![Tapeley Park - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Tapeley_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_877947.jpg)
Tapeley is a historic estate in the parish of
Westleigh in North
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. Devo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
The present mansion house known as Tapeley Park is a
grade II* listed country house, built or enlarged from an existing structure in about 1704, remodeled in the 19th century and again in the early 20th century when pilasters, portico, pediment and parapet were added to create a
Queen Anne style building. In the mid 19th century the estate was inherited from the Clevland family by William Langham Christie of
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hun ...
in
Sussex. His grandson was
John Christie (born 1882), the founder of
Glyndebourne Opera Festival
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.
History
Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...
, who bequeathed Tapeley to his daughter Rosamund Christie (1933–1988), who passed it onto her nephew Hector Christie (born 1963), who briefly turned it into a hippie commune. In 2011, Tapeley Park was the subject of an episode of the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
television programme ''
Country House Rescue
''Country House Rescue'' is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand and in South Africa.
In each e ...
'', presented by the hotelier
Ruth Watson
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
, who advised on restoring the estate to a sound financial position.
The gardens are Grade II* listed in the
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...
. They are open to the public on a regular basis and feature
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...
terraces, a working
kitchen garden
The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...
and a
permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...
garden. The estate, now mainly owned by the Christie Devon Estates Trust (trustees of the Christie family), comprises about 6,000 acres, and covers Saunton (including foreshore and beach),
Braunton Burrows
Braunton Burrows is a sand dune system on the North Devon coast. It is privately owned and forms part of the Christie Devon Estates Trust (see Tapeley Park). Braunton Burrows is a prime British sand dune site, the largest sand dune system (psamm ...
(sand dunes, partly a nature reserve and leased to the Ministry of Defence), Instow (including the foreshore purchased from the crown estate) and the village of Westleigh.
Descent
Baudrope
The first recorded holder of Tapeley according to
Risdon
Risdon is a surname and also a first name, and may refer to:
; Given name
* Risdon Beazley (1904–1979), British businessman
; Surname
* Dustin Risdon (born 1981), Canadian professional golfer
* Elisabeth Risdon (1887–1958) English film act ...
(died 1640) was the family of Baudrope.
de Tapelegh
According to
Pole
Pole may refer to:
Astronomy
*Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets
*Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
(died 1635), Tapeley was held by the ''de Tapelegh'' family as follows:
*Walter de Tapeley, who is recorded as holding it in 1295
*Walter de Tapeley, 1314
*Robert Tapeley, 1345
Grant
The
heir general
In English law, heirs of the body is the principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance such ...
of the Tapeley family took Tapeley by marriage into the Grant family. A certain Mauger le Grant 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 Westleigh (in which parish is situated Tapeley), which he
held from "Lord Hugh Courtenay" (possibly therefore
Hugh de Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon (1276–1340) or his son
Hugh de Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon
Sir Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon (12 July 1303 – 2 May 1377), 2nd Baron Courtenay, feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton, played an important role in the Hundred Years War in the service of King Edward III. Hi ...
(1303–1377) or
Hugh de Courtenay, 12th Earl of Devon
Hugh de Courtenay, 4th/12th Earl of Devon (1389 – 16 June 1422) was an English nobleman, son of the 3rd/11th earl of Devon, and father of the 5th/13th earl. The ordinal number given to the early Courtenay earls of Devon depends on whether the e ...
(1389–1422)), and was succeeded by William Grant and then the latter's son William Grant (of Steventon, Devon), whose daughter Elizabeth Grant in 1477 married John Monck of
Potheridge
Potheridge (''alias'' Great Potheridge, Poderigge, Poderidge or Powdrich) is a former Domesday Book estate in the parish of Merton, in the historic hundred of Shebbear, 3 miles south-east of Great Torrington, Devon, England. It is the site ...
in the parish of
Merton, Devon, ancestor of
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (died 1670).
Coblegh
![CobleghArms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/CobleghArms.png)
From Grant the estate of Tapeley descended by unknown means to the family of Coblegh of
Brightley, Chittlehampton, Devon. The Coblegh family of Brightley were the leading family resident within the manor and parish of Chittlehampton but were not
lords 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 seigno ...
of Chittlehampton. Two
monumental brasses commemorating the Cobley family survive in St Hieritha's Church, Chittlehampton, one with an inscription to Henry Coblegh (died 1470) and his wife Alicia, parents of John Coblegh, whose brass lies adjacent to the north. John married twice, firstly to Isabella Cornu, secondly to Joan Pyne (possibly of the Pyne family of
East Down), as his brass records. His son by his second marriage was John Coblegh (died 1542) who married Joan (or Jane) Fortescue, a daughter of William Fortescue (died 1520), 2nd son of John Fortescue, of
Wimpstone,
Modbury
Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...
, which John Fortescue was 1st cousin of
Sir John Fortescue John Fortescue may refer to:
* Sir John Fortescue (judge) (c. 1394–1479), English lawyer and judge, MP for Tavistock, Totnes, Plympton Erle and Wiltshire
* Sir John Fortescue of Salden (1531/1533–1607), third Chancellor of the Exchequer of Eng ...
(c. 1394 – c. 1480),
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. John Coblegh is recorded in the
Lisle Letters The Lisle Papers are the correspondence received in Calais between 1533 and 1540 by Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (c.1480-1542), Lord Deputy of Calais, an illegitimate son of King Edward IV and an uncle of King Henry VIII, and by his wif ...
as one of the Devonshire notables who were given a deer by
Honor Plantagenet, Viscountess Lisle
Honor Grenville, Viscountess Lisle (c. 1493–1495Byrne, vol.1, p. 305, Honor's birthyear was estimated at 1493–95 – 1566) was a Cornish lady whose domestic life from 1533 to 1540 during the reign of King Henry VIII is exceptionall ...
(died 1566) from the park of her nearby manor of
Umberleigh
Umberleigh is a former large manor within the historic hundred of (North) Tawton, but today a small village in North Devon in England. It used to be an ecclesiastical parish, but following the building of the church at Atherington it became ...
. He also features further in the Letters. There exists in Chittlehampton church a slab monument of John Coblegh (died 1542) and his wife Joan Fortescue. Their only child and sole heiress was Margaret Coblegh who married Sir Roger Giffard (died 1547), thus Brightley, together with other estates including Tapeley passed to the Giffard family.
Giffard
![GiffardArmsDifferencedByCrescent](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/GiffardArmsDifferencedByCrescent.PNG)
The pedigree of Giffard (pronounced ''Jiffard'') is given as follows in the
Heraldic visitation
Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as their deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the ...
s of Devon:
Sir Roger Giffard (died 1547)
Sir Roger Giffard (died 1547) was a younger son of the Giffard family of
Halsbury
Halsbury (pron. "Haulsbury") is a historic manor in the parish of Parkham in North Devon, England. It is situated 2 miles north-east of the village of Parkham and 4 miles south-west of the town of Bideford. Halsbury was long a seat of the anc ...
in the parish of
Parkham
Parkham is a small village, civil parish and former manor situated 5 miles south-west of the town of Bideford in north Devon, England. The parish, which lies within the Kenwith ward in the Torridge district, is surrounded clockwise from the n ...
, 4 miles south-west of
Bideford
Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.
Toponymy
In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...
. He was the 3rd son of Thomas Giffard (1532/3) of Halsbury but the eldest by his second wife Anne Coryton, daughter of John Coryton of
Newton Ferrers
Newton Ferrers is a village and former manor and ecclesiastical parish in the English county of Devon; it is now in the civil parish of Newton and Noss. It is situated on a creek of the River Yealm estuary, about south-east of the City of Plym ...
in the parish of
St Mellion
St Mellion ( kw, Sen Melyan) is a village and rural civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is about south of Callington and is in the St Germans Registration District. To the north, the parish is bordered by Callingto ...
, in Cornwall. Several monuments exist to the Coryton family in the Church of St Melanus, St Mellion. Thomas's eldest son by his first marriage was heir to Halsbury and the senior line of the family remained seated there until the death of John Giffard of Halsbury (d.post 1666), the last in the male line, who bequeathed the estate on Roger Giffard (1646–1724) a younger son of the junior Brightley line. Sir Roger Giffard had 14 children by his wife Margaret Coblegh, heiress of Brightley and Tapeley.
John Giffard (died 1585)
John Giffard (died 1585), eldest son and heir of Sir Roger Giffard (died 1547), married Mary Grenville, daughter of Sir
Richard Grenville (c. 1495–1550), lord of the manors of
Stowe, Kilkhampton in Cornwall and of
Bideford
Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.
Toponymy
In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...
, Devon, MP for
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 ...
in 1529. Mary was the sister of Roger Grenville, believed to have been the captain of the
Mary Rose
The ''Mary Rose'' (launched 1511) is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her ...
in the sinking of which at Portsmouth he drowned in 1545, and was thus aunt of his son the heroic sea captain Sir
Richard Grenville (1542–1591) of the ''Revenge''. She survived her husband and remarried Arthur Tremayne of
Collacombe
Collacombe is an historic manor in the parish of Lamerton, Devon, England. The manor house survives as a grade I listed building, known as Collacombe Barton or Collacombe Manor (House).
Descent d'Aumale
The Domesday Book of 1086 lists ''COLECOM ...
. His eldest son and heir was John Giffard (died 1622).
John Giffard (died 1622)
John Giffard (died 1622), son and heir of John Giffard (died 1585), married Honor Earle (died 1638), daughter of Sir
Walter Earle
Sir Walter Erle or Earle (22 November 1586 – 1 September 1665) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1648. He was a vigorous opponent of King Charles I in the Parliamentary c ...
of
Charborough
Charborough is an historic former parish and manor in Dorset, England. It survives today as a hamlet, situated on an affluent of the River Stour, 6 miles west of Wimborne Minster, but without any of its former administrative powers, and is today ...
, Dorset. His eldest son Arthur Giffard (1580–1616) predeceased his father having married Agnes Leigh (died 1625), daughter of Thomas Leigh Esq., of Burrough (anciently "Borow", "Borough", etc.) in the parish of
Northam, near Bideford. Arthur left a son and heir to his grandfather, Col.
John Giffard (1602–1665), and eight other children including his 2nd son Rev. Arthur Giffard (1605–1666), appointed in 1643 Rector of Bideford by his cousin Sir
John Granville (1628–1701) (created
Earl of Bath
Earl of Bath was a title that was created five times in British history, three times in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now extinct.
Earls of Bath; First cre ...
in 1661).
Col. John Giffard (1602–1665)
Col.
John Giffard (1602–1665), grandson of John Giffard (died 1622), was a Colonel of Royalist forces in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, who married in 1621 Joan Wyndham, daughter of
Sir John Wyndham (1558–1645) of
Orchard Wyndham
Orchard Wyndham is a historic manor near Williton in Somerset, centred on the synonymous grade I listed manor house of Orchard Wyndham that was situated historically in the parish of Watchet and about two miles south of the parish church of ...
, near
Williton
Williton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district.
Williton sta ...
, Somerset. He had a daughter Grace, whose effigy exists in Chittlehampton Church, and at least two sons, John Giffard (1639–1712), his heir, and Roger Giffard (1644–1724).
John Giffard (1639–1712)
John Giffard (1639–1712), of Brightley, eldest son and heir of Col. John Giffard (1602–1665). In 1704 he sold the estate of Tapeley to
William Clevland (1664–1734). John married twice:
*Firstly to Susannah Bampfylde, 4th daughter of
Sir John Bampfylde, 1st Baronet (c. 1610 – 1650), MP, of
Poltimore and
North Molton. Their son John Giffard (died 1704) married Margaret Clotworthy, daughter of Roger Clotworthy of
Rashleigh, Wembworthy
Rashleigh is an historic former manor in the parish of Wembworthy, Devon. Rashleigh Barton, the former manor house, is a grade II* listed building, situated 5 miles north-east of the village of Wembworthy. It was the earliest known seat of the a ...
. This marriage failed to produce a male heir, only a daughter and heiress Margaret Giffard (died 1743), who married John Courtenay (died 1732), the last in the male line of Courtenay of
Molland
Molland is a small village, civil parish, dual ecclesiastical parish with Knowstone, located in the foothills of Exmoor in Devon, England. It lies within the North Devon local government district. At the time of the 2001 Census, the village ...
.
*Secondly to Frances Fane, 2nd daughter of Hon. and Rev. William Fane, a son of
Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland
Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland (1 February 158023 March 1629), (styled Sir Francis Fane between 1603 and 1624) of Mereworth in Kent and of Apethorpe in Northamptonshire was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Com ...
and brother of Lady Rachel Fane (1614–1681), wife of
Henry Bourchier, 5th Earl of Bath of
Tawstock Court, 5 miles east of Tapeley. By Francis Fane he had at least two sons, Henry Giffard (1675–1709) an officer in the Royal Navy, who married Martha Hill, daughter of Edward Hill, Judge of the Admiralty and Treasurer of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. His brother and John Giffard's 4th son was his heir Caesar Giffard (died 1715) who married Mary Melhuish. They had a daughter Rachel Giffard who married Thomas Colley (died 1762). The executors of the will of Caesar Giffard sold the manor of Chittlehampton in 1737 to Samuel Rolle of
Hudscott
Hudscott is a historic estate within the parish and former manor of Chittlehampton, Devon. From 1700 it became a seat of a junior branch of the influential Rolle family of Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe and in 1779 became a secondary seat ...
, within the parish of Chittlehampton.
Clevland
William Clevland (1664–1734)
Commander
William Clevland (1664–1734), (''alias'' Cleuland) was a Scottish-born
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
commander who served as Controller of Storekeepers' Accounts (23 April 1718 – 24 May 1732). In 1702, having sailed into the North Devon port of Bideford, then one of the leading tobacco importation ports of Great Britain, he is said to have viewed from his ship the ancient mansion of Tapeley, in the parish of
Westleigh, situated on an eminence overlooking the estuary of the
River Torridge
The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristo ...
, and to have been so impressed by the beauty of its position that in 1704 he purchased the estate from the Giffard family of
Brightley, which thenceforth he made his residence. He was the eldest son of Archibald Cleuland (''sic'') of Knowhoblehill, Lanarkshire, Scotland. The family claimed descent from the ancient
Scottish clan of Cleland (''alias'' Cleuland) of Faskine, Lanarkshire, south-east of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, with which it shares similar armorials. In 1704 he married Ann Davie (1689–1726), a daughter of the prominent Bideford tobacco merchant
John Davie
John Davie (1640–1710) of Orleigh Court in the parish of Buckland Brewer, Devon, England, was a prominent tobacco merchant from Bideford, Devon. His Bideford town house which he built in 1688, was ''Colonial House'', now the Royal Hotel, i ...
(died 1710), of
Orleigh Court
Orleigh Court is a late medieval manor house in the parish of Buckland Brewer about 4 miles (6.4 km) south-west of Bideford, North Devon, England. It is a two-storeyed building constructed from local slate stone and has a great hall with a hammer- ...
,
Buckland Brewer and Colonial House (now the Royal Hotel), East-the-Water, Bideford. He is said by various sources (but not by Burke's Landed Gentry 1858, which states his two sons named William died young) to have had a younger son
William Clevland, said to have become King of the
Banana Islands
The Banana Islands are a group of islands that lie off the coast of Yawri Bay, south west of the Freetown Peninsula in the Western Area of Sierra Leone.
Three islands make up the Banana Islands: Dublin, Banana Islands, Dublin and Ricketts ...
following a shipwreck.
John Clevland (1706–1763)
John Clevland (1706–1763), eldest son and heir, of Tapeley, was
Secretary to the Admiralty
S, or s, is the nineteenth 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 ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''.
Histor ...
1751–1763 (First Secretary from 1759) and was twice MP for
Saltash
Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Corn ...
, Devon (1741–1747 and 1754–1761) and for
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
in Kent (1747–1754). In about 1750 he purchased the
lordship of the manor of Bideford, which thenceforward descended with the Tapeley estate. He married three times. His 6th son was
Augustus Clevland
Augustus Clevland (1754–1784) was an East India Company administrator in the Province of Bengal, a Collector of the Revenues and a Judge of the Sudder Dewanny Adawlut, Dewanny Adawlut of the Districts of Bhagalpur and various others. He was v ...
(1754–1784), youngest son by his 3rd wife, an officer of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
who rose to the high position of
Collector of
Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Si ...
, Bengal.
John Clevland (1734–1817)
John Clevland (1734–1817), of Tapeley, eldest son and heir by his father's first wife, was MP for
Barnstaple in seven parliaments and was Director of
Greenwich Hospital. He married Elizabeth Stevens (1727–1792), the daughter and heiress of
Richard Stevens (1702–1776) of
Winscott, in the parish of
Peters Marland, Devon,
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 o ...
for
Callington in Cornwall (1761–1768). He left no children and was pre-deceased by all five of his younger brothers and half-brothers. A mural monument to his wife survives in Peters Marland Church inscribed as follows:
To the memory of Mrs Elizabeth Clevland wife of John Clevland Esq., Member of Parliament for the Borough of Barnstaple (where he has been chosen six successive parliaments) and daughter of Richard Stevens of Winscott. She died 16 September 1792 aged 65 years.
Below is a white marble relief sculpted escutcheon showing the following arms:
Quarterly
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
1st & 4th: Clevland; 2nd & 3rd: ''Vert, two bars engrailed between three leopard's faces or'' (
Child baronets, of the City of London (1685) (Child of Surat, East Indies and Dervill, Essex, Baronet, created 1684, extinct 1753), the arms of William Clevland's mother Elizabeth Child). Overall is an
inescutcheon of pretence of Stevens: ''Per chevron azure and gules, in chief two falcons rising belled or''.
Saltren Willett (Clevland)
Augustus Saltren-Willett (1781–1849)
![AugustusClevland Died1849 WestleighChurch Devon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/AugustusClevland_Died1849_WestleighChurch_Devon.JPG)
Col. Augustus Saltren-Willett (1781–1849), JP and
DL for Devon, who following his inheritance assumed in 1847 by royal licence the surname and arms of Clevland in lieu of Willett. He was the great-nephew of
John Clevland (1734–1817), being the son of Augustus Saltren-Willett (1760–1813) (who died at Tapeley in 1813 as his mural monument in Westleigh Church attests), builder of Port Hill House in Northam (by his wife Frances Davie of Orleigh) the son of William Saltren (the second son of Thomas Saltren of Stone in the parish of Parkham) by his wife Hester Clevland, the eldest full-blood sister of John Clevland (1734–1817). A younger branch of the Saltrens, of Treludick, in Cornwall, settled at Petticombe in the parish of
Monkleigh
Monkleigh is a village, parish and former manor in north Devon, England, situated 2 1/2 miles north-west of Great Torrington and 3 1/2 miles south-east of Bideford. An electoral ward exists titled ''Monkleigh'' and Littleham. The population at ...
, Devon before the middle of the seventeenth century and the mansion at Petticombe was rebuilt by John Saltren in about 1796. A monument to John Saltren (died 1794) of Petticombe survives in Monkleigh Church. The arms of Saltren were: ''Azure, a lion rampant within an orle of mullets argent''. William Saltren was the heir of John Willett (died 1736) of Combe in the parish of
Abbotsham
Abbotsham (pronounced Abbotsam) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. In 2001 its population was 434 increasing at the 2011 census to 489.
Amenities
Abbotsham no longer has a Post Office and General Store but remains ...
, the last male representative of that family, whose mural monument survives in Abbotsham Church. John Willett was responsible for the
plasterwork dated 1616 at Coombe House and amongst the ancient benchends in Abbotsham Church is one with initials J.W. and the
woolstapler's mark. William Saltren's eldest son Augustus Saltren adopted the additional surname Willett. In 1814 Augustus Saltren-Willett sold Port Hill House to Admiral Sir
Richard Goodwin Keats (1757–1834), Governor of
Greenwich Hospital 1821–1834. At his death he was Lt. Col. of the
North Devon Militia
The North Devon Militia, later the Devon Artillery Militia, was a part-time military unit in the maritime county of Devonshire in the West of England. The Militia had always been important in the county, which was vulnerable to invasion, and from ...
and had fought at the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
in 1815 as an officer in the
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons
The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the ...
. He married Margaret Caroline Chichester, a daughter of John Palmer Chichester (1769–1823) of
Arlington Court, Devon, by his 2nd wife Agnes Hamilton. His daughter Caroline Chichester Clevland, in 1857 married
William Wither Bramston Beach (1826–1901), MP, for which event the whole village of Westleigh was decorated and "£20 was distributed amongst the poor whilst tea was served to the ancient women of the village". His two
funeral hatchments survive in Westleigh Church, one showing the arms of Clevland alone, the other the arms of Clevland impaling Chichester (''Chequy or and gules, a chief vair''). Two mural monuments survive in his memory, one in Instow Church, the other in Westleigh Church. The latter is inscribed as follows:
Sacred to the memory of Augustus Clevland of Tapley in this parish, Lieutenant Colonel of the North Devon Militia and Deputy Lieutenant of the county of Devon. Died July 5th 1849 aged 68. He married June 1830 Margaret Caroline, daughter of Colonel Chichester of Arlington Court in this county, by whom he left issue Archibald his heir and two daughters. He was a man of the highest probity and honor, a most affectionate husband, a fond and judicious father, a sincere friend and one whose loss will not easily be replaced in the hearts of those who knew his worth. The early period of his life was passed in India. Subsequently he joined the Inniskilling Dragoons and was present with that regiment at the Battle of Waterloo. He succeeded in 1817 to the estates of his great-uncle John Clevland Esq.re of Tapley and shortly afterwards retired from the service, employing the remainder of his valuable life in the active discharge of all the duties of his position. As a magistrate and chairman of the Board of Guardians of the Barnstaple Union he displayed impartiality that never wavered, integrity above suspicion, placidity of temper and unaffected modesty of demeanour, combined with a sound judgement which won him the esteem and concilliated the good opinion of all classes. To his beloved memory this monument is erected by his widow as a lasting tribute of devoted affection.
Archibald Clevland (1833–1854)
Archibald Clevland (1833–1854), of Tapeley, only son, a cornet in the 17th Lancers, who died aged 21 at the
Battle of Inkerman
The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, an ...
, having just one month before been one of the few officers who survived the
Charge of the Light Brigade. He died unmarried and without children, and was therefore the last of the Clevland (and Saltren-Willett) family. Several monuments exist to his memory, including an elaborate sculpted and inscribed marble mural monument and a large stained glass window in Westleigh Church, and two monuments in the grounds of Tapeley Park, namely a 50-foot high
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
(destroyed by lightning in 1933, with only the base remaining), and a statue erected near the lake by his mother, in the form of a mourning lady, with base inscribed as follows:
:''Forgive blest shade the tear'',
:''That mourns they exit from a world like this''.
:''Forgive the wish that would have kept thee here'',
:''And stayed thy progress to the realms of Bliss.''
Christie
*
William Langham Christie (1830–1913), of Glyndebourne in Sussex, elected Conservative MP for
Lewes, Sussex in 1874 & 1880, who in 1855 married Agnes Hamilton Clevland, eldest sister and co-heiress (with her sister Caroline Chichester Cleveland) of Archibald Clevland (1833–1854) of Tapeley. He was the grandson of Daniel Beat ''Christin'' (died 1809) of Vaud in Switzerland, who Anglicised his surname to Christie on entering the service of the Bombay Engineers, of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
. Daniel rose to major and fought in the war against hyder Ali in Mysore. It is said by Lauder (2002) that he saved the ruler's harem from being robbed of jewels by British soldiers and was rewarded by the harem with a gift of the jewels. The ruler awarded him a further £20,000. Daniel married twice, firstly in 1784 to Charlotte Bellasis (died 1785), a daughter of Rev. George Bellasis, rector of Yattendon, Berkshire, which was without surviving children. Secondly in 1786 Daniel married Elizabeth Langham (died 1833), a daughter and co-heiress of Captain Purbeck Langham, 10th Dragoon Guards, of Glyndebourne and of
Saunton (near Tapeley, apparently as a tenant of the Clevland family), youngest son of
Sir John Langham, Baronet of
Cottesbrooke
Cottesbrooke is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census, the parish's population was 144 people, falling marginally to 143 at the 2011 ...
Park, Northamptonshire. Daniel's eldest son by his 2nd marriage was Langham Christie (1789–1861) of Preston Deanery, Northamptonshire,
High Sheriff of Northamptonshire
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire.
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respo ...
in 1852. In 1829 Langham married Elizabeth Gosling (died 1866), daughter of William Gosling of Hassobury Park, Bishops Stortford, Essex. Their eldest son was William Langham Christie, of Glyndebourne, husband of Agnes Hamilton Clevland, heiress of Tapeley. Agnes Clevland and her husband William Langham Christie rebuilt Tapeley Park with a "severe Victorian brick facade".
*Augustus Langham Christie (1857–1930), son and heir, of Glyndebourne and Tapeley, lord of the manor of
Instow
Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. Th ...
(near Tapeley), JP and
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 ...
in 1911. In 1882 he married Lady Rosamond Wallop (died 1935), 3rd daughter of
Isaac Newton Wallop, 5th Earl of Portsmouth
Isaac Newton Wallop, 5th Earl of Portsmouth DL JP(11 January 1825 – 4 October 1891) was a British Peer and the son of Newton Fellowes, 4th Earl of Portsmouth and Lady Catharine Fortescue.
Early life
Portsmouth was born as Isaac Newton Fell ...
(1825–1891) of
Eggesford House, Wembworthy, Devon. The marriage was not happy, but nevertheless Lady Rosmond had a profound effect on Tapeley, and was responsible for creating the present re-modelled house and the landscaped gardens. She first saw the house in the winter of 1881 before her marriage and in her journal she described the house as it then was as "A Georgian stucco house, very plain and rather dreary in appearance, for many of the front windows had been blocked...the terrace walk and garden did not exist and the drive approached between iron railings". She moved to Tapeley in about 1886, four years after her marriage, and employed the architect
John Belcher (1841–1913) to remodel the house in Queen Anne style, which work was carried out over time as finances allowed, before during and after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. She affixed a plaque to a wall of the house in his memory. She had effectively separated from her husband, who had become "eccentric", and who moved to the nearby family mansion of Saunton Court, later remodelled in the 1930s by
Edwin Lutyens. As an act of revenge against his wife he attempted to bequeath his estates to a distant cousin in Canada, thus cutting out their son John. She overturned his will in the courts on the grounds that he had been of unsound mind at the time of its making.
*
John Christie (born 1882), born at Eggesford. He was assistant head master of
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
and fought in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
winning the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC ...
. He married the opera singer Grace Audrey Louisa St John-Mildmay, daughter of Rev. Aubrey Neville St John-Mildmay, and opened an opera house at Glyndebourne, thus founding the
Glyndebourne Opera Festival
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.
History
Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Tapeley was used as a home for children evacuated from Plymouth. It later served as a home for the Invalid Children's Aid Association, then as a hotel. John's eldest son and heir to Glyndebourne was Sir George Christie (born 1934) but he bequeathed Tapeley to his daughter Rosamund Christie.
*Rosamund Christie (1933–1988), daughter of John Christie.
*Hector Christie (born 1961), was bequeathed Tapeley by his aunt Rosamund. He is the eldest son of
Sir George Christie (1934 – May 2014) of Glyndebourne. Shortly after his father's death in 2014 he and the estate's long-serving agent Raymond Coldwell parted company and he remarked:
::Raymond has given me the freedom to do what I wanted to do. I've not made it very easy for him, looking after the estate which was what I should have been doing. But the one thing that's constant in life is change. Now I'm going to be turning my attention to the estate, making it more open and accessible. We've got a lot of work to do on the property and we're going to have to borrow a lot of money. I'm going to play a more active role.
North Devon Journal, 10 June 2014
/ref>
References
Sources
*Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, pp. 41–5, Christie of Tapeley Park
*Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, p. 408, pedigree of Clevland, appended to pedigree of Christie of Tapeley Park and Glyndebourne, pp. 407–8
Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry, 1858, Volume 3, pedigree of Clevland of Tapeley
External links
Tapeley Park and Gardens
Tapeley Park and Gardens: The Sustainable Stately Home in the Making
Typed transcripts of monuments in Westleigh Church
{{coord, 51.0407, N, 4.1728, W, source:wikidata, display=title
Country houses in Devon
Gardens in Devon
Grade II* listed buildings in Devon
Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Devon