of Robert Cary (died 1540) of Clovelly. Floor of chancel, All Saints Church, Clovelly
Robert Cary (died 1540) of Cockington and Clovelly married three times: • Firstly to Jane Carew, daughter of Nicholas Carew, Baron Carew (1424–1471), of
Mohuns Ottery,
Luppitt, Devon, by whom he had two sons: • John Cary (born 1502), eldest son and heir, who inherited the manor of Cary. • Thomas Cary (died 1567), 2nd son, who inherited Cockington. • Secondly to Ames Hody (
alias Huddye), daughter of
Sir William Hody,
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer 1486–1512, by whom he had a son: • William Cary (died 1550) of Ladford • Thirdly to Margaret Fulkeram (died 1547), daughter and heiress of William Fulkeram of
Dartmouth, Devon. A branch of the Fulkeram family (
alias Fookeray, Fokeray, etc.,) were lords of the manor of Buckland Baron (
Buckland-in-the-Moor) in Haytor Hundred. by Margaret Fulkeram he had issue: •
Robert Cary (died 1586) of Clovelly (4th son).
Robert Cary (died 1586) of Clovelly, 4th son of his father, by his 3rd wife. He was given Clovelly by his father. He was the first Cary to be seated exclusively at Clovelly, the manors of Cary and Cockington having been inherited by his half-brothers. He was
Member of Parliament for
Barnstaple, Devon, in October 1553 and served as
Sheriff of Devon in 1555–56. He served as
Recorder of Barnstaple after 1560. He was a magistrate and along with several other members of the Devonshire gentry then serving as magistrates he died of
jail fever at the
Black Assize of Exeter 1586. He married Margaret Milliton, daughter of John Milliton and widow of John Giffard of
Yeo in the parish of
Alwington, North Devon. His large monument, with
strapwork decoration, survives against the south wall of the chancel of All Saints Church, Clovelly. Along the full length of the cornice is inscribed in gilt capitals:
Robertus Carius, Armiger, 1586 ("Robert Cary, Esquire, died in the year of Our Lord 1586"). On the base of the north side are shown two relief sculpted heraldic escutcheons, showing Cary
impaling Chequy argent and sable, a fess vairy argent and gules (Fulkeram, for his father) and Cary impaling
Sable, three swords pilewise points in base proper and hilts or (Poulett, for his grandfather). On the base of the west side is a similar escutcheon showing his own arms of Cary (of four quarters, 1st: Cary; 2nd:
Or, three piles in point azure (Bryan); 3rd:
Gules, a fess between three crescents argent (Holleway); 4th:
A chevron (unknown, possibly Hankford:
Sable, a chevron barry nebuly argent and gules) impaling
Gules, a chevron or between three millets hauriant argent (Milliton) George Cary (1543–1601), eldest son and heir of Robert Cary (died 1586), was
Sheriff of Devon in 1587. He constructed at Clovelly a harbour wall, surviving today, described by Risdon as ''"a pile to resist the inrushing of the sea's violent breach, that ships and boats may with the more safety harbour there"''. Clovelly's main export product was herring fish, which formerly appeared at certain times of the year in huge shoals, close off-shore in the shallow waters of the Bristol Channel, and such a harbour wall was a great benefit to the village fishermen, tenants of the Cary lords of the manor. He married three times: • Firstly to Christiana Stretchley, daughter and heiress of William Stretchley of Ermington in Devon and widow of Sir Christopher Chudleigh (1528–1570) of Ashton, by whom he had issue including: • William Cary (1576–1652) of Clovelly, JP, eldest son and heir. • Secondly to Elizabeth Bampfield, eldest daughter of
Richard Bampfield (1526–1594) of
Poltimore, Devon,
Sheriff of Devon in 1576; without issue. • Thirdly in 1586 to Catherine Russell (died 1632), of Sussex, by whom he had 3 sons and 3 daughters. William Cary (1576–1652), son and heir of George Cary (1543-1601), was Justice of the Peace for Devon, MP for
Mitchell, Cornwall, in 1604, eldest son and heir by his father's first wife. He is sometimes said to be the model for
Will Cary featured in
Westward Ho!, the 1855 novel by
Charles Kingsley (1819–1875), who appears in the narrative concerning the
Spanish Armada in 1588, although he would have been a boy aged just 12 at the time. However the "daring foreign exploits attributed to him are entirely fictional". author of the
Survey of Cornwall (1602),
Sheriff of Cornwall (1583 and 1586), and MP for
Saltash in 1584. By Gertrude Carew he had two daughters, Christiana Cary, eldest daughter, wife of Henry Helyar (died 1634) of
Coker Court in Somerset, son of Rev.
William Helyar (1559–1645),
Doctor of Divinity,
Archdeacon of Barnstaple and a chaplain to
Queen Elizabeth I; and Phillipa Cary (1603–1633), 2nd wife of John Docton (1600–1653) of
Docton, in the parish of Hartland, Devon, whose elaborate ledger stone survives in Clovelly Church, showing in the centre the arms of Docton (
Per fess gules and argent, two crescents in chief or another in base sable) impaling Cary. • Secondly he married Dorothy Gorges (died 1622), eldest daughter of Sir Edward Gorges of
Wraxall, Somerset by his wife Dorothy Speke. Her monument survives in the
Speke Chantry in
Exeter Cathedral. By Dorothy Gorges he had issue including: • Sir Robert Cary (1610–1675), of Clovelly, the eldest son and heir. • Rev. George Cary (1611–1680), of Clovelly, 2nd son,
Dean of Exeter and
Rector of
Shobrooke in Devon. His mural monument survives in Clovelly Church. • Thirdly in 1631 to Jane Elworthy, widow of Narcissus Mapowder of
Holsworthy, Devon. Sir Robert Cary (1610–1675), eldest son and heir of William Cary (1576-1652), was a
Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King Charles II. He died unmarried and without children. His mural monument survives in Clovelly Church, erected by his younger brother and heir George Cary (1611–1680) and inscribed as follows: :
"In memory of Sr Robert Cary Kt (sonne and heyre of William) Gentleman of the Privy Chamber unto King Charles the 2d who having served faithfully that glorious prince, Charles the Ist, in the long Civil Warr against his rebellious subjects, and both him and his sonne as a Justice of Peace, he dyed a batchelour in the 65 yeare of his age An. Dom. 1675. Peritura Perituris Reliqui". Rev. George Cary (1611–1680), the second son of William Cary (1576-1652), (1611-1680) was a
Professor (Doctor) of Divinity,
Dean of Exeter (amongst other duties responsible for the maintenance and decoration of the cathedral building) and
Rector of
Shobrooke in Devon. He was one of the
Worthies of Devon of
John Prince (died 1723). He married Anne Hancock, daughter of William Hancock (died 1625),
lord of the manor of
Combe Martin, Devon, by whom he had numerous children. He was educated at
Exeter Grammar School and in 1628 entered
The Queen's College, Oxford but later moved to
Exeter College, Oxford, much frequented by Devonians. His first clerical appointment was by his father as Rector of Clovelly. Following the
Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, he was appointed
Chaplain in Ordinary to King Charles II, after which he received the honour of a Doctorate in Divinity from Oxford University. At the bequest of the Lord Chamberlain he preached a Lent sermon before the king, for which was much thanked by the
Archbishop of Canterbury. During most of his career he lived about 44 miles south-east of Clovelly, at Exeter, and at Shobrooke, near
Crediton, 9 miles to the north-west of Exeter. Indeed it appears that until about 1702 Clovelly was occupied by his second cousins, the three brothers John Cary, George Cary (died 1702) and Anthony Cary (died 1694), sons of Robert Cary of
Yeo Vale, Alwington, near Clovelly. He rebuilt the rectory house at Shobrooke, which he found in a dilapidated state and made it "a commodious and gentile dwelling". As the
Emperor Augustus with the City of
Rome, so did Dean Cary with the Dean's House in Exeter "found it ruines but he left it a palace", as Prince suggests. the armorials of the latter's two wives appearing on the top of the monument as follows:
dexter:
Azure, a chevron between three mullets pierced or (Davie of Canonteign,
Christow);
sinister:
Or, a lion reguardant sable langued gules (Jenkyn of Cornwall). The Latin inscription is as follows:
Sir George Cary (1654–1685), eldest son and heir of Rev. George Cary, was knighted by King Charles II during his father's lifetime and in 1681 served as
Member of Parliament for
Okehampton, Devon, and occupied the honourable position of Recorder of
Okehampton. He married twice as follows, but left no children: • Firstly in 1676 to Elizabeth Jenkyn (1656–1677), daughter and co-heiress (with her sisters Anne Jenkyn, wife of
Sir John St Aubyn, 1st Baronet (1645–1687), of Trekenning, MP for
Mitchell and Catherine Jenkyn, wife of
John Trelawny (c. 1646 – 1680) of Trelawny, MP for
West Looe) of James Jenkyn of Trekenning, St. Columb Major, Cornwall. • Secondly in 1679 to Martha Davie, daughter and heiress of William Davie of
Canonteign in the parish of
Christow, Devon. The arms of Davie of Canonteign (
Azure, a chevron between three mullets pierced or) (a variant of Davie of
Creedy, Sandford) are shown on the top
dexter of the monument Sir George Cary erected to his father in Clovelly Church. Without issue.
William Cary (c. 1661 – 1710), younger son of Rev. George Cary (1611-1680), was twice
Member of Parliament for
Okehampton in Devon 1685-1687 and 1689-1695 and also for
Launceston in Cornwall 1695-1710. His mural monument survives in Clovelly Church. In 1704 he obtained a private
act of Parliament, ''''
(2 & 3 Ann. c. 33'' ), to allow him to sell
entailed lands in Somerset and to re-settle his Devon estates in order to pay debts and provide incomes for his younger children. He was suffering financial difficulties and applied to
Robert Harley for a lucrative government post to restore his finances: • George Cary (1701–1701), 3rd son, died an infant. • Ann Cary (1695–1728), eldest daughter, died unmarried aged 33. Her ledger stone slab survives on the floor of the chancel of Clovelly Church. She is also mentioned on the monument to her mother in Clovelly Church. • Elizabeth Cary (1699–1738), youngest daughter, wife of Robert Barber (died 1758) of
Ashmore in Dorset, by whom she had issue 2 sons and 4 daughters. She was the last of the Carys of Clovelly, which manor was sold in 1739, one year after her death, to
Zachary Hamlyn. Her mural monument, a marble tablet, survives in St Nicholas's Church, Ashmore, (now in the vestry, formerly on the north wall) inscribed as follows: :::
"In memory of Elizabeth, wife of Robert Barber of Ashmore, in the county of Dorset, Esq., by whom she left two sons, viz. : Robert Cary Barber and Jacob; and four daughters, viz. : Ann, Elizabeth, Lucy and Molly. She was daughter of William Cary of Clovelly, in the county of Devon, Esq. He was member of Parliament for Launceston, in the county of Cornwall. His first wife was Joan, aunt to the present Sir Will. Windham. His second wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Mansell of Britton Ferry, in the county of Glamorgan, Esq., nearly related to Lord Mansell. She was the last of the family of the Carys of Clovelly aforesaid, who descend from the ancient branch of the noble family of which was and are Cary Lord Hunsdon, Cary Lord Faulkland, Cary Lord Lepington and Monmouth, Sir Robert and Sir George Cary. She died in May 1738". ==Carys in Ireland==