The Scudamore (or de Scudamore) family is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

. The family settled in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

at two seats,

Holme Lacy Holme Lacy is a village in the English county of Herefordshire. The population of the civil parish was 466 at the 2011 Census. Category It is a primarily rural village. Etymology Holme Lacy is not from Old Norse ''holmr'' "island" like other pla ...

and

Kentchurch Court Kentchurch Court is a Grade I listed stately home east from the village of Kentchurch in Herefordshire, England. History It is the family home of the Scudamore family. Family members included Sir John Scudamore, who acted as constable a ...

, before lines moved to

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 ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. The family first gained prominence in the 15th and 16th centuries, before becoming ennobled as

Viscount Scudamore Viscount Scudamore was a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by three generations of the Scudamore family. It was created on 1 July 1628 for the diplomat and politician Sir John Scudamore, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of ...

and Baron Dromore in the 17th century, and were granted two baronetcies in 1620 and 1644. The family married into several noble dynasties including the

Cecil Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada *Cecil, Alberta, ...

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

, and

Howard families The Howard Families are a fictional group of people created by the author Robert A. Heinlein. According to Heinlein, the Howard Foundation was started in the 19th century by Ira Howard, a millionaire dying of old age in his forties, for the purpos ...

, and became ancestors to the

Earls of Chesterfield Earl of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also i ...

Early history

A Ralph mentioned in

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as a tenant under Alfred of Marlborough may have been an ancestor of the family, though the first well-documented bearer of the surname is found in the 12th century. The family subsequently split into two lines, with one holding the manors in Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire and in

, with several early members who were knighted. This branch then moved firstly to the

Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

in Somerset, and then to

Eyam Eyam () is an English village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales that lies within the Peak District National Park. There is evidence of early occupation by Ancient Britons on the surrounding moors and lead was mined in the area by the R ...

in Derbyshire through the lead mining trade. A cadet branch became entrenched in Herefordshire, with many members serving as deputy lieutenants and

High Sheriffs of Herefordshire High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

, eventually becoming ennobled in the 17th century. This branch split into two, with the senior line seated at

(where they still reside), and the junior at

Prominent family members

John Scudamore (landowner) Sir John Scudamore was a 15th-century English landowner from Herefordshire who acted as constable and steward of a number of Royal castles in South Wales. Active in fighting with the Welsh in 1402, he was still living in 1432, when it was discov ...

, 15th century landowner, constable and steward of Royal castles in South Wales. Secretly married

Alys ferch Owain Glyndŵr Alys ferch Owain Glyndŵr was one of the daughters of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr, the disinherited prince of the old Welsh royal house of Powys Fadog, who led a major revolt in Wales between 1400 and ca. 1416 against King Henry IV of En ...

one of the daughters of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

. *

John Scudamore (courtier) John Scudamore, (1 February 1542 – 14 April 1623) was the eldest son of William Scudamore (d. 1560) and Ursula Pakington (d. 1558), the daughter of Sir John Pakington,Mary Scudamore Mary Scudamore ( Shelton; c. 1550 – 1603) was a courtier to Elizabeth I. Career She was a daughter of Sir John Shelton of Shelton Hall, Norfolk and his wife, Margaret Parker. She joined the household of Queen Elizabeth around the year 156 ...

(1550-1603), courtier to Queen Elizabeth and wife of Sir John Scudamore (1542-1623). *

James Scudamore (courtier) Sir James Scudamore (also spelled Skidmore, Skidmur, Skidmuer or Scidmore; 1568–1619) was a gentleman usher at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Born at Holme Lacy, Herefordshire, he was the eldest son of John Scudamore, Custos Rotulorum of ...

(1568-1619), son of John Scudamore (1542-1623), gentleman usher at the court of Elizabeth 1. *Sir John Scudamore, 1st Baronet (1600-1649). *Sir John Scudamore, 2nd Baronet (1630-1684). *Sir Barnaby Scudamore, 3rd Baronet (C.1720). *

John Scudamore, 1st Viscount Scudamore John Scudamore, 1st Viscount Scudamore (22 March 1601 – 19 May 1671) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1629. In 1628 he was created Viscount Scudamore in the Irish peerage. ...

(1601-1671), English diplomat who served as Ambassador to France from 1635–1639. * James Scudamore(1624-1668), English politician and son of the 1st Viscount. *

John Scudamore, 2nd Viscount Scudamore John Scudamore, 2nd Viscount Scudamore DL (c. 1650 – July 1697), was an English landowner and politician. Scudamore was the son of James Scudamore (died 1668) by Jane Bennet, daughter of Richard Bennet. He was the grandson of John Scudamore, ...

(1650-1697), English Landowner and politician. *

Frances Scudamore, Viscountess Scudamore Frances Scudamore, Viscountess Scudamore (1652–1694), formerly Lady Frances Cecil, was the first wife of John Scudamore, 2nd Viscount Scudamore. She was the only daughter of John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter, by his wife the former Lady Frances Ma ...

(1652–1694), wife of the 2nd Viscount and the only daughter of

John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter (1628 – February 1678), styled Lord Burghley from 1640 to 1643, was an English peer. He inherited the earldom from his father David Cecil, 3rd Earl of Exeter in 1643. He was joint Lord Lieutenant of Northamptons ...

. *

James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore (1684 – 2 December 1716), was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1716. Scudamore was baptised on 15 July 1684, the second, but eldest surviving son of ...

(1684-1716), English landowner and Tory politician. *

Frances Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort Frances Scudamore, Duchess of Beaufort (1711–1750) was a noblewoman and heiress. The only child of James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore, she was his sole heir upon his death in 1716. Her mother, Frances ''née'' Digby, had introduced the f ...

(1711-1750), daughter and heiress of the 3rd Viscount. She married

Henry Somerset, 3rd Duke of Beaufort Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (23 March 1707 – 26 February 1745), born Henry Somerset, was an English nobleman and peer who supported Jacobitism. Life He was the elder son of Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort and his se ...

, but was divorced by him in 1742 after an affair with William Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot. *

Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore (c. 1713 – 22 August 1782) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons for 49 years from 1733 to 1782. Born Charles FitzRoy, he was the illegitimate son of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton and educate ...

(1713-1782), English politician and illegitimate son of

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, (25 October 1683 – 6 May 1757) was an Irish and English politician. Early life He was the only child and heir of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690) (an illegitimate son of King Charles I ...

. He married Frances Scudamore after her divorce from

. *

Frances Scudamore, Duchess of Norfolk Frances Scudamore (1750–1820) was the second wife of Charles Howard, who became the 11th Duke of Norfolk in 1786. She spent her married life confined to Holme Lacy in a mentally deranged condition. She was born the only daughter and heiress of ...

(1750-1820), married

Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk (15 March 1746 – 16 December 1815), styled Earl of Surrey from 1777 to 1786, was a British nobleman, peer, and politician. He was the son of Charles Howard, 10th Duke of Norfolk and Catherine Brockho ...

but spent most of her married life confined to Holme Lacy in a mentally deranged condition.Urban, Sylvanus. THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE: AND HISTORICAL CHRONICLE. VOL. LXXXV. p. 631. * Charles Scudamore (1779-1849), English physician, known for his writings on gout. * Frank Ives Scudamore (1823-1884), Receiver and accountant general of the British Post Office.

References

{{Reflist Noble families Anglo-Norman families People from Herefordshire English landowners