![SirJohnChichester(1598-1669)OfHall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/SirJohnChichester%281598-1669%29OfHall.png)
Sir John III Chichester (1598 – 24 September 1669) of
Hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...
was
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...
in Cornwall in 1624.
Origins
Chichester was baptised on 10 December 1598. He was the son and heir of John II Chichester (1566/7-1608) of
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 ...
, Devon by his wife Anne Basset (1576-1664), daughter of Sir
Arthur Basset (d.1586) of
Umberleigh House, about 1 1/2 miles south of Hall on the opposite bank of the
River Taw
The River Taw () rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Bideford Bay in the Bristol Channel, having formed a large ...
, and of
Heanton Punchardon
Heanton Punchardon ( ) is a village, civil parish and former manor, anciently part of Braunton Hundred. It is situated directly east-southeast of the village of Braunton, in North Devon. The parish lies on the north bank of the estuary of the ...
, by his wife Elinor Chichester, daughter of Sir
John Chichester (d.1569), knight, of
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
, the head of the senior line of the Chichester family of Devon, possibly the leading gentry family in North Devon. The Chichesters of Hall were descended from the Chichesters of Raleigh, namely from Richard Chichester, a younger son of that house, who married the heiress Thomasine de Hall (d.1502).
Education
He subscribed at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
on 18 November 1614 and was awarded a BA from
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...
on 28 February 1617. He was a student of the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
in 1617.
Career
In 1624, he was elected Member of Parliament for
Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...
in Cornwall. He was knighted on 17 September 1625.
[ 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Chaffey-Chivers', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 255-273. Date accessed: 15 March 2012]
/ref>
Marriages and children
He married three times:
*Firstly to Ursula Strode (d.1635), daughter of Sir William Strode
William Strode (1598 – 9 September 1645) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1624 and 1645. He was one of the Five Members whose impeachment and attempted unconstitutional arrest by King Charles I in ...
(d.1637), MP, of Newnham, Plympton St Mary
Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Ply ...
, whose monument in Plympton St Mary's Church shows his effigy with that of his two wives and ten children. Her brother was the parliamentarian William Strode
William Strode (1598 – 9 September 1645) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1624 and 1645. He was one of the Five Members whose impeachment and attempted unconstitutional arrest by King Charles I in ...
(1594-1645), one of the Five Members
The Five Members were Members of Parliament whom King Charles I attempted to arrest on 4 January 1642. King Charles I entered the English House of Commons, accompanied by armed soldiers, during a sitting of the Long Parliament, although the Fi ...
whose attempted arrest in the House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...
by King Charles I in 1642 sparked the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. Ursula's mural monument exists in Bishops Tawton Church, showing her effigy kneeling at a prie dieu
A prie-dieu ( French: literally, "pray oGod") is a type of prayer desk primarily intended for private devotional use, but which may also be found in churches. A similar form of chair in domestic furniture is called "prie-dieu" by analogy. S ...
with two babies side-by-side wrapped in swaddling clothes in front of her. At the top within an elaborate gilded frame within a broken pediment is a lozenge
Lozenge or losange may refer to:
* Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus
*Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments
*Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...
showing the arms of Strode: ''Argent, a chevron between three conies courant sable''. On the arch above her is shown on the dexter
Dexter may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003
* Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
the arms of Chichester and on the sinister
Sinister commonly refers to:
* Evil
* Ominous
Sinister may also refer to:
Left side
* Sinister, Latin for the direction " left"
* Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see ...
the arms of Strode. Below underneath an inscribed tablet is a cartouche bearing the arms of Chichester impaling
Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...
Strode. The tablet is inscribed as follows:
To the memorie of the truly vertuous and religious the Lady Ursula Chichester daughter to Sr. William Strode of Newingeam, Knight, and wife to Sr. John Chichester of Hall, Knight, by whome she had issue seven sonnes and two daughters whereof survive fower sonnes, two sonnes & one daught. heere buried. She departed this life in the true faith of Christ Jesus and was heere enterred the 6th (5th?) day of July Anno D(omi)ni 1635 aetat(is) suae (47?).
Fayre virtuous sainct injoy thy peacefull sleepe,
While wee that live employ our foes to weepe,
But when thou wak'st let glory shew thy grace,
Let Heav'n, which only can, enrich thy face.
They had six sons, all of whom died childless, although two of them inherited successively the estate of Hall:
**John IV Chichester (1626-1684), eldest son by Ursula Strode, who died without children and was buried at Bath Abbey, where exists a monument to his memory.
**Francis Chichester (1628-1698) who died childless.
:Upon the death of the last of these two sons in 1698 the estate of Hall passed to Arthur Chichester (1670–1737/8), of Pill (a house immediately north of Bishop's Tawton village) a distant cousin descended from Hugh Chichester (d.1644) of Tavistock, a younger brother of John II Chichester (d.1608) of Hall.
*Secondly he married Elizabeth Pollard, daughter of Sir Lewis Pollard, 1st Baronet (c.1578-c.1645) of King's Nympton
King's Nympton (Latinised to ''Nymet Regis'') is a village, parish and former manor in North Devon, England in the heart of the rolling countryside between Exmoor and Dartmoor, some 4½ miles () S.S.W. of South Molton and N. of Chulmleigh. The ...
, by whom he had a daughter Susannah Chichester (1665-1707/8), whose monument exists in Swimbridge Church and who married her cousin Henry Chichester of Stowford, also descended from Hugh Chichester (d.1644) of Tavistock.
*Thirdly he married Susannah Stevens, daughter of William Stevens of Great Torrington
Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a market town in Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to ...
and widow of either Henry Rolle (d.1647) of Beam, later the heir of the great estate of Stevenstone
Stevenstone is a former manor within the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington
Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same r ...
or of Alexander Rolle (d.1660) of Tawstock. The Stevens family were seated at Vielstone, Buckland Brewer
Buckland Brewer is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, 4.7 miles south of Bideford. Historically the parish formed part of Shebbear Hundred. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 777, increasin ...
, Cross, Little Torrington
Little Torrington is a village and a civil parish near Great Torrington, in the Torridge district, north Devon, England. In 2001 the population of the civil parish of Little Torrington was 420 and in 2011 it was 376, according to census data. L ...
and at Winscott, Peters Marland
Peters Marland is a small village and civil parish in the local government district of Torridge, Devon, England. The parish, which lies about four miles south of the town of Great Torrington, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes ...
. In the early 19th. century they were for a while heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
to the vast estates of John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle
John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (1750 – 3 April 1842) was a British peer who served as a Member of Parliament in general support of William Pitt the Younger and was later an active member of the House of Lords. His violent attacks on Edmu ...
(d.1842) of Stevenstone.
Death and burial
Chichester died on 24 September 1669 aged about 71[ and was buried in the chancel of St Peter's Church, Bishop's Tawton.
]
Mural monument
A baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
mural monument exists in Bishop's Tawton Church to Sir John III Chichester (d.1669), on top of which in the centre is shown an escutcheon
Escutcheon may refer to:
* Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms
* Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door
* (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...
of twenty quarterings with on the dexter
Dexter may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003
* Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
the arms of Chichester impaling
Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...
Strode, with on the sinister
Sinister commonly refers to:
* Evil
* Ominous
Sinister may also refer to:
Left side
* Sinister, Latin for the direction " left"
* Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see ...
, more recently restored, Chichester impaling Courtenay (perhaps of Powderham or of 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 h ...
), with which families no close connection of his is recorded and which is therefore inexplicable. In this position might be expected to have been placed the arms of one of his later wives, Pollard or Stevens. The Latin inscription is as follows:
''Memoriae Sacrum. Hic jacet vir admodum venerabilis D(ominus) Jo(h)annes Chichester de Hall, Eques, qui (dum in vivis) fuit erga deum pius, regi suo fidelis, patriae dux publicus dilectus, ecclesiae filius, pacis amator, pauperum patronus, omnibusq(ue) tum justitiae necnon reliquarum virtutum exemplar. Obiit 24.o Septemb(ri) Anno Salutis 1669. Maerens posuit Jo(h)annes Chichester, Armiger, defuncti filius natu maximus'' ("Sacred to the Memory. Here lies a man altogether venerable, Sir John Chichester, Knight, who (whilst amongst the living) was towards God pious, to his king faithful, to his country a beloved public leader, to the Church a son, to peace a lover, to the poor a patron and in everything as to justice, and certainly of the rest of the virtues, an example. He died on the 24th of September in the Year of the Redemption 1669. John Chichester, Esquire, the eldest son of the deceased, mourning, erected this")
Quarterings
At the top of the mural monument to Sir John III Chichester (d.1669) is an oval heraldic cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...
supported by two putti
A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...
with the crest of Chichester above. The cartouche shows the following 20 quarters:
1: ''Chequy or and gules a chief vair'' (Chichester)
2: ''Or, three torteaux
A roundel is a circular charge in heraldry. Roundels are among the oldest charges used in coats of arms, dating from the start of the age of heraldry in Europe, ''circa'' 1200–1215. Roundels are typically a solid colour but may be charged with ...
a label
A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...
of three points azure'' (Courtenay)
3: ''Gules semé of crosses crosslet fitché, a lion rampant
The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christia ...
argent''
4: ''Argent, a fess between two chevrons sable in base the Red Hand of Ulster
The Red Hand of Ulster ( gle, Lámh Dhearg Uladh), also known as the Red Hand Uí Néill, is a symbol used in heraldry to denote the Irish province of Ulster and the Northern Uí Néill in particular. However, it has also been used by other Ir ...
''
5: ''Gules, a chevron between three goat's heads erased ermine attired or'' (Marwood of Westcot, Marwood)
6: ''Barry of six vair and gules'' (Beaumont of Youlstone, Shirwell)
7: ''Azure, a chevron argent between three pears or''
8: ''Sable, two lions passant crowned or''
9: ''Gules, a saltire vair'' (Willington of Umberleigh)
10: ''Azure, seven martlets or on a canton (sable?) a turtle (gules?)''
11: ''Argent, on a chevron gules three fleurs-de-lis or''
12: ''Sable, three lions rampant argent''
13: ''Gules crusilly or, a bend vair'' (Raleigh of Raleigh, Pilton, with crescent for difference; erroneous arms)
14: ''Argent, a chevron counter-ermine between three cinquefoils gules'' (de Hall)
15: ''Argent, two bars gules in chief three torteaux
A roundel is a circular charge in heraldry. Roundels are among the oldest charges used in coats of arms, dating from the start of the age of heraldry in Europe, ''circa'' 1200–1215. Roundels are typically a solid colour but may be charged with ...
'' (Mules/Moels of Halmeston, Bishops Tawton)
16: ''Sable, three garbs or''
17: ''Gules, a chevron between three mermaids each holding a mirror in her right hand and a comb in her left argent'' (Gough of Aldercombe[Given for "Gogh" with field sable by ]Tristram Risdon
Tristram Risdon (c. 1580 – 1640) was an English antiquarian and topographer, and the author of ''Survey of the County of Devon''. He was able to devote most of his life to writing this work. After he completed it in about 1632 it circulated ar ...
in his Notebook)
18: ''Azure, a chevron ermine between three chaplets or''
19: ''Argent, a fess gules between three mullets sable''
20: ''Chequy or and gules a chief vair'' (Chichester)
Sources
Hunneyball, Paul, biography of Sir John Chichester (d.1669) published in The History of Parliament: House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010
* Vivian, J.L., Lt.-Col., The Visitations of the County of Devon comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, Chichester: pp. 172–184, Chichester of Hall: pp. 176–178
* www.tudorplace.com (pedigree of Chichester family)
*Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, pp. 400–1, Chichester of Hall
*Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, pp. 35–40, Chichester of Hall & Arlington
*Risdon, Tristram, The Chorographical Description or Survey of the County of Devon, manuscript ''circa'' 1635, 1810 edition, pp. 321–2
Further reading
Chichester, Sir Alexander Palmer Bruce, Bart., History of the family of Chichester, from A.D. 1086-1870, Including the descents of the various branches settled at Raleigh, Youlston, Arlington, Widworthy, Calverleigh, Hall, and elsewhere in Devonshire; also of the Chichesters, marquesses of Donegal, and barons Templemore, London, 1871
pp. 127–148, Chichester of Hall
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chichester, John
1598 births
1669 deaths
Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall
Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford
Members of the Inner Temple
English MPs 1624–1625