Montbray In the
Domesday Book of 1086 'Teigne' is listed as the 97th of the 99 manors or other landholdings held by
Geoffrey de Montbray (died 1093),
Bishop of Coutances, and was occupied by his tenant Geoffrey de Trelly, lord of the manor of
Trelly in
Normandy, today in the département of
Manche, France. Teign passed to the
Feudal barony of Gloucester.
de la Pomeroy It later came into the possession of the de la Pomeroy family,
feudal barons of Berry Pomeroy in Devon.
St Mary du Val, Bayeux In about 1125 it was granted by Jocelyn de la Pomeray to the Canons (No.1455) Charter of Goslin de Pomeria, giving, with consent of Emma his wife, and Henry, Roger, Philip, Goslin, and Ralph his sons, by the hand of Richard (1107–1133)
Bishop of Bayeux, to the church of St. Mary du Val (
que dicitur “Valle”) to the canons there serving God, according to the rule of St. Augustine, in cloistered community, with all that follows: 60 acres in the parish of St. Omer, etc. … and half his swine and those of his heirs, when killed (
occisionem porcorum) in Normandy, and the tithe of his mares in Normandy and England and 40 shillings sterling (de Esterlins) from the rents (
gablo) of Berry-Pomeroy (
Bercium) every year on August 1, and the church and tithe of Berry, etc. and in England (sic) the tithe of his swine and of his mills of Berry etc. … and in England a manor called
(Canon) Teign (
Tigneam), and his chaplainry in England, namely, the tithe of wool, and cheese, and porkers, and lambs at Ottery (
Otrevum), and all belonging to his chaplainry (
capellarie) in England etc. … (Other gifts in Normandy by William son of Payn and Richard his son, a canon of the abbey, by Roger Capra, with consent of his wife Petronilla and son William, etc.)
Testibus istis: ("with these witnesses:")
Goslino de Pomeria cum filiis suis, Henrico, Rogerio, Philippo, Goslino; et Willelmo filio Pagani, cum filiis suis; et Hugone de Rosello, et Christino de Olleyo; Willelmo filio Ricardi; Waltero de Petra ficta; Willelmo de Rosello; Willelmo de Braio; Goslino de Braio; Roberto Buzone; Roberto de Curcell(is).
Merton Priory In 1267,
Merton Priory swapped various lands in Normandy for St Mary du Val's lands in Devon and Cornwall, including
Tregony,
Buckerell and Canonteign. In 1298-9, the priory was in litigation with Henry Pomeroy over this and other lands, but they settled their disputes and Merton retained its Devon lands.
Post-Dissolution After the
Dissolution of the Monasteries Canonteign was granted by the crown to
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (c.1485-1554/5),
Lord Lieutenant of Devon, amongst the huge grants he received in Devon (most notably
Tavistock Abbey) and elsewhere from King Henry VIII.
Berry , Devon:
Or, three bars gules Russell sold it to John Berry (
alias Bury), who having been engaged in the
Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549, was taken prisoner, carried to London, and executed for treason. John Berry's role in the Rebellion is described as follows in a contemporary tract: :"The chief captain of all, saving one, was the
Marquis of Exeter's man, and setteth forth the matter of the Cardinal so much, as indeed he maketh no other matter. His name is Berry, one of them which subscribed the Articles."
The Western Rebellion (1913) states: :"A thorough search through the detailed lists of the Marquis's servants does not disclose this name. According to his own account at the time of the first disturbance in Exeter, in June, 1549, he was servant, i.e. wore the livery of, Sir
Thomas Denys, [of
Holcombe Burnell] and he lived at Silverton. He had estates at Hartland, Ugborough, Tavistock, Plympton, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, and elsewhere. He was the son of Lewis Bury or Berry by his wife Margaret, who afterwards married Thomas Darke. The latter had the guardianship of John for four years, and then gave it to John Ashe of Sowton, who married Bury to his daughter". A footnote adds: "He was probably of the
Berrynarbor family and his wife's name may have been Cove; through her John inherited the estates of John Kyrton, in Blisland, where he usually lived. His second wife was Katherine, daughter of Lawrence Courtenay, of Ethy. He survived the Rebellion, dying the 28th April, 1569, leaving two sons, Robert and John, by his first wife". The estate was then granted to William Gibbs, having presumably
escheated to the crown.
Gibbon In the 17th century Canonteign was owned by the Gibbon family, and a monument survives in Christow Church to Elizabeth Gibbon (died 1660) and Thomas Gibbon (no date). An heiress of the Gibbon family is supposed to have brought it to the Davie family.
Davie Gilbert Davie (16th c.) The first member of the Davie family to have lived at the estate of Canonteign appears to have been Gilbert Davie (fl.16th c.), the second son of Robert Davie (d. circa 1570), a wealthy cloth merchant from
Crediton, Devon. At sometime between 1559 and 1578 Gilbert Davie (or possibly his father) acquired the manor of
Combe Lancey, near
Ruxford and
Creedy, which remained a possession of the Davies of Canonteign until the deaths in 1637 of Gilbert’s great-grand-daughter Anne Davie (the widow Parker, and wife of John Trelawny) and her heir and uncle John Davie of Christow, at which time it passed to a their cousin
Sir John Davie, 1st Baronet of Creedy. Gilbert Davie married Mary Gere (
alias Geer), daughter of John Gere of
Hevitree Robert Davie (1564-pre-1617) Robert Davie (1564-pre-1617), eldest son and heir, baptised at Crediton in 1564. His seal survives on a lease granted by him of Combe Lancey dated 8 April 1614 (Devon Record Office Z1/10/202, Shelley Archive), which shows the Davie "Bardolph" arms supposedly granted in 1594 to his uncle John Davie of Exeter and Creedy. He married Anne Northcote (1564–1637), a daughter of John Northcote (died 1587) of Crediton by his wife Elizabeth Dowrish (died 1587) of
Dowrish, near Crediton. Anne's brother was
John Northcote (1570–1632), of Hayne,
Newton St Cyres, near
Crediton (whose splendid monument with standing effigy exists in Newton St Cyres Church) who married Susan Pollard, a daughter of Sir Hugh Pollard, lord of the
manor of King's Nympton, and was the father of
Sir John Northcote, 1st Baronet (1599–1676), ancestor of the Northcote
Earls of Iddesleigh.
Gilbert Davie (1583–1627) Gilbert Davie (1583–1627), eldest son and heir, who in 1616 married Gertrude Pollard, a daughter of Sir Hugh Pollard, lord of the
manor of King's Nympton, and a sister of
Sir Lewis Pollard, 1st Baronet. He left a daughter and sole heiress Anne Davie (1617–1637), who married a member of the Trelawny family but died without issue, when her heir to Canonteign became her uncle John Davie of Christow.
John Davie of Christow John Davie of Christow (uncle), second son of Robert Davie (1564-pre-1617). one of the
Worthies of Devon of
John Prince (1643–1723), of whom he was an acquaintance. Prince described him as "The great
Aesculapius of his time in these
western parts". According to Lysons
Magna Britannia (1822) he was the last in the male line of the Davie family of Canonteign. His mural monument survives in the south aisle of the
Lady Chapel of
Exeter Cathedral and displays his sculpted bust, inscribed in Latin as follows:
In memoriam Edmundi Davy, Medicinae Doctoris, qui obiit vicessimo secundo die Jan(uarii) 1692 ("In memory of Edmund Davy, Doctor of Medicine, who died on the twenty second day of January 1692"). Above are shown the arms of Davie
Argent, a chevron sable between three mullets pierced gules, but with mullets shown
sable.
William Davie of Davie of Creedy, Sandford). Dexter top of mural monument in All Saints Church, Clovelly, Devon, to Dr. George Cary (1611–1680), lord of the
manor of Clovelly, and representing his daughter-in-law Martha Davie, daughter and heiress of William Davie of Canonteign, and second wife of his eldest son and heir, Sir George Cary (1654–1685) of Clovelly, who erected the monument William Davie, eldest son and heir, a Counsellor at Law and a
Justice of the Peace for Devon, whose daughter and sole heiress was Martha Davie who married Sir George Cary (1654–1685) lord of the
manor of Clovelly, but who left no children. The
de Via arms of Davie of Canonteign are shown on the mural monument in All Saints Church, Clovelly, to Dr. George Cary (1611–1680), lord of the
manor of Clovelly, representing his daughter-in-law Martha Davie.
Helyar Due to the foreclosure of a mortgage, Canonteign passed to the Helyar family, which lived for some time there. The Helyar family of Canonteign traces its ancestry back to Rev.
William Helyar (1559–1645)
Doctor of Divinity,
Archdeacon of Barnstaple, Devon, and a chaplain to
Queen Elizabeth I, who purchased the manor of Coker and obtained a grant of arms from the herald
William Camden in 1607:
Azure, a cross flory argent between four mullets pierced or. An earlier member of this family was Richard Helyar (died 1446),
Archdeacon of Cornwall in 1442 and
Archdeacon of Barnstaple in 1445, who was buried in the North Choir aisle of
Exeter Cathedral. was
Sheriff of Somerset in 1701 and
Member of Parliament for
Ilchester, Somerset, 1688–90 and for
Somerset 1714-22. He was the son and heir of Colonel William Helyar (1621/2-1697) of Coker,
Sheriff of Somerset in 1661, who as a Royalist during the Civil War had raised a troop of
horse for King Charles I and was a colonel in the king's army. In 1643 he had surrendered to
Fairfax and was in the
City of Exeter at its surrender in 1646. His estates were
sequestered and he
compounded for £1,522. Col. Helyar married Rachel Wyndham (died 1678), a daughter and co-heiress of
Sir Hugh Wyndham, 1st Baronet (died 1663) of Pilsden Court, Dorset.
William Helyar (1720–1783) William Helyar (1720–1783) (grandson), of
Coker Court in
East Coker, Somerset, and of Canonteign and of Blackhall, Devon. He was
Sheriff of Somerset in 1764. He was the only son of William Helyar (1693–1723) (eldest son and heir apparent of William Helyar (1662–1742), whom he predeceased) by his wife Mary Goddard, daughter of John Goddard of Gillingham, Dorset. In 1743 he married Betty Weston (died 1786), a daughter and co-heiress of William Weston of Callew Weston in Dorset.
William Helyar (1745–1820) William Helyar (1745–1820), eldest son and heir, of
Coker Court and Sedghill, Wiltshire,
Justice of the Peace. In 1777 he married Elizabeth Hawker (died 1834), second daughter and co-heiress of William Hawker of Luppitt, Devon, by his wife Elizabeth Welman, daughter and heiress of Thomas Welman of Poundisford Lodge, Somerset, youngest son of Isaac Welman of Poundisford Park, Pitminster, near Taunton, Somerset. In 1812 he sold the manors of Canonteign and Christow to
Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Baronet, later
Viscount Exmouth "of Canonteign". a few hundred yards to the south-west of the old manor house, called "Canonteign House". The old manor house was then converted and subdivided into a farmhouse and suffered thereafter a "gentle decline". •
Edward Pellew, 3rd Viscount Exmouth (1811–1876) •
Edward Fleetwood John Pellew, 4th Viscount Exmouth (1861–1899) • Edward Addington Hargreaves Pellew, 5th Viscount Exmouth (1890–1922) •
Henry Edward Pellew, 6th Viscount Exmouth (1828–1923) • Charles Ernest Pellew, 7th Viscount Exmouth (1863–1945) • Edward Irving Pownoll Pellew, 8th Viscount Exmouth (1868–1951) • Pownoll Irving Edward Pellew, 9th Viscount Exmouth (1908–1970). Between 1972 and 1975, the old manor house, until then suffering from "gentle decline", underwent a "radical restoration" his Spanish-born widow, née Maria Luisa, Marquesa de Olias, daughter of Luis de Urquijo, Marques de Amurrio. •
Paul Edward Pellew, 10th Viscount Exmouth (born 1940), who married firstly a Spanish wife and lives in
Mallorca, Spain. One of his sisters is Hon. Mary Pellew (born 1947),
High Sheriff of Devon in 2010/11, the wife of Robin d'Erlanger of Hensleigh, near
Tiverton, Devon. ==21st century==