![Fortescue BannerOfArms FilleighChurch Devon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Fortescue_BannerOfArms_FilleighChurch_Devon.PNG)
The
landed gentry and
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
of
Devonshire
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, ...
, like the rest of the English and European gentry, bore
heraldic arms from the start of the age of heraldry ''circa'' 1200–1215. The fashion for the display of heraldry ceased about the end of the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
(1901) by which time most of the ancient arms-bearing families of Devonshire had died out, moved away or parted with their landed estates.
In the 21st century, a very few ancient families remain in the county represented by direct male descendants, including
Courtenay of
Powderham, Fulford of
Fulford, Kelly of Kelly, Cruwys of
Cruwys Morchard,
Clifford of
Chudleigh,
Acland of
Killerton
Killerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public. The National Trust displays the house as a comfortab ...
and
Broadclyst
Broadclyst is a village and civil parish in the East Devon local government district. It lies approximately 5 miles northeast of the city of Exeter, Devon, England, on the B3181. In 2001 its population was 2,830, reducing at the 2011 Census to 1 ...
,
Wrey of
Tawstock
Tawstock is a village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon in the English county of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Barnstaple, Bishop's Tawton, Atherington, Yarnscombe, Horwood, ...
. A few ancient Devon estates are still owned by descendants via female lines, for example
Castle Hill, Filleigh
Castle Hill in the parish of Filleigh in North Devon, is an early Neo-Palladian country house situated north-west of South Molton and south-east of Barnstaple. It was built in 1730 by Hugh Fortescue, 14th Baron Clinton (1696–1751), who ...
,
Molland
Molland is a small village, civil parish, dual ecclesiastical parish with Knowstone, located in the foothills of Exmoor in Devon, England. It lies within the North Devon local government district. At the time of the 2001 Census, the village ...
,
Incledon, Braunton
Incledon in the parish of Braunton, North Devon, England, is an ancient historic estate which gave its name to the locally prominent ''de Incledon'' family (later ''Incledon'', pronounced "Ingleton"), first recorded in 1160. It is situated one m ...
,
Hall, Bishop's Tawton
Hall is a large estate within the parish and former manor of Bishop's Tawton, Devon. It was for several centuries the seat of a younger branch of the prominent and ancient North Devon family of Chichester of Raleigh, near Barnstaple. The ma ...
,
Newnham Park. In most cases, the laws of English heraldry preclude the transmission of paternal arms via a female heiress (other than in the form of
quartering), thus most of these inheritors via female lines bring their own paternal heraldry to the estates inherited.
For example, the Irish arms of Gore (
Earl of Arran) are now associated with
Castle Hill, Filleigh
Castle Hill in the parish of Filleigh in North Devon, is an early Neo-Palladian country house situated north-west of South Molton and south-east of Barnstaple. It was built in 1730 by Hugh Fortescue, 14th Baron Clinton (1696–1751), who ...
, until 1958 the seat of the last male representative of the
Fortescue family
Fortescue may refer to:
People
* Fortescue (surname), a British surname ''Includes list of name-holders''
* Fortescue Ash (1882–1956), Anglican bishop in Australia
* Fortescue Graham (1794–1880), British Royal Marines general
Places
* Fort ...
, which originated in Devon in the 12th century. In a few cases, however, male heirs via female lines have been required by the legator to seek royal licence to adopt his own arms and surname, otherwise destined to disappearance, in lieu of the legatees own. This was the case with the families most notably of
Rolle
Rolle () is a municipality in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Rolle until 2006, when it became part of the district of Nyon. It is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Geneva (''Lac Léman'') between Ny ...
,
Basset
Bassets are a sub- type of scenthound deliberately bred with short legs, that are used for hunting where the hunters accompany the hunting hounds on foot.
History
Bassets were originally developed in France from where they spread throughout Europ ...
,
Stucley,
Walrond, etc.
The antiquary
Sir William Pole (died 1635) compiled a list of
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...
s of Devon families. It was published with much other material in 1791 as ''Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon''.
[ Pole, Sir William (died 1635), ]
Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon
', Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791. pp. 467–510
List of Devon arms
The following
armorials are listed in the
Heraldic Visitations
Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as their deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the ...
of Devon, 1531, 1564 & 1620:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
See also
*
Flag of Devon
The Flag of Devon, properly St Petroc's Cross, is the flag of the English county of Devon. It is dedicated to Saint Petroc,
The Flag Institute a local saint with numerous dedications throughout Devon. It is notable for its creation through two ...
*
Cornish heraldry
Cornish heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in Cornwall, United Kingdom. While similar to English, Scottish and Welsh heraldry, Cornish heraldry has its own distinctive features. Cornish heraldry t ...
*
Dorset heraldry
Notes
References
Sources
*
Cherry, Bridget &
Pevsner, Nikolaus
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
, ''The Buildings of England: Devon''. Yale University Press, 2004.
*
Pole, Sir William (died 1635),
Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon',
Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791.
*
Risdon, Tristram (died 1640),
Survey of Devon'. With considerable additions. London, 1811.
*
{{Heraldry of the British Isles
History of Devon