Category: Devon - Meandering Through Time

Henry de Tracy and the Devon Manor of Lapford

9/2/2025

Nicholas Vincent, a Professor of Medieval History at the University of East Anglia wrote in 2004 that the descent of the de Tracy’s is a ‘veritable mare’s nest, from which few genealogists have emerged unscathed’ and how right he was! If an expert can say that, what chance does an enthusiastic amateur like me have?

Arms of de Tracy: Or, a lion passant sable between two bends gemelles gules

Firstly, my interest in this family is regarding one Henry de Tracy who was the overlord of the manor of Lapford, a parcel of the barony of Torrington, held by my ancestor Richard Umfreville, and secondly the feudal baronies of Bradninch, Barnstaple and Torrington. A Henry de Tracy is known to have held these baronies, or parts of them during the reigns of King Stephen, Henry II and King John. There is a Henry de Tracy who died in 1165 and there is a Henry, his great-grandson, who died in 1274, however ‘my’ Henry appears not to be either of them. He had been quite elusive until I looked into the life of William de Tracy, one of the four murderers of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. I discovered, to my delight, that he had a son named Henry, this Henry is the one I have been looking for.

Miniature of the martyrdom of Thomas Becket c 1430 – 1440, Harley MS 2900, f. 56v

In 1180, some ten years after his father died in the Holy Land, Henry, later named Henry the Hunchback* appears holding the aforementioned Devon manor of Lapford where he is said to have ‘enlarged the Norman church.’ It would seem that the families of the four murderers inherited their guilt and made amends with charitable donations and repaired or enlarging churches in their manors as a form of penance. In Henry de Tracy’s case, the church of All Saints in Lapford received a brand-new tower, and later when the cult of Becket took off, it would be rededicated and its name changed to St Thomas of Canterbury.

St Thomas of Canterbury, Lapford, Devon. Photo Credit Philip Halling

Henry de Tracy held the manor of Lapford until it passed to the crown and in 1189 when it was returned to the aforementioned Richard Umfreville

* In 1236, an inquisition into the Devon manor of Morton (Morton Hampstead) we can find Henry referred to as a hunchback:

‘... the martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury, for which deed he went into exile and the barony became the escheat of King Henry the king's ancestor. The same William had a son Henry de Tracy, le Bozu (a derogatory French term for a person with kyphosis or an abnormal convex curvature of the spine) was born in Normandy…’ - Inquisition Post Mortem, Saturday after St. Edmund the King, 4 Edw. I.

Catherine of Aragon

2/10/2021

On the 2nd October 1501, Catherine of Aragon arrived at the Devon port of Plymouth

Catherine was greeted by the nobility who escorted them to St Andrews Church where thanks were given for her safe arrival and outside the townspeople clamoured to welcome their distinguished foreign guests.

Catherine was later escorted to Exeter where she was to stay for fourteen days. On the 16th her future father-in-law, Henry VII, sent messengers with a letter of welcome and a delegation of courtiers to escort her to London.

Catherine was to be married to Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne of England and of course we know that this marriage was short lived. Catherine would become queen of England on her marriage to Henry, Arthur's brother and for the first eleven years of her marriage she would be happy, but in what would later be known as the Kings Great Matter her life would be turned upside down.

Catherine was renowned for her strength of character and virtue, and I wonder if she could have seen her future would have had reconsidered this English marriage as she left the Alhambra in Granada for the port of Corunna to board a boat to England.

Exeter - Devon's Trade Capital

7/8/2021

Did you know that Exeter was the centre of the Devon export trade?

In the 13th century, the Countess Wear Bridge (Weare was an estate, owned by the Earls of Devon, which was part of the manor of Topsham) This weir was named after Isabella de Fortibus, an ancestor of the Courtenay family. It has been stated that the countess built the weir in 1284, this caused problems with salmon fishing, it would also, later years prevent boats from reaching Exeter.

Another source states that Isabella built the weir ten years earlier incorporating a huge gap in the centre through which boats could pass. This gap however, was eventually blocked between the years 1307 and 1377 by her kinsmen Hugh Courtenay and his son also named Hugh, and as mentioned it had the effect of preventing ships reaching the quay at Exeter and thus forcing them to use the nearby port of Topsham. The ship owners had to pay a fee the Courtenay's for the privilege.

From the 16th through to the 18th century the city played an important part in processing and exporting woollen cloth.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

14/4/2020

Click here to In 1843, while performing a magic trick for his children, Isambard Kingdom Brunel accidentally inhaled a half sovereign coin, which became lodged in his windpipe.

The first attempt to free the coin by using as special pair of forceps didn't work, however, the second effort seems comical now, but no doubt wasn't then, involved a machine devised by Brunel (I'm not too sure that it was designed for this purpose) that eventually shook it loose.

Thank goodness this great man didn't choke to death, or we would not have had that wonderful bridge that spans the River Tamar between Devon and Cornwall or The Great Western Railway terminus at Paddington.edit.

The Battle Dyrham

5/7/2017

The Battle Dyrham in Gloucestershire in 577 severed the tie between the Britons of Wales and their sister tribes of Devon with the effect of allying the county with Cornwall. Just over one hundred years later, after the arrival of the Saxons, what remained of unconquered Devon would become part of Cornwall.

When the Saxon’s arrived the lives of the West Country people were turned upside down, no longer could they live their ‘clan’ existence but they had to conform to a new way of living, to the system of cultivation in the open field, areas split into our equivalent of allotments being one of them. In the year, 614 the Saxon's first attack met the people of Devon at Bindon, near Axemouth. Slinging stone have been found at the hill fort of Hawkesdown, this suggests that the Britons had the advantage. Despite this, the people of Devon were defeated enabling their enemy to take over the land of the Axe and Coly Valleys.

In 682, the Saxon king Centwine made another attack to the north of Dartmoor, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle tells us that "Centwine drove the Britons to the sea".

Battle of Torrington

16/2/2017

In what could be called a bit of a coup, Sir Ralph Hopton replaced Sir Richard Grenville at the head of the West Country royalist forces when Grenville refused to serve under Hopton and resigned his commission.

Beginning in the spring of 1643, Hopton's five Cornish regiments had defeated the Parliamentarian forces on Cornwall's border and were soon marching through neighboring Devon. By July, Hopton had led his forces in two battles, one at Crediton and at Landsdowne, where Hopton was injured. In 1644 Hopton, successfully defended Devizes from an attack by William Waller's forces and two years later he had taken up a defensive position in the Devon town of Torrington.

It was on the 16th February 1646, that Ralph Hopton faced the army of Thomas Fairfax in what is known as the Battle of Torrington.

A popular general, Thomas Fairfax, who was nearly twenty years younger than Hopton, had lead his troops to victory at the Battle of Nantwich in 1644, Naseby in 1645 and Colchester in 1648 and at thirty-two he had been appointed Commander in Chief of the New Model Army.

The 16th February 1646 turned out to be wet and cold, the combined forces of about seventeen thousand men fought on the narrow streets. No doubt the inhabitants of Torrington thought the bloodshed would never end, but end it did when gunpowder, that was stored in the parish church, was ignited by a stray spark. The explosion killed many from both sides effectively ending the battle. Ralph Hopton ordered to retreat, he and the remaining royalist army escaped back into Cornwall where he finally surrendered to Fairfax in Truro on 14 March.

The Battle of Torrington marked the end of Royalist resistance in the West Country.

Family History: The Mohun and de Tracy Families.

29/12/2016

While researching my medieval family history I have found numerous examples of the loss of reputation, land and
wealth - all that has taken one generation to accumulate, taken away by the next. The de Tracy and the Mohun family are
just one example. During the reign of King Stephen, the ancestors of William de Tracy, one of the murderers of Thomas Becket, feature in my family history, they benefited from the downfall of my ancestors, the Mohuns.

The de Tracy's held at least two baronies in Devon, that of Barnstaple and Bradninch. The Mohuns held the barony of Dunster
in Somerset.

For his part in an uprising in 1139, William Mohun has gone down in history as a man both hated and feared by the
population of the West Country, most of Williams ‘bad press’ appears in the ‘Gesta Stephani’ or ‘The Acts of Stephen’ a
12th century study of English history. According to this work, Mohun and other West Country rebels, ravaged the country
in order to obstruct the king.

He (King Stephen) also gave orders to Henry de Tracy, a skilled soldier, oft approved in the hazards of war, that acting
n his stead, because he was called away to other business, he should with all promptitude and diligence bestir himself
against the enemy. Henry therefore, in the Kings absence, set forth from Barnstaple, a town belonging to him and
enjoying privileges granted to him by the king, and made vigorous and determined attacks on his foes, so that he not
only restrained their wonted sallies and the unbridled, marauding raids in the neighbourhood, but also captured a hundred
and four horsemen in on cavalry encounter. At length, he so reduced and humbled William (Mohun) that he was able
to abandon further hostilities against him and to leave the country more peaceful and free from such disturbance"

My ancestor died in obscurity, and his family suffered as a direct result of the loss of 104 of his knights to Henry de Tracy.
As Mohun’s disgrace left the next generation to suffer the consequences of his actions, the De Tracy family were, for
a generation at least, rising stars, but like the Mohuns, the de Tracys too fell out of royal favour, William de Tracy, as we
have seen in a previous post, was one of the four men who had heard Henry II’s outburst "Will no one rid me of this t
urbulent priest?’ and then had gone on to murder Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, as a result the De Tracy lands in Devon
were forfeited to the crown.

In the image you can see Dunster Castle, that fell into disrepair, and its surrounding land during the time of the Anarchy.

Battle of Northam

26/6/2016

Soon after Hastings William the Conqueror was quick to realise the importance of securing the West Country, the first step in achieving this was to take Exeter, the fourth largest city in the country.

Exeter was still controlled by the Godwin family. Harold’s son had fled to Ireland but his mother, Gytha, who still lived within the city walls, held out against the Norman forces during William’s return to Normandy, however on his return to England he made the city his first port of call. Exeter’s city walls withstood an eighteen month winter siege, many of the Norman soldiers succumbed to the cold, eventually though Exeter fell and Gytha escaped with her granddaughters to island of Flatholme in the Bristol Channel. There is no mention of Harold's son’s at the Siege of Exeter and it may well be that they were already in Ireland.

Gytha’s stand at Exeter in 1068 wasn’t the last effort by the Godwin's to take back some control of their father's country. Inevitably though, Devon would submit to Norman control, but before that Harold’s sons would give the invaders a run for their money.

On the 26th June 1069, in the lush green fields that look over the Taw estuary, Godwine and Edmund landed with an invading force in what could actually be a rematch of the Battle of Hastings. New evidence has recently come to light that this battle took place in the fields that lie in between the villages of Northam and Appledore. The Godwin’s forces arrived from Ireland on board sixty four longs ships given to them by the Irish king of Leinster. The defending army was made up of Normans, Breton's and English headed by Brian of Brittany who had fought with the Conqueror at Hasting. Following the battle it is thought that a total more than 3,000 men died in this clash. Brian of Brittany was rewarded with lands in Cornwall, however the fates of the sons Harold is not known.

Edward Courtenay

18/9/2015

On the 18th September 1556, Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon died in Padua, Italy.

A number of 'ailments' have been suggested as the cause of the Earl's death, fever, syphilis, falling down a flight of stairs and even poisoning.

Edward Courtenay had Yorkist blood flowing through his veins, his grandmother was Catherine of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Catherine had married William Courtenay, Earl of Devon by 1496.

In 1538, at the age of twelve, Edward joined his parents Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter and Gertrude Blount in the Tower of London. His father was suspected of being in cahoots with Reginald Pole and Gertrude was accused of encouraging the traitorous behaviour of her husband. Henry Courtenay was executed at the end of 1539 and his wife was released at the start of the following year, however, Edward was to remain a prisoner, he would remain in the Tower of London for fifteen years. He was finally released on the 3rd August 1553.

After his release his fortunes improved, he was considered as a possible husband for Henry VIII's daughter Mary and when she married Phillip of Spain he set his sights on Elizabeth who would later become Elizabeth I. Edward and Elizabeth were suspected of being involved in the rebellion of Thomas Wyatt and others who were fearing persecution under Mary's rule.
They were both imprisoned, but when no evidence was found they were both released and Courtenay fled the country.

I've always wondered why this family, as a possible threat to the Tudor dynasty, were not hunted down like that of the family
of George Duke of Clarance's for instance, Henry VIII had no qualms about seeing off the aged Margaret Pole and
Henry VII had executed Edward's grandfather.

Maybe, this new generation didn't consider the Yorkists as much of a treat anymore?

Words on the engraving of Courtenay above state:

En! puer ac insons et adhuc juvenilibus annis,
Annos bis septem carcere clausus eram,
Me pater his tenuit vinclis quae filia solvit,
Sors mea sic tandem vertitur a superis.

Behold! a guiltless boy and still in his youthful years,
during twice-seven years had I been shut in prison,
the father held me in these chains which the daughter released,
thus at last is my fate being changed by the gods above."

Interestingly, in this engraving Courtenay stands in front of a crumbling castle, whats the significance of that do you think?

Castle Drogo: England's Last Castle

28/12/2014

Castle Drogo stands on a granite outcrop on the edge of Dartmoor, and from a distance, the stonework seems so perfect that you will be forgiven for thinking that it has been crafted by a child out of granite-coloured Lego bricks.

But Castle Drogo is a real castle, its walls are nearly six feet thick, it has battlements and working portcullis.

However, unlike the hundreds of castles built in Britain, this is one that has never had to endure an attack or a siege.

This twentieth-century castle was named after one Drogo de Teigne who is thought, by the castle's original owners, the Drewe family, to have been a Norman baron and their ancestor.

The Drewe family's time at this West Country castle began in 1911 when the building work began. Julius Drewe was a young and wealthy grocery tycoon and the original owner of Castle Drogo, his fortune was made through his Home & Colonial Stores. The first store arrived on our English high streets in 1883 and the last in 1903. Within those twenty years, Drewe built up a chain of over five hundred stores.

The story of the Drewes and Castle Drogo begins with a cousin who was the rector of the Parish of Drewsteignton with whom Julius had stayed on occasion. The fact that the name of the village was similar to his own did not go unnoticed and he soon became convinced that it was here, in this little piece of England, that his ancestors lived, the search for proof of this was soon underway. A link to the Drewe family in Elizabethan Devon and a knight in the court of King Charles I was soon found and this convinced Julius Drewe to build a new country home on the lands of his ancestors that matched his place in society, it was at this point that he decided that a castle would be a perfect way to add weight to his newly found social status.

The castle was completed only eight decades ago in 1931 and designed by architect Edwin Lutyens. Julius Drewe's castle was designed to appear as though it was rising from the cliff face as if it had grown 'organically over the centuries.' The building of Castle Drogo began in 1911, but the labour shortage due to the First World War saw the work on Drewes dream home come to a halt and the death of his son Adrian in 1917 from a mustard gas attack in Ypres France saw the end of his dream.

Since then the castle has been in much need of repair, the main problem area is the brickwork which has been severely damaged, the result of water pouring in from the original badly built roof. In 1974 Castle Drogo was given to the National Trust. It has also been given a Grade I listed building status and is presently in its second year of a 5-year conservation project to protect the castle from more water damage.

So was Julius's family of Norman origin or was he, as historians suggest, just a wealthy man with the desire to move up the social ladder with the money and the means to make it happen. Putting all the facts together it looks unlikely. The letter E was added to the family name in the same year work began on Castle Drogo when the information about the Drewe family of Devon was discovered. The Domesday Book has Drewsteignton as Taintone meaning a village by the Taine and by the thirteenth century, it was known as Teyngton Drue which derives its name from a local landowner Drewe de Teignton which could, if you wanted it to be, a link to a Drogo de Teigne.

I have much sympathy for Julius, why is it we scoff at men like him? Why do we say they have "ideas above their station" or
" they are trying to be someone they are not."

Don't some of us look back through history in the hope of finding a solid connection to our past, a something, an anything to attach ourselves to in a fragile world that we are unsure of? I certainly do. Don't we all look in estate agent's window and gaze in wonderment at those big houses with even bigger gardens and hope one day that we too might be living in one.

That is all Julius Drewe did, but what we don't like is the fact that he had the money to be able to do it.