Umberleigh
Umberleigh | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | UMBERLEIGH | |
Postcode district | EX37 | |
Dialling code | 01769 | |
Police | Devon and Cornwall | |
Fire | Devon and Somerset | |
Ambulance | South Western | |
UK Parliament | ||
Umberleigh is a former large manor within the historic hundred of (North) Tawton,[1] but today a small village in North Devon in England. It used to be an ecclesiastical parish, but following the building of the church at Atherington it became a part of that parish. It forms however a part of the civil parish of Chittlehampton, which is mostly located on the east side of the River Taw.
The manor of Umberleigh, which had its own entry in the Domesday Book of 1086, was entirely situated on the west side of the River Taw and was centred on the Nunnery which was given by William the Conqueror to the Holy Trinity Abbey in Caen, Normandy.
The site was later occupied by the
Descent of the manor
King Athelstan
According to the Devon historian
Norman Conquest
Immediately prior to the
In the
Umberleigh subsequently became a holding of the
Soleigney family
The first subsequent
Gilbert/Phillip de Soleigny married Avis (or Hawis) de Redvers, daughter of "Baldwin de Redvers, Earl of Devon",[6] and according to Risdon the sister of "Richard Rivers, Earl of Devon", probably Richard de Redvers, 4th Earl of Devon (d.1193). For her dowry Hawis was given by her father the manor of Stoke Rivers, which thus passed to her husband.[7] Gilbert/Phillip de Soligny left a daughter Mabill de Soligny as sole heiress, who married Jordan de Champernon, into whose family Umberleigh passed.[6]
Champernon/Champernowne family
The Champernon family, sometimes
The immediate line of descent from Jordan and Mabill de Champernon is unclear. According to Risdon,[citation needed] their sole heir was a daughter, Joan de Champernon (implying perhaps that her issue son adopted the name Champernon). However, Pole's account assigns two sons to Jordan and Mabill: Richard de Champernon, who died without issue, and Jordan de Champernon (II).
At Umberleigh, William de Champernon, apparently a grandson of Jordan II, was by his wife Eva, the father of another Joan de Champernon (II), also a sole heiress. Joan II who lived during the reign of King
Johan de Campo Arnulphi salut(ate) noveritis me in viduitate mea divinae charitat(e) intuit(a) pro salut(ate) animae meae et antecessorum meorum nec non pro salut(ate) animarum Domini Will(ielmi) de Campo Arnulphi patris mei et Eve matris mei et Domin(i) Ralph de Willington, quondam viri mei et puerorum nostrorum conces(ssi) totam terram de Wiara ad sustentationem capella ad present(atio)nem nostram et haeredum ad celebrand(um) divina in capella nostra de Umberley. Hiis testibus: Joh(an)n(is) de Punchardon, Nicholao de Filleigh, Roberto Beaple, Matth. de Wollington, milit(ibus) [Which may be translated thus:]
"Joan de Champernon, greetings. Know ye all that I in my widowhood, inspired by divine charity for the good of my soul and of the souls of my ancestors and not least for the good of the souls of Lord William de Champernon my father and Eve my mother and of Lord Ralph de Willington, sometime my husband and of our boys, I have granted all that land of Wiara [possibly Wear] towards the support of a chaplain, the presentation of whom to belong to us and our heirs, for the celebration of divine service in our Chapel of Umberleigh. With these witnesses (present): John de Punchardon (originally de Pont Chardon, lord of the manor of Heanton Punchardon; Nicholas de Filleigh, (lord of the manor of Filleigh); Robert Beauple (probably lord of the manors of Landkey and Knowstone); Matthew de Wollington, knights"
Other branches of the Champernon family were associated with three other prominent estates in Devon:
- Ilfracombe was inherited during the reign of King Richard I (1189–1199) by Henry de Champernon of "Clist Champernon" from his wife Rohais.[11] The Ilfracombe line was itself descended from Richard de Champernon of "Clist Champernon", a brother of Jordan de Champernon II (see above).[12]
- Modbury was inherited from the Okeston family during the reign of King Edward II (1307–1327).[13] It was retained by the family until 1700 when it was sold by Arthur Champernowne of Modbury (born 1671/2), who died without issue some time before 1717.[14]
- Dartington Hall was acquired by Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Champernowne (before 1524–1578) in 1559.[15] Sir Arthur Champernowne was descended from Richard de Champernon, brother of Jordan II, by way of a younger son of the Champernon branch at Modbury. Jane Champernowne, the sole-heiress of Arthur Champernowne (d. 1766), married Arthur Harrington (d. 1819), who in accordance with the terms of inheritance, changed his family name by royal licence to Champernowne.[16] Arthur Melville Champernowne (b. 1871), the great-grandson of Jane and Arthur Harrington Champernowne, held Dartington Hall until 1925, when it was sold out of the family.[17]
Willington family
The family of Ralph de Willington II (see above) originated at the manor of Willington near Repton in Derbyshireand later resided at Yate, Gloucestershire.[18]
An ancestor, also Ralph de Willington (I; died pre-1242) married Olympia (died post 1242), heiress of
Ralph II married Joan de Champernon, heiress of Umberleigh, during the reign of Edward I (1272–1307) was The descendants of Ralph II and Joan were as follows:
- Ralph de Willington (eldest son), called by Risdon "a worthy warrior",
- John de Willington (d.1338/9), eldest son and heir, who on 8 August 1299 obtained a royal licence to crenellate his mansion at Yate.
Rail transport
Umberleigh railway station lies on the Tarka Line north of Portsmouth Arms and south of Chapelton. The service offers a direct connection to both Exeter and Barnstaple. All train services are provided by Great Western Railway.
Sources
- Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, pp. 422–3, "Aderington"
- Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, pp. 316–8, Atherington
References
- ^ Thorn, Caroline & Frank, Domesday Book, Vol. 9, Devon, Chichester, 1985, part 2 (notes), chap. 13,1
- ^ a b Risdon, T., Survey of Devon, 1810 edition, pp.316–7
- ^ a b c Thorne, part 2, 13,1
- ^ Sanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.6
- ^ Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.446
- ^ a b c d e Pole, p.422
- ^ Pole, p.411. Stoke Rivers descended to Willington and Beaumont, and thence to the Chichesters with Shirwell
- ^ Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.317
- ^ Victoria County History, Vol.5, Warwickshire, Kington Hundred
- ^ Pole, p.411, re Stoke Rivers, a manor also held by Joan de Champernon
- ^ Risdon, Survey of Devon, 1810 edition, p.345
- ^ Vivian, Heralds' Visitations of Devon, 1895, p.160-165, Champernowne pedigree
- ^ Risdon, Survey of Devon, 1810 edition, p.187; Vivian, p.160
- ^ Vivian, p.165
- ^ Pevsner, Devon, 2004, p.311
- ^ Vivian, Heralds' Visitations of Devon, 1895, p.164; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, p.384
- ^ Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, p.384
- ^ Robinson, W.J., West Country Manors, Bristol, 1930, pp.203–206, Yate Court
- ^ N. M. Herbert, 1988, "Gloucester: Outlying hamlets", A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 4: The City of Gloucester. Available from British History Online. (17 September 2014) pp. 382–410
- ^ N. M. Herbert, 1988, "Gloucester: The cathedral and close", A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 4: The City of Gloucester. Available from British History Online. (17 September 2014) pp. 275–288.
- ^ From: 'Awre', A History of the County of Gloucester (VCH): Volume 5: Bledisloe Hundred, St. Briavels Hundred, The Forest of Dean (1996), pp. 14–46 [1]. "Pulton" in the 1242 inquisition post mortem of Thomas de Beaumont, 6th Earl of Warwick (1208–1242) was shown as held from him by the widow "Olimpia de Wilinton" (J. E. E. S. Sharp (ed.), 1904, "Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry III, File 1,Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume 1: Henry III, Available from British History Online. (17 September 2014) pp. 1–6).
- ^ Risdon, p.317
- ^ Ralph de Willington Sheriff in 39 Henry III (1254) per Risdon, List of Sheriffs, p.9; 42 Henry III(1257) per Burke's A genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain, 1838, vol.4, Willington of Hurley, p.526 [2]
- ^ Pole, p.212
- ^ Pole, p.166