Frithelstock (pronounced ''Frizzlestock'') is a village,

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

and former manor in

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. It is located within Torridge local authority area and formed part of the historic Shebbear

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes 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 ...

Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a market town in Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to ...

, Little Torrington, Langtree and Buckland Brewer. In 2001 its population was 366, down from 429 in 1901. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon ''Frithulac's Stocc''. The ruins of Frithelstock Priory are adjacent to the north east side of the parish church of St Mary and St Gregory, and represent the only substantial remains of a monastic house in Devon. As of 2013 the village had one

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, the Clinton Arms, which since closed in 2018. The parish church of St. Mary & St. Gregory was enlarged in the 15th century and underwent a

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same proc ...

in about 1870.

History

The

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086 lists ''Frelelestoch'' as one of the seventy-nine Devonshire holdings of Robert, Count of Mortain (–1090), the half-brother of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. His tenant was Robert FitzIvo. The manor was later held by Sir Roger de Beauchamp who, in about 1220, donated a large part of it to the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

priory dedicated to St Gregory that he had founded within it as a dependency of

Hartland Abbey Hartland Abbey is a former abbey and current family home to the Stucley family. It is located in Hartland, Devon. The current owner is Sir Hugh George Copplestone Bampfylde Stucley, 6th Baronet. History Hartland Abbey was built in 1157 and c ...

in North Devon. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the prior relinquished possession of the priory and its demesne lands on 27 August 1536. The lands passed through the hands of John Wynslade, Sir George Carew 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 ...

, and

Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG (died 3 March 1542) was an illegitimate son of the English king Edward IV, half-brother-in-law of Henry VII, and an uncle of Henry VIII, at whose court he was a prominent figure and by whom he was appoi ...

(d.1542),Youings, Joyce, Devon Monastic Lands: Calendar of Particulars for Grants 1536–1558, Devon & Cornwall Record Society, New Series, Vol.1, pp.1–2 being later owned by

Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford, KB (1701 – 31 March 1751), was a British peer and politician, styled Lord Walpole from 1723 to 1745. Origins He was the eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), the King's First Minister, now re ...

, (son of the first prime minister), whose wife was

Margaret Rolle, 15th Baroness Clinton Margaret Rolle, 15th Baroness Clinton ''suo jure'' (17 January 1709 – 13 January 1781), was a wealthy aristocratic Devonshire heiress, known both for eccentricity and her extramarital affairs. By her first husband Robert, 1st Baron Walpole ...

(1709–1781), daughter and sole heiress of Samuel Rolle (1646–1719) 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 ...

, about six miles south-east of Frithelstock. The lands later descended to Margaret Rolle's heirs, the

Barons Clinton Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

. Henry Stevens (1698–1748), of the wealthy and influential family of Stevens, later of Cross, Little Torrington, lived at Smythacott in the parish. He married Christiana Maria Rolle (1710–1780), a sister of Henry Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (d.1759) of

Stevenstone Stevenstone is a former manor within the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington, North Devon. It was the chief seat of the Rolle family, one of the most influential and wealthy of Devon families, from c. 1524 until 1907. The ...

. Their inscribed ledger stone survives in the floor of the south aisle of Frithelstock parish church.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Devon Former manors in Devon Torridge District