John Northcote (1570–1632) of Uton and Hayne,

Newton St Cyres Newton St Cyres (, like "sires") is a village, civil parish former Manorialism, manor and former ecclesiastical parish in Mid Devon, in the England, English county of Devon, located between Crediton and Exeter. It had a population of 562 at th ...

, near

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. It stands on the A377 road, A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton, north w ...

, Devon, was a member of the Devonshire gentry,

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

of Newton St Cyres, who is chiefly known to history for his artistically acclaimed effigy and monument in Newton St Cyres Church. Little or no documentary evidence concerning his career as a soldier or county administrator has survived, but either he or his identically named son was

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings'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 1626.

Origins

The family of Northcote originated in Devon at 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

manor of Northcote in the parish of East Down in North Devon. The

Heraldic Visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as the kings' deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulat ...

s of Devon lists the founder of the family as ''Galfridus de Northcote, Miles'' ("knight"), living in 1103. In the 16th century the family made its fortune as cloth merchants at

. He was the second son and heir of John Northcote (died 1587), a cloth merchant of Crediton, by his wife Elizabeth Dowrish (died 1587), daughter of Thomas Dowrish (died 1590) of Dowrish near Crediton. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, on 16 August 1557 John's grandfather, Walter Northcote and his son acquired jointly from the Crown the manor and

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 Newton St Cyres, formerly a possession of

Plympton Priory Plympton Priory was a priory in Devon, England. Its history is recorded in the Annales Plymptonienses. History The site of an Anglo-Saxon minster, Plympton Priory was re-founded as an Augustinian house by Bishop William Warelwast in 1121. The ...

, together with other lands in the parish of Crediton formerly owned by the Collegiate Church of Crediton, also dissolved, with other lands in Wiltshire, Westmoreland and non-monastic lands in Devon.

Marriages

Northcote married twice. Firstly to Elizabeth Rouse, daughter of Sir Anthony Rouse of Halton in Cornwall. They had only one son Anthonie Northcote, who died before his father in 1619. He remarried in 1596 to Susanna Pollard (died 1634), a 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 ...

, Devon, and sister of Sir Lewis Pollard, 1st Baronet. By her he had twelve sons and six daughters, including his eldest surviving son and heir,

Sir John Northcote, 1st Baronet Sir John Northcote, 1st Baronet (1599 – 24 June 1676) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1676. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War. Origins Northcote was t ...

(1599–1676), ancestor of the Earls of Iddesleigh. NorthcoteMonumentFullViewNewtonStCyres

Monument

The notable monument to John Northcote is in the Northcote Chapel in Newton St Cyres parish church. Northcote himself is the main central figure wearing high boots and carrying a sword and baton. Medallions to his left and right display the busts of his two wives, with inscriptions. Below these are kneeling figures of his son, his wife and other children.

References

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. 582, pedigree of Northcote
Listed building text, Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northcote, John 1570 births 1632 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...