Tawstock

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Tawstock
St. Peter's, Tawstock, Devon - geograph.org.uk - 1600469.jpg
St Peter's Church, Tawstock
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Tawstock
Location within Devon
Population2,093 (2001)
OS grid reference SS5529
Civil parish
  • Tawstock
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BARNSTAPLE
Postcode district EX31
Dialling code 01271
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Devon
51°03′N4°03′W / 51.05°N 4.05°W / 51.05; -4.05 Coordinates: 51°03′N4°03′W / 51.05°N 4.05°W / 51.05; -4.05

Tawstock is a village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon in the English county of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Barnstaple, Bishop's Tawton, Atherington, Yarnscombe, Horwood, Lovacott and Newton Tracey and Fremington. [1] In 2001 it had a population of 2,093. [2] The estimated population in June 2019 was 2,372. [3]

Contents

Parish Church

Tawstock Church and village in 1805 Tawstock, Barnstaple, North Devon. 1805.jpg
Tawstock Church and village in 1805

A Grade I listed building, St Peter's church is, unusually for Devon, a church largely of the 14th century. A church existed on this location circa the 12th century, but was extensively modified and enlarged. According to the listing summary, "the crossing tower, north and south transepts and aisles were added" in the 14th century; additional modifications were made in the next two centuries before a restoration in 1867-1868. [4]

The plan is cruciform and the site is in the former park of the Earls of Bath. The collection of church monuments is particularly fine: most of the persons commemorated are members of the family of the Earls, connections of theirs, or household officers. Features of interest include the 16th century gallery, the manorial pew of the Earls of Bath (Renaissance in style) and two ceilings of Italian plasterwork.

The tomb of Lady Fitzwarren and the monument of Rachel, Countess of Bath (with figure by Burman) are in the south chancel aisle. [5] The tomb of Sir John Wrey (died 1597) is a large slate-covered tomb-chest with decorated slate back-plate. The tomb was originally at St Ive in Cornwall because a Wray had married a Bourchier in 1652 and it was brought here in 1924. [6]

Manor of Tawstock

The manor of Tawstock was an important one in North Devon, being at times a residence of the feudal barons of Barnstaple. It was held successively by the families of de Totnes, de Braose, de Tracy, FitzMartin, Audley, FitzWarin, Hankford, Bourchier and Wrey. The present Wrey baronet still lives within the former manor [7] and retains ownership of much of the land within the parish, but no longer owns Tawstock Court, the manor house.

Tawstock Court

Tawstock Court east front and St Peter's Church, Tawstock, viewed from Codden Hill looking westwards St Michael's School which provides first class care and education for children aged 3 months to 13 years - geograph.org.uk - 1754393.jpg
Tawstock Court east front and St Peter's Church, Tawstock, viewed from Codden Hill looking westwards

All that remains of the Elizabethan mansion re-built by William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath is the gatehouse, with date-stone 1574. The house burned down in 1787 and was rebuilt in the Neo-Gothic style by about 1800. In about 1940 Rev. Sir Albany Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 13th Baronet, let Tawstock Court to St Michael's Preparatory School. The 14th Baronet sold it to the school which continued to occupy it until it went into administration in 2012. Later that year it was bought by a property investor and developer, as a private residence. [8] As part of the sale the nursery school division of St Michael's School continued to operate as of 2013 in the stable blocks to the immediate west of the house.

A building described as "a folly, built in form of look-out tower" located near the Manor was dubbed "The Tower" in its 1965 Grade II listing report (Entry Number 1253651). The structure was restored and converted into a home that was listed for sale in 2019/2020 as "Tawstock Castle". Some reports states that the tower was thought to have been built by Sir Bourchier Wrey of the Manor and subsequently expanded. [9] The Historic England summary simply indicates that it probably originated in the late 18th century. [10] An article in Country Life (magazine) referred to the structure as a "baby Windsor Castle". [11] [12]

Estate of Corffe

Corffe, Tawstock, as rebuilt sometime between 1790 and 1822 CorffeTawstockDevon.JPG
Corffe, Tawstock, as rebuilt sometime between 1790 and 1822

The estate of Corffe belonged formerly to the Hearle family, and came to the Lovett family by the marriage of Edward Lovett (1627–1702), [13] [14] whose mural monument survives in Tawstock Church (a son of Sir Robert Lovett (1577–1643) of Liscombe House, Soulbury, Buckinghamshire, Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1610) with Joan Hearle (1642–1709), the heiress of Corffe. The Lovett family is very ancient and William Lovett is said to have been "Wolf Hunter" (Louvetier) to William the Conqueror, hence the family's arms of Argent, three wolves passant in pale sable, [15] which can be seen on various mural monuments in Tawstock Church. The family retained its ancient seat of Liscombe until 1907. [16]

Edward Lovett's sister Anne Lovett (born 1615/19) became the second wife of Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath (1590–1636), of Tawstock Court, but the marriage was without children. She married secondly (as his second wife) to Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden (1611–1682). Sir Henry Northcote, 4th Baronet (1655–1730), a physician, married Penelope Lovett, daughter and heiress of Edward Lovett. He lived at Corffe, and died there in 1730. [13] His mural monument is situated in Tawstock Church. Sir Henry Northcote's elder brother was Sir Francis Northcote, 3rd Baronet (died 1709), of Hayne in the parish of Newton St Cyres, Devon, who was the husband of Anne Wrey, a daughter of Sir Chichester Wrey, 3rd Baronet (1628–1668), who had married Lady Anne Bourchier, one of the three daughters and co-heiresses of Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath (1590–1636), and heiress of Tawstock. [17]

In 1790 Corffe was exchanged with the Rector of Tawstock for glebe land, and the parsonage-house (standing in 1822) was built on the premises by the Rev. Bourchier William Wrey, rector in 1822. [13] The advowson of Tawstock, thus control of the Rectory, was held by the Wrey family. Sir Robert Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 11th Baronet (1855–1917) made Corffe his residence, having let Tawstock Court. [18]

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Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath

Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath.

Sir Henry Northcote, 5th Baronet

Sir Henry Northcote, 5th Baronet, of Hayne in the parish of Newton St Cyres near Crediton in Devon, later of Pynes in the parish of Upton Pyne, Devon, was a Member of Parliament for Exeter from 1735 until his death in 1743.

Wrey baronets Title in the Baronetage of England

The Wrey Baronetcy, of Trebitch in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 30 June 1628 for William Wrey (d.1636), 2nd son of John Wrey of Trebeigh, St Ive, Cornwall, a member of an ancient Devon family. The third Baronet was a supporter of the Royalist cause and sat as Member of Parliament for Lostwithiel after the Restoration. He married Lady Anne, third daughter and co-heir of Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath, and a co-heir to the barony of Fitzwarine. The fourth Baronet represented Liskeard and Devon in the House of Commons. The fifth Baronet was Member of Parliament for Camelford while the sixth Baronet represented Barnstaple.

Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet

Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet of Tawstock, Devon, was a Member of Parliament for Barnstaple, Devon, in 1747–1754. The manor of Tawstock, about two miles south of Barnstaple, had been since the time of Henry de Tracy the residence of the feudal barons of Barnstaple, ancestors of the Wrey family.

Lovett baronets Title

The Lovett Baronetcy, of Liscombe House in the County of Buckingham, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 23 October 1781 for Jonathan Lovett of Liscombe in the parish of Soulbury, Buckinghamshire. He was subsequently offered a peerage but declined, on the grounds that his only son had died. Lovett married Sarah Darby, but died in 1812 without surviving male issue, his son Robert Turville Jonathan Lovett having pre-deceseased him in 1807, and thus the title became extinct.

John Rolle (died 1706)

Sir John Rolle, KB, of Stevenstone, Devon, was an English landowner, Sheriff of Devon in 1682 and MP for Barnstaple (1660) and for Devon (1661–1679). The Travel Journal of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1642-1723) states of him: "This gentleman is one of the richest in the country, having an estate of six thousand pounds sterling per annum, besides a considerable property in ready money".

John Chichester (died 1569)

Sir John Chichester (1519/20-1569) of Raleigh in the parish of Pilton, near Barnstaple in North Devon, was a leading member of the Devonshire gentry, a naval captain, and ardent Protestant who served as Sheriff of Devon in 1550-1551, and as Knight of the Shire for Devon in 1547, April 1554, and 1563, and as Member of Parliament for Barnstaple in 1559, over which borough his lordship of the manor of Raleigh, Pilton had considerable influence.

Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet

Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet (1653–1696) of Tawstock Court in North Devon, was a Member of Parliament and a noted duellist. He commanded a regiment of horse after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, serving under James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.

Sir Arthur Northcote, 2nd Baronet

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.

Feudal barony of Bampton

The feudal barony of Bampton was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire which existed during the mediaeval era, and had its caput at Bampton Castle within the manor of Bampton.

Bourchier knot

The Bourchier knot is a variety of heraldic knot. It was used as a heraldic badge by the Bourchier family, whose earliest prominent ancestor in England was John de Bourchier, a Judge of the Common Pleas, seated at Stanstead Hall in the parish of Halstead, Essex. He was the father of Robert Bourchier, 1st Baron Bourchier (d.1349), Lord Chancellor of England. The various branches of his descendants held the titles Baron Bourchier, Count of Eu, Viscount Bourchier, Earl of Essex, Baron Berners, Baron FitzWarin and Earl of Bath. The knot should perhaps have been called the "FitzWarin knot" as according to Boutell (1864) the device was first used by the FitzWarin family, whose heir was the Bourchier family.

Manor of Tawstock

The historic manor of Tawstock was situated in North Devon, in the hundred of Fremington, 2 miles south of Barnstaple, England. According to Pole the feudal baron of Barnstaple Henry de Tracy made Tawstock his seat, apparently having abandoned Barnstaple Castle as the chief residence of the barony. Many of the historic lords of the manor are commemorated by monuments in St Peter's Church, the parish church of Tawstock which in the opinion of Pevsner contains "the best collection in the county apart from those in the cathedral", and in the opinion of Hoskins "contains the finest collection of monuments in Devon and one of the most notable in England".

Sir Henry Northcote, 4th Baronet

Sir Henry Northcote, 4th Baronet (1655–1730) was an English baronet from Devon. He was by profession a doctor of medicine. His great-great-great-grandson was Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh (1818–1887).

John Wrey

John Wrey of North Russell, Sourton, and Bridestowe in Devon and Trebeigh, St Ive, Cornwall, was Sheriff of Cornwall in 1587.

Sir William Wrey, 1st Baronet

Sir William Wrey, 1st Baronet of Trebeigh, St Ive, Cornwall and North Russell, Sourton, Devon, was High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1598 and was created a baronet by King Charles I in 1628.

Robert Incledon

Robert Incledon (1676–1758) of Pilton House, Pilton, near Barnstaple in North Devon, was a lawyer of New Inn, London, a Clerk of the Peace for Devon, Deputy Recorder of Barnstaple and was twice Mayor of Barnstaple, in 1712 and 1721. In 1713 as mayor he supervised the building of the Mercantile Exchange on Barnstaple Quay, as recorded on the building by a contemporary brass plaque and sculpture of his armorials. He built Pilton House in 1746.

Chichester Wrey

Sir Chichester Wrey, 3rd Baronet (1628–1668) of Trebeigh in the parish of St Ive, Cornwall and of North Russell in the parish of Sourton, Devon, was an active Royalist during the Civil War and was Colonel of the Duke of York's Regiment and served as Governor of Sheerness.

Ambrose Bellot

Ambrose Bellot, of Downton in Devon was a Member of Parliament for East Looe in Cornwall in 1597.

References

  1. ↑ "Map of Devon Parishes" (PDF). Devon County Council. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : North Devon Retrieved 28 January 2010
  3. ↑ TAWSTOCK Parish in South West England
  4. ↑ CHURCH OF ST PETER
  5. ↑ Betjeman, John, ed. (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South. London: Collins; p. 166
  6. ↑ Pevsner, N. (1952) North Devon. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 153
  7. ↑ "Hollamoor Farm, Tawstock" was the residence of the 15th Baronet in 2015, per Kidd, Charles, Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2015 Edition, London, 2015, p.B880
  8. ↑ GVA. GVA completes the sale of Tawstock Court , 17 July 2012. Accessed 3 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Fairy-tale castle with towers and heli-pad goes on the market in North Devon
  10. ↑ THE TOWER
  11. ↑ A ‘baby Windsor Castle’ in Devon that’s been transformed into a gorgeous family
  12. ↑ 4 bedroom detached house for sale Tawstock, Barnstaple
  13. 1 2 3 4 Lysons, Daniel; Lysons, Samuel (1822). Magna Britannia. Vol. 6, Devonshire. London. pp. 469–496. Retrieved 16 January 2021– via British History Online.
  14. ↑ Mural monument in Tawstock Church
  15. ↑ Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, pp.1413–15, pedigree of Lovett of Liscombe
  16. ↑ Burke, 1937, p.1415
  17. ↑ Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.582, pedigree of Northcote
  18. ↑ Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, p.156

Further reading

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