Thomas Gerard (historian)

Last updated May 15, 2023 • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Thomas Gerard (1593–1634), lord of the manor of Trent in Somerset (now in Dorset), was an antiquary and historian of the county of Dorset and is the author of "Coker's" Survey of Dorsetshire.

Career

He was born at Trent, in Somerset, in 1593 and was educated at Gloucester Hall, Oxford.^[1]

Country historian

He was the first "county historian" of Dorset, but his work has traditionally been attributed to the clergyman John Coker, hence known as "Coker's Survey of Dorsetshire".^[1] He thus joined other "county historians" who made an appearance during his era, such as Sir William Pole (d.1635) and Tristram Risdon (d.1640) of Devon, William Burton (d.1645) of Leicestershire (a friend of his^[1]), etc., and most notably William Camden (d.1623).

Publications

"Coker's" Survey of Dorsetshire, Containing the Antiquities and Natural History of that County, published posthumously in 1732. It was relied on heavily by John Hutchins for his History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset.
Particular Description of Somerset, unfinished work.

Marriage and children

In 1618^[1] he married Ann Coker (1603-1633), a daughter of Robert Coker^[2] of Mappowder in Dorset. She died in childbirth on 25 June 1633, aged 29 years, 10 months and 7 days, as her monument in St Andrew's Church, Trent states.^[2] By Ann he had children including:

Ann Gerard, who in 1646 married Col. Sir Francis Wyndham, 1st Baronet (c.1612-1676), of the prominent Wyndham family of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, a colonel of horse in the Royalist army during the Civil War who helped the future King Charles II to escape to France. In 1651 Charles was given refuge at the manor house of Trent, on his way to the port of Bridport in Dorset and thence to exile in France.^[1]

Sources

Thomas Gerard of Trent, 2011 article, Dorset Ancestors website

Related Research Articles

The Cary family is an English aristocratic family with a branch in Ireland. The earliest known ancestor of the family is Sir Adam de Kari who was living in 1198. Sir John Cary purchased the Manor of Clovelly in the 14th century and established the family's status as members of the landed gentry. Various branches of the family were ennobled in the late 16th and early 17th centuries as Baron Hunsdon and Viscount Falkland.

The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.

Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609) of Merryfield in the parish of Ilton, Somerset, and Edge in the parish of Branscombe, Devon, was a posthumous co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford, with his wife Dorothy Wadham who, outliving him, saw the project through to completion in her late old age. He was Sheriff of Somerset in 1585.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wyndham (1558–1645)</span> English landowner

Sir John Wyndham, JP, of Orchard Wyndham in the parish of Watchet in Somerset, was an English landowner who played an important role in the establishment of defence organisation in the West Country against the threat of Spanish invasion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyndham baronets</span> Extinct baronetcy in the Baronetage of England

There have been three Wyndham Baronetcies, all created in the Baronetage of England. All were created for descendants of Sir John Wyndham (d.1573) of Orchard Wyndham in the parish of Watchet, Somerset, by his wife Elizabeth Sydenham, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Sydenham of Orchard Sydenham. He was a grandson of Sir John Wyndham of Felbrigg, Norfolk, by his first wife Lady Margaret Howard, 4th daughter of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk.

Orchard Wyndham is a historic manor near Williton in Somerset, centred on the synonymous grade I listed manor house of Orchard Wyndham that was situated historically in the parish of Watchet and about two miles south of the parish church of St Decuman's, Watchet. Parts of the manor house are medieval. It has been owned for more than 700 years by the prominent Wyndham family, who continue there as of 2015.

Lord Edward Seymour, knight, of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, was Sheriff of Devon in 1583. He was knighted by his father the Duke of Somerset on the battlefield of Pinkie on 10 September 1547.

Sir Francis Wyndham, 1st Baronet of Trent, Dorset was an English soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England at various times from 1640 until his death in 1676. During the First English Civil War, he served as a colonel in the Royalist army and helped Charles II of England escape to France after his defeat in the 1651 Third English Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Pole (antiquary)</span> 17th century English historian

Sir William Pole (1561–1635) of Colcombe House in the parish of Colyton, and formerly of Shute House in the parish of Shute, both in Devon, was an English country gentleman and landowner, a colonial investor, Member of Parliament and, most notably, a historian and antiquarian of the County of Devon.

Merryfield is a historic estate in the parish of Ilton, near Ilminster in Somerset, England. It was the principal seat of the Wadham family, and was called by Prince their "noble moated seat of Meryfeild" (sic). The mansion house was demolished in 1618 by Sir John Wyndham (1558–1645), of Orchard Wyndham, a nephew and co-heir of Nicholas II Wadham (1531–1609), co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford, the last in the senior male line of the Wadham family. It bears no relation to the present large 19th-century grade II listed mansion known as Merryfield House, formerly the vicarage, immediately south of St Peter's Church, Ilton.

The manor of Wadham in the parish of Knowstone in north Devon and the nearby manors of Chenudestane and Chenuestan are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086:

The Manor of Clovelly is a historic manor in North Devon, England. Within the manor are situated the manor house known as Clovelly Court, the parish church of All Saints, and the famous picturesque fishing village of Clovelly. The parish church is unusually well-filled with well-preserved monuments to the lords of the manor, of the families of Cary, Hamlyn, Fane, Manners and Asquith. In 2015 the Rous family, direct descendants via several female lines of Zachary Hamlyn (1677–1759) the only purchaser of Clovelly since the 14th century, still own the estate or former manor, amounting to about 2,000 acres, including Clovelly Court and the advowson of the parish church, and the village of Clovelly, run as a major tourist attraction with annual paying visitor numbers of about 200,000.

The feudal barony of Dunster was an English feudal barony with its caput at Dunster Castle in Somerset. During the reign of King Henry I (1100–1135) the barony comprised forty knight's fees and was later enlarged. In about 1150 the manors retained in demesne were Dunster, Minehead, Cutcombe, Kilton and Carhampton in Somerset, and Ham in Dorset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Luttrell (died 1571)</span> 16th-century English politician

Thomas Luttrell, of Dunster Castle in Somerset, feudal baron of Dunster, was a Member of Parliament for his family's newly enfranchised pocket borough of Minehead, from 1563 to 1567. He was Sheriff of Somerset in 1570–1.

The feudal barony of Hatch Beauchamp or honour of Hatch Beauchamp was an English feudal barony with its caput at the manor of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset. The site of the mediaeval manor house, to the immediate south of the ancient parish church of St John the Baptist, is today occupied by Hatch Court, a grade I listed mansion built in about 1755 in the Palladian style.

Canonteign is an historic tything in the parish of Christow, near Chudleigh, in South Devon, England and situated in the valley of the River Teign. The 'canon' in the name refers to the Augustinian canons regular, either of St Mary du Val in Normandy or of Merton Priory, which owned it for several centuries. It is best known today for the Canonteign Falls waterfall. Canonteign today contains three significant houses: the original Grade I listed 16th-century manor house, the ancient barton house situated nearby behind a granite wall, and a new mansion house built by the Pellew family in the early 19th century nearby, to which that family moved their residence thereby abandoning the old manor house.

John Coker was an English Anglican cleric and the reputed author of A Survey of Dorsetshire, a county history published in 1732.

Sir John Strode, of the Middle Temple, London and Chantmarle, Cattistock, Dorset, was an English MP for Bridport in 1621 and 1625.

John Strode, the son of Robert Strode of Parnham, Dorset and Elizabeth Hody, was elected MP for Dorset in 1572 and was Sheriff of Dorset from 1572 to 1573.

Moonfleet Manor Hotel is a hotel and former manor house in Fleet, Dorset, England. With 17th century origins, much of the house dates to the 18th and 19th centuries. It is a Grade II listed building, as is its former stable block and coach house.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Dorset Ancestors
1 2 Text on monument in St Andrew's Church, Trent

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[D-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Dorset Ancestors

[T-2] 1 2 Text on monument in St Andrew's Church, Trent

[1]

[2]

Authority control
International	ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	United States Vatican