Thomas Westcote (c. 1567 – c. 1637) (aliasWestcott) of Raddon [2] in the parish of Shobrooke in Devon, was an English historian and topographer of Devon.
He was descended from the Lyttelton family. He was baptised at Shobrooke in Devon on 17 June 1567. He was the third son of Philip Westcote (died 1601) of West Raddon in the parish of Shobrooke, by his wife Katharine Waltham, a daughter of George Waltham of Brenton in the parish of Exminster, [3] Devon. In his youth he was a soldier, traveller, and courtier, but in middle age he retired to a country life, probably living at West Raddon with his eldest brother, Robert. In 1624 he held a lease of Thorn Park in the parish of Holcombe Burnell.
Westcote interested himself in local antiquities, encouraged by his friendships with fellow Devonshire historians Sir William Pole (1561–1635) and Tristram Risdon (1580–1640). He aimed at a description of Devon, following the model of the Survey of Cornwall by Richard Carew (1555–1620) published in 1602. He was encouraged in his project by Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath, of Tawstock Court, and compiled two collections: A View of Devonshire, in which, after a general discussion on the history of the county, he gave a topographical account of its condition in about 1630; and the Pedigrees of most of our Devonshire Families, a compilation of genealogical information, deemed by later commentators as inaccurate and unreliable.[ citation needed ] The two works were published in Exeter in 1845, under the editorship of George Oliver and Pitman Jones.
He married Mary Roberts (died 1666), eldest daughter and coheiress of Richard Roberts of Combe Martin, Devon. By her he had one son and heir, Philip Westcott (1614-1647/8), [4] and five daughters.
Westcote was buried at Shobrooke, the date of his death being uncertain, as the register of burials between May 1639 and July 1644 is missing.
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.
Sir Richard Edgcumbe of Cotehele in the parish of Calstock in Cornwall, was an English courtier and Member of Parliament.
Nicholas Duck, of Heavitree and of nearby Mount Radford in the parish of St Leonards, both next to Exeter in Devonshire, was an English lawyer who served twice as a Member of Parliament for Exeter, in 1624 and 1625. He was one of the Worthies of Devon of the biographer John Prince (1643–1723), whose wife was his great-niece.
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.
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.
Doctor George Cary (1611–1680), Professor of Sacred Theology, lord of the manor of Clovelly, Devon, was Dean of Exeter between 1663 and 1680. He was also Rector of Clovelly and of Shobrooke in Devon and Chaplain in Ordinary to King Charles II. He was one of the Worthies of Devon of John Prince.
Sir Lewis Pollard his will was of 1526 when he retired 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.
The landed gentry and nobility of Devonshire, like the rest of the English and European gentry, bore heraldic arms from the start of the age of heraldry circa 1200–1215. The fashion for the display of heraldry ceased about the end of the Victorian era (1901) by which time most of the ancient arms-bearing families of Devonshire had died out, moved away or parted with their landed estates.
Cofton is a small village, parish and former historic estate near Dawlish, Devon.
The estate of Acland in the parish of Landkey, near Barnstaple in North Devon, England, was from 1155 the earliest known seat of the influential and wealthy family of Acland, to which it gave the surname de Acland. It is situated about 3/4 mile north-east of the village of Landkey, from which it is now cut off by the busy A361 North Devon Link Road.
Great Fulford is an historic estate in the parish of Dunsford, Devon. The grade I listed manor house, known as Great Fulford House, is about 9 miles west of Exeter. Its site was said in 1810 to be "probably the most ancient in the county". The present mansion house is Tudor with refurbishment from the late 17th century and further remodelling from about 1800. The prefix "Great" dates from the late 17th century and served to distinguish it from the mansion house known as "Little Fulford" in the parish of Shobrooke, Devon, about 8 miles to the north-east, also owned briefly by Col. Francis Fulford (1666–1700), as a result of his marriage to the heiress of the Tuckfield family. Great Fulford has been the residence of the Fulford family, which took its name from the estate, from the reign of King Richard I (1189–1199) to the present day. There are thus few, if any, families in Devonshire of more ancient recorded origin still resident at their original seat. In 2004 the estate comprised 3,000 acres.
Creedy is an historic estate in the parish of Sandford, near Crediton in Devon. It is named from its location on the west side of the River Creedy. It was the seat of the Davie family from about 1600 until the late 20th century. The mansion house on the estate has been called at various times New House, Creedy House, and as presently, Creedy Park. It was first built in about 1600, rebuilt in 1846, burnt down in 1915 and rebuilt 1916–21. It is surrounded by a large park, the boundary of which is enclosed by a stone and brick wall several miles long.
Sir William Huddesfield of Shillingford St George in Devon, was Attorney General for England and Wales to Kings Edward IV (1461–1483) and Henry VII (1485–1509). He built the tower of St George's Church, Shillingford.
Bableigh is an historic estate in the parish of Parkham in North Devon, England. It is separated from the village of Parkham by the Bableigh Brook. It was the earliest recorded seat of the Risdon family in Devonshire, from which was descended the Devon historian Tristram Risdon.
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 Lyttelton family is a British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Lyttelton family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Lyttelton family include the viscountcies of Cobham and Chandos, as well as the Lyttelton barony and Lyttelton baronetcy. Several other members of the family have also risen to prominence, particularly in the field of cricket.
Sir John Chichester lord of the manor of Raleigh in the parish of Pilton, near Barnstaple, North Devon, was Sheriff of Devon in 1576/7 and/or in 1585 and died of gaol fever contracted whilst acting as a magistrate at the Lent Black Assizes of Exeter in 1586.
George Kendall (1610–1663), Doctor of Divinity, of Cofton in Devon, was a theologian.
John Reynell was a Member of Parliament for Devon in 1427/28.
Bagtor is a historic estate in the parish of Ilsington in Devon, England. It was the birthplace of John Ford the playwright and poet. The Elizabethan mansion of the Ford family survives today at Bagtor as the service wing of a later house appended in about 1700.