
Combe is a historic estate in
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, England, situated between the town of
Dulverton
Dulverton is a town and civil parish in west Somerset, England, near the border with Devon. The town had a population of 1,408 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the hamlets of Battleton and Ashwick which is located approximately north w ...
and the village of
Brushford.
Descent
Taunton Priory
Until the
Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII, the estate was one of the possessions of
Taunton Priory
Taunton Priory, or the Priory of St Peter and St Paul, was an Augustinian house of canons founded c. 1115 by William Gyffarde (also called William Giffard), Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England near Taunton, Somerset, England.
Histor ...
, which also held the manor of Dulverton.
Combe family
In the medieval period the Combe estate was probably held by the Combe family, although in 1254 the lord of Dulverton, Richard de Turberville, held land there. Alfred of Combe, the Bailiff of Dulverton in 1225, may have come from the estate – doubt arises because Combe, meaning ''steep-sided valley'', is a common name in west Somerset.
[Combe Estate](_blank)
(.doc file) VCH Explore. Accessed 28 November 2016. In 1425 John Combe was a free tenant of Taunton Priory, and Joan Combe, who has been assumed to be an heiress to the estate, married Edward Sydenham at some time before 1506,
to whose Sydenham descendants Combe was home until 1874.
Sydenham

It was the seat of a junior branch of the ''de Sydenham'' (later ''Sydenham'') family, which took its surname from the
manor of
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...
, near
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...
in Somerset. The family split into many prominent branches, the senior branch seated at Sydenham and
Kittisford died out in the male line in the 15th century when Sydenham passed via the heiress to the Cave family, then to the Percival family, later
Earl of Egmont
Earl of Egmont was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, created in 1733 for John Perceval, 1st Viscount Perceval. It became extinct with the death of the twelfth earl in 2011.
History
The Percevals claimed descent from an ancient Anglo-Norman ...
. The next senior line was seated in the early 15th century at
Combe Sydenham in the parish of
Stogumber
Stogumber () is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the eastern flank of the Brendon Hills. Besides Stogumber village itself, the parish includes the hamlets of Ashbeer, Capton, Escott, Higher Vexford, Kingswood, Lower Vellow, Lo ...
, Somerset, of which family was
Simon Sydenham (died 1438),
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...
, and which later inherited the Somerset manors of Orchard Sydenham (later called
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 ...
) and
Brympton d'Evercy
Brympton d'Evercy (alternatively Brympton House) is a Listed building, Grade I listed manor house near Yeovil in the county of Somerset, England. The house has been called the most beautiful of its kind in England; in 1927, Christopher Hussey ( ...
, which latter remained the seat of the
Sydenham baronets, which title was created in 1641. In 1871 Rev. Charles St. Barbe Sydenham (1823–1904), whose son was born at Combe in 1861, was declared bankrupt, which may have necessitated the sale of Combe. The descent of Combe in the Sydenham family was as follows:
Edward Sydenham (fl.1506)
Edward Sydenham, who at some time before 1506 married Joan de Combe, daughter and heiress of Walter de Combe of Combe.
He was descended from John de Sydenham (eldest son of Roger de Sydenham (fl.1331) of Sydenham and Kittisford) who married Mary de Pixton, daughter and heiress of John de Pixton (''alias'' Peekstone) of
Pixton in the parish of Dulverton, situated across the
River Barle
The River Barle runs from the Chains on northern Exmoor, in Somerset, England to join the River Exe at Exebridge, Devon. The river and the Barle Valley are both designated as biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
On the Chains a ...
from Combe.
[Collinson, vol.3, p.521] In 1506, together with John Doune of Exebridge, he obtained a lease of the manors of Brushford, Dulverton, Milverton, Halse and Stoke Pero and the
advowson
Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
of Brushford with the next vacancy for £16 10s rent, from William Byrte, son and heir of William Byrte of Brushford.
John Sydenham (died 1561)
John Sydenham (died 1561), son, who married Elizabeth Frank, daughter and co-heiress of John Frank of Aller Butler, Somerset. The
Victoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...
(Somerset, Volume 3) states that in 1549 he purchased Pixton from Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk.
John Sydenham (died 1580)
John Sydenham (died 1580),
son, who married twice, firstly to Elizabeth Pollard, daughter of Sir Hugh Pollard of
King's Nympton
King's Nympton (Latinised to ''Nymet Regis'') is a village, parish and former manor in the North Devon district, in Devon, England, in the heart of the rolling countryside between Exmoor and Dartmoor, some 4½ miles () S.S.W. of South Molton and ...
in Devon, and secondly to Mary Ayshford, daughter of Nicholas Ayshford of
Ayshford
Ayshford is a hamlet and historic manor in the parish of Burlescombe in the district of Mid-Devon, Devon, England. It was anciently the seat of the ''de Ayshford'' family.
Ayshford Chapel
Ayshford Chapel is a former private chapel in the ...
in the parish of
Burlescombe
Burlescombe (, ) is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Holcombe Rogus, Culmstock, Uffculme, Halberton and Sampford Peverell. According to ...
in Devon. In 1566 William Babington sold the manor of Dulverton, "with its appertenances, and divers lands, tenements, and hereditaments, in Dulverton and other places", to John Sydenham.
Humphrey Sydenham (died 1625)
Humphrey Sydenham (died 1625)
[Inquisition post mortem in Somerset Record Office, DD\L/P7/24,AccNo.C/800: "Inquisition post mortem of Humphrey Sydenham concerning the manors of Bathealton held of Dunster, Poleshill, Houndsmoor and Dulverton. He died 26 March 1625 and his son and heir John was 35.
(Prynne ref. Box 7 no. 24) Date:23 Aug 1625"] (son by his father's second wife) of Combe, was assessed at £40 in the 1581 subsidy, the highest level of any person in the locality and twice as much as Robert Courtenay of
Molland
Molland is a small village, civil parish, dual Civil parishes in England, 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 ...
.
In 1582 he made a settlement:
:"To make provision for his brother, sisters and any future wife, involving the manors of Dulverton, Brushford Sydenham, Chubworthie, Bathealton and Polleshill, all in Somerset, and of Heale, Nycolashayne and a
moiety
Moiety may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Anthropology
* Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is divided
** A division of society in the Iroquois societal structure in North America
** An Australian Aboriginal kinship group
** Native Ha ...
of East Anstey, all in Devon, and properties in Dulverton, Brushford, Brompton Regis, Bathealton, Milverton, Thorne St Margaret, Stawley, Raddington, Chipstable, Huish Champflower, Kittisford and Langford, all in Somerset, and Culmstock, East Anstey and Exeter, all in Devon".
He married firstly Jane Champneys, eldest daughter of John Champneys (1518–1569) of
Uffculme
Uffculme (, ) is a village and civil parish located in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. Situated in the Blackdown Hills National Landscape, Blackdown Hills on the B3440, close to the M5 motorway and the Bristol–Exeter line, Bristol– ...
, Devon, and widow of Martin Sandford of
Harberton
Harberton is a village, civil parish and former manor 3 miles south west of Totnes, in the South Hams District of Devon, England. The parish includes the village of Harbertonford situated on the main A381 road. In the 2001 census the parish ...
, Devon, whom she had married in 1569. Her brother William Champneys (1554–1629) of
Yarnscombe, Devon, married as his first wife Margaret Sydenham, Humphry Sydenham's sister. He had at least three sons by his first wife: John Sydenham, his eldest son and heir, Roger Sydenham and Rev. Humphry Sydenham, "Silver-Tongue Sydenham", Rector of
Puckington and
Oldcombe, Somerset, heir to his elder brother John.
John Sydenham
John Sydenham (born 1590),
eldest son and heir, who married Margery Poulet, daughter of Sir
Anthony Poulett (1562–1600) (''alias'' Paulet), of
Hinton St George
Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 442.
It has a wide main street lined with hamstone cottages, some thatched. The village has a ...
, Somerset,
Governor of Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gover ...
, and Captain of the Guard to
Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to:
Queens regnant
* Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms
* Queen B ...
. Her brother was
John Poulett, 1st Baron Poulett
John Poulett, 1st Baron Poulett (1585 – 20 March 1649), of Hinton St George, Somerset, was an English sailor and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons between 1610 and 1621 and was later raised to the Peerag ...
(1585–1649). In 1627 he paid
feudal relief {{Short description, Form of taxation under feudalism
Feudal relief was a one-off "fine" or form of taxation payable to an overlord by the heir of a feudal tenant to license him to take possession of his fief, i.e. an estate-in-land, by inheritance ...
to
George Luttrell (died 1629),
feudal baron of Dunster
The feudal barony of Dunster was an English feudal barony with its ''caput'' at Dunster Castle in Somerset. During the reign of King Henry I (1100–1135) the barony (or "honour") comprised forty knight's fees and was later enlarged. In about 11 ...
for the manor of
Bathealton held from the Barony of Dunster for a sixth of a
knight's fee
In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. It would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish himself and h ...
. In 1638 John Sydenham of Combe raised £2,000 for his son and daughters by way of mortgage on his manors including Combe and nearby Brushford and East Anstey.
He died without male children, leaving only four daughters, whilst Combe passed to his younger brother Humphry, apparently under
tail-male.
Rev. Humphrey Sydenham (1591–1650)
Rev.
Humphry Sydenham (1591–1650), "Silver-Tongue Sydenham", Rector of
Puckington and
Oldcombe, Somerset, heir to his elder brother John Sydenham, who died without male children. In 1613 he became a Fellow of the newly founded
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...
, founded posthumously by his fellow Somerset resident
Nicholas Wadham Nicholas Wadham may refer to:
* Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609), co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford
* Nicholas Wadham (1472–1542), English landowner, courtier and politician
{{hndis, Wadham, Nicholas ...
(1531–1609) and his wife. He was the first to graduate as
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
from that foundation on 3 December 1613. He married Mary Cox, daughter of William Cox of Crookhern, Somerset.
Humphrey Sydenham
Humphrey Sydenham (son), of Combe, who married Jane Pole, second daughter and eventual co-heiress of Sir William Pole, Knight (1614–1649), eldest son and heir apparent of
Sir John Pole, 1st Baronet (died 1658) of
Shute, Devon, by his second wife Katherine St Barbe, only daughter of Henry St Barbe of
Broadlands
Broadlands is a country house located in the civil parish of Romsey Extra, near the town of Romsey in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its formal gardens and historic landscape are Grade II* listed on the Register of Histori ...
, Hampshire. His sister-in-law Mary Pole married William Floyer of Berne, Dorset, descended from the ancient family of Floyer of
Floyer Hayes
Floyer Hayes was an historic Manorialism, manor in the St Thomas, Exeter, 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 ...
near Exeter, whose daughter Katherine Floyer (fl.1695) married her first cousin Humphry Sydenham of Combe. He had three sons:
**William Sydenham, eldest son and heir apparent, who predeceased his father and was unmarried.
**Humphrey Sydenham (1672–1710), of Combe, eldest surviving son and heir.
**John Sydenham "of Dulverton", younger son, who appears to have been the father of Rev. John Sydenham (1720–1788), who matriculated at
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world.
With a governing body of a master and aro ...
in 1743 and later became vicar of Kidlington, Oxfordshire, in which office he died in 1788. Rev. John Sydenham (1720–1788) married Anne Pudsey, daughter and heiress of William Pudsey (died 1729) of Hampden, Kidlington, Oxfordshire and lived at Hampden House. His son Rev. John Pudsey Sydenham (1748–1810) matriculated at
Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...
in 1766 and was vicar of Kidlington in 1788 and later rector of Ratley, Warwickshire, and was succeeded by his son John Pudsey Welchman Sydenham who was succeeded in 1854 by his sister Amy Sydenham, wife of Richard Burgoyne. Several Sydenhams of Hampden are buried in the Sydenham aisle of Kidlington Church.
Humphrey Sydenham (1672–1710)

Humphrey Sydenham (1672–1710) of Combe, son, married firstly Eliza Peppin, daughter of George Peppin of Old Shute, Dulverton, (which family after 1858 developed the
Peppin Merino
The Peppin Merino is a breed of Merino sheep raised for their wool, mostly in Australia. So important is the Peppin Merino that wool producers throughout Australia often classify their sheep simply as being either Peppin, or non-Peppin.
Peppin ...
breed of sheep in Australia), by whom he had an eldest son and heir
Humphrey Sydenham (1694–1757) of Combe. He married secondly his first cousin Katherine Floyer, daughter of William Floyer of Berne in Dorset, by whom he had a third son
Floyer Sydenham (1710–1787), the noted scholar of
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
, whose descendants appear to have been inherited Combe on the failure of male children in the senior line. His
monumental brass
A monumental brass is a type of engraved church monument, sepulchral memorial once found through Western Europe, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional church monument, monuments and effigy, effigies carve ...
survives on the north wall of All saints' Church, Dulverton (repositioned after the 19th century rebuilding), inscribed in Latin as follows:
''Humphrydus Sydenham de Comba in comit(atu) Som(er)set, Armiger, mortuus est vicesscimo et sexto die Junii Anno Dom(ini) 1710 magno amicorum detrimento aeta(tus) suae 38''. (Humphry Sydenham of Combe in the county of Somerset, Esquire, died on the twenty-sixth day of June in the year of our Lord 1710, to the great detriment of his friends, of his age 38)
Above are shown the arms of Sydenham: ''Argent, three rams passant sable'' with crest above: ''A ram's head erased''.
Humphrey Sydenham (1694–1757)
Humphrey Sydenham (1694–1757), "The Learned", of Combe and Nutcombe, Devon, eldest son and heir of Humphrey Sydenham (1672–1710), was MP for
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
1741-1754.
His mural monument survives in All Saints' Church, Dulverton. He was a lawyer trained at 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 association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...
. He married Grace Hill, 2nd daughter and co-heiress of Richard Hill (1655-1737) of
Kerswell Priory in the parish of
Broadhembury
Broadhembury is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, north-west of Honiton.
The civil parish includes the hamlets of Kerswell, Dulford, Crammer Barton, Colliton and Luton, all to the west of the village ...
(who is mentioned on her father's mural monument in Broadhembury Church) (a junior branch of Hill of Hill's Court in Shropshire), by whom he had children 1 son and 3 daughters.
He was ruined by the
South Sea Bubble
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
of 1720, in which he lost £20,000.
His financial situation was restored by a large inheritance from his great-great-uncle
Sir John St Barbe, 1st Baronet (died 1723), MP, of
Broadlands
Broadlands is a country house located in the civil parish of Romsey Extra, near the town of Romsey in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its formal gardens and historic landscape are Grade II* listed on the Register of Histori ...
in Hampshire. In the chancel of Ashington Church, Somerset, is a monument of grey and white marble, inscribed:
:"Here lies Sir John St. Barbe,
Bart
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
. possessed of those amiable qualities, which birth, education, travel, greatness of spirit, and goodness of heart, produce. Interred in the fame vault lies his second wife Alice Fiennes, aunt to the prefent Lord Say and Sele. His first was Honour, daughter of Colonel Norton. He died at his seat of
Broadlands
Broadlands is a country house located in the civil parish of Romsey Extra, near the town of Romsey in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its formal gardens and historic landscape are Grade II* listed on the Register of Histori ...
in Hampshire Sept. 7, 1723, leaving for his only heir and executor Humphrey Sydenham, esq., of Combe in Somersetshire, who ordered this marble to his memory."
In 1736 Humphrey Sydenham sold Broadlands to
Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston
Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston ( – 10 June 1757), of East Sheen, Surrey and Broadlands, Hampshire, was an Anglo-Ireland, Irish landowner and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1727 to 1747.
Early life
Temple ...
. His own mural monument in Dulverton church is inscribed as follows:
:"Near this lies interred Humphry Sydenham Esqr., whose least honour was his descent from an ancient & worthy family, whose true glory was his uniform character in publick & private life. He was the most obedient son of the Church of England, the disinterested lover of his country, the lover of Mankind; of integrity unshaken, in devotion constant, in good works abundant; the stict observer of himself, the candid judge of others. Just, humane, beneficent in all relations, the steady patriot, the faithful husband, the affectionate father, the kind master, the generous friend; zealous without faction, pious without moroseness, chearful with innocence, possessed of the esteem of good men who knew him, and careless of the applause or censure of bad ones. The rest of his history will be displayed in the presence of God and angels and men. He gently fell asleep after having served his generation sixty-three years, at his seat at Combe in Somersetshire, Aug. 12 1757. This monument was raised by his widow in testemony of his & her own conjugal affection".
Underneath are displayed on an escutcheon quarterly of four: 1st: ''Argent, three rams passant guardant sable'' (Sydenham); 2nd: ''Argent, a bend of fusils sable'' (Kittisford); 3rd: ''Chequy argent and sable'' (St Barbe); 4th: ''Gules, a bend between six cross crosslets or'' (?).
Overall is an
inescutcheon of pretence: ''Ermine, on a fesse sable a castle with three towers argent'' (Hill). These are the arms granted to
Sir Rowland Hill of
Soulton (later born, by special grant after Sir Rowland's death by the
Hill baronets, and Viscount Hill) seated on one prominent line at
Hawkstone Hall
Hawkstone Hall is a early 18th-century country mansion near Hodnet and Weston-under-Redcastle, Shropshire, England which was more recently occupied as the pastoral centre of a religious organisation for many years. It is a Grade I listed buildin ...
in the parish of
Hodnet
Hodnet ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town of Market Drayton lies 5.7 miles (9.2 km) north-east of the village. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1534.
History
Evidence of a ...
, Shropshire.
St. Barbe Sydenham (died 1799)
St. Barbe Sydenham (died 1799), the only son of Humphrey Sydenham (died 1757), was the possessor of Combe in 1791. He married Ellery Williams, daughter of Sydenham Williams of Herrinston, Dorset. He died without male children, when Combe appears to have passed to his Sydenham cousin and
heir male
In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral ...
, apparently a descendant of his first cousin Floyer Sydenham (1710–1787), and left an only daughter Catherine Sydenham (died 1794), who in 1781 married Lewis-Dimoke Grosvenor Tregonwell of Anderson in Dorset, by whom she had a son St Barbe Tregonwell of Anderson. Combe passed to a cousin:
John Sydenham (1759–1834)
John Sydenham (1759–1834), "of Combe House", as is recorded on his mural monument in Dulverton Church. He married a certain Catherine (1756–1822).
Rev. John Sydenham (1795–1858)
Rev. John Sydenham (1795–1858), of Combe House, only son. He matriculated at
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university.
The college was founde ...
in 1814, and gained BA in 1817; and was appointed by his family as Rector of Brushford in 1835. and was prominent in establishing Brushford school in 1836. The Sydenham family of Combe had been
patrons
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
of Brushford Church from the 16th century. A dispute arose between the Sydenham and Tregonwell families as is evidenced by the lawsuit of "St Barbe Tregonwell v. John Sydenham the Elder and John Sydenham the Younger" heard on appeal by the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
in 1814/15, concerning the disputed will of Humphrey Sydenham (died 1757). He had two sons:
** Rev. John William Sydenham (1822–1859), eldest son, who matriculated at
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world.
With a governing body of a master and aro ...
in 1839 and gained BA in 1844. He died at Combe on 18 January 1859.
**Charles St Barbe Sydenham (1823–1904), second son, who matriculated at
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university.
The college was founde ...
in 1841 and gained BA in 1845. He was appointed by his family curate of Brushford (1847–58) and rector of Brushford in 1858.
Rev. Charles St. Barbe Sydenham (1823–1904)
Rev. Charles St. Barbe Sydenham (1823–1904) (son of Rev. John Sydenham (1795–1858)), who succeeded his father as Rector of Brushford, lived at Brushford Rectory and was buried at Brushford Church 10 March 1904 aged 81. He presented three ancient illuminated manuscripts to the Library of Wells
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
. On 8 November 1871 he was declared
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...
. In December 1885 he petitioned the County Court in Exeter, Devon, in connection with his
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
. This had presumably necessitated the sale of Combe. He married Emily Lane, daughter of Major Henry Bowyer Lane, Royal Artillery. The fourth son of Rev. Charles St. Barbe Sydenham (died 1904) was Dr George Francis Sydenham (1861–1924), born at Combe as his monument in Dulverton Church states, who spent most of his life working as a surgeon and family doctor in Dulverton, living at Battleton House,
[Binding & Bonham-Carter, 1986, p.13] formerly part of the Combe estate. He studied medicine at
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by ...
in London, gained a diploma LSA in 1884 and MRCS.Eng. in 1885. Between 1885 and 1887 he worked as assistant to Dr Samuel Evans at
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
. In 1887 he returned to Dulverton to start his career as a family doctor. He was the local secretary of the Somerset Archaeological Society, and served as a
Justice of the Peace for Somerset, and was a churchwarden of All Saints' Church, Dulverton, in which survives his mural monument. In 1907 he married Rose Hempson, second daughter of Amis Hempson of Ramsey, Harwich. He was a keen fisherman, cricketer, archaeologist and local historian, and was the author of the "massive family history"
''The History of the Sydenham Family'', published privately in 1928 after his death.
In the north aisle of All Saints Church in Dulverton are five memorials to the Sydenham family of Combe.
The Sydenham family of Combe commenced the building of the hamlet of Battleton, situated between Combe House and the River Barle, and members of the family lived at Battleton House.
Marriott-Dodington
In 1872 Combe was purchased from the Sydenham family by Thomas Marriott-Dodington (1839–1890) of
Horsington House near
Templecombe
Templecombe is a village in Somerset, England, situated on the A357 road five miles south of Wincanton, east of Yeovil, and west of Salisbury. It is in the Blackmore Vale.
Templecombe is the main settlement in the civil parish of Abbas an ...
in Somerset, a barrister,
High Sheriff of Somerset
The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...
in 1887 and Lt.-Col. of the Somerset Light Infantry. The "ancient and distinguished" family of Dodington originated at the Somerset manor of
Dodington.
[Burke's, 1937, p.626] He married Lucy Elizabeth Downe, daughter of Rev. G.E. Downe of Rushden, Northamptonshire. He appears to have continued to reside at Horsington (later sold by his son Roger in 1923) and to have let Combe to a series of tenants, including:
Couper
In 1895 Combe was the residence of General James Kempt Couper (1827–1901), Indian Staff Corps, second son of
Sir George Couper, 1st Baronet (1788–1861),
KH,
CB, and whose youngest daughter Mary Emiline Bertha Couper in 1895 married her father's landlord Roger Marriott-Dodington (1866–1925) of
Orchard Portman
Orchard Portman is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton. The village has a population of 150.
The parish includes the hamlet of Thurlbear and the nearby Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands Site of Special Scie ...
House and Horsington House, Somerset,
High Sheriff of Somerset
The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...
in 1922. Roger Marriott-Dodington was the owner of Combe, being the eldest son and heir of Thomas Marriott-Dodington (died 1890) who had purchased the estate in 1872. A photograph c. 1856-57 of "James Kempt Couper 2nd Native Indian Regiment", by Ahmad Ali exists in the records of the India Office, National Archives. The Marriott-Dodington family succeeded the Wills family (
Baron Dulverton
Baron Dulverton, of Batsford in the County of Gloucester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1929 for the businessman Sir Gilbert Wills, 2nd Baronet. He was President of the Imperial Tobacco Company and also sat ...
) at nearby
Northmoor House, Dulverton, and in 1926 were themselves succeeded by the Clayton family. Thomas Marriott-Dodington (1895–1916), the eldest son of Roger Marriott-Dodington (died 1925), was killed in action in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and his younger brother James Marriott-Dodington in 1937 was resident at "Northmoor Estate", Kyambu, Kenya.
Clarke
In 1913 the British colonial administrator and Army officer
George Sydenham Clarke (1848–1933), former Governor of the
Presidency of Bombay from 1907 to 1913, was elevated to the peerage as
Baron Sydenham of Combe of Dulverton in the County of Devon. His connection with Combe is unclear. He was born at Swinderby in Lincolnshire, the eldest son of Rev. Walter John Clarke by his wife Maria Frances Mayor. He was a grandson of Major-General Tredway Clarke (died 1858) by his wife Sarah (or Sally) Sydenham, a daughter of Humphrey Sydenham (1753–1807), a jeweller in Bond Street, Mayfair, London, apparently a member of the Sydenham family of Skilgate, Barnstaple and Collumpton in Devon.
Harrison

In 1924 Combe House and its estate of 260 acres was purchased by Col. Eustace James Harrison (1876–1962),
TD, Hon. Colonel
6th (Rifle) Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool), lord of the manor of Hawkridge in Somerset, who served in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. His ancestors were from Lancashire. He was the third son of Edward Hodgson Harrison (1825–1907) of Plymyard, Eastham, Cheshire, by his wife Elizabeth Whitehead Harpin (died 1909), daughter of John Harpin of Birks House, Holmfirth, Yorkshire. His uncles were Thomas Harrison (1815–1888) and James Harrison (1821–1891) (sons of James Harrison (1781–1862) of Cockerham, Lancashire), who in 1853 founded
T&J Harrison Shipping of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, which started by importing French
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
from
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...
and became one of the largest UK shipping companies, operational until 2002. In 1884 Col Harrison's father Edward Hodgson Harrison owned 12 1/2% of the share capital of the newly incorporated holding company ''Charente Steam-Ship Company''. One of the company's most famous ships was the ''
Politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
'', wrecked in 1941 on the coast of Scotland carrying a cargo of whiskey, which was the subject of the 1949 comedy film ''
Whiskey Galore''.
Harrison purchased the adjoining manor of Hawkridge from the Earl of Carnarvon, of Pixton Park, directly eastwards across the River Barle from Combe. The Hawkridge estate comprised about six farms, and woods down to Castle Bridge and up towards Withypool. He built the village hall of Hawkridge in about 1941. In June 1842 Averill Mary Hill, the 11-year-old daughter of Col. Harrison's butler, was killed in a road accident when a lorry descending St Andrew's Hill, at the entrance to Combe Lane, got out of control and crashed through a fence.
Harrison was a keen follower of the
Devon and Somerset Staghounds
The red deer of Exmoor have been hunted since Norman times, when Exmoor was declared a Royal Forest. Collyns stated the earliest record of a pack of Staghounds on Exmoor was 1598. In 1803, the "North Devon Staghounds" became a subscription pack. ...
and was buried in Hawkridge churchyard, north-east of the church, "at the feet of" the legendary huntsman Ernest Bawden (1878–1943), huntsman from 1917-1937 and his tenant at one of his farms at Hawkridge. He died unmarried and without children and bequeathed his estates, including the Hawkridge farms of
Tarr Steps
Tarr Steps is a clapper bridge across the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park, Somerset, England. The bridge is in a national nature reserve about south east of Withypool and north west of Dulverton.
A typical clapper bridge constructi ...
, Cloggs, Parsonage, Zeal, and Shircombe, to his nephews, one of whom was Michael Harrison, author of ''The Story of Tarr Steps''.
Wilson
The next owner of Combe was the Wilson family. Col. Harrison died unmarried and without children and bequeathed his estates to his nephews, one of whom (Douglas Edward) George Wilson (1906–1980) (son of Elizabeth Harpin Harrison by her husband G.D. Wilson (died 1916)) inherited Combe and together with his wife Barbara Reid Nicholl (1907–2002) is buried in Hawkridge churchyard. A small brass tablet affixed to the gatepost of Brushford churchyard is inscribed: "''In memory of Barbara Wilson of Combe 1907-2002''".
Mackelden
In 2015 Combe was owned by John Mackelden and his wife Julie (née Kelvie). Mackelden was rated one of the top game-bird shots in England by "The Field" magazine in 2013. He retired to Combe but in 2013 was still attending shoots regularly, mainly as a dogman picking-up shot birds, at least four days a week. On 4 July 2010 he hosted at Combe a Puppy and Novice working test for the North Devon Working Gundog Club and on 30 August 2015 an AV Novice Spaniel Working Test (incorporating novice handler).
See also
*
Combe Sydenham, another Somerset seat of the Sydenham family
Notes
References
Sources
*Binding, Hilary & Bonham-Carter, Victor, ''Old Dulverton and Around'', Exmoor Press, Williton, 1986, pp. 11–13
*
Burke's ''Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry'', 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937.
*
Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620'', Exeter, 1895.
*www.everythingexmoor.org.u
Further reading
*Burke, John,
A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies of England', 1838, p. 517, pedigree of Sydenham of Combe.
*Gray, H.St.G., ''Combe'', Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society, Volume 93, 1947, pp. 9–12
*Milner-Brown, Bruin, ''Col. Harrison's last Journey'', Exmoor Review, Vol.37, pp. 29–32
*Somerset Record Office: A\DKL, AccNo M/3973: ''Records of the Sydenham Family of Dulverton'', including deeds for various Dulverton properties, for the manor and parsonage of East Anstey, papers in the case of Sydenham vs. Tregonwell and 1781 survey of Dulverton. Dates:17th cent.-18th cent.
*Sydenham, Dr George Francis, ''History of the Sydenham Family, Collected From Family Documents, Pedigrees, Deeds, and Copious Memoranda by the Late Dr. G. F. Sydenham, of Dulverton'', Allan Thomas Cameron (ed.), privately printed by Dwelly, E., East Molesey, Surrey, 1928, in an edition of 300 copies. The author was born at Combe, Dulverton.
{{coord, 51.0296, -3.5515, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Sydenham family residences
Manors in Somerset
Grade II* listed buildings in West Somerset
Dulverton