Sir Robert Spencer (died before 1510) "of

Spencer Combe Spencer Combe in the parish of Crediton, Devon, is an historic estate. The grade II listed farmhouse known today as "Spence Combe", the remnant of a former mansion house, is situated 3 miles north-west of the town of Crediton. The arms given ...

" in the parish of

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter and around from the M5 motorway ...

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 ...

, was the husband of

Eleanor Beaufort Lady Eleanor Beaufort (1431 – 16 August 1501) was the daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (1406-1455), KG, and was a sister of the 3rd and 4th Dukes of Somerset. Origins She was the daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somer ...

(1431–1501), the daughter of

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 4th Earl of Somerset, 1st Earl of Dorset, 1st Marquess of Dorset styled 1st Count of Mortain, KG (140622 May 1455), was an English nobleman and an important figure during the Hundred Years' War. His riva ...

(1406–1455), KG, and was father to two daughters and co-heiresses who made notable marriages.

Origins

The origins of Spencer are unclear. 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 ...

(died 1640), quoting his source "Vincent upon Brooke and Mills", suggested he 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 ...

in the parish of

, Devon, which his ancestor Richard Spencer had inherited by marriage to Alice Hody, daughter of William Hody of Combe Lancells, whose own family had inherited it from the Lancells family. However Risdon's contemporary

Sir William Pole Sir William Pole (1561–1635) of Colcombe House in the parish of Colyton, and formerly of Shute House in the parish of Shute (adjoining Colcombe), both in Devon, was an English country gentleman and landowner, a colonial investor, Member ...

(died 1635) makes no mention of Sir Robert at Spencer Combe, and states that the estate descended via the heiress Jone Spencer to the Giffard family. His origin at Spencer Combe is however traditional, and is given thus in most published pedigrees and rolls of arms. The American genealogist Douglas Richardson suggests that Sir Robert Spencer was in fact the son and heir of John Spencer, Esquire, MP for

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, of Frampton in Dorset, Ashbury in Devon and Brompton Ralph in Somerset, by his wife Jone.

Career

Little if anything is known about the career of Sir Robert Spencer, other than Risdon's statement that he was "Captain of the castle of Homet and Thomeline in Normandy". Due to his wife's inheritance of the manor and

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, ...

of Hazelbury Bryan in Dorset, Spencer made presentations to the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

in 1493 and 1496.

Landholdings

He held the following manors, in right of his wife's dower: *Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire, from where he dated his will. *Hazelbury Bryan, Dorset *Puncknowle, Dorset *Toller Porcorum, Dorset *Batheaston, Somerset *Kingsdon, Somerset *Shockerwick, Somerset *Somerton Erleigh (in Somerton), Somerset *Somerton Randolph (in Somerton), Somerset.

Marriage and issue

PercyImpalingSpencer OfAshbury Devon PetworthHouse

In about 1465 he married (as her 2nd husband)

(1431–1501), the widow of James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (d.1461) and the daughter and eventual heiress of

(1406–1455), KG, the third surviving son of

John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset John Beaufort, 1st Marquess of Somerset and 1st Marquess of Dorset, later only 1st Earl of Somerset, (c. 1373 – 16 March 1410) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the first of the four illegitimate children of John of Gaunt ...

, the eldest of the four legitimised children of

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

(1340-1399) (third surviving son of King Edward III) by his mistress

Katherine Swynford Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, – 10 May 1403), also spelled Katharine or Catherine, was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III. Daughter o ...

). Her brothers were the 3rd and 4th Dukes of Somerset. By his wife he had two daughters and co-heiresses as follows: *

Margaret Spencer Margaret (or Eleanor) Spencer (1472–1536) was the daughter of Sir Robert Spencer, of Spencer Combe in the parish of Crediton, Devon, by his wife Lady Eleanor Beaufort, the daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and Lady Eleanor Beau ...

(1472–1536), (or Eleanor Spencer) wife of Thomas Cary of Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire, second son of Sir William Cary (1437–1471) of

Cockington Cockington is a village near Torquay in the English county of Devon. It has old cottages within its boundaries, and is about a half a mile away from Torquay. Bus service 62 (Torquay circular) calls at the village five times per day (Mon-Fri) an ...

, Devon. She had two sons: ** Sir

John Cary John Cary (c. 1754 – 1835) was an English cartographer. Life Cary served his apprenticeship as an engraver in London, before setting up his own business in the Strand in 1783. He soon gained a reputation for his maps and globes, his atla ...

(1491–1552) of Plashey, eldest son, ancestor to the Cary

Viscounts Falkland A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. ** William Cary, her 2nd son, the first husband of

Mary Boleyn Mary Boleyn, also known as Lady Mary, (c. 1499 – 19 July 1543) was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn, whose family enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII. Mary was one of the mistresses of Henry VII ...

, sister of Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

, and ancestor to the Cary

Barons Hunsdon Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

, Barons Cary of Leppington,

Earls of Monmouth Earl of Monmouth was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of England. The title was first created for English courtier Robert Carey, 1st Baron Carey in 1626. He had already been created Baron Carey, of Leppington, in 1622, also in the P ...

Viscounts Rochford Viscount Rochford is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation was made in favour of Sir Thomas Boleyn in 1525 by King Henry VIII. The title was taken from Boleyn's Rochford country estate in Essex. In ...

and

Earls of Dover Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Old Norse, Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "Germanic ch ...

. * Katherine Spencer (1477–1542), wife of

Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, KG (13 January 1477 – 19 May 1527) was an English nobleman and a member of the courts of both Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII. Origins Percy was son of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberlan ...

(1477–1527), KG, and mother to

Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG (c. 1502 – 1537) was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became ...

Death

Sir Robert Spencer died shortly before 1510, his will having been proved on 12 April 1510.

Heraldry

The arms of "Spencer of Spencer Combe" as quartered by the Percy Earls of Northumberland, visible in the Percy Window in the chapel at

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

and by the Cary Viscounts Falkland are: ''Sable, two bars nebuly ermine''. Sir William Pole, however, gives the arms of Spencer of Spencer Combe as:Pole, p.502 ''Argent, on a bend sable two pairs of keys or''.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Robert, of Spencer Combe 15th-century births 16th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 15th-century English nobility 15th-century English landowners People from Crediton

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...