Hall, Bishop's Tawton

Coordinates: 51°01′35″N 4°01′06″W / 51.0263°N 4.0184°W / 51.0263; -4.0184
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hall, Bishop's Tawton, Devon, south (main) front. The Victorian baronial hall is situated at the west (left) end
Bishops Tawton; Eggesford
Stone barn, an old threshing barn next to Hall mansion house, which is situated directly behind
Stables or Clock-House, one of the many outbuildings surrounding the house on the north and west
The granary at Hall

Hall is a large estate within the parish and former manor of

Raleigh, near Barnstaple. The mansion house is situated about 2 miles south-east of the village of Bishop's Tawton and 4 miles south-east of Barnstaple, and sits on a south facing slope of the valley of the River Taw, overlooking the river towards the village of Atherington. The house and about 2,500 acres[1] of surrounding land continues today to be owned and occupied by descendants, via a female line, of the Chichester family. The present Grade II* listed[2] neo-Jacobean house was built by Robert Chichester between 1844 and 1847 and replaced an earlier building.[3] Near the house to the south at the crossroads of Herner the Chichester family erected in the 1880s a private chapel of ease which contains mediaeval woodwork saved from the demolished Old Guildhall in Barnstaple.[4]

Descent

The descent of the estate of Hall was as follows:

de Hall

The manor of Tawton was recorded in the

Raleigh
by his wife Alice Wotton, a daughter and co-heiress of John Wotton of Widworthy.

Chichester

Arms of Chichester: Chequy or and gules, a chief vair
Boer War aged 29. The crest
is a heron (or stork) with an eel (or snake) in its beak, the motto in ancient French is: Ferme en foy ("Firm in faith")

The descent of the Chichester family of Hall is given thus in the Heralds' Visitations of Devon:[7]

Richard Chichester (b. 1456)

Richard Chichester (b. 1456) married Thomasine de Hall (d.1502), the heiress of Hall, whom he survived as he was named in his wife's inquisition post mortem.

James Chichester (b. 1480; d. 1548)

James Chichester (b. 1480; d.1548) (eldest son & heir), married Elizabeth (Katheryn) Gough, daughter of Richard Gough of Aldercombe, who survived her husband.

Robert Chichester (b. 1515; d.1563)

Robert Chichester (b. 1515; d.1563) (second son), whose elder brother Thomas Chichester pre-deceased their father. He married Ellen Acland, daughter of Sir John Acland of

Acland family grew to rival the Chichesters in prominence in North Devon. His will dated 13 March 1563 mentions his "capital house or manor at Hall lately by me re-edified". This would therefore have been an Elizabethan-style house re-built by him. His will also mentions the following lands inherited from his mother: "Aldercombe, Abberly and Ford in (the parish of) Kilkhampton", Cornwall.[8]

John Chichester (b. about 1550; d.1596)

John Chichester (b. about 1550; d.1596) (eldest son and heir), married Elizabeth Marwood (d.1615), eldest daughter of John Marwood of Westcott, Devon.

John Chichester (1566/7-1608)

John Chichester (1566/7-1608) (eldest son and heir), married in 1591 Anne Basset (1576-1664), daughter of Sir

Umberleigh Chapel. Westcote was one of three Domesday Book manors within the present parish of Marwood in the hundred of Braunton, and was one of the 27 Devon holdings of Theobald FitzBerner, whose tenant there was Oliver.[10] It was recorded later in the Book of Fees as Westecoth held by Eustace de Marwood from the feudal barony of Great Torrington.[11] It was inherited by the Chichesters of Hall on the marriage of John Chichester (d.1608) to Elizabeth Marwood, one of the three daughters and co-heiresses of John Marwood. It appears to have been used by the Chichester family as a dower house. Another ancient estate called "Westacott" exists today immediately to the north-west of Hall, in the parish of Bishop's Tawton. Their daughter Elizabeth Chichester (d.1628) married Richard Delbridge, a prominent merchant of Barnstaple, and her mural monument exists in St Peter's Church, Barnstaple
.

Monument to daughter Elizabeth

Mural monument to Elizabeth Chichester (d.1628), a daughter of John Chichester (d.1608) of Hall and wife of the Barnstaple merchant Richard Delbridge. St Peter's Church, Barnstaple

There exists in

prie dieu with a baby in swaddling clothes on the ground in front of her. Above her is a lozenge
showing the arms of Chichester, differenced by a crescent. On top of the monument is an escutcheon with the arms of Delbridge (Sable, a chevron argent between three swan's heads and necks couped proper) impaling Chichester.

Sir John Chichester (1598-1669)

collection, Devon, ref:987416. Bequeathed by Miss Rosalie Chichester of Arlington Court, 1949

Sir

in Cornwall and was knighted in 1625. He married three times:

Arms of Strode: Argent, a chevron between three conies courant sable, detail from mural monument to Ursula Strode (d.1635), 1st wife of Sir John Chichester (d.1669) of Hall. Bishop's Tawton Church

Mural monument

Mural monument to Sir John Chichester (d.1669), Bishop's Tawton Church, north wall of chancel

A baroque mural monument exists in Bishop's Tawton Church to Sir John Chichester (d.1669), on top of which in the centre is shown an escutcheon of twenty quarterings with on the dexter the arms of Chichester impaling Strode, with on the sinister, more recently restored, Chichester impaling Courtenay (perhaps of Powderham or of Molland), with which families no close connection of his is recorded and which is therefore inexplicable. In this position might be expected to have been placed the arms of one of his later wives, Pollard or Stevens. The Latin inscription is as follows:

Memoriae Sacrum. Hic jacet vir admodum venerabilis D(ominus) Jo(h)annes Chichester de Hall, Eques, qui (dum in vivis) fuit erga deum pius, regi suo fidelis, patriae dux publicus dilectus, ecclesiae filius, pacis amator, pauperum patronus, omnibusq(ue) tum justitiae necnon reliquarum virtutum exemplar. Obiit 24.o Septemb(ri) Anno Salutis 1669. Maerens posuit Jo(h)annes Chichester, Armiger, defuncti filius natu maximus ("Sacred to the Memory. Here lies a man altogether venerable, Sir John Chichester, Knight, who (whilst amongst the living) was towards God pious, to his king faithful, to his country a beloved public leader, to the Church a son, to peace a lover, to the poor a patron and in everything as to justice, and certainly of the rest of the virtues, an example. He died on the 24th of September in the Year of the Redemption 1669. John Chichester, Esquire, the eldest son of the deceased, mourning, erected this")

Quarterings

Heraldic cartouche of 20 quarterings on mural monument to Sir John Chichester (d.1669) of Hall

At the top of the mural monument to Sir John Chichester (d.1669) is an oval heraldic

putti with the crest of Chichester above. The cartouche shows the following 20 quarters
:
1: Chequy or and gules a chief vair (Chichester)
2: Or, three
label
of three points azure
(Courtenay)
3: Gules semé of
lion rampant
argent

4: Argent, a fess between two chevrons sable in base the
Red Hand of Ulster[16]
5: Gules, a chevron between three goat's heads erased ermine attired or (Marwood of Westcot, Marwood)
6: Barry of six vair and gules (Beaumont of Youlstone, Shirwell)
7: Azure, a chevron argent between three pears or (Orchard)[17]
8: Sable, two lions passant crowned or (Dymock, a Wotton heiress[18])
9: Gules, a saltire vair (Willington of Umberleigh)
10: Azure, seven martlets or on a canton (sable?) a mullet (gules?)
11: Argent, on a chevron gules three fleurs-de-lis or
12: Sable semée of cross-crosslets or, three lions rampant argent alias Sable crusily or, three lions rampant argent (Wotton of Widworthy)[19]
13: Gules crusilly or, a bend vair (Raleigh of Raleigh, Pilton, with crescent for difference; erroneous arms)
14: Argent, a chevron counter-ermine between three cinquefoils gules (de Hall)
15: Argent, two bars gules in chief three torteaux (Mules/Moels of Halmeston, Bishops Tawton)
16: Sable, three garbs or
17: Gules, a chevron between three mermaids each holding a mirror in her right hand and a comb in her left argent (Gough of Aldercombe[20])
18: Azure, a chevron ermine between three chaplets or (Clotworthy)
19: Argent, a fess gules between three mullets sable
20: Chequy or and gules a chief vair (Chichester)

Monument to first wife

Mural monument to Ursula Strode (d.1635), 1st wife of Sir John Chichester (d.1669) of Hall. South wall of chancel, Bishop's Tawton Church

There exists on the south wall of the choir in

prie dieu with two babies side-by-side wrapped in swaddling clothes in front of her. At the top within an elaborate gilded frame within a broken pediment is a lozenge showing the arms of Strode: Argent, a chevron between three conies courant sable.[21] On the arch above her is shown on the dexter the arms of Chichester and on the sinister the arms of Strode. Below underneath an inscribed tablet is a cartouche bearing the arms of Chichester impaling
Strode. The tablet is inscribed as follows:

"To the memorie of the truly vertuous and religious the Lady Ursula Chichester daughter to Sr. William Strode of Newingeam, Knight, and wife to Sr. John Chichester of Hall, Knight, by whome she had issue seven sonnes and two daughters whereof survive fower sonnes, two sonnes & one daught. heere buried. She departed this life in the true faith of Christ Jesus and was heere enterred the 6th (5th?) day of July Anno D(omi)ni 1635 aetat(is) suae (47?).

Fayre virtuous sainct injoy thy peaceful sleepe,
While wee that live employ our foes to weepe,
But when thou wak'st let glory shew thy grace,
Let Heav'n, which only can, enrich thy face."

John Chichester (1626-1684)

John Chichester (1626-1684), (eldest son by Ursula Strode), who died childless and was buried at Bath Abbey, where exists a monument to his memory.

Francis Chichester (1628-1698)

Francis Chichester (1628-1698) (brother), died childless.

Arthur Chichester (1670-1737/8)

Arthur Chichester (1670-1737/8) (cousin), of Pill, a house immediately north of the village of Bishop's Tawton. He was the eldest son and heir of Arthur Chichester (d.1682) of Stowford (whose monument exists in

Tavistock
, the eighth son of John Chichester (d.1596) of Hall. Arthur's younger brother Henry Chichester (1678-1730) of Stowford, married his cousin Susannah Chichester (1665-1707/8), the daughter of Sir John Chichester (1598-1669) of Hall by his second wife Elizabeth Pollard. A monument to Susannah exists in Swimbridge Church. Arthur married twice:

Anne Chichester (1721-1781), a daughter of Arthur Chichester (1670-1737/8) of Hall and wife of Denys Rolle (1725-1797) of Stevenstone. Portrait by Thomas Hudson (1701-79); Collection of Great Torrington Almshouse, Town Lands and Poors Charities, formerly the property of Hon. Mark Rolle (d. 1907) of Stevenstone and donated by his heir Lord Clinton[22]

Charles Chichester (1722/3-1798)

Charles Chichester (1722/3-1798) (grandson), who married in 1747 Amy Incledon (d.1782), eldest daughter of

Incledon in Braunton and which acquired in 1319 the nearby estate of Buckland[25] which they made their seat. Buckland House
is today still owned and occupied by descendants of the Incledons.

Charles Chichester (1749/50-1835)

Charles Chichester (1749/50-1835), (son) who married in 1799 Henrietta Webber (d.1835), 7th daughter of Philip Rogers Webber (d.1819) of Barnstaple, later of Buckland House, by his wife Mary Incledon (1736-1802), the eventual sole-heiress of her father John Incledon (1702-1746) of Buckland House in the parish of Braunton, first cousin of Amy Incledon. Charles's daughter Henrietta Chichester (1809-1884) married her cousin Charles Henry Webber (1810-1883), of Buckland, an officer in the Indian Army, whose son and heir was Edward Chichester Incledon-Webber (b. 1837) of Buckland House. In 2013 the Webber family descended from this line continues to reside at Buckland and are nominally lords of the manor of Braunton.

Robert Chichester (b. 1804)

Robert Chichester (b. 1804) (3rd son and heir), married Clarentia Mason, only surviving daughter of Col. Henry Mason of the Indian Army, of

Raleigh) in 1893.[27]

Charles Chichester (b. 1828)

Charles Chichester (b. 1828),

Sir Alexander Palmer Bruce Chichester, 2nd Baronet
(1842-1881). Thus in this generation the three then surviving branches of the family were brought together in kinship.

Charles Hamlyn Chichester (b. 1871) (son)

Notes

  1. ^ Lauder, p.35
  2. ^ Hall House - Bishop's Tawton - Devon - England | British Listed Buildings
  3. ^ Pevsner & Cherry, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.467
  4. ^ Pevsner, p.480
  5. ^ a b Risdon, Tristram, Survey of Devon, 1810 edition, p.321
  6. ^ Vivian, p.172
  7. ^ Vivian, pp.176-178
  8. ^ Chichester, Sir Alexander, 1871
  9. ^ Anne Bassett was buried however in Marwood Church, per Vivian, p.176, in which church there appears to exist a similarly worded monument to that at Bishop's Tawton
  10. ^ Thorn, Caroline & Frank, Domesday Book, Volume 9: Devon, Chichester (Sussex), 1985, chapter 36,16 & part 2, notes
  11. ^ Quoted by Thorn, part 2, 36,16 notes
  12. ^ "Richard" per inscription on her mural monument, stated erroneously by Vivian, Heralds' Visitations of Devon, 1895, p.177 as "J.Delbridge", corrected in corrienda
  13. ^ Vivian, p.598, pedigree of Pollard
  14. ^ Vivian, p.653
  15. ^ Vivian p.653
  16. ^ Similar to Pecche & FitzWalter
  17. Stucley
    of Affeton contain pears of these tinctures, but omit the chevron
  18. ^ See Pole, p.145
  19. ^ Vivian, p.172; Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.508). Sir John Chichester (1385-1437) (son of Sir John Chichester and Thomasin de Raleigh), married Alice Wotton, daughter and co-heiress of John Wotton of Widworthy (Vivian, p.172)
  20. ^ Given for "Gogh" with field sable by Tristram Risdon in his Notebook
  21. ^ Vivian, p.718
  22. ^ Collection of Great Torrington Almshouse, Town Lands and Poors Charities, Rolle/Clinton Art Collection
  23. ^ Vivian, 1895, p.498
  24. ^ Lamplugh, Lois, Barnstaple: Town on the Taw, South Molton, 2002, p.15
  25. ^ Vivian, pp.497-499, pedigree of Incledon
  26. ^ Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, p.401, pedigree of Chichester of Hall
  27. ^ Reed, Margaret A., Pilton: Its Past and Its People, Barnstaple, 1985, p.144, quoting Kelly's Directory, 1893
  28. ^ Vivian, p.175, Chichester of Raleigh

References

  • Vivian, J.L., Lt.-Col., The Visitations of the County of Devon comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, Chichester: pp. 172–184, Chichester of Hall: pp. 176–178
  • www.tudorplace.com (pedigree of Chichester family)[unreliable source]
  • Pevsner, N., & Cherry, B., The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004; p. 467-8, Hall, Bishop's Tawton; p. 480, Herner
  • Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, pp. 35–40, Chichester of Hall & Arlington
  • Risdon, Tristram, The Chorographical Description or Survey of the County of Devon, manuscript circa 1635, 1810 edition, pp. 321–2
  • Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, pp. 400–1, Chichester of Hall

Further reading

External links

51°01′35″N 4°01′06″W / 51.0263°N 4.0184°W / 51.0263; -4.0184