![StainedGlass 15-16c MoorhayesFarm Cullompton Devon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/StainedGlass_15-16c_MoorhayesFarm_Cullompton_Devon.png)
Moor Hays (''alias'' Moore Hays, Moorhays, Moorhayes, etc.) is a historic estate in the parish of
Cullompton
Cullompton () is a town and civil parish in the district of Mid Devon and the county of Devon, England. It is north-east of Exeter and lies on the River Culm. In 2011 the parish as a whole had a population of 8,499 while the built-up area of t ...
in Devon, England. It is stated incorrectly to be in the nearby parish of
Burlescombe
Burlescombe (, ) is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Holcombe Rogus, Culmstock, Uffculme, Halberton and Sampford Peverell. According t ...
in
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 ...
's ''Survey of Devon''. The estate is not to be confused with Moor Hayes in the parish of
Washfield
Washfield is a village, parish and former manor in Devon, England, situated about 2 miles north-west of Tiverton. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. It was within the jurisdiction of the historic West Budleigh Hundred.
Histor ...
, about 3 miles north-west of Tiverton, another ancient farmstead, which since 2005 has been the site of a large housing estate named "Moorhayes".
Descent of the manor
For many centuries the manor was the seat of the prominent Moore (''alias'' Moor) family. John Moore was
Recorder of Exeter
The Recorder of Exeter was a recorder, a form of senior judicial officer, usually an experienced barrister, within the jurisdiction of the City of Exeter in Devon. Historically he was usually a member of the Devonshire gentry. The position of re ...
in 1434, and thus the arms of Moore of Moor Hayes are amongst the many shields displayed in the
Exeter Guildhall
Exeter Guildhall on the High Street of Exeter, Devon, England has been the centre of civic government for the city for at least 600 years. Much of the fabric of the building is medieval, though the elaborate frontage was added in the 1590s ...
. This appears to be the John Moore shown in the Heraldic Visitations as the husband of Elizabeth Botour, daughter and heiress of Henry Botour of Exeter.
[Vivian, p.572] According to the Devon historian
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 ...
(d.1640), King Henry VIII (1509-1547) sold the manor of Aller to "Mr Moore of Cullumpton",
[Risdon, p.86] thus either to Humphrie Moore (d.1537) or to his son Sir John Moore of Moor Hayes, who was knighted at the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
by King Edward VI in 1549. Sir John Moore married Katherine Pomeroy, a daughter of Sir Thomas Pomeroy (1503-1566),
feudal baron of Berry Pomeroy
The Feudal Barony of Berry Pomeroy was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire, England, which existed during the mediaeval era. It had its ''caput'' at the manor of Berry Pomeroy, 20 miles south of the City of Exeter and 2 miles east of the ...
in Devon.
The Devon historian Sir
William Pole
William Pole FRS FRSE MICE (22 April 181430 December 1900) was an English engineer, astronomer, musician and an authority on Whist.
Life
He was born in Birmingham on 22 April 1814, the son of Thomas Pole.
Pole was apprenticed as an engineer t ...
(d.1635) was
lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
of Aller and was thus well acquainted with the Moore family of Moor Hayes, whose pedigree he sets out in some detail in his work.
Junior members of the family
Richard More (d.1516) was a younger son of John Moore of Moor Hayes (d.1509/10) by his wife Elizabeth Clivedon, a daughter and co-heiress of John Clivedon of
Willand
Willand is a village and civil parish within the Local Government district of Mid Devon, England.
It is about north of Exeter and north of Cullompton. In 1991 the population was 3750 although recently this has grown considerably. The Nat ...
. Richard Moore was
Archdeacon of Exeter
The Archdeacon of Exeter is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. The modern diocese is divided into four archdeaconries: the archdeacon of Exeter supervises clergy and buildings within the area of the ...
and became
Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury o ...
, where his monument survives.
Rev.
John Moore (c.1595–1657), a clergyman of
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
views and an author of pamphlets against
enclosure
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
s, was a younger son of Sir John Moore of Moor Hayes, (kt 1549), by his wife Katherine Pomeroy.
John Moore (1646–1714),
Bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher.
The see is in the ...
and
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...
was a member of a junior branch of the family and the grandson of Rev. John Moore.
Moorehayes Chapel, Cullompton Church
![Screen MoorhayesChapel CullomptonChurch Devon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Screen_MoorhayesChapel_CullomptonChurch_Devon.PNG)
The armorials of Moore of Moore Hayes survive on sixteen
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
-sculpted wooden heraldic shields ''circa'' 1530, each
supported by two four-winged angels, atop an intricately carved wooden
parclose screen
A parclose screen is a screen or railing used to enclose or separate-off a chantry chapel, tomb or manorial chapel, from public areas of a church, for example from the nave or chancel. It should be distinguished from the chancel screen which sepa ...
in the "Moorehayes Chapel" (''alias'' "Moore's Chantry", "Moore's Aisle") occupying the east end of the north aisle of St Andrew's Church, Cullompton. The screen separates the Moorehayes Chapel from the chancel. The sixteen shields are eight shields duplicated in identical order on the internal and external sides of the screen. The
lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
is generally permitted to build a manorial pew or manorial chapel within the parish church. They show the following arms, left to right:
*1: Moore impaling Gambon (of Moorstone in the parish of
Halberton
Halberton is a village and civil parish in Devon, England. The Grand Western Canal runs through the village. The village is situated between the historic market towns of Tiverton and Cullompton.
The large parish has an area of about and it i ...
?(Pole, pp. 197,484)(''Argent, a fess between three men's legs couped sable''), to represent the marriage of John de la Moor (fl. 14th/15th c.) to the daughter and heiress of the Gambon family;(Vivian, p. 572) (
canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus.
French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial allus ...
, French ''jambe'' = leg). This is the most ancient Moore ancestor depicted, occupying the fourth generation before Richard Moore (d.1516),
Archdeacon of Exeter
The Archdeacon of Exeter is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. The modern diocese is divided into four archdeaconries: the archdeacon of Exeter supervises clergy and buildings within the area of the ...
.
*2: Moore impaling Botour (''Sable, on a chevron argent five gouttes de sang between three storks of the second'') (Pole, p. 471, blazon standardised), to represent the marriage of John Moore of Moor Hayes (nephew of John de la Moor, husband of the Gambon heiress) to Elizabeth Botour, daughter and heiress of Henry Botour of Exeter.
John Moore's sister Alis Moore was married (as his first wife) to Sir
John Juyn
Sir John Juyn (died 24 March 1440), SL, was an English judge who served as Chief Justice of the King's Bench (1439–40).
Origins
He was the son of John Juhyne (d. 1390), a wool merchant from Bristol, by his wife a certain Margery.
Career
Follo ...
(d.1440),
Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
.
*3: Moore impaling Cliveden (''Argent, a chevron between three escallops gules''), for the marriage of John Moore (d.1509/10) (son of William Moore and Jane Stawell, and thus grandson of John Moor and Elizabeth Botour) of Moor Hayes to Elizabeth Cliveden (d.1515), a daughter and co-heiress of John Cliveden of
Willand
Willand is a village and civil parish within the Local Government district of Mid Devon, England.
It is about north of Exeter and north of Cullompton. In 1991 the population was 3750 although recently this has grown considerably. The Nat ...
, Devon. Pole stated of John Moore (d.1509/10): ''"Hee was a wise man, learned in the lawes, & a governour in this country, & lived to bee an old man"''. Following the
Dissolution of the Monasteries the Moore family purchased the manor of Willand, formerly held by
Taunton Priory
Taunton Priory, or the Priory of St Peter and St Paul, was an Augustinian house of canons founded c. 1115 by William Gyffarde (also called William Giffard), Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England near Taunton, Somerset, England.
History ...
.
*4: Moore impaling Stowell/Stawell (''Gules a cross lozengy argent'') with a chief apparently of Martin (''Gules, three bends or''), for the marriage of William Moore of Moorhayes (son and heir of John Moore and Elizabeth Botour) to Jane Stawell, daughter and heiress of the Stawell family of Cothelstone, Somerset. (Vivian, p. 572)
*5: Moore impaling ''A chevron between three oaken slips fructed'' (a wife of unknown family).
*6: Kirkham (''Argent, three lions rampant gules a bordure engrailed sable'') impaling Moore, to represent the first marriage of Sir
John Kirkham (1472-1529) of
Blagdon
Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. According to the 2011 ...
in the parish of
Paignton
Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...
, Devon,
Sheriff of Devon
The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...
in 1523/4, to an unnamed daughter of the family of Moore of Moore Hayes. The marriage was without issue and he married a further three times. The father of Sir John Kirkham was Nicholas Kirkham (1434-1516) who built the famous screen of the
Kirkham chantry in St John's Church, Paignton, where survives his effigy, with those of his wife and parents.
*7: Walrond (''Argent, three bull's heads cabossed sable'') impaling Moore, for the marriage of John Walrond of nearby
Bradfield, Uffculme
Bradfield House is a Grade I listed country house situated in the parish of Uffculme, Devon, England, south-west of the village of Uffculme.
It is one of the largest mansions in Devon, having been substantially enlarged in about 1860 by Sir J ...
, Devon, to Margaret Moore, a daughter of John Moore and Elizabeth Cliveden, and sister of Richard Moore (d.1516),
Archdeacon of Exeter
The Archdeacon of Exeter is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. The modern diocese is divided into four archdeaconries: the archdeacon of Exeter supervises clergy and buildings within the area of the ...
and Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral.
*8: Moore impaling Trowbridge (''Or, over water proper a bridge triple-towered gules''), representing the marriage of William Moore (d.1581) (4th son of John Moore and Elizabeth Cliveden and thus a brother of Richard Moore (d.1516),
Archdeacon of Exeter
The Archdeacon of Exeter is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. The modern diocese is divided into four archdeaconries: the archdeacon of Exeter supervises clergy and buildings within the area of the ...
and Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral) to Dorothy Trobridge, a daughter of the Trobridge family of Trobridge near Crediton, Devon.
On the floor of the Moore Chapel are numerous floor slabs, described in Cresswell, Beatrix F., ''Notes on Devon Churches in the Deanery of Cullompton'', 1920. The far grander chapel in Cullompton Church was the South Aisle Chapel, built by the wealthy clothier
John Lane (d.1529). There was a dispute concerning this between his widow and the Moore family which resulted in a law suit heard by the
Star Chamber
The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...
, the record of which is held at the
National Archives at Kew, summarised as follows:
:"Plaintiff: Thomasyne late wife of John Lane, of Cullompton; Defendant: Humphrey More, John More, Christopher More, and John Smyth. Place or subject: Forcible entry into a chapel built by plaintiff's late husband adjoining to the parish church".
Lands and house
![TudorCoatOfArms MoorhayesCullompton TivertonMuseum Devon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/TudorCoatOfArms_MoorhayesCullompton_TivertonMuseum_Devon.PNG)
The estate covered much of the unusually flat low ground of the basin of the
River Culm
The River Culm flows through the Devon Redlands in Devon, England and is the longest tributary of the River Exe. It rises in the Blackdown Hills at a spring near RAF Culmhead in Somerset, and flows west through Hemyock, then Culmstock (in the Cul ...
, between various hilly regions of Devon. The former mansion house is today represented by Higher Moorhayes Farm, situated about 4 miles north-east of the town of Cullompton, from which it is separated by the
River Culm
The River Culm flows through the Devon Redlands in Devon, England and is the longest tributary of the River Exe. It rises in the Blackdown Hills at a spring near RAF Culmhead in Somerset, and flows west through Hemyock, then Culmstock (in the Cul ...
, and 6 miles south-east of the town of
Tiverton, and by Lower Moorhayes, situated about 2 miles north-east of the town of Cullompton.
Higher Moorhayes Farm is a
grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
building, possibly incorporating a 15th century core structure, extensively remodelled in the 19th century. It incorporates fragments of a medieval chapel, which identifies it as the residence of a family of high social status. The earliest surviving dateable feature is of the late 16th century. It is essentially a three-room "cross-passage" house, with the original
great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...
on the higher side to the right of
the
screens passage
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great c ...
, originally with a fireplace at the higher end. The entrance porch retains a (worn-away) sculpted heraldic shield in the apex, with a reset medieval arch probably taken from the chapel. In the lower end room survives a fireplace with a decorative plaster overmantel displaying festoons and a central lion's head which could be late 16th century, now heavily painted. In the stairwell window survive fragments of late 15th or early 16th century painted glass canopy work, probably from the chapel. The gateway to the garden incorporates re-used medieval material including piers and finials with a lintel with composite roll and concave moulding.
A large sculpted stone tablet displaying the
royal arms of one of the Tudor monarchs (1485-1603) with other heraldic elements, formerly at Moor Hayes, is now displayed in Tiverton Museum (item TIVMS: 1977.727).
[Tiverton Museum TIVMS : 1977.727; Catalogue entry: "Identification: Insignia; coat of arms, stone; carved stone Tudor royal coat-of-arms; thistle and shamrock over lion on left, Tudor rose over Welsh dragon on right, central crown over motto national government. Production: Tudor. Association: Moorhayes, Cullompton, Devon. Description: material: stone; colour: cream; condition: good; completeness: complete; h x w 1000mm x 1000mm (approx); carved below crown: ]Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense
(, , ) is a maxim in the Anglo-Norman language, a dialect of Old Norman French spoken by the medieval ruling class in England, meaning "shamed be whoever thinks ill of it", usually translated as "shame on anyone who thinks evil of it" It is ...
" (Compare :File:WLA vanda Water Cistern Tile bearing the arms of Henry VII and his wife.jpg)
The
M5 Motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
was built (1967–77) near the western boundary of the ancient estate.
Further reading
*Blackmore, Roy, ''The Moore family of Moorehayes and St Andrew's Church, Cullompton'', 23 pp.
*Blackmore, Roy, ''The Life and Times of Bishop John Moore, The Bishop of Norwich and Ely 1646-1714'', 15 p.
*Blackmore, Roy, ''The Blackmores of Sheldon & Cullompton
(Details of descent of Moor Hays after Moore family)
*Moore, Cecil, ''Genealogical Memoranda of the Family of De La Moor or Moore de Moorehayes in the Parish of Collumpton, in the County of Devon, from A.D. 1120 (circa) to A.D. 1884'', London, 1884, 12 pp.: ill.
*''Pedigree of the Family of De La Moor or Moore de Moorhayes in the Parish of Cullompton in the County of Devon'', Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica (New Series), Vol.4, 1884, pp. 413–16.
References
Sources
*
*
*
John Lambrick Vivian, Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620'', Exeter, 1895, p. 572, pedigree of "Moore of Moorhays"
* {{cite book, last = Vivian, first = J.L. , title = The Visitations of the County of Devon, 1531, 1564 and 1620. With additions. Part 2., year = 1895, pages= 437–899 , url = https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/126381-redirection, access-date = 6 November 2016
Historic estates in Devon
Cullompton