A book of the west. Volume 1, Devon : $b being an introduction to Devon and CornwallBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
A book of the west. Volume 1, Devon : $b being an introduction to Devon and Cornwall
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Devon (England)
There is much deserving of visit within reach of Honiton, Colyton
with its fine church, and the tomb of "Little Chokebone," a good
monument, long supposed to be that of Margaret, daughter of William,
Earl of Devon, and Katherine his wife, seventh daughter of Edward
IV., who was supposed to have been choked by a fish-bone in 1512.
But there is evidence that the lady lived long after the date of her
presumed death. What also tells fatally against the identification
is that the arms of Courtenay are impaled with the royal arms,
surrounded by the bordering componée, the well-known token of
_bastardy_. Now this belonged to the Beauforts, and the tomb is
either that of Margaret Beaufort, wife of Thomas, first Earl of
Devon, of that name, or else of one of their daughters.
Of Colcombe House, the great Courtenay, and then the Pole seat,
but a fragment remains. At Colyton is the Great House, a fine old
building, once the residence of the Yonges. The last of the family,
Sir George Yonge, was wont to say that he came in for £80,000 family
property, received as much as his wife's jointure, obtained a
similar sum in the Government offices he enjoyed, but that Honiton
had "swallowed it all" in election expenses. And when he stood for
the last time there, in embarrassed circumstances; because he could
not bribe as heavily as formerly, one of the burgesses spat in his
face. He died in 1812, aged eighty, a pensioner in Hampton Court,
and his body was brought down very privately to Colyton from fear of
arrest for debt. Another old house is Sand, the seat of the Huyshe
family.
[Illustration: HONITON LACE]
Honiton has become famous for its lace, although actually the
manufacture does not take place to any considerable extent in the
town, but in villages, as Beer, Branscombe, Ottery, etc.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century Honiton was a centre of
a flourishing trade in bone-lace, but how it was introduced is
very uncertain. It has been supposed, but not proved, that Flemish
refugees came to Honiton and introduced the art, but one does not
quite see why they should have come so far. There is an inscription
on a tombstone in Honiton churchyard to James Rodge, bone-lace
seller, who died July 27th, 1617, and bequeathed to the poor of the
parish the benefit of a hundred pounds. A similar bequest was made
in the same year by Mrs. Minifie, a lace maker, so that both lace
dealer and maker may have carried on their business for thirty years
before they died.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account