Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet (c. 1563 – 10 April 1613) of

Berry Pomeroy Berry Pomeroy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, east of the town of Totnes. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Ipplepen, Marldon, Torbay (unitary authority), Stoke Gabri ...

, Devon, was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

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 ...

, twice

High 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 ...

and an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Origins

Born at

Berry Pomeroy Castle Berry Pomeroy Castle, a Tudor mansion within the walls of an earlier castle, is near the village of Berry Pomeroy, in South Devon, England. It was built in the late 15th century by the Pomeroy family which had held the land since the 11th centur ...

, Devon, of a family greatly influential in the Western counties, he was the son and heir of Lord Edward Seymour (died 1593), by his wife Margaret Walsh. He was the grandson of

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 ...

(c. 1500 – 1552),

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...

, in the elder but lower-ranking line of his descendants. Because of the alleged adultery of the Duke's first wife

Catherine Fillol Catherine Fillol (or Filliol; c. 1507 – c. 1535) was the daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Fillol (1453 – 9 July 1527), of Woodlands, Horton, Dorset, and of Fillol's Hall, Essex. She became the first wife of Sir Edward Seymour, who we ...

, the Dukedom had been entailed with preference to his sons by his second marriage.

Career

Aged 20 he was appointed Deputy

Vice-Admiral of Devon The holder of the post Vice-Admiral of Devon was responsible for the defence of the county of Devon, England. History As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pres ...

. In 1586 he was

Vice-Admiral of Cornwall C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" ...

. In the late 16th century, there was concern at the threat of a Spanish invasion, and he received a commission as a colonel in 1595, in charge of 1,600 men, and responsible for an area of the south Devon coast from Dartmouth to Plymouth. He was appointed

in 1595 and 1605 and returned as Member of Parliament for

in 1593 and between 1601 and 1611. Berry Pomeroy Castle - geograph

He spent a large sum extending

, over £20,000 according to John Prince in his ''Worthies of Devon'', 1697, particularly in the building of the north range in about 1600. In 1604 he tried to claim part of his grandfather the Duke of Somerset's estate, but was opposed by his half-cousin

Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Baron Beauchamp, KG (22 May 1539 – 6 April 1621), of Wulfhall and Totnam Lodge in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset, of Netley Abbey, Hampshire, and of Hertford House, Cannon R ...

and was unsuccessful. From around 1611, as a result of the large expenditure on his home, the cost of supporting his eight children and legal expenses, he was apparently short of money. Despite his financial problems on 29 June 1611 he was created Baronet Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, the

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

for which cost him £1,095.

Marriage and children

At the age of 13 on 19 September 1576 he married Elizabeth Champernowne, having been betrothed to her for about ten years. She was a daughter of Sir

Arthur Champernowne Sir Arthur Champernowne (c.1524 – 1 April 1578) was an English politician, high sheriff and soldier who lived at Dartington Hall in Devon, England. Champernowne belonged to a large Anglo-Norman family that originated from Cambernon, in No ...

(died 1578) of

Dartington Dartington is a village in Devon, England. Its population is 876. The electoral ward of ''Dartington'' includes the surrounding area and had a population of 1,753 at the 2011 census. It is located west of the River Dart, south of Dartington H ...

, Devon,

Vice-Admiral of the West {{Unreferenced, date=December 2008 The historical title Vice-Admiral of the West is sometimes applied to holders of the crown appointment Vice-Admiral of the Coast of counties in the South West of England. The duties of a Vice-Admiral of the coast ...

under Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. With her Seymour had children including:

Sons

Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet (c. 1580 – 5 October 1659) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1601 and 1625. He was an ambassador to Denmark. During the English Civil War, he supported the Roya ...

(c. 1580 – 1659) *William Seymour (died 1622), married Joan Young, daughter of John Young *Richard Seymour (died 1655) Vivian 1895, p. 703

Daughters

*Mary Seymour, married Sir George Farewell. *Elizabeth Seymour, married George Cary of Cockington. *Bridget Seymour (b. 1577), married Sir John Bruin. *Anna Seymour (died 1639), married Edmond II Parker (1592–1649) of

North Molton North Molton is a village, parish and former manor in North Devon, England. The population of the parish in 2001 was 1,047, decreasing to 721 in the 2011 census. An electoral ward with the same name also exists. The ward population at the ce ...

and

Boringdon Hall Boringdon Hall is a 16th-century Grade I listed manor house in the parish of Colebrook, about two miles north of Plympton, Devon. Description The oldest parts of the present house were said by John Britton (1771–1857) to have been built about ...

, Plympton St Mary, ancestor of the

Earl of Morley Earl of Morley, of Morley in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for John Parker, 2nd Baron Boringdon. At the same time he was created Viscount Boringdon, of North Molton in the County ...

Death and burial

He died in 1613 and was buried in

St Mary's Church, Berry Pomeroy St Mary's Church of Berry Pomeroy is an Anglican parish church in Berry Pomeroy, with a full length, forty-two foot wide, rood screen which has been described as one of the most perfect in Devon. It is listed on the Heritage at Risk Register. T ...

, where there survives a well-preserved monument to him, termed by

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

as "astonishingly naive". He was succeeded by his eldest son

(c. 1580 – 1659).

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Edward, 1st Baronet 1560s births 1613 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Edward Seymour, 1st baronet Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon High Sheriffs of Devon English MPs 1593 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611