Blackborough, Devon

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Blackborough
Village hall, Blackborough (geograph 2856851).jpg
Village hall, Blackborough
Blackborough is located in Devon
Blackborough
Blackborough
Location within Devon
OS grid referenceST0960008825
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCULLOMPTON
Postcode districtEX15
Dialling code01884
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireDevon and Somerset
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Devon
50°52′19″N 3°17′10″W / 50.872°N 3.286°W / 50.872; -3.286Coordinates: 50°52′19″N 3°17′10″W / 50.872°N 3.286°W / 50.872; -3.286

Blackborough is a hamlet and former manor in the parish of Kentisbeare, Devon, England. It is situated within the Mid Devon district.[1] The nearest substantial town is Cullompton, approximately 4.7 miles (7.6 km) to the south-west. Within Blackborough are situated the large mansion of Blackborough House also notable are Hayne Farm and the Old Smithy. The former neo-Gothic Early English style parish church of All Saints, built in 1838 by George Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont, lord of the manor, who also built Blackborough House[1] was demolished in 1994, having become structurally unsafe. The churchyard however is still maintained and the ecclesiastical parish and parochial church council still exist.[2]

Descent of the manor[]

Baldwin the Sheriff[]

The manor of Blacheberie is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the 101st of the 176[3] holdings of Baldwin the Sheriff, a Norman magnate, 1st feudal baron of Okehampton,[4] seated at Okehampton Castle in Devon. Out of the 52 Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief of King William the Conqueror, his was the largest fiefdom in Devon. Before the Norman Conquest of 1066 it was held by the Anglo-Saxon Godric. Baldwin's tenant at Blacheberie was a certain William, possibly "William of Aller"[5] (in the parish of Cullompton), who held seven manors from him (including Kentisbeare), all within the hundred of Silverton. The feudal barony of Okehampton later passed to the Courtenay family, Earls of Devon. Blackborough was donated by a later feudal baron of Okehampton to Forde Abbey which later transferred it to Dunkeswell Abbey,[6] both in Devon.

de Bolegh[]

Arms of Bolegh of Blackburgh Bolley: Argent, on a chevron sable between three torteaux three bezants[7]

The earliest holder of Blackborough recorded by the Devon historian Sir William Pole (d.1635) is the family of de Bolegh (alias Bolley, Bolley, Bolhay, etc), the descent of which was as follows:[8]

  • Sir Hamelyn I de Bolegh, who lived during the reign of King Richard I (1189-1199).[9]
  • Sir Hugh de Bolegh. In the Book of Fees (c.1302) "Henry son of Henry and the heir of Hugh de Bolley" held lands in Kentisbeare, Ponsford, Kingsford and Catshayes (in Gittisham), from the Honour of Okehampton.[10]
  • Sir Hamelyn II de Bolegh
  • James de Bolegh, last in the male line, who left a daughter and heiress Amisia de Bolegh, wife of John Cobham.

Cobham[]

Arms of Cobham of Blackborough: Gules, on a chevron or three eagles displayed sable[11]

Sir John de Cobham married Amisia de Bolegh, heiress of Blackborough. He was a younger son of Baron Cobham of Cobham Hall in Kent.[12] The arms of "Cobham of Blackburgh Bolhay" are recorded by Pole as Gules, on a chevron or three eagles displayed sable,[11] which are a difference of the arms of the prominent family of Cobham of Cobham Hall in Kent, created Baron Cobham in 1313: Gules, on a chevron or three lions rampant sable, the heir of which family was Sir Thomas III Brooke (died 1439) of Holdich and Weycroft, Devon, grandson of Sir Thomas II Brooke (died 1418) of Holditch (whose monumental brass, together with that of his wife Joan Hanham, survives in Thorncombe Church), "by far the largest landowner in Somerset"[13] and served 13 times as a Member of Parliament for Somerset. John Cobham had issue by Amisia de Bolegh as follows:[8]

      • James Cobham, son and heir;
      • Isabel Cobham, wife of John Bampfield of Poltimore;[14] the arms of Cobham of Blackborough are amongst the 30 quarterings above the effigy and monument to Sir Amyas Bampfylde (1564–1626) in All Saints Church, North Molton.[15]
      • Elizabeth Cobham, wife of Sir Hugh Peverell, ancestress of Hastings, Earl of Huntington (via Hungerford);
      • Phillipa Cobham, wife of Nicholas Ingpen, ancestress (via Fitchet, Hill and Cheney) of Waldegrave of Suffolk;

James Cobham had descendants:[8]

  • John Cobham
  • John Cobham
  • Sir John Cobham of Blackborough, who left a daughter and heiress Elizabeth Cobham, wife of Walter Charleton, but died without issue. Charleton had conveyed the estate to Sir William Bonville of Shute, who after his death entered onto the estate, giving rise to a dispute with the families of Bampfield, Hungerford and Hill, right heirs of John Cobham and Amisia de Bolegh. The dispute was won by Bonville and thus Blackborough descended by the great heiress Cecily Bonville (1460-1529) to her grandson Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (1517–1554). On the attainder of the latter in 1554, the estate escheated to the crown, and was sold to Sir John Wyndham, of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset.[8]

Blackborough House[]

Main article: Blackborough House

Blackborough is home to the Grade II listed building Blackborough House. This was built in 1838 by George Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont. Originally designed as an Italianate palace, there were no funds to complete it on this scale, so it was constructed as two smaller, linked buildings.[16] The house was variously used as a school, a religious institution for wayfarers and for training conscientious objectors for relief work[17] As of 2016, the house is semi-derelict but has been purchased by a developer who plans to restore it and turn it into an events venue.[18]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Blackborough". Devon County Council. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  2. ^ "All Saints, Blackborough". A Church Near You. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  3. ^ Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985, Part 1, Chapter 16 (Blacheberie 16,101)
  4. ^ Sanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p.69
  5. ^ Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985, Part 2 (notes), 16,97
  6. ^ Thorn, Part 2 (notes), 16,101
  7. ^ Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.470
  8. ^ a b c d Pole, p.195
  9. ^ Risdon, p.90
  10. ^ Thorn, part 2, notes, 16, 98
  11. ^ a b Pole, p.476
  12. ^ Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.90.
  13. ^ Biography of "Brooke, Sir Thomas (c. 1355 – 1418), of Holditch in Thorncombe, Dorset and Weycroft in Axminster, Devon", published in History of Parliament: House of Commons 1386–1421, ed. J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe., 1993 [1]
  14. ^ Marriage not recorded in the Heraldic Visitations of Devon pedigree of Bampfield (Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.38)
  15. ^ See image File:BampfieldQuarterings SirAmyasBampfield NorthMoltonChurch Devon.JPG Similar 30 quarterings visible on funeral hatchment in Poltimore Church [2] to Sir Coplestone Bampfylde, 2nd Baronet (d.1691). For identification of arms see: Summers, Peter & Titterton, John, (eds.), Hatchments in Britain, Vol.7: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Somerset; Phillimore Press, Chichester, Sussex, 1988, pp.29-30, Poltimore
  16. ^ "Buildings at risk for sale - take your pick!". Save Britain's Heritage. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  17. ^ Smith, Stanley (1990). Spiceland Quaker Training Centre, Cups without saucers. York: William Sessions Limited. ISBN 1 85072 064 9.
  18. ^ "The Future of Blackborough House". Blackborough House. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
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