Manor of North Molton

La Zouche

North Molton was a manor within the royal demesne (known as Nortmoltone in 1086) until it was granted to a member of the la Zouche family by King John (1199–1216). In 1270 Roger la Zouche was granted licence to hold a weekly market in the manor and an annual fair on All Saints' Day. Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby (1267–1314), son of Roger de la Zouche, was born in North Molton on St Denis's Day (9 October) 1267 and was baptised in the church there, as was testified by his uncle "Henry la Zuche, clerk" at his proof of age inquisition in 1289. In 1313 he donated the advowson of the church to Lilleshall Abbey in Shropshire, which retained it until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. The family's mansion-house was at Burcombe, the castellated remains of which were still visible in about 1750. The site, which is today Burcombe Farm, is 1 1/4 miles SW of the church on the ridge road leading to South Molton.

St. Maur

A member of the family of St Maur (or "Seymour") married a co-heiress of la Zouche, and thereby acquired the manor of North Molton. The Devon historian Tristram Risdon (d.1640) gives the arms of "Nicolas, Lord St. Maur, of Northmolton" and of "Richard, Lord St. Maur, sonne of Nicolas" as: Argent, two chevronels gules a label of three points vert.

Bampfylde

During the reign of King Edward IV (1461–1483) William Bampfylde married Margaret St. Maur, and thus the manor passed to the Bampfyldes, lords of the manor of Poltimore.

Court House

Adjacent to the west of the church is "Court House", not to be confused with "Court Hall" the later residence of the Bampfyldes to the immediate east of the church. In 1550 Edmund Parker, "gent" the son and heir apparent of John Parker of North Molton, Esquire, was granted by John Zouche, Baron Zouche (of Haryngworth), by deed of gift, the office of bailiff of the manor of North Molton and lands called "Legh" for the term of his life. Three years later in 1553 the Parkers built Court House. The Parker family appear to have started as local wool-merchants. Whilst never lords of the manor of North Molton they seem to have acquired the advowson of the church shortly after the Dissolution, which they retained until after 1839, in which year they made their last appointment of the vicar. This enabled them to collect valuable tithes within the parish. It was unusual for the offices of patron and lord to be held by different families within a parish and manor, and this may have caused some competitive tension between the Parker and Bampfylde families. However after that date the Bampfylde lords of the manor became themselves patrons, and the office of patron is held today by their descendants the Stucley family. In the 1970s the Stucleys sold Court House, in a neglected condition, to Mr William Rumsan, who also acquired separately 60 acres of land adjacent to the house, and whose widow still resides there in 2012.

Parker family

The early genealogy of the Parker family as given in the heraldic visitations of Devon appears unreliable. A deed exists which records that in 1550 Edmund Parker, "gent" the son and heir apparent of John Parker of North Molton, Esquire, was granted by John la Zouche, 8th Baron Zouche (of Haryngworth), 9th Baron St Maur (c. 1486–1550), by deed of gift, the office of bailiff of the manor of North Molton and lands called "Legh" for the term of his life. Three years later in 1553 the Parkers built Court House. Having originated in North Molton and having built Court House, the Parker family steadily grew in importance. The descent of the family is given as follows in the Heralds' Visitation of Devon:

Thomas Parker (d.1545)

Thomas Parker (d.1545), buried in his family vault under the chancel, married Elizabeth Fry, daughter and co-heiress of John Fry of "Frye's Hele" barton in the parish of Meeth, near Hatherleigh, which was still owned by the Earl of Morley in 1822 according to Lysons, Magna Britannia. The senior line of the Fry family was seated at Yarty in East Devon. The arms of Parker impaling Fry (Gules, three horses courant argent) appear on the wooden panelling now in the chancel of North Molton Church, formerly in Court House.

John I Parker

John I Parker (son), married the heiress of Thomas Ellicott of Bratton Clovelly, Devon, 8 miles west of Okehampton. The Earl of Morley still held Ellicott Barton in 1822 as reported by Lysons. It seems to have been the daughter of this John Parker, Anne Parker, who became in about 1570 the second wife of William Peryam (1534–1604), of Little Fulford near Crediton, the future Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was buried in the family vault under the chancel on 18 May 1611. The arms of Parker impaling Ellicott (Lozengy or and azure) appear on the wooden panelling now in the chancel of North Molton Church, formerly in Court House.

Edmund I Parker (d.1635)

Edmund I Parker (d.1635) (son), who married Dorothy Smith, daughter of Clement Smith (c.1515-1552) of Great Baddow in Essex, Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer in the Exchequer (often erroneously called "Chief Baron of the Exchequer"), MP for Maldon 1545 and 1547, by his wife Dorothy Seymour, youngest daughter of Sir John Seymour (d.1536) of Wulfhall, Wiltshire, and sister of Queen Jane Seymour (d.1537), wife of King Henry VIII. Edmund Parker's wife was thus the first cousin of King Edward VI (1547–1553). Dorothy Seymour's eldest brother was Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (d.1552), Lord Protector of England from 1547 until 1549 during the minority of his nephew, King Edward VI. The Duke's arms, a special grant from King Henry VIII, appear on the Parker panelling in North Molton Church. The peacock arms of Smith (Argent, a cross gules between four peacocks close proper) are also shown on the Parker panelling and were confirmed by the Deputies of the heralds Camden and Clarenceux, as listed in the Heralds' Visitation of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, to Francis Smyth, of Wooton, grandson of Sir John Smyth, and 5th in descent from John Carrington "or Smith" (d.1446), who was 5th in descent from Sir Michael Carrington, Standard Bearer to King Richard I, and who died in the Holy Land. In May 1635 Edmund Parker (d. August 1635) made the following grant:

Lease 1) Edmund Parker of North Molton, esquire 2) John Williams the elder, yeoman, Philip Shapland of North Molton, husbandman, John Williams the younger, all of North Molton.

This appears to relate to the outbuildings of Court House, next to the churchyard.

John II Parker (d.1610)

John II Parker (d.1610) (son), predeceased his father, Sheriff of Devon, who in 1582 married Frances Mayhew the heiress of Boringdon manor, in the parish of Plympton St Mary, near Plymouth, Devon. The arms of Parker impaling Mayhew (Gules, a chevron vairy between three ducal crowns or) appear on the wooden panelling now in the chancel of North Molton Church, formerly in Court House. The marriage settlement dated 4 October 1582 is summarised as follows:

Marriage Settlement 1) Edmund Parker of Burley, St Thomas near Exeter, esquire 2) Fraunces Mayhowe, sole daughter and heir apparent of Jerome Mayhowe. Annuity of £66 13s 4d arising out of 1)'s lands in Plympton St Mary

A certain Richard Mayhowe of Tavistock, gent. had acquired this manor on 22 May 1549 as the following quitclaim testifies:

Quitclaim 1) Thomas Wriothesley, knight of the order of the garter, Lord Wriothesley, Duke of Southampton 2) Richard Mayhowe of Tavistock, gent.

Edmund II Parker (1592–1649)

Edmund II Parker (1592–1649) (grandson, son of John II Parker (d.1610)), baptised at Bratton Clovelly. He married Anna Seymour (d.1639), a daughter of the highly influential Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet (c. 1563–1613) of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, grandson (in the lower ranking elder line) of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. 1500–1552), Lord Protector, brother of Queen Jane Seymour and uncle of King Edward VI.

Edmund III Parker (1613–1691)

Edmund III Parker (1613–1691) (son), married Alice (d.1664)

George Parker (1651–1743)

George Parker (1651–1743) (2nd and eldest surviving son), married as his second wife Anne Buller, daughter of John Buller (d.1716), MP, of Morval in Cornwall. In 1712 he purchased the manor of Saltram, near Plymouth, from the Carteret family.

John III Parker (1703–1768)

John III Parker (1703–1768) (3rd and eldest surviving son), married Catherine Poulett, daughter of Queen Anne's minister John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett (d.1743) and made Saltram his chief seat, having embarked on an ambitious re-building programme, perhaps influenced by the 1730s re-modelling by Hugh Fortescue, 14th Baron Clinton (1696–1751) at Castle Hill, Filleigh.

John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon (1735–1788)

John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon (1735–1788) (son), who married as his second wife Hon. Theresa Robinson (1744/5-1775), second daughter of Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham.

John Parker, 1st Earl of Morley (1772–1840)

John Parker, 1st Earl of Morley (1772–1840) (son), who was created Viscount Boringdon and Earl of Morley in 1815.

Description

The front of Court House is long with two storeys, and one room retains its Tudor panelling. Other oak panelling from Court House, on which is sculpted the date 1609 with the initials of Edmund Parker (d.1611) "EP" sculpted elsewhere, with sculpted strapwork designs and heraldic escutcheons showing the arms of Parker: Sable, a buck's head cabossed between two flaunches argent now lines the chancel of North Molton Church. The arms depicted on this panelling clearly show the antlers of the Red Deer "stag" of Exmoor, not of the fallow deer "buck" which was introduced to emparked lands from the Norman Conquest onwards, which is sometimes given incorrectly as the blazon. This panelling of 1609 was moved from Court House by Lord Poltimore in 1844, as is evidenced by the sculpted date 1844 and opposite the initial "P", after his family had purchased Court House from the Parkers who had discontinued residence at North Molton in favour of their manor of Boringdon and Saltram House which they had built in the 1700s near Plymouth, according to Pevsner "the most impressive country house in Devon". John Parker (1735–1788) was MP for Devon 1762-84 and was created Baron Boringdon of Boringdon in 1784. His son John Parker (d.1840) was created in 1815 Viscount Boringdon of North Molton and Earl of Morley. He still held his property in North Molton in 1825 as the following mortgage deed dated 10 October 1825 testifies:

Agreement for Mortgage 1) John Parker, Earl of Morley 2) Edward Lloyd Sanders, and Charles Rogers Sanders of Exeter, bankers and co-partners 3) William Lake of Lincolns Inn, Middx, gent.

The former "Parker Chapel" in the north aisle of the church is now occupied by the organ, and a 20th-century brass plaque on the north wall of the chancel records the names of Parker family members buried in the church.

Court Hall

The original Jacobean "Court Hall" to the immediate east of the church was built by Sir Amyas Bampfylde (d.1626). It was enlarged in 1835 by his George Bampfylde, 1st Baron Poltimore (d.1858), 7th in descent from Sir Amyas, shortly after his elevation to the peerage in 1831. The family's main seat was at Poltimore House near Exeter, in south Devon, now in a ruinous state, and Court Hall served largely as a hunting lodge for which its proximity to Exmoor with its red deer served well. By 1841 the Bampfylde family owned 10,000 acres of the 15,000 covered by North Molton parish, the second largest in Devon. Following the death in 1936 due to an accident of Hon. Coplestone John de Grey Warwick Bampfylde (d.1936), the only son and heir of George Wentworth Warwick Bampfylde, 4th Baron Poltimore (1882–1965), the 4th Baron Poltimore moved to Rhodesia in the 1950s. Although his heir to the barony was his younger brother Arthur Blackett Warwick Bampfylde, 5th Baron Poltimore (1883–1967), Lord Poltimore was free to dispose of his manorial lands at North Molton as he pleased. The Barons Poltimore have since resided at The Ancient House, Peasenhall, Saxmundham in Suffolk. About half of the estate was sold to the tenant farmers, and Lord Poltimore's daughter Lady Stucley remained to administer the remnant. Lady Stucley, née Hon. Sheila Margaret Warwick Bampfylde (b.1912), married Sir Dennis Frederic Bankes Stucley, 5th Baronet (1907–1983) of Hartland Abbey and Affeton Castle both in North Devon. The additional property of Court Hall was therefore no longer needed by the family and it was let as a private nursery school. When the school closed the house was found to be in poor repair and the main part was demolished leaving only the servants' wing which had been added in 1902. The property is still owned by a descendant of Lord Poltimore, in the person of Mrs Sara Susan Worthington (b.1942), née Stucley, youngest daughter of Sir Dennis Bankes, 5th Bt., by Hon. Sheila Bampfylde. She married firstly in 1963, and later divorced, Sir Michael Peto, 4th Baronet (1938–2008), by whom she had issue Sir Henry Christopher Morton Bampfylde Peto, 5th Baronet (b.1967). She married secondly, as his second wife, Capt. Charles William David Worthington (b.1930) of Kingston Russell House, Dorset. He is the son of Lt William Greville Worthington (d.1942), RNVR, by Lady (Mary) Diana Duncombe (1905–1943), daughter of Charles Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham (d.1916) by Lady Mary Blanche Eva Greville (d.1964), daughter of Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick. Court Hall has functioned from about 2008 as a bed and breakfast hotel. The family also still retains substantial land at North Molton on which it operates a commercial game-bird shoot, leased to a syndicate.

Historic estates

The following are some of the historic estates which were at one time situated within the manor or parish of North Molton:

Molland-Sarazen

One of three entries for "Molland" in the Exeter Domesday Book of 1086 relates to a small sub-manor now in the parish of North Molton. This manor in the former North Molton hundred was held by Tetbald, son of Berner, and is unrelated to today's Molland village, parish, estate and former manor. It is memorialised today by Molland Cross and Molland Farm, north west of North Molton village. Risdon (c. 1630) confused this manor with Molland-Champson, in today's parish of Molland. It was at one time held by Ralph Sarazenus (the Latinised form of the name), and took the name "Molland-Sarazen". In 1326 it was held as one knight's fee from the feudal barony of Great Torrington, the lord of 1/5th of which was William II FitzMartin, also feudal baron of Barnstaple, who died sine prole in 1326. His inquisition post mortem lists all his land-holdings including under the section "Fees pertaining to a fifth part of the barony of Toryton": "Mollond: 1 fee held by Thomas Sarasin".

Sannacott

In 1489 following the death of Sir Richard Edgecumbe, a successor to the Zouche family as feudal baron of Totnes, it is recorded in his inquisition post mortem that he held in addition to that barony, among other holdings: "a messuage, 40 acres arable, 20 acres meadow, 60 acres furze and heather in Swancote within the manor of North Molton, worth 13 shillings and 4 pence".

Pulham & Praunsley

In the Domesday Book of 1086 Polham (Pulham) was one of 31 Devon landholdings held in chief from the king by Roald Dubbed, about whom little is known. It had been held before 1066 by two thanes freely and jointly. His tenant there was Reginald, who held other lands from him also. Attached to this estate was Plantelie (Praunsley), which survive today as two neighbouring farms now in the parish of Twitchen, formerly within North Molton manor. Praunsley together with neighbouring Millbrook, passed at some time to the ownership of Pilton Priory and following the Dissolution of the Monasteries was one of its many holdings acquired in 1544 by George Rolle (d.1552) of Stevenstone and George Haydon, co-MP's for Barnstaple in 1545. Its tenant was then Bartholomew Staveley, and its annual value was 8 shillings 6 pence. Both these farms were sold by Lord Poltimore to their tenants in the early 20th century.

Millbrook

Held by Pilton Priory and following the Dissolution of the Monasteries was one of its many holdings acquired by George Rolle (d.1552) of Stevenstone.