Wortham is an historic manor within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Lifton in Devon, England. The early sixteenth century

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

survives, today the property of the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

. It was long the seat of the Dynham family, a junior branch descended from the Anglo-Norman magnate

Baron Dynham Baron Dynham (''alias'' Dinham, Dinaunt and Dinan) is a title which has been used twice in the English peerage, for: * Oliver de Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham (c.1234-1299), of Hartland and Nutwell in Devon and feudal baron of Cardinham in Cornwal ...

. A mural monument survives in Lifton Church to John Dynham (d.1641) of Wortham, consisting of an escutcheon showing the arms of Dynham of Wortham impaling Harris of Hayne (''Sable, three crescents argent a bordure of the last)'') with the crest of Dynham above: ''An arm couped or hand azure holding a lock of hair sable'', with an inscribed tablet beneath. John Dynham (d.1641) was the last in the male line and married Margaret Harris (d.1650), a daughter of Arthur Harris (1561-1628) of Hayne in the parish of Stowford and

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 Lifton, both in Devon, and of Kenegie in the parish of Gulval in Cornwall,

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, othe ...

in 1603 and Captain of St Michael's Mount, Cornwall. Arthur Harris's grandfather John Harris (d.1551) of Hayne, a Serjeant-at-Law and

Recorder of Exeter The Recorder of Exeter was a recorder, a form of senior judicial officer, usually an experienced barrister, within the jurisdiction of the City of Exeter in Devon. Historically he was usually a member of the Devonshire gentry. The position of re ...

, had purchased the manor of Lifton from the Nevile family,

Earls of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...

. John Dynham (d.1641) died without children whereupon his heir (also heir to his younger brother Arthur Dynham) was his niece Mary Hex, a daughter of his sister Margaret Dynham by her husband John Hex of Alternon in Cornwall, who married John Harris of Lifton (a relative of Dynham's wife, Margaret), consequently Wortham passed to the Harris family.Vivian, pp.316; 451 "John Harris of Wortham"; Risdon, 1810 Additions, p.411

Sources

* Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p. 316, pedigree of "Dynham of Wortham" *

Pevsner, Nikolaus 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 ...

& Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, pp. 921–2, "Wortham, Lifton"

References

External links

{{Use British English, date=November 2020 Former manors in Devon