Hockworthy

HOCKWORTHY, in the hundred of Bampton and in the deanery of Tiverton, lies about eight miles from Tiverton.

At an early period, the manor of Hockworthy was successively in the families of Chivathorn and Bernevill. In Sir William Pole's time it belonged to the Beres of Huntsham, who had purchased it of Cooke. In 1653 it was in the family of Catford, soon afterwards in the Radcliffe's, now of Warleigh, of whom it was purchased by Mrs. Jane Bluett, relict of the Rev. Charles Bluett, of Holcombe Rogus, who gave it to her nephew, Charles Webster, Esq., the present proprietor. Mr. Webster resides in the old manor-house.

The manor of Hockford belonged to the Beres of Morebath, from whom it passed by successive sales to Lucas and Troyte. It is now the property of the Rev. Dr. Troyte.

The great tithes of this parish were appropriated to the priory of Canonsleigh: they were some time in the Incledons of Pilton, and were sold, not many years ago, in severalties to the landholders. The Rev. William Cummins is patron of the vicarage.

Holbeton

HOLBETON, in the hundred of Ermington and in the deanery of Plympton, lies three miles from Modbury. Mothecombe, Creacombe, and Ford, are villages in this parish.

The manor of Holbeton was given by Henry I. to Matilda Peverel. (fn. 1) In the reign of Edward II. it appears to have been a divided property between the families of Martyn, Bampfylde, Prous (fn. 2) , and Kilbury. In the reign of Edward IV. it belonged to Holland Duke of Exeter. (fn. 3) Margaret Countess of Richmond had a grant of the manor of Holbeton for life in 1487. At a later period it was in moieties between the families of Rolle and Hele. These moieties now belong to Joseph Kingston, Esq., and John Bulteel, Esq.

The manor of Fleet was in the family of Damarell from the time of the Conquest (fn. 4) till the reign of Edward III., afterwards in Hill and Prideaux, and at a later period in the Heles. Sir Thomas Hele, of Fleet, was created a baronet in 1627. On the death of Sir Henry, the fourth baronet, this estate devolved to his cousin, Richard Hele, Esq.; and on the death of his great-grandson, James Modyford Hele, Esq., in 1716, this branch of the family having become extinct, the manor of Fleet passed by virtue of an entail to the ancestor of John Bulteel, Esq., the present proprietor, who resides at Fleet.

Memland, in this parish, gave name to a family who possessed it for several generations. (fn. 5) It was, afterwards, for a considerable time, in the Hillersdons. From them it passed to Champernowne, who, about the year 1723, sold it to Stert. About 1757 it was purchased of May, who had inherited it from Stert, by Mr. Bulteel, then of Fleet. It is now the property of Sir John Perring, Bart., whose uncle purchased it of the Bulteels. Sir John Perring was Lord Mayor of London in 1803, and was created a baronet in 1808. The house at Memland, which is occasionally occupied by Sir John Perring, was rebuilt by his uncle. The barton of Calston belongs also to Sir John Perring.

Adeston, in this parish, gave name to an ancient family, whose heiress brought it to Prideaux. It was the principal seat of the Prideaux family before they married the heiress of Gifford of Theoborough. From Prideaux it passed, by purchase, to Hele, and is now the property of John Bulteel, Esq.

The manor of Battisborough (fn. 6) , with the barton of Pamfleet and other lands, belong to John Tonkin, Esq., of Plymouth: the manor of Lambside, in this parish and Revelstoke, belongs to Edward Wynne Pendarves, Esq.

Carswell, in Holbeton, belonged to a family of Carswell, and was afterwards the property and residence of the Strodes. It is now the joint property of the Rev. Roope Ilbert, and Mrs. Elizabeth Bickford, widow.

Mothecombe, in this parish, belonged to the Pollexfens, by whom the house was built, about 1710. It was afterwards in the family of Calmady, and is now the property of Henry Legassicke, Esq.

In the parish-church (in Mr. Bulteel's aisle) is a monument without inscription for one of the family of Hele, with the recumbent effigies of a man in armour, and two ladies kneeling. There are memorials also for John Pollexfen, Esq., of Mothecombe, 1673; John Fortescue, Esq., of Combe, 1705; Joan, daughter of George Fortescue, 1718; and John Hamblyn, of Efford, Gent., 1774.

The great tithes of this parish were appropriated to the priory of Polesloe. They are now in severalties. (fn. 7) The king is patron of the vicarage. The Liber Regis mentions a chapel of St. Leonard in this parish.

Holcombe Burnell

HOLCOMBE BURNELL, in the hundred of Wonford and in the deanery of Dunsford, lies about four miles from Exeter.

The manor of Holcombe Burnell, or, as it was more properly called in ancient records, Holcombe Bernard (fn. 8) , belonged, at the time of the Domesday survey, to Tetbald Filius Bernerii, whose descendants were called Fitz-berners or Fitz-bernard. The heiress of this family brought it to Kawl or Kawell. In the reign of Henry IV. it belonged to the Brookes, who conveyed it in exchange to Dennis. Sir Thomas Dennis, in the reign of Henry VIII., built a large mansion on this estate for his residence. It appears by an extent issued against Sir Richard Baker and his son Sir Thomas, in the year 1607, that the manor of Holcombe Burnell then belonged to that family. The Champernownes possessed it during the greater part of the seventeenth century, soon after which it came into the family of Pitman, and is now the property of James Pitman, Esq. The lords of this manor had formerly the power of capital punishment. (fn. 9)

The manor-house, which had been built by Sir Thomas Dennis, was some time a seat of the Champernownes: an ancient chapel in the adjoining field was taken down by Edward Champernowne, Esq., who died in 1700. The manor-house is now occupied by the tenant of the farm.

On the north wall of the chancel of the parish-church is a representation of the Resurrection in alto relievo. The monument of Thomas Dennis, Esq., who died in 1602, has been removed. There are memorials for James Pitman, Esq., 1727; and James Pitman, Esq., (his son,) 1797.

The prebendary of Holcombe Burnell, in the church of Wells, is appropriator of the great tithes, and patron of the vicarage.

Holcombe Rogus

HOLCOMBE ROGUS, in the hundred of Bampton and in the deanery of Tiverton, lies about nine miles from Tiverton. A market at this piace on Friday, and a fair for two days at the festival of All Souls, was granted in 1343 to Richard Chiseldon. (fn. 10)

The manor was held, at the time of the Domesday survey, by Rogo under Baldwin the sheriff. In the reign of Henry I. it belonged to Rogon Fitz-simon, grandson, most probably, of Rogo; and his descendants in the male line possessed it for eight generations after the said Rogon, being called Fitz-rogon, Fitz-rogus, and Roges. The heiress of this family brought it Chiseldon, whose co-heiresses married Wadham and Bluett. This manor became the property of the latter, and Holcombe Rogus has ever since been the seat of the Bluett family. Colonel Francis Bluett of Holcombe, an active royalist, was killed at the siege of Lyme Regis in the month of April, 1644. After the death of Buckland Nutcombe Bluett, Esq., in 1786, Holcombe Rogus passed, under his will, to Peter Bluett, Esq., (then of Faltnouth, now of Holcombe Rogus,) the present proprietor, supposed to have been descended from a younger son of the co-heiress of Chiseldon, whose family had settled in Cornwall. The lord of this manor had formerly the power of life and death. (fn. 11)

The manor-house is an ancient building, supposed to have been erected by Sir Roger Bluett, who married a daughter of Serjeant Rowe.

The manor of Holcombe Buhill, which belonged formerly to the Bluetts, has been long ago dismembered.

Kitton, in this parish, belonged, in the reign of Henry III., to the Percehays. The co-heiresses of Sir Henry Percehay, Baron of the Exchequer, married Warr and Hele: this estate passed to the Warrs, and was sold by Richard Warr, Esq., to Sir Thomas Drewe, about the year 1600. It was afterwards in a younger branch of the Hills of Shropshire, and is now, by inheritance from that family, the property of George Sydenham Fursdon, Esq., of Fursdon.

In the parish-church are some monuments of the Bluett family. (fn. 12) Mr. Bluett is patron of the rectory.

Hollacombe

HOLLACOMBE, in the hundred of Black Torrington and in the deanery of Holsworthy, lies between two and three miles from Holsworthy.

This small parish belonged to the priory of Bodmin in Cornwall, and after the dissolution to the Prideaux family. It has since been divided into such small parcels that there is no estate in the parish rated higher than 12l. per annum. The chancellor has of late years presented to the rectory, which is of small value.

Holne

HOLNE, in the hundred of Stanborough and in the deanery of Totton, lies about five miles from Ashburton. The small villages of Michelcombe and Stoke are in this parish.

Holne is not far from the source of the Dart; and the parish abounds with picturesque scenery.

The manor of Holne and Holne Chase appear to have been part of the barony of Barnstaple, and to have passed with Tawstock successively to the Audleys (fn. 13) and to the Bourchiers (Lord Fitzwarren and Earls of Bath). They now belong to their representative, Sir Bourchier Wrey, Bart., who has a hunting-seat here in a singularly romantic situation.

The manor of South Holne was given to the abbey of Buckfastleigh by Reginald de Valletort in the early part of the thirteenth century. (fn. 14) It appears also that another manor of Holne was given them by Stephen Bauzun. (fn. 15)

The church was appropriated to the abbey of Buckfastleigh: the great tithes are now vested in the Rev. Samuel Lane of Totnes. The King is patron of the vicarage.

Holsworthy

HOLSWORTHY, in the deanery of that name and in the hundred of Black Torrington, is a market-town, 41 miles from Exeter, and 217 from London.

The weekly market for corn, cattle, &c., which had been held on Saturday, has been recently changed to Wednesday. I do not find any charter for it on record. There are three fairs, April 27., July 9., and October 2. The fairs in April and October are for cattle only. The July fair (St. Peter's) is recognised in a record of the reign of Edward I., as having belonged to the ancestors of William Martin from time immemorial: it is spoken of by Risdon as "a famous fair lasting divers days." It is still a large fair, and lasts two or three days. If the ninth should fall on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, it begins on the Tuesday following. There is a great market on the second Wednesday in February.

There were 600 houslyng people in this parish in 1547. According to the census, the number of inhabitants in this parish was 1045 in 1801; in 1811, 1206.

Chesty, Chilsworthy, Staddon, and Dunsteep, are villages in this parish.

On the 17th of February, 1646, after his victory at Torrington, Sir T. Fairfax sent a party to take possession of Holsworthy, then occupied for the King. (fn. 16)

Sir William Pole's account of the manor of Holsworthy is, that it belonged to the baronial family of Brewer, from whom it passed by successive female heirs to William de Feritate, and to the Chaworths, but this appears to be incorrect. Having been an ancient demesne of the crown, it was given by King Henry II. to Fulk Paganell, or Paynel, till he should be able to recover his own lands in Normandy, which he did afterwards by the King's aid. It seems that before the King had repossessed this manor he died; and Paynel continuing in possession, gave it with his daughter Gundred to Matthew del Jartye (fn. 17) and their daughter and heiress brought it to Chaworth. Henry de Tracey purchased it of Chaworth (fn. 18) , and in consequence it descended with the barony of Barnstaple, &c, to the baronial family of Martyn. From them it passed by marriage to the lords Audley, and by an entail to the crown. King Edward III. granted it to John Duke of Lancaster. John Holland Duke of Exeter possessed it also by a grant from the crown, and in 1487 it was given for life to Margaret Countess of Richmond. Sir John Speccot was lord of the manor of Holsworthy in 1621 (fn. 19) : after this it was purchased by a younger branch of the Prideaux family, who had been some time settled at Soldon in this parish, having purchased that barton of the family of Soldon. These estates were sold, not long after the year 1713, by Prideaux to Thomas Pitt, Lord Londonderry, from whom it has descended to Earl Stanhope, the present proprietor, who possesses also an estate in this parish called Symson, which belonged to a chantry in St. Mary Wyke, in the county of Cornwall, and was afterwards in the Prideaux family. A manor, or reputed manor, of Holsworthy, was sold in 1584 by Andrew Holland, Esq., of Weare, to Mr. John Davye, ancestor of Sir John Davie, Bart.; who is the present proprietor.

The manor of Manworthy passed by successive female heirs from the family of Manworthy to Dennis, Boterford, and Gibbs. By the latter it was sold to Hurst of Exeter, and by him given to the father of Sir Nicholas Martyn, who possessed it when Sir William Pole made his collections. In 1692 it passed by sale from Martyn to Davye, and, after an intermediate alienation to Saltren, was purchased by the Rev. John Kingdon, of Great Torrington, father of Francis Kingdon, Esq., the present proprietor: a considerable part of the land has been sold off.

Thorne belonged to the ancient family of that name from the reign of King John till the early part of the seventeenth century, when it passed by marriage to Holland. After the death of the last of the Holland family, in 1703, there was a law-suit concerning this property; the barton of Thorne was eventually awarded to the aunts of the last male heir. Having been put up to sale, it was purchased by Stephen and John Coham, who had married the co-heiresses of Holland. They resold it to John Ebbott, who had married one of the aunts above mentioned, and it is now vested in his representatives, married to the Rev. John King of Stratton, and Mr. P. Pearce of Holsworthy.

Chellesworth, now Chilsworthy, in this parish, escheated to King Henry III. by the death of Robert de St. Dennis, the Norman; and having been granted by that monarch to William Le Sauser, was in the crown again at the time of taking the Hundred Roll in the reign of Edward I.

Ugsworthy passed by successive female heirs from a family of that name to Giffard and Prideaux. It now belongs to Sir Arscott Ourry Molesworth, Bart., and Mr. John Cole. Arscott, in this parish, which passed with the heiress of Arscott to the Bickfords, is now, for life, the property of Mrs. Coham, sister of the late Arscott Bickford, Esq.

In the parish-church are memorials of Samuel Cory, 1698; John Cory, 1703; Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Prideaux of Theoborough, 1715; and Daniel Skinner, Esq., 1794. The Rev. Roger Kingdon, of North Petherwin, is patron of the rectory. There were formerly chapels at Chilsworthy and Thorne in this parish.

In 1715 there was a meeting of Independents at Holsworthy: the congregation were afterwards Presbyterians.

There is no endowed school at Holsworthy; but a Sunday-school and a daily school, both conducted on Dr. Bell's plan, are supported by subscription.

Honeychurch

HONEYCHURCH, in the hundred of Black Torrington and in the deanery of Oakhampton, lies about eight miles from Hatherleigh, and about seven from Oakhampton.

The manor belonged to the ancient family of Honeychurch, who continued to possess it for many generations, till it was sold by the grandfather of Mr. John Honeychurch, now living at Bovey Tracey: it is now the property of the Honourable Newton Fellowes, having been purchased in 1797 of Edmund John Glynn, Esq. The advowson of the rectory passed with the manor.

Honiton

HONITON, a market and borough town, in the deanery of that name, and in the hundred of Axminster, lies on the road to London, at the distance of 16 miles from Exeter, nine from Axminster, and 159 from London.

I do not find any grant of the market on record: it is held by prescription on Saturday for corn, &c. A fair was granted to Baldwin de Insula in 1257 for three days, to begin on Whitmonday. (fn. 20) The fair is now held on the Wednesday after the 19th of July. There are two great markets, on the second Saturday in April, and the Saturday before October 18. The town is governed by a portreeve: it was made a borough by William Le Vernon, Earl of Devon. (fn. 21)

Honiton first sent members to parliament in the reign of Edward I. This privilege, after a long disuse, was restored to the town in 1640 by the exertions of William Pole, Esq. The right of election is vested in the inhabitant householders, supposed to be about 450 in number.

This is said to have been the first town in the county in which serges were made; both this manufacture and that of lace, for which Honiton has long been celebrated, are supposed to have been introduced by the Lollards, who came to England during the religious persecutions in Flanders. It is known that the lace manufacture was flourishing at Honiton in the reign of Charles I. The serge manufactory has gone to decay: there is only one maker now in the town. The manufactory of lace has much declined, although the lace still maintains its superiority. Some years ago, at which time it was much patronized by the Royal Family, the manufacturers of Honiton employed 2400 hands in the town and in the neighbouring villages: they do not now employ above 300. The lace here made had acquired, some time ago, the name of Bath Brussels lace; but it is now generally known by its original appellation of Honiton bone (or thread) lace. It has always been manufactured from thread imported from Antwerp; the present market price of which is 70l. per lb.: an inferior lace is made in the villages along the coast, of British thread, called Trolly lace.

This town has been visited by the destructive calamity of fire in 1672, 1747, 1754, and 1765. The last-mentioned fire, which happened on the 21st of August, was the most calamitous; one hundred and fifteen houses were burnt down, and the steeple of Allhallows chapel, with the school and school-house, were destroyed. The damage was estimated at above 10,500l.: a subscription was made to reimburse the losses of the poorer sufferers.

The assizes were held at Honiton in 1590, on account of the plague. Sir Edmund Anderson and Mr. Baron Gent went to the castle at Exeter, and opened the commission, after which they adjourned to Honiton: seventeen criminals were executed at these assizes, and the greater part of them for murder. (fn. 22)

On the 25th of July, 1644, King Charles was with his army at Honiton on his route westward, and again on the 23d of September on his return. (fn. 23) Sir Thomas Fairfax halted here with his army on his march into Devon, October 14. 1645. (fn. 24)

The manor of Honiton was given by the Conqueror to Robert, Earl Moreton. It was afterwards, by royal grant, in the family of Redvers or Rivers, Earl of Devon. Isabel, Countess of Devon, the heiress of this family, sold it to King Edward I., who granted it to Sir Gilbert de Knovill (fn. 25) it soon afterwards came to the Courtenays, (probably by purchase,) and continued in that family till sold by the present Viscount Courtenay to Messrs. Smith, Brooks, and Townsend, bankers, who, in 1810, entered into treaty for the sale of it to the late Arthur Champernowne, Esq.; but the matter having been the subject of a chancery-suit, it was never completed. The lords of this manor had formerly the power of life and death: it was parcel of the barony of Plympton. (fn. 26)

The manor of Batteshorne, having been conveyed by Isabel, Countess of Devon, to Sir Gilbert Knovill, became divided between two co-heiresses of that family. One moiety passed by marriage, through the families of Dun, Burton, and Powlet. The descendants of the latter sold it to Walter Yonge, ancestor of the late Sir George Yonge, Bart. The other moiety having passed through the families of Ercedekne, Luscot, and Arundell (fn. 27) , escheated to the crown, and was purchased by the said Walter Yonge, of Sir George Carew, the grantee. This manor was sold in parcels, by the late Sir George Yonge, in the year 1794.

The manor of Northcote was given by Baldwin de Redvers, Earl of Devon, to the priory of Bremore, in Hampshire. After the dissolution, it was purchased by Minifie, and passed by successive sales to Pearce and Blagdon. It was purchased of the latter by the Rev. William Coney, who is the present proprietor.

The Drakes had a manor in this parish: Sir John Drake, Bart., sold it to William Gill, Esq., whose heiress brought it to Duke. This estate has been sold in parcels.

Blaincomb, described in ancient records as a manor, belonged in the reign of Edward III. to the family of Lutterell, of which it was purchased in the sixteenth century by the Northcotes. A farm, called Higher Blanicombe, was included in the sale of the manor estate.

In the parish-church, which stands on a hill at some distance from the town, are monuments of Joan Takell, widow, 1529; John Blagdon, Esq., 1714; Sir James Shepherd, serjeant-at-law, 1730; John Gill, Gent.; and William Gill, Esq., barrister-at-law, 1744, (with medallions); and Thomas Marwood, physician to Queen Elizabeth, who died in 1617, at the age of 105. The last-mentioned monument, put up by Mary, wife of William Tucker, Esq., of Coryton, commemorates also a grand-daughter of Dr. Marwood, Bridget, wife of Edward Ford, who died in 1746.

Lord Viscount Courtenay is patron of the rectory. Ezra Cleaveland, who wrote a "History of the Courtenay Family," was rector of this parish.

In the town is the chapel of Allhallows. Sir John Kirkham, in 1524, gave lands to the repair of this chapel, and other charitable uses. (fn. 28) The old chapel having been taken down in 1712, was rebuilt on a new site, between 1740 and 1750. The inside of the steeple, with the clock and chimes, were destroyed by the fire of 1765, which damaged also the body of the chapel, and burnt down the school and school-house, and all the houses belonging to the Allhallows estate. The chapel having been repaired by brief and private subscription, was opened November 6th, 1770. The schoolmaster officiates in this chapel on Wednesday and Friday; and a lecturer, who is paid by voluntary contribution, on Sunday afternoons.

The Presbyterians had a meeting at Honiton in 1715: this congregation still exists. The Particular Baptists, and Wesleyan Methodists, have also meeting-houses at Honiton. The Rev. William Harris, minister of the Presbyterian congregation at Luppit, who resided at Honiton, and died there in 1770, was an industrious biographical writer, but not free from party bias: he published lives of Hugh Peters, King James I., Charles I., and Oliver Cromwell.

The hospital of St. Margaret, which is situated about half a mile from the town, on the road to Exeter, is said to have been founded in 1530, for leprous persons, by Thomas Chard, the last abbot of Ford. It is probable that he endowed it with lands, and was deemed the founder, but it is certain that the hospital had existed as early as the year 1374. (fn. 29) After the dissolution of colleges and hospitals, it appears that the representatives of Abbot Chard became possessed of this hospital, as trustees for the poor lepers, of whom there were four, besides a governor. It is stated in the proceedings of a commission for charitable uses, in 1642, that John Chard, the then possessor, and his father, had misapplied the trust, and converted the revenues to their private use. It was then ordered, that the hospital should, from that time, be under the management of the rector, churchwardens, and overseers of Honiton, who should appoint the governor and the four lepers, or in default of such objects, other poor persons: there was then one leper. The lands belonging to the hospital were then valued at 25l. 6s. 8d. per annum: they now produce 85l. 9s. Till 1807, there had been only four poor persons in this hospital: four new houses were then built, partly with the proceeds of a sale of timber, and partly with some arrears of rent: in consequence of this increase of numbers, the pensioners receive only one shilling a week each: the governor, whose duty it is to read prayers twice a week in the chapel of the hospital, receives three shillings a week.

The feoffees of the Allhallows' lands are supposed to have appropriated the house, now the residence of the master of the grammar-school, for that purpose when the school was first established. In 1640, the surviving overseers of the will of the Rev. John Fley, of Buckerell, who died in 1614, on their construction of the said will, and with the consent of his heir, William Minifie, settled a rent-charge of 6l. per annum, on the master of the grammar-school, for teaching four poor boys of Honiton and Buckerell, the nomination to be in the rector and churchwardens of Honiton. In the same year, the inhabitants of Honiton raised the sum of 80l. by subscription, which sum was, in 1662, laid out in the purchase of a rentcharge of 4l. per annum, to be paid to the master for teaching four poor boys of Honiton. In 1672, one of the co-heiresses of William Minifie, in further prosecution of the benevolent intentions of the Rev. John Fley, above mentioned, gave a rent-charge of 2l. per annum, for the purpose of teaching a boy or boys of Honiton, at the grammar-school, or English school; or for the buying of Bibles for the poor children of Honiton; or for the support of a poor scholar of the grammar-school at the university. This is paid to the master of the school; and these several sums constitute its whole endowment.

In the year 1713, an English school for thirty poor children was opened at Honiton by subscription, and part of them were clothed (fn. 30) ; but this appears to have been discontinued.

The Rev. James How, late of Colyton, gave, in 1816, the sum of 300l. four per cents., for the establishment and support of a Sunday school in this town.

Huish, or Hewish

HUISH, or HEWISH, in the hundred of Shebbear and in the deanery of Torrington, lies about five miles and a half from Hatherleigh, and about seven from Torrington. The small village of Newbridge is in this parish.

Huish, or Hewish, anciently Hiwis, gave name to the equestrian family of Hiwis, whose heiress married Chief Justice Tresilian, in the reign of Richard II.; and afterwards Sir John Colshill. The manor of Huish passed afterwards, by purchase, to a branch of the Yeo family, who resided at this place for many generations. It was sold by Edward Rooe Yeo, Esq., M. P., the last of this branch of the family, to Mr. John Dufty, of whom it was purchased, 1782, by Sir James Norcliffe Innes, Bart., now Duke of Roxburgh; who when Sir James Innes built a new house on the estate for his own residence, called Innes House. Huish was sold by the Duke to Richard Eales, Esq., of whom it was purchased, about 1812, by Lord Clinton, whose property and seat it now is.

The barton of Lovelstone, now called Lovistone, belonged to the ancient family of Lovel; afterwards, successively, to the families of Leigh and Sheere: from the latter, it passed to Saunders, and is now the property of the Rev. Onesiphorus Sheere Saunders. The late celebrated oculist of that name, John Cunningham Saunders, who discovered the new mode of operating for cataract, was a brother of the present possessor, and born at Lovistone, in 1775.

In the parish-church are memorials of the families of Yeo (fn. 31) , Sheere (fn. 32) , and Saunders. (fn. 33)

The advowson of the rectory, which till that time had been an appendage of the manor, was purchased, in 1798, by the Rev. Richard Knight, the present incumbent.

North Huish, or Hewish

NORTH HUISH, or HEWISH, in the hundred of Stanborough and in the deanery of Plympton, lies about seven miles from Totnes, and about five from Modbury. The village of Lupridge is in this parish.

The manor belonged, in the reign of Richard I., to the family of Damarell; afterwards, to the Trenchards, whose heiress brought it to the Tremaynes. Arthur Tremayne, Esq., sold it in 1792, to Richard Eales, Esq., and Charles Luxmoore, Esq. The former having purchased Mr. Luxmoore's share, sold the whole in 1786, to Richard King, Esq., of Fowellscombe, who built a house on the estate, now the residence of Thomas King, Esq., the present lord of the manor.

Norris, in this parish, gave name to a family who possessed it till the early part of the fifteenth century, when the heiress brought this estate to Sir John Fortescue, father of the Chief Justice. It was for many generations in the Fortescues of Wood: it is now the property of Mr. William Bowden.

Boterford, now spelt Butterford, gave name also to an ancient family, from which it passed by successive female heirs to Mey and Gibbes. The last of the Gibbes' family sold it, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to the Prestwoods; in which family it continued till about the year 1740, when it was sold with Whitcombe to Strode. About the year 1788, the late Richard Strode, Esq., sold it to Thomas Palk, Esq. Mr. Palk took down the old mansion, which had been some time the residence of the Strodes, and built a new one on its site. This estate has since passed by successive sales to Thomas Bewes, Esq., and Mr. Thomas Kingwell. It is now vested in the representatives of the latter: the mansion is now occupied as a farmhouse. The Prestwoods resided at Whitcombe.

Blackhall, in this parish, which had been for more than two centuries the property and residence of the Fowell family, has been lately sold to Hubert Cornish, Esq., whose residence it now is.

In the parish-church is the monument of Richard Strode, Esq., who died in 1790. Sir John Perring, Bart., is patron of the rectory.

Thomas Tremayne, Esq., in or about the year 1517 (fn. 34) , gave lands for the foundation of an almshouse.

South Huish

SOUTH HUISH, in the hundred of Stanborough and in the deanery of Woodleigh, lies about four miles from Kingsbridge.

The village of Galmpton, and Outer Hope, a little fishing-cove in Bigbury bay, are in this parish.

The manor belonged, for several generations at an early period, to the family of Fitz Stephen. Walter, Lord Manny, was possessed of it in the reign of Edward III. It has been long in the Courtenay family; and is now the property of Lord Viscount Courtenay, who possesses also the manor of Galmeton, or Galmpton, in this parish. (fn. 35)

In the parish-church is the monument of William Clarke, Esq., of Plymouth, 1786. The great tithes belong to the dean and chapter of Salisbury. The church is a daughter-church to West Allington, with which it is held.

Hunshaw

HUNSHAW, in the hundred of Fremington and in the deanery of Barnstaple, lies about three miles and a half from Torrington. The small villages of Guscott and Brownsom, or Brownstone, are in this parish.

Henry Fitz Reginald was lord of the manor in the reign of Henry III. It was afterwards in the Champernownes, and passed by successive female heirs to Willington, Beaumont, and Chichester. It now belongs to the Right Honourable Lord Clinton, by descent from the Rolles. Lord Clinton is patron also of the rectory. Mr. Samuel Fisher is lessee of the barton on lives.

This parish sends two boys to the school at Weare Giffard, founded by John Lovering, in 1671.

Huntsham

HUNTSHAM, in the hundred and deanery of Tiverton, lies about four miles from that town.

The manor of Huntsham was, at an early period, successively in the families of Stanton and Dunsland. (fn. 36) In the year 1310, it was the property of Robert Beare, or Bere, Esq., whose descendants continued to possess it, and to reside at Huntsham, till the early part of the last century, when it passed by sale to Lucas, and since from Lucas to Troyte. It is now the property and residence of the Rev. Edward Berkeley Troyte, D. D., who is incumbent and patron of the rectory.

Huxham

HUXHAM, in the hundred of Wonford and in the deanery of Aylesbeare, lies about three miles from Exeter.

Huxham gave name to a family who possessed the manor from the reign of Henry II. to that of Edward III., when its heiress brought it to the ancestor of Sir C. W. Bampfylde, Bart., the present proprietor and patron of the rectory, which is united to Poltimore.

In the parish-church is a memorial of John Acland, Esq., who died in 1622.

Footnotes