
volant. M OTTO.-N 0n Dubio.
WilliamM onachus , of Potheridg e , married a daughter Of Boniface of Py
worthy, and had issue Peter who married a daughter of W ollacomb of RO
470 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
captain at sea s . Arthur, (died at Ostend s . Christopher. Frances ,(married to S ir Lewis Stukely Of Affeton.
* knight Elizabeth, (married to
Nicholas Lutterel , of Hartland, Jane , Eleanor, Mary . Sir Thomas
M onk , of Potheridge , knight. married the daughter of S ir George Smith,
of M atford in Devon , kn ight, and had issue Thomas , George , Nicholas ,Arthur. Frances . He died in the sheriff’s prison. in Devon , June 30th,
1 627 .
Thomas Monk , of Potheridge , son and heir, married Mary, daughter Of
William Goul d. Of Hays , Devon , gent sans issue . George , the greatest
g eneral of the age . was created Duke of Albemarle , Earl of Torrington , &c
by his wife , s ister of S ir Thomas Clarg es , left issue Christopher, late Duke
Of Albemarle , who died in Jamaica in 1 687 .
PRIDEAUX, Of Orchardton in M odbury, Devon , and Thewb orough in
Sutcombe .— Arg . a chev . sable , a label of three points gules . CREST .
—A
Saracen’s head couped at the shoulders looking s ideways proper .
S ir Richard Prideaux , Of Orchardton , knight, married Isabel, daughterOf the Earl of March, and had issue S ir Geoffry, Alice , married to Richard
Reskymer , of Helford, Cornwall , esq . , Sir Geoffry married Isabel, and hadissue Peter ; who married Jane , daughter Of Sir William Bigbury, knight,and had issue Ralph ; who married Elizabeth, daughter toWal ter Trever
b yn ,issue Roger ; who married Elizabeth, daughter to S ir John Clifford,
knight, issue Roger , John , Alice.married to Richard Reskymer . John mar
ried a daughter and one of the coheirs of Gilbert, of Adeston in Holberton ,
and had issue Giles and John . Giles , son and heir , married Jane , daughter
and heir to N icholas Bromford, in the parish Of Jacob stow, Devon , esq . , and
had issue Jane , married to Robert Strechlegh, of Strechl egh in Devon, esq .
married a daughter Of Robert French, and had two daughters
J oan , married to Adam Somaster ofW idecomb e , secondly to William DrewOf Sharpham, thirdly to Baldwin Ackland. of Ackland, Devon . Thirdly he
married a daughter of John Shapton , and had issue Will iam .
William Prideaux , ofAdeston , married a daughter OfHugh Mychelstowe
Hugh Stucle, esq . , obtained a considerable accession of property by marrying Katha
rine, only daughter and he ir of John Afl'
eton. In consequence , he shortly after, Viz . 3l st
Jannary. 1 437, presented to the l iving ofWestWorl ington and on 1 7thMarch followingto the church of EastWorlington. S ee Lacy
’s Register, Vol . I I . fol . 1 63— 4 .
G . O Jo
DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IE S . 47 1
secondly he married a daughter Of John Fortescue thirdly he married Alice ,daughter and coheir of Stephen Giffard, Of Thewb orough, and Joan his wife ,daughter and heir of John Spencer , of Tedburn in Devon , g ent (who was
son and he ir to John Giffard and Alice his wife , daughter and heir to John
Hugg eworthy, who was son and he ir to John Giffard and Of Ingaret his
wife , daughter and cohe ir Of S ir Al an Esse , of Thewb orough, knight, ) andhad issue Fulk .
Fulk married, first Joan , daughter to S ir Richard Edg comb , knight ; secondly Katharine, daughter of Humphrey Pointz , of Langley. Devon , esq
and had issue Humphrey, and e ight other sons who died sans issue , Ahoe,
(married to Thomas Morton Of Cornwall Elizabeth, (married to Robert
Yeo, of Shebbear, gent. Margaret, (first married to JohnWill iams , second
ly to Leonard Tremain Jane , (married to Thomas Hussev , of Shapwick ,Dorset, esq .) Humphrey Prideaux , Of Thewb orough, married. first Joan ,
daughter ofRichard Fowel ofFowelscomb , the relict ofCourtenay OfLoughter, and had issue Richard, William, Roger, Katharine , (married to Robert
Trowbridge , of Trowbridge in Crediton. M argery, (married to RobertGibbes , ofWarwickshire, g ent . Mary, (married to Henry Tremayn , of
Bodrigan, Cornwall secondly he married Editha , daughter to William
Hatch, of NorthAller in Southmolton , g ent . , and had by her issue Thomas ,Elizabeth married to Robert Drake , ofW iscomb , Devon, esq .
Richard Prideaux , of Thewb orough, esq . , married, first Joan , daughter Of
Gilbert Gennys : secondly Katharine , daughter Of Sir John Arundel , OfTrerice in Cornwall , knight, and Mary his wife , daughter and heir of JohnBevil of Guarnicke , in St. Al lens , son and he ir to Peter Bevil. esq . ; issue ,Richard, Humphrey, JOhn , (sans issue .) Robert, (priest of Newton -St .
Petrock Jane , Char ity, (married to Nicholas Turberville , Of Crediton .
Richard Prideaux , of Thewb orough, son and he ir, married a daughter andhe ir Of Lampen Of Cornwall , and had issue Jonathan. Will iam, and
married to Fortescue , Of Buckland-Fillegh, esq . secondly to Bowden .
Jonathan , son and heir, married a daughter of George , and b ath issueS ir Richard Prideaux , knight. who married and hath issue Richard and
Jonathan ,
PRIDEAUX , Of O rchardton in Devon .
John Prideaux , esq . , married first a daughter of Sir Thomas Wortley, of
Yorkshire. knight, and had issue Thomas , Richard, William : secondly he
47 2 DE VON SH IRE FAM ILIES .
marri ed Joan , daughter of John Fortescue. ofWympston, Devon, and had
issue JOhn , Joan , Elizabeth.
Thomas married Margaret, daughter to Martin Ferrers . of Fenyton, De
von, issue John : secondly he married and had issue Elizabeth, wife of RO
bert Strechlegh. Elizabeth, the younger, married to John Sleep ; Al ice to
Christopher Pitts .
John married Elizabeth, daughter to Thomas Copleston. of Bowden. esq . ,
and had issue JOhn , Philip , Agnes secondly he married Ellen , daughter Of
Humphrey Wal rond, of Bradfield. esq . Johnmarried Elizabeth, daughter
of Robert Hill of Shilston , and had issue Robert, Philip , Elizabeth .
PRIDEAUX , of Soldon in Holsworthy .
Roger Prideaux, third son of Humphrey Prideaux Of Thewb orough, mar
ried Philippa, daughter and he ir Of Thomas Elacot, Of Elacot in Bratton
Clovelly. Devon , gentleman , the relict of John Parker, of N orthmolton , De
von. esq . , and had by her Sir Nicholas ; Sir Edmund Of Farway, bart . ; Eliz abeth, (married to John Periam Of Exeter, and twice mayor thereof W il
mot, (wife to AnthonyM apowder .) Sir Nicholas Prideaux. knight, son and
heir, married a daughter ofHenscot ofHenscot, (the other was wife to Pome
roy.) and had issue Humphrey, John who married a daughter of Moyle of
Bake in St . Germans , s . p . secondly Sir Nicholas married Julyan , one of
the coheirs OfWilliamViell of Cornwall ; the second M ary to AnthonyDen
nis Of O rlegh, esq . ; (Julyan aforesaid was married first to George Grenvile ,e sq . , secondly to Kekewich, and thirdly to Sir Nicholas Dorothy to Sir
George Arundell of Laub ern ; Grace to Peter Bev ile , secondly to S ir George
Smith Elizabeth to Giles Risdon. of Parkham, Devon , and had issue
e ight : thirdly S ir N icholas married Mary , the relict of Morris , Doctor of
Civil Law and Chancellor of Exeter .
Humphrey Prideaux , esq . , son and he ir, married a daughter Of Fortescue ,Of Fallopit, esq. , and had issue a son , who died before his father .
Prideaux , son and heir married a daughter of Coryndon .
SIR EDMUND PRIDEAUX , of Farway in Devon , bart . , second son of
Roger Prideaux of Soldon , esq . , married, first Bridget, daughter of Sir John
Chichester. of Ralegh, Devon , knight, and had issue Tabitha, married toAilworth, of Polslo in Heavitree Sarah, married to John Fortescue , of Fallopit ; Admonition , married to M oyle , of Bake in Cornwall , esq . ; secondlyhe married a daughter of Edgcomb e , of M ount-Edgcomb e , and had issue
74 DEVON SH I RE FAM ILIES .
KNOLLES , of Little -Hempston , Devon .—ARM S .
— Or. a hawk seizing a
bird, sab . on a chief argent three birds bolts erect, azure .
Richard Knolles married Maud, daughter to Baldwin de Merriot, Lordof Merriot, and had issue Baldwin . Baldwin Knolles , of Knoll, Somersetshire , married Jane , daughter to Simon de Hilcomb , and had issue Hughwho married Editha, daughter to Beauchamp , and had issue John who mar
ried Thomasin, daughter and he ir to Bozom and Eustace his wife, and had
issue John ; who married Margery , daughter to Richard Boler, and had is
sue William ; who married Agnes , daughter to Will iam Molins . and had
issue Robert ; who married Elizabeth, daughter and cohe ir of Robert Appleton . and had issue Edmund .
Edmund Knolles , Of Little -Hempston, Devon, married Joan , daughter
and coheir of John Irish, and had issue George , Jcan , (married to AndrewDill ing of Newton-Ferrers Elizabeth, (married to Thomas Lockington
(Lockhampton) of W ashb ourn , Harberton . George married Elizabeth,daughter and cohe ir of John Gaunt, of Marchwood , Dorset. and had issue
Jcan , (married to Richard Foster. and hath issue Joan and George ,
(married Mary, daughter to John Row of Staverton , sergeant-at-law, and
had issue George , Richard. Denys , Joan , Eleanor .
PAWLET, of Rode , Of H inton , Somersetshire , and Of Sampford-Peverel ,Devon .
—ARM s .— Sable three swords in point argent, crosses and pomels
or . CREST .— A hand armed holding a sword, argent .
S ir Wal ter Pawlet, Of Rode , knight, had issue Sir John ; who married
Elizabeth, daughter and heir Of Sir Thomas Reyney , knight, and had issue
S ir John ; who married Elizabeth, daughter and heir ofWill iam Creedy , of
Creedy, Devon , esq. , and had issue Thomas, a nd Will iam, of whom is the
M arquis of Winchester .
Thomas marriedMargaret, daughter and heir to Henry Bourton and Al ice
his wife , _daughter and heir of John de Bosco, and had issue S irWilliam, and
Elizabeth first married to Robert Bonton. secondly to John Bigbury .
S ir Will iam Pawlet. of H inton St. George , knight, m arried Elizabeth,
daughter and heir to John Deneb and, son and heir to John Deneb and, son
and he ir to Thomas, son and heir to William, son and heir to Philip. son
and heir to Wil liam, son and heir to Sir Philip , son and heir to Sir Phil ipDeneb and, of Prostenant in Wales
,knight, and of Alice his wife, daughter
and coheir of John Giffard, Of H inton , esq. , and of his Wife , daughter and
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S . 47 5
he ir of Roger POwtrell, esq . , Of H inton St. George ; and this S ir William
had issue Sir Amias . Ann , (married to S irWill iam Cary , knight ;) Florence ,
married to John Ashford , Christian , (first married to Nicholas Chichester. esq . ; secondly to Henry Hull ; thirdly to William M artin Alice ,
(married to John Pawlet, of Bas ing , esq .) S ir Amias married, first Marga
ret, daughter of John Pawlet Of Basing ; secondly Loore , daughter to S ir
William Callaway , of Cockb orn , Hampshire , and had issue Hugh, JOhn ,
Henry , Elizabeth married to John Sydenham, secondly to John Carswell.thirdly to Francis Copleston . S ir Hugh married, first Phil ippa, young estdaughter of S ir Lewis Pollard, of Girleston , Devon , knight, and had is
sue Amias. Nicholas , George , Jane married to Christopher Copleston , Of
Copleston , Devonshire , esq . ; secondly he married Elizabeth, daughter of
Blount .
Sir Amias Pawlet, of Sampford-Peverell , Devon , knight, married M ar
garet. daughter and heir OfAnthony Harvie , of Culm-jOhn , Devon , and had
issue Hugh , Sir Anthony , Jane , (married to Robert Haydon , of Cadhay
In Ottery, Elizabeth . S ir Anthony married Katharine daughter ofHenry, Lord N orreys , of Tame , and had issue JOhn , Sir
married to Sir Henry Hawly, in Somersetshire , knight and
to Sir Edmund Fowel , of Fowelscomb e , Devon , kn ight .
JOHN , LORD ZOUCH , married Joan , s ister and cohe ir Of John ,Lord
Denham , and had issue John ; who taking part with King Richard II I . wasattainted in 1 486 ; he had issue Richard ; who had issue George who had
issue Edward .
— ARM S . -Gu1es ten bezants and a canton , ermine .
COTTLE , Of Sampford Peverell and of North-Tawton , Devon .—ARM S .
—Or, a bend dexter gules . CREST .-A tiger sciant on a ducal crown .
John Cottle . gent . , married Sarah, daughter and heir Of Rog er Cahurta ,Of Devon , g ent son and he ir Of Thomas Cahurta and OfMargery his wife ,daughter and he ir to Richard M alherb of Thorn ; which Richard was son
and heir to Roger, son and heir to Henry , son and he ir to Jeffry, and had
issue John . John Cottle , marriedM ary , daughter and heir to Nicholas G odfrey Of Bradford, and had issue Thomas ; who married Joan , daughter and
heir to Wal ter Bodigood of Launceston, and had issue John who married ,
first Joan, daughter of Borough, of Lyme -Reg is , Dorset, and had issue M ar
garet. married to Thomas Chasty of Bradston : secondly he married Mar
g ery , daughter of John Copleston of Exeter, and had issue JOhn ,Thomas ,
and
married
476 DEVON SH IRE FAM I LIE S .
Elizabeth, (married to John Horewel Of Radford Joan , (to John Facy Of
Venton .) John son and heir, married Beatrix , daughter Of M atthew Earl ,of Atherington , and had issue Walter, Hugh, Thomas , Margery .
Thomas Cottle, of N orth~Tawton , second son to John, married Alice ,daughter to Dunstan Haywood of North-Tawton , and had issue , Mark ,William , Anthony, Christopher, Amias , Jane , (married to William Gilbert
of Bovey M ary. (married to John Bab ag e of Chagford .) Mark married
Amy, daughter of Leonard Yeo, of Ogb ear, Cornwall .
BURGOIN , of South-Tawton , Devon and Bedford .— ARM s .
—Azure a
talbot passant argent. on a mullet or, a crescent sable for difference .
WalterBurgoin , third son to Bedfordshire , married Jul ian , daughter
and he ir of M aud Shildon , and had issue John who had issue G eofl'
ry ; Ge
Ofl’
ry Burgoin, of London , married Katharine , daughter of Stoning ofLippis f
lake , and had issue Wil liam ; William Burgoin , Recorder of Exon , married
Joan , daughter to Richard Tavernour, of South-Tawton. Devon , and Alice
his W Ife , daughter to Will iam Weekes. ofNorth-Wyke , Devon , and had is
sue William, Richard , Walter, Margaret. (married to William Fursdon of
Fursdon Joan. (married to Thomas Copleston of Instow .) Will iam Bur
goin , of South-Tawton , married Alice , daughter to George Veale , ofWood
in Devon, esq . , and had issue George who marr ied Elizabeth, daughter to
Will iam Buckingham of Exeter, and had issue Will iam , Richard . William
Burgoin , of Bideford, second son to Will iam , married Ann , daughter to
William G orewell, of Fremington in Devon , and M argaret his wife , daugh
ter of Culpepper , of Kent, esq . , and had issue , Richard, George . Jeffry .
Richard Burgoin , Of Bideford , married Al ice , daughter to Reynold Tt e
thurfe , of Ladock , Cornwall, esq . , and had issue Thomas , Francis , Cecily ,
Anne .
ARUNDELL , of Talvern in Cornwall .—ARM s .
— Sable six swallows ar
gent 3 , 2 . 1 .
John Arundell. esq. , married M aud, one of the coheirs Of S ir HumphreyCourtenay, of Boconnock, Cornwall , knight. and had issue John ; who mar
ried Alice , daughter of nd Jane his wife , daughter of Richard Trelawny, and had married M aud , daughter and heir
of Pierce St. Aubin , and had issue Thomas who married M argaret, daugh
ter and one Of the coheirs Of Chammond, and had issue Sir JOhn , Elizabeth,
married toWill iam Reskymer of Cornwall . Sir John married Anna, daugh
47 8 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
M aurice Fitz Thomas (first Earl of Desmond.) married Eleanor, daughter to the Lord of Kerry, and had issue Gerald . Gerald (second Earl OfDesmond.) married E leanor , daughter to Sir James Desmond. Earl Of Ormond, and had issue James .
James (third Earl of Desmond.) married M ary , daughter to Sir Will iamFitz Richard de Burgo, and had issue Thomas . Thomas (fourth Earl of Desmond.) married Elizabeth, daughter to William, Lord Barry, and had issueM orice and two others . He was beheaded at Drogheda by the Earl ofWorcester . M orice (fifth Earl Of Desmond.) married Beatrice , daughterof Ralph, Earl of Stafford, secondly she was married to Thomas Lord RossOf Hamlake .
NEW COURT, of Pickwel (alias Pedixwel ,) in the parish of Georg e -Ham ,
Devon .-ARM s .
—Azure on a bend, erm . between two eagles displayed or .
John N ewcourt, esq. , marr ied, first M ary , daughter of Thomas Parker,
(al ias Jourdon ,) of North-Molton , Devon , e sq . , the reli ct of John Hext, OfPickwel , esq . , and had issue John , Philip .
John married Elizabeth, daughter Of Nicholas Dillon , of Hart in Bratton,Devon , esq . , and had issue Toby. who married M ary , daughter of Arthur
Harris , of Hayne in the parish Of Lifton. esq .
LUTTON. of Cofford in Kenton , g ent .—ARM S . —Vert an eagle bycept
between an orle of martlets , or .
Peter Lutton , g ent married M argaret, daughter Of Nicholas WhitehalseOf Chudleigh, and had issue Richard, JOhn , William .
Richard married Joan , daughter of John Paddon and s ister of Auditor
Paddon, and had issue Emanuel , Will iam. Elizabeth, (married to Pantor OfDawl ish Joan , (to Richard Long of Comb inteignhead .)Emanuel married, first M ary. daughter Of James Bale of Kenton , and had
issue Emanuel , James , JOhn , Francis , Richard, M ary . Elizabeth ; secondlyhe married Anne , daughter of William M ay, of M olton in Devon , relict of
John Chafe Of Exeter .
TODENHAM, of Church-Taunton , Devon .-ARM S . — Paly of six arg . and
gules. a chief argent .
John de Todenham (27th Henry had issue O liver . S ir Oliver had
issue John ; who had issue Ol iver and Thomas . Thomas had issue Robert.Sir Robert. of Gressowel , married Katharine , daughter and cohe ir Of Sir
Thomas Pateshul and Mabel his wife , daughter to the Lord William Gran
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 47 9
dissou, s ister of O tho, and of Thomas G randisson , and had issue John and
sold this manor Of Church-Taunton to S ir William Damerle , of W oodbury,and Hemington in Somerset . His son John claimed against the same by a
former entail made by Sir O l iver .
ELLACOT, of the city of Exeter. gent .— ARM s .
— Lozengy or and azure
within a border gul es .
Henry Ellacot married Lucy , daughter of Hawkins , and had issue JOhn ,
Robert. John married M argaret, daughter of Nicholas M artyn of Exeter,and had issue Henry . Lucy married G eorge Heal e , ninth son Of S ir John
Heal e , sergeant- at- law . married toW estover, OfYardbury, Devon .
SEYMOUR, of Berry-Pomeroy in Devon. bart. —ARM s .— Gules , a pair
Of eag les’wings in lure , or .
S ir John Seymour, knight, married and had issue Sir Edward Seymour,knight, Duke of Somerset Thomas Seymour, knight. Baron of Sudley,
Lord H igh Admiral of England ; Jane , third wife to King Henry VII I . ;Elizabeth, married to Gregory. Lord Cromwell , Baron of Okeham in Rut
landshire .
Sir Edward Seymour , knight Of the Bath, created Viscount Beachamp ,5 th June , 1 536. Earl of Hertford, 1 8th October, 1 5 37 , Duke Of Somerset,l 6th February. 1 547. Lord Protector, &c . , married. first Katharine , daugh
ter and coheir of S irWilliam Pillot, kn ight, and had issue Lord Edward, Of
Berry -Pomeroy , and Lord John : his second wife was Anne , daughter of Ed
ward Stanhope , esq . , and had issue Edward, Earl ofHertford ; Lord HenryLord Edward . Henry married Jane . daughter of Thomas , Earl of North"
umb erland Anne married to John Sutton , (alias Dudley.) Earl ofWarwick,third son to JOhn , Duke of Northumberland. sans issue . Jane , M ary,
(married to Andrew Rogers Katharine , Elizabeth, (married to Sir Rich~
ard Knightley ,knight .) Edward Seymour , Of Berry-Pomeroy , married a
daughter and heir OfWelsh, of Cathanger in Somersetshire , and had issue
Sir Edward Seymour, knight. bart . ; who married Elizabeth, daughter Of S ir
Arthur Champernon , Of Dartington ,knight, and had issue Sir Edward Sey
mour, knight, baronet John Walter ; Will iam ; Richard Mary ; (mar
ried to Sir George Farewil Of Somerset , knight ;) (married to Georg e
Cary, of Cockington , esq . ; Amy (married to Edmund Parker, Of North
M olton , Bridget ; (married to S ir John Bruin . )S ir Edward Seymour, bart son and he ir, married Dorothy , daughter of
480 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
Sir Henry Killigrew , of Cornwall, knight and b ath issue Edward, HenryThomas , Sir Joseph.
Robert, JOhn , Elizabeth, (second wife to Francis Courtenay, esq . , son and heir to SirWilliam Courtenay, Of Powderham, knight ;)Dorothy, Katharine , M argaret, M ary , Amy . [Sir Edward Seymour, of
Berry-Pomeroy, married Ann , daughter Of S ir John Portman , of Orchard
Portman in Somersetshire , and left issue S ir Edward Seymour. now Of BerryPomeroy, and Maiden-Bradl ey in Wiltshire , bart . ; John , William , Charles ,and Henry, who being made the adopted heir of Sir William Portman , of
Orchard-Portman aforesaid , bart . , upon the condition he should take that
name , is now called Henry Portman , esq . , who married Haslewood. sans
issue .
Sir Edward Seymour. Of Berry-Pomeroy and Maiden-Bradley, marr ied a
daughter of S ir William Swale. Of London , knight, and had issue Edward ;who married Letitia, daughter of Popham of Littlecot, and hath issue Edward and several daughters ; and William. a colonel under King William
1 1 1 . in Flanders : secondly he married Letitia, s ister to Popham of Little
cot aforesaid , and hath issue Popham Conway , heir to the late Earl of
Conway ]
CLOTW ORTHY , Of Clotworthy in the parish of South-Molton , W er
rington in the parish Of and Ralegh in the parish of W emworthy ,
Devon. esq .
ARMS — Azure a chevron between three garlands, or. CREST . —A hart’s head
erazed, sable attired arg ent, shot throughwith a broad arrow or,feathered argent.
William Cottle, of Clotworthy, married, first a daughter of John TO-will ,
(alias Atwill.) of Crediton , and had issue JOhn , JOhn , William , Thomas,Richard : secondly he marr ied Beatrix , daughter Of John King , Of Chittle
hampton, and had issue Christopher .
John Clotworthy , son and he ir of Werrington, married, first Margaret,
daughter and sole heir to John Clement, of Cargenny, Cornwall , and had issue Thomas , Cecily .married to John Person , of Boyton , Cornwall . Thomas
Clotworthy, of Clotworthy, married l bot, daughter and sole he ir of ThomasRashl ey, Of Rashley, Devon , and had issue Thomas . Anthony, John , Hum
phrey , William, Tyb ot, Edward, l bot, (married to John Evans , of Coleridge ,Devon Eleanor, (married to John Bensham .)Thomas Clotworthy , son and heir, married, first Elizabeth, daughter of
Oliver Downman of Devon , and had issue Ann secondly he married a
482 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
William Ashmarried Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Franceis , Of CombeFlory , Somerset, and had issue Nicholas , Robert, Al ice , (married to JohnCruwys, of Cruwys -M orchard son and heir of William ; son and he ir Of
Wil liam, brother and heir Of Hugh ; son and he ir of Richard and Jane his
wife Emlyn. a nun .
Robert A shford. of W onwel , son Of Will iam, married Agnes , s ister andcoheir of Robert Hing eston , s ister and heir Of Phil ip , son and he ir of R0
bert, son and heir ofWill iam. son and heir Of Will iam , brother and he ir of
Hugh, son and he ir of Richard and Jane his wife , to whom William Bicke
bery gave the common called Bickebury ; as appeareth'
by record dated
at Bickebury die Jovis 20 post festum inventionis Sanots Crucis anno reg .
Edwardi I II . , a conquestu Angl ic 2 1 ; and issue Robert A shford, W al
ter, Anna, (married to Brokedon Of Lustle igh ;) Jane . Robert Ashford ofW onwel , son Of Robert, married Agnes , daughter of Thomas Fortescue , OfW imston in the parish of M odbury, esq . , and had issue Arthur, JOhn , W il
l iam, Elizabeth, Katharine .
N icholas. son and he ir OfWill iam A shford aforesaid, married a daughter
of Nicholas Fry of Yarty, issue Roger, Richard, John , Amias . Roger, son
and heir, married Elizabeth, s ister and heir Of Bartholomew Mychel , Of
Cannington , Somerset, and had issue Henry. Thomas. Blanch. (wife to SirJohn Whiddon , of Chagford E lizabeth, (married toWill iam Spurway of
Tiverton .)Henry Ashford. son and heir of Rog er, married Amy, daughter Of Rich
ard Blewet, Of Holcombe, Devon , and hath issue Arthur , Francis ,Roger. JOhn , Mary, Amy . [Ashford is lately made away by A shford,
bred a merchant, unto Sandford. of Nine -head, Somersetshire. who married
his s ister.]BULLON, Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire .
— ARM S .— Argent a chevron
gules, b etween three bull s’heads. couped, sable , armed or .
Sir Godfry Bul len, knight, Lord Mayor of London , 1 45 7 descended fromthe ancient family of the Bullens of Blickling in Norfolk, married Anne ,daughter and cohe ir of Thomas, Lord Hoe and Hastings , and had issue S irWilliam Bullen, knight ; who married Margaret. daughter and coheir of
Thomas Butler, third son of James IV. , Earl of Ormond, and brother andheir to John and James Butler, Earls of Wiltshire , and had issue S ir Tho
mas Bullen , knight ; who was made Viscount Rochford 1 7th King Henry
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S . 483
VIII and created Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire , in the 2 1 st of the same
king , married Elizabeth, daughter Of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk ,and Elizabeth his wife . sole daughter and he ir of S ir Frederick Tilney. knight,and had issue George , put to death by King Henry VIII . ; Anne , married
to the same king ; M ary , married to William Cary , esq .
BUTLER, Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire .—ARM S . -Azure a chief in
dented or .
Theobald, Lord Butler. married Joan , daughter and he ir of John FitzPears , lord chief justice of Ireland. and had issue Edward, and died 1 299 .
Edward, Lord Butler. knighted 1 309 , lord chief justice of Ireland, 1 3 1 4 ,
married a daughter of S ir John Fitz Thomas , and had issue James , first
Earl of Ormond .
James Butler, created Earl of Ormond by King Edward 1 1 1 married
Eleanor, daughter of Humphrey Bohun, the eighth of that chr istian name
Earl of Hereford, and had issue James , Richard . James , (second Earl of
Ormond .) married Ann. daughter to JOhn , LordWells , and had issue James ,James . James , eldest son , (third Earl of Ormond.) married a daughter of
the Earl of Kildare , sans issue . James , second son and heir, (fourth Earl of
Ormond.) married Joan. daughter to Will iam Beauchamp , Lord Aberga
venny , and had issue JOhn , James , Thomas , Earl of Ormond .
John died sans issue ; James , second son. was created b y King HenryVI . , in the 27th year of his reign ,
Earl of Wiltshire , and died sans issue :he was Lord Treasurer in 33rd Henry VI . Thomas Butler, third son and
he ir, Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire , married Anne. one of the daughters
and coheirs of Richard Hankford, nephew of S ir William Hankford of An
nery in Devon , knight, chief justice of the Common Pleas , and had issue
Ann , (married to S ir James S t . Leg er , knight, of whom are all the St .
Leg ers in Devon M argaret. (married to Sir Thomas Bullen , kn ight,Viscount Rochford , Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire .
ST . LEGER, of Annery in Devon .— ARM s .
-Azure fretty arg . a chief or .
S ir Thomas St. Leger married the Duchess of Exeter, s ister to ~ KingEdward IV . , 1 484 . S ir James St . Leg er. knight. married Anne . eldest
daughter and cohe ir of Thomas Butler, third S0 1 1 and he ir of James Butler,fourth Of that name Earl Of Ormond.) and Ann his Wife , one of the cohe irsof the said S irWilliam Hankford , and had issue Sir George St. Leger. knt.
S ir George St. Leger, of Anneiy , knight, (sheriff of Devon 22nd Henry
484 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
VIII married Ann , daughter of Edmund Knivet, esq . , and had issue Sir
John St . Leger, knight, and a daughter married to George Courtenay, Of
Powderham. esq . S ir John St . Leger. knight, married Katharine , daughterof George Nevil , Lord Abergavenny , and had issue JOhn , Dudley , M ary ,
(married to Sir Richard Grenv ile , of Bideford, knight Frances , (marriedto John Stukely, of Affeton in Devon ,
Ulalia, (married to EdmundTremayn , of Collacomb e , Devon , esq . ; secondly to Tristram Ar scot, of
Annery, esq .)John St . Leger of London . g ent . married
One Bartholomew St . Leger married Blanch, daughter toWilliam Bour
chi er, Lord Fitzwarren . She is buried in Sherwell Church, 1 483 .
S ir William Hankford, lord chief justice , had issue Sir Hankford ; who
married and had issue S ir Richard , Anne , (wife of James Butler , fourth of
that name Earl of Ormond M arg aret, (to S ir Will iam Bullen , knight .)
S ir Richard Hankford, knight, married Anne , daughter of John Monta
cute , Earl of Salisbury , sans issue ; leaving his two sisters , married as
above , his cohe irs . His widow was secondly married to Sir John Fitzlewis ;thirdly to John Holland, Duke of Exeter .
WALROND, a Baron in the 50th Henry III .ARMS .
— Argent three bulls’faces sable , armed or. CREST . - On a wreath
argent and sable a tig er seyant plated arg ent, armed or .
William Walrond. of Bradfield, esq . , married Julian , had issue JOhn, and
Joan married to Walter Reynel. of M alston , Devon , esq .
John Walrond married Alice , daughter and he ir Of Uffiet and Al ice his
wife , daughter and heir general of Sir M artin Fishacre , Devon , esq . , and of
Agnes his wife. daughter and heir g eneral of Sir Speke , knight, and
had issue JOhn , and Joan married to Robert Battin, of Dunsland, esq . John
married M argaret, daughter of John M oore , of M oorhays , Devon , esq . , and
had issue JOhn , Humphrey who married with a daughter of Martin, and his
posterity lives at Clist .
John Waldron , of Bradfield , esq . , had issue Humphrey , and Al ice married
to Robert Yeo , of Heanton - Sachvile , Devon , esq . Humphrey married Elea
nor , daughter of Henry Og an , esq . , and had issue Henry , JOhn , Joan , (mar
ried to William Tylley , of Canning ton Elizabeth, (to John Hake Of Cul
lumpton ;) Ellen , (to Anthony Fortescue , son and heir of Robert Fortescue ,of Fallopit, Devon , esq. Henry married Agnes , second daughter and coheir
486 DEVON SH IRE. FAM IL IE S .
der, knight ; which John Talbot was fourth son to John Talbot, first Earlof Shrewsbury of that name , b ut eldest by his second wife , Margaret, el
dest daughter and cohe ir of Richard Beauchamp , Earl of Warwick , and of
Elizabeth his wife , daughter and he ir Of Thomas , Lord Berkeley. and of Mar
g ery his wife , daughter and he ir of Warren , Lord Lisle. and had issue Sir
Arthur. and Honor married to Will iam Whiddon , esq. , his second wife ,sans issue : secondly to Christopher Chichester , of Frithelstock, esq.
S ir Arthur Basset, knight, (sheriff of Devon the 1 7th Queen Elizabeth.)married Eleanor. daughter of Sir John Chichester, of Ralegh,
‘
knight. and
had issue S ir Robert, Sir Arthur, William , George , JOhn , M argaret. (mar
ried to Richard Duke of Otterton , Ann , (married to John Chichester,of Hall and Westcote in Devon , esq . )
Sir Robert Basset. knight, married Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Sir
William Periam. of Little Fulford. now Shob rook Park, knight, lord chiefbaron of the Exchequer, and of Agnes his second wife. daughter to JohnParker. (alias Jordon .) of North-M olton , esq . , who was son and heir to JohnPeriam of Exeter. and twice mayor thereof, 1 5 63 and 1 5 72 , and of M argaret his wife , daughter and cohe ir of Hone , of Ottery St . Mary, and had is
sue Arthur, Will iam, Anne , (married to Jonathan Rashleigh of M enab illy ;)Elizabeth, (married to George Yeo of Huish Eleanor, M ary .
[Ar thur Basset, of Umb erlegh and Heanton -Court, esq . , married one of
the cohe irs of Leigh. of Northam , esq . , and had issue , JOhn , Francis. Arthur . John married one of the coheirs of Blewet, of Holcomb-Rogus, esq. ,
and had issue JOhn , Francis , Arthur . John (the heir,) married the daughter and heir of A ckland of Bittaden , sans issue . Arthur married a daugh
ter of Connock in Cornwall , and hath left issue one son .]PRIDEAUX , of Nutwell, Devon .
— ARM s .— Argent on a chevron sable ,
three bars wavy of the field. a fi le of three lab les gules .
George [John] Prideaux , sergeant-at-law,married M ary, daughter of
Lewis Stukely , of Affeton , esq . , the relict of Tristram Larder. of Pynes . esq . ,
and had issue Thomas , Jane , (married to James Courtenay of Upcot, in
Cheriton -Fitzpaine, Kathar ine , (married to Richard Duke , Of O tterton , Thomas married, first Margaret, daughter of Caper, of Whitchurch in Somerset , esq . , and had issue Sir Thomas , Al exander, Will iam,
(married to Allet, (married to Sprott, canon of the Ca
thedral Church of Exon secondly he married Joan, daughter of Thomas
DEVONSH IRE FAM IL IE S . 487
Williams, of Stowford, esq . , the relict of Phil ip Cole , of Slade in Devon ;secondly of Buller ; and after the decease of Thomas Prideaux she marriedRichard Connock of Cornwall .S ir Thomas Prideaux , of Nutwell, knight, married Joan , daughter and
coheir of Cole of Buckl and-Toussaints , esq . , (the other coheir was marriedto Sir George Southcot, of Shillingford,
knight,) and had issue Thomas .
HURST, of Exeter, and Oxton in Kenton , Devon .— ARM S . -Argent ,
the planet Mars , gules .
Eugenius de la Hurst was lord of Hurst in Edward I . Richard at Hurstsucceeded him . Will iam, 8th Edward II I . William 20th Edward III .Robert Hurst, of Newton-Bushel, (2nd Edward IV .) married Joan, eldest
daughter and coheir of Robert Stephen of Modbury, and Christian his Wife ,daughter and heir of Lee of Damerelscomb e , and had issue Robert , John ,
Jane, Thomasin . Robert Hurst, of M odbury , son and heir, (22nd EdwardIV .) married Joan , daughter and coheir ofWilliam Rivel of Stoneyford , and
Isabel his wife , relict of John Hunsdon , ofM odbury, (M abel , the second 0 0
heir, was wife to Will iam H ill de Penquit ; Al ice , the third , was first mar
ried toWilliam Fountain ; secondly to Robert Ford of Combe ,) son and heir
ofWalter Ryvell (who had a second son , John , of Wyland,) and Joan hiswife , daughter and heir of Robert Legh of Legh
uDurant, and the rel ict of
Richard Cullock ; which Walter was son of Richard, son ofWal ter, son of
John Ryv ell : which Robert Hurst had issue William, and Joan married to
John Baker of Modbury, 20th O ctober, 1 3th Henry VI I . Will iam Hurst,of Exeter, (five times M ayor, ) married Jul ian , daughter of John Bear, of
Hunsham, esq . , and had issue Will iam, John , Margaret, (married to Rich
ard Martin, twice M ayor of Exeter ; secondly to John Drake of the same
place Joan , (married to Thomas Yard, of Bradl ey in Devon , esq .)William, son and he ir, died before his father, but first he married and
had is sue Agnes , married, first to George Bodlegh, of Dunscomb in Cre
ditou , esq . ; secondly to Humphr ey Carew, of Bickleigh, esq .
John Hurst, of Exeter, (second son, ) married Al ice , daughter of W al
ter Smith of Totnes , and had issue Will iam . William Hurst, of Exeter andOxton , esq . , married M ary , daughter of John Petre , of Exeter, esq . , and
had issue Nicholas and Susan , who died unmarried 2otb August, 1 594 .
Nicholas Hurst, of Oxton , esq . , married M ary, daughter of Sir William
Pole , of Shute , knight, and di ed 23rd June , 1 604 .
488 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
HUISH , of Deniford in Somerset .— ARM S .— Argent on a bend dexter
sable three fishes naiant of the field .
John Huish married Katharine , and had issue Oliver ; who married, first
a daughter and cohe ir of John Avenel , (the second cohe ir was married to
RichardWeeks ofNorth-Week , the third to Holcombe ,) and had issue John ,
Humphrey, Thomas of Taunton , and married to Chichester , of Hallin Devon . John married a daughter of Walrond, and had issue Will iam ,
Roger of St . Deacons in Somerset, James of London . Will iam had issue
Silvester, Silvester had issue Willi am , William had issue John .
HUISH , of Sand, in Sidbury— ARM S .— Ut supra, with his difference .
CRE ST,— An elephant’s head arg ent crowned or .
James Huish, of London , (third son of John Huish, of Deniford in Som
erset, ) married a daughter and heir of Bourchier, and had issue Rowland,and second wife to Sir Robert Bret, of London , knight .
Rowland Huish, of Sand , esq. , married Anne , daughter ofWentworth,and hath issue Jam es ; who married a daughter of Richard Reynel , of
Creedy-W iger in Upton Hell ions , esq . , and b ath is sue .
Humphrey Huish, (second son of Oliver Huish of Deniford, ) married Ja
quet, daughter and coheir of John Hall of H igh-Bray , and had issue Hen
ry , John , Bartholomew : Gonet (the second daughter and cohe ir ,) was mar
r ied to John Stavelegh , of East-Buckland, sans issue secondly to John Pitt,who had one daughter and heir , Agne s , married to John M arsh of Townhouse in M olton . Henry Huish, son and heir , married Helen , daughter of
John Stavely, of East-Buckland, and had issue Thomas , Anthony, William
(parson of Kilkampton ,) who married Jane , daughter and he ir of Will iam
Perye , and had issue Elizabeth, (married toWilliamWeston Nazar, (married to Georg e Lypping cot, ofW eb b ery in Alverdiscot, in Devon Helen ,
(marr ied to Richard Cook Joan , (married toWilliam Stoford ;) Elizabeth,
(married first to Peter Drayton , school -master of Exeter ; secondly to John
Doughty , parson ofAlphington Grace , (married to RichardNorris Jane ,
(married to Richard Beavis of Exeter ; secondly to William Martin , recor
der of Exeter .)Anthony married Al ice , daughter of Turner, and had issue Henry ; who
married M arcella, daughter of Symons , and had issue Southcot .
PAULET, of Sampford -Peverel in Devon .
S irWilliam Paul et, knight, married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of John
490 DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES .
Battyn , and had issue Humphrey, John, Nicholas a priest; Thomas, George“
;
Almight , Will iam, Margery, (married to John Sto ord, of Stowford,Joan , (married to An thony Legh, of Huish, Margaret, (married toJohn Lower, of Tregouthen , Cornwall Barbara, (married to S ir Chr istopher Harris , of Radford, Devon , knight Agnes .
Humphrey Arscot, of Dunsland, esq . , married Ellen , daughter of ThomasHatch, ofAller in South-Molton, esq. , and had issue John, Lewis , Dorothy ,(wife toWilliam Kellaway, of M augan in Cornwall Honor, (wife to W ill iam Lavell, of Castle-Horneck in Cornwall Ann, (wife to John Rouse , of
Kellyworgy in Cornwall Philip unmarried .
John Ar scot, esq . married M ary, daughter of Thomas Monk , of Pothe
ridge , esq . , and hath issue Arthur, John , (who married Jaquet , daughter of
Walter Cottle of Yealm-Bridge , Devon , and hath issue M ary and IbotMargery, (married to Lewis Stukeley, son to Lewis Stukeley, son to LewisStukeley of Afi
'
eton , esq . , Frances, (wife to Georg e Chilcot, of Stokegumb er,Somerset Ann , Mary . Arthur, son and heir, married Ibot, daughter of
Leonard Yeo, of Petherwin in Devon , esq. , and hath issue Mary, Grace .
ARSCOT, ofAnnery in Devon , esq. He was first ofNorton in Launcells ,Cornwall .Richard Arscot, of Norton and Annery, son of John of Ar scot, esq . , son
and he ir of John , son and heir of Richard , son and heir of Robert, married Margaret, daughter of John Fitz , of Fitz -Ford in Tavistock , esq . , and
had issue Tristram , Humphrey, Hercules , M argery , (married to HumphreyM onk , of Potheridge , Eliz abeth, and Philippa .
Tristram Arscot , of Aumery, esq. , M arried Eul alia, daughter of Sir John
St.Leger, ofAnnery , knight, the relict of Edmund Tremayn , of Collacomb e
in the parish of Lamerton , esq . , and hath issue John , Tristram, (who mar
r ied the relict of Rob inson Katharine , (married to Humphrey Prouz , ofChagford, M ary, (married to Edward Trelawny, of Bake in Cornwall .John married Alice, daughter of Thomas Southcot, of Bovey, Devon, esq . ,
and hath issue .
ARSCOT, of Tidwell in Budley , Devon, esq .
Humphrey, son of Richard of Norton, son of John of Arscot, esq . , mar
riedM argaret, daughter and heir of Gabriel Saintcleer, of Tidwell , esq . , and
hath issue Charles , Francis , Humphrey , Andrew, Philip , Richard , Francis .
ARSCOT, of Holsworthy in Devon .
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S . 49 1
Thomas Arscot of Holsworthy , son of John , son and he ir of John , son
and heir of Richard, son and heir of Robert Arscot, of Arscot, esq . , marriedAgnes , daughter of Blyght, of Bodmin , esq . , and had issue John ,
Thomas ,
Faustin , &c .
ARSCOT, of Tetcot in Devon, e sq .
John Arscot of Tetcot, fourth son of John , son and he ir of John . son and
heir of Richard , son and he ir of Robert Arscot, of Ar scot, esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter of Walter , of Hertfordshire , and had issue Arthur ; whomarried M ary , daughter of John Lanxford, of Axworthy, Devon , and had
issue Edmund, John , E zekiel , M ary , (married to John Berry , of Coleton inChulmleigh, Blanch, (married to Thomas Bodlegh, of Dunscombe in
Crediton ,Grace , (married to John Weeks , of North-Week , Devon ,
M artha, (first married toWill iam H inson, of Tawstock , esq . ; second
ly to William Button , of Fulham by London , knight Honor , (married toWilliam M aynard of Tavisto
g
ck , Elizabeth, (to Thomas Kendal , of
Lostwithiel in Cornwall Abigail , (to John Simms , of Chard, esq .) Ed
mund , son and heir , married M ary, daughter ofWilliamWalrond, ofWood
in Ufi'
culm, Devon, esq . , and hath issue John ,Will iam , M ary .
WARR, of Hestercomb e in Somerset .
Henry Warr married G onilda, daughter and at leng th one of the two co
he irs of Sir Henry Percehay , of Tuderington , and Lord of Burlescombe and
Kitton , (the other sister, Alice , was marr ied to Nicholas Hele of Hele ,)which two manors fell toWarr , and had issue Richard, who had issue John ,
William , Robert. John had issue Richard, who died . Robert Warr , of
Chipley , married a daughter and heir of Chipley, and had issue John , who
had issue Richard . S ir Richard married M arg ery , daughter of John Brock
man , ofWhitham in E ssex , issue Thomas ; secondly he married Joan, daugh
ter of S ir William Hody , issue John , Robert of G otton , Eleanor, Jane .
Thomas Warr, of Hestercomb e , married Joan , daughter ofWill iam Mal
let of Enmore , issue Richard, John , William ,Henry ,
Thomas , Edward , Joan,
(wife of Thomas Nichel of Canning ton M ary, (wife of Sy denham of Che
worth Al ice . Richard married Katharine , daughter of Rog er Blewet, and
had issue Roger , Richard . Roger married Eleanor, daughter of Sir John
Popham, lord chief justice , issue Richard , John , Thomas . Richard married
the daughter and he ir of St . Barbe .
BAMPFIELD, of Poltimore in Devon .
492 DEVON SH IRE FAM ILIE s .
ARMS .— Or on a bend gules, three mullets argent. CREST . -Ou a wreath a.
l ion’s head erazed, sable ducally crowned.
Simon de Montague granted Poltimore , 26th Edward I to Will iam
Poyntingdon, a canon of Exeter, and to John Bampfield .
John Bampfield, of Poltimore , esq. , married Eleanor, daughter of Humphrey Beauchamp , knight, and had issue John ; who married Joan , daughter of
S ir Richard M erton , knight, and had issue Thomas ; who married Agnes , a
daughter of Copleston , and had issue John ; who married Jane , daughter
and heir of Huxham in Devon , and had issue Thomas , John . Thomas mar
ried Agnes , daughter and cohe ir of John Faber, and had issue John , Richard,Maud, (married to Thomas Dennis , of Holcombe-Burnel , Agnes , (mar
ried to John Prouz , of E sterval in the parish of Chagford, esq . , John mar
ried Joan and had issue John, Thomas .
John married Agnes , daughter and heir of John Pederton and Cecily his
wife , daughter and heir of John Turvey, son and heir of Simon Turvey , son
and heir of S ir Simon Turvey, knight, and had issue Sir William Bampfield,
kn ight, Peter, Elizabeth, (married to Henry Francis Thomasin , (married
to Walter Pauncefoot .)S ir William married, first M argaret, daughter and coheir of John Lord
St . M aur, and had issue Edward, Eli zabeth, (married to Lye M argaret,
(to Richard Yard, of Bradl ey and Churchton , esq . ; his second wife was
Margaret, daughter to Nicholas Kirkham of Blakedon, the widow of John
Chenye , of Pinho, esq .
Edward married Elizabeth,daughter of S ir Richard Wadham, of Merry
field in Somerset, knight, the rel ict of Warr in Somerset, and had issue
Richard , Joan , (married to Richard Pollard , of Horwood in Devon ,
Lawrence , (married first to Bidwell ; secondly to Robert Fulford, and hadissue Katharine , married to Erasmus Pine Elizabeth, (marr ied to George
Percival Mary , (married to William Warder of Hampshire .)Richard (sheriff of Devon 20th Elizabeth,) married Elis , daughter of Sir
John Sydenham , of Brymton in Somerset, kn ight, and had issue Giles , who
died in a voyage towards Ireland ; S ir Amias , kn ight ; Richard ; E lizabeth,
(married to Georg e Cary of Clovelly, Joan ; Ursula, (married to Tho
mas Fulford, of Fulford, Susan , (married, first, but second wife to,John Hays , of Myll in the parish of Witheridge , esq .; secondly to S im
cock Mary, (married to Humphrey Moor, of Moorhays , Cullompton, esq .
494 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES .
father to Lord Vaughan thirdly to Sir Arthur Chichester, knight, Lord ofBelfast in Ireland .
Sir Hugh Pollard, knight, married first Dorothy , daughter of Sir John
Chichester, of Ralegh, knight, and had issue Lewis , Francis , William, Ann,
(married to James Welsh, of Barnstaple , Susan , (to John N orthcot ,
of Hayne in Newton St . Cyres , Gertrude , (to Gilbert Davie , of Canonteign in Devon , Mary , (to Robert Dodson , of Hay in Cornwall ,esq . ; secondly he married Elizabeth, daughter of S ir George Speke of
Somerset, the relict, first of John Chudl eigh of Ashton , esq . , secondly ofSir John Cl ifton , Somerset, knight, issue Arthur, a captain , and Hugh .
Lewis Pollard, of Nymet, esq . , married M argaret, daughter of Sir Hen
ry Berkeley , of Bruton , Somerset, knight, and hath issue Hugh, Lewis ,Berkeley , Amias , George , and several daughters .
DINHAM .— ARM s .
— Gules four fusils in fess , ermine .
S ir John married and had issue Sir John , who was made Lord Dinham
l st Edward IV 1 46 ] hemarried Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Fitzwal ter,and had issue George , Philip , M argaret, (married to Sir Nicholas , BaronCarew Joan , (to Lord Zouch Elizabeth, (to Fulk Bourchier, Lord FitzWarren , of whom is the Earl of Bath ; and secondly to S ir John Sapcots ,knight Katharine , (to S ir Thomas Arundell of Cornwall .)He had also a base son named S ir Thomas Dinham , knight, who married
a daughter and coheir of S ir John Ormond, kn ight, and was buried at A sh
ridge , three miles from Berkhampstead, of whom the Dinhams of Sitting
burn in Kent are descended .
BURNEBY , of Burneby in Devon .— A EM S .— Azure two bars battelled,
counter battelled, ermine .
Edward Burneby, esq . , married a daughter and heir of M oyle of Corn
wall , issue Thomas ; who married Wilmot, one of the daughters and heirs
of Heng scot, issue John , Mary married to Edward Copleston of Instow .
John married Maud, daughter and coheir of Thomas Croke and his wife ,daughter and he ir to Clifford,
issue John ; who married Grace , daughter of
An thony Pollard of Horwood, issue Richard ; who married Julyan , daugh
ter ofWilliam Tothill of Exeter, issue Richard .
EDGCOMBE , of Stonehouse andMount-Edgcomb e in Devon , and Cote
hele in Cornwall . —ARM s .— Gul es on a bend ermine between two cotizes or,
three boars’ heads couped argent armed as the third langued as the first .
DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES . 4 95
S ir Richard Edgcomb e , of Stonehouse , knight, (sheriff of Devon 2ud
Henry VII . , sent ambassador into France married a daughter of
Tremayn , and had issue S ir Piers , and Joan marr ied to Fulk Prideaux of
Thewb orough . Sir Piers , (alias Peter,) of M ount-Edgcomb e , knight, (she
riff of Devon l 0th Henry VI I . and 20th Henry married a daughter
and heir of Stephen Bumford, of Rame in Cornwal l , and his wife , daughter
of Rame of Rame , and had‘issue S ir Richard . S ir Richard Edgcomb e ,
knight, (sheriff of Devon 35th Henry VI II . and l st Queen M ary , married
a daughter of Treg ion , of Cornwall, kni,Dht, and had issue Piers ,
(married to SirWilliam Trevanion , of Carryhays In Cornwall, knight Eli
zabeth, (to Thomas Carew, of East Anthony , Cornwall, esq. (to
Atwill , parson of Honiton’s -Clist .)Piers Edgcomb e , esq . , (sheriff of Devon 9th Queen E lizabeth, ) married
M argaret, daughter of S ir Andrew Lutterel , of Dunster Castle , Somerset ,knight, and had issue S ir Richard . married, first wife to S ir Edmund
Prideaux , bart. , b y whom he had issue . S ir Richard (who died January ,
married, first a daughter and one of the cohe irs of S ir George Cary ,
of Cockington, knight, sans issue ; secondly he married a daughter of S ir
Thomas Coteal e , of London, by birth a Dutchman , and hath issue .
BURY, (alias BERRY,) of Berry-N erb er , Devon, esq .— ARM s .
— Gules
three bars or .
Jenkin Berry, esq . , married and had issue John , N icholas of Eastley ,
Richard of Croscomb in the parish of M artinhoe , John married and had
issue Thomas ; who had issue Nicholas , Robert a priest, Anna, (married toJohn Devonshire Collete , (to
N icholas Berry, esq . , married , first Elizabeth, daughter of John Brud
well , and had issue Humphrey , John , Nicholas , Frances , (first married to
Edward Hensley of the same place , secondly to John Berry of Croscomb
Ann , (married to Griffi th ap Owen of Wales Jaquet, (to David Maxwell
of Wales Julyan , (first married to Richard Gay of Barnstaple , secondlyto John Peard of the same place Nicholas secondlymarried Eglin , daugh
ter of John Berry of Coleton , esq . , and had issue William , Thomas , Rich
ard, Lewis , Agnes , (married to John Strobridge of Brushford ;) Marg aret,
(to William W ay of St . Giles M argery , (to George Black E lizabeth,
(to Walter Popham of Porlock , Somerset .)Humphrey, eldest son of Nicholas , married Margery , daughter of Philip
496 DEVON SH IRE. FAM IL IE S .
M oor, of Cullompton , esq. , sans issue ; secondly he married Jane, daughterof Francis Lambert, of London , esq . , and had issue Humphrey, Richard,Nicholas , Grace married to John Coffin of Parkham, son to Richard Coffinof Portledg e . Humphrey married Prudence , daughter of John Coffin , of
Portledge , esq . , and had issue Richard, Humphrey, George , Nicholas , allofwhom died young , s . p . ; and Grace married to Borlase of Cornwall . Rich
ard Berry, esq . , married Mary ,daughter of S irWilliam Kirkham, of Blake
don, knight, sine prole .
BURY, (alias BERRY ,) of Coleton in the parish of Chulmleigh, esq .
AEM S .; —Ermine on a bend azure , three fieur-de - lis , or .
William Berry, esq . , married Agnes , daughter of John Reigny of Egges
ford, and had issue John , Robert, Alice , (wife to John Harwood of South
M olton M argaret, (wife to Henry Coleton of Coleton M argery , (W ife
to Patrick Pollard of Langley ;) Ellen , (married to Nicholas Berry , of BerryN erb er, esq .) John Berry, esq . married Joan , daughter of Richard Coffin,
of Portledge , esq . ,In the parish of Alwington , and had issue Richard, Jaquet
married to Sir Richard Pollard, kn ight . Richard married Elizabeth, daugh
ter of Sir Hugh Pollard, knight, (she was secondly married to Henry Dillon ,
‘
of Chimwell , in Bratton -Fleming, and had issue John, Hugh, M ary,
Elizabeth, and Dorothy . Hugh married Ann , daughter of Richard Pollard
of Horwood, esq .
John married , first Wilmot, daughter and heir of John Gifi'
ard of Yeo,
from whom he was separated, sans issue ; secondly he married a daughter
of Mountjoy of Petherwin ,and had issue Humphrey . Humphrey Berry,
e sq . ,justice of the peace , married G ertrude , daughter of John Stukely, of
Affeton , esq . , and b ath issue John , and Gertrude married to Henry Spurof Northill , Cornwall . John , son and heir, married M ary , daughter of
Arthur Arscot, of Tetcot, esq . , issue Humphrey, John , Gertrude .
BERRY, of Croscombe in the parish of M artinhoe , Devon .
Richard Berry , of Croscombe , g ent third son of Jenkin Berry, of BerryN erb er , esq . , married a Spanish woman and had issue John ; who had issue
Richard , and John of Chittlehampton . Richard married and had issue John ,
John ,Robert, and Robert s ine prole . John married Frances , daughter of
N icholas Berry , of Berry-N erb er, esq . , the relict of Edward Hensley of the
same parish, and hath issue Richard, Anthony . Richard Berry, of Cros
combe , married a daughter of Edward Hensley of Berry-N erb er, and had
498 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
Berry-Pomeroy, and had issue Bartholomew, John , Richard, William, An
drew,Joan , Dorothy . John married Gouet, daughter of John Chapple of
Chittlehampton , and had issue Bartholomew, John , Thomas , Henry, Eleanor,Agnes, Joan, and Dorothy . Bartholomew Berry , of Barley, esq. , married
Joan,daughter of Hugh Prust of G orwin in Devon, s ine prole secondly
he married Mary , daughter of John Hall of Clannaborough .
BEAUMONT, of Gittesham, Devon .—AEM S .— Barry, of six vaire and
gules .
Henry Beaumont, of G ittesham, esq . , son of John , married Eli zabeth,
daughter to Robert Stowel , of Codl eston in Somersetshire , esq. , and had
issue Humphrey, William, Elizabeth, (married to Robert Coker of Maypow
der in Dorset, Philippa, (married to Lewis Davil s , of M arland in Devon,
esq .) Humphrey Beaumont, in G ittesham , esq . , married Joan, daughter of
John West, brother to the Lord de la Warr, and hath issue Henry , John ,
E lizabeth married to Robert Muttleb erry of Somerset ; secondly he married
Jane , daughter of John Sydenham, of Leigh in Somerset, and had issue
Thomas , sans issue . Henry married Elizabeth, daughter to Sir Roger
Blewet, of Holcombe , knight, he died sans issue, as did John before him ;
and so he conveyed, for name’s sake , his land to a younger brother, of the
house of Colhorton in Leicestershire , who hath now s old it.
S ir Thomas Beaumont, in the time of Henry VI . , by hi s first wife had Rich
ard, s . p . , Will iam, Philip ; b y hi s s econd, Thomas , Hugh, John . Will iammarried Joan, in whom he delighted not, b ut l ived from her ; and her youthnot liking solitary l ife, had a son which she maintained unknown to her
husband ; after whose decease Philip , his brother , succeeded him and con
veyed the same to Thomas , his half-brother, and his heirs male . After
Philip’s death, Thomas entered and possessed the land ; in whose time John ,
the son of Joan or Jane , wife to William, claimed the land as heir to his
father, Will iam. It so far proceeded that it was a parliamentary case in thetime of Henry VI I . John was adjudged a b astard by proclamation throughout England, but I find no act thereof ; yet was there a composition , he
had 8036 land, whereof the manor of G ittesham was part, and termed Johnson of Joan Bodrugan ; for her second husband was Henry Bodrugan . ThisJohn had issue Henry ut supra.
FORTESCUE , of Filleigh and Wear, Devon .
John Fortescue, son of S ir John Fortescue, was lord chief justice of the
DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IE S . 499
King’s Bench 2otb Henry VI . to the end of his reign , and wrote a learned
book in commendation of the laws of England , to inform the young prince
to desire the same , married and had issue Martin ; who had issue John of
Filleigh, and William of Buckland~Filleigh, esq .
John Fortescue , esq . ; (three times sheriff of Devon , l l th, 1 9th, and
22nd Henry VII married and had issue Bartholomew ; who married and
had issue Richard , Mary , (married to Robert Yeo, of Heanton-Sachv ile ,
Jane , (to Humphrey Thorn , of Sheepwash, esq . ) Richard (sheriff of
Devon 6th Queen Elizabeth, ) married a daughter of M oorton , in Kent, and
had issue Hugh, George , Elizabeth, M ary , (married to Hugh Culm , of Ca~
nons-Leigh, Dorothy , (to William Carew, of Haccomb , esq . )Hugh Fortescue , of Filleigh, esq . , son and he ir, (sheriff of Devon 26th
Elizabeth, ) married Elizabeth, daughter of S ir John Chichester, of Raleigh,
knight, and had issue John , Hugh, Gertrude , (married to Arthur Upton , of
Upton , Joan , (to Arthur Pollard, of Horwood, Cecil , (to An
thouy Trevill ian , in Yearnscomb e , Sarah, (to Leonard Yeo, of Huishand Hatherleigh, Rebecca , (to George Reynel of M al ston M ary, (to
Edmund Reynel of the same place . ) John Fortescue , of Filleigh, son and
he ir , married M ary , daughter of Edmund Speccot, of Thornbury , esq . , and
had issue , Hugh, John , Robert, Arthur, s . p . , Richard, Elizabeth, (marriedto Captain Rog er Lang sford, of Brownlarsh, Devon , esq . , who had issueRoger;) Dorothy , (wife of Y eo, younger brother of Leonard M arv,
Cecil ,unmarried, Sarah, (wife to W ollacomb , of Combe , Anne .
Hugh Fortescue , esq . , son and heir, married a daughter of Robert Roll e ,of Heanton , esq . , and hath issue John .
George Fortescue , esq . , married the relict of N orleigh, of Inwardleigh,
Devon , esq . , and had issue Bartholomew , Gertrude , (married to Langwor
thy ; ) Susan , (to Ley . Bartholomew married a daughter and coheir of
Carswel , of Carswel , esq . ) The other was married to Ford , secondly to
Philip Horrel .
BODLEIGH , (alias BODLEY, ) of Dun scombe in the parish of Crediton .
ARMS — Argent five martle ts in saltier,sable on a chief, azure, three crowns or.
CnEsr .—On a torse or and azure , on a field azure , a crown orwi thin the sun
beams,engrailed proper.
John Bodl ey , esq . , married and had issue John , John , Robert, Edward,Gilbert. John married a daughter of Copleston , and had issue George ,
500 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
Christopher, John , and Agnes , married to John Worth, of Compton, esq.
Georg e married Agnes , daughter .and heir of William Hurst, of Exeter,esq . , and had issue Will iam, M ark . William married Ann , daughter of
Thomas Dowrish, of Dowrish in the parish of Sandford , esq . , and had issue
Thomas , William, Elizabeth, (married to Trevill ian of Cornwall Mary,
(married to Nicholas Bellew Susan . (married to Spinetes Bellew .) Tho
mas married Blanch, daughter of Arthur Arscot, of Tetcot, esq . , and hath
issue John , Will iam, Francis , Thomas, Arthur, George , Anne , M ary ,John , the second son of John , married Joan , daughter of John Fox of
Exeter, and had issue Elizabeth, married to M aurice Levermore of Exeter ;secondly he married Al ice , daughter of Thomas Gale of Dartmouth, and had
issue John , Richard , Alice .
John Bodley , of Exeter, married Joan , daughter and coheir of Robert
Hone of Ottery St . Mary, (the other , M argery, married with Periam of
Exeter, Eleanor with Horsey , Al ice with Harton of Barnstaple , Elizabeth
withWilliam Chapple of O ttery St . M ary , Mary to G eofi'
ry Upton ofWells)and had issue S ir Thomas Bodley, knight, that builded the famous Libraryat Oxford, sans issue ; John , a min ister ; Lawrence, Doctor of Div inity, ca
non of the cathedral church of St . Peter’s in Exeter, and parson of Sho
brook , sans issue ; Zachary, a minister ; Sir Josias a worthy soldier, and
knighted in Ireland by the Earl of Devon in Tyrone s wars .
HUDDISFIELD, of Shill ingford, Devon .— AEM s .
— Argent, a fess b etween three boars , sable .
Will iam Huddisfield married A lice , s ister of John Gold of Lampit, and
aunt and he ir to Alice his daughter who died sans issue , and had issue SirWill iam ; who was attorney-general to Henry VI I . and of his council , andmarried, first Elizabeth, daughter and he ir of John Bozom, the relict of SirBaldwin Fulford, of Fulford, knight, and had issue Katharine , wife to S irEdmund, Baron Carew ; secondly he married Katharine , daughter of Sir
Philip Courtenay of Powderham , knight, and had issue Elizabeth, married toSir Anthony Poyntz , of Acton in Gloucestershire .
SOMASTER, of W idecombe—in- the -M oor, and Painsford in the parishof Ashpr ing ton, Devon .
ARMs .—Argent, a castle tripple towered between e ight fleurs-de-lis .
CREST .— A portcull is with chains, argent. This part was granted for a crest by
Clarence Cooke, 1 4th March, 1 586, under his hand and seal .
502 DEVONSH IRE FAM IL IES .
had issue John, Gregory , Richard, Thomas , Philip , Mary, (married toThe e
mas Yard of Bradley Ann, (second wife to Edward Yard, of ChurchtonFerrers , esq . , and had issue Alice , M argaret, Ursula, Grace, and Jane .
John Huckmore married M ary, daughter to William Floyer, of Floyers
Hays , esq . , and had issue William ; who married a daughter and coheir of
S ir Bartholomew Mychel , of Canington , Somerset, and hath issue Gregory,Will iam , Charles .
MARSHALL , of Teigngrace , Devon .—AEM S .
— Or, a mill rind sab le .
John M arshall , one of the four coroners of Devon , married Agnes , daugh
ter of Walter Ossingold of East n ell , and had issue Thomas , John, and
Katharine .
MARSHALL, of Exeter, and Chillington in Somerset.AEMs .
- P er fess gules and or, in chief three antelopes’heads erazed, or, Iangued, azure in base a mill rind sable . CREST .— An antelope’s head crazed, or,gorged gules .
Wil l iam M arshall married and had issue Robert ; who married Joan,
daughter and heir of Owsley, of Chill ington in Somerset, and had issue
William, Thomas of Chillington , and John , mayor of the city of Exeter In1 6 1 5 , who married Alice , daughter of Richard Beavis of Exon, and had is
sue James , Richard , Alice , (married to George Harris born at Barnstaple
Elizabeth, (wife to Thomas Trobridge of Taunton Jane, (wife to JamesGould of Exeter and Susan .
HOLBEAM , of Holb eam in Eastn ell, Devon .— AEM s .
— Argent, twochevrons enarched, sable .
John Holb eam, esq . , married a daughter of S ir Adam (al ias Al exander)Cole , of Uptamar (or of Tamerton,) knight, and had issue William ; who
married a daughter and cohe ir of Leyton of Hulbert, and had issue Johnwho married a daughter of Cruse , and had issue John ; who married a
daughter and he ir ofWatton, and had issueWilliam ; who married a daugh
ter and heir to John Gambon, of Morston, esq . , and had issue John , Phi
l ippa , (married to James Chapps, of Inis , Somerset Elizabeth, (to JohnSomaster .) John, son and heir, married Elizabeth, daughter to Sir John
Pesmersh, Stafford, knight, and had issue John, and Christopher, sans
issue .
John Holb eam, esq . , married Margaret, daughter of William Fowel , of
Fowelscomb e , esq . , and had issue John ,John , Elizabeth, first married to
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S . 503
John Marwood ofW estcot, esq . ; secondly to Robert Pollard of Honiton inMolton, esq.
John Holb eam, esq . , married, first Anna, daughter of Richard Yard , of
Bradl e igh, esq . , sans issue ; secondly Mary, daughter to Gilbert St . Cleer,of Budleigh, esq . , sans issue . John (second son , and heir to his brother, )married Thomasin , daughter to Philip Dodington , of
~Mere in Somerset,esq. , sans issue .
HEXT, of Kingston in Devon , gent.— ARM s .—Or, a castle trippled-tow
ered b etween three battle-axes , sable .
Thomas Hext, gent. , married Jane , daughter of John Fortescue , and had
issue John , Thomas, Agnes , (married to Lewis Pollard Elizabeth, (to
John Ackland, of Ackland in Landkey, Jane to Nicholas HolwayKatharine , and Eleanor. John married Jane , daughter and coheir of Ste
phen Tillye , of Broad-Clist, and had issue John , Thomas , George , Wal ter,
Elizabeth, (married to Christopher Argentin of L incolnshire, Jane ,
(toWilliam W igenton of London Mary, (to Richard Hal se of London .)John married E lizabeth, daughter and heir of Peter Colshul of Exeter,
and had issue John, Stephen , Al exander, Martin , Joan , (married to Thomas
Dagget, Buckinghamshire Jane , (to John Furse of Raddon -Court, Thor
verton and Mary . John married Philippa , daughter ofWilliam Denham,
in the parish of Lifton , issue John , Will iam, Elizabeth, Susan, Jane .
H ILL, of Shilston in Modbury , Devon .— AEM s .
— Argent, a chevron b e
tween three water bougets sable , a mullet difference .
Richard H ill, esq. , married Jane, daughter to An drew Strechley, of Hol
berton , esq . , and had issue Robert, John , Margery, and Elizabeth married
toWalter N orthcot. Robertmarried Elizabeth, daughter of John Dinham ,
ofWortham, e sq . , and had issue Oliver, Francis , Humphrey, Philip , Robert,Richard, Elizabeth, (married to Thomas Prideaux , of Orcharton, Ka
tharine , (to Cole of Colehang er ;) and Florence . Oliver married Agnes ,daughter to Roger Budockside , esq . , and had issue Robert, Arthur, Elizabeth, Florence . Robert married a daughter to Thomas Southcot, of Shil
lingford, esq . , and had issue .
COPLESTON, of Copleston in the parish of Colebrook , and ofWarle ighin Tamerton , Devon , cal led WhiteSpur.
ARMS - A chevron engrailed between three leopards’faces, azure .
CBEST.- A demy griffin saltier gules armed, or, withoutwings .
504 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
I find Copleston married with M argaret, daughter to S ir W illiam W ol
rington , and Sister and coheir to Will iam, her brother : the other, Jane ,married Hatch .
Adam Copleston , of Copleston , esq . , married and had issue John , Mar
g ery married to Robert Hawkworthy , of Hawkworthy , (whose two daughters and he irs married Ackland and N orthcot, esqrs .) John married Katharine , daughter and heir of John le Grace , of Teign -Grace and Teign
-Brew
er, esq . , divorced from John de Affeton , and had issue John ; who marriedElizabeth, daughter and heir of John Hawly of Dartmouth, esq . , and of
Emma his wife , daughter and he ir of S ir Robert Tres il ian , Cornwall , knight,and of Emmelyn his wife , daughter and heir of Sir Richard Huish, of Chag
ford, knight, and had issue Philip , John of E xeter, Walter of Yealmpton ,
Eleanor, married to John Pollard, of Horwood, esq .
Philip Copleston , of Copleston , esq . , (sheriff of Devon 1 1 th Edward
married a daughter and heir of John Bonvile and Jane his wife , daughter
and heir of John W ilb ery of Trewolike , Trewythian , and Tremour, who was
son and heir of M argaret, daughter and he ir of Wal ter Fitzwal ter, son and
he ir of Robert Fitzwalter and Jane his wife , daughter and he ir of Robert
Fleming and Hester his wife , s ister and heir of John Berkley, son and heir of
S ir Simon Berkley , knight ; which John Bonvile was son and heir to Tho
mas Bonvile and Leve his wife , daughter and he ir of John Gorges , of Tamerton , esq . , and had issue Ralph, Edward, Radigund, (married to Wal ter
Reynel , of M alston , and Sabin a nun . Ralph Copleston , esq . , mar
r ied Ell en daughter of Sir John Arundell, of Laub ern in Cornwall , knight,and had issue John , Nicholas of Chepston in Cornwall , Richard of Otterham .
John Copleston , of Copleston , esq . , married, first a daughter of Bartho
lomew St . Leger, in Devon , esq . , sans issue ; his second wife was Katha
rine , daughter of Ralph Bridges of Devon , issue Chr istopher, George , Rich
ard, Barbara, (married to Anthony Hillersdon , of M emb land, Thoma
sin , (to Roger Pollard of Langley ;) Ann , (to John W oodmanston , in De
von Joan , (to Francis Bidwel Katharine , (to Henry Sampford M ary,
(to John Bodlegh, of Dunscombe in Credi ton .)Christopher Copleston , of Copleston , esq . , married, first M ary, daughter
of S irWill iam Courtenay , of Powderham , knight, sans issue ; secondly Joan ,
daughter of S ir Hugh Pawlet, .of H inton -St .-George , Somerset, knight,
and had issue Hugh, (who married a daughter of S ir William Fleetwood of
506 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
Humphrey Sachville, above-mentioned, was son and heir of John, son and
heir of Ralph de Sicca Villa, or Sachville , and Joan his wife , daughter andhe ir of Richard de Balister, son and he ir of Jeffry de Balister, (25th Edward
son and he ir of Henry, son and he ir of Jeffry, son and heir of Ralph
Al ab alister, (cross -bowman,) or Balistarius , (1 2th Henry son and heir
of Ralph . He had the keeping of the common goal and held Bicton bythat tenure . The first that had it given him by Henry I . John Janitorhad issue Roger, who had issue Will iam and John ; who successively held
it . After it came to Alabalister .
COPLESTON , of Otterham and Woodl and, Devon .
Richard Copleston , of Woodland, third son of Ralph, son and heir of
Philip , son and he ir of John , son and heir of John, son and he ir of Adam,
married Thomas in, daughter of John Ployer, of Floyers-Hays, esq. , and had
issue Thomas , Richard, John , Katharine, Elizabeth. Thomas died sans is
sue . Richard, son and heir, married a daughter of Bellew, issue Richard,Tristram, Dudley , Henry, married to Cooke . Richard, son and he ir,married a daughter of Sherman, of Knightston in Ottery St. Mary, and hath
i ssue .
COPLESTON, of Bowdon in Yealmton, Devon, esq .
Walter Copleston , third son of John, son and he ir of John, son and heir
of Adam Copleston , of Copleston, esq . , married E lizabeth, daughter and
heir of Thomas Stone , son and heir of John Stone and Margaret his wife ,heir to Stephen Lawterham , of Lawterham , and M aud his wife , daughterand heir of Richard Colland, son and heir of Robert and B as il hi s wife ,daughter and heir of John de Bowdon , and had issue Thomas ; who mar
ri ed Katharine , daughter to William Fowel , of Fowelscomb e, esq . , and had
issue, John,Thomas sans issue , E lizabeth, (married to John Prideaux of
Orcharton ,Ann, (to Richard Spencer,
“merchant-taylor, St . Thomas
the Apostle , London .) John married Isabel , daughter to Henry Fortescue ,of Spridl eston , esq. , and had issue Henry, John ,
.W illiam, Katharine, E liza
beth, Joan , Mary .
COPLESTON , ofWyke . in the parish of Little Torrington, and of Pynes
in the parish‘of Upton-Pyne , Devon, esqAnthony Copleston , second
‘
son of Thomas of Instow, esq . , married M a
ry , daughter of John Parker, of North-Molton, esq . , and had issue Antho
ny, Jerome , Henry , John,Humphrey, Mary, (married to Thomas Chapple,
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 507
of Brockhill in Broadclist Phi lippa, (married to Nicholas Vavasor of \Valtham Abbey in E ssex Charity , Margaret, (married to John Speccot.)An thony Copleston , of Pynes , esq . , son and heir, married Margaret daugh
ter and heir of Humphrey Larder, of Pynes , esq . , and hath issue Thomas ,Mary , (married to John Moul ton of Upton in Cullompton M argaret,Honor, Ursula , Sarah, and Grace , (married to John Copleston , of Nash inDorset .) Thomas , son and he ir , married Elizabeth, daughter ofHugh Ackland, of Ackland in Landkey , esq . , and hath issue .
Jerome married Mary , daughter and heir of Cole , and b ath issue Anthony .
Henry married Susan , daughter of John Skinner of Cowley , sans issue .
Humphrey married Mary, daughter of John W oll acomb , of Combe in Roborough, esq .
RISDON , of Bab leigh in Parkham .—AEM S .— Argent three bolts s able .
CRE ST .— A.n elephant’s head crazed ermine .
Richard Risdon, of Okehampton , married M atilda, daughter and heir ofBrag, and had issue John ; who married and had issue Giles . Giles Risdon , of Bab leigh, married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Bremelcomb of
Exb ourn , and had issue Thomas , Ambrose of Buckland, William ofW inscot,Phi lip . Thomas , son and heir, married Wilmot, daughter of Giffard of
Halsbury, issue Francis ; who married a daughter of H ill .
Ambrose Risdon , of Buckland, married M ellony , daughter of Braddon of
Sutcombe , and had issue Philip ; who married Grace , daughter and coheirof Abbot of Hartland .
William Risdon , of W inscot in St . Giles , married Joan , daughter of
George Pollard of Langley, the rel ict of Barry ofW inscot, and had issueTristram , John , and M argaret, married to Eyre of W estdown . Tristrammarr ied Pascah, daughter of Thomas Chaff of Exeter, issue Giles , John ,
William .
CARY, of Castle-Cary in Somerset, Hook in Dorset, and Cary and Kegbear in Okehampton .
— AEM S .— Gul es a chevron between three swans , arg .
CRE sr .— Ou a wreath a swan proper.
Adam Cary, of Castle-Cary, esq. , married Ann, daughter of Sir WilliamTri vet, knight, and had issue John ; who married Elizabeth, daughter ofS ir Richard Stapleton , knight, and had issue William ; who married Alice ,daughter to S irWilliam Beaumond, kn ight, and had issue John ; who married Philippa, daughter of Sir Warren Archdeacon, knight, and had issue
5 08 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Sir Will iam who ( 1 1 th Edward IV . , married Margaret, daughterto S ir Richard Bozum, of Clovelly , knight, and had issue Sir John ; whomarried, first Agnes , daughter to Lord Stafford , sans issue ; secondly hemarried Jane , daughter and cohe ir of S ir Guy Brian ,
knight, baron of
the parliament 3 l st Edward III . , and had issue S ir John .
S ir John Cary , of Castle -Cary, knight, lord chief baron of the Exche
quer in the time of Richard I I married Margaret, daughter and heir toRobert Halway, of Halway , esq . This man for certain causes , debated inthe time of Richard I I . , wherein he spake freely, was in the reign of HenryIV . attainted , his lands and goods forfeited and confiscated, and he banished , and yet had issue S ir Robert .
S ir Robert Cary , knight, a wise and val iant gentleman , recovered favourwith Prince Henry , son to King Henry IV . , by this means there was a
knight of Arragon that came into England as a challenger at all pointsof arms , which S ir Robert did encounter and vanquish, and was by the kingrestored to part of his father’s lands , and authorized to bear , instead of his
own , the knight of Arragon’s arms ,— argent on a bend sable , three roses of
the field . He married , first Elizabeth, daughter of S ir William Courtenay,of Powderham, knight, sans issue ; secondly Jane , the daughter of S ir W illiam Hankford , of Annery , knight, widow of Wadham, and had issue SirPhilip ; who married Christian , daughter and he ir of Orchard , and had issueS ir William she was afterwards married to Portman . Sir William Cary ,
knight , married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Pawlet, of H inton St.
George , Somersetshire , knight, and had issue Robert ; secondly he married
Al ice , daughter to S ir Baldwin Fulford, of Dunsford, knight, and had issue
Thomas Cary of Hunsdon . This S irWilliam was slain at Tewkesbury 1 47 1 .
Robert Cary, esq . , married, first Jane , daughter to Nicholas Carew,
knight, Baron of Carew-Castle in Pembrokeshire , and had issue John , and
Thomas of Cocking ton , Devon secondly Agnes , daughter to S ir Will iam
Hody , of Pillesden , Dorset, lord chief baron of the Exchequer , and had issueWill iam ; thirdly M argaret, daughter and he ir to Will iam Fulkeram , (alias
Fulkeroy ,) of Devon , esq . , the widow of John Herle , esq . , and had issue
Robert of Clovelly , and Gregory .
John Cary, son and heir of Robert by Jane Carew, married Ann , daugh
ter and he ir of Edmund Devick , of Kegb ear , esq . , and had issue Robert,Thomas , John . Thomas , John, sans issue . Robert Cary, of Kegb ear, mar
5 1 0 DE VON SH IE E FAM IL IES .
1 62 1 . Jacob married Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Pelham, of Lang:ton in Sussex , knight and baronet, issue John , Pelham, George .
S ir Robert Cary , seventh son of Henry , Lord Hunsdon , was made Baron
of Lepington and Earl of M onmouth 7th February , 1 626 . He married adaughter of Cornwal l , and hath issue Sir Henry, knight of the Bath at the
creation of Prince Charles , 1 6 1 6 . S ir Henry Cary , knight of the Bath and
Baron of Lepington , married Martha, eldest daughter of Sir Lionel Cran
field, Baron of Cranfield in Bedfordshire , and Earl of Middlesex , 1 622 .
S ir John Cary, of Plashy, knight, married M ary, daughter toWalsingham .
CARY, of Cockington , D‘evon , esq.
Thomas Cary, of Cockington, esq . , son of Rob ert Cary and Jane his wife,son and heir of Sir Will iam , son and he ir of Sir Philip , married M ary ,daughter of John Southcot of Bovey-Tracey , esq . , clerk of the peace , andhad issue Sir George Cary , knight ; Robert, Richard, John , Gregory , Arthur, Grace , (married to William Kirkham, of Feniton ,
Margaret,Joan .
S ir George Cary, of Cockington, knight, treasurer, and after lord deputy
of Ireland, married, firstWilmot, daughter and he ir of John Giffard of Yeo ,
(she being separated from John Bury of Colleton , and had issue S ir
George Cary , and a daughter, (married to Sir Richard Edg comb of Mount
Edgcomb ;) secondly he married Lucy , daughter to Robert , Lord Rich, after
created Earl of Warwick , sans issue . S ir George married and died s ineprole before his father . John , son of Thomas and brother to S ir George
married and had issue John , Edward, Thomas , Edward , George , Dudl ey .
George Cary , of Cockington , esq . , fifth son of John , married Elizabeth,daughter of Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry-Pomeroy, bart. , and hath issue
Henry , Robert, Edward .
CARY , of Clovelly, in Devon , esq .
Robert Cary, esq . , son of Robert, (which he had by his third wife, M ar
garet Fulkeram,) son and heir of Sir Will iam, son and heir of Sir Phil ip,
married M argaret, daughter of Myllaton , esq . , and had issue George , Ro
bert, Gabriel , Thomas , James , Francis , M ary , (married to John Coffin of
Portledg e , and had issue Richard , John , Mary , Wilmot, Prudence Pru
dence , (married to John Raw, of Staverton , esq . , and had issue George ;)Wilmot, (married to Richard Savory, of Stadon, esq . , and had issue Robert,John , Margaret .)
DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES . 5 1 1
Robert Cary , esq . , married, first Christian , daughter and he ir ofWilliam
S trechlegh, of Strechlegh, esq . , (the relict of Christopher Chudl eigh, of
A shton , and had issue William , and Margaret married to William
Bligh, of Cornwall, esq . ; secondly he married Elizabeth, daughter of Rich
ard Bampfield, of Poltimore , esq . , sans issue : thirdly he married a daughter
of Russell and had issue .
William Cary, esq . , married , first Gertrude , daughter of Richard Carew,
of Anthony in Cornwall, esq . , (the rel ict of John Arundell , of Talvem in
Cornwall , and hath issue Christian and Philip : secondly he married
Dorothy , eldest daughter of S ir Edward Gorge , of W raxhall in Somerset,
knight, and b ath issue Robert, Georg e , William . [ Robert was knighted byKing Charles II . and died a very aged bachelor. George was doctor of di
vinity, rector of Shobrooke , and dean of Exeter :* he married a daughter of
Hancock, of Combmartin , esq . , and had issue S ir George Cary, knight ;
who married a daughter and coheir of Jenkin , of Cornwall , esq . , sans issue
secondly he married a daughter and sole he ir of Davie , of Canon-Teign , esq
and died sans issue. Robert, who was buried in Shobrooke church Sept .
20th, 1 666 . William Cary, esq . , that now is, married a daughter of S ir
William Windham, of Orchard-Windham, Somerset, bart sans issue mal e
secondly he married a daughter of M ansel inWales , and hath issue Edward
Cary, sub -dean of Exeter, who married a daughter of Poyntington , esq
and left issue a daughter : Dr . Cary, dean of Exeter, had two daughters ,Dorothy married to Harris of Sal isbury, counsellor-at-law ; Judith married
M ay 24th, 1 678 , to Richard Hele of Fleet-Damerel , who was a divine and
rector in Cornwall : Will iam, the third brother, died unmarried ]William Cary, son of Robert Cary b y hi s second wife , daughter of S ir
William Hody, of Pillsdon , knight, lord chief baron of the Exchequer, mar
r ied Joan , daughter to John Herle , esq . , and had issue Will iam, Robert,and Agnes married to John Gough of Woodbury . William Cary , of Lad
ford , married Jane , daughter of John Gough of Woodbury . Robert mar
ried Christian, daughter to Denn is of Orleigh, esq .
Gabriel Cary , son of Robert of Clovelly , married , first Frances , daughterto Theobald Butler of Ireland, who had issue, and lived in Ireland ; se
Dean Cary died in the rectory house, Shobrooke , Feb . 2nd, 1 680— 1
,aged 69, and
was buried amongst his ancestors in the church of All-Saints, C lovelly.—G . O .,
— P . J .
5 1 2 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
condly he married Agnes , daughter and heir of Drew of Torrington, w idowof H ill , and had issue Christian,married to Wray of London .
James Cary, son of Robert of Clovelly , married a daughter of Prouz , and
had issue Robert.Francis Cary, son of Robert of Clovelly, married a daughter of John
Pyne , of East-Down , esq . , and hath issue George , Robert, and Ann, mar
ried to Hugh Prust, of Gorwyn in Hartland .
STURE , of M arridge , in Ugborough .— AEM s .
-Or, a mullet sable .
Phil ip married and had issue John , Richard . John married Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Robert Dennis , of Holcombe , knight, and had issue Henry ,Will iam, Robert, (the two last sans issue ,) Tristram, and three daughters ;one married to Captain James Fulford, and another to Mees . Henry mar
ried a daughter of Sir William Cooke of Gloucestershire , and had issue a
daughter married to a son of S ir Giles Fleetwood .
Tristram, heir to his brother Henry, married a daughter of S ir Richard
Hawkins, of Plymouth,knight, and had issue .
Richard, the second son of Phil ip , married a daughter of G iles and had
issue two daughters ; one married to Newton .
BLUET, of Holcombe -Rogus , Devon , esq .
ARMS. -A chevron vaire betwe en three eaglets displayed of the second memb .
gules. CE E ST.—A squirrel seiant chained or, holding an acorn vert, fruit or.
William Bluet, knight, Earl of Sarum , married and had issue , amongother, a younger son named Sir Rowland, knight, who married Lucretia,daughter and coheir of Geoffry Ragland, Lord of Ragland, and had issueS ir Edmund, who married Isabel , sister to Humphrey Bawin , knight, andhad issue Roger, and Robert, lord bishop of Lincoln in the time ofWill iam
Rufus . S ir Roger, knight, married Joan , daughter of Lewis de Powis ,knight, Lord of Powis , and had issue Thomas .
S ir Thomas Bluet, knight, married Edith, sister of Owen Wood, Lord of
Penalton, and had issue Sir Ralph, knight ; who married Haws , s ister toRalph de M ounthermer, 1 296 , Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, and had
issue Sir Wal ter, knight ; who married Christian , daughter and coheir of
Simon Greenham, of Greenham in Somerset, knight, and Julyan his wife ,daughter and coheir (the other, M argaret, was married to Sir Richard Ches
tledom) of Jordon de Rogus , and had issue Sir Walter.
Sir Walter Bluet, of Holcombe -Rogus , knight, married Ellen, daughter
5 1 4 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S .
Holcombe -Rogus, esq . , married Joan , daughter and heir of John Lancaster,of Bagborough in Somerset, esq. , and had issue John , Francis, Mary, (wife
to Allen Mallet, son and heir of Gawen M allet of Preston in M ilvertonAmy, Ann , Dorothy . John , son and he ir, married a daughter of Sir JohnPortman , of Orchard in Somerset, kn ight and baronet.
STRECHLEGH , of Strechlegh in the parish of Ermington, Devon , esq .
—ARM S .— Or on a chevron azure , three cinquefoils of the field .
Robert Strechlegh married Joan , daughter to John Prideaux , of Adeston ,
esq . , son and heir of John Prideaux and Joan his wife , s ister and heir to JohnBromford, son and heir to Nicholas , in the parish of Jacob stow, esq . , and
had issue John , William . John married Eleanor, daughter ofWal ter Rey
nel , of Malston , esq . , and had issue John , William . John marr ied Ann ,
daughter toWill iam Chichester, ofRa]egh, esq . , and had issue Francis, Amy,(married to Nicholas Speccot of Speccot, Jane , (married to Christopher Thorn , of Thorn in Sheepwash, esq .) Francis marri ed Ali ce, daughter of Richard Stroud, of Plympton , esq . , and had Will iam, Edward, Anne .
William married Ann , s ister and coheir of John Gold , son and heir of Tho
mas Gold, of Seaborough in Somerset, esq. , and had issue Christian , mar
ried to Christopher Chudleigh, of A shton , knight, and had by him Strech
legh and John ; Secondly she was married to George Cary, of Clovelly, esq . ,
and by him had Will iam, and M argaret married toWilliam Bligh, of Com
wal l, esq .
CALW ODELEY , of Calwodeley (al ias Calverly,) in DeVOD .— ARM S .
A pair of wings in lure on a b ar gul es , three bezants .
John Calwodeley, esq . , married a daughter of John de Floyer, esq. , issueThomas ; who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Hatch, of W ollegh,
esq. , issue Thomas , Oliver, John , Humphrey, and Elizabethmarried to JohnBeaumont . Thomas married Agnes, daughter of Ottis Collyn of Heyland,
Cornwall , and had issue Humphrey, and Joan married to Roger Arundell
of Cornwall .Humphrey , fourth son of Thomas , married and had issue John .
HERLE (sometime of West-Herle of Northumberland,) had a son that
came into Cornwall and became known unto a knight there of hi s own
name , who, dying wi thout issue , made him hi s heir .— AEM S .— Gul es a fess
or, between three sea-mews , arg ent .
John Herle , of West-Herle of Northumberland , married and had issue
DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES . 6 1 5
Thomas ; who married and had issue John ; who married M aud and had is e
sue Thomas ; who married Jane and had issue John ; who married Margaret, daughter and he ir to William Fulkram , (alias Fulkrey,) of Dartmouth,
esq . , and had issue Nicholas shé was afterwards married to Robert Cary ,
esq . N icholas married Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Nicholas Carminow, esq .
DONNE, of Donne -Ralph, in Exmouth, Devon .- AEM s .
—Argent three
bars g em . azure , a chevron engrailed gules .
Ralph Donne , of Donne-Ralph, from whence it took its name , lived therein the time of Henry I I had issue Ralph who had issue Ralph . S ir
Ralph Donne lived 2 7th Henry III . and had issue Ralph ; who married Isab el, daughter and cohe ir of S ir Geoffry la Bruer , Lord of Telgu -Bruer , issue Ralph ; who had issue Ralph and Pascas . Ralph conveyed all the es
tate of his land to his brother, of whom he rece ived maintenance during hislife . Pascas married and had issue di vers daughters and cohe irs : one of
them was married to Holcomb : which name held this land until GilbertHolcomb sold it unto M allock .
CULME , of Chamston in M olland , and of Canons-Leigh in the parish of
Burlescombe , in Devon , esq .
ARMS. — A chevron ermine between thre e pel icans vuln . the ir breasts or.CREST . -Ou a wreath a lion leaning to a p illar, arg ent.
John Culme , of Winkleigh, esq . , sergeant- at- law, marr ied and had issue
John ; who married and had issue Hugh . Hugh Culme , of Chamston , mar
ried Al ice , daughter of William Tracy, of Gloucester, esq . , and had issueJohn and An thony . John married Al ice , daughter and heir of John W al
ter, of Combe and Collacot, (She was secondly married to Thomas W estcot
of Raddon ,) and of Al ice his wife , daughter and heir of John Collacot of
Collacot, in the parish ofWinkleigh, and had issue Hugh, Anthony, Katha
rine married , first to Wilson ; secondly to Henry Wills ; thirdly to Came .
Hugh Culme , of Chamston , esq . , married Agnes , daughter ofWilliam Fry,
of M embury , esq . , and had issue Hugh, Nicholas , John sans issue , Robert,Will iam , Julyan , (married to Anthony Barret of Exeter Agnes , (married to
Richard Willoughby , of Payhembury , Katharine , (to Arthur Upton ,
of Luckton in the parish of Brixham, Sine prole .) Hugh Culme , of Chamston and Canons-Leigh, esq . , married M ary , daughter of Richard Fortescue ,of Filleigh, esq . , and had issue Richard, S ir Hugh, (knight, ) Philip , G eofl
iry,
5 1 6 DEVONSH IRE FAM IL IE S .
(who died sans issue in the Irish wars ,) Jonas sans issue , Lewis , Benjamina bachelor of div inity , and M ary unmarried .
Richard Culme , of Canons -Leigh, esq. , married a daughter of Philip
Courtenay, of M olland , esq . , and hath issue Hugh, Arthur, Jane , (marriedto John Chause of Court in M embury Elizabeth, Ann , Dorothy , Mary ,
Susan . Hughmarried a daughter of Henry Ashford, of Ashford, esq . , 1 628 .
Anthony, son of John , married, first Dorothy , daughter of Philip Cour
tenay , of Molland, esq . , and had issue John who died sans issue,Ann , (mar
ried to Shepherd of Kingston (marri ed to Lennyng , merchant ;)
(to John Bury of Tiverton secondly he married and had issue Ah
thony , Arthur, M ary , (married to Marwood ;) Prudence , (to Rosseter, ofSomerset , gent .
Nicholas Culme of London , son of Hugh, married a daughter of Hulstonof London , and had issue Anne , first married to Gabriel Newman, of Lon
don ,goldsmith, and had issue Gabriel , Guy , Robert, Nicholas secondly she
married S ir John Dodderidg e , knight, second justice of the King’s Bench .
M ary married to Anthony Withers , of London , and hath issue .
Robert Culme of London , son of Hugh, married and hath issue .
William Ca lme , master of arts and parson of Georgeham , married Ann ,
daughter of Bryant of Oxfordshire , and hath issue Job n sans issue , Nicholas , William , Richard , Robert , Ann , (married to Anthony Arundell of Bi
deford ;) M ary , Elizabeth .
CRUW YS , of Cruwys -M orchard in Devon , esq .— AEM s .
—Azure a bendper bend indented, argent and gules between six escalops , or .
John Cruwys , esq . , married, firstElizabeth, daughter ofThomasWhyteley,and had issue John , Robert, M atthew ; secondly he married M ary , daugh
~
ter of John Francis , of Combe-Flory in Somersetshire , esq . , and had issue
William,Francis , Edward, Anthony , and El izabeth married to John Ack
land, of Ackland in Landkey , esq .
John Cruwys , esq . , married Al ice , daughter ofWilliam Ashford, of Ash
ford in the parish of Burlescombe , esq . , and had issue Thomas who died
sans issue , and John ; who married Ann , daughter of Humphrey Keyns ofWinkleigh, and had issue Humphrey , Thomas , Arthur, Robert, James , John,
Eleanor, (married to Robert Southcomb e of Marley 3) Mary, (to HenrySouthern Ann . (to Ellys Jane unmarried .
Humphrey Cruwys , esq . , married Dorothy, daughter of Lewis Hatch, of
1 8 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Job anna Filmer, were the daughters and coheirs of Sir Will iam de ClystGerard 27th Henry III . , son and he ir of Sir Will iam de Clyst, son and heir
of Sir Gerard de Clyst in the time of Henry I I . : at last, by exchange or
otherwise , the major part of Clyst-Gerard came to Frankcheyney and had
issue John ; who , 8th Edward II . , had issue Simon ; who , 4th Edward II Ihad issue John ; who had issue Richard and Thomas . Richard married
Christian , daughter and heir of John Belet, the relict of John Drake , issueChristopher ; who had issue Richard ; who had issue Simon ; who had is
sue John ; who had issue Elizab eth, married to John Strode of Somerset,and sold this land to Elyot, who sold it to Dennis .
BOWERMAN, of Hemyock , Devon .— ARM S .— Ermine on a bend cotiz
ed sable , three boars’heads couped or .
John Bowerman marr ied Joan , daughter of Kirkham, and had issue James ;who married Sabel, daughter of William Carbonel of Taunton , Somerset,and had issue Andrew, Lawrence , Will iam, Henry , Christopher, Hugh,
Simon , Joan , (married to Simon Welling Al ice , (to Peter Ley ;) Cecily, (toJohn Ley ;) M elony , (to Robert Webber .) Lawrence married Katharine of
Cardwell , a Spaniard’s daughter .
CHEYNEY, of Pinhoe , Devon .— AEM S .— Gules on five fusils , argent,
five escalops , sable .
S ir W illiam Cheyney, (sheriff of Devon l l th Henry IV married Cecily, .
s ister and coheir of Thomas , daughter and cohe ir of John Strech of Pinhoeand M aud his wife , daughter and heir of Sir John M olton , of Pinhoe , knight,son and he ir of Sir Thomas Molton , knight, lord of Pinhoe , and of M argeryhis wife daughter and coheir of Sir William and sister and cohe ir to theother S ir Wil liam Herward, knight, and had issue John ; (the other coheirof John Strech, Elizabeth, was married to Thomas Beauchamp , of Lillesdonin Somerset which Cecily was first married to Thomas Bonvile . JohnStrech was possessed hereof 1 4th Richard II . , and had issue .
John Cheyney , (sheriff of Devon 1 2th Henry married Elizab eth,daughter of John H ill of Spaxton , issue John , Elizabeth, (married to Ed
ward Stowel of Cothelston in Somerset Cecil , (married to Sir W illiamCourtenay , of Powderham , knight Joan , (to John Strode , of Parnham
in Dorset .) John (sheriff of Devon 32nd Henry VI and l st, 2ud, and
1 2th Edward IV married Margaret, daughter of Nicholas Kirkhamof Blackdon, and had issue Anne, (marri ed to Hussey ;) Elizabeth, (to
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 5 1 9
William Clopton Isabel , (to Edward Walgrave Helen , (wife of Georg e
Babington .)After the death of the Lady G enevefa Say the whole of the inheritance
of H ill of Spaxton fell also to them .
COLE , of Slade in Martinhoe , and of Buckland, Devon , esq .
ARMS— Argent, a bull within a bordure , sable be zanty. CREST . — A demiflying serpent, sezant, holding a broad arrow.
Simon Cole , of Slade , married Al ice, daughter and coheir of Lyver (or
Lure ,) of Devon , and had issue John , and Joan married to Willi am Hele ofDevon . John married Thomasin , daughter and he ir to Walcot of Devon ,
and had issue Thomas ; who married Joan, daughter and heir to John H illof Buckland, and had issue William, Richard, Robert, Thomasin , (first mar
ried to Roger Greenfield , of Stow in Cornwall, esq . , and had issue Richard ;secondly she was married to Thomas Arundell , of Clyston in Cornwal l , esq . ,
and had issue Jane , married to Hugh H ill of Heath, s econdly to Robert Dow
r ish, of Heath-Barton in Whiteston , and M argaret, (first married to
Thomas Southcot of Southcot, secondly to John Fursland of Bickington .)Richard Cole of Buckland-Toussaints , second son to Thomas , married
Al ice , daughter of John Greenfield, of Exeter, esq . , and had issue John ;who married Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Champernon , of M odbury, esqand had issue Philip ; who married Jane , daughter of ThomasWilliams , of
Stowford, esq . , and had issue Richard . Richard Cole , of Slade , and Bucks
near Clovelly, married a daughter of Boscawen of Cornwall , and had no is
sue ; she afterwards married Sir Cooke .
UPTON , of Puslinch in Newton-Ferrers , Devon , and Trelaske in Cornwall .
ABM s — Sable a cross sarcely, argent .
Thomas Upton , of Trelaske , esq . , married Joan, daughter of Sir John
Trelawny , kn ight, and had issue John , William, John , Joan, (married to
Richard Ryk E lizabeth, (married to John Becket .) John (third son) mar
ried Elizabeth, daughter and heir ofWilliam M ohun, of Puslinch, esq . , and
of M argaret his wife , daughter and he ir of Robert Blerick and Joan hi s
wife , daughter and heir of John Fleming of M enely in Cornwall , issue John ;who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Burley of Chanacomb e , and had
issue John , Nicholas , William, Joan , (married to Thomas Row Elizabeth,
(to Nicholas Dillon , issue Nicholas Agnes , (to Richard Upton, issueGrace , Mary, Ann .)
5520 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
John Upton, of Puslinch, married Elizabeth, daughter to Patrick Bellew.
and died sans issue . N icholas , second son , and he ir to his brother, marr ied
E igborough, daughter of Troyse of Hampshi re , and died sans issue . W il
l iam, third son , and heir to his brother Nicholas , married M ary, daughter
of Thomas Kirkham, of Blackdon , esq . , and hath issue George , John , and
E lizabeth married to Lord Cromwell . George married M argaret, daughter
of Henry Dillon , sans issue secondly he married Philippa, daughter of
John Wrey , of Treb igh in Cornwall , esq . , and had issue .
John , second son , married a daughter of Elford of Devon .
John Upton , of Puslinch, and of Lupton , Brixham , esq . , a second brother,married Agnes , s ister and heir of John Pennels , son and he ir of NicholasPennels of Lupton , and had issue William, and Joan married toWilliam H ill ,of Shilston in the parish of M odbury , esq .
William Upton , of Upton , marr ied Jane , daughter to John Powne of
Derbyshire , and had issue John , Thomas , and Joan married to John Farwelof Brixham . John Upton , of Lupton , esq . , married Joan , daughter to Simon Ralegh, of Fardel , esq . , and had issue John , Will iam , Nicholas , M ar
shall , (married to Richard Sparke of Plympton ;) Joan , (married to Will iam
Sparke of Dartmouth .)John Upton , esq . , married Ann , widow to Thomas Allen , of Glastonbury,Somerset, and had issue Arthur , and Elizabethmarried to Chri stOpher HodyofN etheway , esq . Arthur Upton , esq, , married Gertrude , daughter to HughFortescue , of Filleigh, esq . , and hath issue John , Henry, Hugh, Ar thur,
Anne , Elizabeth, (wife to John Hele , of Stert in Diptford, Devon and
Gertrude secondly he married Katharine , daughter of Hugh Culm, of
Chamston , esq . , sans issue . John Upton , esq . , married Dorothy, daughter of Sir Anthony Rouse , of Halton in Cornwall , knight, and hath issueArthur , John, Anthony .
TOTHIL, of the city ofExeter, and of Peamore in the parish ofExmins
ter, esq .
ARMS - A zure on a bend argent, cotized or, a l ion passant sable . Ca ressa— Ou
a hill vert a dove proper bearing an ol ive branch vertwith fruit or.
William Tothil , alderman of the city of Exeter, married Elizabeth, daugh
ter to Geoffry M atthew, son of William, son and he ir of John M atthew, of
Wales , esq . , had issue Geoffry, John , Richard, Robert, Joan , (married toJohn Hal se, of Efford, Grace , (to James Walker of Exeter, after to
5 22 DEVON SH IRE. FAM IL IES .
Courtenay of Loughter, in Plympton St. Mary secondly to HumphreyPrideaux of Thewb orough : secondly he married Elizabeth, daughter of
Richard Edgcomb e , esq .
Thomas Fowell , esq . , married Mary, daughter to Richard Hal se , of Kenedon , esq . , and had issue Richard, John , Joan , (married to John M ory ;)Sibel , (to John H ill of Fleet-Damare1 ;) M argaret, (to John Williams , al iasCholwill secondly Thomas married Maud, daughter of Bevil of Cornwall ,and had issue Thomas , Robert, (who married Joan , daughter of WilliamPerry, of Water in Manaton , Devon and Will iam : thirdly he married
Jane , daughter of Nicholas Dillon , sans issue .
Richard Fowell married Grace , daughter to John Somaster, of Painsford,esq . , and had issue Arthur, Edmund, William , and John . Arthur marriedM ary , daughter of Richard Reynel , of East-n el , esq . , and had issueRichard, Arthur, (both sans issue ,) Sir Edmund, Elizab eth, (married to S irEdward Harris , of Cornworthy , knight Grace , (married first to Richard
Barret, of Tregarthen in Cornwall , esq . , issue Mary and Grace , he irs se
condly to Sir Richard Carnsew, of Carnsew in Cornwall , knight .) S ir Ed
mund Powel , knight, marr ied M argaret, daughter of Sir Anthony Pawlet,of H inton St. George in Somersetshire , knight, and s ister to the Lord Paw
let, and had issue [Sir John , Edmund, and three daughters , one married to
Cabel of Brook , another to Savory of Shilston , the other to Hart of Yearnacombe .
Sir John Fowel] , bart. , married a daughter of S ir John Chichester, of
Hall , knight, and had issue S ir John , (who died unmarried, aged abouttwenty six , and left hi s two s isters hi s he irs ,) Elizabeth, (married to Ed
mund Parker, of Boringdon , esq. , and hath issue Edmund, and M argaret
married to Arthur Champernon , of Dartington, esq . . and hath issue several
sons and one daughter .) Edmund Powell , second son of Sir Edmund, mar
ried a daughter of Sir Farwe ll , of Somerset, knight, and left issue a
daughter married to Wood, of Somerset, esq.]Edmund Powell , second son of Richard, died sans issue .
William, third son of Richard , married, first Honor, daughter of Ford, ofFord-M ill in Blackawton, sans issue ; secondly a daughter of Achym, of
Pelint in Cornwall , the relict of Guimets , issue one son , and a daughter
married to Christopher Wood of North-Tawton . son and heir of
Will iam, married a daughter of Sir Francis G lanvil, knight .
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S . 523
John , fourth son of Richard, married a daughter of Crocker of Lynham ,
issue Edmund , Richard, Thomas .
KIRKHAM , of Blackdon , Pinhoe , and Feniton , knight .
A RMs ,
— Argent three l ions sable, guleswithin a bordure engra iled sable .
CREST .— Ou a torse argent and gules a l eopard’s head erazed argent.
Nicholas Kirkham, of Blackdon, esq . , marri ed Joan , daughter and heir
of John Wrey, of M arsh in Newton St . Cyres , esq . , and had issue Sir John ,
Nicholas , Thomas , and M argaret married first to John Cheyney, of Pinhoe ,esq . ; secondly toWilliam Bampfield, of Poltimore , esq . ; thirdly to Grenvile ,of Stow in Cornwall , esq .
S ir John Kirkham, (sheriff of Devon 1 4th Henry married a
daughter of M ore of M orehays , sans issue secondly a daughter of S ir
Thomas Fulford , of Fulford, knight, sine prole ; thirdly Lucy , daughter of
S ir Thomas Tremayl , knight, and had issue Thomas , Richard,John , and
Elizabeth ; fourthly he married Jane , daughter and cohe ir ofWilliam M al
herb , of Fen iton , esq . , the rel ict of Richard Ferrers of Feniton , sans issue .
Thomas Kirkham , of Blackawton, esq . , married Margaret, daughter and
he ir of Richard Ferrers , of Feniton , esq . , and of Jane his wife , daughter andhe ir ofWilliam M alherb of Feniton , and had issue George , James , An drew,
and M ary, married to Will iam Upton , of Puslinch, esq . ; secondly he mar
ried the only daughter ofWilliam and sister and he ir of Georg e and Philip
Carew , ofM ohun’s Ottery, knights , that died sine prole , and b y her had issue
Henry , Will iam , Richard, Edward , Georg e , and Thomasin married to Tho
mas Southcot, of Bovey-Tracy, esq . George Kirkham , esq . , married M ar
garet, daughter to Sir Thomas Dennis of Holcombe Burnel , knight, and
had issue Elizabeth, a dwarf, s ine prole . Richard Kirkham of Pinhoe , se
cond son to S ir John , married Agnes , daughter of John Cape of Somer
set, and had issue Richard, sans issue ; S ir Will iam, knight ; Georg e , sans
issue Giles ; Katharine .
S ir Will iam Kirkham, of Blackdon and Pinhoe , knight, married Mary,
daughter of Tichb orn , Hants , and had issue Richard, Francis , and seven oth
ers , and Elizabeth, (married to Al exander Brett, son and heir of Al exanderBrett, of Somersetshire , knight and M ary , (married to Richard Berry , of
Berry-nerb er, esq .) Richard Kirkham,
.
son and he ir of S ir William , mar
riedJames Kirkham, brother of George , and second son of Thomas , had issue
Margaret, married to Westover, in Colyton , and had issue .
5 24 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S .
Giles Kirkham, third son of Richard , had issue Thomas and Anthony .
Thomas Kirkham, son and he ir to Giles , married Agnes , daughter and
coheir of Edward Roope , of Bidwell in Newton St. Cyres , and hath issue .
Francis Kirkham, second son of S ir Wil liam, married E lizabeth, daugh
ter and coheir of Edward Roope , of Bidwell , and hath issue .
EDMONDS , of Sal isbury in Wiltshire , and Plymouth .— AEM s .
—Or a
chevron azure , on a canton sable a boar’s head couped or .
Henry Edmonds , of N ew Sarum, Wiltshire , married Julyan, daughter ofWill iam Brandon of Salisbury , and had issue Lawrence , Henry , Thomas ,Jane , (married to Thomas Codamore Olyff, (to Al exander Good Joan ,
to Vanner .
Thomas Edmonds of Plymouth, (customer there , and of Fowey in Cornwall , second son of Henry , married Joan , daughter of Anthony De
labere , of Sherborne in Dorset, esq . , had issue Silvester, William, John , Ar
thur, and Sir Thomas Edmonds , knight, principal secretary 1 6 1 9 , who
married and hath issue Sir Henry Edmonds , knight of the Bath.
SLADER , of Barondown in Kent, and of Bath in the parish of NorthTawton , Devon , g ent .
A RM s .
— Gu1es a chevron e rmine between three horses’heads erazed, argent.John Slader, of Barondown , married M argery, daughter of John Church
of Kent, and had issue M ark , John , Al ice , Ellen , and M arg ery . M ark Slader, of Bath in the parish of North-Tawton , esq . , married , first M argery,daughter and he ir of James Samford, of North-Tawton, esq . , and had issueAnn who died young ; secondly Katharine , daughter of Al exanderWood,
of the same parish, esq . , and had issue Christopher who died sans issue ,M ark , M argaret, (married to John Pry of Horwel , in Colebrook, M ar
tha . and Judith, (married to Richard Cover, tailor in Exeter .)M ark Slader, second son and heir , married a daughter of a musician in
London , and had issue a daughter married to Brooking sometime of N ew
ton St. Cyres .
YERWORTH , of Ipplepen in Devon , gent .
A EM s - Arg . three harts’heads couped sable , collared or. CRE sr .
— A hand
argent holding a snake vert.John Y erworth, of M onmouthshiie , esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter of
John King , of A shwell in Somerset, and had issue Roger, Will iam , Joseph,
Hugh, and Thomas . Hugh married Margaret, daughter of John Rydway
(alias Peacock,) of Abbots -Kerswell .
526 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Giles Kingston ofMusbury .) Digory Thorn , of Buckland-Fill eigh, (secondson of Edward, ) married Ann , daughter to William Porter, of Thetford inNorfolk and b ath issue Joseph, Digory, Ann , (married to Sadler of N or
folk Bridget, and M arg aret.
Bartholomew Thorn, of Sheepwash, son and heir, married Susan , daugh
ter of Henry Rolle , of Heanton, esq . , and had issue M argaret, (married to
Christopher Wood, of“North-Tawton , esq . , sans issue Eliz abeth, (mar
ried to Will iam Holland, of Wear, Zenobia, (to Leonard Lovis of
Sheepwash, and hath issue a daughter secondly he married M ary , daugh
ter of Christopher Hillersdon , of M emb land, esq . , issue Ellen , Jane .
TUCKER, (alias TOOKER , ) of the city of Exeter, g ent .
ARMs .— A zure barrywavy argent, on a chevron embattled counter-b attled or
between three sea-horses, naiant,argent marred and finned gules, five goutes
sable .
RobertTucker, alderman ofExeter and mayor 1 543 , married Joan, daugh
ter of John Palmer of Thorverton , and had issue William,Hugh,
Grace,
(married to John Borrough of Cullompton , and by him had issue HenryM artha, (marri ed to John Vowel , alias Hooker, Chamberlain of the city of
Exeter, and had issue Robert .)Will iam Tucker married Honor, daughter to James Erisey , of Erisey in
Cornwall , esq . , and had issue Robert, John Baptist, William, John , Tho
mas , Florence .
VOWEL , (al ias HOOKER ,) of E xeter .—AE M S . —Or, a b ar vairy, arg .
and sable , between two l ions passant gardant sable .
John Vowel married Al ice , widow of John Coyle of Topsham, and had
issue Thomasin , married to John Chaldon of Moreton ; secondly he marriedAl ice , daughter and he ir of Richard Drewel , of Exeter, esq . , and of Joanhis wife , daughter and heir of John Kelly, esq . ; and Julyan hi s wife , daughter and coheir of Robert Wil ford of Oxton , esq . , issue Christopher sans issue , Robert, and Jacob ine . Robert married, first Alice , daughter of JohnCoyle of Topsham , sans issue ; secondly Alice , daughter of Richard Duke of
Exeter , and had issue Richard, Alice , Lawrence , all died sans issue ; thirdlyAgnes , daughter of John Doble , of Woodbri dg e in Suffolk , issue Anthonysans issue , John , Rog er , Sydwell , (married to John M onk of Ottery St.
Mary ;) Arm, (to David W indeat of Exeter M ary, (to John Russell, of
Grantham in Lincoln .) John Hooker, chambera of Exeter, married, first
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES . 52 7
M artha , daughter of Robert Tooker of Exeter, and had issue Robert ; whomarried Katharine , daughter of Snedall ; he married secondlyAn stice ,daughter of Edmund Bridgman of Exeter, b y whom he had a numerous
offspring .
FORDE , of Chagford, A shburton , and Ils ing ton , Devon , esq .
ARMS — Party per fe ss argent and sable in chie f a greyhound currant, in basean owl within a bordure engrailed, all counterchanged .
John Ford, of Chagford , married Anastatia, daughter and heir of JohnH ill of Chagford , and M argaret his wife , daughter and he ir of Geoffe oung
ling , son and heir of John , son and he ir of William, son and he ir of GeoffryYoungling of Chagford, and had issue John who married Eleanor, daugh
ter of John Hole of South-Tawton , and had issue Will iam ; who married
Cecily, daughter of Stephen Smith of Chagford, and had issue John . John
Ford of A shburton , esq . , married Jane , daughter and heir of Will iam Hal
wel (alias Halgawell) of Devon , and had issue Joan , married to John Saintcleer, son and he ir of Gilbert Saintcleer, of Budleigh, esq . ; secondly he
married Joan , daughter of John Somaster, of Painsford, esq . sans issue
thirdly he married Joan , daughter ofWilliam Walrond , of Bovey, e sq . , and
Widow of Gregory Hackmore , of Buckyet, esq . , and had issue Georg e ,and M argaret married to John Rolle , of Stevenston , esq . ; fourthl y he
married Joan . daughter of John Trobridge , of Devon, esq . , the relict of
Gilbert Saintcleer, esq . , and had issue John . Georg e Ford, of Ilsing ton ,
esq . , married Joan , daughter to Gilbert Saintcleer , of Budle igh, esq . , and
had issue Thomas , Christopher , Richard, M ary, Susan , Judith, and M arga
ret. Thomas Ford, of Ils ing ton , son and he ir, married a daughter of Alex
ander Popham, of Hunsworth in Somerset , and s ister to Sir John Popham,
kn ight, lord chi ef justice , and had issue Richard , John , Thomas . Richard
married Katharine , daughter and he ir to Georg e Drake , of Spratshays in
the parish of Littleham , esq . , and had issue [Sir Henry Ford, of N utwel ,
kn ight, principal s ecretary of state to King Charles I I . in the kingdom of
Ireland, and of his privy council there , issue Elizabeth unmarried ,married to Arthur]S ir Henry Ford, of N utwel and Ils ing ton , knight, married a daughter of
Sir Henry Row, of London , knight, issue Henry , Row-Ford, Charles , Sarah,
(married to John Eggerton , rector of Lympston E lizabeth, (married to
Holwel , counsellor-at-law Katharine , (married to John Drake of Bystock .
528 DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IE S .
Henry Row-Ford , of Ilsington , esq . , married a daughter of Dormer, in Ox
fordshire , esq . , and had issue Henry died sans issue , and Katharine mar
ried to John Clob erry of Braston , and had issue S ir John Cloherty , knight .
FORD, of Fordmoor in the parish of Plimtree , Devon, gent .
Richard at Fordmoor 8th Edward I I . , John l 6th Edward II . , Nicholas1 9th Edward II . , John M artin at Fordmoor l oth Henry IV .
William Ford, of Fordmoor, marr ied and had issue William ; who married
Eliz abeth, daughter of Stancial Ardington of Gloucestershire , and ha d issue
Edward, Thomas , Robert, Ann , (married to Peter M artingfield of York ;)M argaret, (married to Richard Hopkin .) Edward marri ed Joan , daughter
toWill iam Boyer of Tiverton , and had issue Robert , Charles , John , Edward,
Joan , (married to Edward Tye of Langford-Court in the parish of Cullomp
ton M ary , (married to Christopher Stukeley of Farringdon Elizabeth,
(married to John Jennys , of Lincolns- Inn , London Agnes , (married to
John Walrond, of Langford in Somerset Cecily, married to Denni s Passemere of Swetton .) Robert married Agnes , daughter ofWill iam Jennys ,and had issue one besides Richard .
Charles Ford, of W hythal , (second son of Edward,) married Agnes ,daughter to William Richards of Upottery , and had issue Edward, Richard ,Gregory, Elizabeth, Dorothy .
Richard Ford, of Fordmoor, (second son and heir, ) married a daughterof Ball of Cullompton , and had issue Giles and Charles . Giles , son and
he ir, married Susan , daughter ofWilliam Brytton (al ias Brutton) of Exeter,and had issue a daughter and heir ; and died before his father . C harles , se
cond son and he ir, married Penelope , daughter of Robert Ashford, ofDevon ,
esq . , and had issue . Ford, of Fordmoor, married a daughter of G il
bert, of Compton , esq . , and had is sue Roger ; who married a daughter of
Sir George Chudlegh, of Ashton , bart. , and left issue Ford, esq.]CAREV
V
, of East-Anthony in Cornwall .
ARMS.— Or three l ions pass . sable, armed gules mullet. CREST . -A demil ion on a ship’s top sable between six broad arrows heads outward.
Sir Nicholas Carew, baron of Carew-Castle , M ontgomery in Wales , mar
r ied Joan , (M argaret, saith York , fol . l 73 , ) daughter of Sir Hugh Courtenay of Haccomb , and only he ir of Philippa his wife , a daughter and cohe irof S irWarren Lerchdekne , of Haccomb ,
knight-banneret, and of Elizabethhis wife , daughter and coheir of John Talbot de Gestro Richardi, second son
5 30 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
Andrew Hillersdon , of M emb land, esq . , married Al ice , daughter of Tho
mas and coheir of John Hatch of W ollegh, the relict of Baldwin Mallet of
Somerset, sans issue by e ither ; secondly he married a daughter of Edgcomb of M ount-Edgcomb , the relict of S ir Trevanion , of Cary-Hays inCornwall , knight, and had issue John , and Ann married to John Hollandof Wear. John married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Kirkham, of
Blackdon , kn ight, and had issue Andrew, James and John both sans issue ,M ary, (married to John M ay of London, father to Sir Humphrey May
(married to Finch, of St . Germans in Cornwall .) Andrew marriedBarbara, daughter of John Copleston , of Copleston, esq . , and had issueChristopher, Hugh, and Scipio sans issue , Mary , (married toWill iam Courtenay of Salcomb and Elizabeth, (married to Crumb of Cornwall .)Christopher Hillersdon , of M emb land, esq . , married Jane , daughter of Sir
Richard Chudlegh, of A shton , knight, and had issue Richard, Humphrey,(who married M ary, daughter of John German of Exeter, and hath issueJohn Mary , (second wife to Bartholomew Thorn , of Sheepwash,
Katharine , (married to Drew of Dartmouth.) Richard, son and he ir mar
ried, first Katharine , daughter of Gawyn Champernon , of Dartington , esq . ,
and had issue Richard, John , Jane , Gertrude , M ary, Ursul a, Dorothy .
Richard Hill ersdon , son and he ir, married Bridg et, daughter of John Har
ris , of Lanrest in Cornwall and Radford in Devon , esq . , and hath issueRichard and Bridg et .
GILES , of Bowden in the parish of A shprington and of Dean-Prior,Devon , knight .
— AEM S .—A chevron arg . and azure , a lion saltier counter
changed, gorged with a collar or .
John Giles , of Bowden in the parish of Totnes , married Eleanor, daughter and heir of Towkerman , and had issue William ; who marr ied Joan,
daughter to John Blackall , (al ias Blackaller, ) of Great-Totnes , and had is
sue John , Will iam, (who married and Joan, (married to Richard Saveryof Totnes .) John married Agnes , daughter to Sir Hugh Stukely, of Affeton , knight, and had issue S ir Edward Giles , knight, Jane , (married toRichard Sture , of M orelegh in the parish of M orelegh Christian , (to
G eorge Yard, of Churchton-Court in the parish of Churchton-Ferrers,Joan , (to John Luscomb , of Luscomb in Rattery, Agnes , (toWilliam
Wotton , of Ing leb om in the parish of Harberton , esq.) Sir Edward Giles ,of Bow, knight, (sheriff of Devon ,) married Margaret, daughter and heir of
DE VON SH I EE FAM I L IE S . 53 1
Edmund Drew, of Hayne in the parish of Newton St . Cyres , esq . , the relictofWalter N orthcot, of Uton in Crediton , esq . , sans issue .
HOLCOMB , of Holcomb , in the parish of Ottery St . M ary , e sq— ARM S .
—Azure a chev . arg . between threemen’s heads couped or, banded arg .
Roger Holcomb married and had is sue Charles , Elizabeth, (married toJohn Babington Joan toWilliam Perry, ofWater in M embury .) Charlesmarried and had issue Ellis , Katharine , (marr ied to Simon Bradney ;) Elizabeth, (married, first to William Colmar, secondly to Thomas Graver .)Ellis married Elizabeth, daughter to Thomas Sydenham , ofWinford-Eagle ,Dorset, and had issue Thomas , Robert, Tristram, John , Georg e , Wal ter , and
M ary married to William Longford and had issue Henry and M ary .
Thomas Holcomb , of Holcomb , esq . , marri ed M argaret, daughter to Tredraff, of Cornwall, esq . , and had issue Gilbert, Christopher . Gilbert mar
ried Ann , daughter of Peter Courtenay, of Wotton in Cornwall, esq . , and
had issue .
NEWCOMBE, of Great-Worthy in Teignton-Drew . Devon — Arms .
Argent a fess garreted in chief between two escalops sable .
Henry Newcombe married a daughter and heir of a third brother of the
Coplestons and had issue . Richard Newcombe married and had issue John ;who married a daughter of Coade , and had issue William , John . William,
son and he ir, married a daughter of Burr ington , and had issue two , one of
them mayor of the city of Exon . John , second son of John , married a
daughter of Down , and had issue John ; who married a daughter of Crock
er, and had issue John . John Newcombe , of Crediton , (son and he ir, mar
ried M ary , daughter of Nicholas Pointingdon , of Pennycot in Shobrooke ,
and had issue John .
HARRIS , of Hayne in the Parish of Lifton , Devon , esq .— AEM s .
— Sable ,
three crescents within a bordure , arg ent .
John Harris , brother of John Harris of Radford, married a daughter and
he ir of Stone of Lifton and had issue William , and four daughters , married
to Piper, Jackman ,Cole , Allen . Will iam Harris , of Stone , married Tho
masin , daughter and cohe ir ofWalter Hayne of Hayne , and had issue John ,
and Wilmot married toWilliam Foster of Hole in Devon . John (the king’s
sergeant-at- law in the time of Edward married Eliz abeth, daughter to
M ichael Kelly of Radcliffe and Southweek, esq . , and had issue William,
John, Oliver, Anthony, Arthur, Al ice , (married to JohnWise of Sydenham,
5 32 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S .
Wilmot, (to John Trevelyan , of N ettlecomb in Somerset, esq .) W il
l iam Harr is , of Hayne , esq . , married M ary , daughter of Sir Fulk Grevill ,of Beauchamp -Court, Warwick, knight , and had issue Arthur, El izabeth,
Blanch, Y sod, Katharine . Arthur married M argaret, daughter and heir of
John Dav ils , of M exland in Devon , esq . , and b ath issue [John, Arthur (re
corder of Great-Torrington , who married Elizabeth s ister to Colonel Giffardof Bri ghtlegh, sans issue .) John married, first a Si ster of Sir Wyndham of
Orchard-Wyndham , and secondly, Cordelia, daughter to the Lord M ohun
of o connock in Cornwall , and had issue Sir Arthur Harris , bart . ; who mar
ried a daughter of Sir Turner, of London , knight, and died s ine prole .
The estate fell to Harris of Cornwal l .]HARRIS , of Lanrest in Cornwall .John Harris married Ann , daughter of Becket, of Cornwall , esq . , and of
Joan his wife , daughter of William Totewil , and had issue John she was
secondly married to Anthony Samuel , of Restormel in Cornwall . JohnHarris married, first Katharine , daughter of Thomas Tremayne of Collacomb ,
and had issue Elizabeth, (married to John Varey of Varey ;) Philippa, (firstto John Prouz , of Comb -M artin , esq . ; secondly to Jenkin Franklin of
Wal es Katharine , (to John Davis of Trevaster in Cornwall secondly
John married Jane , daughter of William Harris , and Sister and heir to Sir
Christopher Harr is , of Radford, knight, and had i ssue John , and Jane mar
ried to John Dillon , fifth son of Henry Dillon , of Chymwel , esq . : thirdly he
married Thomasin , daughter of Copleston , a younger brother ofWarleighhouse , and had issue Frances , married to Thomas Deswel , of Pendennis ,Cornwall . John Harris of Lanrest and Radford, esq . , married Joan , daugh
ter and heir of Robert Hert of Stoke -Climsland, and had issue Christopher ,John , Robert , Pearce , Cecily, (married to John Poll exfen of Kitley ;) Mary ,
(married ;) Bridget, (married to Richard Hillersdon , of M emb land, esq .)Chri stopher, son and heir, married Gertrude , daughter of Sir Bernard Gren
vile , of Stow in Cornwal l , knight, and died sans issue . John , second son,
and heir to his brother , married
HARRIS of Radford in the parish of Plymstock, knight .
Harris , of Hansford and Radford, married and had issue John . John
Harris , of Radford, esq . , married and had issue Francis , and a daughtermarried to G awdy , of Gawdys -Hall, in the pari sh of Harleston . Francismarried Philippa, daughter of Sir Thomas Grenfield, of Stow in Cornwall ,
534 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S .
S ir John Hele , of Wembury , kn ight, sergeant-at- Iaw, (fourth son of
N icholas b y his second wife , married M ary, daughter and coheir of EllisWarwick of Batsb orough, (the other was married to Chubb of Holbeton ,)and had issue Sir Warwick , John sans issue , Sir Francis , Nicholas , Walter ,
G eorge , Ell is , Benjamin , Thomas sans i ssue , and Philippa married to S irReg inal d M ohun , of Hall in Cornwall .S ir Warwi ck Hele , of Wembury , knight, (sheriff of Devon 1 6 1 8 and
married M ary, daughter of Halse of Efford , the relict of Will iam
Hawkins , of Plymouth, esq . ; secondly he marri ed M argaret, daughter of
S ir William Courtenay, of Powderham, knight, and died sans issue January1 6th, 1 625 . S ir Francis Hele , kn ight, married Jane , daughter of Rogers ,of Canington in Somerset, esq . , and had issue John and one daughter, anddied 1 622 .
Nicholas Hele , fourth son , married Honor, daughter of Thomas May
nard of Sherford, the relict of John Fortescue , of Spridleston , in Brixton ,
esq . , and hath issue Warwick .
George , ninth son , married Lucy, daughter of John Ellacot of Exeter,and b ath issue Warwick and M argaret.
HELE , of Holbeton — John , second son of Nicholas , third son ofW il
liam Hele of South-Hele , married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Pollex
fen , of Kitley in Yealmpton , and hath issue Walter, Isabel , (married to R0
g er Hurrel , of Hendham in the pari sh ofWoodley ;) Agnes , (to Barkley of
Okembury ;) Honor and Charity , (unmarried M ary , (to Arthur Trobridge ,of W impston in M odbury ;) Julyan , (toWill iam Kider, ofDown-Thomas in
Wembury ;) Joan , (to John Came of Battsb orough ;) Ann , (to NicholasBorlase , of Treluderow in Newlyn ,
Cornwall and M argaret unmarried .
Wal ter Hele , of Holbeton , esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter of W il
l iam Strode , of Newnham, esq . , and had issue Arthur who died young ,
Sampson , Judith, (married to Gilbert Yard, of Bradley, Jane , (numarried Joan , (married to Thomas Fownes of Plymouth Frances , (toJohn Smell ing , of Chaddlewood in Plympton St . M ary , Isabel, Agnes ,Elizabeth, and Susan married to Thomas Isaac, of Polslo in Heavitree ,esq.
Sampson Hele , of Holbeton , esq . , (sheriff ofDevon 1 8th James I marriedJoan , daughter of John Glanvile of Tavistock , one of the justices in the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, and had issue Matthew,John , Sampson, Walter,
DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES . 535
Francis , Will iam , Arthur, Nicholas , (M . D . s ine prole ,) Al ice , Elizabeth,
Joan , and Sarah .
Matthew Hele , of Holbeton and Holwell, esq . , (Sheriff of Devon XI Car.
married Rolle of Heanton -Sachville , and had issue Walter ; he secondlymarried Bourchier, and had issue M atthew who died sans issue .
HELE , of E xeter and Fleet.— Thomas Hele , of E xeter, (third son of N i
cholas , but first b y his second wife , third son of Will iam , ) sheriff of Devon42md Eliz abeth, married Julyan , daughter to John Smith of E xeter, and hadissue Thomas , Joan , (married to Robert Rolle , of Heanton -Sachville ,
Grace , (to Nicholas Gilbert, al ias Webber , of Bowring slegh, esq .) Tho
mas Hele , of Fleet, esq . , (sheriff of‘Devon 1 5th James married Bridget,daughter of Henry Champernon , of M odbury, esq . , and hath issue Samuels ine prole , Thomas , Henry, John , Penelope , (second wife to Christopher
Blackall, of Totnes , Dulcib ella, (married to Samuel Coswarth, of
Coswarth in Cornwal l , Bridget, (married to Pendarves of CornwallElizabeth, and Honor.
S ir Thomas Hele, bart . , married and had issue Sir Samuel , bart (whomarried a daughter of Lord Pawlet, of H inton S t . Georg e , and died sans
issue S ir Henry Hele , of Fleet, bart married a daughter of Elliot, of
Port-Elliot in Cornwall , sans issue .
HELE , ofNewton-Ferrers .-Hugh, fourth son of Nicholas , but second
by his second wife , third son ofWill iam, married Cecily , daughter and he ir
of Nicholas Cole of Paignton , and had issue John , M arg ery , M argaret, E li~
zabeth . John (counsellor- at- law,)married a daughter of Fortescue , of Preston , in Erming ton , esq. , and had issue Henry, (who died unmarried Tho
mas , Josias , Philippa , (married to Richard Dean .)HELE , of Brixton .
— Walter, fifth son of Nicholas , b ut third by his se
cond wife , married Jane , daughter to Thomas M aynard of Brixton , and had
issue E lizeus and Nicholas . Elizeus , esq . , (counsellor- at- law and justice of
the peace ,) married, first a daughter and coheir of John Hender, of Botreaux or Bos -Castle in M inster, Cornwall , esq . , and had issue who died young ;secondly Al ice , daughter and cohe ir to Bray of Northumberland , the relictof Nicholas Evelegh, fourth son of Georg e Evelegh, of Holcombe in O tteryS t . Mary, esq .
RALEGH , of Fardel in Cornwood .— Amus — Gules a bend lozengy arg .
Wal ter Ralegh, esq . , married and had issue Walter ; who married Eliza
5 36 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
beth, daughter of Sir Richard Edgcomb , of Cothele in Cornwall , knight, andhad issue Walter and Jane . Walter, esq . , married Joan , daughter of John
Drake of Exmouth, and had issue George , and John who married the rel ict
of Gaverick of Ford, sans issue ; secondly he married a daughter of Darrell
of London , and had issue ; thirdly he married Katharine , daughter of Phi
lip Champernon of Modbury, and had issue S ir Carew, Sir Walter, and
M argaret married, first to Radford, of M ount-Radford, esq . , clerk of the
peace ; secondly to Hull , of Larkb ear near Exeter, esq . Sir Carew Raleghmarried
SirWalter Ral egh, of Sherborne , knight,*(lord warden of the stannaries
in the time of Queen Elizabeth, fourth son ofWalter, b ut third by his thirdwife , married Elizabeth, a daughter of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton , knight.
George Ralegh, of Fardel , esq . , (son and heir toWalter, ) married Katharine , daughter of Thomas Gilbert , of Compton , esq . , sans issue ; secondlyhe married Dorothy, daughter of Sneddal , of Exeter, esq . , and had issueGeorge .
George Ralegh, esq . , marri ed Margaret, daughter of Thomas Drake of
Harpford, and had issue George , John , Drake , Mary, M argaret, Jane .
Georg e , son and heir , marr ied second daughter to Gideon Haydon of
Cadhay in Ottery St. Mary , esq .
JEWELL, of Bowden in the parish of Berry-N erb er, gent .
ARMS .—Or on a chev. a zure between three g illy flowers, a demi-maiden gul es,
crined or, on a chief sable a lure between two falcons argent, legs and bells or.
Our readers are aware that SirWalter Ralegh, whom King James I . consigned tothe block 28th Oct 1 61 8, set. 66
,was born at Hayes in Budle igh. W e have recently
been favouredwith the inspection of three splendid c ircular seals of this illustrious man .
The first is markedwith the date 1 584, the year he was knighted by Queen El i zabeth : itbears the arms of Ralegh, five fusils in bend ; butwithout the label . Themotto is “Amore
etVirtute the legend is Propria Ins igniaW alteri Ralegh, M ilitis, Dom ini etGub erna,t0ris Virg inia's,” &c. The second represents the Knight in full armour, charg ing on his
war-horse which is richly caparisoned. The legend runs in a double l ine , thus,— “SIGILLDN I W ALTE E I RA LEGH, M I LITI S. GARDIAN STAN N AE : CORN UE . ET DEVON .
” —The Sealof S irWalter Ralegh, Kut Warden of the Stannaries of Cornwall and Devon .
“CAPITAN . GAE D. REG . ET . GUBERN ATOR . I N SULJE DE . JE E SEY .
” —Captain of the Queen’sGuards, and Governor of the Island of Jersey . The third seal was probably struck afterhis disgrace , when his enemies, through envy or malice , traduced him “
as an upstart,a
jack, and a newman.
” It contains sixteen quarterings — G . O .,— P . J .
538 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
HONE, of O ttery St . Mary , gent .— AEM s .
— Argent two bars wavy b etween three hone-stones , azure .
Robert Hone married and had issue E leanor, (married to Will iam Hor
ey ;) M argaret, (to John Perriam of Exeter Al ice , (to Harton of Barnstaple Elizabeth, (to Will iam Chaplain of Ottery St . M ary Joan, (toJohn Bodl egh of Exeter M ary, (to Jeffry Upton , ofWells , Somerset .)PARKER, (al ias JORDEN,) of N orthmolton , esq .
— ARM s .— A hart
’s
face sable within two fianches argent .
Thomas Parker, esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of JohnFry of Yarty in Membury, and had issue John , Will iam, Agnes , (marri ed
to Edmund M athew of Dodb rook M ary, (to John Hext of Pickwell, inthe par ish of Georg eham ; after to John N ewcourt of the same ;) Mary, (toJohn Charles , of Tavistock, esq .) John Parker, esq . , married a daughter
and heir of Thomas Ellacot , of Ellacot in the parish of Bratton-Clovelly,and had issue Edmund, M ary , (married to An thony Copleston of Wyke
Thomas in , (to Perriam Al ice , (to Courtenay ;) Elizabeth, (to St. Cleer of
Tidwell ;) Dorothy , (to Thomas Clotworthy, of Clotworthy, Agnes ,and Phil ippa .
Edmund Parker , esq . , (justice of the peace,) married Dorothy , daughterof Sir Clement Smith, of E ssex , knight, and had issue John , Jane, (mar
ried to John N orthlegh of Inwardleigh ;) Elizabeth, (to Wal ter Harlowin
of Sidmouth M ary to George Drake of Hullam in W ithecomb e -Ral eghFrances , (to Will iam Edmonds of Plymouth and one married A she .
John Parker died before his father , but first married Frances , daughter andhe ir to Jerome M ayhow, of Boringdon in Plympton St. Mary, and had is
sue , Edmund, Thomas , John . Edmund Parker, of N orthmolton and Bor
ingdon , , esq . , (Sheriff of Devon married Amy, daughter to Sir Ed
ward Seymour, of Berry-Pomeroy , bart . , and had issue [ Edmund and se
veral others . Edmund, esq . , (sheriff of Devon 24th Car.
“
and 2 7th Car .
married a daughter of Southcote of Buckland-Toutsaints, esq . , and had
issue George , Edmund, (who turned papist on the marriage of a daughter
of Kirkham, of Pinhoe in Devon , and Thomas , who married Elizabeth,the daughter and he ir of George Prouz , sometime vicar of Ashburton ; se
condly he married a daughter of Weeks , of N orthweek, esq . , and had is
sue Weeks Parker, who married a coheir of Lankford, of Lankford-hill in
Cornwall, b ut died sans issue , he being executed at Heavitree for a murder
DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES . 539
committed at Crediton in a fray , within or near two years of his marriag e ,
ag ed about twenty four . George Parker, esq . , married Elizabeth, daughterand cohe ir of Sir Joh nFowel of Fowelscomb e , and hath issue one son .]W OLLACOMB , of Comb in the parish of Roborough, esq
— ARMS .
Argent three bars gules , a file of three sable .
Robert W ollacomb had issue , Wal ter who had issue , Richard who had
issue , Josseline who had issue , Severus who had issue , Oliver who had is
sue , Thomas who had issue , Henry who had issue , Thomas .
Thomas W ollacomb , of Over-W ollacomb , married Elizabeth, daughter
and he ir to Henry of Combe in the parish of Roborough, and had issue
William . William W ollacomb , of Over-W ollacomb , esq . , married Thoma
sin and had issue Thomas ; secondly he married a daughter and heir of
Stephen Giffard, and had issue Will iamand John , both s ine prole .
Thomas W ollacomb , of Over-W ollacomb , married Ann , daughter and
he ir of John M ichelstow, of Lantaglos in Cornwall , and of Alice his wife ,
daughter and coheir of Stephen Giffard of Thub orough, the relict of W il
liam Prideaux , of Thub orough, esq . , and Joan his wife , daughter and he ir to
John Spencer of Tedburn , who was s ister and heir of John Giffard and Alice
his wife , daughter and heir of John Hugge sworthy which John G ifi'
ard
was son and he ir to John Gifford and Ingaret his wife , daughter and cohe ir
of S ir Allen E sse , of Thub orough, knight, son and he ir of S ir Ralph Esse ,knight, and had issue Thomas .
Thomas W ollacomb , of Over-W ollacomb , married Thomasin , daughter
of John Cole of North-Tawton, and had issue Al exander and Ann .
Alexander W ollacomb ,of Comb , married ,
first Ann , daughter to Antho
ny Pollard, of Horwood, esq . , and had issue John , Anthony , Honor, (mar
ried to Anthony Cary of Kegb ear Al ice , (to John Heron secondly he
married Ann , daughter of John Bradmore of Exeter, and had issue George ,Henry, Alexander, Ann , Eleanor, Thomasin .
John W ollacomb , of Comb , esq . , married M ary , daughter to S ir John
Basset, of Umb erlegh, knight, and had issue John , Thomas sans issue , and
Honor married to Giffard of Torring ton . John married M ary , daughter of
John Coffin , of Portledge in Alwing ton , esq . , and had issue John , Thomas ,
Richard, Arthur, M ary , (married to Humphrey Copleston , fifth son of An
thouy Copleston , Janor, (to John Barret , of St. Tudy, Cornwall
Arm, (to Thomas Hert of Exeter Eleanor, and Elizabeth. John , son and
5 40 DEVONSH I RE FAM IL IES .
heir, married Sarah, daughter of John Fortescue , of Filleigh, esq. , and hath
issue John , Sarah, Elizabeth .
KELLY, of Kelly , esq .
ARMs .— Argent a chevron between three bille ts, gules . CREST . -An ostrich’s
head and neck argent, issuing out of a ducal coronet gules ; in the mouth or, a
horse -shoe .
Thomas Kelly, esq . , married Elizabeth, s ister and cohe ir ofWilliam Talb ot, of Talbots -Wick , who was son and heir to Richard and M argaret hi
wife , and had «issue Nicholas who died sans issue , and Richard ; who mar
ried Jane , daughter of Thomas Bratton , and had issue John , Henry, Constance . John married Joan , daughter of Henry Fortescue , esq . , and had
issue Oliver ; who married Jane , daughter of John Tremayn , of Collacomb
in the parish of Lamerton , esq . , and had issue John , Elizabeth, (married to
Richard Prinn Jane , (to John M oore of M oorhays .) John married Do
rothy , daughter of Richard Wood, of North-Tawton , esq . , and had issue
Oliver, Henry , Anthony, James , Katharine , (married to William Bower of
Bariswood Arm , (to John Whitlock of North-Tawton .) Oliver married
Margaret, daughter of Henry Deny s of Hall , in Petrockstow, esq . , and had
issue Oliver, Thomas , Ann , Elizabeth, Al ice , M ary .
BATTISHILL, ofW estwyke in the parish of South-Tawton , g ent .
AEM s .— Azure a salt . crossed betweenfour owls arg . memb . and beaked or.
John Battishill married and had issue John , Robert, Al ice , (married to
Thomas All ey of St . M ary-Week M argery, (to Surdecot .) John married
Philippa, daughter of Brendon , and had issue John , Walter , Olivera, (married to William M ichel of W inkley ;) Thomasin , (to Nicholas Dean of
Thrussleton Joan , (to William Ashford of Sampford -Courtenay .)John Battishill married Joan , daughter and heir ofWalter Wood of Bri
destow, and had issue , William, Thomas , Henry , Mary, (married to Gre
g ory Cock of Plymouth Julyan , (toWilliam Wil l of the same .) William ,
son and heir, married Jane , daughter of John Denham , ofWortham, esq
and had issue .
GODWINE , of Cli stwill in the parish of Plymtree , and of Godwine inThorverton , Devon — AEM s .
— Argent on a bend gul es three mascles argentbetween two demi l ions sal iant sable .
Wal ter Godwine , of Clystwill , married and had issue William who mar
ried Joan, daughter and heir to John Freer of Thorverton, and had issue
542 DEVON SH I RE FAM ILIES .
had issue John sine prole , Robert ; who had issue John ; who married Joan,
daughter of Arkenald, abbot of son of Arkenald , son of Walter , son
of Ralph, abbot of Wray , who was seiz ed of the manor ofWray in Devon ,
and had issue John ; who had issue John ; who had issue Thomas , John ,
(both sans issue and Al ice , (heir of Thomas and John her brothers ,) mar
ried to Richard Wray , who had issue Christian , married to Richard de la
Ford and had issue Chr istian , married to Will iam Corset, who had issue
John , who had issue John , who had issue Richard who died sans issue , and
Alice , heir to her brother, marri ed Thomas Southmead, and had issue W il
liam Southmead ofWray ; who, by Joan , daughter of John Charles , ofMore
ton , esq . , had issue John ; who marr ied a daughter of Hunt and had issueWilliam ; who married Ann , daughter of Hugh Lanton of Winkley, and
had issue Thomas ; who (was l iving in married Ann , daughter and
heir of Richard Wood of Lustle igh, and had issue John , aetat 1 3 , (aboutAnn , Joan , Frances , Grace .
STRODE, of Erming ton and Newnham in the parish of Plympton St .
Mary .—ARM s .
—Argent. a chevron between three con ies passant sable .
Edward I . sent a herald into Devon to summon divers g entlemen to go
with him into Scotland , who returned one Adam Strode , as appeareth bythe rolls of that king in the Tower .
Reynold Strode , of Ermington , gent . , married Florence , and had issueJohn ; who married M elior , daughter and coheir of Simon Newnham, of
Newnham , esq . , and had issue John ; who married Joan , daughter of Bur
ley , of Clanacomb , esq . , and had issue Richard , and Elizabeth married to
John Ryke of Denbury , who dy ing sans issue gave all his land to her b ro
ther Richard . Richard Strode , ofNewnham, esq . , married M argaret, daugh
ter of Henry Fortescue , ofWood, esq . , and had issue William , Richard .
William Strode , ofNewnham, esq . , married, firstAl ice , daughter of Gibbs ,of Venton in the parish of Dartington , esq . , sans issue ; secondly Agnes ,daughter of Thomas Worth, ofWorth in the parish ofW ashfield, esq . , sans
issue ; thirdly Joan , daughter of Strode , of Dorset, esq . , sans issue . Rich
ard Strode of Plympton , second son of Richard and heir to his brotherW il
liam , married Joan , daughter and he ir of Ellis Pennal s , of Plympton , esq . ,
and had issue Richard , and Alice married to Francis Strechley, of Strechleyin Ermington , esq .
Richard Strode , ofNewnham , esq . , married Agnes , daughter of John Myl
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 5 43
lyton , of Meavy , esq . , and had issue W il liam ,Francis , Richard , Cecily ,
(married to Thomas Fortescue , ofW imston in the parish of M odbury , esq . ,
and had issue Joan , married to Edmund Babing ton , a second son , wardenof the Fleet Elizabeth, (married to John Crocker, of Lynham , e sq .
William Strode , of Newnham, esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter and heir
ofWill iam, third son of S ir Philip Courtenay , of Moll and, kn ight, and had
issue Richard, John, (who married Honor , daughter of Speccot of Thorn
bury, sans issue William , (who married; first Julyan ; secondly Joan ,
daughter of Dart of Barnstaple ;) Philip , (who married Wilmot, daughter
of Hanton Arthur sans issue , Sampson , (who married Joan , daughter of
John Edg comb , of Le igh in M odbury , issue Will iam Thomas , (who mar
r ied Joan , daughter of Foot Agnes , (married to Edward Yard , of Chur ch
ton -Ferrers , Katharine , (to Georg e Whyte , of Hutton in E ssex ,M ary , (to Thomas Prestwood of Exeter Joan , (to Stephen Vaughan , of St .
Mary Spittle in London , Elizabeth, (toWalter Hele , of Gnaton , esq .)Richard Strode , of Newnham , esq .
, marr ied Frances , daughter of G re
g ory, Lord Cromwell, and Elizabeth Seymour his wife , sister to Edward ,
Duke of Somerset, and had issue S ir William, knight ; who married M ary ,
daughter of Thomas Southcot, of Bovey-Tracey , esq . , and hath issue S ir
Richard, William , John , M ary , (married to Sir George Chudlegh of Ashton ,
Elizabeth, (to Edmund Speccot, esq . , second brother to S ir John ,
knight Julyan , (to John Davie , of Newhouse in Crediton , Frances ,(to S ir Samuel Somaster, of Painsford,
knight Jane , (to Sir Francis Drake ,of Buckland, Ursula , (to Sir John Chichester, of Hal l, knight Eli
zabeth, (to S ir John Young , knight , son and heir ofWalter Young of Ex
m inster, e sq . ; secondly he married Duens , daughter of Nicholas G lanv ile of
Tavistock , the relict of Andrew Vosper , merchant , sans issue .)Sir Richard Strode of Newnham , knight, married, first M ary, daughter
of Sir Robert Strode , of Parnham in Dorset , knight, and had issue E lizabeth, Frances , and Katharine ; secondly E lizabeth, daughter of Thomas
Earl , of Chardborough, in Dorset, esq . , and hath issue S ir William thirdlyhe married a daughter of S ir John Drake , of A sh, knight, and had issue a
son who died sans issue , and a daughter . S ir William Strode , of Newuham, knight, married Ann , daughter of S ir William Button of Dorset, and
hath left issue Richard, (never married , ) and s everal daughters ; and by a
second wife , William, who died on his return from Jamaica .
544 DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES .
PYNE , of Ham in Cornwall , and East-Down in Devon , esq— ARM S .
Gules , a chevron ermine between three pine -apples or .
O liver Pyne,of Ham , married Eleanor , daughter and hei r of Philip leDown , and sister and he ir of Thomas le Down , of East-Down , esq . , and had
issue Robert who married Thomas in , daughter and heir of Will iam 1 1
comb , and had issue John ; who married Jane , daughter and heir of RobertSall ofM onk-Okehampton , esq . , and had issue Nicholas, Thomas . NicholasPyne , of Ham , esq . , married Thomas in , daughter of Richard Winslade and
M ary hi s wife , daughter and he ir of John Byrt, son and he ir of M atthew,
son and he ir ofWilliam Byrt and Jane his wife , daughter and coheir of JohnHoundsmoor, and had issue Thomas and George .
George Pyne , of East-Down , esq . , second son of Nicholas , married Isab el , daughter and coheir of Robert Appleton and Christian his wife , daughter and he ir of John Gold, of Somerset, esq . , and had issue N icholas ; whomarried Elizabeth, daughter of John Chichester, of Ralegh, esq . , and had
issue John ; who married Honor, daughter and heir of Edmund Penfound,
Cornwall , second son of Thomas Penfound, and had issue Philip , Nicholas ,George , John parson of East-Down , M ary , Julyan , Margaret . Philip mar
r ied Dorothy, daughter of JohnDart (al iasWalleys) of Barnstaple , issue Phi
lip , Lewis , (both sans issue ,) Edward and Phil ip who married but died sans
issue , Jane , (married to Humphrey Copleston of Instow ;) Arm, (to Thomas
Vallet of Bideford Dorcas , (married to Peter Lental of M onkton E liza
beth, (married to Thomas Spry , of M evag issey in Cornwall Ruth, (mar
r ied to John Ley , of N orthcot in East-Down ;) Prudence , (to Spry , of Foweyin Cornwall .)Lewis Pyne , second son and he ir , married Prudence , daughter of Lutte
rel , of Dunster-Castle in Somerset, esq . , and died without issue .
Edward Pyne , third son and heir, of East-Down, esq . , married Bridget,daughter of Nicholas Fry, of Yarty in M embury , esq . , and hath issue .
Robert Pyne , of Lyme in Dorset, married Joan , daughter of Robert Phil
lips of the same , and had issue Thomas , and Joan married to Walter Bow
den of Collyford .
Thomas Pyne , of Hay , married Joan , daughter of John Wadham, of Ca
therstone in Dorset, and had issue Hercules , James , Jasper, John , M ary ,
Joan , Elizabeth, Jane . Hercules Pyne married M argery , daughter of John
Young , of Axminster, esq . , and hath issue .
5 46 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES .
he ir of Simon Water, and had issue Will iam ; who married a daughter of
John Fry of Yarty , and had issue W ill iam and Elizabeth married to Ross i
ter . William married Jane daughter to Roger Holcombe , of Ottery S t .
M ary, esq. , and had issue William , Joan , (married to Robert Powell Al ice ,
(to Roger Preston of Up-Ottery .) Will iam married Barbara, daughter of
S ir John Dawtry, of Hampshire , knight, she died sans issue ; he marriedsecondly Thomas in , daughter of Wal ter Chase , of Court in Membury, andhad issue Bridget, Jane , (married to Will iam Huish, parson of Kilkhamp a
ton in Cornwall , third son to Henry Huish, of Sand in Sidbury , esq . , and
had issue Elizabeth married to Wil liam Weston , and Nazar married to
George Luppincot, of W ib b ery in Alverdi scot, Emerance , and Elizabeth, all four cohe irs .
PETRE , of Tor-Brian , e sq .—AEM s .
— Gules on a b end or between two
escalops argent, charged with a martlet sable between two roses azure .
John Petre married Joan , and had issue John , John . John married
Alice , daughter of John Colling of Woodland, and had issue Sir William,
knight, principal secretary to Queen M ary ; John ; John , customer of Exe
ter ; William ; Richard, chancellor of Exeter and archdeacon of Buckingham ; Al ice , (married to Thomas Read, of Uplowman in the parish of Ti
verton Thomasin , (to Will iam Perkin of Cornwall Wilmot, (to John
Petre , alderman of Exeter .
John Petre , second son of John , married, first Joan , daughter of M ichael
Ridgeway (alias Peacock) of Newton-Abbot, and had issue John who di ed
sans issue , William ; second E lizabeth, daughter of James Blackal ler, of
Totnes , merchant .
Will iam Petre , of Havs in St. Thomas’ parish near Exon , esq . , married
Cecily, daughter of Thomas Southcot, of Bovey and Shillingford , esq . , and
had issue Sir George , and M ary married to Reymes of Sussex .
S ir William Petre , of Ingar stone in E ssex , knight, married twice , first
Gertrude , daughter of S ir John Tyrrel , ofWarley , kn ight . She died 28th
M ay , 1 54 1 , leaving issue Katharine , (married to John Talbot, of Grafton
in Worcestershire , esq . , father to George , Earl of Shrewsbury ;) Dorothy,
(married to Nicholas Wadham, of M eryfield in Somerset, esq.) By his se
cond wife , Ann , daughter of Will iam Browne , lord mayor of London, he
had issue Sir John, knight, who married and had issue S ir William ; who,
was made Lord Petre of Writtle by King James I 2 1 st July, 1 603 , and
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 547
married Katharine , second daughter of Edward Somers et, Earl of W orces
ter, and hath issue George ; who married Jane Brown , young est daughter
of Anthony , Viscount Montague .
POINTIN GDON , of Pennycot in the parish of Shob rook, g ent .
A RM S — Argent a bend gules between Six fleur-deS - lis of the second .
Will iam Pointingdon married Thomas in , daughter and coheir of JohnHeng scot of Heng scot, and had issue Thomas ; who married Alice , daughter and coheir of Thomas Hayes of Silverton , and had issue Wil liam ; who
married Elizabeth, daughter arid coheir of Lawrence Prust, and had issueThomas, Will iam , and M arg aret married to Thomas Aldred of Cadbury .
Thomas married E lizabeth, daughter and coheir ofWill iam Smart of Bamp
ton , and had issue John who died unmarried, Nicholas , Richard sans issue ,Thomas , Dorothy , (married to Sampford of Cullompton Kathar ine , (to
Will iam E sworthy of Shob rook M ary , (to RichardWebber of the same
Grace married , Elizabeth, Apolonia , An n , unmarried . He died 1 5 72 .
N icholas married Joan , daughter of VVitchell s of Chudleigh, and had is
sue Thomas , Katharine , (married to Georg e Lethbridge Elizabeth, (to
Robins of Honiton M ary , (first to John Newcomb of Crediton , secondly
toWill iam Yelland of the same . He died 1 5 9 7 .
Thomas marr ied , first a daughter of Robert Young of Colebrook , whocame from Dorset and the young est of twenty- four children , and had issuethat died young ; secondly he married Joyce , daughter of Georg e Trow
bridge , of Trowbridge in Crediton . esq . , and had issue Joan .
POINTIN GDON , of M eryfie'
ld in Upton-Helions ,— Thomas , fourth son
of Thomas of Pennycot, married a daughter of Ley , the relict of Shapland of
Shob rook , and had issue , one married to Buckingham of Crediton , another
to W hythorn parson of Upton-Helions .
[ Thomas Pointingdon , of Pennycot, (counsellor- at- law, ) esq . , married a
daughter of S ir John Northcote , of Hayne , bart . , and left issue a son , and
daughter married to Edward Cary , rector of Silverton , son of George Cary ,
dean of Exeter , D .D. ]GOVE , (alias GOUGH , ) ofWoodbury and Clay -H idon , g ent .
ARMS — Argent , a cross of lozeng es between four eagles displayed sable .
John Gove , of Woodbury, married Jane , daughter of W hyting , and had
issue Thomas , Georg e , Jane married to H ill ing . Thomas married Al ice .
daughter of Robert Brown of N ewcot , and had issue John , Walter, Thoma
548 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Sin , (married to Sir ThomasWhite , knight ;) Arm, (to John Herknol Joan ,
(to Hal ster. ) John married Agnes , daughter ofWill iam Cary of Ladford ,
in Shebbear , issue Gregory , Thomas who died young , John ,Richard .
Walter Gove , of Clay -H idon , (second son of Thomas ofWoodbury, son
of John , ) married Jane , daughter of. Gifford , of Wellington in Somerset,and had issue Lucretia .
Gregory Gove , of Bridge in Woodbury , married, first Elizabeth, daughterof Dr . Townsend, dean of E xeter, and had issue Thomas ; secondly Mary,
daughter of John Drew, of Trehill in Kenn , esq . , and had issue John , &c . :
who now liveth in Ireland .
John , third son of John , married Jane , daughter of Haydon , of Eb ford
in Woodbury , esq . , and died sans issue .
Richard, fourth son of John , married Abig ail , daughter of William Coo
per , of Poole in Dorset , esq . , and hath issue John, Richard , Abigail , El iza
beth.
MALLOCK, of Axmouth, g ent .— ARM s .
— Per chevron eng railed or and
sable on three roundles , counterchanged, three fleur~ des- lis transmuted .
Will iam M allock married Agnes , daughter of William Newberry , of
Stockland in Dorset , and had issue John , and Joan married to WilliamNewton . John married, first M aud , daughter of John Weston of Colyton ,
and had issue Joan , (married to John Holcomb Agnes , (to John Garland ;)secondly Elizabeth, daughter to John Chaplain , of Taunton in Somerset,and had issue Will iam , John , Richard , and Joan married to Thomas Eyd
dl ecomb , of Poole in Dorset . William married Joan , daughter of Will iamSherman of Ottery St . M ary , and had issue Richard, and two daughters ,one married to Starr of Seaton , the other to John Hore of Axminster .
Richard , son and he ir , married Joan , daughter of John Young of Axmins
ter , and b ath issue Richard, William rector of Farway, Gideon , &c .
Richard married Elizabeth, daughter of Tuckfield, of Raddon -Court in
the parish of Thorverton , esq . , and left issue .
FOUNTAIN , of Bawcomb in the parish of Ugborough, gent .
ABM s — Argent thre e bars gemmel ls gules, on a canton a zure a lion passant,
gard, or.
W illiam Fountain married Eleanor , daughter of Hutchin , and had issueHugh , Thomas , M argery , (marr ied to Richard Wood of Ugborough ;) Elizabeth, (married to Richard Trenick M arg aret, (marr ied to John Doten .)
550 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
heir to Simon and Cecily his wife , danghter of Thomas'
Champernon, of
M odbury, esq . , son and heir to Baldwin Fleming and Maud Jenevife his
wife , son and he ir to Richard and Mary his wife , daughter of Nicholas M ar
tin , Lord of Combe -Martin and Southmolton who was son and he ir of
Baldwin‘Fleming , son and heir of Archibald, Baron of Slane ; and the said
Wal ter and Amy Dillon had issue Nicholas . Nicholas Dillon , of Chimwell ,
esq . , married and had issue Robert, and Jane married to John Somaster, of
Painsford, esq .
CROCKER, of Lynham in Yealmton .— ARM S . -=Argent, a chevron en
grailedfgul es between three crows proper .
S ir John Crocker married Elizabeth, and had issue John , and Elizabethmarried to John Gilbert, of Compton , esq . John Crocker, of Lynham , esq . ,
married, first a daughter of Arundell , Lord of Ceely, sans issue ; secondly Elizabeth, daughter of Lewis Pollard of Greston , and had issue John ,
Georg e , Elizabeth, (married to Andrew M aynard of Sherford, and had issue El izabeth Arm, (to Edward Drew , of Newton St . Cyres . John Crocker, of Ly nham, esq. , married Elizabeth, second daughter of Richard Strode ,of Newnham , esq . , and had issue John , Thomas , Richard , Nicholas , Robert,Edward, Philip , Samuel , Agnes , (married to Thomas Burrel ofWoodland in
Cornwood Al ice , (to Georg e Keinsham of Brixton Elizabeth, M ary,
Joan , Amy . Sir John Crocker, of Lynham, kn ight, (sheriff of Devon 2nd
Henry married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Y eo , of Heanton-Sach
vile , esq . , and had issue John , William , Agnes , Frideswid, M ary .
John Crocker married a daughter and one of the three coheirs of Serving
ton of Tavistock, (the second was married to Savery, and the third to a Savery,) and had issue Hugh, Will iam sans issue , Christopher, John and
George sine prole , Agnes , (married to John Penhallow of Cornwal l Fri
zel , (to Challons of Modbury M ary, (to Thomas Southcot, of Cal verleigh,
Arm, (to John Fowel of Plymouth Barbara, (to Walter Elford, of
Shipstor, esq .)Hugh Crocker , son and heir, married Agnes , daughter and heir of Bon
vile , of Ivy-Bridge, esq . , and had issue John , Francis , Hugh, Christopher,Jane , Agnes , E lizab eth, M ary , Margaret . He died before his father. John
married Joan , daughter and he ir of Lee , the relict of Gilbert, (alias W eb
b er , ) and had issue John ; secondly he married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir
Arthur Champernon , ofM odbury, knight.
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES . 55 1
BURGOIN , of Bideford .— ARM S . — Azure , a hound passant argent, a
mullet and thereon a crescent .
Walter Burgoin , third son of Burgoin , of Bedfordshire , esq . , married Ju
lyan , daughter and he ir of M aud Sheldon , widow, issue John ; whoh ad is
sue Jeffry . Jeffry Burgoin, of London , married Katharine , daughter of
Stoning of Lippislake , and had issueWilli am , recorder of Exeter ; who mar
ried Joan , daughter of Richard Tavernour of South-Tawton , and Alice hi s
wife , daughter of William Wyke of North-Wyke , issue William of South
Tawton ,Richard, Walter, M argaret, (married to Will iam Fursdon of
Fursdon ;) Joan , (to Thomas Copleston of Instow .) William Burgoin, of
South-Tawton , married Al ice , daughter to George Viell , of Wood, esq
issue George ; who married Elizabeth, daughter of William Buckingham of
Exeter, issue William sans issue , and Robert.Richard, of Bideford, (second son of Will iam,) married Ann, daughter
of William Gorwill of Fremington , and of M argaret hi s wife , daughter of
Culpepper of Kent, and had issue Richard, George , Jeffry . Richardmarried
Ali ce , daughter of Reynold Trethurfe , of Ladock in Cornwall , esq . , issue
Thomas , Francis , Cecily, Amy .
SAPCOTTS .-Sir Job n married Elizabeth, second s ister to John ,
LordDinham, the relict of Fulk, Lord Fitzwarren , and had issue Sir Richard ;who married and had issue Ann , married to SirWill iam Fitzwill iams , knight ;who married and had issue John .
SOMASTER .- Sir Stephen Somaster had issue S ir Richard ; who mar
ried Amy, daughter of John Kelly of Cornwall , esq . , and had issue Sir Stephen ; who married Maud, daughter of John Trevisa, of Cornwall , esq . , is
sue Stephen ; who married M ary, daughter ofWilliam Fortescue , issue SirRichard, knight ; who married M arg aret, daughter of John Penrose , issueJohn ; who married Beatrice , daughter of Thomas Bonython , esq . ,
issueRoger ; who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Penarth, esq . ,
issueJohn ; who married Joan , daughter of Hugh M ansfield, esq. ,
issue W illiam ; who married Al ice , daughter of John Pederton , esq . ,
issue John ; whomarried Isabel , daughter of Gawyn M allet ; Elizabeth, daughter and coheir,married John Colshull .SOMASTER, of Pensford .
—Richard M aldyt, called Southmaster, of
Exon , married Joan , daughter and he ir of William de Henton , and had
issue Robert ; who married M argaret, daughter and he ir of John H erward,
5 52 DEVON SH IEE FAM IL IES .
of Bothkison , and Joan his wife , daughter and heir of John le Cornu ,
by whom he had issue Ralph, William, Adam . This Robert died beforehis father : he sealed with the gate which arms came to him b y his
mother, whose grandmother was daughter and heir to De la Port. W il
l iam, of N etherexe , (second son ,) had a daughter and he ir married to Lim
penny .
From Adam Somaster is descended Somaster of Pensford .
CARW ITHEN , of Carwithen in Cornwall , and Paunston inDevon, esq .
ARMS — Argent, a fieun de - lis within a bordure engrailed gules .
Thomas Carwithen , married Al ice , daughter and coheir of John Mayhow
of Smalhill , and had issue John and Agnes . John married Joan , daughter
and heir of Robert Paunston of Paunston , issue Richard and John . Richard
Carwithen, of Paunston , esq. , marr ied El izabeth, daughter and heir of N i
cholas Dyrrant , of Norton in Cornwall, issue William, John , Edward, Rich
ard , Dig ory, Robert, Georg e , Agnes , (married to M ichael Burrough, of
Buddawell in Cornwall Jane sans issue , Grace married a priest . William
married Joan , daughter of John Dinham of Wortham , and had issue John ,
Richard, Will iam , James , M argery, (marr ied to Richard Harris of St .
Giles Ann , Joan , Jane , E lizabeth . John married Katharine , daughter
and heir of John Bawdon , of Padstow in Cornwall, and had issue George ,Charles , John , Richard, Grace .
POLLARD, of W ay and Horewood, esq .—AEM s .
— Arg ent, a chevron
sab le , between three escalops gules .
John Pollard, ofW ay and Horewood, esq . , married Emma, daughter and
coheir of Sir John Dodiscomb , knight, and had issueWalter ; who marriedElizabeth, daughter and cohe ir of William Cornu of Horewood, and had
issue John ; who married Eleanor, daughter of John Copleston , of Copleston , esq . , and had issue Walter, Robert, and Ann married to John Wood,
of North-Tawton , esq . Wal ter Pollard, of Horewood, esq . , married Joan ,
daughter and he ir of Roger Barnes , of Earnshill in Ugborough, esq . , and
had issue Richard, and Lewis who di ed sans issue . Richard married M ar
garet, daughter of John Cockworthy , and had issue Anthony, and M arga
ret married to William Cruwys of Chulmle igh . Anthony married Petronel ,daughter of James Chudlegh, of Ashton , esq . , and had issue Richard, Ann ,
(married to Alexander W ollacomb , ofW ollacomb ,Joan , (to Nicholas
Ash, of Sowton, Grace , (to John Burneb y ;) M ary , (to Eyer ;) Alice ,
554 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
LIPPINCOT, of Lippincot, and W ibb ery in the parish of Alverdiscot,
esq .—AEM s .
—Per fess embattled gules and sable , three leopards passant .
John Lippincot, of Lippincot, esq . , married Jane , daughter of John
W ibb ery of W ibb ery, s ister and coheir to Wil liam W ibb ery , (John , the
father, was son of Thomas and Emma hi s wife , son and heir of Bal dwin ,
who was son and heir of Oliver, son and heir of Gilbert W ibb ery.) and had
issue John . John Lippincot, of Lippincot and W ibb ery, married a daugh
ter ofWeeks , and had issue William that died sans issue , John , Elizabeth,
(married toWill iam Giffard, of Wear -Giffard, and Eleanor , (to Chip
man .) John , second son and he ir , married Jane , daughter of John Lapslod
of Sidbury , and had issue Philip , Thomas , Lewis , William, John , and Ann
married to John Harlewin of Sidmouth . Phil ip Lippincot, of W ibb ery,
e sq . , married, first Alice , daughter and coheir of Richard Gough, of Kirk
ham in Cornwall , and had issue John . and Jane married to John Butler , son
and heir of Phil ip Butler ; secondly Jane , daughter of Larder, of Pynes in
the parish of Upton -Pyne , and had issue Edmund, Henry , Arthur, Ann ,
(married to John Vyny ;)Margaret, (to Hugh Restorick of Cornwall third
ly Alice , daughter of John Dyrrant of Earnescomb . John Lippincot, esq . ,
married Ann , daughter and cohe ir of Rog er Elford of Shipstor, and had is
sue John , Anthony , M argaret, (married to Robert Herne inWal es Franc es , (to Anthony Berry , of Eastle igh ; secondly to Alexander Rolle , third son
of John Rolle , of Stevenstone , Mary, (to John Collamore, of West
Hagington in Ilfracombe .
John Lippincot, son and heir , married Barbara, daughter of Digory
Grenvile , of Penheal e in Cornwall , esq . , and had issue Ar thur , (who marriedM ary, daughter of Thomas Le igh, of Northam , esq . , sine prole secondlySibil , daughter of Richard Hal se of Kenedou , esq . , and had issue Mary,
(married to Nicholas Flamank, of Bokarne in the parish of Bodmin , Corn
wall ;) Honor, (to Richard Copleston , of N orthlegh in Cornwall ; secondlyto Humphrey Prouz , of Chagford, Barbara, (to Christopher Cock , of
Camelford in Cornwall thirdly he married Joan, daughter of Peard of
Barnstaple , the reli ct of Punchard of Barnstaple , and had issue George ;who married Nazareth, daughter ofWill iam Hui sh, parson of Kilkhampton
in Cornwall, of the house of Sand in Sidbury, and hath issue William ;
who married a s ister of S ir John Fitz-James , of Lewson , near Sherborne
in Dorsetshire , knight, and had issue John , George , Arthur, and Charles .
John Lippincot, esq. , married
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 5 5 5
COOKE, of Thorne in the parish of O ttery S t . M ary , esq— ARM S .
Ermine on a bend cotized sable , three cats passant or .
Henry Cooke , of Exeter, married Joan , sister and he ir to Rog er Thorn of
Thorn , and had issue Christopher . Christopher Cooke , of Thorn , married
Jeanette , daughter and he ir of John Hake and Jeanette his wife , daughter
and coheir of Nicholas Radway in Sidbury, and had issue John , Joan , (mar
rid to Giffard of Yeo ;) M argaret a nun , and Elizabeth died young . John
married Elizabeth, daughter of Giffard of Yeo, and had issue John , Ralph,
Richard, Joan , (married to Gregory Cary ;) E li zabeth, (to M ichael Whyting Agnes , (to Roger M ichel of Topsham .) John married M argaret ,
daughter of Stephen Dan iel , of Charmouth , Dorset, and had issue William ,
Katharine , (married to Robert Vaughan M ary, (to James Stoford .) W il
liam married M ary , daughter and cohe ir of John Kelway, Ann married
Will iam Harwood and after John Wadham Agnes married Henry W al
rond of Cullompton , and had issue Christopher, Humphrey , John ,Katha
rine , (married to John M ansel , of North-Petherton in Somerset Dorothy ,
Mary , Marg aret, M aud, and Ann . Christopher married M argaret, daughterof Richard Garland, of Whi tfield in the parish of M arwood, and had issueChristopher ; who married , first M ary , daughter of John Evelegh of Hol
comb , in O ttery S t. M ary , esq . , sans issue ; secondly a daughter of COpleston , of Woodland in Little-Torring ton , (she was after married to Richard
Sherman of Ottery St . M ary,) and had issue John ; who married a daugh
ter of Richard Sherman of Ottery St . M ary , esq . , sans issue .
CLOBERRY , of Bradston , esq .—AEM s .
— Argent, a chevron between
three bats displayed sable .
William Clob erry, lord of the manor of Bradston , married and had issue
Roger ; who married and had is sue Rog er ; who married M arg aret, daugh
ter of Arg entin , and had issue Thomas , John , M argaret. Thomas marri ed
Joan , daughter of Peter Edgcomb , esq . , and di ed sans issue . John Clob er
ry , esq . , (second son and heir ,) married and had is sue Roger ; who married
and had issue John ; who married and had issue Henry ; who married Joan ,
daughter of Hui sh, and had issue John , James , Henry , Jane .
[Sir John Clob erry, knight, a younger brother of thi s family, was an ex
cellent soldier in Scotland under General M onk , with whom he came into
England and was very instrumental in the restoration of King Charles II
for which his majesty knighted him and conferred some profitable places
5 56 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
upon him ; after which he resided at Winchester, where he died and liethinterred ]BARRY , ofW inscot .
— AEM S . —Argent, two bars gul es .
John Barry , ofW inscot , esq . , (descended of the Lord Barry of Ireland,)married Ann , daughter of Patrick Bellew, of Alverdiscot, esq . , and had is
sue Henry, Hugh , Elizabeth, (married to John Dennis , of Gotesland in
Buckland Brewer Isot, (to John Avery , of Bodmin , Cornwall .) Henrymarried M argaret, daughter of Nicholas Speccot, esq . , and had issue M i
chael , William , Henry, Lawrence , Ann . M ichael , son and heir, married
Joan , daughter of George Pollard , of Langley, esq . , and had issue Thoma
sin , married to John Tripcony , of Guly all in Cornwall .
Hugh Barry , second son of John , married Alice , daughter and cohe ir of
Richard Weeks of Bindon , and had issue Al exander, Giles , John ,
' Ann ,
M argaret .
PLOYER, of Floyers-Hayes in the parish of St . Thomas , esq . ; now of
Dorset.— AEM s .
- Sable , a chevron between three broad arrows argent.
Richard Ployer, of Floyers -Hayes , esq . , had issue Nicholas who had is
sue Richard, who had issue John , who had issue Roger, who had issue
John , who had issue John , who had issue Will iam, who had issue John ,
who had issue John , who had issueWilliam , who had is sue John , who had
issue John .
John Floyer (the thirteenth descendant of that name and house , ) married
a daughter and he ir of Bash, and had issue William ; who married Phil ippa,daughter and coheir of Crooke ofWiltshire , and had issue John , E lizab eth,
(married to John Wilford of London Jane , (to Maynard of London .)John marr ied Jane , daughter of John Carew, of Antony in Cornwall ,esq . , and had issue William ,
Thomas , Baldwin a priest, M artha , (marriedto Thomas Stowel of Somerset Thomas in , (to Richard Copleston of Ot
terham and Woodland , third son of Ralph Copleston , of Copleston , esq .
William Floyer, esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Will iam
Kirke , son and he ir of Gilbert Kirke , twice mayor of Exeter, 1 530 and
1 539 , and had issue Anthony, Charles sans issue , Mary,’
(married to JohnHuckmore of Buckland ; secondly to Trehane Margaret, (toArthur Halse ,a younger brother of Kenedou house Elizabeth, (to Geare of HeavitreeArm, (to Freeman Irish of Dorset.) Anthony married Amy, daughter and
one of the coheirs (first Elizabeth, married to Sir John Hannum of Kent,
5 58 DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES .
married Elizabeth, daughter and coheir ofWill iam Spicknell , of Chicheston
in Somerset , and had issue John who married Mary , daughter of Sir Ro
g er Giffard . of Brightlegh, knight , and had issue Roger, M ark , William,
John , Erkenwold, Walter, Christopher, Edith, (married to Arthur Harris ,brother to Sir Thomas Harris , knight , serg eant- at- law Gertrude, Honor .
William , the third son of John , married a daughter of Gough, parson of
Drewsteignton .
Rog er married Jane , daughter of Parker, of London , merchant, and had
issue John , Mary , (married to Nicholas Fursdon of Fursdon , eldest son of
Georg e Fursdon of Cadbury ;) Frances , (to John Berry, of Crascomb e inthe parish of M art in -Hoo Katharine , (to William Fursdon , brother of
Nicholas Fursdon .) John Wykes , of North-Wyke and Cockatree , esq
married Grace , daughter of Arthur Arscot, of Tetcot, esq . , and b ath issue .
WYKES , of Bindon in Axmouth .— AEM s .
- A chevron ermine betweenthree barnacles sable .
Roger Wy kes , second son ofWill iam, changed his mother Burnell’s coat
by the chevron , and had g iven him by Nicholas Bach, 7th Henry IV the
manor of Bindon he married and had issue John ; secondly he married
Jane , daughter and heir of Bisset, b y whom he had Radb ours in Dorset du
ring her life . John marri ed Joan , daughter of John Camill of Shapwick ,and had issue John ; who married Elizabeth, daughter of Lite , of Lites
Cary in Somerset, issue John , Richard . John married a daughter of Sir
William Hody, and had issue William ; who married a daughter of Cary and
died sans issue . Richard , uncle and heir to William , married a daughter of
Somaster , and had issue four daughters , (the firstmarried to Anthony Giffard,the second to M ark Hays , Alice to Hugh Barry , M ary to Walter Erle .)TREVILLIAN, of N ettlecomb in Somerset, and Yam scomb in Devon ,
esq .-AE M S .— Gules . a sea-horse argent issuing out of the waves , party per
fess wavy arg ent and azure .
Thomas Trevillian , of N ettlecomb , esq . , married Lucy , and had issue
John ; who married Elizabeth, daughter and he ir of Thomas W halisb orow
and M aud his wife , daughter and heir of SirWilliam Bowes , knight ; whichThomas was Son and heir of John and Jane his wife , daughter and he ir
of Simon Ralegh, son and he ir of S ir John Ralegh, of N ettlecomb -Ra
legh , Somerset, knight, and had issue John , Thomas , Nicholas , George a
priest, Humphrey . John married Jane , daughter of S ir John Halwel ,
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 5 59
knight, and had issue John , Thomas . John married Avis , daughter and
heir of Nicholas Cockworthy and M arg aret his wife , one of the daughters
and coheirs (the first was married to Fortescue , the second to Monk of
Potheridge , ) of Richard Champernon , of Inswork in the parish of M aker,esq. , and of his wife , daughter and he ir of S ir John Hamley , of Hamley ,
knight, and of his wife , daughter and heir of S ir Humphrey Talbot, knightwhich Richard Champernon was son and he ir of Humphrey , son and heir of
Thomas , son and heir of Humphrey and Joan his wife , daughter and heir of
Ralph Valletort (Rog er Valletort married Joan , daughter and coheir of Re
ginal d, Earl of Cornwall and of Joan hi s wife , [he had no issue b y his
wife M arg aret,] daughter and heir of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall , Lord of
Insworth ; son of Richard , King of the Romans , second son of John , King
of England ; which John and Avis had issue John , Thomas , John , Joan ,
(marri ed to William Larder, of Pynes in Upton-Pyne , Dorothy , (to
Nicholas Tucker .)Thomas Trevillian , of Yam scomb , esq . , (second son of John , ) married
Dorothy , daughter of Thomas Hatch, of South-M olton , esq . , and had issue
Hugh, Bartholomew, Nicholas , William , George , Henry , Lewis , Anthony ,
Dorothy, Avis , Ann, Alice , Agnes .
SEWARD, of Stoke inte ignhead, gent .
— AEM s .- Gules , on a fess or b e
tween two chevrons , ermine , three leopards’faces azure .
William Seward , of Comb inteignhead, married Joan , daughter and heir ofThomas Baron of Stoke inteignhead, and Isabel his wife , daughter and heir
ofWalterWykes , and had issue John, Robert, Christopher . John Seward,of Stoke inte ignhead, married Eleanor, daughter and he ir to Thomas Kym
worthy of Alverdiscot, and had issue William , John , Joan . William mar
ried M aud, daughter of John Byngley of Stoke-Gabriel , and had issue W il
liam ; who married Eleanor , daughter of John Norris of Broadwood-Kelly ,
and had issue Agnes and Winifred .
DUKE , of Poer-Hayes in Budleigh, of O ttery S t . Mary , of Prinne , and
of O tterton , esq .— ARM S .— Per fess argent and azure , three Chaplets coun
terchang ed crescent .
Richard Duke , of Poer-Hayes , (son and he ir of Cecily , daughter and heir
of Robert Poer of Poer-Hayes , ) married and had issue Richard ; who mar
ried and had issue Richard and Henry . Henry married M aud , daughter of
Roger Whyte of Ottery St . Mary, and had issue Richard , John .
560 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Richard Duke , of Ottery St. Mary , esq . , (sheriff of Devon married,first a daughter of John Frank of Yorkshire , issue Christian, married toGeorge Brook , second son to Georg e , Lord Cobham ; secondly he married
Joan, daughter to John Hobby of London , issue Richard, who died young .
John Duke , of Prinne , (brother of Richard and second son of Henry of
Ottery St . M ary ,) married, first Ell en , daughter of Thomas W iddl eton , and
had issue Gilbert, Richard, Thomas sans issue , Joan , Edith ; secondly Agnes , daughter of John Grindal , of London , merchant, the relict of Parker
of Lindon ,Sprint, and Grast, and had issue Rog er , Al exander , sans issue .
Richard Duke , of Otterton , (second son and heir ,) married Katharine ,daughter of Georg e Prideaux , of Nutwell, sergeant- at- law, and had issue
Richard, Robert, M artha, (married to Hugh Chichester of Widworthy ;)Joan , (to Nicholas Stonehouse of Kent M argaret, (to Nicholas Puttsecondly he married and had issue Humphrey , Thomas , Ann , (married to
E lias Bartlet, of Branscomb M ary unmarried, Frances , (wife to Phil ip
Channon of Hayne in O ttery St . M ary ;) Elizabeth, (to HumphreyWalrond .)Philippa (b y his first wife ,) was marr ied to Ar thur Harris .
Richard Duke , of Otterton , son and heir, married M argaret, daughter of
Sir Arthur Basset, of Heanton , kn ight, and hath issue Richard, Rob ert,Arthur, Humphrey , Basset, Thomas , John , Elizabeth, Frances . Richard,son and he ir , married Robert, second son of Richard , (on whom he
settled his land , for that his eldest son , Richard , matched against his will and
consent,) married Sarah, daughter of Richard Reynell, of Creedy-Widger,esq . , and hath issue Richard and M ary .
Robert Duke , second son of Richard, married Elizabeth, daughter of R0
bert Collins of Ottery St . M ary, and hath issue Robert, Will iam , Grace .
HANDCOCK , of Comb -M artin , esq .—ARM S .— Gul es , on a chief argent
three cocks of the first .
William Han dcock married, first An n , daughter and cohe ir of John de
Gaunt, of Lamberts -Castle , Dorset, and had issue Petronel , married to An
thony Randal , of Kentisbury , e sq . ; secondly Joan , daughter of EdwardBalsh of Kentisbury, and had issue Edward, Jane , (married to Henry Parminter of Ilfracombe Elizabeth, (to Preston of Upottery .) Edward (clerkof the assizes ,) married Dorothy , daughter of Sir Amias Bampfield, of Pol
timore , knight, and had issue William ; who married a daughter of Gabriel
N ewman, of London, goldsmith, and had issue , and died 1 626 .
562 DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES .
Thomas Noble , of Exeter , married a daughter of John Kent, and had Is
sue John , and Joan married to Mungwell , of Liskeard in Cornwall . JohnNoble , of Belston , married M argaret, daughter of John Bragg, and had issue Will iam , John , Hugh, Richard, Agnes , (married to Gregory, a priestEliz abeth, (to Thomas Dodge .)Will iam Noble , of Bishops -Teignton , married Margaret, daughter of John
Whithorn , and had issue Joan .
FRY , of Pawlet in Somerset, and Exeter , gent .—ARM S . -Vert, a fieur
de-lis or, between three horses coursant argent, bridled, of the second .
William Fry, of Pawlet, married and had issue Thomas ; who married
and had issue Thomas ; who married Joan , daughter and cohe ir of Gal
hampton , and had issue Robert , William, M argaret . Robert Fry , of
Exeter, married Jane , daughter of Wal ter Wrey of Bridestow, and had
Issue .
COLINS , of Barons -Down .—ARM S .— Azure , three firebrands or .
Colin s married a daughter of Evelegh, and had issue Colin sparson of Huish, who married a daughter of Dewly , of Holcony in Oxfordshire , and had issue Roger, a daughter married to Sir John Dowdal , of Ireland , kn ight ; another to Parson . Roger married a daughter of Andrew
Meyrick , of Queens -Camel in Somerset, and hath issue .
STAVELEY , of East-Buckland and Sidbury, g ent .— ARM S .— Argent, on
a chevron between three lozenges azure thr ee bucks’ faces , or .
John Staveley , of Staveley , Yorkshire , married Christian, daughter of
Thomas Rocher , and had issue John . John Staveley, of East-Buckland,married Joan , daughter and cohe ir of Lapelode , and had issue Bartholomew, Richard, and Ellen married to Henry Huish of Sand . BartholomewStaveley, of Sidbury , married Joan, daughter of Sedb orough, and had is
sue Robert and William .
Richard Staveley, of East-Buckland, (second son of John ,) married Ann ,
daughter of John Richards of Roborough, and had issue Charles , Bartholomew, John , Anthony, Ellen , M ary, Christian, Grace , Joan . ( It should
seem he had his children by a daughter of Davy of Eberley .) Charles married and had is sue Richard, An thony, John, M argaret, Grace .
SAVERY, of Totnes .— ARMS . —Gules, a fess vairy between three uni
corns’ heads couped or .
Richard Savery, of Great-Totnes , married Agnes , daughter of Bucking
DEVON S H I RE FAM I L IES . 563
ton , and had issue Nicholas , Christopher . Nicholas married Joan , daugh
ter ofWilliam Giles , of Bowdon , esq . , and had issue Richard , John , Giles ,Joan , Agnes . Christopher married Frideswid , daughter of John Servington of Tavistock , and had issue Richard, Agnes , Katharine . Christian Sa
very , daughter to Richard, married Thomas M artyn , mayor of Totnes , andhath issue Richard , Wil liam, Thomas , Nicholas , Henry, Christopher, Peter ,John , Wal ter, Allen , Agnes .
CLOTWORTHY , of Clotworthy .— Simon Clotworthy . esq . , married
Mary , daughter of John Rashl ey of Fowey , and had issue ut prius Joseph,
and Jane married to William Slee , second son of Slee of Tiverton , mer
chant ; secondly Simon married M artha , daughter of Rolle , of Heanton ,
esq . , the relict of Hearle , in Cornwall, esq . , sans issue .
An thony Clotworthy , of Hatch near South-M olton , (second son of Thomas
Clotworthy and Ib ot Rashl ey ,) married and had issue Richard parson of
George-Nymet, John parson of Cheriton-Fitzpain , (who married a daugh
ter of Gillard and had issue John Bartholomew of M eshaw, (who marriedSibel , daughter of Amias Stukeley , sans issue Anthony .
SLANN IN G , of Ley in the parish of Bicklegh, g ent .— ARM S .— Argent,
two pal es engrailed gules , on a dexter azure , three griffins’heads erazed or .
Nicholas Slanning , of Ley, married a daughter and heir of Nichols at
Ley , and had issue William and John . William married Jane , daughter
and he ir ofWilliam Horeston of De - la-Will, and had issue Nicholas , John ,
Nicholas , (married to Robert Snell ing of Plympton Elizabeth, (to ThomasO lyff of Southcliff.) Nicholas married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas
M aynard of Sherford, and had issue Nicholas , William, John , Thomas .
Nicholas Slanning , of Bicklegh, esq . , son and heir, married M arg aret,
daughter of Henry Champernon , of M odbury, e sq . , and had issue Gamaliel ,son and he ir, (of Ley , ) who married and had issue Nicholas . S ir NicholasSlamming , knight, 1 63 1 , married a daughter of S ir James Bagg e , of Ply
mouth, knight, and hath issue .
EVELEGH , ofWest-Ev elegh, Clist St . Lawrence , and Holcomb in Ottery St . M ary , esq .
ARMS . — P er fess or and sable , two chevrons between three griflins segreant
counterchanged .
John Evelegh, of West-Evelegh, married M argaret, daughter of JohnChurchill of Brockwell, and had issue Thomas ,
564 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Thomas Ev elegh, of Clist S t . Lawrence married Thomasin , daughter of
M ichael M oor of Clist St . Lawrence , and had issue John .
John Ev elegh, of Holcomb , esq . , married, first Alice , daughter of HenryCollins of O ttery St . M ary , and had issue Robert, Elizabeth, (married toRichard Calmady of Farway ;) M arg aret, (to William Lental of Munckton ;)secondly Joan , daughter of John Southcot, of Bovey-Tracey, esq . , and had
issue George sans issue , Richard , John , Nicholas , Thomas , S ir James , Jo
s ias , Peter sans issue , M ary , (married to Christopher Cooke , of Ottery St .M ary , M argaret, (to S ir Edmund Sand, of Norton in Kent Joan ,
(to Richard Sherman .)Robert Evelegh married a daughter of Robert Carswell , of Colyton , esq
died sans issue . Georg e married Ann , daughter and heir of Serving ton , of
Tav istock , and of his wife , daughter and he ir of Charles of Tavistock , sans
issue secondly he married Lucy , daughter of Brown , of Stratton in W ar
wickshire , and had issue George , and Frances married to John Easton , of
Easton in Bishops -M orchard . George married Bridget , daughter of Georg eFursdon , of Fursdon in Cadbury , sans issue ; secondly he married and had
issue Georg e .
John Ev elegh married, in Oxford , Prudence , daughter of Doctor Barnes ,and had issue . Nicholas married Alice , daughter and heir of Bray of
Northampton , and died sans issue . Thomas married Julyan , daughter of
Peacock of Tale -Court in Plimtree , and had issue . James married Susan ,
daughter of Brutton of E xeter, the relict of Giles Ford of Plimtree : and
Charles Evelegh, his brother , married and had issue a daughter . Jos iasmarried .
GAY , of Goldsworthy in Parkham , esq .— ARM s .
— Or, on a fess sable b e
tween three escalops azure a b ar of five lozenges argent .
John Gay , married and had issue Anthony, Thomas . Anthony, son and
heir , married a daughter of Inet, and had issue Thomas , Joan . Thomas
married Al ice , daughter of Anthony Pollard , of Horwood, esq . , and had is
sue John , Edward, W illiam ,Gregory , Eleanor, Christian, Prudence , Petro
nel . John married a daughter ofWelsh of Barnstaple .
Thomas G ay , second son of John , married and had issue Thomas .
PARKER , of Exeter, gent .— ARM s .
— Sable , a hart’s face within two
fianches argent .
William Parker, (al ias Jorden ,) second son of Thomas Parker, and b ro
566 DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES .
John Geare , of Hollaway in the parish of Kenn , married Elizabeth,
daughter of BartholomewBurringt on of Ideford, and had issue John , Bar
tholomew, George , Humphrey , Jane , (married to John Long of Kenn ;)(married to Richard Waltham of Sowton M ary, (to Lamacraft of
Kenn Bridg et, (to John Waltham , of Brenton in Exminster .)John Geare , of Hollaway , married M ary , daughter of Gilbert Yard, ofBradley in the parish of H igh-week , esq . , and hath issue .
KEN ISHAM of Brixton .— John , of Blaston , married a daughter of N e
v il, and had issue and Thomas who married Al ice , daughter of
Strode of Plympton , and had issue Robert , and Richard .
Richard (second son ,) married Joan , daughter of John Cockfieet of Cock
fleet, issue Richard . Richard (of Brixton ,) married Elizab eth, daughter of
Parker of Plympton , issue John , Georg e, and Al ice married to Payne . John
married Thomas in , daughter of John Lych of Southam , and had issue Rich
ard and John both sans issue , and Georg e secondly he married Thomasin,
daughter of Ilcom , and had issue Joan , married . John Kensham, of GraysInn , married Al ice , daughter of John Crocker , of Lynham, esq
GILBERT, of Compton in the parish of M arldon .—ARM s .
— Argent, on
a chevron three roses of the field leafed proper.
Thomas Gilbert married Amy , and had issue Jeffry ; who married Jane ,daughter and coheir of Wil liam Compton , of Compton , e sq . , and had issueWilliam ; who married Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of O liver Champer
non , esq . , and of Egelin his wife , daughter and Cohe ir of Hugh Valetort,of Tamerton , esq . , and had issue Will iam ; who married Isabel , daughter ofWill iam Gambon , of M oreston, esq . , and had issue Oates , (sheriff of Devon
1 5 th Edward IV who married Elizabeth, daughter of John H ill, of Shilston in M odbury , esq . , and had issue John , Thomas , Oates , Jeffry, E lizabeth
married to Sir Thomas Grenvile , of Stow in Cornwall , knight, and had is
sue Roger Grenv ile .
John Gilbert, esq. , married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Crocker, of
Lynham ,knight, sans issue . Thomas Gilbert, esq . , (second son ,) married
Isabel , daughter and heir of John Reynward of Cornwall , and had issue Sir
John , S ir Humphrey, Adrian , Katharine , married to Georg e Ralegh, son
and heir toWalter Ral egh , of Fardel , esq . secondly he married Katharine ,daughter of Philip Champernon of M odbury ,
‘the relict ofWalter Ral egh of
Fardel .
DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES . 56 7
S ir John Gilbert, knight, (custos rotulorum of Devon,) married Eliza
beth, daughter of S ir Richard Chudlegh, of A shton, knight, sans issue .
S ir Humphrey marriedWREY, of Wrey,
North-Trussell , and Bicton in Devon , and Treb igh in
Cornwall , knight .— ARM S . —Sable , a fess between three battle axes arg ent,
handl es , gul es .
Walter Wrey, ofWrey , (brother to Thomas Wrey,) married and had is
sue Robert . Robert Wrey , of North-Trussell , married Constance , daugh
ter of John Shilston , and had issue , Walter, Thomas , William , Robert, and
Al ice married to John G lanv ile . Walter married Bridget, daughter of R0
bert Shilston , and had issue John ,and Jane first married to John Weeks of
Cock-Tree , secondly to Thomas Walcot of Exeter, thirdly to Robert Fry of
Exeter . John married Blanch, daughter and coheir of Henry Kill egrew ,
of Wolston in Cornwall , esq . , and had issue John , Will iam , Edmund, Ro
b ert, George , Arthur, Jane , and Phil ippa second wife to W illiam Upton of
Puslinch, and all had issue .
S ir William Wrey , of Treb igh in Cornwal l , knight, (se cond son and he ir
of John , married Elizabeth, second daughter of Sir William Courtenay , of
Powderham, knight, and hath issue S irWilliam , knight, son and heir ; who
married Ann , daughter of Sir Edward Chichester, knight, (Baron Chichester
of Belfast in Ireland and Viscount Knockfergus ,) and had issue Sir Chi chester Wrey, bart. ; who married Ann , youngest daughter of Edward Bour
chier, Earl of Bath, l iv ing at Tawstock , the relict of James Cranfield , Earlof M iddle sex , (the eldest, Elizabeth, was married to Basil , Earl of Denbigh ,
Dorothy to Thomas , Lord Grey, of Groby, eldest son of Hensart of Slanford, ) and had issue S ir Bourchier, and Chichester . S ir Bourchier Wrey ,
bart. and knight of the Bath at the coronation of King Charles II . , marriedFlorence , daughter of S ir John Rolle , of Stevenstone , knight of the Bath,and di ed 1 695 , leaving issue S ir Bourchier Wrey, of Tawstock , bart.GALE , of Dartmouth and Crediton .
— ARM S .— Azure , a fess argent, fret
ty of the field .
William Gale , of Dartmouth, esq . , married and had issue Thomas ; whomarried Joan , daughter of Gilbert Yard, of Bradley , e sq . , and had issue G ilbert, Thomas , (who had issue Thomas andWilliam who di ed without issue , )and Alice married to Thomas Prestwood of Exeter, secondl y to John Bodlegh of Exeter .
568 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
Gilbert Gale , of Crediton , esq . , married Christian , daughter of HenryBishop of Crediton , and had issue John , George , and M argery married to
Anthony Randal of Plymouth . John married Elizabeth, daughter of S ir
Philip Butler of Woodhall , of H erefordshire , knight, and died sans issue .
Georg e , brother and he ir, (justice of the peace for Devon ,) married Katha
rine , daughter of Sir Edward M arbury , of Lincolnshire , knight, and had is
sue Gilbert sans issue , Thomas , George , and three others . Thomas Gale , of
Crediton , (second son and he ir,) marr iedPROUZ , of G idlegh and Eastervale in Chagford, and Comb nM artin , esq .
— ARM s .— Sable , three lions rampant arg ent, within a bordure engrailed
argent .
Peter Prouz married M ary, daughter and he ir ofWilliam Rivers , (alias de
Vernon ,) Earl of Devon , the relict of S ir Robert Courtenay , kn ight, and Ma
b el his wife , daughter of Robert, Earl of M eullin and Lord of Pont-Audamare , and of Maud his wife , second daughter and heir of Reg inald, Earl of
Cornwall , natural son of King Henry I . , and had issueWil liam Prouz ; who
married and had issue Walter who married a daughter of the Lord Din
ham and had issue William ; who married a daughter and heir of Giles de
Gidl ey and had issue Sir William , of G idlegh, knight ; who married Al ice ,daughter and he ir of Sir Fulk Ferrers , of Throwley , knight, and of his wife ,s ister and coheir of Sir Robert Helion of Ashton , and had issue S ir W il
liam , knight ; Richard Prouz , of A shton , esq . ; S ir Hugh Prouz , ofW idworthy , knight ; William of Eastervale and W esterval e , esq .
S ir William Prouz , of G idlegh, married and had issue Alice , married toSir Roger Mul es , knight ; secondly to Sir John Damarel of Fleet-Damarel ,by this means the principal house was possessed by the family of Mules .
After this G idlegh-Castle came to Walter Coad, who died 1 3th EdwardIV . , but his posterity yet continueth .
Secondly Richard Prouz (second son of Sir Will iam of G idlegh-Castle ,)
had, by gift of his father, A shton , and had issue John who died sans issue ,and Thomasin married to John Chudlegh, of Chudlegh, on whom her b ro
ther settled A shton , in which name it is now .
S irWill iam Prouz married Al ice , daughter and he ir of S ir Hugh de W idworthy and of hi s first wife , coheir of Sir William Reygny , and had issue
William , Richard of Ashton , Hugh ofWidworthy , William of Hayford , whohad issue Julyan, married to Henry Wotton ,
issue William ,Harry . W il
5 7 0 DEVONSH IRE FAM IL IES .
married to George Upton of Hole . Peter married Dorothy , daughter of
John Brown of Langtree , issue John , Nicholas , Peter, Jane .
COURTENAY, EARL OF DEVON .—ARM S .— Or, three torteauxes , a
label of three points azure . R IVERS .— Or, a l ion rampant azure , langued
gules .
Sir Reginald Courtenay came into ,England with E leanor , daughter and
he ir to Will iam , Duke ofAquitain , the fifth of that name , wife to King Hen
ry I I . , about 1 1 52 . He married M aud, daughter and he ir of Robert Fitzroy, natural son to King Henry and coheir of M aud his first wife ,daughter and heir of Robert de Averanches , but he had by her no issuehe brought into Eng land with him a son named William, whom he had bya former wife .
Courtenay , son of S ir Reg inal d, married Hawis , daughter and heir of the
Lord de Aincourt and coheir of M aud his wife , daughter and heir of Robertde Averanches , (who married a daughter of Goodwin de Doll de Bury ,) andof Emma his wife , daughter of Baldwin de Sap , Baron of Okehampton,
(which honor was given him by the Conqueror : he was also named Baldwin de Brioniis , for he married Albreda, n iece to the Conqueror and co
heir to Richard her brother who died sans issue , and the issue of her for
mer husband , William de Avenel , was dis inherited . He had issue by her
Robert, Reginald , William .
Sir Robert Courtenay, son and heir, (Baron of Okehampton , ) marriedM ary , eldest daughter of Will iam de Vernon , sixth Earl of Devon , (with
whom the Earl gave Caput honoris sui in Devon cum Castello de Plympton ;)she after proved his sole heir, (for Jane , her second s ister, married to W il
liam Bruer, Baron of Torbay, sans issue ; but she was after married to
Hubbard de Burgo, to whom was g iven the Isle ofWight, sine prole af
ter the decease of Isabella de Fortibus, s ister and heir of Baldwin , the fifth
son and“heir to Baldwin, the fourth son and heir to Baldwin , third son and
heir to William de Vernon, (father to this M ary, ) and of M abel hi s wife ,daughter of Robert, Earl of M illent and Worcester,) and of M aud hi s wife ,daughter:and coheir of Reg inald, Earl of Cornwall . This Sir Robert hadissue S ir John . He died 1 24 1 . Sir John Courtenay , knight, (Baron of
Okehampton , ) married Isabel , second daughter of John de Vere , seventhEarl of O xford, issue S ir Hugh, and died 1 273 .
S ir Hugh Courtenay, knight, (Baron of Okehampton ,) married Eleanor ,
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S . 57 1
daughter of Hugh de le Dispenser , and had issue Hugh, Philip of Moreton ,
(who for difference , for a file and three labels , gave a bend azure , ) who hadissue four daughters and cohe irs , Isabel married to St . John , Avelina toGiffard, Eglina to Scales , Margaret to Nichols , and some s ay Isabel to the
Lord St . John .
Hugh Courtenay, son and heir, (Baron of Okehampton ,) was , 9th EdwardI II . , admitted ninth Earl of Devon , and had the third penny of the profits
thereof, which was £ 1 8 . 6s . 8d . He married Agnes , s ister of Sir John St .
John , knight, and had issue Hugh, John (abbot of Tavi stock) sans issue ,Robert, Sir Thomas , knight, (who married M uriel , daughter and cohe ir of
S ir John de Mules Eleanor, (wife to John Gray ;) E lizabeth, (married to
Bartholomew de Lisle , or of the Isle of Wight a third , as some say , Eg e
line , married to Robert Lord Scales . He died 1 340 .
Hugh Courtenay (tenth Earl of Devon , ) married M argaret , daughter of
Humphrey de Bohun , e ighth Earl of Hereford and E ssex , b y Elizabeth hiswife , daughter of King Edward I . , and had issue Hugh, (who married Elizabeth, daughter of the Lord Guy de Bryan , and had issue Hugh ; whomarried M aud, daughter of Sir Thomas Holland, knight, and died sans issue : they both died before the Earl : Sir Hugh Courtenay taken prisoner
Edward , (who married Emelyn , daughter of S ir John Dauny, knight,and died before his father , but had issue Edward, eleventh Earl of DevonS ir Philip of Powderham , John , William archbishop of Canterbury, Humphrey , S ir Peter, (a worthy knight, who did many feats of arms in France , andwas buried in St . Peter’s Church, Exeter S ir Thomas , knight, E lizabeth,
(married, first to Theobal d Greenfield ; secondly to John Cobham Katha
rine , married, first to Thomas de Engain ; secondly (as some will) to W il
l iam, Lord Harrington Joan , (to S ir John Chiverton , knight M aud ,
Eleanor , Guenora, Isabel , Phil ippa . [I find Elizabeth married to Will iam
M ohun of Dunster, andWilliam , Lord Harrington , married the daughter of
H ill of Spaxton , and died 1 376 ]Edward Courtenay, surnamed the blind , (eleventh Earl of Devon , ) mar
ried a daughter of the Lord Thomas Camois , (for I find in Tiverton Churchhis arms impal ed with Courtenay
’s , and not with Eleanor M ortimer as M r .
York says , ) and had issue S ir Edward, (who married with Eleanor M orti
mer, and died sans issue before his father he was knighted 2nd Henryand Hugh, ob . 1 1 1 8 .
57 2 DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES .
Hugh Courtenay (twelfth Earl of Devon ,) married Ann , daughter of
Richard, Lord Talbot, and had issue Thomas . He died 1 422 .
Thomas Courtenay (thirteenth Earl of Devon ,)marr ied M argaret, daughter of John Beaufort , M arquis of Dorset , and had issue Thomas , Henry b eheaded at Salisbury 8th Edward IV John Slain at Tewkesbury l oth EdwardIV . , Joan , (married to S ir Roger Clifford , knight ;) Elizabeth, (to S ir JohnConway , knight . This Earl was taken at the battle of Touton , 1 460 , and
beheaded at York .)Thomas Courtenay (fourteenth Earl of Devon ,) was attainted by Parlia
ment and put to death shortly after his father , and died sans issue .
S ir Hugh Courtenay , of Boconnock in Cornwall , knight , (sheriff of De
v on 7th Henry V second son of Edward, grandchild of Hugh thetenth Earl of Devon , married, first Elizabeth Cogan , s ine prole ; secondly
Philippa, daughter and cohe ir of S ir Warin Archdeacon ,of Haccombe ,
knight , issue Joan , married to Sir Nicholas Baron Carew , of whom are all
the Carews in Devon and elsewhere ; and thirdly, in 1 4 1 7 , to M atilda,
daughter of SirWilliam Beaumont, of Heaunton , knight, who survived him .
Sir Hugh Courtenay , of)Boconnock, knight, son and heir , by the said
M atilda, married M argaret, daughter and coheir ( if not sole heir, ) of S ir
Thomas Carminow, of Boconnock , knight, and had issue Edward , Hugh fledat Tewkesbury field 1 47 1 , Sir John Courtenay made baronet 1 47 1 , Eliza
beth, (married to John Tretherf of Cornwall , and had issue Elizabeth mar
ried to John V ivian of Cornwall , and M argaret wife of Edward Courtenay ofLadock in Cornwall ;) M aud , (married to John Arundell of Talvern in Corn
wall Isabel , (toWilliam M ohun of Hall in Cornwall Florence , (to JohnTrelawny of Pool in Cornwall .)Edward Courtenay, son and heir , was s ixteenth Earl of Devon , restored
by King Henry VI I . He married E lizabeth, daughter of S ir Philip Cour
tenay , of M olland , knight, and had issue William, and died 1 509 .
Will iam Courtenay (seventeenth Earl of Devon ,) married Katharine ,daughter of King Edward IV . , and had issue Henry , and died 1 5 1 1 .
Henry Courtenay (eighteenth Earl of Devon ,) was created M arquis of
Exeter 1 5 25 . He married, first Elizabeth, daughter and heir of S ir John
Grey , Viscount Lisle , sans issue ; secondly Gertrude , daughter of William
Blount , Baron M ountjoy, and had issue Edward . He was , for treason, b e
headed, 1 5 38 .
5 7 4 DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IE S .
who died sans issue , Francis , and Thomas , (who married the daughter ofBruerton , of Taunton in Somersetshire , and hath issue ;) Sir George , ofNewcastle in Munster, Ireland, baronet, (who married, first a daughter ofSir Francis Barkley , of Ireland, knight , and hath issue three others , and
M ary , (first married to Sir John Fitz , of Fitz -Ford in Tavistock , knight ;secondly to Lord Audlegh , Earl of Castlehaven , in Ireland M argaret, (second wife to Sir Warwick Hele , ofWembury , knight ; secondly to Sir John
Chudlegh, knight, brother to Bartholomew Chudl egh, of Ashton , knight ;)Elizabeth, (wife of Sir Will iam Wrey , of Treb igh in Cornwall , knight ; sea
condly he married a daughter and heir of Sir George Sydenham, of Somer
setshire , knight, the relict of Sir Francis Drake of Buckland, knight, sine
prole ; thirdly he married a daughter of H ill , of Somerset, esq . , the relict of
Bruerton , of Taunton , esq . , sans issue .) Franc is Courtenay , second son and
heir, married , first M ary , daughter of Sir William Pole , of Shute , knight,the relict of Nicholas Hurst, of Oxton , esq . , sine prole ; secondly Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry-Pomeroy , bart . , and hath issue
[Sir William Courtenay , bart . , Francis , and one other . Sir William mar
ried M arg aret, daughter of S ir William Waller, of Kent, knight, by his
wife Reynel , daughter and heir of Sir Reynel , of Ford in Newton-Abbot,knight, and b ath issue Francis , James , Richard, (drowned at sea, with hi sson , in a storm, near M arseill es , he be ing a captain in King Will iam III .
’S
service in his wars with France Henry , Will iam, and six daughters .
Francis Courtenay, esq . , married and b ath issue .]COURTENAY of M olland .
— ARM s .— Or, three torteauxes , a file of three
azure charged with nine mullets , argent .
Sir Philip Courtenay, knight , (second son of S ir Philip of Powderham;third son , as some , and his wife the Lady Elizabeth Hungerford ; third son
of Hugh, tenth Earl of Devon married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of
Heng erston of H ingston , and had issue John , Philip of Loughter, (who
married Jane , daughter of Richard Fowel of Fowelscomb , and had issueElizabeth, married to Will iam Strode of Newnham, esq . ; which Jane was
secondly married to Humphrey Prideaux of Thub orough ;) Philip , M ar
g aret , (married to Sir John Champernon , of M odbury, knight Elizabeth,
(married to Edward, s ixteenth Earl of Devon .)John Courtenay , esq . , son and he ir, married Joan , daughter of Bret, of
Sampford-Bret of Somerset, esq . , and had issue Philip , John of South-M ol
DEVONSH I RE FAM IL IE S . 5 7 5
ton, Agnes , married to Anthony Acland of Chittlehampton , esq . ; Ellen ,
married to Robert Bishop of Choldich .
Philip Courtenay , esq . , married Alice , daughter of Edward M atthew , of
Dodbrook, esq. , and had issue John sans issue , Robert, Edward of Col
brook in Cullompton , (who married Joan , daughter of Samford of Halb erton , and had issue Gresham, Edward, both sans issue , and Bartholomew
Joan , (married to John Dart, alias VValleys , of Barnstaple , Ursula ,
to James M atthew ofDodbrook Dorothy, (to Anthony Culm , of Chiv ithorn
in Tiverton Katharine , (to Anthony Chapple , of M olton , merchant
(to Philpot (to Sydenham . Robert Courtenay , esq . , marriedDorothy, daughter of S ir Hugh Pollard , of Nymet, knight, and had issuePhilip , Amias , (who married Jane , daughter of Challons , of Coreston in
Somerset, sans issue Frances , (married to Hopkins ofWales Dorothy,
(to Collamore Apollonia, (to Thomas M elhuish of Witheridge Agnes ,M ary, Joan , Elizabeth, unmarried : secondly he married Joan , sister of
Humphrey Coles of Somerset, the rel ict of G arthred, sans issue : thirdlyhe married a daughter of Fortescue of Heddon , s ine prole . Philip Courte
nay , esq . , married Jane , daughter of Boys , of Denton in Kent, esq . , and
had issue Humphrey , (who married Jane , daughter of S ir Will iam M ohun,
of Hall in Cornwall, knight, and died before his father , sans issue ; she was
after married to Sir John Speccot, of Thornbury, knight Charles , Robert,sans issue , E lizabeth, (married to Peter Muden , a Dutchman , doctor of phy
sic Dorothy , (to Robert Courtenay of M olland Lydia, (to Richard Culm,
of Canons -Le igh, Joan , (to Anthony Courtenay of North-M olton .)Charles Courtenay , esq . , second son and he ir, married Anna , daughter
of John Coles , of Barton in Somerset, e sq . , issue John , Humphrey, Jane .
John Courtenay, second son to John Courtenay and Joan Bret, marriedElizabeth, daughter of James Chichester of Hall , and had issue Henry ,
Lewis , Robert, John , John , E lizabeth, (married to John Lovering of Bitta
don Elizabeth, (to Lancelot Pollard Wilmot, (to William Blackb all ofLampford M ary , (to Anthony Chapple Ann , (to Hugh Hatch of Swimbridge Ellen , (to Roger Giffard of Bundley ;) Grace unmarried .
COURTENAY , of Wotton and Ladock in Cornwall .— Edward Courtenay , of Wotton , esq . , (second son of S ir William, of Powderham ,
knight,and M argaret his wife , ) married Al ice , daughter and he ir to John Wotton ,
ofWotton in Landrake , Cornwall, esq . , and had issue Edward ; who mar
5 76 DEVON SH IRE. FAM IL IE S .
ried M arg aret, (she was secondly married to Buller of Cornwall,) daughterand he ir of Thomas Tretherfl
'
of Cornwall, esq . , and of his wife , daughterand heir of Trevisa, of Crocadon in Cornwall , son and heir of John Tretherfi
‘
and Elizabeth his wife , second s ister and coheir of Edward Courtenay ,
Earl of Devon , and had issue Peter .
Peter’
Courtenay, of Ladock , esq . , married Katharine , daughter and coheir
of Will iam Reskymer of Haylford, (Jane , the first, was married to John
Trelawny of Poole in Cornwall , esq . ; secondly to S ir William Mohun , of
Hall in Cornwall , knight and had issue John , Edward, William, Peter,Reskemer, Ann , (married to Gilbert Holcomb Mary, and Alice . John,
son and he ir, married Ann , daughter of St . Aubyn , issue John , who died
young .
COURTENAY, of Upcot in Cheriton-Fitzpain .- James (second son of
S ir William, of Powderham, knight, and of Cecily his wife) married and
had issue James , George , and John sans issue . James , son and he ir, (sheriff of Devon 3rd Queen M ary ,) married Christian , daughter of GeorgeRolle , of Stevenston , esq . , the relict of Richard Weeks , of Nimet-Flory inSomerset, and had issue James , and M ary married to M ontacute of Dorset.
James married Jane , daughter of George Prideaux, of Nutwel , sergeant-atlaw, and had issue James , Edward, Richard, and M ary , all died withoutissue .
Georg e Courtenay, second son of the first James , married a daughter of
Packer, of Stockley-Luccombe , and had issue James ; who married M ary,
daughter of Gover of Sandford- Swithen , and had issue Gertrude , marriedto John Moor, esq .
COURTENAY, of Ugbrook in Chudleigh — S ir Piers Courtenay, knight,(sheriff of Devon 3rd Edward VI married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of
Shilston of Shilston , and had issue Edward, Carew, and James sans issue ,Joan , (married to Richard Tremayn , doctor of divinity, and treasurer of theChurch of Exeter , sine prole Katharine , (to John Kempthorn , alias Lea,of Tunacomb in Cornwall , esq . , san s issue Ann , (to Anthony Clifford , ofBoscomb in Wiltshire , Dorothy, (to Jeffry Cowling of Cornwall .)Edward, son and he ir, married Eliz abeth, and had issue a daughter, marriedto Josias Calmady ofWembury, issue Sir Shilston Calmady .
REYNELL, of Trumpington and Eating ton in Cambridgeshire , and Easti
'
J-
gwell and Ford in Devon .—ARM S . —Masonry argent, a chief indent . sab .
5 7 8 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES .
Sir Richard Reynell, (knighted 1 5th September, son and heir,married M ary, daughter of Richard Reynell , of Creedy-Widger in UptonHellions , esq . , and hath issue Thomas , Sir Richard, [lord chief justice of
Ireland, 1 690 , and of the privy council to the king there M ary, Frances ,Jane .
REYNELL, of M alston , esq .—ARM S .— M asonry argent, and a chief in
dent sable , crescent.
Thomas Reynell , second son ofWal ter , son and he ir of Walter, son and
he ir ofWalter , &c . , married Cecily , daughter of Edmund M athew and Alice
his wife , daughter and he ir of John Digby of Thorverton , and had issue
George , Thomas , Joan, (married to John of M attescomb Grace , (toHenry Lech of Duloe Cecily, (to Simon Comm in of North-Bovey ;) Ann ,
to Richard Hynd of M ollescomb .) Georg e married Joan , daughter of
Lewis Fortescue , of Fallopit, issue Edmund, Henry , John, Richard, Eliza
beth, wife of Henry Burrough of Broad-Cli st ;) M ary , Ali ce , (married to
Bear of Kingsbridge Jane , (to John Fountain , of Bawcomb , esq.)Edmund Reynell , son and heir, married a daughter of Lewis Hatch, of
Aller, esq . , and hath issue George , Edmund , Nicholas , Elizabeth, (marriedto Roger Speccot of Thorverton ;) Alice , (to Bastard, esq .) George , son
and he ir, married Rebecca , daughter of Hugh Fortescue , of Fille igh, esq
and hath issue Edmund, and George rector of Ringmoor .
SIR RICHARD REYNELL (third son of Richard ofn ell, mar
ried Lucy, daughter of Robert Brandon of London, esq . , a daughter, mar
ried to Sir William Waller of Kent, [whose daughter and he ir was late wifeof Sir William Courtenay, of Powderham, hart ]S ir George Reynell , knight, (fourth son of Richard ofn ell ,) married a
daughter of Sir Valentine Brown , knight ; secondly the daughter and heirof Edmund Peacock , of London , esq .
Sir Carew Reynell , (fifth son of Richard ,) married a daughter and he ir ofSir Francis Hungerford, knight .
Sir Thomas Reynell (second son of Sir Thomas , ofn ell , kn ight,) married Katharine , daughter of Sir Henry Spiller, knight .
REYNELL, of Creedy-Widger in the parish of Upton-Hellions , esq .
ARMS — M asonry argent, a chief indent . sable , three piles in chief sable .
. Richard Reynell, (counsellor-at- law and justice of the peace , fourth son
of George of M alston , married M ary, daughter and coheir of John
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 5 7 9
Perriam of Exeter and Shob rook , esq . , and hath Issue Perriam, Burrough,
and M ary married to S ir Richard Reynell , of n ell , knight .
STUKELEY , ofKenn andFarringdon , esq .— ARM s .
— Azure , three pears or .
William Stukeley of Kenn (second son to Nicholas of Trent,) esq . , mar
ried Joan , s ister to John Stowel , of Codleston in Somerset , esq . , and had
issue Christopher, E lizabeth, (married to Thomas M ore of Taunton Ka
tharine , (second wife of John Carew, of Bickle igh, esq. , sans issue M ary ,
(married to Henry Evelegh Ann , (to Will iam Anthony .) Christopher
Stukeley , of Farringdon , esq . , married M ary , daughter of Edward Ford , of
Fordhays in the parish of Plymtree , and had issue John , Andrew , Grace ,
E lizabeth, Ann .
HAYDON , of Lympston , Ebford in the parish ofWoodbury , Caddy inthe parish of Ottery St . M ary, and H ills in Kilming ston , esq
— ARM S .Arg ent, three bars g emelles azure , on a chief gules , a barrulet indent or .
Robert Haydon , of Lympston , married and had issue Will iam ; who mar
r ied and had issue John , William and Thomas , sans issue . John marriedand had issue John s ine prole , and Will iam ; who married and had issue
Richard, Jeffry , John ,Richard, Will iam . Richard married and had issue
Richard, John , and Jane married to Robert Gilbert of Powderham .
Richard Haydon , of Ebford in Woodbury, married Joan , daughter of
M aurice Trent of Ottery St . M ary , and had issue Thomas , John , Georg e ,and Joan married to John Coram of Ottery St . M ary . Thomas Haydon ,
of Eb ford, esq . , married Joan , daughter of RichardWeeks of Honeychurch,
and had issue Thomas, (married to Walter Leigh Jane , (to Richard
Williams M argaret, (to Thomas Browning .) Thomas Haydon , of H il ls ,esq . , married Christian , daughter of Robert Tytherlegh, of Dorset, esq . ,
and had issue Thomas , Robert and Peter sans issue , and Bridget married
to Robert Haydon , esq . , ( justice of the peace of this county, )marriedJoan , daughter of Sir Amias Pawlet, of George -H inton , Somerset, knight,and had issue Gideon , Amias , Drew , andM argaret married toWilliam Every ,
of Chard in Somerset .
Gideon Haydon , of Ebford , esq . , married M argaret. daughter of John
Davy , of Newhouse or Greedy in Sandford, esq . , and hath issue three , and
a daughter married to George Rawleigh.
LUMEN , or DE LUMINE , of Uplowman in Tiverton, and Gittisham .
ARM S .— Gules , a sun in his splendour .
5 80 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
Sir William de Lumine , knight, was lord of both in the time of HenryIII . , and had issue S ir Richard ; who held the same 27th Henry III . , andhad issue Sir Richard ; who was lord thereof in the time of Edward I and
this was the last : then it came to Gregory de Willington, 8th Edward II .LOWMAN , of Up -Lowman , Honiton , and Brockland .
— AEM s .— Arg .
on three escutcheons sable as many gauntlets or .
Lowman of Up-Lowman , married and had issue Thomas and Edmund . Thomas , of Honiton , married Katharine , daughter of Thomas
Thyrkhill of the north of England, and had issue John ,Joan , (married to
John Fowell of Honiton Cecily, (to John Reynell , fourth son of John of
East n ell , esq . ) John , of Brookland, married , first Elizabeth, the relictof Tristram Hooper of Brookland, and secondly Bagg ,
daughter of Bustard,esq . , and had issue Philip ; secondly he married Ali ce , daughter of HenryCollins of Ottery St . M ary , the relict of Langworthy of Farway , and had
issue John , Peter sans issue , James , Francis , Thomas sans issue , Katha‘rin e , (first married to John Duck of Heavitree, secondly to Josias Holcombof the same Mary, (first married to George Durman , of Bear-Crocumb
in Somerset ; secondly to Dr . James , Bishop of Wells . ) Philip Lowman ,
of Whiteston , married Agnes , daughter of John Giles , of Bowdon, esq
cohe ir to her brother , S ir Edward Giles , knight, and b ath issue James ,George , Giles , Thomas , Philip , Will iam , Agnes , and M argaret. James ,son and he ir , married a daughter of Copleston , the relict ofPomeroy of II
s ington , and had issue John ; who married a daughter of N eckton of Lon
don , and hath issue W illiam, Thomas , Francis and Thomas were both cap
tains and died sans issue . James married Ann, daughter of John Hays ofWitheridge , and hath issue three daughters .
ROUSE , (al ias LE ROUSE , ) of M odbury in Devon, and Halton in
Cornwall , knight .—ARM S .— Or, an eagle displayed pruning her wing azure,
armed langued gules .
Ralph Rouse , of Little-M odbury, married and had issue William, who
had issue Ralph, who had issue John , who had issue William, who had is
sue Ralph,Robert, (Sir Robert Rouse vid . Speed, p . 593 Baldw in
sine prole . Ralph married and had issue Elizab eth. Robert the second
son , ) married into the family of Dymocke , and had issue William ; who
married Ali ce , daughter and he ir of Thomas Edmerston , and had issue
William ; who married M argaret, daughter of William Lower, and had is
5 82 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
afterwards married to Christopher Chichester, of Frithelstock, esq . EdwardW hyddon , esq . , (second son and heir,) married a daughter of Chudlegh, the
relict of Coffin of Portledge , and had issue Sir John , knight ; who married
Blanch, daughter of Robert Ashford , of A shford, esq . , and' hath issue W il
l iam, Roger , John , Elizabeth, M argaret, Frances , Katharine .
O l iver W hyddon ,
“
(third son) archdeacon of Cornwall , died sans issue .
Francis W hyddon , of W hyddon in Chagford, (fourth son , ) married Dorothy , daughter of Thomas Carew of Haccomb (she was secondly marriedto John Eyre of Adrington : his son married her daughter and hath is
sue Oliver, Francis , a daughter married to Hore , another to Eyre , a third toHumphrey Venner of Chittlehampton , a fourth to John Luxton of Brushford , and a fifth to O l iver married M argaret, daughter of Crimes ,of Buckland-Monachorum, e sq . , the relict of John Copleston , of Bowdon inYealmpton , and hath issue . Francis married a daughter of Southmead of
M oreton .
GALLARD, of Callard in the parish of Burrington , and Southcot, esq .
ARM s . G erony of six sable and or, three M oors’heads side -faced proper,
filleted argent .
Richard Gal lard , of Cal lard, esq . , married M argaret, daughter of HenryBorage of Chulmleigh, and had issue John ; who married and had issue
Richard ; who married Alice , daughter of John Bragg e of Brag-M arsh, and
had issue William ; John of Tavistock , smith ; Richard of Rowston in Ta
v istock ; Richard , of Winkley, smith ; M aud, (married to John Roger of
Beaford Joan , (to Richard Seller of Taw-M ill . Will iam married Alice ,daughter of Will iam Upcot, of Upcot in Broadwood, and had issue John ;who married Elizabeth, daughter and sole heir of William Southcot, esq . ,
son and heir of Nicholas Southcot and Joan his wife , daughter and heir of
Edmund Pury (alias Perry) of Chudleigh ; which Nicholas was son and he ir
of Will iam Southcot, esq. ; and this John Callard had issue Thomas , John ,
Ralph, John , Ann , (married toWilliam Daws of Cornwall M argaret, (to
Simon Bear Joan , (to John Stone of Cornwal l ;) Elizabeth, (to John
Wicket .) Thomas Callard , of Southcot, esq. , married M argaret, daughter
of Edward M oon , of Ash in Surrey , esq . , and had issue Eustace , Richard,
Ann , Elizabeth .
DREW , of Sharpham in A shprington , Trehill in Kenn , and St . Leonards ,
esq .—ARM S . - Ermine , a l ion passant gules .
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S . 583
William Drew, of Sharpham, esq . , married Joan , daughter and he ir of
John Prideaux of Orchardton and Agnes his wife , daughter and he ir of R0
bert French of Hornford, (or Homwood,) esq . , and of M aud his wife ,daughter and heir . of Robert W ynard , of Sharpham, esq . , issue Will iam ,
John , William . William Drew, of Kenn , (third son,) married Eleanor, and
had issue John ,John . John Drew, son of W illiam, of Grays -Inn, and Tre
hill , married Jane , daughter and cohe ir of Cruwys , of Cruwys -M orchard ,esq . , and had issue John of St. Leonards ; who married, first Agnes , daugh
ter of W atkyn York , and had issue Emanuel , Edward, Mary, Eleanor, Ann ,
and fifteen others .
DREW, of Drew’s-Cliff, and H igh-Hayne in Newton St. Cyres, esq .
AaM s .— Ermine , a lion passant gules .
William Drew, of Drew’s-Cliff, married Joan , daughter and heir of M at
thewW orsford, and had issue Thomas ; who married and had issue Richard who married and had issue Richard and Joan . Richard , of Drew
’s
Cliff and Hayne , esq . , married M aud, daughter and heir of John Farr of
Ashburton, and had issue Edward, Francis sans issue , and Al ice married toJohn How of Sandford . Edward, of Hayne , married Ann , daughter of JohnCrocker, of Lynham , esq . ,
and had issue Edmund, M ary, and Joan marriedto JohnWill iams , of Ivy
-Bridge in the parish of Cornwood . Edmund mara
ried a daughter of °Gibbs , and had issue M ary , married first to Wal ter
N orthcot, son and he ir of John of Credi ton , and had issue Eliz abeth ; se
condly she married S ir Edward Giles of Bowden , knight, sans issue .
Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Walter N orthcot and M ary hi s wife ,daughter and heir of Edmund Drew, married, first G eorge Yard , of Churchton-Ferrers , esq . , and had issue ; secondly she married Barnabas Potter,D . D. , afterwards Bishop of Carlisle .
WH ITLOCK , of Frithelstock .— AEM s .
— Per pale or and sable , a bendwavy between two padlocks transmuted .
William Whitlock married Christian , daughter and heir of John Lake of
Bradmore , s ister and he ir of William Lake and Jeanet his wife , daughterand heir ofWill iam Strokesworthy ; which William Lake was son and heirof John and his wife , daughter and heir of Bradmore : he had issue W ill iam, John , Anthony . WilliamWhitlock, of Bradmore , esq . , married Mar
tha, and had issue .
WALTHAM , of Brenton, in the parish of Exminster, Trehill in the pa
584 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
rish o
'
f Kenn , and Exeter .— ARMS . -Sable , a chevron engrailed between
three suns argent.
S ir John Waltham was keeper of the Privy Seal in the time of Richard
II 1 386 . John Waltham was Bishop of Sarum 1 390 .
Richard Waltham, of Brenton , married Mab el , Sister and coheir of G erence Bowhay, of Bowhay in Exminster, son and heir of Roger Bowhay,
esq. , and had issue George ; she secondly married to Ridgway, (al ias Peacock,) yeoman of the guard . George Waltham married Janor, daughter of
Paddon and widow ofW hitb orow, of Dunchideock , had issue John , Agnes ,
(married to William Verdure (to William Fryer, in the parish of
St . Thomas ;) Katharine , (to PhilipW estcot of Raddon in Shob rook .) John
Waltham married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Richard Stephens of Exminster, and had issue George , Jefl‘ry, (mayor of Exeter, 1 6 1 3 and
and Richard , of Trehill in the parish of Kenn , esq . George married M ar
gery , daughter of Ball of Mamhead, and hath issue John , Thomas , Richard,George , Katharine , (married to Otho Wheaton , of Exeter, mer
chant ; secondly to Thomas Samson of London Joan , (to Thomas Vil
vaine of Broadclist Arm, (to John Coysh of Kenn Elizabeth, (to James
Taylor of Pinhoe M argery , (to John Cowling of W ashfield, and died
John , son and he ir, married Bridget, daughter of John Geare of
Kenn , and hath issue Bridget, E lizabeth, M argery .
Jeffry Waltham, esq . , (mayor of Exeter, married a daughter of
Richard Duck of Heavitree , and had issue Jeffry who died sans issue , and a
daughter married first to Bellamy of Exeter, secondly to James Tucker of
the same ; the Mayor oh. 6th April, 1 626 , aged 68 , and was buried at Exm inster .
Richard Waltham, (third son of JOhn ,) counsellor-at- law, and justice of
the peace , of Trehill , married Ann , daughter of Long of Axminster, the
relict of Reynolds of .Exeter, merchant, sans issue ; secondly. he married
E lizabeth, daughter of Thomas Southcot, of Calverleigh , esq . , the relict of
Walrond of Tiverton , sans issue .
Richard Waltham (third son of George ,) married Dorcas, the relict of
Peard of Barnstaple, sans issue .
PERRIAM , of Exeter, and Little Fulford in the parish of Shobrook .
ARMS — Argent, a chevron sable between four pears , gules .
W ill iam Perriam, esq . , (mayor of Exeter, married a daughter of
5 86 DEVON SH I RE. FAM I L IES .
married to Fulk Lord Fitzwarren , and Elizabeth married to Sir John W ad
ham of Edg e .
S ir Nicholas Stukeley married and had issue S ir Thomas , and Ann mar
ried toWill iam Dennis , of Orleigh , esq . Sir Thomas (sheriff of Devon 1 2th
Henry VIII married a daughter of Sir Thomas Wood of Bingley, who
married the daughter and heir of Bingley ; he had issue Sir Hugh .
S ir Hugh Stukeley , knight, (sheriff of Devon 36th Henry VII I mar
ried a daughter of Sir Lewis Pollard of King’s -Nymet, and had issue Lewis ,
Thomas named The Lusty Stukeley , Amias , Agnes , (second wife to John
Giles , of Bowdon , Audria, (first married to Yeo of Braunton , secondly
to Roger Giffard, of Tiverton , esq .) Lewis Stukeley, son and heir , (sheriff
of Devon 1 0th Elizabeth, (married a daughter of H ill , of Helycon in Cornwall , and had issue John , Scipio, and Hugh sans issue secondly he married a daughter of Pawlet, of M elplash in Dorset, and had issue Lewis , Hughsans issue , (married to Anthony Pollard, of Horwood, Margery,
(to John Hays of Witheridge .) John married, first Frances , daughter ofSir John St . Leger , of Aumery , knight, and had issue Hugh, Francis , (b othdied young ,) Sir Lewis , Mary, (married to Simon Weeks , Gertrude ,
(to Humphrey Bury , of Colyton, Katharine , (to Thomas Dowrish, ofDowrish in Crediton , Ann , (to John Lankford, issue a daughter ;secondly she married to Coode of Cornwall , esq . , whose son married herdaughter by Lankford secondly he married Mary , daughter of John Redman , of M artin-Hall in Thornton , Yorkshire, and had issue Thomas , Hugh,
Lewis , Elizabeth, (married to Thomas Barret, son and heir of Thomas , archdeacon of Exeter Frances , (to Will iam Hutchinson , of Kenn and South
Cheriton Gertrude , (to Adam Williams of Cornwood Agnes , M ary ,Damaris .
S ir Lewis Stukeley, of Afi'
eton , knight, (vice -admiral of Devon and Cornwall ,) married Frances , daughter of Anthony M onk , of Potheridge , esqand had issue , John , Hugh, Lewis , Scipio, Anthony, Frances . John , son
and heir, married Honor, daughter of Richard Halse , of Kendon, esq . , and
of hi s wife , daughter and heir of Matthew Sutclifi'
, D. D. and Dean of Ex
eter , and b ath issue Thomas , Lewis ; secondly he married a daughter ofCoode , of M orwell in Cornwall .
Scipio (second son of Lewis Stukeley , married a daughter ofWeeks
of Honeychurch, and b ath issue William, Francis , Ann .
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES . 5 87
Lewis (fourth son of Lewis Stukeley b y the daughter of Pawlet, ) marriedM argery, daughter of John Arscot, of Dunsland, esq . , and b ath issue .
Amias Stukeley, of M eshaw , (third son (if S ir Hugh by his second wife , )married a daughter of Pollard, of Horwood, esq . , and had issue Anthony ,
(who married the sister of Bartholomew Clotworthy of M eshaw , the rel ict
of Oland of Ufculm, sans issue Lewis , Sibil , (married to BartholomewClotworthy of M eshaw Joan , (married first to Cruse of M oreton , se
condly to Wood of the same Frances , (to Philip Davie Polynor , (to John
Nott of Lapford Damaris unmarried .
TREMAYNE , of Collacomb in Lamerton .— AF.M S .
— Gules , three arms
joined in the centre or, hands closed argent .
Nicholas Tremayne , of Collacomb , married a daughter of Sir John Da
marel , knight, and had issue Thomas ; who married a daughter of Carew,
and had issue John , and a daughter married to S ir Richard Edg comb , of
Mount-Edgcomb , knight . John , son and heir, married a daughter of Warr ,
and had issue John ; who married a daughter of John Bear , of Hunsham ,
esq . , and had issue Thomas , Jane , (married to Oliver Kelly , of Kelly,
(wife first to Oliver Wise , secondly to James Chudl egh.
Thomas Tremayne , esq. , married Philippa, eldest daughter of Roger Grenvile , of Stow in Cornwall , esq . , and had issue Roger , Edmund, Digory,Richard and John twins , and Nicholas and Andrew also twins , (both slain at
Newhaven in the 6th Queen Elizabeth, 1 564 ; so like in all l ineaments ofbody that they coul d not (or very hardly) b e known one from the other by
the ir parents but b y hidden marks Robert died young ,Bridget, (married
to Philip Denni s of Padstow, son and he ir of Henry, brother of Thomas , ofHolcomb -Burnel , knight, and had issue Philippa married to Francis Courtenay, of Ethy in Cornwall , esq . ; secondly to Richard Savory, in Rattery,
esq . ; both sans issue : and Zenobia married to Robert Stofford of S tofi'
ord ,
and had issue a daughter married to Sir Thomas Wise , knight of the Bath ;)Katharine , (married to John Harris of Lanrest in Cornwall Jane , (to JohnSouthcot, of Southcot in VVear-Giffard , M argaret, (to Thomas Den
nis , brother of Philip (to Samuel , of Restormel in Cornwall . ) Ro
g er Tremayne , son and heir, married Ann , daughter of Richard Coffin , of
Portledge , esq . , and had issue Wilmot, (wife of Smith, of St. Germans inCornwall Philippa , (married to Hannibal Vivian, of Trelowarren in Cornwall Dionis ia and M ary both died unmarried .
5 88 DEVON SH IRE FAM ILIES .
Edmund Tremayne (second son, and heir to his brother, ) married Eliza=beth, daughter of Sir John St . Leger, of Aumery, knight, and had issueFrancis and Francis both sans issue , Katharine unmarried, Elizabeth, (married to John Giffard, of Halsb erry, Philippa, (to Earnly , of Bideford,and Wiltshire , esq . , sans issue . )
Digory Tremayne (third son , and heir to his brother Edmund, ) married
Elizabeth, daughter of Vacy, of Vacy in Tamerton, the relict of Richard
Browning , and had issue Arthur .
Richard Tremayne (fourth son of Thomas ,) treasurer of St. Peter’s Cathe
dral , Exeter , married Joan , daughter of Sir Piers Courtenay, of Ugb rooke
in Chudle igh,knight , and died s ine p role .
*
Ar thur Tremayne , son and he ir , married M ary, daughter of Sir Richard
G renvile , of Stow, knight, and hath issue Edmund, Digory , John, Arthur,
John ,Richard , Rog er , Eliz abeth, M ary, Eulalia, Bridget, M argaret, Kath
arine , Rebecca, Philadelphi a , and M ary .
PRESTON , of Lancaster, and of Upottery , esq .— A RM S .
— Arg . , two barsgules on a canton of the second, a cinquefoil of the first .
John Preston ( justice in the time of Henry V . ) married and had issueRichard of Lancaster ; who married a daughter of M iddleton of M iddle
ton’s -Hall, and had issue Thomas ; who married a daughter of Redman , of
Twyseldon in Yorkshire , and had issue John , Lawrence . John married a
daughter of Redman , of Harwood of Yorkshire , and had issue Thomas ;
who married a daughter ofWill iam Thornbury , and had issue John , Chris
topher, George , Dorothy , (married to Travers Eliz abeth, (to Caufield ;)
Ann , (to Bann ister ; ) Ellen , (to the Lord M onteagle ; ) Jane , (to Lamp
lugh Katharine , (to Sergeant Carus , sergeant-at- law to Queen Elizabeth. ) John Preston , esq . , married a daughter of S ir Chr istopher Curwyn ,
knight, and had issue Thomas , Thomas , Nicholas , M argaret.
Thomas Preston , of Cockerham in Lancaster, (second son and heir to JOhn, )
married M argaret , daughter of Robert Fisher of Cockerham, and had issue
Will iam and Roger .
Rog er Preston , of Upottery, married Alice , daughter ofWilliam Perry of
M embury , and had issue Thomas sans issue , and Henry ; who married Eli
The Treasurer’sWill made 27th October, 1 576, was proved 1 5th December, 1 584 ;his widow,
Joan, made herWill at Ugb rooke 24th April , 1 591 , which was proved 25thJuly, 1 593. G . O . ,
— P . J .
5 90 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
he ir of Hugh de Valetort, (Elizabeth, the second coheir, was married to SirRichard Champernon , elder brother of Oliver son and heir of Sir John deV aletort, knight, son and heir of S ir Philip , knight , son and heir of Jocelyn ,
son and he ir of Jocelyn de Valetort and Emma his wife , daughter of Botereaux , and had issue William who marr ied Emma, daughter and cohe ir of
Will iam White of Holcoma aramor, and had issue John ; who marriedM arg ery , daughter and heir of Oliver Huish, and had issue John, and M aud
married toWilliam Stenyng . John married Ann , daughter of John Pollard,of Horwood, esq . , and had issue John ; who married Thomas in , daughterand heir of William Crese , and had issue Richard ; who married Emma,
daughter of John Bear, of Huntsham, esq . , and had issue Alexander, Ibot,(married to John G ifi
'
ard, of Hal esbury in the parish of Paracomb ,
and Dorothy , (to John Kelly, of Kelly , esq .) Alexander married Ann ,
daughter and he ir of Bartholomew St . Leg er, fourth son of William St.Leg er, of Hoocomb in Kent, and had issue Richard, and Katharine marriedto M ark Slader , of Bath in North-Tawton , esq .) Richard married Isod,daughter and he ir of Richard Copleston , third son of John , of Copleston in
the parish of Colebrook , esq . , [the margin tells us, the daughter of RichardBeeston , of Beeston - Castle in Cheshire ,] and had issue Christopher, John ,
Ann , (married to Lawrence M egg s ;) Dorothy, (to John Kelly , of Kelly,esq .)Christopher Wood , of Ashridg e , esq . , married Katharine , daughter of
Wyndham of Somerset, and had issue John ; who married_
M argaret, daugh
ter of John Copleston , of Eggesford and Stone , esq. , and had issue Chris
topher , John , Beavis , Thomas , Elizabeth, (married to Richard Tottle of
North-Tawton , esq . , and had issue M ark and Richard ; secondly to HughPollard of Hatherleigh Florence , (toWill iam Kempe, of Blisland in Cornw'
all Joan , (to Peter West of Tiverton , and hath issue John Bridget,and M argery . Christopher married M argaret, daughter and heir of Bar
tholomew Thorn , of Sheepwash, esq . , sans issue ; secondly he marri ed M a
ry , daughter ofWill iam Fowel , of Dipford-Down in Dipford parish .
John (second son of JOhn ,) married Ann , daughter of Reed of Wembury,and hath issue M argaret .
WOOD, of Lewtrenchard, esq.—~ARM S .— Sable , three leopards’ faces b e
tween nine cross - crosslets or .
Edmund Wood, esq . , married Jane , daughter of Franklin, of Tudl ake ,
DEVONSH IRE FAM IL IE S . 59 1
e sq . , and had issue John ,William, another son , a daughter married to Hugh
Prust of Gorfen , another to Cambray, another to Rog ers . John married
Kathari ne , daughter of John W olcot of Exeter, and had issue Thomas ,William, Elizabeth, Al ice , Philippa .
WOOD, (alias AT-WOOD,) of Hareston in the parish of Brixton , esq .
ARMS — Argent, on a hill an oak vert, acorns or .
William Wood married the daughter and he ir of Wal ter Will of Venn ,
and had issue John ; who married a daughter of Carslake , and had issue
Richard who married Katharine , daughter of Fowel , of Fowelscomb , esq
and had issue John , Thomas a priest, Al ice , (married to Burley ;) Elizab
'
eth, (to Francis Copleston, of Bowden in Yealmpton (to Cotterel
of Yeo .) John married Jane , daughter of Will iam Fortescue , of Wood,
esq . , and had issue Richard, John , Nicholas , Joan , (married to Robert N or
legh of Alphington Al ice , (to Richard M oyne of Erming ton , and after to
Spelt of the same parish .) Richard married Philippa , daughter of John
Hillersdon , of M emb land in the parish of Holbeton , esq . , and had issue
John and El ias .
John Wood , esq . , married Thomasin, daughter of George Southcot, of
Calverleigh, esq . , and b ath issue Richard, George , John , Dorothy, (married
to Blake of Brixham Joan , (to Fortescue , secondly to Nicholas Opie of
Plymouth Mary, (to Anthony Arundell of Bideford Susan , (to Saltren ,
parson of Bradford Ursula, (to Richard, son and heir, married
a daughter and cohe ir of Estcot, and hath issue .
HONYCHURCH , ofTavistock and Aveton Giffard , esq .- ARM S .
-_ Azure,on a bend argent a dragon’s head erazed between two mullets gul es .
John Honychurch, ofTavistock, married Jane , daughter of RobertWeeks ,and had issue John ; who married Joan , daughter of John Julkin, and had
issue Walter ; who married M aryann , daughter of John Fitz of Tavistock,and had issue Will iam, and Agnes married to Richard Hawke of Tavistock,and after to John Prideaux and had issue . William Honychurch married
Emma, daughter of John Cole of North-Tawton, and had issue Anthony,Thomas , Bennet, Ann, (married to John Yeo of Hatherle igh ,» M argaret,(to Carswel of Paignton .)Anthony Honychurch, of Aveton-Giffard, esq . , married Isabel , daughter
of Thomas Fortescue , of W impston in M odbury, esq . , and had issue Johnwho married M ary, daughter and coheir of Edmund Rowland, of Bow in
592 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S .
the parish of Nymet-Tracey , and had issue Henry, Anthony sans issue ,John , M ary, (married to Robert Crispin of East—Portlemouth Elizabeth,
second wife of Richard Cole of Aveton -G ifi'
ard Helena unmarried, Al ice ,(married toWilliamWilliams , of G uiman in Cornwall M ary , (to John Cole ,son of Richard Cole aforesaid ; secondly to George Crocker of Lynham
Katharine unmarried.
Henry Honychurch, of Luton in Aveton-G ifi'
ard, married Elizabeth,
daughter of Edward Lackington , of A shprington , esq . , and had issue John ,
Arthur, G ermyn , Henry , Mary , E lizabeth ; secondly he married Pascha,daughter of N orleigh of Inwardleigh, and had issue Paskow ; thirdly hemarried Gertrude , daughter of Robert Drake , ofW iscomb , esq . , sine prole .
STOWFORD, of Stowford, esq .— ARM s .
~ —Argent, two glaziers’ irons in
saltier sable between four pears or .
Thomas Stowford, esq . , married Ann , daughter of Copleston , of Luckham in Somerset, esq . , and had issue Phil ip and Richard . Phil ip marriedAlice , daughter of Will iam Yeo , of Heanton , esq . , and had issue Robert,Thomas , M ary , (married to Robert Lympenny of N etherexe ;) Jane , (toRichard Pry , ofHorwell in Colebrook, Elizabeth, (toWill iamVesyey .)Robert married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of John Menhinnick, of Corn
wall , and of his wife , daughter and coheir of Hey of Cornwall, and had is
sue John . Thomas , Will iam, Rob ert, Al ice , (married to Thomas Langdonof Cornwall, issue a daughter and heir married to S ir Thomas Brown , of
Brownlarsh, knight Joan , (to John M elhuish, ofTruro in Cornwall .) Johnmarried M ary , daughter of John Arscot, of Dunsland, esq. , and had issueRobert and Richard .
YEO , of Heanton a Sachvile, esq .— ARM S .— Arg ent , a chevron sable b e
tween three shovelers azure , membered and beaked or .
N icholas Yeo, esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sachvil e,esq . , and had issue John who married Al ice , and had issue Will iam ; who
married Jane, daughter and heir of John E sse , ofW estawse , esq . , and had
issue Robert ; who married Jane, daughter and he ir of William Pyn e , of
Bradwell , esq. , and had issue John ; who marri ed Al ice , daughter and he irof John Jew, of Cotley , esq . , and had issueWilliam ; who married Eleanor,daughter of Will iam Grenvile , of Stow in Cornwall , esq. , and had issueRobert, Nicholas , Edmund , Leonard, Helen, (married to John Holland, ofWear, Al ice, (to Philip Stowford , of Stowford, esq .) Robertmarried
594 DEVON SH IRE FAM ILIE S .
of A shburton , esq . , and had issue Henry , Val entine , Alexander, George ,Joachim, Robert, John , Honor, and M argery .
“Henry Rolle , knight, mar
ried, first Elizabeth, daughter ofWatts of Somerset, and had issue S ir Henrv
Rolle , knight ; secondly Jane , daughter of John Fortescue , of Fallopit, esqthe relict of Richard Halse , of Kenedou , esq . , sans issue . He died July , 1 625 .
Henry Rolle , of Bicton , knight, married Ann , eldest daughter and coheir
of Sir Thomas Denn is of Bicton , knight, and had issue Denn is and Ann , and
died before his father . Denn is Rolle , esq . , married Margaret, daughter of
John , Lord Pawlet, of H inton St. George , Somerset, and b ath issue Florence , (married to Sir John Rolle , of Stevenston, knight ;) Margaret, (to S ir
John Ackland, of Culm-John , bart Ann , (toWilliam Cooke , of H ighnamCourt , Gloucestershire Elizabeth, (to William Strode , and Frances ,who died an infant .
Sir John Rolle , of Stevenston and Bicton , knight of the Bath, married
Florence , daughter and cohe ir of Denn is Rolle aforesaid, and had issue John ,
(who married M argaret, daughter of the Earl of issue a son , who died
before his father, who is yet l iving , 1 696 Dennis , two other sons , and
Florence married to S ir Bourchier Wrey, of Tawstock, baronet and knight
of the Bath .
MARTIN , of Comb -M artin .— ARM S .— Argent, two bars gules .
M artin de Turon came into England with Will iam the Conqueror, andwas Baron of Kemys , alias Camois , in Wal es , and lord of Comb -Martin and
M artin’s-Hoe , (his s ister was Concha, or Conthes , wife of Calfurnius , (or
Calprunius in the margin , ) Presb iter Brittannus and mother of St . Patrick of
Ireland married and had issue Rob ert . Robert, son of Martin,called Ro
bert Fitz-M artin , was lord of Kemys , he married and had issue Robertwho married and had issue Nicholas and Roger . Nicholas married and had
issue Robert, who had issue Sir William,Robert. Sir Will iam was al so
baron of Dartington near Totnes , who married and had issue Nicholas . He
lived in the time of King John . Nicholas M artin , ( lord of Kemys andDartington , lived 37th Henry I II . , 1 25 married M aud, daughter and heirof Tracey , baron of Barnstaple , and had issue Will iam.
William M artin (baron of Kemys , Dartington , and Barnstaple , 34th Edward 1 married Eleanor, daughter and coheir of Will iam M ohun ,
and had issue Sir Will iam, Joan , coheir to her brother, (first married to
Nicholas , Lord Audlegh, of Heleigh, issue James , Lord Audlegh, and Al ice ;
DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IE S . 5 95
Secondly to Henry Lacy , Earl of Lincoln, his second wife , but had no issue
b y him Eleanor, the other coheir, (to Phil ip de Columbariis , and had b ypetition the manor of Tawstock , who had b y her Alice , his sole heir , mar
ried to Ralph Basset, Issue Ralph, who died 44th Edward 1 1 1 . sine prole .
Al l died sans issue .)William Martin (lord &c . , died sans issue and left his s isters coheirs ,)
married Margaret she was secondly married to Robert de W atenill .
I find, b y an extent upon the manor of Comb -M artin, taken at Exon26th May , 1 326 , upon the death of William, son of William M artin thus ,
Et dicunt quod Eleanor de Hasting soror dioti Willi . M artini ante nata
et Jacobus de Audelegh filius Johanne alterius sororis dioti W illielmi sunt
propinquiores heredes dioti W illi elmi et dicunt quod Eleanor est etatis ano
rum 30 et amplius , et Jacobus filius Job ane 1 3 anorum .
”
Robert M artin (second son of Robert,) married and had issue Robert ;who married and had issue Robert ; who married and had issue S ir Robert,of Y evelton , knight ; who married Elizabeth, daughter and he ir ofWilliam
Yevelton, alias G evelton, 1 9th Edward 1 1 Issue Oliver ; who married and
had issue S ir Robert 32nd Edward II I .
S ir Robert Martin , ofAthelhampston in the parish of Piddletown in Dor
set, knight, married Agnes , daughter and he ir of Richard Londres , lord of
Ogmoor, and had issue Richard who married and had issue Thomas ; who
married, first Philippa, daughter of Baldwin Mall et, of Enmore in Somerset,and of Amy his wife , daughter and he ir of Lyte , sans issue ; secondly he
married a daughter of Sir John Clyvedon , knight, and had issue Will iam ;
who married, first Isot, daughter and heir of Thomas Farringdon , of Far
ringdon in Dorset, and had issue Christopher ; secondly Christian, daugh
ter of S irWilliam Paulet, of H inton-St .-George , knight, the reli ct of Henry
Hul l of St . Leonards , secondly of Nicholas Chichester , of Ral egh, esq
and had issue Richard, and Elizabethmarried to John Carew of Haccombe .
Christopher , son and heir , married Christian , daughter of John Caverel ,of Chamerwell in Dorset, and had issue Thomas . He died 22nd M arch,
1 524 . Thomas married M ary , daughter of James Daub eny , second b ro
ther to Giles , Lord Daub eny . He died before his father, but left is sue Robert ; who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Kelway , of Rockborn in
Southampton , and had issue Nicholas who married M argaret, daughter of
John Wadham, of Meryfield in Somerset, esq . , (and of Jane his wife , one of
5 96 DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES .
the seven daughters and cohe irs of John Kelway , ) and coheir also to N i
cholas Wadham her brother, and had issue Elizabeth, (married to Brayn ,
of Louth in Dorset , Frances , (to Thomas White , of Piddleford in
Dorset Jane , (married , first to Tichb orn , secondly to Dilling ton ;) Ann ,
(married to Anthony Floyer of Floyers-Hays .)
Richard Martin , of E xon , (second son of Sir William of Athelhampston ,
kn ight, eldest son by his second wife , Christian Paulet,) married , first M ar
garet, daughter and he ir of Thomas Gold, and had issue Adam ; secondlyM arg aret, daughter ofWilliam Hurst, of Exon , esq . , and had issue Nicholas , Thomas , and William . Adam , son and he ir , marr ied Elizabeth, daugh
ter of Johnson , esq . , and had is sue Hugh . Hugh M artin , of Seaborough ,
esq . , married Agne s , daughter of Preston of Somerset, esq . , and had issue
Christopher ; who married Ursula , daughter of Henry Henslegh, of Spax
ton , esq .
Nicholas M artin , of E xon , (second son of Richard, of Exon , by his se
cond wife , daughter of Hurst, ) married , first M ary , daughter of Leonard
Yeo of Hatherle igh, and had issue Will iam , Leonard, Nicholas , Julyan ,
(married to Georg e Prestwood, M argaret, (to John Ellacot of Ex
eter M ary , (to John Chapel of Exeter , Sine prole secondly he married
M ary , daughter of William Strode , of Newnham , esq . , the rel ict of Thomas
Prestwood of Exeter, sans issue . William Martin (Recorder of Exeter ,)married Susan , daughter of Thomas Prestwood , of Exeter , esq . , and had
issue S ir Nicholas , Will iam, Edward, and Susan married to Peter Beavis , of
Exeter, esq . Sir Nicholas M artin , of Oxton , knight, married Elizabeth,
daughter of John Sims , of Poundisford in Somerset, kn ight, and hath issue
Susanna , (married to Charles Stenning s , of Somerset, and Dorothy .
Thomas M artin , mayor of Exeter, (third son of Richard Martin , of Ex
eter, by his second wife , daughter of Hurst,) marr ied Al ice , daughter of
Blackb all secondly he married M argaret, daughter of H ill .Will iam M artin , mayor of Exeter , (third son of Richard, of Exeter, by
his second wife , married Ann , daughter of Richard Parker, of Sussex , esqand had issue Richard , recorder of London , sans issue ; and Thomas : se
condly he married Katharine , daughter of William Bogan of Totnes , and
had issue Nicholas , John , 81 0 .
AMERIDITH , of Crediton and Slapton .— ARM s .
— Gules , a lion rampant
regardant or .
598 DEVONS H IRE FAM IL IES:
DAVY, of Sandford , esq.— ARM S .— Azure , three roses on a chief or, a
lion passant sable e
Robert Davy , of Crediton , married and had four children , of which theyounge st, John Davy ,
* thrice mayor of Exeter in 1 5 84 , 1 594, and 1 604 ,
married twice : by his first wife he had no issue , but by his second, M ar
g aret, daughter of George Southcot, of Calverleigh, esq . , he had issue
John, and M argaret married to Gideon Haydon , son and heir of RobertHaydon , of Cadhay in Ottery St . M ary , esq . John Davy , of Newhouse ,alias Creedy, in Sandford, esq . , married Julyan , daughter of Sir William
Strode , of Newnham, knight, and hath issue John , William, Mary , and
El izabeth .
FURSLAND, of Bickington , gent.— AEM S .— Or, a l ion rampant sable
between three crosses formee fitchy gules .
Will iam Fursland , of Bovey-Tracey, married and had issueWilliam ; who
married Avice , daughter and heir of Whitchurch of Newton -Abbot, issueJohn , and Margaret married to John Comyn . John married Elizabeth,daughter of Richard Yard, of Bradl ey, esq. , and had issue John , M ary,Agnes , Joan , and Ann . John Fursland, of Bickington , married Margaret,
daughter of Thomas Cole , of Slade , esq . , the reli ct of Thomas Southcot of
Southcot, and had issue Walter, Judith, (married to Al exander Gottom of
Abbots-Kerswell ;) Ursula, (to Robert Barnes of Plymouth Alice , (to
Hugh Lear of Ipplepen Thomasin , (to Robert Lynham of Cornwall .)Wal ter married Katharine , daughter of Thomas Bear , of Hunsham, esq . ,
and had issue John , William , Richard, Hugh,Benjamin ,
Joan , (wife of
Walter S taddon of Christow M argaret, and Agnes . John , son and heir,married Joan , daughter of Langworthy , of Liswell in W iddecomb , and b ath
issue Walter .
William (second son of Wal ter Fursland, ) married Hiereth, daughter of
John Seward .
KENDAL , of Treworgy in Cornwall , of Kingsbridg e and Exeter, Devon ,
gent .— ARM s .
—Argent, a chevron between three dolphin s sable .
Thomas Kendal , of Treworgy , married and had issue Richard, Eliz abeth,and Joan . Richard Kendal , of Kingsbridge, married Katharine , daughter
This charitable Mayor died on the 1 1 th and was buried the l 6th January, 1 6 1 1 - 1 2,set 70 ; his monument is in the south aisle of St. Mary Arches Church, Exeter.
G. O .,— P . J .
DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES . 599
of M oor, and had issue John ; who married Elizabeth, daughter of Yeoman,
issue John ; secondl y he married Agnes , daughter of Peter Hoopwell of
West-Allington, issue George , of Exeter ; who married Katharine , daugh
ter of Robert Moor of Exeter, issue George , Thomas , Ann, Elizabeth, and
M artha .
SKINNER, of Cowley, gent .— ARM S .
—Argent, a chief azure , semee
fleur- de-lis , or .
John Skinner married the daughter and heir of Cornish, issue John ; whomarried Alice , daughter and heir of Francis Maurice of Exeter, issue Tristram, M argery , (married to Huish Joan, (to Bawden Susan, (to HenryCopleston, of Stenson in Upton-Pyne M arcella, (to W alters . ) Tristrammarried M ary, daughter of Richard Greenfield, and sister of Sir George
Greenfield, of Penheal in Cornwal l, knight, and b ath issue John and Grace .
Thi s Tristram died 1 4th December, 1 635 .
MATHEW , ofWales , and Dodbrook in Devon .— ARM S .— Sable, a stork
argent.
Jenkin Mathew, of Wales , married Lucy, daughter and he ir of WilliamStarkey of Wiltshire , brother to Sir Humphrey Starkey, knight, and hadissue John ; who married Agnes, daughter of Will iam Gamage of Wales ,
brother of John Gamage , esq . , son and heir of S ir Walter Gamage , knight,and had issue Edmund.
Edmund M athew, of Dodbrook, married Al ice, daughter of John Risbyof Cornwall , and had issue John , Wal ter, M artha, al l died sans is sue ; se
condlyhe married Cecily, daughter of Thomas Reynell , of M alston , esq
and had issue Edmund, James , Tristram, Al ice , (married to Philip Courtenay, of M olland, M argaret, (to Henry Penny of Dodbrook Agnes ,
(to John Roupe and Mary unmarried . Edmund married Ann, daughtero f Thomas Parker of North-M olton, and had issue James, Thomas, Philip ,Edmund, Richard , Urith, (married toWilliam Roupe Agnes, Grace , Ma
ry, and Alice .
N ORTHCOT, of Uton in Crediton , and Hayne in Newton St. Cyres , esq .
— AaM s .— Argent, three crosses crossed, botony in bend sable .
John N orthcot married and had issue Walter of Credi ton ; who marriedE lizabeth, daughter of H ill , of Shilston in M odbury , and had issue John,
Robert s ine prole , and Philip who married Elizabeth, daughter of Tres il ian ,
of Tresilian in Cornwall . John N orthcot, of Uton, married Elizabeth,
600 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S .
daughter of Thomas Dowrish, of Dowrish in Sandford, esq . , and had issueWalter, John , Philip , William, Ann , (married to Robert Davy , of Canon
teign , Elizabeth, (first to Humphrey Selwood of Newton St. Cyres ,sans issue ; secondly to Robert Young of Colebrook ;) Richord, (to John
M eryfield, of Crewkerne in Somerset, Honor first to Furse , of Hittesleigh ; secondly to William Champneys Katharine , (to Emanuel Davyof Sandford .) Walter N orthcot, esq . , married M ary, daughter and heir of
Edmund Drew, of Hayne in Newton St . Cyres , esq . , and had issue Eliza
beth married to Georg e Yard, of Churchton , esq . John N orthcot, ofHayneand
'
Uton, esq . , (second son and he ir,) married, first Elizabeth, daughter
of Sir Anthony Rouse , of Halton in Cornwall , knight, and of Elizabeth hiswife , daughter of Thomas Southcot, esq . , and one of the coheirs of Gracehis wife , daughter and heir of Barnhouse , of M arsh in Newton St . Cyres ,and had issue Anthony , who died Sine prole ; secondly he married Susan ,
daughter of S ir Hugh Pollard, of King’s-Nymet, knight, and b ath issue
John , Lewis, Edmund sans issue , Amias , Francis , Wal ter, Will iam, Pollard,Elizabeth, (married toWilliam Lacy, son and heir ofWilliam Lacy, of Harborough in Somerset, esq . ; secondly to Thomas Fulford, third son of Tho
mas Fulford, of Fulford, esq . , sans issue Susan, Dorothy, Gertrude , Frances, and Ann .
YOUNG, of Axminster and Upton -Helions , esq . ; [now of Estcot, Tal
laton , and Colyton , bart .]— ARM S .— Ermine , on a b end cotized sable three
griffins’heads erazed or .
Walter Young (a younger son of the house of Bassildon , in Berkshire ,fined, l st Queen M ary, for not taking the order of knighthood, ) marr ied and
had issue John of Axminster ; who married Joan , daughter of Cockington ,
alias Cottington , and had issue John of Colyton , Walter who married one
E lizabeth an alien , Alice , (married toWilliamWestover ;) Amy, (to RichardBelke of Bristol Margery, (to Hercules Pyne Helen, (to John Parret ;secondly to Robert Snow and Robert, who married Ann , the daughter of
Hassard .
John Young, of Colyton , married Alice , daughter of Steer, and had issue Walter, John sans issue , Joan , (married to Richard Mallock, of Ax
mouth, Alice , (to Humphrey Cockram of Cullompton Ann, (to
Robert H ill of Taunton Jane , (to William H ill, of Painsford, SomersetMary , (to William Fry of Yarty, ) Walter, of Upton-Helions , esq. , mar
602 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IE S .
beth, daughter of Sergeant Leveson ,* married Agnes , daughter ofWil liam
Strode , of Newnham, esq. , and had issue Arthur sans issue , George , M ary,Margaret, and Elizabeth ; secondly he married Ann , daughter of Gregory
Huckmore , and had issue a son who died young , Bridget married to Com
min , another to Sheers and one to Land, of Churchston . George marriedChristian , daughter of John Giles , of Bowdon , esq . , and coheir of Sir Ed
ward Giles , knight, her brother, and b ath issue Edward ; who married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Walter N orthcot, of Uton in Crediton, esq . ,
and ofMary his wife , daughter and he ir of EdmundDrew, of Hayne in N ew
ton , esq . , and had issue Giles , Edward , Joan, and Lettice . He died beforehis father, and his wife married secondly to Barnabas Potter, D. D. , and
parson of Diptford and Dean-Prior, after lord-bishop of Carlisle, issue fourdaughters , [one married to Anthony Clifford, rector of Newton-Ferrers ;the second to John Copleston , D. D. , rector of Broad-Clist, and provost ofKing’s College in Cambridge , sans issue ; the third to Tunstal a minister,issue two daughters ; the fourth to M artin of Cockington, sans issue .]SHAPCOT of Exeter .
— Will iam married and had . issue Simon ; whomarried and had issue Thomas who married and had issue Will iam ; who
married and had issue John ; who married Edith, daughter and he ir of
W indyat, and had issue John ; who married a daughter of M olheuse , and
had issue Philip who married Elizabeth, daughter of William Isaac, issueThomas ; who married Urith, daughter of Henry Sothern of Poughill , issueThomas , M aria, Urith, Dorothy, [M ary married to Thomas Southcot, ofDul cishays , esq . , and hath issue George sans issue , Thomas , Henry , M ary,
(married to George Saffin , alderman of Exeter Dorothy, (to James Walk
er, mayor of Exeter, and youngest b rother to S ir Thomas Walker, of Ex
eter, knight Urith, (to Sir Courtenay Pole , of Shute, bart . , and hath is
sue S ir John Jane , (to Sir Copleston Bampfield, of Poltimore ,
b art . , sans issue Penelope, (to Francis Roberts , younger son of the Earl ofRadnor Dorothy unmarried ]‘5 John Leveson l ies buried in the north aisle of the church of Sutton-Colshill, W ar
wickshire, with this epitaph Orate pro animabus Johannis Leveson et Amicis uxorissue
, qui habuerunt exitum W illielmum cancellarium Ecclesie Cathedral is Exonic, etElizabeth nuptam Thorne Yard, armigero comi tatus Devonic, ac Annam nuptam _Georg ioRobinson, mercatori Londinensi .” W hich Amicia was daughter ofWill iam Harman,alias Voisy , and s ister to John Voisy, alias Harman, bishop of Exeter.— Dugdales’s A htiquities ofWarwickshire page 668 .
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IE S . 603
HATCH , of Aller in the parish of South-M olton , esq.— ARM s .
-Gules ,two demi lions passant gardant or .
William Hatch bought the house ofAller, and married and had issue Tho
mas , and Edith wife of Humphrey Prideaux , of Thub orough, esq . Thomas
(barrister at law,) married and had issue Lewis , Robert of Saterleigh, John
of Tree in the parish of Swymb ridge , Ellen, (married to Humphrey Arscot,of Dunsland, Dorothy , (to Thomas Trevillian, of Yam scomb , esq .)Lewis married and had issue Thomas ; John of Langford, cousellor-at- law ;
Lewis of Head-M ill ; Dorothy , (married to Humphrey Cruwys , of CruwysM orchard , (to Edmund Reynell , of M al ston, (to
Walrond, of Bovey, esq .) Thomas married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John
Chichester, of Ral egh, knight, and had issue Arthur, afterwards slain in a
quarrel in London by one Brett . Arthur married Margaret, daughter of
M allet, of Elm in Somerset, esq . , and b ath issue Thomas and Hugh . He
died June 1 625 .
LE HART, of Yarnacomb in the parish of M odbury, g ent, -ARM S .Ermine , an eagle displayed gules , vulned azure .
Vincent Hart married and had issue John and Robert. John married
Joan , daughter of Henry Fortescue , of Preston , esq . , and had issueWilliam,
Philip , and Arthur . William married Ann, daughter of Christopher Chud
leigh, of Ashton , esq . , sans issue . Philip (second son and he ir, ) married
Eliz abeth, daughter and coheir of Bremel , the relict of Rouse of Armington , and had issue William ; who married Susan , daughter of George Trobridg e of Thorverton , and hath issue John, Richard, Phil ip , Arthur, Tho
mas , Samuel , Francis .
Arthur Hart, of Trencreek in the parish of M enheniot, Cornwall , (third
son of John Hart of Yarnacomb ,) a soldier both in Ireland and the Low
Countr ies , and muster-master of Devon , married Al ice , the daughter ofPhilip Westcote , of Raddon in Shob rook , the relict of Roger Prye , of Hor
well in Colebrook , esq . , and had issue John and William ; secondly he mar
ried the relict of Furse , of Morshead in Dean-Prior, sans issue ; thirdly hemarried Joan , daughter of Thomas Lethbridge of Jacob stow, the relict of
Edward Cholwich of Newton-Ferrers , and had issue Joan . He died 1 605 ,
and was buried in Shob rook church.
MOLFORD, of M oulton , and Cadbury in Chulmleigh.— ARM S .
— A fess
between three swans proper.
604 DEVON SH IRE. FAM IL IES .
William M olford, of M oulton , married Sabin , daughter of Vicary of
Northam , a nd had issue Roger ; who married Ann , daughter and heir of
Capnar , of Cadbury in Chulmle igh, and had issue Thomas , John, William,
M ary , (married to Richard Poll ard of Langley ;) Agnes , (to John Garland ,ofWhitefield in M arwood Sab in , (to Hugh Staplehill , of Bremble in Ashton ; secondly toWill iam Honvwill of the same .) Thomas M olford, of Cad
bury, son and he ir , married Susan , daughter of Thomas Southcot, of BoveyTracey , esq . , issue Roger who died young, John , Thomas , Gilbert, (the two
last died young ,) Amy, (married to Robert Cooker, of M apowder in Dorset,
Frances , Barbara, Thomasin , (to Richard Batson of Chulmleigh M a
ry , (to Joseph Weeks of Honychurch ;) Susan, (to Edward Calmady of
Wembury .) John (second son and he ir, ) married El izabeth, daughter of
Morgan , of Maperton in Dorset, but died sans issue , leav ing his six s isters
his heirs .
John Molford (second son of Roger, he ir of the name . counsellor-at-law, )married Cecil , daughter of May , of Charterhouse in Somerset, issue Roger,John , and fi ve daughters , Ann the second (marr ied to M arshal of Teign
grace Susan , M ary , and Dorothy .
William M olford, of Northam, (third son of Rog er,) married Grace ,daughter of Calmady of W'
embury , issue Rog er, and Ann .
MARWOOD, of W estcot in the parish of M arwood .— ARM s .
- Gules , a
chevron arg ent between three g oats’heads erazed, ermine , attired or .
William M arwood married Joan , daughter of Humphrey Courtenay , esq
issue John and Humphrey ; secondly he married Elizabeth, daughter of
Saxby of London , and had issue Walter, Henry, Jane , (married to John
Heng scot of Heng scot ;) (to Pytts .) John , son and heir, married
E lizabeth , daughter of John Holb eam, of issue John , W il
l iam,Jacquette , (married to Edward Chapman of Buckland-Brewer Alice ,
(to Richard Vigours , son and heir of John Elizabeth, (daughter of Hol
beam and wife of John Marwood, ) married secondly to Richard or RobertPollard, of Honiton . John Marwood, of W estcot, son and heir, married
Jane , daughter of Thomas Warr , of Hestercomb in Somerset, esq .,and had
issue El izabeth, (married to John Chichester of Hall Eleanor, (to Robert
W itchalse of Chudleigh Gertrude, Katharine , and M ary unmarried .
CH ICHESTER, of Ralegh.—ARM S .— Chequy or and gules , a chief vairy
argent and azure .
606 DEVON SH IRE FAM l LIE S .
with his wife the manor of W' idworthy ; which by his deed , dated 20th Ed
ward’
III . , he granted to her uncle , and this John Chichester had Richard
who married M argaret, daughter of Nicholas Kaynes ofWinkley , and had
issue Nicholas , John , and Richard of Hall . Nicholas married Christian ,
daughter of Sir Will iam Pawlet, knight, and had issue John ; who married
M argaret, daughter and heir of Hugh Beaumont and Thomasin his wife ,
daughter and heir of Oliver Wise , son of Thomas , son of Serlon , son of
Willi am, son of Henry , son of John Wise , knight, lord of G reston ; son and
heir of Sir Thomas Beaumont, son and heir of William Beaumont, lord of
H igh -Hampton , and of Isabel his wife , daughter and coheir of John W el
ling tou ,knight ; (Elizabeth , the other cohe ir, was married to Sir William
Patton ,knight .) This William Beaumont was son of Sir Thomas , the son
ofWill iam , the son of Thomas , the son of S ir John , son of Richard, son of
S ir Philip Beaumont, lord of H igh-Hampton ; (thi s John Wellington de
scended from Welling ton , that marr ied the heir of Champernon , who was
lord of Beauford and thi s John Chichester had issue Edward, and
Am ias of Arlington . Edward, son and he ir , married Elizabeth, daughter
of John , Earl of Bath, and had issue S ir John Chichester, knight ; who
married Gertrude , daughter of Sir Will iam Courtenay , of Powderham,
knight, and had issue Sir John, Adrian sans issue , Sir Arthur , ( Baron of
Belfast,) S ir John s ine prole , and S ir Edward , (Vicount Belfast .)William Chichester , of Ralegh, married and had issue Ann , married to
William Strechl egh, of Strechl egh, esq .
Nicholas Chichester, of Ralegh, esq . , married Christian , third daughter of
SirWilliam Pawlet, of Sampford-Peverel , knight, the rel ict of Henry Hull , ofLarkb ear , esq . , and had issue John ; who married, first M argaret, s ister and
heir of Hugh Beaumont, and had issue Hugh sans issue , Edward, and Elizabeth married to Nicholas Pyne , of East-Down , esq . ; secondly he married
Joan , daughter of Britt, issue John , Amias , William, and M ary married toJohn Row of Staverton . Edward (second son and heir , )married Eli zabeth,
daughter of John Bourchier, the first Earl of Bath, and had issue John .
Sir John Chichester, kn ight, son and he ir, married Gertrude , daughter ofGeorg e Courtenay , of Powderham, esq . , and had issue Sir John ,
Charles ,Adrian , (the two last san s issue , ) Sir Arthur, baron of Belfast in Ireland,
(married Lettice , daughter of Sir John Parret, lord deputy of Ireland, theof Lawhern , secondly of Vaughan , sans issue Sir John s inerelict of
DEVONSH I RE FAM IL IES . 607
prole , Sir Edward, knight, Viscount Belfast, Elizabeth, (married to Hugh
Fortescue , of Filleigh, Dorothy, (to S ir Hugh Pollard , of Nymet,
knight ;) Eleanor, (to S ir Arthur Basset, of Umberleigh, knight ;) M ary ,
(to Richard Blewet, of Holcomb -Rogus , Cecil , (to Thomas Hatch, of
Aller, esq . ; secondly to Lewis Pollard , second brother of S ir Hugh Su
san, (to John Fortescue , of Buckland-Filleigh, Bridg et, (to S ir Ed
mund Prideaux , of Farway, bart Grace , (to Robert Dillon, of Chimwel ,
Urith, (to Trevelian of N ettlecomb .)S ir John Chichester , knight, son and he ir, married Ann , daughter of S ir
Robert Dennis , of Holcomb -Burnel , knight, and had issue Sir Robert, John ,
(who married a daughter of sans issue M ary , (first married to Thomas Fraunceis , of Comb -Flory in Somerset, esq . ; secondly to John Smith,
of Tregannock in Cornwal l Gertrude , (to Amias Copleston , of Copleston
in Colebrook , Elizabeth, (to William Corriton , of Newton in Cornwall, esq .)S ir Robert Chichester, kn ight of the Bath, married Amy, daughter of
John , Lord Harr ing ton , and s ister and cohe ir of John , Lord Harrington of
Exton in Rutlandshire ; (Lucy,the eldest, was married to Edward, Earl of
Bedford , and had issue Ann , married to Lord Bruce secondly he marriedM ary , daughter of Robert H ill , sometime of Shilston , esq . , issue John .
[Sir John Chichester married sans issue ; secondly he married a
daughter of Colley, and had issue S ir John ,bart s ine prole , and S ir Ar
thur, bart . , (that now is , ) who married a daughter and coheir of Thomas
Drewe , of Grang e , esq . , and b ath issue .]
CH ICHESTER , of Arling ton , esq .— ARM S . - Chequy or and g ules , a
chief va iry , mul let .
Amias Chichester, esq . , (third son of John , of Ralegh, married
Joan , daughter of S ir Rog er Gifford , of Brightley , knight, and had issue
Henry , Roger and Richard sans issue , Hugh, Robert, (who married and
had issue a son ,) Gifford , Severus , Philip , Edward slain in a duel , Silvester ,
Paul , (a worthy captain both in the Netherland wars and elsewhere , and
was slain in the Portugal action, 1 5 89 Bartholomew , (who married Katharine , daughter of Richard Avery of Barnstaple , the relict of Andrews of
B ideford , sans issue Gregory , M ary, (married to Robert Poyntz , of Cliff inSomerset ;) Elizabeth, (first married to H enry Bellew of Stockleigh-Eng
lish, secondly to Stephen Braddon of Alverdiscot, counsellor- at- law Fran
608 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
ces , (to John W yott of Braunton Honor, (to Balthazar Butler, of Stone inParkham .) Amias Chichester, was buried at Arlington , 2 7th November,1 62 1 .
Henry Chichester , esq . , married Susan , daughter of William Plaiter, ofSatterlegh
-Hall in Suffolk, esq. , and had issue Henry who died sans issue ,John , William died a child, Edward, Robert , Francis and Phil ip died young ,
M ary unmarried, Mary, Ann ,Susan , Elizabeth, Katharine . He died l st
August, 1 622 .
CH ICHESTER, of Hall in Bishops -Tawton .— John , (third son of Rich
ard of Ralegh, married Thomasin , daughter of Simon Hall of Hall ,and had issue John ; who married Katharine , daughter and coheir of Richard Gough, of Al dercomb in Kilkhampton , and had issue Thomas sans issue ,and Robert, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Ackland, of Ackland,esq . , and had issue John , James , Thomas , Robert sans issue . Roger, Richard, Philip , Eleanor, (married to Richard Clehanger of Somerset Katharine , (to Robert Isaac of Atherington M argaret, (to John Tregeon Eli
zabeth, (to Chapman of Hankford ;) Mary, (to Wolston ;) Christian, and
Dorothy .
John , son and heir, married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of John Marwood,of W estcot, esq . , and had issue John, Hugh, Tristram, Georg e sans issue
“
,
Judith, (married to Blight of Cornwall , secondly to Blygh, thirdly to Arthur Rouse ;) Ann , (to Dr . Sharp M ary , (second wife of John Samuelof Cornwall ) Elizabeth unmarried . John , son and heir, marr ied Amy,daughter of Sir Arthur Basset, of Umberleigh, knight, and had issue Sir
John, Arthur, Elizabeth, (married to Delbridge of Barnstaple Judith,
and Helen . Sir John , knight, married, first Ursula , daughter of S ir W il
liam Strode , of Newnham, knight, issue John , who married one of the co
heirs of Sir Henry Carew , of Bickley , knight, sans issue ; (the other coheirwas married to Sir Thomas Carew of Haccomb , and left issue Sir HenryCarew, bart. , Robert , Francis , bachelor of law, now of Hall he secondlymarried Elizabeth a daughter of S ir Lewis Pollard, and had issue Lewissans issue, and Elizabethmarried to Sir John Fowel of Fowelscomb thirdlyhe married Susanna a daughter of Stevens of Torrington , the relict of
Rolle of Stevenstone, and had issue a daughter .
CH ICHESTER , Viscount of Carrickfergus .- Sir Edward Chichester,
knight, and baron of Belfast in Ireland and Eggesford in Devon , (fourth
6 IO DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES .
he ir of John Hunnyes of the same , and had issue John, Richard, (a worthyantiquarian, who died in London , sans issue Elizabeth, (married to John
Shepherd, of Ful b rooke in Braunton Jane , (to William Laney of the
same M ary , (to James Brook of the same .)John married Joan, daughter of John Collamore , of Luscot in Braunton ,
issue Richard, Nicholas , and Jane married to Richard Reed of Comb -M ar;
tin . Richard married Julyan , daughter of John Peard, mayor . of BarnS'
ta
ple , and of Julyan his Wife , daughter of Nicholas Berry , of Berry-N erb er,
esq . , and had issue July an , married to Will iam Herle , M . A . and parson of
Berry -N erb er ; she di ed Sine prole : secondly he married Phillis , daughter
of Richard Avery , mayor of Barnstaple , and had issue M ary, (marr ied to
Thomas W estcot , of Raddon in Shob rook ;) Jane , (to Will iam Squire , of
Townhouse in South-M olton Prudence , (to John Amory , ofWhitechapel
in Nymet-Episcopus ;) Grace , (to Francis Isaac of West-Down, third son
of Robert of Atherington .
MOHUN , of Hal l in Cornwall .— AF.M S .
— Or, a cross engrailed sable .
William Mohun married Isabel , daughter and coheir of S ir Hugh Courtenay and Margaret his wife , daughter of Thomas Carmynow, of Boconock
in Cornwall , esq . ; which Sir Hugh Courtenay was son and heir to Sir Hughand M aud his wife , daughter of Henry Viscount Beaumond ; which Hughwas second son of Edward the Blind, Earl of Devon , and in process of
time his he ir, and had issue John ; who married Ann , daughter of Richard
Goode of M orval , and had issue Reg inal d ; who married a daughter of S ir
William Trevanion , of Caryhays in Cornwall , and had issue Sir Will iam,
knight ; who married, first El izabeth, daughter of S ir John Horsey, knight,and had issue Sir Reginald, and William who married a daughter and he ir
of Robert Trencreek ; secondly he married Ann , daughter and cohe ir of
Will iam Roskymer, the relict of John Trelawny, of Pool , esq. , and had is
sue William, (who married Temperance, daughter of Davies Thomas ,Jane , (wife first of Humphrey Courtenay , of M olland, esq . ; secondly second
wife of John Speccot, knight and Bridget .
S ir Reynold M ohun, knight, married , first M ary, daughter of Sir HenryKill igrew , of Arwenack in Cornwall ; secondly he married Philippa, daugh
ter of S ir John Hele , knight, sergeant-at- law, at Wembury thirdly hemarried Dorothy , daughter of John Chudl egh, of Ashton , esq. , and b ath
issue Elizabeth married to S ir Henry Carew of Bickleigh, knight .
DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IES . 6 1 1
PRYE , of Horwell in Colebrook , esq .— ARM s .
—Arg ent, a chevron gules ,a chief azure , fretty or .
Richard Prye , esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter of Hext of Staverton ,
and had issue Roger ; secondly he married Joan , daughter of Philip Stowford, of Stowford, esq . , and had issue a daughter married to Thomas . Ro
ger married Elizabeth, daughter of Roger Giffard , of Brightlegh, knight ,and had issue John , M argaret, (married to John Ash, al ias Leg at, of Stoke
Courcy in Somerset ;) Arm, (to Patrick Dun of Colebrook ;) secondly he
married Elizabeth, daughter of Trobridg e , of Trobridg e in Crediton , esq . ,
and had issue Rog er and Elizabeth, both died young : thirdly he marriedAlice , daughter of Philip W estcot of Raddon , s ine prole . He died 1 5 84 .
John Prye married M argaret, daughter of M ark Slader , of Bath in theparish of North-Tawton , esq . , and b ath issue Richard , John , Rog er , Joan ,
(married to M ichel of Cornwall Katharine , (wife of Edmund Wrey, thirdson of John Wrey, of North-Russell , e sq . E lizabeth, (married to Rich
ard Sanders of Rame in Cornwall Audrie , (to Thomas Sture of M odbu
ry ;) Judi th, (to Rog er Bear, parson of M orchard Bishop .) He died 1 624 .
Richard , son and heir , married Diana, daughter of Coryton , of Cornwall ,esq . , and b ath issue John and Giles .
W IVEL of Crediton .— AaM s .
— Argent, three mul lets between three bars
sable .
John W ivel married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of John Brixton , and
had issue Thomas , and Marg aret married to Philip Butler of Parkham .
Thomas married Cecily, daughter of John Bonvile of Comb -Ral egh, the re
lict of Maurice M oor of Cullompton , and had issue William, Anthony , N in
cholas , and Philippamarried to Henry Isam , of Elb ruer in Somerset . W il
liam married Eli zabeth, daughter of John Reynel , of East-n el , e sq . , and
had issue N icholas , Anthony ,Richard , Joan , Philippa , Elizabeth, Dorothy ,
and Katharin e .
DAV ILS , of Batson in M arlborough, and of M erland, esq— ARMS .
Argent, a chevron emb atled between three fieur-de lis sable .
Thomas Davils , of Batson , esq . , married Isabel , daughter of Walter
Fitzwarren , of Totely in Black-Torring ton , and had issue William ; who
marIi ed and had issue John ; who married and had issue John of M erland
who married M argaret, daughter of John Dennis of Orlegh , esq . , and had
issue Lewis , Robert, Will iam,John , Ann , and M argaret . Lewis married
6 1 2 DEVON SH IRE FAM ILIES .
Philippa, daughter of Henry Beaumont, of Gittisham, esq. , and had issueWill iam , Jane , (married to John Incledon of Braunton and Amy, (firstmarried to Thomas St . Low, secondly to Richard Dennis of Exeter.) W il
l iam married Urith, daughter and he ir of John Stowel , of Somerset, esq . ,
and had issue John , Robert, Elizabeth, Dorothy , Mary, (married to GeorgeBowen and Frances secondly he married M argaret, daughter of Antho
ny M onk , of Potheridge , esq . , the relict of Thomas Giffard, of Halisbury,
esq . , and had issue Philip , Lewis and M atthew sans issue , and Winifred .
John Davils , esq . , married M argaret, daughter of John Mallet of Wool
ley, and had issue Margaret, married to Arthur Harris , of Hayne , esq . , and
had is sue .
Philip Dav ils , (third son ofWilliam, ) married a daughter of G ifi'
ard, and
hath issue .
ATWILL , of Kenton and M amhead .— ARM S .— Per chevron argent and
sable , a pile counterchanged .
John Atwill , of Kenton , married Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Duck ofHeavitree , and b ath issue John and William . John , son and heir, marriedElizabeth, daughter of Humphrey Burrington of Ideford, and had issueJohn, of Mamhead ; who married Margaret, daughter of John Pollexfen
of Yeanton , and had issue John , Elizabeth, and Judith.
Will iam Atwill (second son of the first JOhn ,) married Thomasin , daugh
ter of Peter Ball of M amhead, and b ath issue Peter ; who married Joan,
daughter of Mallock of Axmouth, and had Issue who married a
daughter of Kendal , of Cofton in Kenton, esq. , and had issue Peter, W il
liam , and Elizab eth married to Thomas , of Bideford, attorney-at -law. Pe
ter married a sister of Nicholas M artin , of Oxon , esq . , sans issue . William
is a goldsmith in London .
FULFORD,
*of Fulford in the parish ofiDunsford, esq.
— AaM s .— Gules,
a chevron argent. CREST .— A bear’s head erased arg ent, muzzled sable .
The first member of the family that we find is Will iam Fulford, esq . , in
the time of Richard I . , and is said to have held Fulford in King John’s
time . He left a son , Nicholas , who leftWilliam , who married first Mary,
or M arriot, daughter and coheir of Sir Baldwin de Belston, of Parkham,
As the Fulford Pedigree has been incorrectly g iven by W ESTCOTE, and his continuator, PRIN CE, we have suppl ied one
,compiled on better authority, up to the year 1 643 .
G . O .,— P . J .
6 1 4 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES .
(married to English of Totnes ;) (to Cary , of Cary-Barton, Cornwall(to Adams , of W addon in Stoke -Gabriel , esq .)
S ir John Fulford, by his first wife Ann , had issue Sir Thomas , kn ight,
who married Ursula, daughter of Richard Bampfylde , of Poltimore , esq . ,
issue S ir Francis and S ir Thomas .
Sir John Fulford, knight, the eldest son , (sheriff of Devon 5th M ary and
1 9th Elizabeth, and the builder of the greater part of Fulford House ,) married, first Ann , daughter of SirThomas Dennys , of Holcomb -Burh el , knight ;secondly a daughter of Bernard Smith of Totnes , sans issue . He died 23rd
Aug . , 1 5 80 .
Sir John Fulford , b y Ann Dennis , had twelve children , viz , Sir Thomas ,Robert, Francis , Edward , Andrew , (who, by Elizabeth, daughter ofWilliam
Sture , of Marsh, esq . , had issue Andrew, Will iam, Gilbert, John , and Rich
ard Arthur , Gabriel , Mary , Joan , Elizabeth, Eleanor, and Susan .
S ir Francis Fulford (the son of Thomas, by Ursula Bampfylde ,) married,at Dunsford, 1 3th September, 1 601 , Ann , daughter and heir of Bernard
Samways , of Toller in Dorsetshire , esq . , and was buried at Toller-Fratrum,
1 664 . Sir Thomas Fulford, his brother, had issue Sir Francis , Will iam,
Thomas , Bridget, (who was married to Arthur Champernon, of Dartington ,
Elizabeth, and Ann , (married, at Dunsford, 23rd May , 1 6 1 5 , to
George Sydenham, of Somerset, esq . ; she died inS ir Francis Fulford and Ann Samways had issue Thomas Fulford, esq
who married Ann This Thomas was slain at the first s iege of Exe
ter in the civil wars , and buried at Dunsford on the 1 2th August, 1 643 .
CHALLONS .— The great Earl of Challons had three sons : of the first
came the Earl of Spencer, of the second the Prince of Orange , of the third
Sir Hardwyn Challons , knight, who married Florence , lady of Leche and
Chaddlewood, and had issue Sir Pierce , knight ; who married Isabel, s ister
and heir to Hardy de Helion ofAshworthy, and had issue Sir Ralph, knight ;who married Joan , lady of Newton-Ferrers , issue Sir Pierce , knight ; whomarried Katharine , sister and he ir of S ir John de Cantelupe , knight, issueSir Robert, knight ; who married Lucy, s ister and heir of Sir Robert N ivet,knight, issue Sir John , knight ; who married Margaret, daughter of S ir Robert Langford , knight, issue Sir John Challons , knight ;
“
who married Isab el , daughter of Richard Chuselden , issue Robert , esq . ; who married Joan ,
daughter and he ir of Sir John Beauchamp , knight, issue Sir Robert”
andKa
DEVONSH IRE FAM I L IE S . 6 1 5
tharine . Sir Robert Challons , knight, married Blanch, daughter and he ir
of Sir Hugh Waterton , knight, and had issue John , who died sans issue .
Katharine , aunt and coheir to John, married John St . Aubyn , lord of
Comb-Ralegh, and had issue M argaret, who married Reg inald Trethurfe .
DENNIS , of Holcomb ~Burnel and Bicton, knight.— ARM s .—Ermine ,
three Danish battle -axes erect gules .
Wal ter (son of William Dennis , of Gydecot (query) in Black-Torrington ,
marr ied and had issue Sir John , of Gydecot, knight whomarried Joan ,
daughter a nd he ir of John Dabernon , son and he ir ofWilliam of Bradford ,esq . , and of M aud his wife , daughter and coheir of M atthew Giffard , son
and he ir of Bartholomew G ifi'
ard, son and heir of William, son and he ir of
Roger Giffard of Meeth and Clovelly, and ofAnn his wife , daughter and co
heir of SirWill iam Brewer, of Buckland-Brewer, knight, and had issue W al
ter who married M aud, daughter and coheir of Henry Bockerel , lord of
Aller-Brew , St . James’, Hayham, Yealdeston , and Emelyst, and had issue
John who married Alice , sister and he ir ofWilliam Christenstow, son and
he ir of John Christenstow of Hookley , and of Thomasin hi s wife , daughterand he ir of John G ob odesley and Joan his wife , daughter and heir of Rich
ard Chyderley , of W ycroft, esq . , and had issue Walter ; who married Isod,daughter of Stephen Durnford, of Rame in Cornwall , esq . , and had issue
Thomas Dennis , of Holcomb-Burh el , esq. ; who married Alice , daughter of
Thomas Bampfield, of Poltimore , esq . . and had issue Gilbert ; who married
and had issue Radigund , married to Robert Giffard, esq . ; secondly he marriedElizabeth, daughter of Robert Hatch, ofWoolley, esq. , and had issue Thomas Dennis of Holcomb-Bum el and Bicton ; who married Janor, daugh
ter of Philip Loveday, of Cheston in Suffolk, esq . , and had issue S ir Tho
mas, knight, M ichael , Philip , Henry, Richard, Eleanor, (married toWill iamHalse , of Kenedou , and Avice , (to John Mylliton, of M eavy, esq .)Sir Thomas Dennis, of Holcomb-Burnel and Bicton ,
knight, (chancellorto Queen Ann of Cleves , fourth wife of King Henry married Ann,
daughter of Wood of London , sans issue ; secondly he married Elizabeth,
daughter and heir of Sir Angel Donne , and had issue Sir Robert, George ,Edward, Wal ter, Gabriel , Ann , (married to Sir John Fulford, of Fulford ,
knight M argaret, (to Georg e Kirkham, of Blackdon , e sq .) Sir Robertmarried, firstMary, daughter ofWilliam Blount, LordMountjoy , and of Do
rothy his wife , daughter of Thomas Gray Marquis Dorset, and had issue
1 6 DEVONSH I RE FA M I L IE S .
Ann , (married to Sir John Chichester of Ralegh, knight Gertrude , (firstmarried to John Arundell , of Trerice in Cornwall, esq . ; secondly to Parker ,Lord M orley, sans issue thirdly he married M argaret, daughter and he ir
of S ir William Godolphin , of Godolphin in Cornwall, knight, and had issueS ir Thomas , Arthur, (a captain , slain at O stend, sans is sue M argaret,
(married to Phil lips , of Picton inWales , bart. , sans issue Elizabeth, (first
married to John Sture , of Bradlegh, esq . ; secondly to Sir Thomas Acton ,
knight thirdly to Gilbert Blackall er Philippa, (married toWilliam Drake ,of W iscomb , Janor, (to Sir Henry Foulks , of Dorset, knight .)S ir Thomas Dennis , knight, married Ann , daughter of Wil liam Paulet,
Lord Marquis of Winchester, and had issue Ann , (married to Sir HenryRolle , of Stevenston , knight Margaret, (to Sir Arthur Mannering, of
Highfield in Shropshire and Purford in Surrey .)Henry Dennis , of Padstow , (fourth son of Thomas of Holcomb -Burh el,)
esq . , married a nd had issue Philip and Thomas . Philip married Bridget,daughter of Thomas Tremaine , of Collacomb , esq . , and had issue Philippaand Zenobia . Thomas (second son of Thomas ,)married Margaret, daugh
ter of Thomas Tremaine of Collacot, and had issue .
DENNIS , ofOrlegh, esq — ARM S . Azure , threeDan ish battle -axes erector .
S ir Robert Dennis , knight, married and had issue W illiam sans issue ,and Will iam , who married and had issue John , who had issue Henry, whohad is sue Richard , who married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Jeffry Bowhay , of Bowhay , esq . , and had issue John ; who married Joan , daughter
and he ir of Walter Esse , and had issue John who married Joan , daughter
and heir of Thomas Thorn , and had issue John ; who married Eleanor,daughter and cohe ir of Stephen Giffard, of Thub orough, esq, , and of Ag
nes his wife , daughter and he ir of John Churchill and Joan his wife , daugh
ter of John Dawney and s ister and he ir of Will iam , which Stephen Giffard
was son and he ir of John and Al ice his wife , daughter and heir of John Ugworthy, which John G ifi
'
ard was son and heir of Andrew and Ingaret hi s
wife , daughter and cohe ir of Sir Allen Esse , knight, son and heir of RalphEsse , whi ch John Denn is had issueWilliam, Thomas , Roger, Robert, Henry , Ann , (married to John Basset, of Umb erlegh, Katharine , (to
Thomas Hatch, of W ollegh, Avis , (to Thomas Giffard, of Halsbury ,
Joan , E lizabeth, Margaret, (married to John Davils , of Marland ,Thomasin , Eleanor, and Radigund .
6 1 8 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
DOWRISH , of Dowrish in Sandford, esq .— ARM S .— Argent, a bend co
tized within a bordure engrailed sable .
Walter Dowrish, in the time of Henry 1 1 1 had issue Nicholas , who hadissue William, who had issue Thomas, who had issue William , who had is
sue John , who had issue Will iam, who had issue Thomas , who had issueThomas , who had issue Richard , who had issue Thomas , who had issueThomas (in the time of Edward IV who was recorder of Exeter, who hadissue Richard .
Richard Dowrish, of Dowrish, married a daughter of Thomas Fulford, ofFulford, knight, and had issue Thomas ; secondly he married a daughter
of Catesby , and had issue Peter, Elizabeth, and Katharine married to JohnSnedel , who had with her the b arton and manor of Upton-Helions andrents alibi . Thomas married a daughter of Tavernour of Oxfordshire , andhad issue Thomas , Robert, Ann , (married to Anthony M arryng of LittleTorrington M argaret, (to Eastchurch of Chudl e igh Jane, (to GilbertAtwill of Sandford .)Thomas Dowrish married Ann , daughter of Charles Farringdon , of Far
ringdon , esq . , and of M arg ery his wife , daughter of Sir Thomas Stukeley,of Affeton , knight, and had issue Wal ter, Hugh, Rob ert, Clement, Eliz abeth, (married to John N orthcot, of Uton in Crediton Grace , (to RobertGuy , of Prouse in Sandford Ann, (to William Bodlegh of Dunscomb .)WaltermarriedM ary , s ister of George , Lord Carew, Earl of Totnes , and hadissue Thomas , Ann , (married to Boswel of London Dorothy , (to ThomasPeyton , whose mother was the Lady Elizabeth Bourchier Elizabeth, (to
Georg e Trobridge of Trobridge M ary, (to William Limsey, of Colbyeof Norfolk .) Thomas Dowrishmarried Katharine , daughter of John Stukeley, of Afi
'
eton , esq . , and had issue John, Thomas , Lewis, George , M ary,Frances , (married to Philip Williams , of Lanelthy in Wales Ann, Joyce ,Susan, and Grace .
DOWRISH , of Heath-Barton in Whitestone , gent .—Robert (second son
of Thomas Dowrish of Dowrish, by the daughter of Tavernour,) marriedJango , daughter of Thomas Cole of Slade, the reli ct of H ill , of Helicon inCornwall ; but first of Robert Grenfield, of Stow in Cornwall , and after of
Thomas Arundell , of Clifton in Cornwall , issue Thomas ; who married
Wilmot, daughter of Richard Prowse of Exeter, and b ath issue Ann, married
to Francis Pollard, son of S ir Hugh Pollard, of Nymet-Regis , knight.
DEVON SH l RE FAM IL IE S . 6 1 9
Hugh Dowrish (second son of Thomas Dowrish by Ann Farringdon , )married a daughter of Sir Richard Edgcomb , knight, and had issue .
Robert Dowrish (third son of Thomas Dowrish by Ann Farringdon, )married a daughter of Eystons , of Eystons in the parish ofMorchard-Bishop ,and hath issue John, George , William, Phil ip .
COLLETON of Exeter.— AaM s .
-Or, three stags’heads proper .
Colleton married the daughter and heir of Ridgway, alias Peacock ,and had issue Henry ; who married M argaret, daughter of Will iam Bury ,of Colleton, esq . , and had issue Edmund , Peter s ine prole , Thomas , Grace ,
(married to John Brushford ;) Elizabeth, (to Thomas Dyer of Shob rook .)Thomas married Thomas in , daughter of Thomas Kelland, and had issue
John , Peter, Roger, Sibella, Margaret, and Alice . John married M argaret,daughter of Mark Weeks , second son of John Weeks , of North-Weeks ,esq .
Peter Colleton , of Exeter, ( second son ,) married Ursula, daughter of Hen
ry Hull, of E xeter, esq . , and b ath issue Peter, created a baronet 1 8th
February 1 66 1 , John , Henry , and Elizabeth.
BENNET, of Chudleigh, gent .— ARM s .
— Sable , a chevron erminois b e
tween three tripled ears of wheat, or .
Richard Bennetmarried Julyan , daughter ofWill iam VVhiteway, of Chud
leigh parish, and had issue Nicholas , Will iam , and John . Nicholas married
Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Pomeroy, of Bindley in the parish of Har
berton , kn ight, and had issue John , William s ine prole , Eng lish, (married
to Thomas Thorn of M amhead ;) Julyan , (to Roger Harewell of King steign
ton ;) Joan , (to Peter Bear of the same Sabine , (to Humphrey Ball ofChudleigh .) John married a daughter of John Trosse of Exeter .
WILLOUGHBY, of Knoll-Adrian in Wiltshire — Sir John ,knight,
marr ied Ann , daughter and heir of S ir Edmund Cheney , knight, and had
issue S ir Robert, knight, Lord Brook , in the time of Henry VI I and Sir
William, of Turners-Piddle in Dorset, knight, who had a natural son named
Christopher, who married, first Alice , the relict of Baulstred , sans issue ;secondly Isabel , the daughter of Nicholas Weeks , of Doding ton in Glou
cestershire , esq . , and had issue Henry, Will iam, and John , of Baverstock inWiltshire . Henry, son and heir , married Jane , daughter of Daunsey , of
Laving ton inWiltshire , esq . , issue William . WilliamWilloughby, ofKnollAdrian, (living in married Eleanor, daughter of Hugh Bampfield, of
6 20 DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES .
Cadbury in Somerset, esq . , and b ath issue Christopher , Bampfield, Henry,and Jane married to Henry Butler, of Harly in Dorsetshire .
WILLOUGHBY ,LORD BROOK .
-S ir John Willoughby , knight,
married Elizabeth, daughter and cohe ir of S ir Edmund Cheney , kn ight, lord
of Brook , Upottery , and Roridge , and of Al ice his wife , aun t and he ir of
Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Devon , the relict ofWalter Talb oys , of whomis Strangway s of Dorset, (the other daughter and coheir of Sir Edmund was
married to Sir John Colshull , sans issue .) Sir Edmund was the son and
he ir of Sir Will iam Cheney, knight, son and he ir of Sir Ralph and Joan his
wife , daughter and cohe ir of Sir John Pavely, lord of Brook , son and heir
ofWilliam Cheney and Joan hi s wife , daughter ofW’illiam and Sister and heirof Thomas Lamborn , son and he ir of Nicholas Cheney, lord of Upottery andRoridg e 5th Edward II . he died 2nd Edward Thi s Sir John W illoughby had issue Robert , Will iam , Richard .
Sir Robert Willoughby (created Lord Brook by King Henry VII unto
whom he was steward of his house , ) married Blanch, daughter and heir of
John Champernon of Beer-Ferrers , issue Robert , Lord Broom ; who mar
ried, first Elizabeth, daughter and he ir of Richard Beauchamp , lord of Pow
ick, and had issue Edward who died before his father, of whom S ir FulkGrev il is descended ; secondly he married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas
Gray , Marquis Dorset, issue Elizabeth, wife of John Pawlet , M arquis W in
ton ; and Ann , wife of Charles M ountjoy .
WILLOUGHBY of Payhembury .— William (second son of Christopher
of Knoll-Adrian , married and had issue John of Efford in Shob rook ;
who married, first Grace , daughter of Edward Spencer of Crediton , the re
l iot of Hugh Wyde of Shobrook , and had issue Andrew , Anthony and N i
cholas sans issue , Richard, and M argaret married to Rowland secondly he
married Agnes , daughter ofWilliam Fry of Yarty, the relict of Hugh Culm,
of Chamston , esq . , and had issue Ann wife of Peter Stevens of Molland,
and M ary married to Bear of Brushford .
Richard Willoughby , esq . , married Agnes , daughter of Hugh Culm, of
Chamston in M olland, esq . , and had issue John , William, Philip , and a
daughter . John married Margaret, daughter of Philip Stenning s , of So
mersetshire , esq . , and b ath issue John ; who married and had issue Mary
married to S ir George Trevelian , of N ettlecomb in Somerset, and hath issue .
WESTCOTE , (alias LYTTLETON , or LUTTLETON ,) of Frankley
622 DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IE S .
ton -Hall , knight, married Helen , daughter of Humphrey Swinnerton , and
had issue Sir Edward, Richard , Constance , (married to Sir James Foljambe ,knight ;) and
"
Barbara , (first married to Henry Gower, secondly to John
Foliot :) he died 20th October, 1 55 8 . S ir Edward , knight, married Alice ,daughter of Francis Cockain of A shb ourn , and s ister of Sir Thomas of the
same , knight, and had issue Edward, Thomas , James . Constance , (married
to Thomas Hore , of Lancaster , M ary, Jane , Grace , and M argaret .
Rog er , (fourth son of John , ) esq . , married Elizabeth, daughter of Stanley , of West-Bromwich, and hath issue Georg e , Francis , Bridget .
Thomas (third son of Sir Thomas , ) married Ann , daughter and heir of
John Botreaux , of Salford in Warwickshire , esq . , and had issue Thomas ,John a priest , Anthony , M argaret, and Katharine . Thomas , of Salford ,
e sq . , married M aud .
WESTCOTE , of Westcote and Raddon in Devon , and Brankley in W or
cestershire .— ARM S . — Arg ent, a chevron between three escalops sable , a
crescent .
GuidoWestcote (second son of S ir Thomas , of Frankley , esq . , and Eli
zabeth his wife , ) married Alice , daughter of Richard Grenv ile , of G louces
ter, e sq . , son ofWilliam , son of Bartholomew , second son of Richard Gren
vile , of Stow in Cornwall, and had issue Thomas ; who married Mary,
daughter and he ir of Thomas Westcote , of Porlock in Somerset, and had
Issue Philip , Thomas , and Stephen . Philip , of Porlock, married M argaret,daughter ofWill iam Spur , of South-Petherton in Somerset, sans issue .
Thomas Westcote , (second son .) following the Court in the time of King
Henry VIII . , came into Devon with S ir Thomas Denn is , of Holcomb -Burnel , knight, chancellor to Queen Ann of Cleves , and was much desired in
marriag e by Ann , daughter ofWilson , the relict of John Raddon of Sho
brook , whom he married , sans issue ; secondly he married Al ice , daughterand he ir of John Walter of Comb , and of Al ice his wife , daughter and heirof John Collacot, of Collacot in Winkleigh, esq . , and had issue Philip , anddied M arch 28th, 1 549 . Philip , of Raddon , married Katharine , daughterof Georg e Waltham , of Brenton in Exminster and had is sue Robert sansissue , Georg e (a captain in the Portug al voyage , 1 5 80 , was slain ,) sans is
sue , Thomas , John who died young , Philip , A lice , (first married to Rog erPrye , of Horewell in Colebrook , esq . , sans issue ; secondly to Ar thur Hart,third son of John Hart, of Yearnacomb in Modbury, esq .
, muster-man of
DEVON SH I FE FAM I L IES . 623
Devon Pascaw, (married to Thomas M ajor Julyan , (to Humphrey Reymolds of Cheriton-Fitzpain Joan died young , Janor, (married to Will iamPacker of Shob rook Susan , (toWilliam M atthew Ann , (to Henry Clotworthy of Taunton . ) He died 4th February , 1 600 .
Thomas Westcote (third brother and he ir of Raddon , ) married M ary ,
eldest daughter and coheir of Richard Roberts of Comb -M artin , and had
issue Phil ip , who married Elizabeth , daughter of Georg e Tanner , alias M or
timer , of Creely in Farringdon , and hath issue Thomas .
John Westcote (a second son of the house of M arwood,) was wardenof the hospital of St. John Bap tist, Exeter , l oth Edward II .
WALLER, of Hampshire , and Sidbury in Devon .
ARMS — Sable,three walnut-leaves in bend be tween two coti z es and a b or
dure engrailed argent, charged with ogresses .
Thomas Waller , of Hampshire , married and had Issue Will iam of Sidhu
ry who marr ied Florence , daughter and heir of N ethway , esq . and had
issue Christopher, Nicholas , and John . Christopher married M arg aret,
daughter and cohe ir ofWilliam Humber , of Shilton-Cantelupe in Somerset,
g ent . , and of M aud W enneford his wife , and had issue Nicholas and Johnboth died young , William , M argaret, (married to William Pope and
Elizabeth. William married Joan , daughter of Thomas Tilly, of Cannington ih Somerset, esq . , and had issue Henry , Thomas , Jane , (married to
Will iam Andrew of Sidbury ;) Ursula , (to Henry Roberts of Exeter and
Marg aret . Henry married Ann, daughter to Robert Phillips , and had is sue
Robert, Anthony , M atthew , Emanuel , Joan , and Jane . Robert marriedand had issue a daughter married to Thomas M oore .
SAMUEL of Cornwall .— ARM s .— Two squirrels saliant addorsee g ules ,
a bordure sable .
Anthony Samuel married An n , daughter of John Becket, of Cornwall ,esq . , the relict of John Harris , of Lanrest in Cornwall , and had issue W ill iam ; who married a daughter of Thomas Tremayne of Collacomb , and had
issue John , M ary , (married to Kendal Grace , (to Scoar .) Johnmarried , first Honor, daughter of Richard Halse of Kenedon, sans is sue ;secondly he married M ary . daughter of John Chichester of Hall , and hathissue William and three others .
M ELHUISH , ofWitheridg e , married and had issue Thomas and Lewis .
Thomas married , first Polynor, daughter of Robert Courtenay, of Molland,
624 DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
esq . , and had issue Robert, a daughter married to George Radford , of ChenSon in Chawley , another to Edmund Snell of Chawley, and another to Tickell of Exeter ; secondly he married a daughter of Paul et of M elplush in
Dorsetshire , the relict of Lewis Stukeley , of Affeton , esq . , s ine prole . Ro
b ert married Ann , daughter of Paulet of Dorsetshire , and b ath issue Thomas , Hugh, Sibel , (married to Arthur Hatch, son and heir of Lewis of
Head-Mill Polynor, (to John Down of Delbridg e Frances, and Ann .
STAPLEHILL, of Bremble in the parish of A shton .— ARM S .
— Argent,a chevron sable .
Walter Staplehill married Elizabeth, daughter of John Southcot, of Indioin Bovey-Tracey , esq . , and had issue. Hugh ; who married Sabina , daughterof Roger M olford, of Cadbury i n Chulmleigh, esq . , and had issue Thomas ,John , Elizabeth, (married to John Prouz of Tiverton Amy , (to ThomasClifford of Ugbrook, in the parish of Chudleigh, esq . , D. D.) Thomas diedunmarried . John, son and heir, married Isot, daughter of Mark Cottel , ofNorth-Tawton , esq. , but died sans issue , leaving his two sisters cohe irs .
MORE, of M oor-Hays .— ARM S .— Ermine , a chevron azure , three cinque
foils or, pierced .
M aurice More , esq . , married Cecily, daughter and coheir of John Bon
vile , natural son of Will iam, Lord Bonvile , and of Alice his wife , daughterand heir of John Dennis of Gloucester, and of Joan his wife , daughter and
coheir of John St . Aubyn of Comb -Ralegh, and of Katharine his wife ,daughter of S ir Robert and aunt and he ir of John Challons , of Channons
Legh, esq.
LARDER , of Pynes , esq .— ARM S .— Argent, on three piles in chief sable ,
as many b ezants .
Edmund Larder married Isabel , daughter of John Bonv ile of Comb -Ra
legh, natural son of William, Lord Bonvile of Chuton , issue Jane , married
to Philip Luppincot of W ibb ery . W illiam Larder married Joan , daughter
of John Trevelian , of N ettlecomb in Somersetshire , esq . , and had issue Tris
tram, and Ursula married to William Hull , of Larkb ear, esq . Tristrammarried Mary , (she was secondly married to George Prideaux , of N utwel ,
sergeant-at- law, ) daughter of Lewis Stukeley, of Affeton , esq . , and had is
sue Humphrey , Lewis , and M argaret . Humphrey Larder married M argaret, daughter of Greenfield of Cornwall , the relict of Godolphin , of Com
wall, esq . , brother and heir of S ir William Godolphin ,knight , and had issue
DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES .
Norfolk , the relict of Digory Thorn of Sheepwash, and had issue Rog er ;secondly he married a daughter of Sir John Chichester, of Ralegh, knight,and had issue John, S ir Faithful kill ed in Ireland , M ary , and GraceRoger Fortescue married a daughter ofN orleigh of Inwardleigh, the relict
of Leigh, (she was thirdly married to Hext, ) and had issue John who mar
ried a daughter of Richard Prideaux , of Thub orough , esq . , and hath issue .
Fortescue married a daughter of S ir Nicholas Prideaux .
FORTESCUE , of Fallopit in East-Allwington .— ARM S . — Azure , a bend
engrailed cotized or, with the mullet .
William Fortescue , of W impston , (eldest son and heir of William,) mar
ried Isabel , daughter of Beauchamp , and had issue Will iam and John , knight .
Sir John Fortescue, knight, (captain of M eaux in France , in the timeof Henry married and had issue Henry , lord chief justice of Irelandwho married and had issue Henry , Richard, and S ir John , chief justice of
Eng land .
Henry Fortescue , son and he ir, ofWood, had by his second wife Richardof Fallopit who married M arg aret, daughter of Robert H ill , of Shilston ,
e sq . , and had issue John ; who married Margaret, daughter and coheir of
Will iam Hingeston of W onwel , and had issue Elizabeth, marr ied to Lewis
Fortescue , third son of John of Spridleston , and hath"
issue John, Elizabeth,
(married to Edward Ameridith Joan , (to John Reynel of M alston ;) M ary ,
(to Henry Luscomb Ann , (to John Plumlegh of Dartmouth .)John Fortescue , of Fallopit, married Honor, daughter of Speccot, and
hath issue Edmund , George , Edward , and Jane . [ Edmund, b y a sister of
S ir Richard Champernon of M odbury, had issue John ; who by Sarah,
daughter of S ir Edmund Prideaux , of Netherton, bart. , had issue S ir Ed
mund Fortescue , knight, sheriff of Devon in the time of King Charles I . ,
for whose cause he went into Holland, where he died : a most worthy g en
tleman . He left issue S ir Edmund, bart . ; who, b y a daughter of my Lord
Sands of the Vine , left issue Sir Sandys , who died sans issue male . Fallopit is now in the possession of Edmund Fortescue , e sq . , youngest son of
Peter, younger brother of the first Sir Edmund who di ed in Holland, andhath issue .]NORRIS , of Winkleigh in Devon , and Splate and St . Decumans in
Somersetshire — ARM S .— Sable , a cross-florette between twelve billets , a
b ordure arg ent .
DEVON SH I RE FAM I L IE S . 62 7
John Norris , of G ib house in Winkle igh, e sq . , married and had issue John ,
William . John Norris , of Splate in Somersetshire , marr ied a daughter and
he ir of Gallantine , and had issue Hugh ; who married a daughter of Clark ,of Wells in Somerset, and had issue Thomas sans issue , and John of St .
Decumans in Somerset .
William Norris , of M ilverton in Somerset , (second son of John ofWink
leigh,) married and had issue John , Richard , and Silvester . John married
M ary , daughter of Anthony Appletree , of Dedding ton in O xfordshire , esq . ,
and had issue Anthony , John , and Silvester . Anthony married M argaret,
daughter of Thomas Fursdon , of Raddon in Thorverton .
W ICHALSE of Chudl e igh .-ARM s .
— Per pale , argent, and sable , six
crescents tran smuted .
N icholas W ichalse , married M arg ery , and had issue John , Will iam , N i
cholas , M arg ery, (married to Peter Lutton of M owlish Joan , (to Bartb o
lomew Burring ton of Ideford .) John , son and he ir, married Joan , daugh
ter and cohe ir of Dotwel, and had issue Robert, John , Georg e , Nicholas ,Bennet , Thomas , Pierce , John , Joan , (married to Thomas Stert of Stert
Christian , and Helen , unmarried . Robert married E leanor, daughter of
John M arwood of W estcot, and had issue a daughter married to Charles
Trevanion , of Caryhays in Cornwall, esq .
William W ichalse (second son of N icholas ,) married Helen , daughter of
Humphrey Walrond , of Bradfield , esq . , the rel ict of Anthony Fortescue , ofFallopit, e sq . , and had issue , Richard , M argery ,
Jane , (who married For
te scue of Preston and Joan .
Nicholas W ichalse , of Barnstaple , (third son of Nicholas , ) married M ary ,
daughter and he ir of Richard Welsh of Pilton , and had issue Joan .
M arg ery (before named)married Thomas Huit of Bishopste ignton . Jane
married to Richard Kelland of Totnes . Joan married to Nicholas Pointingdon of Shob rook . Richard, the ir brother , died sans issue .
GIFFARD of Brightlegh .—ARM S .
— Sable , three fusils in fess ermine .
S ir Rog er Giffard of Brightlegh, knight, (third son of Thomas G ifi'
ard
of Halsbury , but eldest b y his second wife , Ann , daughter of John Coryton ,
of Newton in the parish of Quethiock in Cornwall , married M arga
ret , daughter and he ir of John Cob legh of Brightlegh, and of Isabel his
wife ,and had issue John , Roger , Hugh, Thomas , Andrew ,
Fulk , Walter,
Ann , (married to William Fortescue of Buck land -Filleigh,Joan, (to
628 DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IE S .
Amias Chichester, of Arling ton, Alice , (to Robert Fry, of M allydor
in Cornwal l ;) M ary, (to John Weeks , of North-Week , Elizabeth,
(to Rog er Prye , of Horwel] in Colebrook , Wilmot, (to Lew is Fortesene , of Huddon in Filleigh and Philip .
John G ifi'
ard , son and he ir of Sir Roger, married Mary, daughter of Sir
Richard G renv ile , of Buckland-M onachorum, knight, and had issue John ,
A chilles , Hanibal , Arthur , Roger sans issue , W alter .
John G ifi'
ard, son and heir, married Honor, daughter of Erle of Char
borough, in Dorsetshire , and had issue Arthur, John sans issue , Thomas ,Will iam , John , Alice , (married to Thomas Addington of Portledg e Honor,(to John Garland, ofWhitfield in M arwood ;) Elizabeth, (to George Brough
ton , of W arpesleigh in Stoodleigh ;) Joan , (to John Giffard, son of her
uncle , Achilles M argaret , (to Angel Madock .)Arthur Giffard (eldest son by Honor Erle , ) married Ann , daughter of
Thomas Legh , of Northam, esq ., and had issue John , Arthur, George , Lew
is , Thomas , M ary , (married to Hugh W yot of Braunton Honor , Frances ,Elizabeth, (married to Arthur Harr is , esq . , recorder of Great -Torrington,
and young er brother of John Harris , of Hayne , esq . , sans issue and Ann
sans issue . He died before his father .
John G ifi'
ard, esq . , married Joan , eldest daughter of Sir John Wyndham,
of Orchard-Wyndham in S t . Decumans , Somerset, knight and baronet, and
had issue John , Roger, a daughter married to Bear , of Hunsham, esq . , his
second wife ; another married to Leonard Yeo, of Huish, esq . ; Bridget
married to Edward Butler of Exeter, merchant, sans issue ; another mar
ried to Praed , of Cornwall, esq . ; and three other daughters .
John G ifl'
ard, esq . , married a sister of Sir Copleston Bampfield, of Poltimore , bart . , and hath issue John , of Brightlegh, that now is ; who married
a daughter of Clotworthy of Rashleigh .
GIFFARD ofWeare .— ARM s .
—Sable , three fus ils ermine , a mullet in a
crescent .
Hugh Giffard (third son of S ir Roger Giffard of Brightlegh, knight,)married Jane , daughter of Edward Bampfield of Poltimore , and had issue
Achilles , M ary , M artha, Wilmot .
GIFFARD of Tiverton .— Rog er Gifi
'
ard, esq . , (fourth son of Sir Roger
G ifl'
ard, of Brightlegh,knight,) married, first Audria , daughter of S ir Lewis
Stukeley, of Afi'
eton , knight, the relict of Yeo of Braunton , sans issue ; se
6 30 DEVON SH IRE FAM ILI E S .
he ir of Upcot, and had issue Thomas , William , and Humphrey ; secondlyhe married Ibot, daughter of Edmund Speccot of Thornbury , and had is
sue Amy , married to Coflin of Portledge . W illiam (second son .) marriedM ary, daughter of Edward Ameridith, of Slapton, esq .
Humphrey Loveis , of Sheepwash, (third son of Leonard, ) married Julyan ,
daughter of John Dinham, ofWortham , esq . , and hath issue .
GRENVILLE, of Stow in Cornwall , and of Bideford and Buckland-M o
nachorum in Devon .— ARM S . — Gul es , three rests or.
John Grenville married Elizabeth, daughter and cohe ir of William W or
tham, ofWortham , esq .
S ir Thomas Grenville , of Stow , knight, married Elizabeth, daughter ofOates Gilbert, and had issue Roger , Jane, (married first to Sir John Arundell , of Trerice in Cornwall, knight, and had issue John ; secondly she was
married to Sir John Chamond , of Launcells in Cornwall , and had issue Richard M ary, (married first to Richard Bluet, of Holcomb ~Rogus , esq . , and
had issue Sir Rog er ; secondly she was married to Roscarrock, of Roscar
rock in Cornwall , e sq . , and had issue ;) Phil ippa, (married to Francis Har
ris of Radford, esq . , and had issue William (married to S ir John
Arundell , of Lanhern in Cornwall , knight, and had issue two daughters , one
died sans issue , and M ary was married to Robert Radcliffe , Earl of Sussex ,and had issue secondly she was married to Henry Fitz Allan , Earl ofArundell , (added in the marg in , this will not b e proved, ) b y whom she had issue
a son that died in Flanders in Queen Mary’
s time , and a daughter married
to the Duke of Norfolk, secondly to the Lord Lumley ;) (married to
Basset, of Umberle igh, esq . , and had issue ; she was married secondly to
S ir Arthur Plantag enet, Viscount Lisle , natural son to Edward IV . , sans
issue .) After the death of Elizabeth, Sir Thomas Grenville married the rel ict
of one Susan and had issue a son , parson of Kilkhampton in Cornwall, anda daughter married to Battin .
Roger Grenville , son and heir , married a daughter and coheir of Richard
W hitlegh, of Efford and Compton-Gifford , (the other, Joan , was married
to Richard Halse , of Kenedon ,) and had issue Sir Richard, Digory, John ,
Philippa, (married to Thomas Tremaine , of Collacomb , (marriedto Fitz , of Fitzford, Jane , (to Edmund Speccot, of Thornbury ,
(married to Drake of Ash (married to Beauchamp
(married to Erysie , of Erysie in Cornwall , esq .)
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES . 6 3 1
S ir Richard Grenville , of Stow, knight, son and he ir, married a daughter
and cohe ir of Bevil , of Guarnack in Cornwall , (the other coheir was married
to Arundell of Trerice .) and had issue Roger, a daughter married to S ir
Richard Lee , another daughter married, and M ary married to John G ifi'
ard ,
of Brightlegh, esq . Rog er married Thomasin , (she was secondl y married
to Thomas Arundell of Cliston in Cornwall , and thirdly to Robert Dowrish
of Heath-Barton , ) daughter of Thomas Cole , of Slade , esq . , and had issue
S ir Richard ; who married Mary,
* daughter of S ir John St . Leger, of AI) !
nery, knight, and had issue S ir Bernard, John , (slain in the Indies with Sir
Francis Drake , sans issue Ursula unmarried, Katharine , (married to
Justinian , Abbot of Hartland ;) and Bridg et unmarried . He was slain in a
sea-fight near the island of Flores , and died most valiantly in the Reveng e ,1 59 1 . S ir Bernard, knight , son and he ir, married a daughter and he ir of
Bevil , of Cornwall , esq . , and had issue S ir Bevil , Richard, Rog er, and G er
trude married first to Christopher Harris , son and heir of John Harris , o'
f
Lanrest in Cornwall , esq . ; secondly to Anthony Dennis of Orlegh .
S ir Bevil Grenvill e , knight, son and he ir, married Grace , daughter of S ir
Georg e Smith, of Exeter , knight, and he ir of Grace his second wife , daugh
ter and cohe ir ofWill iamViel , ofCornwall , esq . , the relict of Philip Bevil , of
Cornwall , esq . , [and had issue S ir John ,Bernard, Christian , (married to
Sir Peter Prideaux , of Netherton ,Bridget, (married to S ir Simon
Leach, of Cadeley, knight of the Bath ; secondly to S ir Thomas H iggins ,of London , knight .) S ir John Grenvill e , of Stow , bart . , was created Earlof Bath, for his great loyalty, by King Charles II . , in April 1 66 1 he
married Jane , daughter of Sir Peter Wych, and b ath issue Lord Lansdown ,
Sir Bevil , and another a
GRENVILLE , of Penheal e in Cornwall . —ARM s .- Gules , three rests or ,
with a crescent .
Digory Grenvill e , esq . , (second son of Roger, of Stow, married one
of the cohe irs of Tregarthen in Cornwall , and had issue Richard, and Bar
bara married to John Luppincot ofW ibb ery . Richard Grenville , esq . , mar
ried a daughter and cohe ir of Keilwav in Cornwall , and had issue Georg e
H erWill, made at Bideford, is dated l l th N ov . ,1 61 8, and was proved 24th Nov .
,
1 623. She had been buried in Bide ford Church 5 th N ov . ,1 623.
f S ir B evil Grenvi lle was slain at the battle of Lansdown, 5 th July, 1 643 , se t. 48 .
G. O . ,— P . J .
DEVON SH IRE FAM IL IES .
who married Julyan, daughter and cohe ir ofWill iam Viel , esq . , and had is
sue Sir George , and Mary married to Tristram Skinner of Cowley .
BROUGHTON , ofW arb rightleigh in the parish of Stoodleigh .— ARMS.
A chevron b etween three mullets gules .
William married Joan , daughter of Richard and s ister and he ir of W ar
ren Sachvill e , of W arbrightleigh, esq . , the relict of Thomas Rocke which
Richard Sachville was son and he ir of John , son and heir of Adam and of
M atthia hi s wife , daughter and heir of Richard de Al abastre , esq. , who was
son and he ir of Thomas , son and he ir of Sir Hamond, son and heir of N i
cholas , son and he ir of Sir Roger de Alab astre , of W arbrightleigh, knight,to which name W arbrightleigh belonged in the days of King Edwardand had issue Thomas .
Thomas Broughton married and had issue John who married and had
issue James who married and had issue Humphrey , and Simon sans issue .
Humphrey married and had issue Hugh, George , James , Joan , Jane , Agnes , Mary, Elizabeth, Margaret, Grace , and Barbara . Hugh, son and heir,
married a daughter and coheir of Eastacot, and had issue George sans issue ,Georg e , W illiam , Humphrey ,
Barbara , Katharine , and Mary . Georg e , sonand he ir, married Elizabeth, daughter of John G ifl
'
ard, of Brightlegh, esq
and b ath issue George , Arthur, Hugh, Honor, Elizab eth, and Joan .
ROSKYMER, of Haylford in Cornwall .— AEM S .— Azure , three bars ar
gent, in chief a wolf passant of the first .
John Roskymer married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Zelote Paulyn ,
and had issue Richard ; who had issue Richard ; who had issue John ; who
had issue Richard ; who had issue Richard ; who married Al ice , daughterof Sir Richard Prideaux , of Orchardton , knight, and had issue W illiam ;
who married M elior, daughter of Alan Rosmarnie , and had issue Richardwho married Clarence , daughter of John Lauline , and had issue Richard ;who had issue Roger ; who married Joan , daughter of Roger Whalesb orough, and had issue Sir John Roskymer, knight ; who married Philippa ,
daughter and he ir of John de Wyck , and had issue Ralph ; who married
Idonea, daughter of Sir John Trevarthien , knight, and of Joan his wife ,daughter and he ir of Sir Oates Bodrugans , knight, and heir to her brother
Oates ; which Sir John was son and heir of John Trevarthien and Maudhis wife , daughter and he ir of Sir O liver Carmino , knight, son and he ir of
John Trevarthien and of M abel his wife , daughter and heir of Richard He
634 DEVON SH I RE FAM IL IES .
Rouse of Gervi1 Dorothy , (to Edward Watson of Rockingham Al ice ,Elizab eth, (marn ed first to Richard Cave , esq . ; secondly to William M arki
ham Mary , (to Watts of Bracklegh ;) Margery, (to Robert Lynwood ; )Isabel , (to Bryan Lassels Ann , (to John Lane ofWalgrave and Helen ,
(to George Tyrrell , of Thornton in Buckinghamshire .)Sir Edward M ontague , of Boughton , son and heir of Sir Edward , married
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James Harring ton , knight, and had issue S ir
Edward, Walter , Henry, (lord chief justice , president of‘ the council , andViscount M andeville and James , (bishop of Bath and Well s .)S ir Henry Montague , (third son ,) Viscount Mandeville , married Katha
rine , second daughter of S ir William Spencer , of Yearnton in Oxfordshire ,
knight, and had issue Edward, Walter, James , Charles who died young ,
Henry , Elizabeth, Lucy, Theodosia, and Susan ; secondly he married Ann ,
daughter of William W incol , of Lanham in Suffolk , the rel ict of S ir W illiam Hol iday , knight, LordM ayor of London , sans issue ; thirdly he marriedM argaret, daughter of John Crouch, of Cornbury in Hertford, the relict of
John Hare , of Totteridge in Hertfordshire , and had issue George and M ary .
WADHAM , of Edg e in Branscomb , Devon ; and M erryfield in Somerset,
esq .—AE MS .— Gules , a chevron between three roses argent .
Will iam Wadham was lord of Egge, now call ed Edge , in Branscomb , inthe time of Edward III . , and was a judge , [his name was JOhn ,] he had is
sue John ; who married Joan , daughter ofW riothesley, and had issueW il
liam , and a daughter , wife of Edmund Bozome of Bozome -Zeal . Sir W il
l iam , kn ight, married M argaret, daughter and coheir of John Chuseldon of
Holcomb -Rogus , issue John ,William, J ames , Elizabeth, (wife of Robert
Stanwell of Codleston Mary, (wife of Gilbert Yard of Bradley ;) Ann ,
(wife ofWilliam M ontacute , of Henleigh near Crookhern .) From Will iam '
descended W adham of Catherston .
S ir John Wadham married E lizabeth, daughter of Hugh Stukeley of Af
feton , sister of Nicholas , and had issue Nicholas , and Will iam of whom isA shford ; secondlyhemarried a daughter of Cheyney of Pinhoe . Sir Nicholas , knight, married Joan , daughter of Robert H ill of Halsway, issue Laurence , John , Giles , Andrew , M ary, (wife of Sir Richard Chudlegh E lizabeth (wife of Richard Bampfield of Poltimore secondly he married M ar
garet, s ister to S ir John Seymour, of Somerset, knight, issue Laurence ,who married and died sans issue .
DEVON SH IRE FAM I L IES . 635
Richard Wadham , of M erryfield, married and had issue Elizabeth, mar
ried to Nicholas Wadham , of Edg e , esq . , married a daughter of
Bridg es , Lord Chandos , and had issue John ; who married Ann , daughter
and coheir of John Keilway of Cullompton , the relict ofWill iam Harewoodof Kingsland, and had issue Nicholas , Joan, (married to Giles Strangways ,of Dorsetshire , esq . ; secondly to Sir John Young of Bristol , kn ight Flo
rence , (first married to Sir JohnWyndham, of Orchard-Wyndham in Somer
setshire , knight ; secondly to Charles Farringdon , of Farringdon , and
Ann, (married to Nicholas M artin , of Aldmeston in Dorset, esq .
Nicholas Wadham , esq . , married Dorothy , daughter of S ir William Pe
tre , knight, principal secretary of state to Queen M ary and of her privycouncil, and died sans issue , [save that they left behind an issue better than
of sons and daughters , viz , Wadham Colleg e in Oxford, the ir most noble
offspring ; which will convey the ir name and memory fragrant to all future
g enerations ]
P I I S .
638 SUB SCRIBERS .
Bartlett, G . T . J . M oy sey, Esq . , Pall -M all East, London
Basleigh, Captain , HonitonBayley, W . R . , Esq . , Cotford, SidburyBellew, M iss C . , Exeter
Bennet, Mr . J Plymouth
Bent, M rs . Frances , Exeter, 2 copies
Bent, Major John , Wexham Lodge , Bucks
Benthall , F Esq . , F . S . A Buckfast AbbeyBesly, Rev . Dr . , Long Benton , Northumberland
Besly, W E sq. , ExeterBidgood, H . F . , E sq . , Rockb ear -CourtBird, C . , E sq . , Black-TorringtonBishop , W . R . , Esq . , ExeterBlunt, R . T. , E sq . , HeavitreeBoger, Deeble , E sq . , PlymptonBond , Rev . J Stoke-CanonBorlase , Rev . W . , Lanteglos , CornwallBowden , H Esq . , Bradninch
Bowring , J . Esq . , M . P . , London
Bowr ing, M r . John , ExeterBoyce , Rev . John , St. John
’s Wood, London
Boyce , M r . F . , Tiverton
Brandreth, Captain R . E . , Admiralty, London
Braddon , John Clode , Esq . , Camelford
Braddon, W . , E sq . , Lifton Park
Braginton , G Esq . , Torrington
Braund, G . , Esq . , ExeterBraund, Mr . H ExeterBray , Rev . E . A . , Tavistock
Bremridge , Richard, E sq . , Barnstaple
Brendon , Mr . , Tavistock
Brickdal e , J . Fortescue , E sq . , Birchamp -House , GloucestershireBrown , Rev . C Whitestone
Brown , H . Langford , Esq . , Barton -Lodge, Kingskerswell
Brown , S . Cowper, Esq . , F . S . A Shillingford Cross
Brown, A . P. , Esq . , Dulverton
SUBSCRIBERS . 639
Brutton , C E sq. , ExeterBuck, L . W . , Esq . , M . P . , M oreton , Bideford
Buckingham, W Esq. , ExeterBull , The Rev . Canon , Exeter
Buller, J . Wentworth, Esq. , Downes , Crediton
Buller, M rs . Richard, Exeter
Burdon , C . E sq . , Burdon , H ighamptonButchers, M r. , Exeter
Chuton, The Rt . Hon . Lord, HeantonCourtenay, The Rt . Hon . Lord, M . P Powderham CastleChurchill , The Lady H . D. , M orchard-Bishop
Clifford , The Hon . Mr. , Ugb rook , Chudleigh
Chichester, S ir A Bart. , Youlston
Coleridge , The Rt. Rev . Bishop , Salston , Ottery St . M ary
Coleridge , TheHon .M r .Justice , Heath’s -Court,Ottery St. M aryCann , M r . G . , South-Tawton
Canton , G. A Esq . , St . M artin’s -Lane , LondonCarew , J Esq . , Knightleys , Exeter
Carew, J . H . Pole , Esq. , M . P . , Antony
Cartwright, H . , E sq . , Forde-House , Newton AbbotCarwithen, Rev . W . , D. D. , Stoke-Climsland, CornwallCarwithen, Rev . J . C Manaton
Cary, Robert Shedden Sul yard, E sq . , Torr AbbeyCary, George Stanley , E sq . , Follaton-House , TotnesChampemowne, H . , Esq . , Darting ton-HouseChard, W E sq. , Boxhill , Pennycross , Plymouth
Chichester, Rev . J . Hamilton , Arl ington
Chichester, Robert, Esq . , HallChurchill , M iss F ExeterChurchill , Henry, E sq . , Morchard-Bishop
Clark , W . J E sq . , Buckland Toutsaints
Clarke , J . Were , E sq . , Bridwell-House , CullomptonClatworthy , M r . , ExeterCoham, Holland, Esq . , Coham and Dunsland
Coldridge , Rev . T. , Exeter
640 SUBSCR IBERS .
Cole , R Esq . , Upper Norton-Street London
Cole , J . J E sq . , North-Brixton , LondonCole, W . C E sq . , ExeterColeridge , F . G Esq . , Ottery St . M ary
Coleridge , Rev . Edwin E . , Buckerell
Collings , M r . , Bath , 2 copies
Collyn s , W . Esq. , KentonCoplestone , E . A Esq. , Ufl
'
culme
Corni sh, Rev . Sidney W . , D. D. , Ottery St. Mary
Cosens , W Esq . , Langdon , Dawlish
Cotton , Mr . J . K Barnstaple
Courtenay, Rev . Francis , ExeterCourtier, John , Esq. , Moreton-HampsteadCrabbe, W . R E sq. , HeavitreeCreswell, J . B Esq. , N ewcourt, Topsham
Croker, Thomas Crofton, E sq . , Admiralty, London
Croker, T . G Esq. , M . D. , Cross-Cottage, BoveyCroote, W . , Jlmr. , Esq . , LapfordCruse , Mr. , London
Cruwys , Rev . G . S Cruwys -Morchard
Cumming, G . W Esq . , Exeter
Devon, The Rt . Hon . the Earl of, Powderham CastleDavie , Sir Humphrey P . , Bart . , Creedy
Drake , Sir Trayton Fuller Ell iot, Bart . , Nutwell-CourtDavidson, James , E sq. , S ecktor-House , AxminsterDavy, Robert, Esq . , Countess-We ir, Exeter
Davy , S . , Esq . , Countess-We ir, ExeterDaw, Mr . , London
Dawson, W . , Esq . , ExeterDeath, Mr . T. E Bishopsgate, London
Delegarde , P. C . , E sq . , ExeterDene , Rev . John , HorwoodDennis , Rev . Prebendary, B . C . L Polsloe-Park, HeavitreeDennis , Rev . Samuel, LauncestonDerry , David, Esq . , Plymouth
642 SUB SCR IBERS .
Froude , Rev . Archdeacon , Dartington
Froude , Miss M . , Denbury-HouseFry , E . H . , Esq. , Isl ing ton , London
Fulford, Colonel , FulfordFulford, Bal dwin , Juh r . , Esq . , FulfordFulford, Rev . F Croydon Rectory, CambridgeshireFursdon , Mrs . , Fursdon-House, CadburyFursdon , G . , E sq . , Brampford-Speke
Germans , St . , The Rt . Hon . the Earl of, Port Elliot, Cornwall
Gale , John , Esq . , Cheriton-House , Balham, SurreyGarratt, John , Esq . , Bishop
’
s -Court
Geare , John, E sq . , Exeter
Germon , Mr. J M eacomb e , M oreton
Gibson , W . S . , Esq . , Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Gidley, John , Esq . , Exeter
G ifi'
ard, Edward, Esq . , Admiralty , London
Giles , G E sq . , Jump , near Plymouth
Gillett, Georg e , E sq . , Colyton
Gordon , C E sq . , Wiscombe-Park
Gould , Daniel , Esq . , HonitonGould, Rev . C . Baring , LewtrenchardGould, M r . John , Poltimore
Greg or , Gordon W . F E sq . , Trewarthenick, Cornwall
Grigg , M ark , Esq . , Plymouth
Haley, P . J Esq . , Witheridge
Hamilton , Al exander Hamilton , E sq . , Retreat, Topsham
Haml in , M r . T . P . , Launceston
Hannaford, M r . , Exeter
Harding , Colonel , TivertonHarding , Robert, E sq. , Lynton
Harris , W . , E sq . , Pluml ey , BoveyHarris , J Esq . , Hawkmoor, BoveyHeberden , Rev . W Broadhembury
Herring, M iss , Worden , Shebbear
SUBSCRIBERS . 643
Hewett, J . W Esq . , ExeterHippisley, J . H Esq . , Shobrooke-Park
Hoare , C Esq. , Luscombe , DawlishHolden ,
M r . , Exeter, 3 copiesHole , W Esq . , Clare-House , TivertonHole , W Esq . , Parke , Chudl eigh
Hole , Rev . Prebendary, Chulmle igh
Hole , Rev . H Ebb erly-House , Torring tonHolman , Captain , Crediton
Holtoway, M r . W London
Honywood, Colonel , Whimple
Hooper, Mr . J . Junr . , W ithecomb e , Chagford
Howard. Mr . , Alphing ton
Howe , M r. , ExeterHowell, Rev . H inds , ShobrookeHunt, R . Newman , E sq . , Upper Harleyn Street, London
Ilchester, The Rt. Hon . the Earl of, M elbury -House , Dorset
Ilbert, W . Roope, E sq . , Horswell-House , King sbridg eImpey, Admiral , Coly-Villa, ColyfordInstan , Charles , Esq . , Birmingham
James , J . H Esq . , Exeter
Jones , Pitman , E sq . , ExeterJones , M ajor E Plympton
Jones , Rev . J . P . , Rector of Butterleigh
Kerr, The Rev . Lord Henry, DittishamKennaway, S ir John , Bart. , Escot
Karslake , Rev . W . , Dolton
Kekewich,S . Trehawke , E sq . , Peamore
Kelly, CaptainM arwood B . , R .N . , United Service -Club , LondonKendall , W . Esq . , Budleigh
Kerr, Captain Beauchamp , Rocklands , Chudleigh
Kerslake , M r . , Bristol
Kersteman,H . G . , Esq. , Exeter
644 SUBSCRIBERS .
Kingdon , M rs . J . H ExeterKingdon , G . Boughton , Esq . , Castle-Hartley, Plymouth
Kingdon , Major Dennis , Petherwyn-Barton , near Launceston
Llandafi'
, The RightRev . the Lord Bishop of, Deanery, St . Paul’s
Lopes, Sir Ralph, Bart . , M . P Maristow
Lacey, M r . G . , Okehampton
Langdon , W . , Esq . , Crediton
Law, Rev . John , Litchdon , Barnstaple
Lawrence , N orthmore P Esq . , Launceston
Lee , M ajor George , Budleigh- SaltertonLee , W Esq . , ExeterLethbridge , J . King , Esq . , Treg eare , Launceston
Ley , J . H Esq . , Trehill , Kenn
Ley , Rev . H . , Kenn
Ley , W Esq . , Woodlands , Kenn
Ley, J . S Esq . , Durrant, Bideford
Longman and Co M essrs , London
Lott, H . B . , Esq . , Tracey-House , AwliscombeLott, H . J E sq . , HonitonLott, Rev . F . G . , Colyton
Luh ey , Rev . Prebendary, KingsbridgeLuscombe , J Esq . , Combe-Royal , Salcombe
M orley, The Rt . Hon . the Earl of, Saltram
M ackintosh, D. , E sq . , Exeter
Mall et, Hugh, E sq . , Ash, Iddesleigh
M allet, John , Esq. , Marland
M allock, Rawlin , Esq . , AxminsterMarker, Rev . H . W . , AylesbeareM arker, R . J Esq . , Ufi
'
culme
M artyn, M r . R Broadclist
M ason , Rev . J . H . , Widdecombe-in-the-Moor
M atheson , James , Esq . , M . P Cleveland-Row,London
Matthews , H Esq. , Bradninch
Mathew , J E sq . , Clisthydon
(346 SUB SCRIBERS .
Parker, M rs . , Whiteway -House , ChudleighPasmore , M r . James , ExeterPearse , J Esq . , Hatherle ighPearse , G Esq . , Bradninch-HousePearse , M r . James , Exeter
Pearse , Mr . W Exeter
Pearse , T . , E sq . , Launceston
Peek , R . , Esq . , Hazelwood-House , King sbridg ePennell , R . L . , E sq . , M . D . , Exeter
Pennell , H . B . , Esq . , DawlishPennyman , Mrs . , Rise -Cottag e , Dawlish
Perry, M r Plymouth, 3 copies
Petheram , M r . J London
Phillips , R . Curtis , E sq . , Weymouth
Pickering ,M r . W London
Pig ott, J . H . S . , Esq . , F . S . A Brocklev -Hall , SomersetPitman , J E sq . , Dunchideock
Pitman , Rev . J Broadhempston
Player, Joseph, E sq . , HonitonPlymouth Publ ic Library, Plymouth
Pode , W . , E sq . , Slade -House , IvybridgePonsford , Rev . W . , Drewsteignton
Ponsford , J E sq . , M oreton -HampsteadPorter, M r . John , Exeter
Praed, W . M ackworth, E sq . , Delamore , Ivybridg e
Pring , Thomas , E sq . , Fordton -House , CreditonPulman ,
J E sq . , (Richmond Herald, ) Herald’sColleg e , London
Putt, W Esq . , Brampford- Speke
Pyke , Rev . John , Parracombe
Quieke , John , E sq . , Newton St . Cyres
Radcliffe , Rev . Walter, W arlegh near Plymouth
Radcliffe , J . W . , E sq . , Eastdon -Cottage , Starcross
Radford , Rev . W . T . A . , Down St . M ary
Rayer, Rev . W . , Tidcombe Rectory , Tiverton
SUB SCRIBERS . 647
Rendle , M r. John , Exeter
Richards , Rev . Dr. , Winterbourne , Teignmouth
Richards, Rev . G . P . , Sampford-CourtenayRisdon , Joseph, Esq . , Hartley, Buckland-Fill eighRisdon , W E sq . , Dolton
Risdon , Joseph, Esq . , Speccot, M erton
Risdon , M r . Charles , Exeter
Risdon , Mr . John , Exeter
Roberts , Rev . E . , BrightonRoberts , N . L E sq . , Bidwell-HouseRoberts, Charles , E sq . , Bicking ton -House , near Barnstaple
Roberts , Edward R . , Esq . , Fort-H ill-House , BarnstapleRodd, Francis , E sq . , Treb artha-Hall , LauncestonRodd, M rs . , Reed-House , HatherleighRoe, Henry R . Esq . , Gnaton -Hall , YealmptonRogers , J Esq . , DawlishRow, W E sq . , Kingston-upon-Thames , 2 copiesRow, W . North, Esq . , Cove , Tiverton
Row, M r. T . B . , Thorverton
Shrewsbury, The Rt . Hon . the Earl of, Alton-TowersSavery, R . , E sq . , BoveyShapcott, Rev . T . L Southampton
Shapter, T. , E sq. , M . D ExeterSharland, A . Cruwys , E sq . , TivertonSharland, M r . Thomas , Exeter
Short, M r. J . S . , HatherleighShrub sole , W Esq . , Kingston-upon-Thames , 2 copiesSkinn er , M r. J Junr . , North-TawtonSmerdon, H Esq . , Chr istowSmirke , E E sq . , Temple , LondonSmith, F . E Esq . , Crediton
Smith, Thomas, Esq . , Exeter
Smith, Abraham, E sq . , Treasb ear, Clist-HonitonSmith, M r . R . , Exeter
South-Devon Library, Totnes
648 SUBSCR IBERS .
Spreat and Wallis, Messrs , Exeter, 2 copies
Stapleton , Thomas , Esq . , Wilton-Place , Knightsbridge , LondonStevens, Rev . Archdeacon Moore , Otterton
Stevenson , John N . , Esq. , Alphington
Strode , G . E sq . , Newnham-Park
Strong, M r . , Bristol , 2 Copies
Sweetland, M iss , Bath
Swete , John Beaumont, E sq . , Oxton-HouseSymons , M r . Thomas , Coryton , near Bridestow
Tufi‘
nell, The Hon . M rs . S Horkstow-Hall , LincolnshireTonkin , Sir Warwick Hele , Teignmouth
Tanner, G E sq . , Credi ton
Tanner, James, Esq . , King snympton-Park
Tardrew, W E sq . , Annery-House, Bideford
Tay lor , Colonel F. , W . , n ell -HouseTempler, Rev . James Acland, Puddletown, Dorset
Terrell , James , E sq . , ExeterTerrell, John Hull , E sq. , Exeter
Tout, M ichael , Esq. , Burrington
Townsend , J . H onywood, E sq. , HonitonTozer, John Chappell , E sq . , Te ignmouth
Treby , H E sq . , G oodamoor , Plympton
Trevenen ,Rev . E . , Drewsteignton
Trewman , R . J E sq . , ExeterTucker, W . , Esq . , Coryton-Park , 2 copies
Tucker, Rev . Marwood, HarpfordTucker, Charles, Esq . , F . S . A . , HarpfordTucker, Mr.A . S . , W eymou
-th
Tuckett, R . G . S . , E sq. , Bristol
Tuckett, Mr . N Exeter
Veitch, Mr. Robert, Exeter
Wallop , The Lady Annabella, ExmouthWrey, Sir Bourchier Palk , Bart. , Tawstock
RECENTLY PUBLISHED ,
In small fol io, price 5 s .,
DEVON IZE INDEXPAROCHIALIS
BY PITMAN JONES , ESQ EXETER .
CONTEN TS
Names of the several Hundreds in the County of Devon , with
their relative s ituations to Exeter : BOROUGH AN D CORPORATETOWN S : Parishes , Townships , and Extra-parochial Places ,within the several Hundreds : the PA RI SHE S , with the ir pecu
liar Eccle siastical Jurisdictions ; distinguished as Rectories ,Vicarages , or Curacies ; Archdeaconries , Deaneries , Patrons ,Impropriators ; the Hundred in which each Parish is situate ;the nearest Post-Town , and distance from Exeter ; the Orig inal
Names , as far as they can b e collected, from the Exeter Domes
day ; with occasional Etymolog ies ; E ccles iastical Jurisdiction.
to grant Probates ofWill s and Letters of Administration within
the Diocese of Exeter ; M ag isterial Divisions for holding Petty
Sessions Polling Places , and Poor-Law Unions .
W . ROBERTS , 1 97 , H IGH - STREET,EXETER .
The Gentleman’s Magazine thus expresses its Op inion of theWork
W e have no doubt that this Compilation,which is evidently made with
great care , wi ll recommend itself to the attention of all men ofbusiness inthe district to which it relates and itwill occasionallymaterially faci l itatethe inquiries of those to Whom business is least famil iar . W e trust the ex
ample will not b e lost in other Counties, as our Public Reading -Rooms can
not b e too fully storedwithworks of this nature ; which quicken communication,
and connect, as they i llustrate , the various relations of Socie ty .
”
