General history: Extinct noble families

Noble Families Extinct.

Holland, Duke of Exeter. — John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, (third son of Thomas de Holland, Earl of Kent, by the heiress of Edmund de Woodstock, Earl of Kent,) was created Duke of Exeter, in 1388. He had two seats in this county, Exeter castle, and Dartington. The title was forfeited by his attainder, in 1399; but restored to John his son, in 1443. The second Duke distinguished himself by his military services in France. His son Henry, the third Duke, who was the last of the elder line (fn. n1) of this noble family, was dangerously wounded at the battle of Barnet-field, and, having been disinherited by parliament, fled to the continent, where he is said to have been reduced to such great poverty that he was obliged to beg his bread: he married a sister of King Edward IV.

Arms: — Gules, three lions passant, Or, within a border, Azure, charged with fleur-de-lis of the second.

Crest: — The royal lion on a chapeau, gorged with a collar, Az. charged with fleurs-de-lis, and ducally crowned.

Beaufort, Duke of Exeter. — Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Dorset, (son of John of Gaunt,) who led the rereward at the battle of Agincourt, between the forfeiture of that title and its restoration to the Holland family, was, in 1416, created Duke of Exeter for life; and among other grants had a pension of 40l. per annum assigned him, out of the city of Exeter. He died in 1426.

Arms: — The arms of England, within a border, gobony, Arg. and Az.

Crest: — A portcullis, Or, nailed, Az. chains of the first.

Grey, Duke of Suffolk. — Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, having become possessed of Shute-park, and other large estates in this county, by a marriage with the heiress of Bonville, resided occasionally at Shute. All these estates were forfeited by the attainder of his son Henry, who had been created Duke of Suffolk, in 1551, and was beheaded in 1554.

Arms: — Barry of six, Arg. and Az. in chief, three torteauxes: a label of three, Ermine.

Crest: — An unicorn salient, Ermine, in front of the sun in splendor.

Supporters: — On the dexter side an unicorn: on the sinister, a bull with a human face.

Monk, Baron Monk of Potheridge, Earl of Torrington and Duke of Albemarle. — The celebrated General Monk, a native of this county (fn. n2), the restorer of King Charles II., and of the English monarchy, had a grant of the above titles from his grateful sovereign, a few weeks after his restoration. The family of Le Moyne, or Monk, had been settled at Potheridge, in the parish of Merton, near Torrington, as early as the reign of Edward I. (fn. n3), and continued there for 15 or 16 generations, having married heiresses, or co-heiresses of Tilley, Estcott, Rishford, Trenchard, Crukerne, Grant, Champernowne of Inswerk, Wood, and Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle. (fn. n4) The Duke of Albemarle was second son of Sir Thomas Monk (fn. n5) : his elder brother having died without issue, he became the representative of this ancient family. The title became extinct in 1688, by the death of Christopher his son, the second duke. The great Duke of Albemarle resided at Potheridge, and in 1672 rebuilt the mansion, which had been the seat of his ancestors. It is now in ruins.

Arms: — Gules, a chevron between three lions, heads erased, Arg.

Crest: — On a chapeau a cat-a-mountain guardant, per pale, Sab. and Arg, between two branches of olive. The old crest of the family was a cockatrice, Argent.

Supporters: — On the dexter side a dragon; on the sinister a lion; each holding a branch of olive.

Redvers, De Ripariis, or Rivers, Earl of Devon. — Richard de Redvers was created Earl of Devon by King Henry I. Richard, his grandson, the third Earl, married one of the co-heiresses of Reginald, Earl of Cornwall. Richard, the fifth Earl, who succeeded an elder brother, married a coheiress of Lord Biset. Baldwin, the seventh Earl, was, in 1240, created Earl of the Isle of Wight; his son Baldwin, the last Earl of the family, and the fifth of that Christian name, dying without issue, his sister, Isabel de Fortibus, who had married William de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle, became Countess of Devon in her own right. She died without issue, in 1292. The title descended to the Courtenay family as before mentioned (fn. n6), and the elder branch of that family bore the arms of Redvers, quartered with Courtenay.

Arms of Redvers, Earl of Devon: — Or, a lion rampant, Azure.

Bourchier, Earl of Bath. — William Bourchier, third son of William Bourchier, Earl of Ewe, by Anne Plantagenet (fn. n7), a grand-daughter of King Edward III., having married the heiress of Sir Richard Hankford, by the heiress of the Lords Fitzwarren, became possessed of a considerable estate in Devonshire. Both he and his son, who married a co-heiress of John Lord Dinham, sat in parliament as Lords Fitzwarren. John, the grandson, was, in 1536, created Earl of Bath. The title became extinct by the death of Henry, the fifth earl, in 1654. This noble family had their residence at Tawstock, now the seat of their descendant Sir Bourchier Wrey, Bart. The last earl left no issue; Edward, his predecessor, had three daughters, co-heiresses; Elizabeth married the Earl of Denbigh, and died without issue; Dorothy married Thomas Lord Grey, whose son Thomas, Earl of Stamford, died without issue; Anne married James, Earl of Middlesex, and afterwards Sir Chichester Wrey, Bart. The Bourchiers of Westaway, in Pilton, are supposed to have been a younger branch of the Bourchiers, earls of Bath. A co-heiress of this family brought Westaway to an ancestor of Sir T. B. Lethbridge, Bart.

Arms: — Arg. a cross engrailed, G. between four water-bougets Sable.

Crest: — An old man's head side-faced, couped at the shoulders, ducally crowned, Or, issuing therefrom a cap, G. tasseled of the last.

Supporters: — On the dexter side, an heraldic tiger, Arg. tufted, Or, on the sinister, a falcon, Arg. vulned in the wing, beaked and legged, Or.

Ley, Earl of Marlborough. — Ley, in Beer Ferrers, is said to have been the original seat of this family, and to have been repurchased by Sir James Ley, who was, in 1624, created Baron Ley of Ley, and in 1626, Earl of Marlborough. These titles became extinct, in 1679, by the death of William, the fourth earl. His daughter and heir married Tristram.

Arms: — A chevron between three bears' heads, couped Sable.

Crest: — A lion seiant, Or, the dexter fore paw raised.

Supporters: — On the dexter side, a lion Arg. semeé of trefoils, slipped, V. on the sinister a lion, G. bezanty.

Carew, Earl of Totnes. — Sir George Carew (fn. n8), a distinguished military officer in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and that of her successor James I., was, in 1606, created Lord Carew, of Clopton; and in 1626, Earl of Totnes. He died in 1628, when these titles became extinct.

Arms: — Or, three lions passant, Sable.

Crest: — A lion passant, Sable.

Supporters: — On either side an antelope, G. armed, crined, and hoofed, Or.

Granville, Earl of Bath. — The very ancient family of Grenville, of late years written by this branch of the family Granville, was possessed of Bideford, which appears to have been their original habitation in the west of England, soon after the conquest. After they became possessed of Kilkhampton, in Cornwall, they divided their time between that place and Bideford. Although Kilkhampton appears to have been their chief, if not sole residence, during the time of the most eminent persons of this family, particularly Sir Beville Grenville (fn. n9), yet Prince contends for the right of ranking them among Devonshire worthies. Sir Beville's son, Sir John Grenville, who had so active a share in the restoration of King Charles II., was created, in 1661, Baron Grenville of Kilkhampton and Bideford, and Earl of Bath: he was made also Lord Lieutenant of the county of Devon. His youngest son, John, was, in 1702, created Baron Granville of Potheridge, and died without issue in 1709. The title of Earl of Bath became extinct by the death of William Henry, the third earl, in 1711. Bideford still belongs to the representatives of the Granville family.

Arms: — Gules, three rests, Or.

Two crests, A griffin's head, Or, the wings elevated; and a griffin passant, Or, the wings elevated.

Supporters: — Two griffins, Or, the wings elevated.

Walpole, Earl of Orford. — It has been already mentioned, that Margaret, wife of Robert the second Earl of Orford, inherited the barony of Clinton and Say, and the Devonshire estates of that family. Heanton Sachville was in consequence one of the seats of the Countess of Orford, in her widowhood; and of George, Earl of Orford, her son, who died in 1791.

Arms: — Or, on a fesse between two chevrons, Sab. three cross crosslets of the first.

Crest: — On a wreath, the bust of a man side-faced and couped, Proper, ducally crowned with a long cap G. thereon a Catherine wheel, Or.

Supporters: — On the dexter side, an antelope, Arg. attired, Proper, unguled Or, and gorged with a collar exchequettée, Or, and Az. with a golden chain affixed thereto, parting between his fore legs, and reflected over his back; on the sinister a hart, Arg. attired, Proper, unguled, and gorged with a like collar and chain.

Martyn, or Martin, Baron Martin, of Barnstaple and Dartington. — This ancient Norman family was at an early period of Comb Martin, and of Dartington, which Risdon calls the site of their barony, as early as the reign of Henry I. Nicholas, the fourth in descent from Martin de Tours, the founder of the family, acquired the lordship of Barnstaple and other large possessions, by marrying the heiress of Guy de Brien, by the heiress of Tracey. William, grandson of Nicholas, was summoned to parliament as Baron Martin of Barnstaple. William, the second Baron Martin, died without male issue, in 1324; his co-heiresses married Columbers, who died without male issue, and Audley. In consequence of the marriage of his father with the co-heiress of Martin, James Lord Audley inherited the baronies of Barnstaple and Dartington. Nicholas, Lord Audley, son of James, died without male issue, in 1389; his co-heiresses married Tuchet and Hilary, but by virtue of an entail, his Devonshire estates went to the crown. Younger branches are supposed to have continued the male line of the Martyn family.

Arms of Baron Martin: — Arg. two bars gules.

Arms of Baron Audley: — Gules, fretty, Or.

Crest: — Out of a ducal coronet a swan issuant, Proper, crowned, Or.

Moels, Baron Moels or Mules. — Nicholas de Moels, or Molis, who married the heiress of Newmarch, in the reign of Henry III., was descended from Roger de Molis, who possessed Lew, and other estates in Devon, at the time of the Domesday survey. This Nicholas possessed Kings Kerswell by a royal grant. His son married the heiress of De Preux. John, his grandson, was summoned to parliament as Lord Moels, in 1292; John, grandson of the last-mentioned John, married the heiress of Lovell, of Castle Cary, and dying in or about 1337, left two daughters, co-heiresses, married to Courtenay and Bottreaux. A younger branch of the family of Moels, or Mules, was of Ernsborough, in Swimbridge. The co-heiresses of Sir John Mules, of Ernsborough, married Gilbert and Dabernon. John Mules, the son of a younger brother, settled at Halmeston, in Bishops Tawton. His son George married the heiress of Bridges of Exeter. The heiress of the last of the elder line of Mules of Halmeston, who had married an heiress of the Acland family, married Richard Bennet, Esq., who died in 1718; a younger son is supposed to have continued the male line, and that it is now represented by the Rev. John Hawkes Mules of Ilminster; the Rev. William Mules, a younger brother, resides at Marwood, in this county.

Arms: — Arg. two bars, G. in chief three torteauxes.

Crest: — A mule passant.

Monthermer, Baron Monthermer, of Stockenham. — Ralph de Monthermer, of Stokenham, was summoned to parliament as a baron, in 1308; his son Thomas, who was slain in a sea-fight, in 1340, left a daughter and heir married to John de Montacute, who, in 1357, was summoned to parliament as Baron Montacute of Stokenham. His son, who received the like summons, succeeded afterwards to the earldom of Salisbury, and was father of Thomas, the celebrated Earl of Salisbury, in the reign of Henry V., whose heiress married Richard Neville, afterwards Earl of Salisbury.

Arms of Monthermer. — Or, an eagle displayed, V. beaked and membered, G.

Arms of Montacute, Baron Montacute. — Arg. three fusils in fesse, G. within a border, Sable.

Zouch, Baron Zouch of Harringworth and Totnes. — Eudo Le Zouch having married one of the co-heiresses of Cantilupe, became possessed of the barony of Totnes: William, his son, was summoned to parliament in 1308. Their descendant, John Lord Zouch, having taken part with Richard III., was attainted in 1485, and the castle and barony of Totnes seized by King Henry VII. The title was restored to the son, and became dormant in the reign of James I., on the death of Edward Lord Zouch, who left two daughters, co-heiresses, married to Tate and Leighton. It was, not many years ago, claimed by Sir Cecil Bishop, Bart.; and he having, in 1807, made out his descent from one of the co-heiresses, it was taken out of abeyance, and given to him by his late Majesty in 1815.

Arms: — G. ten bezants and a canton, Ermine.

Crest: — A trunk of a tree, Or, leafed, V. thereon a falcon rising, Arg.

Brian, Brien, or Bryan, of Tor Bryan. — This ancient family was settled at Tor Bryan at a very early period. The heiress of an elder branch married Martin as before mentioned, but the male line was continued by younger sons. Sir Guy de Bryan, or Brien, was summoned to parliament in 1351; his son died in his lifetime, leaving two daughters, Philippa, married to Devereux, and afterwards to Scrope; and Elizabeth, married to Lovell. (fn. n10)

Arms: — Or, 3 piles in point, Azure.

Bottreaux, Baron Bottreaux of Molland Bottreaux. — This ancient baronial family resided at Molland Bottreaux, and at Bottreaux castle, in Cornwall, (now Boscastle,) from the reign of Henry I. William Baron Bottreaux was first summoned to parliament in 1367. The heiresses, or co-heiresses, of Corbet, Moels, Dawbeny, and St. Loe, married into this family. William, the last Baron Bottreaux, died in 1462, leaving a daughter and heiress, who brought the barony of Bottreaux to the Hungerfords, and through them to Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon.

Arms: — Arg. a griffin segreant, G., beaked and legged, Azure. (fn. n11)

Bonville, Baron Bonville. — Nicholas Bonville, who died in 1294, married the heiress of Pyne, of Shute. William, the fourth in descent from Nicholas, was summoned to parliament as Baron Bonville in 1449. Lord Bonville was beheaded after the battle of St. Alban's. His only son had been killed in battle not many months before at Wakefield: his granddaughter and heiress married Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset.

Arms: — Sable, six mullets, Arg., pierced, 3, 2, and 1.

Dinan, or Dinham, Baron Dinham. — The ancient family of Dinan had large possessions in this county and in Cornwall, and were founders of Hartland abbey. Oliver de Dinan, of Cardinham, in Cornwall, was summoned to parliament as a baron in the reign of Edward I.: his immediate descendant, Sir John Dinham, was summoned to parliament as Baron Dinham in 1464, and in 1485 was made Lord Treasurer. He died 1501, leaving no surviving issue. His sisters and co-heirs married Sir Foulke Fitzwarren, John Lord Zouch, Sir Nicholas Carew, and Sir Thomas Arundell. The Dinhams were possessed of Hemiock castle, in this county, by inheritance from the Hydons. John Lord Dinham rebuilt the house at Nutwell, in Woodbury, which had been an ancient inheritance of the family, and resided there. The heiress of De Arches, and a co-heiress of Lord Moels, married into this family, a younger branch of which, now extinct, settled at Wortham, in Lifton, and continued there for several descents.

Arms: — Gules, five lozenges conjoined in fesse, Ermine.

Brooke, Baron Cobham. — Holdich, in Thorncombe, was the seat of the family of Brooke from the reign of Henry III. till the attainder of Henry Lord Cobham, in the reign of James I. They had also a castle and park at Wycroft in Axminster. Sir John Brooke of Holdich and Wycroft was summoned to parliament as Baron Cobham (fn. n12) in 1472.

Arms: — G. on a chevron, Arg., a lion rampant, Sab. crowned, Or.

Crest: — A chapeaux, G., therefrom a wing of the same charged with a chevron, Arg., thereon a lion rampant, S. crowned, Or.

Supporters: — Two lions rampant.

Willoughby, Baron Broke. — Sir Robert Willoughby, who was summoned to parliament as Baron Broke in 1492, married the heiress of Champernowne, of Beer Ferrers. His son Robert, the second Lord Broke, who married a co-heiress of Beauchamp of Powick, died without surviving male issue. The daughters of his son Edward married Sir Fulke Greville (fn. n13) and Sir Francis Dautrey.

Arms: — Or, two bars, G., charged with three waterbougets, two, one, Arg., quartering Brooke and Latimer.

Crest: — An old man's head couped at the shoulders, ducally crowned, Or.

Mohun, Baron Mohun of Oakhampton. — John Mohun, descended from the ancient baronial family of Mohun of Dunster, was, in 1628, created a peer, by the title of Baron Mohun, of Oakhampton. The title became extinct by the death of Charles, the third Lord Mohun, who was killed in a duel with the Duke of Hamilton, to whom it also proved fatal, in 1712. The heiress of Lord Mohun married Arthur, Viscount Doneraile.

Arms: — Or, a cross engrailed, Sable.

Crest: — A dexter arm embowed, maunched, Erm. in the hand, Proper, a fleur-de-lis, Or.

Supporters: — Two lions rampant gardant, Arg., crowned with earls' coronets, Or, the balls, Arg.

Eliott, Baron Heathfield. — The first Lord Heathfield, the brave defender of Gibraltar (fn. n14) having married a daughter of Sir Francis Drake, Bart., who died in 1741, the late baronet of that name, who died in 1794, bequeathed Buckland Abbey, Nutwell in Woodbury, and other estates in Devon, to his nephew, Francis Augustus, the late Lord Heathfield, who resided at Nutwell, and died in 1813, when the title became extinct.

Arms: — G. on a bend, Arg., a baton, Az., on a chief of the last the fortress of Gibraltar, under it plus ultra, as an augmentation.

Crest: — A dexter arm holding a cutlass, Proper; the arm charged with a key.

Supporters: — On the dexter side a ram; on the sinister a goat, each wreathed with flowers round the neck.

Baronial Families not summoned to Parliament.

De Sap, Baron of Oakhampton. — The heiress married Avenell.

Arms: — Checky, Or, and Az., over all two bars, Argent.

Fitz Robert, or De Torrington, Baron of Torrington. — After six descents the co-heiresses married Merton, Waleis, Tracey, Sully, and Umfraville.

Arms: — G. 2 bars, and in chief a lion passant, Or.

Tracey, Baron of Barnstaple. — The heiress of Henry Tracey, who died about the latter end of Henry the Third's reign, married Nicholas Martin, Baron of Dartington, and afterwards Sir Jeffery Camville, and had issue by both.

The Traceys of Toddington, in Gloucestershire, of which the late Viscount Tracey was the representative, were of this family, but the early pedigrees are not sufficiently clear to enable us to ascertain the exact relation of this Henry. It is probable that the younger branch remained at Toddington; for it appears that William de Traci, the common ancestor, in the reign of Henry I. possessed both Toddington and the barony of Barnstaple. This William de Traci was a younger son of John de Sudely, Lord of Sudely, in Gloucestershire, by the heiress of Henry de Traci, who possessed the barony of Barnstaple in the reign of Henry I.

Arms: — Or, an escallop in chief, S. between 2 bends, Gules.

Nonant, Baron of Totnes. — The heiress married Beauchamp.

Arms: — Arg. a lion rampant, Gules.

Cantilupe, Baron of Totnes. — The heiress married Eudo le Zouch, in the reign of Henry III.

Arms: — Az. three leopards' faces jessant de lis, Or.

Brewer, or Briwere, Baron Brewer. — Dugdale, who spells the name Briwere, says that the first mention he had seen of the family was in the 26 of Henry II., when William Briwere purchased lands in Devon: but it may be observed that Ralph de Bruera, or Brewer, held three manors under Baldwin the Sheriff at the time of the Domesday survey. William Brewer, a powerful baron in the reign of King John, and a great favourite of that monarch, was founder of Tor and Dunkeswell abbies: his son William died without issue in 1232: Grace, the elder sister, married Braose, or Brus; Isabel married Dover, and afterwards Wake; Margaret, Ferte, or De Feritate; Alice, Mohun; and Joan, Percy.

Arms of Brewer: — Gules, 2 bends undy, Or: a different coat is assigned to Brewer of Teign Bruer.

Pomeroy, Baron of Berry. — This ancient family continued to possess the barony of Berry till the attainder of Sir Thomas Pomeroy, in the reign of Edward VI. The heiresses or co-heiresses of Valletort, Merton, Beavill, and Denzell, married into this family.

The elder branch of this family became extinct in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when the heiress is said to have married Penkevil: younger branches were of Sandridge and of Ingesdon in this county; a co-heiress of Pomeroy of Sandridge married Gilbert, ancestor of the Rev. Pomeroy Gilbert of Bodmin, about a century ago, About the middle of the seventeenth century the co-heiresses of Pomeroy of Ingesdon married Thomas and Ford. Arthur Pomeroy, Viscount Harberton, of the kingdom of Ireland, is supposed to be descended from a younger son of the Pomeroys of Ingesdon.

Arms of Pomeroy. — Or, a lion rampant, G., a border invecked of the second.

Valletort, Baron of Harberton. — Extinct about the year 1304: the co-heiresses married Corbet and Pomeroy.

Arms: — Arg. 3 bends, G., within a border, Sable bezanty.

Paganel, or Pannel, Baron of Bampton. — William Paganel married the grand-daughter and heiress of Walter de Douay, who possessed Bampton by the gift of William the Conqueror; his son Fulke married a coheiress of Averinches. The male line of Paganel became extinct after four descents, when the inheritance came to Sir John Cogan, whose grandfather had married the sister of the second William Paganel.

Arms: — Or, two lions passant in pale, Azure.

Irish Peer Extinct.

Ridgway, Earl of Londonderry. — John Ridgway, alias Pecock, purchased the manor of Tor Mohun, and resided at Torwood. His grandson was, in 1612, created a baronet; in 1616 Baron Ridgway of Galen Ridgway, in the county of Londonderry; and, in 1622, Earl of Londonderry. These titles became extinct by the death of Robert, the fourth Earl, in 1713. His only son, Henry Lord Ridgway, had died in 1708. Co-heiresses of Southcote and Mack-Williams, and the heiress of Weston, had married into this family. The co-heiresses of the last Earl of Londonderry married Arthur, Earl of Donegall, and Thomas Pitt, Esq., who, in 1719, was created Baron Londonderry, and, in 1726, Earl of Londonderry.

The original arms of Ridgway, alias Pecock, were, Arg. on a chevron engrailed three trefoils, Or, between three peacocks' heads erased, Az., their necks encircled with crowns, Or. The Ridgways afterwards bore Sable two angels' wings conjoined in fesse, the tips upwards, Argent.

Noblemen's Seats.

There are few remains of the ancient seats of the extinct nobility; the principal are, Colecombe castle, a seat of the Earls of Devon; Potheridge, the seat of the Duke of Albemarle; and Heanton Sachville, that of the Earl of Orford. There are some remains of Oakhampton Castle, a seat of the Earls of Devon; merely a tower of Hemiock Castle, a seat of the Dinhams; and a gateway only of the old mansion of the Bourchiers, Earls of Bath, near the seat of their representative, Sir Bourchier Wrey, Bart.