Yeo Vale, Alwington
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Yeo Vale (anciently Yeo) is an historic estate in the parish of
Alwington Alwington is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England. The parish is on the coast and includes the hamlets of Alwington, Fairy Cross, Ford, Knotty Corner and Woodtown. The parish has a total population of 381 (2001 ...
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. The
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 ...
mansion house known as ''Yeo Vale House'', situated 1 mile east of Alwington Church and 3 miles south-west of
Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...
, incorporating a 15th-century gatehouse, was demolished in 1973, having been abandoned as a residence in 1938 and having fallen into a dilapidated state. it was situated in the valley of the River Yeo, a small river flowing into the
River Torridge The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristol ...
immediately above Bideford. The barton or farmhouse survives, to which was attached the mansion house, together with various out-buildings and stone walls. A private mediaeval chapel was formerly attached to the mansion house and in the early 18th century was demolished and rebuilt as a
folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...
on a hill about 1/4 mile south of the mansion house. It survives today as a ruin overgrown with trees and ivy.


Descent

The estate is not mentioned in 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 ...
of 1086.


at Yeo

The earliest known holder was the ''at Yeo'' (alias ''atte Yeo'') family, which took their surname from the estate. The last male member of the family was Thomas at Yeo, who left a daughter and sole heiress Jone at Yeo (according to Pole (died 1635)) or Sir Walter at Yeo, who left a daughter and sole heiress Emma at Yeo (according to Vivian, 1895).Vivian, p.404 Both sources agree however that the heiress Jone or Emma married Geoffrey Giffard, who was living in 1439, to the descendants of which marriage passed the estate of Yeo. ''Robert atte Yo'' is recorded in the Devon Lay Subsidy of 1332. It is not known if the ''at Yeo'' family was related to the prominent ''Yeo'' family, who bore arms ''Argent, a chevron between three mallards azure'', which prospered in North Devon in various branches, most notably at
Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe Heanton Satchville was a historic Manorialism, 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 ...
until the 16th century, at nearby Huish until the late 18th century and at Fremington House until 1880.


Giffard

The Giffard family of Yeo was a parallel branch of the more prominent and longer-lived Giffard family of Halsbury in the parish of
Parkham Parkham is a small village, civil parish and former manor situated 5 miles south-west of the town of Bideford in north Devon, England. The parish, which lies within the Kenwith ward in the Torridge district, is surrounded clockwise from the n ...
, North Devon, about 1 mile south-west of Yeo. The Giffard family of North Devon was descended from the Anglo-Norman
magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
Walter Giffard, 1st Earl of Buckingham Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville in Normandy, 1st Earl of Buckingham (died 1102) was an Anglo-Norman magnate. Biography He was the son of Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville (one of the few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the ...
(died 1102), Lord of Longueville in Normandy. His descendants, via a female branch which adopted the surname Giffard, in the 13th century held lands in Devon including the manors of Whitchurch, Wear Giffard,
Clovelly Clovelly () is a privately owned harbour village in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England. The settlement and surrounding land belongs to John Rous, who inherited it from his mother in 1983. He belongs to the Hamlyn family ...
Lamerton and Awlescombe.Vivian, p.396 Branches of the family later were seated at Halsbury, Yeo, Brightley in the parish of
Chittlehampton Chittlehampton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England, about south-west of Barnstaple. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 820. The parish originally had two exclaves; Chittlehamholt to th ...
, at
Tapeley Tapeley is a historic estate in the parish of Westleigh in North Devon, England. The present mansion house known as Tapeley Park is a grade II* listed country house, built or enlarged from an existing structure in about 1704, remodeled in ...
and at Milton Damerell. *Geoffrey Giffard (fl.1439), who married Emma or Jone at Yeo, the heiress of Yeo. He was the son of Simon Giffard (fl.1410), by his first wife Emma de Bowey, a daughter and co-heiress of John de Bowey, and was 5th in descent from Walter Giffard of Clifford, whose nephew was Bartholomew Giffard (fl.1290) of Halsbury, the first of the family seated at Halsbury, which estate he obtained by marriage to the heiress of Peter de Halsbury. *John Giffard (son), who married a certain Isabella. *Robert Giffard (son), who married Radigand (Latinized to Radigunda) Dennis, daughter and sole heiress of Gilbert Dennis of Gidicott (about 9 miles south of Yeo) in the parish of Bradford, Devon, and
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 Bradford. Gilbert Dennis was the eldest son of Thomas Dennis (by his first wife Alice Bamfield) of Holcombe Burnell in South Devon, himself the son of Walter Dennis of Gidicott. The Dennis family is first recorded in Devon in the 12th century, one branch at Orleigh, about 1 mile south of Yeo, and the other at Gidicott. Both branches had armorials containing three Danish battle-axes, supposedly referring to their Danish origins. The arms of Dennis of Orleigh ''Azure, three Danish battle-axes or'' survive in a fragment of ancient stained glass in the Yeo Vale Chapel forming the north transept of Alwington Church. The arms of the Dennis family of Gidicott (whose ancestors were the Giffards of HalsburyVivian, p.279) and later of Holcombe Burnell were: ''Ermine, three Danish battle axes gules''. *John Giffard (died 1487) (eldest son and heir), who married Joan Cooke, daughter of Christopher Cooke of Thorne and died without children. *Leonard Giffard (born 1467) (younger brother and heir), who married Lucy Tremayle, daughter of Thomas Tremayle, Justice of the Common Pleas. *Thomas Gifford (died 1536) (eldest son and heir), who married twice, firstly to Katherine Chudleigh, daughter of James Chudleigh and secondly to Elizabeth Dennis, a daughter of William Dennis of Orleigh,
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 1466. In 1528 his younger brother William Giffard was appointed Rector of Bradford, which 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 ...
the family had earlier inherited from the Dennis family of Gidicott. *John Giffard (died 1540/1) (son, by father's first wife Katherine Chudleigh), who married Margaret Milliton, daughter of John Milliton of
Meavy Meavy is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the English county of Devon. Meavy forms part of the district of West Devon. It lies a mile or so east of Yelverton. The River Meavy runs near the village. For administrative purposes ...
. She survived her husband and remarried to Robert Cary (died 1586), lord of the
manor of Clovelly The Manor of Clovelly is a historic Manorialism, manor in North Devon, England. Within the manor are situated the manor house known as Clovelly Court, the parish church of All Saints, and the famous picturesque fishing village of Clovelly. The pa ...
, 7 miles west of Yeo, a magistrate who died of
gaol fever Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
at the Black Assize of Exeter 1586 and whose monument survives in Clovelly Church. He left an infant daughter as his sole heiress, Wilmot Giffard (born 1541), successively the wife of John Bury (1540–1574) lord of the manor of Colleton, Chulmleigh (whom she divorced) and of Sir George Cary of Cockington. John Bury was aged 3 at the death of his father and became a ward to a person unknown. He was said by Pole to have been "simple". He married twice, firstly when both parties were aged only 13, contrary to ecclesiastical law, to Wilmot Giffard, without children. He was divorced from her by
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 to his death. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with Thomas Cranmer ...
in 1560 and she remarried to Sir George Cary (1541–1616) of Cockington, South Devon, Lord Deputy of Ireland, and half-nephew of her step-father Robert Cary of Clovelly.


Cary

*Sir George Cary (1541–1616) of Cockington, who married as his first wife Wilmot Giffard (born 1541), heiress of Yeo, by whom he had children two daughters, who died without issue, and two sons who also died without issue, namely Thomas Cary and Sir George Cary, who was killed in the Irish Wars and predeceased his father. he married secondly to Lettice Rich, daughter of
Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick Robert Rich, 3rd Baron Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick (December 1559 – 24 March 1619), was an English nobleman, known as Baron Rich between 1581 and 1618, when he was created Earl of Warwick. He was the first husband of Penelope Devereux, Lady Ric ...
(1559–1619), without issue. His heir to his seat of Cockington was his nephew George Cary, 5th son of his younger brother John Cary of Dudley, Staffordshire, and husband of Elizabeth Seymour, a daughter of
Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet (c. 1563 – 10 April 1613) of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, was Member of Parliament for Devon, twice High Sheriff of Devon and an Army Colonel. Origins Born at Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon, of a family greatly influen ...
(died 1613), grandson of
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King E ...
, Lord Protector. His heir to Yeo Vale, however, was Sir Edward Cary of Dungarvon, Ireland, the second son of his younger brother John Cary of Dudley *Sir Edward Cary (died 1654) of Dungarvon, Ireland, and of Bradford, Devon (elder nephew). He was knighted in Ireland in 1625 by his cousin
Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland, KB, PC (c. 1575 – September 1633) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1601 to 1622. He was created Viscount Falkland in the Scottish peerage in 1620. He was Lord D ...
.Vivian, p.152 He died in 1654 and was buried in
Marldon Marldon is a village in the South Hams in Devon, United Kingdom, to the north-west of Paignton. It is the most northeasterly Civil Parish in the South Hams and includes the village of Compton with Compton Castle. Beacon Hill transmitting statio ...
Church, South Devon. "In the east window of the south aisle are some remains of old glass, bearing the arms of the Cary family. In the chancel are several old tombstones, one, with an inscription in memory of Edward Cary, bears the date 1654" (Stabb). He married Margaret Blackhurst of Lancashire, whose monument survives in Marldon Church. *Sir George Cary (died 1678)(eldest son and heir), of
Torr Abbey Torre Abbey is a historic building and art gallery in Torquay, Devon, which lies in the South West of England. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons, and is now the best-preserved medieval monastery in Devon and Co ...
, South Devon, which he purchased in 1662.


Bruton

In about 1683 Yeo Vale was sold by the Cary family to John Bruton, whose descendant William Bruton in 1769 sold it to Rev. Hooper Morrison.


Morrison

The Morrison family of Yeo Vale bore the same armorials as
Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet (18 April 1587 – 20 August 1628) (also Moryson) of Cashiobury in Watford, Hertfordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1628. Origins Morrison ...
(1587–1628) of Cashiobury House in
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
.


Rev. Hooper Morrison (1737–1798)

Rev. Hooper Morrison (1737–1798), purchased Yeo Vale from William Bruton. He was the only son of Rev. Thomas Morrison by his wife Elizabeth Hooper, daughter of Sir
Nicholas Hooper Nicholas Hooper is a British film and television composer and guitarist. He has scored the award-winning BBC productions '' Land of the Tiger'' and '' Andes to Amazon'', as well as the TV movies '' The Girl in the Café'' and ''My Family and Othe ...
(1654–1731) of Fullabrook,
Braunton Braunton is a large village, civil parishes in England, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former Manorialism, manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at th ...
and
Raleigh, Pilton The historic manor of Raleigh, near Barnstaple and in the parish of Pilton, North Devon, England, was the first recorded home in the 14th century of the influential Chichester family of Devon. It was recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 togeth ...
in Devon, Tory Member of Parliament for
Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...
1695-1715. In 1795 he acquired from Richard Bennett-Coffin (died 1796), lord of the manor of Alwington, a lease for one life of Ley Mills and of the waste ground near Alwington Church for the erection of a stable. Long after his death, his daughters in 1836 (as recorded by a surviving inscribed stone tablet) erected on this land Alwington Schoolhouse, which survives today. The stables are today a house ("The Old Stables"). He married Charlotte Orchard (1735–1791), daughter of Paul Orchard (died 1740) of Kilkhampton, Cornwall and Hartland Abbey, Devon. Her mural monument survives in the Yeo Vale Chapel in Alwington Church. She was the sister of Paul Orchard (1739–1812) of Hartland Abbey, who bequeathed the Abbey to her son and his nephew Rev. Thomas Hooper Morrison (1768–1824).


=Monument to wife

= A mural monument to Charlotte Orchard (1735–1791) survives in the Yeo Vale Chapel of Alwington Church, in the shape of an
obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
, inscribed as follows:
Underneath is deposited the body of Charlotte Morrison daughter of Paul Orchard Esq. of Hertland ''(sic)'' Abbey and wife of the Rev. Hooper Morrison of Yeo Vale in this parish for many years. She bore severe sickness with the most unrepining resignation and on the 30th of Octr 1791 in the 56th year of her age she departed hence dying with well grounded hopes of exchanging a life of suffering for that happy state where pain and sorrow are no more. In the same vault lies also the body of Charlotte Morrison her eldest daughter who in the bloom of life was torn from her disconsolate parents Sep. 18 1788 aged 18. By his affectionate and beloved wife and daughter are placed the remains of the Revd Hooper Morrison A.M., rector of Alwington in this county and Vicar of Launcells, Cornwall. He was the only son of the Revd Thomas Morrison A.M., by Elizabeth daughter of Sr Nicholas Hooper Knt. As a man, a clergyman and a Christian he discharged his several duties with the most anxious fidelity. Revered, respected and beloved by all for his unaffected piety, his zealous friendship and his warm benevolence, it pleased that Being in whose hands are the (is)sues of life and death to take him from his afflicted family and friends on the 7th November 1798 in the 61st year of his age


Rev. Thomas Hooper Morrison (1768–1824)

Rev. Thomas Hooper Morrison (1768–1824) (son), a Fellow of
New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
( MA 1794), a JP for Devon, Rector of Alwington and in 1799 appointed Vicar of
Launcells Launcells () is a hamlet and civil parish in north-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located east of Bude. Within the civil parish are the hamlets of Launcells Cross, Red Post, Grimscott, and Buttsbear Cross. In 2001, 563 people ...
, Cornwall, by his uncle Paul Orchard. He was bequeathed Hartland Abbey, Devon, by the will of his uncle Paul Orchard (1739–1812) of Hartland Abbey, but never lived there as it was occupied by Orchard's widow Bettina Lawley until her death in 1833.Lauder, Devon Families, p.146 He also owned the estates of Gallsham in Hartland and Alderscombe,
Kilkhampton Kilkhampton () is a village and civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude. Kilkhampton was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Chilchetone". T ...
, Cornwall, the ancient seat of the Orchards. He married Anna Rolle Wollocombe (1781–1860), daughter of Thomas Stafford Wollocombe (1741–1814), Colonel of the Devonshire Militia and Lt-Col. of the 2nd Foot Regiment (The Queens), of Bridestowe, Devon. He is remembered for the rousing sermon he gave in Hartland Church on Sunday 21 December 1794, during a time of great fear of a possible invasion by French Revolutionaries, to the newly formed North Devon Volunteers, at the request of that regiment's Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant, his uncle Paul Orchard (1739–1812) of Hartland Abbey (by whom he was later bequeathed Hartland Abbey, and to whom he erected a monument in Hartland Church). It was published shortly afterwards at Exeter under the title ''The Duty of Arming for the Defence of Our Country in Time of Danger'' and copies were sold throughout Devon. He warned of the ''"Political system of this mad infatuated people who are alternately threatening mankind with the contagion of their principles or appalling them with the horror of their crimes"'' and preached:
... were but some few hundreds of the enemy now to land in any part of the Kingdom where there might be no regularly disciplined forces to guard it (and our own part, situated as we are on the very coast, is as much exposed to an invasion as any) how would it provoke a man of the least feeling and spirit to see ruin and devastation spread on every side by only a handful of them ... to behold, perhaps, the country all around you in flames, your fields laid waste, your houses destroyed, everything valuable plundered from you; to behold your wives and daughters exposed to the brutal lusts of your haughty and insolent conquerors; to see your aged decrepid parents and your innocent helpless children inhumanly treated - perhaps murdered - by a plundering enemy, or exposed to want, to indigence and famine; and to stand yourselves all the while helpless and inactive, tame spectators of the misery... It is given to you now my brethren, to do what ye will then wish for in vain: arm then, arm ye brave; a noble cause, the cause of Heaven, the cause of religion, the cause of your country, the cause of everything that is dear and valuable to you as men, as Englishmen, as Christians, of everything that can contribute to your happiness here and hereafter now demands your zeal and assistance; for the attempts of our neighbours on the Continent are not only to loosen every tie of obedience and to involve us in the wildest anarchy and confusion, but to deny the existence of a God...
He died in 1824 without male children. Among his charitable bequests was £3 ''per annum'' for coals for the poor of Hartland, which is recorded on a large benefactions board (next to a similar one for Paul Orchard) in the tower of St Nectan's Church, Hartland, inscribed as follows:
Benefactions. The Revd Thomas Hooper Morrison left by will in 1824 the sum of £100 £3 per cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities in trust, the yearly interest thereof to be paid to the Minister and Church-Wardens for the time being to be applied in the purchase of fuel to be distributed between Michaelmas and Lady Day in every year for the benefit of the poor inhabitants of this parish as a perpetual charity. Under the directions of the resident owner of the Abbey
In 1836 his widow and three surviving sisters built Alwington Schoolhouse, next to the parish church, as is recorded on an inscribed date stone. Hartland Abbey passed by
entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...
to his cousin
Lewis William Buck Lewis William Buck (1784–1858) of Moreton House, Bideford, Moreton House, Bideford, and Hartland Abbey, Devon, was Member of Parliament for Exeter (UK Parliament constituency), Exeter 1826–32 and for North Devon (UK Parliament constituency) ...
(1784–1858), of Moreton House (''alias'' Daddon House), near Bideford, 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 ...
1826-32 and for
North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...
1839-57, the grandson of his mother's sister Anne Orchard (1730–1820), wife of George Buck (1731–1794) of Daddon. Yeo Vale, however, passed to his sister Elizabeth Rebecca Orchard Morrison (died 1840), wife of Capt. James Hammett (1782–1851),
Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...
, of 18 Lansdowne Crescent, Bath, the son of Rev. Richard Hammett (1736–1796), Rector of Clovelly (whose mural monument survives in Clovelly Church) and brother of Sir James Hamlyn, 1st Baronet (1735–1811), born James Hammett, lord of the
manor of Clovelly The Manor of Clovelly is a historic Manorialism, manor in North Devon, England. Within the manor are situated the manor house known as Clovelly Court, the parish church of All Saints, and the famous picturesque fishing village of Clovelly. The pa ...
. James Hammett was heir to the estate of Gore Court, Otham, Kent, property of his mother Priscilla Hendley, daughter and heiress of William Hendley (1686–1762) of Gore Court.


Hammett

The Hammett family originated in the parish of Woolfardisworthy neat Clovelly. Rev. Richard Hammett (1736–1796) was the younger son of Richard Hammett (1707–1766) of Kennerland, in the parish of Clovelly (or Woolfardisworthy), Devon, by his wife Elizabeth Risdon (1710–1787), daughter and sole heiress of Philip Risdon, Gentleman. The mural monument to his parents survives in Holy Trinity Church, Woolfardisworthy. *Capt. James Hammett (1782–1851),
Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...
, who married the heiress of Yeo Vale, Elizabeth Rebecca Orchard Morrison (died 1840). He had by her two daughters, Dora Charlotte Hammett (died 1835), who died unmarried, and Eleanora Elizabeth Morrison Hammett (1821–1861), who in 1838 at Bath Abbey married John Townsend Kirkwood.


Kirkwood


John Townsend Kirkwood (1814–1902)

John Townsend Kirkwood (1814–1902), of Glencarha, County Mayo, Ireland, 34 Imperial Square, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and Boldrewood, Burghfield Common, Berkshire, later JP for Devon, who married the heiress of Yeo Vale and of Gore Court, Eleanora Elizabeth Morrison Hammett (1821–1861). He owned the Customs House at Bideford (apparently inherited via the Orchards) and land in the Devon parishes of Alwington, Littleham, Parkham, Beaford, Swimbridge, Hartland, Cheriton Fitzpaine and Cadeleigh. He was the only surviving son of Col. Tobias Kirkwood (1779–1859), of the 40th and 64th Regiments, of Castleton, County Mayo, Ireland, (who had served in New Brunswick, Canada) by his wife Catherine (Amelia) Coffin (born New Brunswick, Canada, died 1881), daughter of General John Coffin (1751–1838), Governor of St John's, New Brunswick, 3rd son of Nathaniel Coffin, Cashier of the Customs at Boston, Massachusetts, and brother to Admiral
Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet (also Coffin-Greenly; 16 May 1759 – 23 July 1839) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars, French Revol ...
(1759–1839). John Coffin was a descendant of the ancient Coffin family of Portledge, lords of the manor of Alwington (in which parish was situated Yeo Vale), and married Ann Matthews (died 1839, buried at Bath, daughter of William Matthews of St John's Island, South Carolina. The Kirkwood family became established in western Ireland in the early 17th century, and by the early 18th century were seated at Castleton and Moyne Abbey, County Mayo. In 1770 Andrew Kirkwood (died 1810) purchased Castletown Manor in Sligo from John Knox, and was succeeded by his son Samuel Kirkwood, himself succeeded by his brother Tobias Kirkwood (died 1839/59) in 1837. John Townsend Kirkwood inherited in 1839 and sold to Thomas Jones on 8 June 1839 The arms of Kirkwood were: ''Argent, on a chevron gules between three bugles or stringed of the second three mullets of the first''. In 1876 John Townsend Kirkwood "of Cheltenham", owned 8,345 acres in county Mayo and 444 acres in county Sligo. His brass memorial tablet survives in the Yeo Vale Chapel of Alwington Church inscribed as follows: :"To the memory of John Townsend Kirkwood late of Yeo Vale formerly of the Royals and 64th Regts. Born 7th Octr 1814 died in
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
Jany 10th 1902 and was buried there".
By his wife Eleanora Hammett he had eight sons and three daughters:Burke's, 1937 *Major James Morrison Kirkwood (1839–1907), of Yeo Vale, eldest son and heir,
Royal North Devon Yeomanry The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1798, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal ...
. (see below) *Townsend Molloy Kirkwood (1842–1919), second son, of the Bengal Civil Service, who inherited Gore Court from his mother. He married Ellen Pleydell-Bouverie, a relative of the
Earl of Radnor Earl of Radnor, of the County of Radnor, is a title which has been created twice. It was first created in the Peerage of England in 1679 for John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes, a notable political figure of the reign of Charles II. The earldo ...
, but died without issue, when Gore Court was inherited by his next younger brother. *Hendley Paul Kirkwood (1844–1920), third son, of Newbridge House, Bath and of Gore Court, who married Charlotte Fell and died without issue. *William Montagu Hammett Kirkwood (1850–1926), fourth son, a barrister who married twice but died without issue. He inherited Gore Court on the death of his elder brother Hendley. *John Andrew Hammett Kirkwood (1854–1855), fifth son, died young. *Sir Walter Guy Coffin Kirkwood (1856–1935), sixth son, of Gore Court, Secretary to the Post Office for Scotland. His descendants inherited Gore Court. *Col. Carleton Hooper Morrison Kirkwood (1860-post 1937), seventh son, of the Wiltshire Regiment. *Lt-Col. Richard Hammett Kirkwood (1861–1928), eighth son, of the
Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...


James Morrison Kirkwood (1839–1907)

Major James Morrison Kirkwood (1839–1907) (eldest son and heir), of Yeo Vale,
Royal North Devon Yeomanry The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1798, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal ...
. In 1871 he married Isabel Brockman (died 1926).


John Hendley Morrison Kirkwood (1877–1924)

Lt-Col. John Hendley Morrison Kirkwood (1877–1924), DSO, (eldest son and heir), of Yeo Vale. He served as a JP for Devon and as Conservative Member of Parliament for South East Essex (1910–12). He was Lt-Col. of 1st Royal Irish Rifles and a Captain in the Royal North Devon Hussars. He served in the
Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
and 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 ...
in the 4th Dragoon Guards, the Ist Life Guards and in the Household Battalion. In 1902 he married Gertrude Lyle, eldest daughter of Sir Robert Park Lyle, 1st Baronet (1859–1923) of Greenock. By March 1916 he sold 4,000 acres of his County Mayo estate and his Sligo estate to the Congested Districts' Board.


Sir Robert Lucian Morrison Kirkwood (1904–1984)

Sir Robert Lucian Morrison Kirkwood, KCMG, (1904–1984) (eldest son and heir). He married Sybil Attenborough, daughter of Edward Attenborough of Hertford House, Nottingham. In about 1928, shortly after his father's death, he sold Yeo Vale to Stephen Berrold and in 1937 lived at 7 Eaton Place, Belgravia, London. His other residences were Haven House, Sandwich, Kent, and Craigton, Irishtown, Jamaica. His only son Francis Lyle Kirkwood (1933–2008) died aged 75 on 20 August 2008 in Botswana, killed on safari in a mini-bus accident.


Berrold

In about 1928 Yeo Vale was purchased by Stephen Berrold, described by Lauder (1981) as "a strange, shadowy figure, possibly part foreign, described as the local mystery-man, with strange comings and goings, and 'dark people' to wait on him". He had lived in Palestine, from where he brought his staff, including a Persian chauffeur and two Arabic or Muslim maids. he was believed by locals to have been a Secret Service Agent, or a foreign spy. He did not mix with the local North Devon gentry, but always invited the villagers to Yeo Vale for an annual Christmas party and gave generous presents to the local children. He kept a private aircraft at Stibb Cross, which on occasion he piloted to London. He was nevertheless described by his long-term gardener as "always a gentleman to us". He had an argument (concerning the felling of trees) with John Westaway, the farmer who occupied the barton adjoining the mansion house, and in 1938 he moved to Stodden Park, near Petersfield in Hampshire, having deserted Yeo Vale never to return. His wife died soon after, which greatly affected him. He packed all her clothes into her Buick car and ordered his chauffeur to drive it off a cliff at Stodden Park, which he refused to do, upon which Berrold buried it in a pit and set it alight. He later married a French woman and moved to Africa.Lauder, 1981, p.49 He retained ownership of the building, which was "literally abandoned and left to die... It stood for many years deserted and empty, gazing forlornly out across the fields, like a dog patiently waiting for its master to return. But he never did".Lauder, 1981, p.45 The house soon became dilapidated, but nevertheless was given a grade II listing in 1955, and Mr Westcott obtained a licence from the local council to demolish it in 1973.


Westaway

The estate of Yeo Vale is now owned by the Westaway family, who operate there a large dairy cattle farm. It is believed the site of Yeo Vale house is still owned by the heirs unknown of Stephen Berrold.


Notes


References

{{reflist, 30em ;Sources *Lauder, Rosemary, ''Vanished Houses of North Devon'', Callington, 1981, pp. 45–53, ''Yeo Vale'' * Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, ''The Buildings of England: Devon'', London, 2004, p. 127 * Pole, Sir William (died 1635), ''Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon'', Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p. 304, ''Yoe'' (sic) * Risdon, Tristram (died 1640), ''Survey of Devon'', 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p. 244 * Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620'', Exeter, 1895 , p. 404, pedigree of Giffard of Yeo *''Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry'', 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, p. 1301, pedigree of Kirkham of Yeo Vale


Further reading

*Coulter, James, ''The Ancient Chapels of North Devon'', Barnstaple, 1993, ''Yeo Vale Chapel'' *North Devon Record Office:
B170-1/143/1-28 "Folder of plans of estate buildings, Yeo Vale and Winscott" (late 19th-early 20th century)
The National Archives.
B170-1/139 "Rental and steward's account for the 'Yeo Estate' (Kirkwood)" (1918–1928)
The National Archives. Historic estates in Devon