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Nutwell Court, built circa 1800

Nutwell in the parish of Woodbury in Devon is a historic manor and the site of a neo-classical mansion house known as Nutwell Court.

Descent of the manor

Domesday Book

In the Domesday Book of 1086 Noteswille was held in chief by one of King William II's thanes named Donne (or "Dunn"), who also held from the king the manor of Newton St Cyres.[1] Before the Norman Conquest of 1066 a man named Dunn had been in possession of the manors of Varleys, later held by another thane of King William II, [2] and of Fardel and Dinnaton, which in 1087 were both amongst the 79 Devon holdings of in chief of the Count of Mortain.[3] In 1086 Dunn held from the Count of Mortain the manor of Spriddlescombe.[4]

Dynham

Arms of Dynham: Gules, four fusils in fess ermine

The manor of Nutwell, together with nearby Harpford, were granted by King Henry I (1100-1135) to Geoffrey I, Sire de Dinan, lord of Dinan,[5] near St Malo in Brittany. In 1122 Geoffrey granted Nutwell and Harpwell to the Abbey of Marmoutier at Tours for the benefit of the dependent priory of St Malo at Dinan. The grant was jointly made with his sons, including his eldest son Oliver I de Dinan (d.1150) and was confirmed by his wife Orieldis.[6] Oliver I's eldest two sons Geoffrey II and Oliver II, co-founded Hartland Abbey[7] in 1168/9.[8]Nutwell descended to Geoffrey I's grandson Rolland de Dinan, lord of Bécherel Castle, (about 20 Km SE of Dinan) the son and heir of Geoffrey I's younger son Alan de Dinan (d.1159). Nutwell was described as "land of Rolland de Dinan" in 1168, but had been taken into the king's hands and produced revenue for the royal exchequer of 14s, accounted for by the Sheriff of Devon.[9]

  • Oliver de Dinham, 1st Baron Dynham (1234-1299). In 1272/3 he bought back the manors of Nutwell and Harpford from the Abbey of Marmoutier. [10] His Inquisition post mortem held in 1299 determined that he held the manors of Nutwell, Hartland and Harpford for 2/3rds of a knight's fee.[11]
  • Joce de Dynham (1273-1301). His Inquisition post mortem was held in 1301 and it was found that he had held the Devon manors of Nutwell ("Nottewill"), Hartland, Harpford and the Somerset manor of Buckland in chief for the servive of one knight's fee.[12]
  • John I Dynham (1295-1332), born at Nutwell[13]
  • John II Dynham (1318-1383). The chapel at Nutwell dates from 1370. [14]
  • John III Dynham (1359-1428)
  • John IV Dynham (1406-1458), died at Nutwell.
  • John V Dynham (1433-1501), KG, Sheriff of Devon, created Baron Dynham in 1467.[15] During the Wars of the Roses and after the Yorkists were defeated at the Battle of Ludlow on 12 October 1459, The Duke of York's eldest son, Edward Earl of March with the Earls of Warwick and his father the Earl of Salisbury, came into Devon guided by Dynham and were hidden by Dynham's mother at Nutwell, until Dynham had found a ship to convey them from Exmouth to safety at Calais.[16] Lord Dynham died without issue as did his brothers and his co-heirs were thus his four sisters.[17] Nutwell was the share of his second (or third) sister Joan de Dinan, wife of John la Zouche, 7th Baron Zouche, 8th Baron St Maur[18] (1459-1526), who sold it to John Prideaux (d.1558).[19]

Prideaux

Arms of Prideaux: Argent, a chevron sable in chief a label of three points gules[20]

Nutwell was purchased by John Prideaux (d.1558), MP for [[Devon (UK Parliament constituency) |Devon]] in 1554 and sergeant-at-law.[21]

Ford

Arms of Ford of Nutwell:[22] Party per fesse or and sable, in chief a greyhound courant in base an owl within a bordure engrailed all counter-changed

Nutwell was purchased in 1649 for £6,050 by Sir Henry Ford (1617-1684), four times MP for Tiverton between 1664 and 1685 and twice Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1669-70 and 1672-3.[23] It was sold by his executors in 1685.[24]

Pollexfen

Nutwell was purchased by Sir Henry Pollexfen[25] (1632-1691) , Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, who was buried at Woodbury.[26] His son and heir was Henry Pollexfen (d.1732) of Nutwell, who married in 1699 Gertrude Drake, daughter of Sir Francis Drake, 3rd Baronet (1642 - 1718) of Buckland Abbey, by his 1st wife Dorothy Bampfield (d.1679) wife. Sir Francis had married as his third wife Elizabeth Pollexfen, Henry's sister.[27]

Sources

  • Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004
  • Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition
  • Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954)
  • Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1810 edition, London, 1810
  • Polwhele, History of Devon (1797)
  • Gray, Todd & Rowe, Margery (Eds.), Travels in Georgian Devon: The Illustrated Journals of The Reverend John Swete, 1789-1800, 4 vols., Tiverton, 1999
  • Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985.
  • Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitation of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895.

References

  1. ^ Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985, part 1, 52:34 & 35
  2. ^ Thorn, part 1, 52:32
  3. ^ Thorn, part 1, 15:67,70
  4. ^ Thorn, part 1, 15:77
  5. ^ Chope, R.Pearse, The Book of Hartland, Torquay, 1940, p.26; Title altered to French form to conform with GEC Peerage, Vol IV, p.369
  6. ^ Chope, p.26, quoting: Round, J Horace, Calendar of Documents in France, 427-8 (nos 1181, 1185)
  7. ^ Chope, p.26
  8. ^ Chope, p.55
  9. ^ Chope, p.27
  10. ^ Chope, p.28; p.40, note 6, quoting Les Dinan, p.175
  11. ^ Chope, p.40
  12. ^ Chope, p.42
  13. ^ Chope, p.29
  14. ^ Chope, p.29
  15. ^ Chope, p.32,3
  16. ^ Chope, p.31
  17. ^ Chope, p.36
  18. ^ GEC Peerage, Vol XII, p.948
  19. ^ Prince, p.300, who does not provide the first name of Prideaux; Vivian, p.264 states purchased by John Prideaux (d.1558).
  20. ^ Vivian, Heraldic Visitations of Devon, p.616
  21. ^ Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitation of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.624, pedigree of Prideaux
  22. ^ Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitation of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, pp.349-351, pedigree of Ford of Nutwell
  23. ^ [[History of Parliament biography of Sir Henry Ford [1]
  24. ^ HoP biog
  25. ^ [[History of Parliament biography of Sir Henry Ford [2]
  26. ^ Vivian, p.601, pedigree of Pollexfen of Woodbury
  27. ^ Vivian, pp. 301,601
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