Werrington, Devon
| Werrington | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 St Martin's Church, Werrington | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 50°39’54"N, 4°21’58"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Launceston |
| Postcode: | PL15 |
| Dialling code: | 01566 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cornwall |
Werrington is a village in western Devon, within the part of that county which extends a finger to the west of the River Tamar, surrounded on three sides by Cornwall. The parish straddles the Tamar, with the village itself a mile to the west of the river and the same distance north of Launceston, Cornwall. It forms part of Devonshire's Black Torrington Hundred.
Geography
White's Devonshire Directory (1850) described the parish of Werrington as being near the River Tamar and the Bude Canal and having an area of c. 5,000 acres. Hamlets in the parish were listed as Yeolmbridge, Druxton and Eggbeer.[1] Druxton Bridge is a Grade II* listed 16th century road bridge.
Manor
The descent of the manor of Werrington was as follows:
Crown and Abbey
Before the Norman Conquest of 1066, the manor of Werrington is recorded (within the Black Torrington Hundred)[2] as a possession of Gytha of Wessex (died 1098 or 1107), the mother of King Harold II (d.1066). In the Domesday Book of 1086 it is recorded as Ulvredintone.[3]
In about 1066-8, Gytha gave the manor to Tavistock Abbey,[4] which held it until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Tudor and Stuart owners
At the Dissolution of the Monasteries Werrington was granted in 1540, together with most of the other possessions of Tavistock Abbey, by King Henry VIII to John Russell, 1st Baron Russell (1485–1555) (later 1st Earl of Bedford).[4] Russell sold the manor to Edward Woodward and Henry and Bartholomew Lucas.[5]
The manor of Werrington was acquired in 1620 by Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet (1588–1637), of Buckland Monachorum in Devon, nephew of the famous Admiral Sir Francis Drake (d.1596). In 1631 he obtained a royal licence to empark lands in Werrington and St Stephen by Launceston[6] and later rebuilt the manor house.[7] In 1649 Sir Francis Drake, 2nd Baronet (1617–1662) purchased the nearby manor of Launceston and the borough of Newport in the parish of St Stephen, and moved his main residence to Buckland Monachorum, whereupon he sold Werrington to Sir William Morice.[8]
The estate was sold in 1651[9] to Sir William Morice (1602–1676), Secretary of State to King Charles II,[7] who also purchased from the Drake family the manor of Launceston. The present mansion, today known as Werrington Park was built by one of his descendants in the 1730s, possibly to the design of William Kent,[10] which involved the demolition and re-siting of the parish church of St Martin.[11]
Later Modern Age
The manor with 11,000 acres[12] was purchased in 1775 by Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1714–1786), who further embellished the interior.[13] He also purchased all the outlying tenements in Newport and much property in the borough of Launceston.[14]
Between 1864 and 1882 Werrington passed through a succession of brief ownerships. In 1864 Werrington was purchased by Alexander Hey Campbell, a Manchester merchant, MP for Launceston from 1865 to 1868. In 1868 he sold it to William Wentworth Fitzwilliam Dick, of County Wicklow, who sold it in 1871 to Col. James Henry Deakin I (1823–1880), a Manchester merchant, briefly Member of Parliament for Launceston, who was succeeded in that seat by his son James Henry Deakin II (1851–1881). During this period much of the peripheral lands and properties of the estate were sold off.
The estate was acquired in 1882 by John Charles Williams (1861–1939) of Caerhays Castle,[15] who renovated the house, including a re-modelling of the East Range.[7]
Church of St Martin
The churches of Werrington and St Giles on the Heath, had the status of chapelries in the Middle Ages; the impropriators of the churches of North Petherwin (Tavistock Abbey) and St Stephen's by Launceston (Launceston Priory). A settlement of the dispute was made in 1500 in favour of the priory which undertook the cost of a resident chaplain to serve both Werrington and St Giles.[16]
The original site of the parish church of St Martin was in Werrington Park but it was re-built in 1742 on a new site in the Gothic style; the tower is from the old church. The front in the earliest Gothic Revival style suggests that the architect could have been William Kent. There are two fonts: one is plain and Norman and the other contemporary with the rebuilding.[7] There is a peal of eight bells.[17]
References
- ↑ Information on Werrington, Devon from GENUKI
- ↑ Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985, part 2, 1,50
- ↑ Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985, part 1, 1,50
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon (1959, first published 1954), p.513
- ↑ Cornwall Record Office, Werrington Estate Records, covering dates 1433 – 1909, ref: WW, Introduction
- ↑ Cornwall Record Office, Werrington Estate Records, covering dates 1433 – 1909, ref: WW, Introduction [1]
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Devon, 1952; 1989 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09596-8
- ↑ Cornwall Record Office, Werrington Estate Records, covering dates 1433 – 1909, ref: WW, Introduction
- ↑ Hoskins, p.513 "1651"
- ↑ Hoskins, p.513
- ↑ Hoskins, p.513
- ↑ Cornwall Record Office, Werrington Estate Records, covering dates 1433 – 1909, ref: WW, Introduction
- ↑ Hoskins, p.513
- ↑ Cornwall Record Office, Werrington Estate Records, covering dates 1433 – 1909, ref: WW, Introduction
- ↑ Cornwall Record Office, Werrington Estate Records, covering dates 1433 – 1909, ref: WW, Introduction
- ↑ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; p. 218
- ↑ Dove, R. H. (1982) A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain; 6th ed. Aldershot: Viggers; p. 116
- Cornwall Record Office, Werrington Estate Records, covering dates 1433 – 1909, ref: WW, Introduction
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Werrington, Devon) |
Books
- Hole, William, M.A. A Sermon Preached in the Parish Church of Werrington, Devon, at the consecration of that church, on Wednesday 7 December 1743. Oxford: James Fletcher (1743), p41