John Rashleigh II (1554 – 12 May 1624) of

Menabilly Menabilly ( kw, Men Ebeli, meaning ''stone of Colt (horse), colts'') is a historic estate on the south coast of Cornwall, England, situated within the parish of Tywardreath on the Gribben Head, Gribben peninsula about west of Fowey. It has be ...

, near

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

in Cornwall, was an English merchant and was MP for

in 1588 and 1597, and was

High Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriffs of all other English counties, ot ...

in 1608. He was the builder of the first mansion house on the family estate at

, near

, Cornwall, thenceforth the seat of the family until the present day. Many generations later the Rashleigh family of Menabilly in the

Return of Owners of Land, 1873 The two-volume ''Return of Owners of Land, 1873'' is the first complete picture of the distribution of land in Great Britain since the 1086 Domesday Book. The ''1873 Return'' is sometimes called the "Modern Domesday". It arose from the desire o ...

was listed as the largest landowner in Cornwall with an estate of or 3.97% of the total area of Cornwall.

Origins

He was the only son of John I Rashleigh (d.10 August 1582), a merchant at

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

(the 2nd son of Philip I Rashleigh (died 1551) of Fowey) by his wife Alice Lanyon (d.20 August 1591) (whose 1602

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 Fowey Church,) daughter of William Lanyon by his wife Thomasine Tregian, daughter of Thomas Tregian. Philip I Rashleigh (died 1551) of Fowey, by his wife Genet Leigh, daughter of Thomas Leigh of

South Molton South Molton is a town in Devon, England. It is part of the North Devon local government district. The town is on the River Mole. According to the 2001 census the civil parish of South Molton had a population of 4,093, increasing to 5,108 at the ...

, Devon, was the 2nd son of John Rashleigh (died 1528) of

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

in Devon, whose great-grandfather had been John Rashleigh ''alias'' Bray, the younger son of Robert Rashleigh (died pre 1390) of

Rashleigh Rashleigh is a surname of a prominent family from Devon and Cornwall in England, which originated in the 14th century or before at the estate of Rashleigh, Wembworthy, Rashleigh in the parish of Wembworthy, Devon. The principal branches were: *Ra ...

Wembworthy Wembworthy is a small village, parish and former manor in Mid-Devon, England. It is situated in the valley of the River Taw, 8 miles north-east of the towns of Hatherleigh and 12 miles south of South Molton. St Michael's Church is the parish chu ...

, Devon, by his wife Matilda. The ''de Rashleigh'' family had originated in the 14th century or before at the estate of

in the parish of

in Devon, of which the Barnstaple family was a later branch and of the latter the Fowey branch was a junior, but much the most successful, branch. Philip I Rashleigh (died 1551) had been the first to settle at Fowey, having purchased from the crown in 1545 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries the manor of Trenant, near Fowey, formerly a possession of nearby Tywardreath Priory. His eldest son Robert inherited the

lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

of Trenant and made his seat at Coombe within that manor and continued the senior, but less successful Cornwall line of Rashleigh of Coombe until 1698 when his descendant Robert Rashleigh (1645–1708) (whose monumental inscription survives in Fowey Church) the last in the male line, sold Coombe to his cousin Jonathan Rashleigh of Menabilly, who sold it out of the family in 1699. Philip's younger son John I (died 1582) in 1573 purchased the estate of Menabilly, near Fowey, and together with his father was responsible by their

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

ing or shipping enterprises for greatly expanding the port and trade of Fowey. John I's son John II Rashleigh built the first of the family's mansion houses at Menabilly, which thenceforth became the family seat, and remains occupied by the Rashleigh baronets in 2013. Matilda the wife of Robert Rashleigh (died pre 1390) of Rashleigh, in her widowhood had granted to her younger son John Rashleigh, by her charter dated 1397, her lands in Barnstaple, and in Newport in the adjoining parish of

Bishops Tawton Bishop's Tawton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. It is in the valley of the River Taw, about three miles south of Barnstaple. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,176. Desc ...

. On receiving his maternal inheritance John changed his surname to "Bray", and was thus the patriarch of the Rashleigh family of Barnstaple, from which the Cornwall branches were descended. Matilda's elder son, whose name is not known, inherited the paternal estate of Rashleigh, which remained held by his direct male descendants until the death of John Rashleigh (died 1503) of Rashleigh, whose heir was his 2-year-old "cousin" (possibly niece) Ibota Rashleigh, daughter of a certain Thomas Rashleigh, who by her marriage into the neighbouring family of Clotworthy of Clotworthy, brought Rashleigh into that family. The elder brother of Philip I Rashleigh (died 1551) of Fowey was Robert Rashleigh, who founded the family of Rashleigh of

, in Devon.

Monumental brass of mother

Embedded in a stone in the nave of Fowey Church is the 1602

of Alice Lanyon (died 1591), mother of John Rashleigh (died 1624). Above her head is an indentation for a now lost brass heraldic escutcheon, and below her feet is a plate bearing the following inscription:

"Here lieth the bodie of Alice the wife of John Rashleigh Esq. and daughter of Will'm Lanyon Esq. who died the XXth day of August 1591 and her husband who lieth buried under the monument neare adjoyninge died the Xth day of August 1582. At the time of their deathes they left of their issue livinge one sonne & six daughters which sonne caused this stone to be made in remembraunce therof in the yere of Our Lord 1602"

Sisters

His six sisters were as follows: *Agnes Rashleigh, wife of William Martin of

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

in Devon *Joan Rashleigh, wife of John Mayow of

Looe Looe (; kw, Logh, ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe ( kw, links= ...

, Cornwall *Avis Rashleigh, wife of James Kestell *Joan Rashleigh *Emlyn Rashleigh, wife of L. Apeley of Devon *Mary Rashleigh, wife of Simon Clotworthy (died 1630) of Rashleigh, in the parish of

, Devon. The estate of Rashleigh was the earliest known seat of the ''de Rashleigh'' family, which took their name from their estate and is situated 2 miles north-east of Wembworthy village, near to the estate of Clotworthy, the former seat of the Clotworthy family until they moved to Rashleigh. The heiress of John Rashleigh (died 1503) of Rashleigh was his 2-year-old cousin Ivota (''alias'' "Ibote","Abbot") Rashleigh, daughter of Thomas Rashleigh of Rashleigh, who married Thomas Clotworthy (died 1576), eldest son and heir of John Clotworthy of Clotworthy in the parish of Brushford, and Werrington, Devon.

Shipping interests

Rashleigh owned several ships and was engaged in widespread international trade, including to the

Guinea Coast Guinea is a traditional name for the region of the African coast of West Africa which lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It is a naturally moist tropical forest or savanna that stretches along the coast and borders the Sahel belt in the north. Et ...

and the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

. He transported troops to Ireland in 1598 and his ships formed part of the Plymouth

pilchard "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, Oily fish, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes fr ...

fleet. He captained his own ship the ''Francis of Fowey'' during the repulse of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

in 1588.

Marriage and children

In 1575 he married Alice Bonython (c. 1556 – 1606), daughter of Richard Bonython of

Carclew Carclew House, one of Britain's lost houses, was a large Palladian country house near Mylor in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was situated at approximately three miles north of Falmouth. Carclew House was for some generations owne ...

. In 1586 he obtained through his influence the election of his brother-in-law John Bonython as MP for Fowey. By Alice he had two sons and two daughters: *John Rashleigh (died 1624), eldest son, presumed insane. He died one month after his father, who left instructions in his will for his care to his 2nd son executor and heir Jonathan: ''"keep and maintain his brother John, allowing him a chamber, meat, drink, apparel and all other necessities and a servant continually to attend him"'' * Jonathan Rashleigh (1591–1675), 2nd son and heir, 5 times MP for Fowey. *Alice Rashleigh, wife of Nicholas Sawle of Cornwall. *Debora Rashleigh, wife of John Sparke (c 1574–1640), MP for

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

in Cornwall 1628–9, of The Friary, in the parish of St Jude, Plymouth, Devon.Vivian, pp.184,856

Sources

Cassidy, Irene, biography of John Rashleigh (d.1624), published in: History of Parliament: House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
*D Brunton & D H Pennington, ''Members of the Long Parliament'' (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) * * ''Vivian's Visitations of Cornwall'' (Exeter: William Pollard & Co, 1887
Vivian, J.L. & Drake, H.H., The Visitation of the County of Cornwall in the year 1620, Harleian Society, 1st series, volume 9, London, 1874, p9.183-4, pedigree of Rashleigh

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rashleigh, John 1554 births 1624 deaths Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall 17th-century English people High Sheriffs of Cornwall 17th-century English businesspeople English MPs 1589 English MPs 1597–1598

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

People from Tywardreath and Par