![PoleOfShuteArms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/PoleOfShuteArms.png)
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 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 ...
and, most notably, a historian and
antiquarian of the County of Devon.
Career
Pole was baptised on 27 August 1561 at
Colyton, Devon
Colyton is a town in Devon, England. It is located within the East Devon local authority area, the river River Coly runs through it. It is from Seaton and from Axminster. Its population in 1991 was 2,783, reducing to 2,105 at the 2011 Censu ...
, the son of
William Pole
William Pole FRS FRSE MICE (22 April 181430 December 1900) was an English engineer, astronomer, musician and an authority on Whist.
Life
He was born in Birmingham on 22 April 1814, the son of Thomas Pole.
Pole was apprenticed as an engineer t ...
, Esquire (c.1514 – 1587),
MP, by his wife Katherine Popham (died 1588), daughter of Alexander Popham of
Huntworth, Somerset by his wife Joan Stradling. Katherine was the sister of
John Popham (1531–1607),
Lord Chief Justice
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
. In 1560 his father had purchased
Shute House, near Colyton and Axminster, Devon.
He entered the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...
in 1578, was placed on the Commission of the Peace for Devonshire, served as
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 ...
in 1602–3, and was
MP in 1586 for
Bossiney, Cornwall. He was knighted by King James I at
Whitehall Palace
The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...
on 15 February 1606. He paid into the
Virginia Company
The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Mai ...
, and was an incorporator of the
third Virginia charter.
Antiquarian works
During his life Pole wrote many unpublished manuscripts containing his researches into the history and antiquities of Devon and the descents of that county's ancient families, their landholdings and
heraldry. These documents laid the foundation not only for future historians of the county but also for his contemporaries, such as
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) who acknowledged the help he had received from Pole's compilations.
[Youings, Joyce (1996). "Some Early Topographers of Devon and Cornwall". In Brayshay, Mark. ''Topographical Writers in South-West England''. University of Exeter Press. pp. 50 and 61. .] Pole stated that he used as his sources ''"Records out of ye
Towre, the
Exchecquer & such
deedes &
evidences which in my searches I have founde"''. The
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
was one of the main repositories of legal and governmental deeds and other historical documents, until the opening of the
Public Record Office
The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was ...
in 1838. His work was enlarged by his son Sir John Pole, 1st Baronet, "who was much addicted also to this ingenuous study".
[Pole, Introduction, p.xi] However some, maybe many, of his manuscripts were destroyed at Colcombe Castle during the Civil War.
The documents that survived include:
*Two folio volumes, which were published in 1791 by his descendant
Sir John de la Pole, 6th Baronet
Sir John William de la Pole, 6th Baronet (26 June 1757 – 30 November 1799) of Shute in the parish of Colyton, Devon, was a Member of Parliament for the rotten borough of West Looe. In 1791 he published, under the title ''Collections ...
(1757–1799), of Shute, MP, under the title ''Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon''. In his introduction to the published volume, the 6th Baronet apologises to the reader for any of his spelling errors in transcribing the handwriting from the manuscripts and states that many of the resulting ambiguities "must still be left to the decision of the more informed reader".
*A folio volume of deeds, charters, and grants compiled in 1616, a small portion of which was printed privately by
Sir Thomas Phillipps
Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1st Baronet (2 July 1792 – 6 February 1872), was an English antiquary and book collector who amassed the largest collection of manuscript material in the 19th century. He was an illegitimate son of a textile manufacture ...
under the title "Sir William Pole's Copies of Extracts from Old Evidences", Mill Hill, c.1840.
*A thin folio volume containing heraldry, etc.
*A volume of deeds and grants to
Tor Abbey
Torre Abbey is a historic building and art gallery in Torquay, Devon, which lies in the South West of England. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons, and is now the best-preserved medieval monastery in Devon and C ...
Pole's collections were used as source material for their own historical writings by among others,
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 ...
(d.1640),
John Prince (d.1723) (''
Worthies of Devon
This is a list of persons considered by John Prince (1643–1723) sufficiently notable to warrant the inclusion of their biography in his work ''The Worthies of Devon''.
''The Worthies of Devon''
While at Berry Pomeroy, John Prince worked on h ...
''), and the brothers
Daniel Lysons (1762–1834) and
Samuel Lysons (1763–1819),
in volume 6: ''Devon'' (1822) of their ''
Magna Britannia
''Magna Britannia, being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain'' was a topographical and historical survey published by the antiquarians Daniel Lysons and his brother Samuel Lysons in several volumes between 18 ...
''.
Assessment
His contemporary and fellow researcher into the history of Devonshire
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 ...
(d.1640), wrote as follows of Pole:
Today, Pole's collections are considered to be valuable records of otherwise lost documents, though as Youings wrote in 1996: "being a man of his time, the material was largely concerned with the genealogy and landed possessions of Devon's aristocracy and gentry, and he found no place for the rest of society".
Marriages and children
![MaryPeryhamPoleColytonDevon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/MaryPeryhamPoleColytonDevon.JPG)
Pole married twice. His first marriage was to Mary Peryam (1567–1605), one of the four daughters and co-heiresses of Sir
William Peryam
Sir William Peryam (15349 October 1604) of Little Fulford, near Crediton in Devon, was an English judge who rose to the position of Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1593, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.
Origins
Peryam was born in ...
(1534–1604), of
Fulford House,
Shobrooke
Shobrooke is a village, parish and former manor in Devon, England. The village is situated about 1 1/2 miles north-east of Crediton. It is located close to Shobrooke park. The river Shobrooke Lake flows through the village. It had a populatio ...
, Devon, a judge and
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who ...
. By Mary Peryam he had six sons and six daughters including:
*William Pole (d.1586),
[ Vivian, J.L., ed. (1895). ''The Visitations of the County of Devon, Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620. With additions by Lieutenant-Colonel J. L. Vivian.'' Exeter: Henry S. Eland. p. 603.] eldest son, who predeceased his father, as is stated on the mural monument to his mother in the Pole Chapel in Colyton Church.
*
Sir John Pole, 1st Baronet
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...
(c.1589–1658), eldest surviving son and heir.
*Peryam Pole, 2nd eldest surviving son, who founded the Irish branch of the family and whose descendant William Pole (died 1771), of
Ballyfin
Ballyfin ( or alternatively "town of Fionn") is a small village and parish in County Laois, Ireland. Located in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, the village is in the midlands of Ireland. It is located on the R423 regional road midway between the ...
, died without issue and bequeathed his estates to his wife's great-nephew
William Wesley
William Sydney Wesley (born August 14, 1964) is the Executive Vice President – Senior Basketball Advisor for the New York Knicks. He is a former American consultant for Creative Artists Agency. Known as "World Wide Wes" or simply "Wes," Wesley ...
(1763–1845), who thereupon adopted the surname Wesley-Pole (Anglicised later to Wellesley-Pole) and became later
3rd Earl of Mornington, and was an elder brother of the
1st Duke of Wellington
*William Pole (1593–1674), triplet, baptised 4 December 1593 at Shute.
matriculated at
Oriel College, Oxford on 24 March 1610, graduated B.A. on 3 November 1612, entered the Inner Temple in 1616, and emigrated to America, where he died on 24 February 1674.
*Arthur Pole, triplet, baptised 4 December 1593 at Shute.
"Perished by an unfortunat fall", as is stated on the mural monument to his mother in the Pole Chapel in Colyton Church.
*Francis Pole, triplet, baptised 4 December 1593 at Shute.
*Mary Pole (born 1586), eldest daughter, who married twice: firstly in 1602 to Nicholas Hurst of
Oxton, Kenton
Oxton in the parish of Kenton in South Devon is a historic estate long held by the Martyn family, a junior branch of the Norman family of FitzMartin, feudal barons of Barnstaple.
Oxton House is a Grade II listed building. The park and gard ...
[Pole, p.258] and of Whiteway,
Kingsteignton
Kingsteignton ( ), is a town and civil parish in South Devon, England. It lies at the head of the Teign Estuary to the west of Teignmouth in the Teignbridge district. It is bypassed by the A380 and is also on the A383, A381, B3193 and B3195 ...
,; secondly in 1606 (as his first wife) to
Francis Courtenay,
''de jure'' 4th
Earl of Devon
Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be co ...
(c. 1576 – 1638), MP, of
Powderham Castle
Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house situated within the parish and former manor of Powderham, within the former hundred of Exminster, Devon, about south of the city of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of ...
, Devon.
*Katherine Pole (born 1587), 2nd daughter, wife of Thomas Southcote of
Mohuns Ottery
Mohuns Ottery or Mohun's Ottery ( "moon's awtrey"),Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M. (1931). ''The Place-Names of Devon''. English Place-Name Society. Vol viii. Part II. Cambridge University Press. p.642 is a house and historic manor in ...
in the parish of
Luppitt
Luppitt is a village and civil parish in East Devon situated about due north of Honiton.
The historian William Harris was preacher at the village's Presbyterian chapel from 1741 to 1770.
Towards the end of his life, the painter Robert Polh ...
and of
Indio Indio may refer to:
Places
* Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England
* Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States
People with the name
* Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson
* Índio ...
in the parish of
Bovey Tracey
Bovey Tracey () is a small town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". ...
, both in Devon.
*
Elizabeth Pole
Elizabeth Poole or Pole (25 August 1588 – 21 May 1654) was an English settler in Plymouth Colony who founded the town of Taunton, Massachusetts. She was the first woman known to have founded a town in the Americas.
Biography
Poole was a ...
(1588–1654), 3rd daughter, like her brother William Pole emigrated to America, and played a prominent role in the foundation and incorporation of
Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...
in 1639–40, where she died on 21 May 1654
*Ann Pole (born 1589), 4th daughter, married in 1611/12
to Edmond Walrond, of
Bovey House,
Beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
, Devon.
*Eleanor Pole (born 1597), 5th daughter, wife of Anthony Floyer of
Floyer Hayes
Floyer Hayes was an historic manor in the parish of St Thomas on the southern side of the City of Exeter in Devon, England, from which city it is separated by the River Exe.Risdon, 1811 Additions, p.374 It took its name from the ancient fam ...
in the parish of St Thomas, Exeter.
[Pole, p.239]
His second marriage was to Jane Simmes (died 1653), daughter of William Simmes (or Symes) of
Chard, Somerset, and widow of Roger How, merchant of London. The marriage was childless.
Death and burial
Pole died on 9 February 1635, aged 73, at his home
Colcombe Castle
Colcombe Castle was a castle or fortified house situated about a north of the town of Colyton, Devon, Colyton in East Devon.
It was a seat of the House of Courtenay, Courtenay family, Earl of Devon, Earls of Devon, whose principal seat was ...
, in the parish of Colyton, to which he had retired leaving Shute for the occupation of his son John. He was buried in the west side of the chancel in Colyton church, in the floor of which exists a simple ledger stone, with an inscription now much worn.
Notes
References
Sources
* Pole, Sir William, ''Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon'',
Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pole, William
1561 births
1635 deaths
English antiquarians
Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall
High Sheriffs of Devon
Members of the Inner Temple
People from East Devon District
Historians of Devon
Topographers of Devon
16th-century antiquarians
17th-century antiquarians
17th-century English male writers
16th-century male writers
English MPs 1586–1587
16th-century English historians
17th-century English historians