Hall in the parish of
Lanteglos-by-Fowey
Lanteglos (Old kw, Nant Eglos, meaning ''church valley'') is a coastal civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the east side of the tidal estuary of the River Fowey which separates it from the town and civil parish of ...
in Cornwall, England, is an historic estate, most prominent as the seat of a branch of the Mohun family of
Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After ...
in Somerset. The family of Mohun of Hall was also seated at
Bodinnick (''alias'' Bodinnoc, etc.) also in the parish of
Lanteglos-by-Fowey
Lanteglos (Old kw, Nant Eglos, meaning ''church valley'') is a coastal civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the east side of the tidal estuary of the River Fowey which separates it from the town and civil parish of ...
and later at
Boconnoc
Boconnoc ( kw, Boskennek) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, approximately four miles east of the town of Lostwithiel. According to the UK census 2011, 2011 census the parish had a population of 9 ...
, both in Cornwall, and was one of the four co-heirs of
Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon
Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (c. 1527 – 18 September 1556) was an English nobleman during the rule of the Tudor dynasty. Born into a family with close royal connections, he was at various times considered a possible match for the ...
(1527–1556),
feudal baron of Okehampton
The feudal barony of Okehampton was a very large feudal barony, the largest mediaeval fiefdom in the county of Devon, England,Thorn & Thorn, part 2, chapter 16 whose ''caput'' was Okehampton Castle and manor. It was one of eight feudal baronies ...
, etc., of
Tiverton Castle
Tiverton Castle is the remains of a medieval castle dismantled after the Civil War and thereafter converted in the 17th century into a country house. It occupies a defensive position above the banks of the River Exe at Tiverton in Devon.
Desc ...
,
Okehampton Castle
Okehampton Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in Devon, England. It was built between 1068 and 1086 by Baldwin FitzGilbert following a revolt in Devon against Norman rule, and formed the centre of the Honour of Okehampton, guarding ...
, etc., the last of the mediaeval Courtenay
Earls of Devon
Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be con ...
. In recognition of this in 1628 the senior representative of the Mohun family of Hall was created
Baron Mohun of Okehampton
Baron Mohun of Okehampton was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 15 April 1628 for John Mohun, formerly a Member of Parliament for Grampound, Cornwall.
The family was formerly seated at Hall in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fo ...
, namely
John Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun of Okehampton (1595-1641) eldest son and heir of
Sir Reginald Mohun, 1st Baronet
Sir Reginald Mohun, 1st Baronet (1564 – 26 December 1639) of Boconnoc in Cornwall, was a prominent member of the gentry of Cornwall and an MP.
Origins
He was the eldest son and heir of Sir William Mohun (d. 1587) of Boconnoc, Sheriff of Corn ...
(1564–1639) of Boconnoc. The family of Mohun of Hall died out in the male line in 1712, following the death in a
celebrated duel of
Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun of Okehampton (1677-1712), who died without progeny. However, the family had long out-lived the senior Dunster line which died out in the male line in 1375, following the death of
John de Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun
John (V) de Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun, 9th Feudal barony of Dunster, feudal baron of Dunster, Order of the Garter, KG (1320–1376) was a founder member and the 11th Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in 1348.
Life
John was the last in th ...
,
KG, (c.1320-1375). Two
monumental brass
A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...
es survive in Lanteglos church to members of the Mohun family of Hall, namely Thomas Mohun (died c.1440) and John Mohun (d.1508).
The ''Courtenay Faggot'' at Hall
![Courtenay Arms Tiverton Church Porch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Courtenay_Arms_Tiverton_Church_Porch.JPG)
The inheritance of the Trethurffe family of
Trethurffe, Ladock
Trethurffe is an historic estate in the parish of Ladock, near Truro, in Cornwall. , in Cornwall, of part of the estates of
Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon
Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (c. 1527 – 18 September 1556) was an English nobleman during the rule of the Tudor dynasty. Born into a family with close royal connections, he was at various times considered a possible match for the ...
(c.1527-1556), the last of the Courtenay Earls of Devon seated at
Tiverton Castle
Tiverton Castle is the remains of a medieval castle dismantled after the Civil War and thereafter converted in the 17th century into a country house. It occupies a defensive position above the banks of the River Exe at Tiverton in Devon.
Desc ...
, was supposedly foretold by the ''Courtenay
Faggot
Faggot, faggots, or faggoting may refer to:
Arts and crafts
* Faggoting (metalworking), forge welding a bundle of bars of iron and steel
* Faggoting (knitting), variation of lace knitting in which every stitch is a yarn over or a decrease
* F ...
'' being "againe sub-divided into other twayne". The ''Courtenay
Faggot
Faggot, faggots, or faggoting may refer to:
Arts and crafts
* Faggoting (metalworking), forge welding a bundle of bars of iron and steel
* Faggoting (knitting), variation of lace knitting in which every stitch is a yarn over or a decrease
* F ...
'' was a mysterious naturally mis-shapen piece of wood split at the ends into four sticks, one of which again split into two, supposedly kept as a valued possession by the Courtenay Earls of Devon, "carefully preserved by those noble men".
It was later interpreted as an omen of the end of the line of Courtenay Earls of Devon via four heiresses. It was seen by the Cornish historian
Richard Carew (died 1620) when visiting Hall, in the parish of
Lanteglos-by-Fowey
Lanteglos (Old kw, Nant Eglos, meaning ''church valley'') is a coastal civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the east side of the tidal estuary of the River Fowey which separates it from the town and civil parish of ...
, Cornwall, then the dower house of Margaret Reskimer, the widow of Sir William Mohun (died 1588), MP, of Hall, the great-grandson of Elizabeth Courtenay, who described it in his ''Survey of Cornwall'' as follows:
:"A farre truer foretoken touching the Earle of Devon's progeny I have seen at this place of Hall, to wit, a kind of
faggot
Faggot, faggots, or faggoting may refer to:
Arts and crafts
* Faggoting (metalworking), forge welding a bundle of bars of iron and steel
* Faggoting (knitting), variation of lace knitting in which every stitch is a yarn over or a decrease
* F ...
, whose age and painting approveth the credited tradition that it was carefully preserved by those noble men. But whether upon that prescience or no, there mine author fails me. This faggot being all one peece of wood, and that naturally growen, is wrapped about the middle part with a bond and parted at the ends into foure sticks, one of which is againe sub-divided into other twayne. And in semblable maner the last Erle's inheritance accrued unto 4 Cornish gent(lemen): Mohun, Trelawny, Arundell of Talverne and Trethurffe. And Trethurffe's portion Courtenay of Ladocke and Vivian do enjoy, as descended from his two daughters and heires".
Descent
FitzWilliam
Sir John FitzWilliam held Hall in the early 14th century. His daughter and heiress was Elizabeth FitzWilliam, who married Reginald (''alias'' Reynold) de Mohun, to which family passed Hall and several other estates.
Mohun
Reginald de Mohun (born c.1300)
Reginald (''alias'' Reynold) de Mohun (born c.1300), the 4th son of
John de Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun (1269–1330),
feudal baron of Dunster
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
by his wife Anne Tiptoft, daughter of Paine Tiptoft, married Elizabeth FitzWilliam, heiress of Hall, Bodinnoc and other valuable estates. His father granted him a life-interest in the manor of
Ugborough
Ugborough () is a village and civil parish in South Hams in the English county of Devon. It lies south of Dartmoor, from the A38 road, near to the town of Ivybridge.
The parish, which had a population of 1,884 in 2011, includes a number of se ...
in Devon. In 1323 he received a royal pardon from King Edward II for having taken part in the rebellion of the Earl of Lancaster and Roger Mortimer. In 1324-5 he was in
Guienne
Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux.
The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...
on the King's service, and was abroad again in 1344, with Henry of Lancaster, Earl of Derby.
Maxwell Lyte relates a story "of very doubtful origin" that Reginald first met his future wife Elizabeth FitzWilliam when he came "into Fowey harbour with soldiers bound for Ireland, let fly a hawk at some game which came down in the garden at Hall". The couple were married, but he was soon deprived of his wife by her powerful neighbour Sir John Daunay, who "had designs upon her property". Daunay colluded with the
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell. to effect a divorce of the couple on the canonical ground that Elizabeth had previously been engaged to one of Reginald's elder brothers, namely Thomas Mohun. Daunay "eloigned" Elizabeth from Mohun and having married her off to a certain Henry Deneys, then received quit-claims from Mohun of his FitzWilliam lands. However, Mohun made a successful appeal to the Pope, and at some time after 1346, he eventually recovered his wife and her lands, together with "enormous damages from two parsons who had been the accomplices or tools of Sir John Daunay".
John de Mohun
John de Mohun (son and heir), of Hall, who married firstly Joan
St. Aubyn. He left a widow named Isabel who remarried to Sir Henry Ivelcombe.
Thomas de Mohun (died c.1440)
![ThomasMohun OfHall DiedCirca1440 LanteglosByFowey Church Cornwall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/ThomasMohun_OfHall_DiedCirca1440_LanteglosByFowey_Church_Cornwall.png)
Thomas de Mohun (died c.1440) (son and heir) of Hall. He was a
minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
at his father's death. He married Elizabeth Hayre, daughter and heiress of Richard Hayre. His monument and
monumental brass
A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...
survives in St Willow's Church, Lanteglos, consisting of an obtuse arch under which is a low altar-tomb on the slab of which is affixed the brass effigy of a man in plate-armour, his feet resting on a dog with a Latin inscription within a
ledger line
A ledger line or leger line is used in Western musical notation to notate pitches above or below the lines and spaces of the regular musical staff. A line slightly longer than the note head is drawn parallel to the staff, above or below, spaced a ...
:
:''Hic jacent Thomas de Mohun ac Johannes pater eius filius et heres Reginaldi de Mohun militis et Elizabeth(a)e uxoris su(a)e fili(a)e et heredis Johannis FitzWilliam militis qui(dem Reginaldus fuit) secundus frater Johannis ultimi domini de Mohun et predictus Thomas obiit ... die mensis ... anno Domini mille(n)simo CCCC... Quorum animabus propicietur Deus Amen''. ("Here lie Thomas de Mohun and John, his father, son and heir of Reginald de Mohun, Knight, and Elizabeth his wife, daughter and heiress of John FitzWilliam, Knight, (which Reginald was) the second (''sic'') brother (''sic'') of John, the last lord of Mohun; and the aforementioned Thomas died on the ... day of the month of ... in the year of our Lord the fourteen hundredth and ...; on the souls of whom may God be favourably inclined")
The date of death was left blank, but is assumed by Dunkin (1882) to have been about 1440. There survive 3 of the original 4 brass heraldic shields: above left: ''three stag's heads cabossed the antlers drooping downwards''; top right: ''bendy of seven''; bottom left: missing, matrix only remaining; bottom right: Mohun with ''label of three points'' for
difference
Difference, The Difference, Differences or Differently may refer to:
Music
* ''Difference'' (album), by Dreamtale, 2005
* ''Differently'' (album), by Cassie Davis, 2009
** "Differently" (song), by Cassie Davis, 2009
* ''The Difference'' (al ...
.
[For heraldry see: Dunkin, Edwin Hadlow Wise, The Monumental Brasses of Cornwall with Descriptive, Geneaological and Heraldic Notes, 1882, Plate XI, p.14]
Further reading
*
Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of Cornwall: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1530, 1573 & 1620; with additions by J.L. Vivian, Exeter, 1887, pp. 323–6, pedigree of "Mohun of Boconno
*
Henry Maxwell Lyte, Maxwell Lyte, Sir Henry, ''A History of Dunster and of the Families of Mohun and Luttrell'', 2 Parts, London, 1909:
Part I London, 1909
Part 2 London, 1909 (Appendices), Appendix A, pp. 477–494, ''The Mohuns of Hall and Boconnoc in Cornwall
References
{{Portal, Cornwall
Historic estates in Cornwall