Grilstone in the parish of Bishop's Nympton in north Devon, England, is an historic estate. The present grade II listed house, situated about 1 1/4 miles south-east of the market town of South Molton, is Georgian, an 1834 extension and remodelling by Rev. William Thorne of an earlier building. [2]
It is best known as the seat of Sir Lewis Pollard (c. 1465 – 1526), Justice of the Common Pleas from 1514 to 1526 [3] and a Member of Parliament for Totnes in 1491.
The earliest recorded holder of the estate, in the 13th and 14th centuries, was the de Grilstone family, which as was usual took its name from its seat. In 1374 a member of the family obtained from the Bishop of Exeter a licence to have a chapel on the site. [4]
The Pollard family had originated at the manor of Way in the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington, Devon, called by Hoskins (1954) "the fons et origo [lower-alpha 1] of the mighty tribe of Pollard". [5] The present house is a grade II listed building. [2]
Sir Lewis Pollard (died 1526) later moved to King's Nympton where he purchased the manor which remained the seat of his descendants, the Pollard baronets, until it was sold by Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet (1603–1666). On his death without a son the baronetcy passed to his younger brother Sir Amyas Pollard, 3rd Baronet (1616–1701), of Abbots Bickington, Devon, who died unmarried and without legitimate male heir, when the baronetcy became extinct.
The Jutsum family lived at Grilstone in the 19th century, where Frederick Jutsum kept a well-regarded herd of Red Devon Cattle. [6]
The Passmore family inherited Grilstone, on the marriage of Edmund Passmore to Lydia Jutsum, heiress of Grilstone.[ citation needed ] Bertha Passmore was the mother of the judge John Widgery, 1st Baron Widgery (1911–1981), [7] Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (1971–80), whose father's family was from South Molton.
Bishop's Nympton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England, about three miles east of South Molton. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 932. The electoral ward has the same name but covers the village and much of the land to the north-east. The ward population at the 2011 census was 1,911.
Moreton House is a grade II listed country house and former large estate near Bideford, North Devon, England. The house is about one mile west of the old centre of Bideford town, its entrance drive leading off the south side of the road between Bideford and the village of Abbotsham. It has in recent years become increasingly surrounded by the suburbs of Bideford, and in 2014 only 5 acres of the former parkland remain attached to the house. The estate is said anciently to have been the property of the famous Grenville family, lords of the Manor of Bideford, and of Stowe, Kilkhampton in Cornwall. It was later acquired by the Buck merchant family of Bideford, which rebuilt the house in 1760 and again in 1821.
Knowstone is a village and civil parish situated in the North Devon district of Devon, England, halfway between the Mid Devon town of Tiverton, Devon and the North Devon town of South Molton. The hamlet of East Knowstone lies due east of the village. Knowstone was the birthplace of Admiral Sir John Berry (1635–1691), second son of Rev. Daniel Berry (1609–1654), vicar of Knowstone cum Molland. An elaborate mural monument erected by Sir John in 1684 to the memory of his parents survives in Molland Church.
The Pollard Baronetcy, of King's Nympton in the County of Devon, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 31 May 1627 for Lewis Pollard. The second Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Bere Alston, Callington and Devon. The title became extinct on the death of the third Baronet in 1701.
King's Nympton is a village, parish and former manor in North Devon, England in the heart of the rolling countryside between Exmoor and Dartmoor, some 4½ miles (7 km) S.S.W. of South Molton and 4 miles (6 km) N. of Chulmleigh. The parish exceeds 5,500 acres (2,226 ha) in area and sits mostly on a promontory above the River Mole which forms nearly half of its parish boundary.
Sir Hugh Pollard lord of the manor of King's Nympton in Devon, was Sheriff of Devon in 1535/6 and in 1545 was appointed Recorder of Barnstaple in Devon.
Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet was an English soldier and MP elected for Bere Alston in 1640, Callington in 1660, and Devon in 1661. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.
Fowelscombe is a historic manor in the parish of Ugborough in Devon, England. The large ancient manor house known as Fowelscombe House survives only as an ivy-covered "romantic ruin" overgrown by trees and nettles, situated 1 mile south-east of the village of Ugborough. The ruins are a Grade II listed building.
Sir Lewis Pollard of Grilstone in the parish of Bishop's Nympton, Devon, was Justice of the Common Pleas from 1514 to 1526 and served as MP for Totnes in 1491 and was a JP in Devon in 1492. He was knighted after 1509. He was one of several Devonshire men to be "innated with a genius to study law", as identified by Fuller, who became eminent lawyers at a national level. He was a kinsman of the judge and Speaker of the House of Commons Sir John Pollard.
Whitechapel is an ancient former manor within the parish of Bishops Nympton, in north Devon. It was the earliest known residence of the locally influential Bassett family until 1603. The core of the present manor house is late 16th or early 17th century, with later additions and alterations, and was classed as Grade I listed on 9 June 1952.
Sir Amyas Pollard, 3rd Baronet (1616–1701) was an English gentleman of Devon and a baronet. Little is known of his life except that he was a staunch royalist during the Civil War, as evidenced by the inscribed verse on his ledger stone at Abbots Bickington: Who durst the King & royall cause still own, In times when doing it was so dangerous known. He was the last in the male line of the ancient Pollard family of Bishop's Nympton. He inherited the baronetcy from his elder brother Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet (1603–1666) who left the Pollard estates much reduced and encumbered with debts. He was forced soon after his inheritance to sell the manor of Bishop's Nympton and moved to Abbots Bickington, a smaller family manor, and made his seat at Court Barton, immediately to the south of the small parish church.
Sir Arthur Northcote, 2nd Baronet (1628–1688) was a baronet from Devon, England. He resided at Hayne in the parish of Newton St Cyres, Devon, which mansion house has since been demolished, and also at King's Nympton, Devon, which manor he purchased from Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet, his father's first cousin, and where he was buried.
The Manor of King's Nympton was a manor largely co-terminous with the parish of King's Nympton in Devon, England.
The Manor of Molland was a medieval manor in North Devon, England. It was largely co-terminous with the existing parish of Molland, in which is situated the village of Molland. More accurately it consisted from the earliest times of two separate manors, held from separate overlords, later known as Molland-Bottreaux and Molland-Champson.
Way is a historic estate in the parish of St Giles in the Wood, Devon. It is situated about 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of the village of St Giles in the Wood and about 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of the town of Great Torrington. It was described by Hoskins (1959) as "the fons et origo of the mighty tribe of Pollard" and had been acquired by them from the de la Way family at some time before 1242.
Affeton is a former historic manor in Devon. It was at one time also a parish with its own parish church, but was later merged into the parish of West Worlington. The manor house was almost entirely demolished in the Civil War, the only part left standing was the gatehouse, which fell into ruin. A large farmhouse known as "Affeton Barton" was soon after built over the foundations and cellars of the manor house. The ruinous gatehouse was converted in 1868–9 to a shooting box for the use of the Stucley family of Hartland Abbey and Moreton House, Bideford, and became known thereafter as "Affeton Castle".
The Manor of Copleston was a manor in the parish of the parish of Colebrooke in Mid Devon, England, now centred on the village of Copplestone.
Sir Hugh Stucley (1496–1559) was lord of the manor of Affeton in Devon, and was Sheriff of Devon in 1545. His third son was Thomas Stukley, known as "The Lusty Stucley".
Lyneham in the parish of Yealmpton in Devon, is an historic estate. The surviving grand mansion house known as Lyneham House is a grade I listed building. It was built c.1699-1703 by Sir Courtenay Croker, MP for Plympton Morice in 1699. A drawing of Lyneham House dated 1716 by Edmund Prideaux (1693–1745) of Prideaux Place, Padstow, Cornwall, survives at Prideaux Place. It shows formal gardens in front with flanking pavilions and an orangery.
Kingston is an historic estate in the parish of Staverton in Devon, England. The surviving large mansion house, known as Kingston House is a grade II* listed building, rebuilt in 1743 by John Rowe, after a fire had destroyed the previous structure. The Kingston Aisle or Kingston Chapel survives in the parish church of Staverton, built by and for the use of, the successive owners of the Kingston estate.