The Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the WestRogers, W. H. Hamilton (William Henry Hamilton)
History
The Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West
Rogers, W. H. Hamilton (William Henry Hamilton)
Great Britain -- History -- Tudors, 1485-1603; Great Britain -- History -- Wars of the Roses, 1455-1485
We have made pilgrimage to, and described what remains of the old
ancestral home of the knight in Wiltshire, and our steps next lead us
to the locality of the new one he possessed by right of his wife at
Beer-Ferrers in Devon. Like all places situate on the estuaries of
large rivers such as the Tamar, that are tidal, and fringed by creeks
that run considerable distances inland, Beer-Ferrers on the land side
is only to be reached by a circuitous route from Plymouth, and
therefore we elect the easier and more direct approach to it, by aid
of the iron horse to Saltash, and thence by boat.
The tide is well up, and a pleasant breeze soon speeds us on our way.
We pass the Budshead creek, that extends inland to Tamerton-Foliot,
and are soon opposite a second and somewhat larger opening that runs
up to Maristow, where, at its far end, the sparkling Tavy, fresh from
the granite boulders of Dartmoor, delivereth her waters into the salt
bosom of the lower Tamar. At about mid-distance up the creek on its
northern shore, a small compact village, with a square battlemented
church tower rising in the midst, has its place on the bank that
slopes gently down to the water's edge. Thither we steer our way, and
making fast our little craft to the pier, or 'quay' as these landing
places are locally termed, find ourselves at Beer-Ferrers.
And where shall we discover this new home, you say, that Lord
Willoughby de Broke acquired by right of Blanche Champernowne, and
when in the flesh possessed and resided in, with surrounding park, and
for which mansion or manor-house, his wife's ancestor Sir William de
Ferrers had a license to castellate from king Edward III. in 1337, a
concession subsequently renewed to his widow the Lady Matilda, and
continued to his son Sir John?
Even in Leland's time, immediately after the decease of the last Lord
Willoughby de Broke, it seems to have disappeared, for he notes:--"on
the east side of this creek is Buckland. And on the west side is Bere,
_where the Lord Broke's house and park was_." We believe nothing now
remains to mark its former site but a few undulations in the turf. A
graphic picture of the lawlessness of the era of Lord Willoughby de
Broke's earlier residence at Beer-Ferrers, and the amenities of social
life exhibited between the "bettermost folk" of that district, and
comparatively neighbours also, is shewn in an account preserved among
the muniments of the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, describing attacks made
on the person, servants and residence of his ancestor Richard Edgcumbe
of Cotehele (M.P. for Tavistock in 1468) by Robert Willoughby of
Beer-Ferrers, and thus described by the Earl to the members of the
Royal Archæological Society in 1876:--
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