Buckland Filleigh

Domesday Book

The manor of Bocheland was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the 13th of the 99 holdings of Geoffrey de Montbray (post 1049–1093), Bishop of Coutances. His tenant was Drogo, who held several other manors from him. It had been held before 1066 by Wulfeva. It was in the historic hundred of Shebbear.

de Filleigh

The manor became the inheritance of the de Filleigh family seated at Filleigh in North Devon, from which manor they took their name. They also held lands at the adjoining estate of Hartleigh during the reign of King Edward I (1272–1307) and within the neighbouring settlements to Filleigh of East Buckland, Bray and Charles.

Denzell

On default of male heirs, the manor passed by marriage to the Denzell (or Densyll etc.) family. This family originated from Denzell manor in St Mawgan parish, near St Columb Major, near Newquay, Cornwall. The senior line became extinct in the male line on the death of John Denzel (died 1535), sergeant-at-law and Attorney-General to the Queen Consort, Elizabeth of York. He held large estates in Cornwall and left two daughters as his co-heiresses, Ann who married Sir William Holles (1509–1591), later Lord Mayor of London, and another daughter who married into the Roskymer family. It was a cadet branch of this family which had acquired the de Filleigh lands by marriage. The arms of Denzell were: Sable, a mullet in chief and a crescent in base argent. These arms can be seen sculpted on a bench-end, c. 1510, in Weare Giffard Church, where exist others adorned with Fortescue arms and those of other heiresses who brought possessions to the Fortescue family. The Denzell arms are also shown in the second quarter of the arms of Richard Fortescue (died 1570) on his monumental brasses in Filleigh Church.

Fortescue

In 1454 Sir Martin Fortescue (died 1472), second son of Sir John Fortescue (1395–1485), Chief Justice, of Ebrington Manor in Gloucestershire, married Elizabeth Densyll (died 1508), a daughter and co-heiress of Richard Densyll of Filleigh, and thereby the manor became a possession of the Fortescue family, together with substantial other Densyll manors including Filleigh, Weare Giffard, Combe and Tamerton. Elizabeth Denzell survived her first husband and remarried to Sir Richard de Pomeroy (1442–1496), KB, feudal baron of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, Sheriff of Devon in 1473. The Easter Sepulchre monument to Sir Richard Pomeroy and Elizabeth Denzell survives in Berry Pomeroy Church, with sculpted armorials, but is missing all its original monumental brasses, robbed before 1701, as described by the biographer Rev. John Prince (1643–1723), for many years vicar of Berry Pomeroy: "As for any monuments raised over the graves or sepulchres of the dead relating to this family there is only one remaining, now robbed of its former splendour. It is an altar-tomb under an arch in the north wall of the chancel raised near breast-high covered with a fair table of green marble which was sometime inlay'd with a coat of arms and a motto under of gilded brass or copper. On a rough marble stone about six-foot long and three deep fastened in the wall over the tomb and under the canopy were inlaid in like manner the effigies of four several persons in large proportion with labels proceeding out of their mouths. Also four smaller figures between as many escotcheons, (sic) all of gilded brass or copper. Which are long since become the prey of some greedy or childish hand. At the east end of this monument is Pomerai impailed with Denzil, at the west end single, which shew it was raised to the memory of Sir Richard Pomeroy and his lady, who was the daughter and heir of Denzil. The arch is finely fretted and flowered". The arms of Denzell A mullet in chief and a crescent in base impaled by Pomeroy, are sculpted in stone, but without any tinctures or colouring, under the east end of the arched alcove containing this monument and provide valuable confirmation of the form of the Denzell arms.

The manor of Buckland Filleigh was given to William Fortescue (died 1548), the 2nd son of Martin Fortescue (died 1472), who had married the heiress of Filleigh (later the site of the Palladian mansion Castle Hill, the seat of his descendant Earl Fortescue) and Weare Giffard. Martin was the son and heir of Sir John Fortescue (c. 1394 – c. 1480) of Ebrington in Gloucestershire, Chief Justice of the King's Bench of England and the author of De Laudibus Legum Angliæ and was the nephew of the latter's elder brother Sir Henry Fortescue (fl. 1426), Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland. The Fortescue family first settled in England in the parish of Modbury in South Devon before the early 12th century and were granted the manor of Whympston in Modbury by King John (1199–1216). The descent of Buckland Filleigh was as follows:

Spooner

Fortescue

Richard Inglett "Fortescue" (1731–1790)

Richard Inglett "Fortescue" (1731–1790) (nephew), who on inheriting his uncle's estates including Buckland Filleigh assumed by royal licence in 1766 the surname Fortescue. He was a collector of customs. He was the eldest son of Caleb Inglett (died 1752) of Dawlish by his wife Rebecca Fortescue (1699–1764), sister of John Fortescue (1700–1776) of Buckland Filleigh. He married Elizabeth Weston, daughter of Lucy Weston.

John Inglett Fortescue (1758–1841)

Lt. Col. John Inglett Fortescue (1758–1841) (only son) of the North Devon Yeomanry Cavalry, JP and DL for Devon. He was appointed in 1792 a trustee of the large Devon and Cornwall estates of the 5-year-old Robert Trefusis, 18th Baron Clinton (1787–1832), of nearby Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe, and in that connection served as MP for that family's pocket borough of Callington, Cornwall (1801–03). He was Receiver-General of the Land Tax for Devon from 1819 to 1841, a lucrative post. He rebuilt the mansion house in 1810 in the neo-classical style following a fire in 1798. He died and was buried on 14 December 1841 at Buckland Filleigh John Inglett Fortescue married firstly Anne Saunders (died 1815), (whose monument survives in St Mary's Church, Buckland Filleigh) daughter of Thomas Saunders, a merchant of Exeter, by whom he had children including his eldest sona nd heir, Rev. John Dicker Inglett-Fortescue (1785–1860).

1797 visit by Swete

The Devon topographer and connoisseur of landscape gardening Rev. John Swete (1752–1821) visited Buckland Filleigh in 1797, the year before it burnt down, and recorded in much detail his experience in his Journal. At the time of his arrival, in the absence of his host John Inglett Fortescue, he was greeted by his wife Anne Saunders and her cousin Miss Saunders, who was a guest. He was much entertained by inspecting some "charming drawings" made by the two ladies, after which they proposed showing him around the grounds and woods. On their return to the house the party was met by a white peacock, which impressed Swete with its display. He then "suffer'd the disgrace of having been beat a game at chess by Miss Sanders" after which in the evening his host Mr Fortescue returned home after a 30-mile ride, "compleatly wetted through", and later introduced Swete to his bed-chamber. Swete noticed a fine oil painting standing against the wall, which at sunrise the next morning he "contemplated with admiration for at least an hour". The scene was "the compulsion of Simon to bear the Cross", and Swete recognised it as a Rubens. At breakfast later that morning Mr Fortescue explained that in 1795 the nearby mansion of Heanton Satchville had burned down and its owner Robert Trefusis, 17th Baron Clinton (1764–1797) had himself rescued the painting from the fire and had sent it to the custody of Fortescue at Buckland Filleigh while he was still homeless. In the same fire Mr Fortescue had lost a much-valued family portrait of his illustrious ancestor Sir John Fortescue (c. 1394 – 1480), Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, which he had sent to Heanton Satchville to be restored by Lord Clinton's picture restorer. After breakfast Swete left Buckland Filleigh, accompanied by his host, and the pair rode through the grounds, discussing Mr Fortescue's plans for landscaping. After two miles they reached the ruined mansion of Heanton Satchville and its park, which appeared to Swete like a battleground with its ancient and noble trees lying cut-down and scattered. After riding on to nearby Huish, Fortescue left Swete to continue his journey alone.

John Dicker Inglett-Fortescue (1785–1860)

Rev. John Dicker Inglett-Fortescue (1785–1860), eldest son and heir, died unmarried. In 1843 he sold Buckland Filleigh to Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton (1774–1848).

Baring

Browne

Buckland House School

The mansion became Buckland House School, which closed in 1984.

1984 to present

The owner of the school was Max Williams of Bideford in North Devon, who in 1984 sold the house and much reduced estate to Mr Synyard who lived there for six years until 1990. The estate was then bought by an adventure holiday company which became bankrupt following its involvement in the Lyme Bay boating disaster in Dorset in 1996. The owners in 2014 of the house and its estate of 280 acres are Ralph and Suzanne Nicholson, who live in the converted stables, coach houses and servants quarters, and who reconverted the house back into a residence with 17 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, which they let-out for commercial and private functions and parties.