Grilstone in the parish of Bishop's Nympton in north

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England, is an historic estate. The present

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

house, situated about 1 1/4 miles south-east of the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

South Molton South Molton is a town and civil parish in the North Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. The town is on the River Mole. In 2021 it had a population of 6225. South Molton is a market town trading mostly in sheep and cattle. There wa ...

, is Georgian, an 1834 extension and remodelling by Rev. William Thorne of an earlier building.Listed building text
/ref> It is best known as the seat of Sir Lewis Pollard (c. 1465 – 1526),

Justice of the Common Pleas Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas (England), Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court o ...

from 1514 to 1526 and a Member of Parliament for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

in 1491.

History

de Grilstone

The earliest recorded holder of the estate, in the 13th and 14th centuries, was the ''de Grilstone'' family, which as was usual took its name from its seat. In 1374 a member of the family obtained from the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

a licence to have a chapel on the site.

Pollard

The Pollard family had originated at the manor of

Way Way or WAY may refer to: Paths * a road, route, trail, path or pathway, including long-distance paths * a straight rail or track on a machine tool (such as that on the bed of a lathe) on which part of the machine slides * Ways, large slipway ...

in the parish of

St Giles in the Wood St Giles in the Wood is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England. The village lies about 2.5 miles east of the town of Great Torrington, and the parish, which had a population of 566 in 2001 compared with 623 in 1901, ...

, near

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 ...

, Devon, called by

Hoskins Hoskins is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Allen Hoskins (1920–1980), American child actor who played Farina in the Our Gang series * Andrew Hoskins (born 1975), Canadian rower * Anthony Hoskins (1828–1901), Royal Navy a ...

(1954) "the ''fons et origo'' of the mighty tribe of Pollard". The present house is a

building. Sir

Lewis Pollard Sir Lewis Pollard (c. 1465 – 1540) his will was of 1526 when he retired of Grilstone in the parish of Bishop's Nympton, Devon, was Justice of the Common Pleas from 1514 to 1526 and served as MP for Totnes in 1491 and was a JP in Devon in ...

(died 1526) later moved to

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 ...

where he purchased the manor which remained the seat of his descendants, the

Pollard baronets The Pollard Baronetcy, of King's Nympton in the County of Devon, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 31 May 1627 for Lewis Pollard. The second Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Bere Alston, Callington and Devon. T ...

, until it was sold by

Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet (1603 – 27 November 1666) was an English soldier and MP elected for Bere Alston in 1640, Callington in 1660, and Devon in 1661. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. Origins Pollard was the ...

(1603–1666). On his death without a son the baronetcy passed to his younger brother Sir Amyas Pollard, 3rd Baronet (1616–1701), of

Abbots Bickington Abbots Bickington is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon, located north-northeast of Holsworthy and near the River Torridge. Etymology The name Bickington is derived from an "estate associated with a man named Beacca" p ...

, Devon, who died unmarried and without legitimate male heir, when the baronetcy became extinct.

Jutsum

The Jutsum family lived at Grilstone in the 19th century, where Frederick Jutsum kept a well-regarded herd of Red Devon Cattle.

Passmore

The Passmore family inherited Grilstone, on the marriage of Edmund Passmore to Lydia Jutsum, heiress of Grilstone. Bertha Passmore was the mother of the judge John Widgery, 1st Baron Widgery (1911–1981),

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English and ...

(1971–80), whose father's family was from

James

Grilstone Farm served as the home of John James MBE, up until his death in 2012. John notably was the founder of Mole Valley Farmers, and also served as the Chairman of the co-operative for a substantial period of time. In addition to his time at MVF, John also spent time in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

as a Field Director for Band Aid,https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/40-years-fighting-farmings-causes for which he was awarded his MBE.

Notes

References

;Sources * Hoskins, W.G., ''A New Survey of England: Devon'', Newton Abbot: David & Charles. New edition, 1972. {{ISBN, 0-7153-5577-5 Historic estates in Devon