Richard VI Duke (1652–1733)

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 ...

Otterton Otterton is a village and civil parish in East Devon, England. The parish lies on the English Channel and is surrounded clockwise from the south by the parishes of East Budleigh, Bicton, Colaton Raleigh, Newton Poppleford and Harpford and Sidmo ...

, Devon, was four times MP for Ashburton, 1679, 1695, 1698 and 1701.

Origins

He was the son and heir of Richard V Duke (d. 1716) of Otterton by his wife Frances Southcott, daughter of George Southcote of

Buckland-Tout-Saints Buckland-Tout-Saints is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. In the 2001 census it had a population of 178, up from a population of only 37 in 1901. The parish also includes the hamlets of Bearscombe, Goveton ...

Marriages and progeny

He married twice: *Firstly to Isabella Yonge, daughter of Sir Walter Yonge, 2nd Baronet (c. 1625–1670), of Colyton, MP, by whom he had an only daughter and heir presumptive Elizabeth Duke (d. 1716), whose marriage was arranged in 1705 to Robert Rolle (c. 1677–1710), MP for Callington (twice in 1701) and for

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 ...

(1702–1710), heir apparent to his grandfather Sir John Rolle (1626–1706), KB, of

Stevenstone Stevenstone is a former Manorialism, 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 un ...

and

Bicton, Devon Bicton is a civil parish and a Manor of Bicton, former manor in the East Devon district of Devon, England, near the town of Budleigh Salterton. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Colaton Raleigh, Otterton, Eas ...

.Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, 107/197 16 March 1704/5
"Agreement on marriage of Robert Rolle, Esq., grandson and heir apparent of Sir John Rolle of Stevenstone (in St. Giles in the Wood), Knight of the Bath, and Elizabeth Duke, only daughter and heir presumptive of Richard Duke the younger of Otterton, Esq." This was destined to be a great dynastic marriage which would have combined two of the largest estates in Devon, yet the marriage was without progeny and thus the plan failed. The Rolle estate of Bicton was adjacent to Otterton, and thus the combination of the two would be advantageous from the administrative viewpoint. The Rolles did not however give up their desire to obtain Otterton, and further dynastic alliances (also failed) were arranged between the two families. The Rolle desire was fulfilled in 1786 when Denys Rolle (1725–1797) purchased for the huge sum of £72,000 the manor of Otterton, with several other manors, from the heirs of his brother-in-law the last Robert Duke (d. 1741) of Otterton, who had married his sister Isabella Charlotte Rolle, which marriage was without issue. *Secondly he married Elizabeth Cholwich, daughter of John Cholwich of Farringdon, by whom he had two children who died as infants:Vivian, p. 312. **Frances Duke (1707–1711) **Robert Duke (1712–1714)

Death and succession

He died in 1733 without surviving progeny. By his will his heir became Richard VII Duke (1688–1740) of Otterton, his second cousin once removed, the second son of Richard Duke (born 1653) by his wife Isabella, the son and heir of Richard Duke (born 1627), the son and heir of Robert Duke (1600–1665), the younger brother of Richard IV Duke (1600–1653) of Otterton.

Sources

Ferris, John. P., Biography of Duke, Richard (1652-1733), of Otterton, Devon, Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690, ed. B.D. Henning, 1983
* Vivian, Lt.Col. J. L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, pp. 311–314, pedigree of Duke of Otterton

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Richard (1652-1733) 1652 births 1733 deaths People from East Devon District English MPs 1679 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1701 Members of the Parliament of England for Ashburton