John Southcote of

Bovey Tracey Bovey Tracey () is a small town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". It ...

(1481 – 1556) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament,R. Virgoe, 'Southcote, John I (by 1504-56), of Bovey Tracey, Devon', in S.T. Bindoff (ed.), ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558'' (from Boydell and Brewer, 1982)
History of Parliament Online
of the prominent

Southcott family , heirlooms = , estate = * Southcott House, * Indio, Bovey Tracey, * Witham Place, * Mohuns Ottery, * Lesnewth, * Blyborough Hall, * Woburn Park, * Buckland House, * Sowenna, , website = , fo ...

of Devon and Cornwall. John was born the second son of Sir Nicholas Southcott of Southcott, Devon. During his lifetime he served as

Clerk of the Peace A clerk of the peace held an office in England and Wales whose responsibility was the records of the quarter sessions and the framing of presentments and indictments. They had legal training, so that they could advise justices of the peace. Histo ...

for

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. In 1544, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries,

Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índio ...

and Ullacombe, both in the parish of Bovey Tracey, were granted to John. This was likely owing to his powerful connections within the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith at that time. John Southcote and the rest of his family were devout

s at the time when

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

, newly

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

, attempted to make religious reforms in Cornwall. John as a prominent Cornish MP stood up against the King and was part of the

Prayer Book Rebellion The Prayer Book Rebellion or Western Rising was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon in 1549. In that year, the ''Book of Common Prayer'', presenting the theology of the English Reformation, was introduced. The change was widely unpopular, ...

in 1549. He disagreed with the removal of the

Cornish Language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a List of revived languages, revived language, having become Extinct language, extinct as a livin ...

and the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

. After the rebellion was crushed by

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...

's army, Southcote was not hanged, and after some years he was named in a general pardon granted by

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour ...

. During the years following the uprising, John Southcote's nephew (also named John Southcott) was noted for expressing his support for his uncle's part in the uprising, and later resigned his office rather than condemn a Roman Catholic priest publicly. In the following election he was not re-elected to represent

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 parliament, but in two later parliaments (November 1554 and in 1555) he was returned for Lostwithiel again, by which time England lay under the rule of a Roman Catholic queen,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Coat of arms

J.-W. de la Pole (ed.), ''Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon by Sir William Pole (died 1635)'', (J. Nichols, London, 1791)
p. 501
(Google).

References

1556 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Lostwithiel English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1554 English MPs 1555 Year of birth uncertain Southcott family Lords of the Manor {{16thC-England-MP-stub