Stevenstone
This article possibly contains original research. (July 2013) |
Stevenstone is a former
From the
In 1669 Sir John Rolle (died 1706), KB of Stevenstone had an annual income of £6,000 making him "one of the richest gentlemen in the country".[6] He died in 1706 seized of more than 40 manors in Devon.[7]
The family built several different houses on the same site known as Stevenstone House, the last Victorian version of which was built between 1868 and 1872. It was significantly reduced in size soon after 1912 and then after 1931 it was gradually demolished piecemeal for building materials.
Descent of the manor
He was followed by another John, Walter and John de Stephenston. The latter left a daughter Elizabeth de Stephenston his sole heiress, who brought the manor by marriage to her husband Grant of Westlegh, near Bideford. Grant was himself also lacking in male progeny and left two daughters joint heiresses, one of whom married Monk of Potheridge, whilst the other married a member of the Moyle family, who received Stevenstone as his wife's share of the inheritance. He made it his chief residence, and Prince suggests, on the basis of Tristram Risdon's assertion, that his descendant Sir Walter Moyle, a Justice of the King's Bench in 1454, was born here.
Rolle
The male descendants up to 1842 of George Rolle included about twenty
The descendants of George Rolle the patriarch's eldest son John Rolle (died 1570) failed in the male line in 1642 on the death of the infant John Rolle (1638–1642). Stevenstone and several other manors which had by then been accumulated by purchase and inheritance from heiresses, passed eventually to Sir John Rolle (1626–1706), the grandson of George Rolle (died 1573) of Marrais. Some of the estates of the patriarch's fourth son Henry Rolle of Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe, also reverted to the line of George Rolle of Marais on the failure in the male line in 1747 on the death of Samuel Rolle of Hudscott, Chittlehampton.[11]
Descent in Rolle family
- George Rolle (died 1552), MP. Purchased Stevenstone pre-1524.
- John Rolle (1522–1570), eldest son, husband of Margaret Ford (died 1570) commemorated by monumental brass in St Giles Church.[12]
- Sir Henry Rolle (1545–1625), eldest son, married firstly Elizabeth Watts, daughter and heiress of Roger Watts of Somerset, secondly a Fortescue, daughter of John Fortescue (1525–1595) of Fallapit,Dissolution of the Monasteries.[18] It had been used by George Rolle as his townhouse, by the name of "Buckfast Place" and was the place of his death in 1552. In 1609 he purchased from William Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Effingham (1577–1615) several of the larger former holdings of Barnstaple Priory in Pilton and Bradiford, whose family had held the lands since the Dissolution of the Monasteries.[19]
- Prince's Worthies of Devon, in which he is described as "The darling of his country in his time, adorn'd with all the desirable qualities that make a compleat gentleman. He was, though young, of a ready wit, a generous mind, and a large soul."[20] Monument and effigy in the Rolle Mausoleum, Old Bicton Church. Son of Sir Henry Rolle (died 1617) (son of Elizabeth Watts and who predeceased his father), by his wife Anne Denys, heiress of Bicton.[13]
- John Rolle (1638–1642), only son by his wife Margaret Poulett. Died an infant.[21]
- Henry Rolle (1605–1647) of Beam House, Great Torrington. First cousin of Sir Henry Rolle (died 1617).[13]
- Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1642–1723) at Abbot's Lodge, his Exeter townhouse, who in the detailed record of his visit described Rolle as "One of the richest gentlemen in the country".[23]
- Robert Rolle (1677–1710), MP, grandson, son of John Rolle (died 1689) who predeceased his father.
- John Rolle (1679–1730), MP, brother. Married Isabella Walter.[22]
- Henry Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (1708–1750), eldest son.[22]
- John Rolle Walter (1712–1779), MP, brother.[22]
- Denys Rolle (1725–1797), MP, brother.[22] Founded colonies in Palatka, Florida and Exuma, Bahamas. Inherited Hudscott from distant cousin Samuel Rolle (died 1747), descended from Henry Rolle of Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe, 4th son of the patriarch George Rolle (died 1552).
- John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (1750–1842), MP, son. Last of the male line, died without progeny.
- Mark Rolle (1835–1907), born Hon. Mark Trefusis, adoptive heir, nephew of Lord Rolle's wife Louisa Trefusis, a daughter of Baron Clinton.
Forms of Stevenstone House
The earliest record of the form of the manor house is that given by John Leland (died 1552), who wrote : "There is an hamlet longging to Tarington toun not a mile by est from Tarington coullid S. Gilys, wher George Rolles hath buildid a right fair house of bryke". It is said by Hoskins (1954) to have been the first brick-built house in Devon.[24] A letter survives dated 1539 from George Rolle to his illustrious client's wife Lady Lisle "from my poor house" of Stevenstone.[9]
Two Palladian outbuildings serving as
Victorian re-build
The house was demolished in 1868 by Hon. Mark Rolle (died 1907) who erected in its place between 1868 and 1872 to the design of Charles Barry Jr. (died 1900) a Victorian mansion in the "French Chateau style" (or "Franco-Italian style" as it was termed by a contemporary issue of Building News,[27]) widely considered today to have been a building of little architectural merit. It may be compared, but in simpler form, to the Rothschild family's slightly later Waddesdon Manor, which was however designed by a French architect.[citation needed] It sat within a deer park of 370 acres containing a large quantity of large and valuable trees.[28] In the opinion of Hoskins writing in 1954: "Mark Rolle rebuilt the house again in the worst style of the time. The richest man in Devon built himself the ugliest house".[9]
Sale and demolition
Trefusis, Baron Clinton
Following the death of Mark Rolle in 1907, the Rolle estates, extending to about 55,000 acres, which had been held by him as life tenant under the will of his aunt's husband John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (1750–1842), descended to his heir male his nephew Charles John Robert Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton (1863–1957), of Huish
Clemson
Lord Clinton sold Stevenstone by auction in 1912 to Captain John Oliver Clemson (1882–1915) and his wife Mary McKinnon, a wealthy heiress.[30] Clemson was born 30 May 1882 in Crumpsall, Manchester the elder son of John Henry Clemson (1856–1889) of Parkside, Altrincham, Cheshire by his wife Sara Jane Oliver (b. 1855).[31][32] He had one brother and four sisters.
In 1891 aged 8 he was living with his widowed mother at Brookfield House, Bury Old Road, Broughton, Salford. He attended Windermere College Preparatory School, in the parish of St Mary's Church Applethwaite, Windermere, in which church his name appears on a memorial tablet "Boys of the Old College who fell in the Great War". He later attended
In 1911, unmarried and aged 28, he was staying at Bydown House,
Captain Clemson was mobilised on 4 August 1914 and sailed for
His widow Mary erected a bronze memorial tablet in the church naming the twelve men of the parish who had lost their lives in World War I, reported on in the local press thus: "Following the unveiling by Mrs. Clemson, and the dedication by the Vicar (Rev. C. Walker), the "Last Post" and Reveille were sounded on cornets, and the effect was grand in its solemnity. Special hymns and psalms were sung by the choir, and the Vicar based his address on the significance of the memorial". His grave is in the Lala Baba Cemetery in Turkey.[31] Mrs Clemson remarried to Col. B.C. James, 8th Devon Regiment, awarded the DSO on 1 January 1917, and remained at Stevenstone.
Piecemeal disposal
On 26 September 1930 the estate of Stevenstone was offered for sale by auction, including 665 acres. The property was auctioned again in May 1931, but with only 17 acres and was then described as comprising four reception rooms, 27 bed and dressing rooms and eight bathrooms.[35] It failed to sell at £3,000. A further 300 acres were sold separately.
In the summer of 1931 the house and some of the parkland was purchased by Mr George Millman, the tenant of Winscott Barton (the ancient home of Tristram Risdon), by then part of the Stevenstone estate, within the parish of St Giles.[36] He immediately offered it for sale as building materials prior to complete demolition, split into 609 lots. Lot 609 was the residual shell of the house itself after all else had been sold in the previous lots. Mr Millman however changed his intention against selling, but by then the auction could not be stopped. He bought-in as many lots as he could, and the house continued for a few more years, reduced in size again by the demolition of the servants' wing which connected the house to the stable block.
The house was still habitable during
In 1970 the vestigial ruins of Stevenstone House were purchased by Mr Parnell, who had purchased the Deer Park in the 1931 sale and had built a bungalow next to the ruins. Although the adjacent detached Library Room and the Orangery were granted Grade II* Listing on 4 October 1960, the ruins of Stevenstone House received much later on 16 February 1989 a Grade II Listing, offering them protection from demolition, but they have continued to deteriorate from adverse weather and are as at 2012 totally covered in ivy.
Stevenstone today
Around the ruined house exists in 2012 a hamlet of settlement, comprising the terraced houses of the former stable block, several bungalows within the walled kitchen garden, other new houses and the Torrington Farmers Hunt Kennels, previously the Stevenstone Hunt in the days of Mark Rolle. The Palladian outbuildings of the Library Room and the Orangery were purchased in July 1978 by the Landmark Trust and were restored and converted into revenue-producing rental accommodation.
See also
- HMS Stevenstone (L16)
References
- ^ Hoskins, p.278
- ^ Hoskins, p.296
- ^ Hoskins, p.88. 3rd was the Earl of Devon with 20,589 acres worth £31,000, 4th was the Fortescue family of Castle Hill with 20,171 acres, worth over £17,000 p/a, 5th was the Duchy of Cornwall with 48,457 acres, much of it moorland, with an annual value of under £5,000
- ^ Hoskins, p.183
- ^ Hoskins, p.84
- ^ Quoted from "Tour of the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1669", quoted in Hoskins, p.86
- ^ Hoskins, p.87, Quoting Lysons, Magna Britannia, 82,b
- ^ As seen on framed mural monument in Exford Church, Somerset, to Major Morland Greig (1864–1915), of Edgcott, Exford, Master of the Devon & Somerset Staghounds, killed in action at Gallipoli. The badge is also shown, but with the hand grasping a palm frond, sculpted on the mural monument in the Church of St Giles in the Wood, Devon, to Captain John Oliver Clemson (1882–1915) of Stevenstone, also killed fighting with the same regiment at Gallipoli.
- ^ a b c Hoskins, p.469
- ^ Hawkyard, A. D.K. "ROLLE, George (by 1486–1552), of Stevenstone, Devon and London". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ "ROLLE, Samuel II (1669–1735), of Hudscott, Devon | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ Vivian, 1895, p.652, "MI St Giles"
- ^ a b c d Vivian, 1895, p.653
- ^ Vivian, 1895, p.365
- ^ Will of Honor Speccot, wife of John Fortescue leaves a bequest to "My daughter the Lady Rolle" [1]
- ^ Robson, Thomas, The British Herald, Vol.2, London, 1850
- ^ Devon Notes & Queries, Vol.9, 1916–17, pp.97–9: Armorial Bearings at the Abbot's Lodge, The Close, Exeter [2]
- ^ "Demolition Exeter: The Abbot's Lodge, Cathedral Close". 26 September 2010.
- ^ Reed, Margaret A., Pilton, its Past and its People, Barnstaple, 1985, pp.13, 28
- ^ Prince, p.706
- ^ Prince
- ^ a b c d e f Vivian, 1895, p.656
- ^ Magalotti, Lorenzo, Conte, 1637–1712, Travels of Cosmo the Third, Grand Duke of Tuscany, through England during the Reign of King Charles the Second (1669), translated from the Italian manuscript in the Laurentian library at Florence. To which is prefixed, a memoir of his life.., 1821, p.129 [3]
- ^ Hoskins, p.266
- ^ Library Room, term used in will of Baron Rolle (died 1842), referring to the bequest of his books
- ^ Pevsner, p.760
- ^ Quoted by Pevsner, p.760
- ^ White's Devonshire Directory of 1890, transcribed by Debbie Kennett
- ^ Stags Estate Agents: "A rare opportunity to acquire a detached Deer Shelter with full planning to convert into a 2 bedroom property subject to a holiday restriction. Sought after location enjoying far reaching countryside views and approx 5 acres"[4]
- ^ Lauder, pp.10–11
- ^ a b Cooke, William (2007). "Memorial to the Fallen Heroes of St Giles in the Wood". GENUKI/Devon. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ "St Giles in the Wood Monumental Inscriptions". rootsweb. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Dedicated to remembering person surname of Clemson of Altrincham that fought in WW1 for our freedom. Entry Number 181". Trafford War Dead. Retrieved 30 October 2013. Includes information from the 1911 census.
- ^ a b Malpass, Robert (2010). "Exeter College Oxford – Roll of Honour 1914–1918" (PDF). p. 38. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ Western Times, 29 May 1931, quoted in Lauder, pp.12–13
- ^ The Millman family purchased the freehold of Winscott at the dispersal sale of the Rolle Estate
Sources
- Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, pp. 652–656, pedigree of Rolle of Stevenstone
- Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954)
- Lauder, Rosemary, Vanished Houses of North Devon, Tiverton, 2005, Stevenstone House pp. 7–20
- Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004
- Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition, London, pp. 706–708, biography of Denys Rolle (1614–1638)