Trefusis HeraldicAchievement BictonHouse Devon

The Trefusis family of Cornwall (anciently ''de Trefusis'') continue in 2018 as

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 Trefusis, near

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushing ...

in the parish of

Mylor, Cornwall Mylor is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately five miles north of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth'' The Churchtow ...

, from which they took their surname at some time before the 13th century. In 1794 Robert George William Trefusis (1764–1797) of Trefusis, the senior representative of the family, successfully claimed the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

title

Baron Clinton Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. Created in 1298 for Sir John de Clinton, it is the seventh-oldest barony in England. Creation and early history The title was granted in 1298 to Sir John de Clinton, a knight who had served ...

following the death in 1791 without progeny of his grandfather's 3rd cousin George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford, 16th Baron Clinton (1730–1791), and thus became the 17th Baron Clinton. Both Walpole and Trefusis were descended from the marriage of Robert Rolle (c. 1622 – 1660) of

Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe Heanton Satchville was a historic manor in the parish of Petrockstowe, North Devon, England. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then owned succ ...

, Devon, and Lady Arabella Clinton, the younger daughter of Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln, 12th Baron Clinton (died 1667). The senior line of the Trefusis family died out in the male line in 1957 on the death of

Charles John Robert Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton Charles John Robert Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton (18 January 1863 – 5 July 1957) was a British peer. Trefusis was the eldest son of the 20th Baron Clinton and his wife, Harriet. Educated at Oxford he played polo with ...

(1863–1957), who left two daughters and co-heiresses to the barony, which went into abeyance, but being an ancient one created by writ, is able to descend via female lines. The abeyancy was terminated in 1965 when the title Baron Clinton was claimed by Gerard Nevile Mark Fane-Trefusis (born 1934), a descendant in a junior line of

Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland (March 1701 – 25 November 1771) was a British MP for Lyme Regis and a lord commissioner of trade. He was an ancestor of the writer George Orwell. Biography Thomas Fane was the second son of Henry Fane o ...

(1701–1771), and the grandson of the 21st Baron's eldest daughter, who in 1958 had assumed by deed poll the additional surname of Trefusis, and thus became the 22nd Baron Clinton and is living in 2015. As he inherited the vast Devonshire estates (mostly formerly belonging to the Rolle family) of the 21st Baron, who "held sway over the largest estate Devon had ever seen", (now managed by his

Clinton Devon Estates Clinton Devon Estates is a land management and property development company which manages the Devonshire estates belonging to Baron Clinton, the largest private landowner in Devon, England. Lord Clinton is of the Fane-Trefusis family, and is s ...

company), the Cornwall estates including Trefusis descended to Major Hon. Henry Walter Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis of the Scots Guards, the second son of Charles Henry Rolle Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 20th Baron Clinton (1834–1904), and in 2015 the occupant of the manor house of Trefusis is the Major's grandson Nicholas John Trefusis (born 1943), Lieutenant-Commander

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 F ...

, a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Cornwall and a Deputy Lieutenant for that county.

Armorials

The arms of the Trefusis family are: ''Argent, a chevron between three spindles sable''; the crest is: ''A griffin segreant or resting his dexter foot on a shield argent''.

Notable family members

* Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams, Canadian businessman and politician * Charles Trefusis, 19th Baron Clinton (1791–1866), a British peer and Tory politician. * Francis Trefusis, one of the MPs for Penryn in 1679 and has a monument in Mylor church, dated 1680. *

Jane Trefusis Forbes Air Chief Commandant Dame Katherine Jane Trefusis Forbes, Lady Watson-Watt, (21 March 1899 – 18 June 1971), known as Jane Trefusis Forbes, was a businesswoman and the first director of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (1939–43). Career J ...

, Scottish businesswoman and the first director of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (1939–43) * John Trefusis of Trefusis was

High Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriffs of all other English counties, ot ...

in 1626.Polwhele, Richard (1806) ''The Civil and Military History of Cornwall''. London: Cadell and Davies; vol. 1, pp. 106–09 *Brigadier-General John Frederick Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (1878–1915), ,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer 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 ...

* Mark George Kerr Trefusis (1835–1907), later Mark George Kerr Trefusis Rolle – the largest Devonshire landholder in the

Return of Owners of Land, 1873 The two-volume ''Return of Owners of Land, 1873'' is the first complete picture of the distribution of land in Great Britain since the 1086 Domesday Book. The ''1873 Return'' is sometimes called the "Modern Domesday". It arose from the desire o ...

, High Sheriff of Devonshire *Lady Mary Trefusis, née Lygon (1869–1927), hymn writer, the Court link in the establishment of the English Folk Dance Society, of which she was first Secretary; Lady in Waiting to Queen Mary * Nicholas Trefusis (died c. 1648), English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England * Robert Trefusis (1843–1930), inaugural Suffragan Bishop of Crediton from 1897 to 1930 *

Violet Trefusis Violet Trefusis (''née'' Keppel; 6 June 1894 – 29 February 1972) was an English socialite and author. She is chiefly remembered for her lengthy affair with the writer Vita Sackville-West that both women continued after their respective marria ...

, née Keppel (1894–1972), English writer and socialite ;Fictional *Miss Emily Trefusis, amateur detective in ''

The Sittaford Mystery ''The Sittaford Mystery'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1931 under the title of ''The Murder at Hazelmoor'' and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on 7 Sep ...

'' by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

*Professor Donald Trefusis (1921–2008), professor at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, created by

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

*Dr. Trefusis, tutor in volumes 1 and 2 of the " Octavian Nothing" novel series by

M. T. Anderson Matthew Tobin Anderson (born November 4, 1968), is an American writer of children's books that range from picture books to young adult novels. He won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2006 for '' The Pox Party'', the first o ...

*Mrs Trefusis, an alias of Cessair of Diplos, from the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' story ''

The Stones of Blood ''The Stones of Blood'' is the third serial of the 16th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 28 October to 18 November 1978. Part 4 was broadcast durin ...

References

{{reflist Cornish-language surnames Surnames Cornish families