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Chapter Two Castles, Knights and Lords of the Manor We have looked at the possibility that Forrabury was founded on a Dark Age Celtic settlement and the evidence of an iron age cliff castle on Willapark. When the Romans left Britain they left a legacy that was very important to the Cornish – Christianity. There followed, between the arrival of the English in 449 and the coming of the Normans in 1066, the period known as the Dark Ages. The English were not Christian but still worshipped gods such as Wodin and Thor. However they did not reach Cornwall until after they had been converted to Christianity and so the Celtic Cornish Christians can fairly say that they have had the same religion for 1500 years. The Dark Ages were a time of few records but left us with our inscribed stones, like the one at Slaughterbridge, our stone crosses at Minster and Forrabury and many of our Cornish saints or holy men like Madryn. During this period there was continual fighting between the Celts and the English and although the Cornish were subdued by the English they were never fully conquered and still retained their language and Celtic Christian religion. Even so Anglo – Saxons were known to have been in the area of north – east Cornwall. King Centwine won a battle in north Devon and occupied north – east Cornwall. Some of the place names here have Anglo – Saxon origins like: Widemouth (OE WID), Canworthy (OE WORTHIG), Crackington Haven (OE HAEFEN), Otterham (OE HAMM). Centwine also fought a battle at Slaughterbridge in 722. King Egbert regained north – east Cornwall in 815AD and there followed the battle of Gafalforda. Egbert of Wessex was the first King of a united England in 829. Further evidence of the Anglo – Saxons in the area can be seen at Lanteglos-by-Camelford where there is a stone inscribed with an early form of English. Nearly 700 years after this period Richard Carew (1602) says that the Cornish people still showed a strong dislike for the English. Against this background of continual battles with the Anglo – Saxon English, the Cornish also had to contend with the Vikings. Evidence of their proximity can be seen in the island which is visible to the north-east of Boscastle. Lundy is old Norse for Puffin Island. At the time when Alfred the Great was King of Wessex they were threatening to overrun his kingdom. Cornwall, in addition, had to contend with raiding pirates from Ireland. This then is the background into which the Normans arrived. These are the people who had the biggest influence on modern Boscastle. They are also the people who gave the village its name. Following the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066, William Duke of Normandy was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066. He settled much of the lands of the English nobility on his own followers. Later in 1086 he instigated a survey of the land to know exactly what he had and who held it. This information was collated and became the Book of Winchester, perhaps better known as the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book records, as we have seen, the local settlement of Talkar alias Minster. The survey was used not only for a tax assessment it also assessed the land and its use so that 'every man should know his right and not usurp another'. It showed waste and under used land. North Cornwall must have seemed bleak and sparsely populated. Yet in the middle of a thirty mile stretch of inhospitable coastline was a sheltered inlet from the sea. A highway for commerce into this inaccessible land. According to the Domesday list for Cornwall William the Conqueror's half brother Robert Count of Mortain held Talcar and Thurstan held it for the Earl Mortain. William de Botreaux was given lands here and built a castle in order to stamp Norman authority on the area. This castle, Botreaux Castle, gave its name to the village. The Botreaux family came from Brittany in France. The people of Brittany spoke the same brythonic Celtic language as the people of Cornwall and they would have been able to converse with each other. The family descended from King Rollo the first king of Normandy and was related to Alan Fergant (the Red) Earl of Brittany who was created Earl of Richmond in England by William the Conqueror for his services at the battle of Hastings. The name Fergant possibly Ferphant, a phant being (a toad), as in Polyphant (Pool of the Toads) may account for the three toads which appear on the Fergant and Boterell coats of arms. Alan Fergant was the fourth son of Eudes Count de Panthievre and was a man of great wealth and prowess. His brother Etienne was Count of Panthievre and married Havise Countess of Guinchamp. Their son Geoffrey Botherel Count of Lamballe settled in England. He is recorded in Nettleshead, Surrey in 1139, in Wiltshire in 1107 – 1133 and in Hatfield Regis in 1139. He married Vigolenta and their son William Boterele is recorded in Wiltshire in 1107 – 1147 and then in Cornwall from 1130. Thus began a dynasty of Boterells, or family Botreaux, which lasted until 1462 when the last Botreaux lord of the manor of Botreaux Castle was killed at the second battle of St Albans. The following spellings of the name occur in medieval records:- (de Merio suo de) Castello Boterel, Assize Rolls, 1284; Castel Botereaus, ibid 1287; Botereles castel, ibid 1302 and 1370; Chastelboterel, Calendar of Charter Rolls, 1312; Castelboterel, Court Rolls, 1334; Botterellescastel, Seizin, 1338; Botrescastell, Patent Rolls, 1383; and Closed Rolls, 1392; Boterelles Castell, Episcopal Registers, 1400; Butters Castell, Calendar of Wills, Court of Canterbury, 1536. About 1550 Leland gave it as Botreaux Castelle vulgo Boscastel. The family name may be derived from a place in Normandy now called Les Bottereaux (Ekwall) or from a small place shown on a map of Brittany of 1513. It shows, in the extreme south east close to the Brittany Normandy border Tibidi Botorel. Another possible solution is that the name originally came from Cornwall. Brittany was the first British colonial settlement in history. It was overrun by a mass migration of the Celtic Cornish who were fleeing from the Kerns (Irish). The Amoricans in Brittany were displaced by the Cornish and the Cornish language was established there. Bod, bos, bo = dwelling. Terril is a Cornish Celtic personal name. Hence Botorel or Terrils dwelling. The Botreaux family were highly connected. William Boterell I married Alice Corbet the daughter of Sir Roger Corbet and the sister of Sybell who was a concubine of Henry1. This marriage may have resulted in the Botreaux family acquiring the manor of Worthyvale which had fallen to the crown by forfeiture. The Botreaux owned several manors and much land particularly between Boscastle and Launceston. Launceston was the ancient capital of Cornwall and the centre for justice and commerce. The Botreaux were involved not only in national government and with royalty but served as Sheriffs of Cornwall, knights of the shire, keeper of the keys to the kings castles and guardians of the priories. In 1166 William Botreaux II paid scutage (money paid in lieu of personal service to the king) for twelve knights fees in Cornwall because he had not accompanied the King on an expedition to Galway the previous year. He again paid scutage for twelve knights fees in Cornwall for the kings Scottish and Welsh expeditions. Perhaps he found himself tied up with more pressing matters. He was Sheriff of Cornwall from 1205 – 1209. He died in 1220 and his son William III came into possession of his father's lands. William IV took part, with other barons, in a rebellion against King Henry III in 1232 and some of his lands were seized. He died in 1243 and his lands passed to his brother Reginald. Reginald also took part against the King and had his lands seized. Prior to 1258 he was a witness to the Charter of St Leonards Hospital for lepers at Launceston near the current site of Polson Bridge. He died in 1272. William V was summoned on several occasions to perform military service, in 1277 against Llewellyn Prince of Wales and again in 1282. In 1299 he served the King overseas, and in 1300 against the Scots amongst others. He married Dionysia, daughter of Sir William Champernown. He died in 1302 having received a knighthood as Sir William Botreaux. On 4 February 1302 William Boterell had to contribute towards the kings levy on the occasion of his eldest daughter's marriage. A contemporary record says: The King instructs the Sheriff of Cornwall and Robert Gifford to let Willelmus de Boterall pay 25/- for each small manor for the aid of marrying his eldest daughter instead of 40/- as in the past. On the reverse it is noted 'William de Boterall holds in Lesnewth seven small manors'. (Henderson ms RIC) He was succeeded by his son William VI who already held a prominent position. He had been assessed in 1297 as holding lands or rents of the value of £20 or more and was therefore summoned to perform military service overseas with horses and arms. In 1301 and 1306 he fought against the Scots. He was knight for the shire in 1305 and again in 1322. He was Sheriff of Cornwall from 1320 – 1323. In 1325 he was appointed governor of Tintagel Castle. In 1331 he was made steward and keeper of all the castles, manors and parks in Cornwall. He died in 1340. William VI was succeeded by his brother Reginald. In 1324 he had been one of the joint guardians of the alien priories in Cornwall of which Minster was one. He was appointed Sheriff of Cornwall and Governor of St Michaels Mount in 1338. In that year on 5 May an inquiry was made into the possessions of the Black Prince at Dunheved (Launceston). This showed William de Boterell holding 12 manors in and around Boterellescastel. It also showed, as evidence that the English and the Cornish were considered races apart, 'John The Englishman' holding one fee in Wadenast. William's obligation to the Black Prince was to provide, in time of great war, at his own expense, for 40 days, one man for each manor held by him. These men were to be sufficiently armed for defence of the Castle at Launceston. On his death, his son William VII succeeded him. He had married his wife Isabella Lovell without license. As a result all her lands were forfeited to the crown and were granted to Thomas de Ferrars and Theobald de Monteny on 1 September 1337. He did not get back these lands until ten years later in 1347. He died in 1349 a few days after his wife, leaving his twelve year old son as heir. William VIII was born in 1337. In this year the population of Minster was 75 and the town of Botro Castle had a population of 181. After achieving majority he inherited his father's lands in 1359. He had married Elizabeth daughter of Sir Ralph D'Aubigny. He was summoned to parliament on 24 February 1368 as a baron. On 23 February 1369 he was paid £26.6s to cover expenses for himself, his men - at – arms and archers in the war. A month later he received further payment as a reward for 10 men – at – arms travelling abroad with the king. He travelled to Portugal in 1381 and 1382 to aid Ferdinand against John, King of Spain. He died in 1391 and was succeeded by his son William IX who died three years later leaving his five year old son William X as his heir. William X was born at Walton Manor in Kymmersdon, Somerset on 20 February 1389-90. He married twice. He had two daughters. Only Margaret survived him. He obtained a licence in 1413 to travel with his men and servants to Rome and Jerusalem. Two years later, as William Lord Botreaux, he set out again in service of the King. William's name came up in early chancery proceedings in 1433. On 1 January the previous year John Brykles, a merchant from London, alleged that Thomas Treffrye had taken possession of 15 tuns of wine. The wine had been forcibly taken from a Breton ship bound for London. The master of the ship Mawdelyn (Magdalene) was Dutchman, Laurence Boy. He and his crew took the wine to Fowey on Treffrye's instructions where Treffrye delivered 8 pipes of wine, in person, to Lord Botreaux who had carried it away. The rest he sold to confederates, victuallers, receivers and maintainers. Lord Botreaux died on the 15 May 1642 at the second battle of St Albans. He owned Botreaux Castle and fifteen other manors in Cornwall. He left no son. Through his daughter Margaret, the widow of Sir Robert Hungerford, the Botreaux baronies passed to the Hungerford family. Some of the surnames recorded that same year as living in the parishes of Forrabury and Minster relate to families still in the area today and include Gayor, Jollow, Veale, Mugford, Hambly, Knight, Wickett, Harper, Tubb, Callaway, Garde, Worthyvale, Kinsman, Garland, Philpe, Duke, Wakem, Blake, Slogatt, Stevens, Hoskin, Edwards, Gibbon, Hardy, Turner, Cowling, Juell, Kittowe, Bath, Mill, Symons and Bone. An indication of the Botreaux importance in Cornwall is shown by the fact that many of them were buried at St Thomas Priory in the county capital of Launceston. The family gave the advowsons of the churches of Egloskerry, Tremaine and St Gregory of Hill to the priory, in perpetuity, on condition that, when William or any of his heirs was buried there, an armed man would ride before the body. That armed man would then be given food and accommodation at the priory for himself and his horse for life. Evidence was given in 1328 before justices that this had happened. William de Botreaux had been buried at the priory and John Chamberleyn had ridden before his body. He was succeeded by Reginald who on his death was accompanied by Roger LeKey to his burial. Reginald's son was also buried at the priory accompanied by William Wynnolove. Reginald's heir William was accompanied by John Skewys. Skewys gave evidence that Chamberleyn, LeKeys and Wynnolove had all benefitted from the Botreaux legacy and was claiming his entitlements which were being denied to him. The castle built by the Botreaux stood on a steep prominence in the Jordan valley . The castle was of a motte and bailey type. Mottes were bases for mobile bands of cavalry, with archers, which were the Norman military units. They were usually conical mounds of earth, with a flat top, surrounded by a ditch. William de Botreaux built the earth motte of Botreaux Castle part of which is still visible today. It is accessed by a path beside the war memorial in Fore Street and opposite a pair of early cottages called Smugglers and Tinkers. The earth mound was topped with stout stone walls enclosing the building or tower inside. This was used as a watch tower, for the storage of weapons, as a firing post and a refuge. Attached to the motte would be a banked and palisade enclosure, the bailey. This was used for horses and for food preparation and storage. We have been unable to find any contemporary records of the castle. The earliest being William of Worcester, writing in 1461, alludes to the castle as "Castrum vocatum Botreaux Castel distat per duo militaria ultra Tintagel Castel". (Davies Gilberts History of Cornwall vol. Iv, 228). Carew writing in 1602 stated that: The diversified rooms of a prison in the castle for both sexes, better preserved by the inhabitants memory than by their own endurance, show the same, heretofore, to have existed some large jurisdiction. John Norden, writing in 1650, recorded that 'It was first builded by a baron of that name, (Botreaux) and continued long a Baronye and ended or discontinued by Henry Earl of Huntingdon'. Norden also included a drawing of Tintagel Castle, which had a similar ground plan to Botreaux Castle. In 1980 P. Sheppard notes in Historic Towns of Cornwall, that some stonework was recovered from the mound in 1812 and that both the inner and outer walls were then easily distinguishable. In 1906 in his Victoria County History of Cornwall, J. B. Cornish states that no sign of any building remains and this confirms what is said by Lysons in 1814 - that only a mound remains. This would lead us to believe that before 1812 stone work was removed, but as yet we have uncovered no major building work for which the stones may have been used. The remains of the manor house were demolished in 1818 and sold at auction by George Harman, committed of the estate on Miss Ann Amy. Did the castle stonework go the same way? The castle remains were examined and surveyed by McLaughlan in 1852. He noted that: ... about half the entrenched mound at the end of the promontory still remains, from which it seems probable that there was an outwork extending down the slope towards the mill. In 1873 MacLean stated: It is situate on the sharp spur of a hill at the junction of two valleys. On the lower, or northern side, the sites of the outer and of the inner walls are very distinguishable. They were of a circular form and are marked by mounds of rubbish, from which, we are informed, ashlar stones have from time to time been removed for building purposes. The defence on this side must have been strong but what protection existed on the other sides is not easy now to discern, the site being now occupied by cottages and gardens. We apprehend, however, that the castle could never have offered much resistance to an enemy, being commanded by higher ground on three of its sides. Most recently, the OS reported that: The castle presumably stood on a level site now occupied by a cottage and garden (at SX 0994 9081). It was probably isolated from the high grounds to the south by a ditch across the spur but all trace of this is now effaced by dwellings and gardens in Fore Street. The surviving earthworks on the north are somewhat enigmatic. The steep natural slopes of the spur have been scarped approximately 10 metres below the top to form a crescentic terrace up to 6 metres wide. An inturned terrace cuts into this terrace. A projected image of the castle ground plan overlaying the current street layout can be found here. When the Men's Club was demolished and replaced with the new Sports and Recreation Centre in 2000 an archaeological assessment of the site was carried out by the Exeter Archaeological Unit (Report No. 00.06). Tim Grant, a full-time archaeologist was assisted by Olaf Bayer who was completing his M.A. They had two days to carry out their examination before building work began. In their conclusions they state that no evidence was found on the eastern part of the site of a castle defensive ditch and that any such ditch was probably either set tight against the mound on the line Dunn Street/Fore Street or further west. They also state that a surviving depression that runs roughly parallel with the southern boundary of the site may represent the line of an excavated ditch extending the natural stream gully and that the central division of the site may represent the original western edge of the bailey. The gentle curve of the northern end of this central boundary closely resembles the surviving inturned entrance on the north eastern side of the bailey area. Pottery finds on the site covered a large time span but the earlier finds for the period 1200-1470 include one sherd of coarseware and 39 sherds of North Devon coarseware. On 16 October 2000 in the later stages of the building of the sports and recreation centre one of the workmen found what he thought might be a cannon ball made of metal about 3½” across and weighing 5lb 4oz. It was identified by John Gould of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit as coming from a 6 pound field cannon used from Tudor times until the mid 1800's. It was probably from a Civil War cache. Following the find June Metcalfe confirmed that she had found a similar cannon-ball in the garden of Orchard House when she lived there. After the First World War the Gard family built the village war memorial in Dunn Street on part of the site of the old castle. They had to dig deep to find bedrock to lay the foundations and in doing so found some large pieces of dressed granite which were in all likelihood from the castle building. These have been incorporated into the steps to the war memorial. The Botreaux were responsible for other buildings in the village one of which survived, albeit in ruins until the late 1800's. St James Chapel stood on the site of the present village hall at the top of Boscastle, in Gunpool Lane. It was the personal chapel of the Botreaux family and of Botreaux Castle. Being built before the reformation, like both Forrabury and Minster, it was originally a Roman Catholic chapel. Dedicated to St James the Apostle it was built because monks took over Minster church. It had the advantage of being near its congregation in Boscastle. In medieval times any church dedicated to St James would be likely to have a hostel for pilgrims nearby and possibly a basic hospital. Boscastle was a stopping-off place for pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St James of Compostella in Spain. Some sailed from South Wales to land in North Devon. Here they joined others who had travelled across land. There is a line of St James's churches showing their route through Kilkhampton, Jacobstow and Boscastle. They would travel on to Falmouth or Fowey to take ships to Spain. The chapel was situated just south of the castle and adjoining the Market House. It consisted of chancel, nave and western tower. The tower was 17ft square. The chapel was 60ft by 22ft. A sketch was made of it in ruins in 1846 by Mrs Gibbons the wife of the Reverend G.B. Gibbons and daughter of Sir William Trelawney. The date of its foundation is not known but records show that in William Decimerius returns to Edward the Third it returned an amount of ninepence halfpenny. Licences to celebrate Divine Offices were granted in September 1400 and April 1421 when it was described as the CHAPEL of St James the Apostle of Botreaux Castle within the parish of Minster. It was therefore not merely a chantry or gild chapel but was used for congregational purposes. By 1744 it was in ruins and described in the Bishop of Exeter's survey as 'the remains of what they tell me was formerly a chapel'. In 1800 its fortunes changed and it was re-roofed and the tower held a bell inscribed 'Sante Johannis ora pro nobis'. The bell was rung by a Mrs Mathews to notify the times of the services in the parish churches of Forrabury and Minster. It was also tolled for funerals. One day it was rung too enthusiastically for a wedding and cracked! It was removed and kept at the Boscastle Inn (Kiddlywinks) in Fore Street until it was stolen. Parts of the old building were cannibalised and reused in the present village hall. Some of the granite stones were built into the Wellington Hotel. The stone arch over the old village water supply in Gunpool may also be from the chapel. Several granite stones were used as kerbing in Fore Street. We do not know the date when it was finally demolished but Sir John Maclean writing in his survey of 1873 describes it as situated 'until lately'. With the chapel were two other properties, a dwellinghouse, orchard and gardens on the site of the National School (top school) in Fore Street and a strip of land running from the chapel, behind Orchard House, to what is now New Road. This was the burial ground to the chapel. Some burials were carried out within the chapel, signs of which have occurred when building work has been undertaken on the site. During the building of the St James Mission rooms in 1899 a vault was discovered under the grassy mound which was at the roadside where the small steps lead to the back door of the hall. Jim Pickard is reputed to have descended into the vault and on reporting what he found to the Rector was told to cover it up again. When the chapel was finally pulled down there was much anger in the village. A spate of vitriolic correspondence, some from churchwarden Langford, was published in the local newspaper. The Lord of the Manor and the Reverend Kirkness were accused of engineering its demolition! It was the Reverend William John Kirkness who carried out major restoration on Forrabury church but oversaw the demise of St James Chapel. He had become rector of Forrabury in 1843 and died on 15 June 1877 aged 68 years. Rector Henry Mitchinson Coverly Price MA reversed some of the earlier thinking. He launched an appeal to raise funds to build St James'Mission Chapel on the old site. He was rector of Forrabury from 1895 to 1906 when he died as the result of a carriage accident. During the reign of George III two acts of Parliament were passed which promoted the building of additional churches in populous parishes. Further Acts followed in the reign of Queen Victoria to try and make the previous Acts more effectual. On the 28 September 1901 a Trust was set up under the Church Buildings Act conveying the land to the trust. The opening date of St James'Mission Chapel had been a year earlier in September 1900. Subscriptions to the Buildings and Fittings Fund had raised the total of £408.19s.8d needed. Individual subscriptions came in from many people including the Lord of the Manor, Drs. Arthur and Charles Wade, Colonel and Mrs. Hawker and 'A Cornish Churchwoman'. The village raised money through sales of work, garden parties, concerts, dances and rummage sales much in the same way as today. Apart form £11.11s.0d from the Church Donations Box and a £20 Church Building Society grant all the money was raised by private subscription making it entirely appropriate that the building is now used by the whole village as a village amenity. The original fittings included kneelers, rails and an altar at the eastern end of the hall where the stage now stands. Rector Price clearly intended having weekday services there although I cannot find that any actually took place. Lectures certainly were held. During Lent 1903 six weekly lectures were delivered by Reverend Arthur G. Chapman which he illustrated with special lantern slides. By this time the building was being referred to as St James'Mission Room. Thanks to the efforts of the Reverend John Ayling the building and the adjacent land is now used as a Parish or Village Hall. It is run as a charity and governed by a Lease and Trust Deed made on 1 September 1993 between the Church authorities and Forrabury and Minster Parish Council. It is still a requirement of the deed that Forrabury and Minster Parochial Church Council may use it free of charge on twenty three separate occasions each year and that it must only be used on Sundays in accordance with the rights and doctrines of the Church of England but otherwise it is for use as a village hall for the inhabitants of the Parishes of Forrabury and Minster. The charity is administered by a Committee of Management who are the trustees of the charity and governed by the Charities Act 1960. Over the years the hall has been used for many and varied purposes. Having started as a place for religious worship and study, it has been used by the Parochial Church Council, The Mothers Union, British Legion and Womens Institute. The W.I. planted a beautiful pink cherry that stood at the east end of the hall in 1952 for the Queen's coronation. Boscastle school has made use of the rooms for school parties and plays. Many of us have seen our childrens school Nativity play there just before Christmas. Other education has taken place there. It is used by the Workers Education Authority for their classes and by pre-school playgroup and youth club and the Institute of Cornish Studies. Much fun has been had, as well as the odd argument at whist and beetle drives, jumble sales and craft fairs. During the second world war the Ginner Mawer school of Greek Deportment and Dance were evacuated to Boscastle. They used the hall for lessons as well as public performances. In more modern times we have had a wonderful succession of productions from the 'Cave of Harmony'. Since the opening of the new Boscastle Sports Hall less sporting activities are carried out in the hall although it is still equipped for bowls and table tennis. It is fully equipped with stage and stage lighting, facilities for lectures and talks and a full range of tables, seating, crocks and crockery for the large parties and wedding receptions that regularly take place there. A site initially used in Norman times for worship by the villagers is still in use today as a village amenity. On the death of William, Lord Botreaux, Knight, on 15 May 1462, the manor passed to his daughter Margaret who had married Sir Robert Hungerford. She was over forty years of age when she inherited and carried nineteen manors in Cornwall into the Hungerford family. The family of Margaret's husband Robert sold the manor of Botreaux to John Hender in 1575. The family of Hender is of great antiquity in this area. Their name possibly derives from the Manor of Hender in Trigg. David Hender levied a fine on John de Cornwaille, in Talkarn, in 1343. (Pede's Finium, 17 Edward 111, Trinity) John Hender was the son of William Hender of Botreaux Castle. Some of the families living in Forrabury and Minster in that year still have names familiar in the area today and include. Tyncke, Dawe, Hocken, Stephens, Martin, Roucke (Rooke), Veyle (Veale), Garland, Pethycke (Pethick), Yolton and Bridgman. John Hender was responsible for building the Elizabethan Manor House situated at the top of the village. It lay on the west side of Fore Street. A few remains were still standing in the 1870's. When John Hender died his daughter Elizabeth inherited the manor. She was the wife of William Cotton and through her the Cotton's became lords of the manor. The family of Cotton derives its name from the manor of Cotton in the county of Chester. William was the eldest son of William Cotton Senior who was educated at Queen's College Cambridge, and , whilst Prebendary of St Pauls, London and Archdeacon of Lewes was elected to the See of Exeter. The Bishop died on 26 August 1621 and is buried in Exeter Cathedral. His son William had followed him into the church. On 6 October 1606 he was collated to the office of Precentor in the Cathedral of Exeter and on 10 March 1613 he was admitted to the Rectory of Silverton in Devon. Six years later on 17 March 1619 he became Archdeacon of Totnes, a post he held for only a short time because on 15 February 1621 he became Bishop at Silverton. He is described as 'a person of meek and humble temper, of grand and sober conversation and of exemplary piety, charity and learning'. (Walker's Sufferings of the clergy, p. 24). In his will dated 26 April 1652 he left money to the parishes of Forrabury and Minster amongst other things for the benefit of the poor. On William's death in 1656 he was succeeded by his son Edward. Edward was educated at Christ Church, Oxford and was also admitted to Holy Orders in June 1660. During the Civil War he had, like his father remained steadfast in his loyalty to the king, voluntarily contributing to the Royal Army. He was present at the surrender of Exeter to Sir Thomas Fairfax, Commander-in-Chief of the Parliamentarian army. Fairfax with Oliver Cromwell formed the New Model Army which defeated Charles 1 at the battle of Naseby on 14 June 1645. Because of this Edward, like his father, was deprived of his ecclesiastical positions, had his goods plundered and was turned out of his parsonage. Edward died on 16 December 1675. His will left many charitable bequests and gifts to the poor. He was buried in Exeter Cathedral beneath a monument that describes him as charitable and pious. Yet the Cathedral Registers (Bodlein Library 35,227) describe him albeit after his death, as a person of disreputable character and one who shockingly profaned the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Edwards brother John Cotton succeeded to the manor of Bottreaux Castle. He was knighted by James 11 on 9 July 1685 for his loyalty to the king. He died in 1703 and the manor passed to his sister Elizabeth's son Edward Amy. One of Edward's brothers, James, was Rector of Forrabury and Minster. The manor continued in the family of Edward Amy until 1819 on the death of his last direct descendant Ann. Ann Amy was a 'lunatic'and died without marrying at the age of seventy nine. The manor passed to Edward's second cousin Thomas Amy. He had two daughters Rebecca Ann who married Richard Benoke and Catherine. From the marriage of their great aunt Bridget Amy descended Mr Thomas Rickard Avery and he, a distant family member, purchased the manor leaving it in 1858 to his niece Ann Avery Helyar. A long 300 years after John Hender had bought the manor in 1575 it ceased to be in the hands of his descendants. On the death of Miss Ann Avery Hellyar in 1885 it was put up for sale by her executors and was bought by Mr Henry Pige Leschallas. He was a successful Victorian businessman of Huguenot origin. He and his wife had six children and they lived at Highams, a large house at Sunningdale in Surrey. Born a Pige, he had lengthened his surname on inheriting the estate of his cousin John Leschallas in 1874. He bought the manor of Boscastle, and at the age of sixty, in 1893, he bought the estate of Glenfinart, close to the village of Ardentinny on the shores of Loch Long in Argyllshire, as a second home for use in the summer and as a shooting estate. He immediately embellished the house, which had belonged to the Douglas clan, and on the wall above the portico displayed the Leschallas crest, shield and motto 'de tout mon coeur'. The crest consists of a vine support up which a fruitful vine climbs reflecting the old L'echalas, a vine support post. The shield has two over-lapping hearts. The family emblem can also be seen in Boscastle on the southern most villa on New Road, one of the many building projects undertaken in the village. Henry Pige Leschallas died at the age of 71 in October 1903 not long after his eldest son returned from the Boer war. Just before his death he had purchased the Otterham Manor Estate for £5,000. His son John H.P. Leschallas, married Kathleen Badham at Westminster nine months later. They were both aged 29. On his father's death, John inherited Highams, Glenfinart and the manors of Boscastle and Otterham. They decided that his widowed mother would remain at Highams and they made their home at Glenfinart from their marriage in 1904 until 1926. The village of Boscastle celebrated the wedding by presenting the couple with a silver Warwick vase similar to that given to the bridegroom's sister on her marriage two years earlier. The vase was inscribed 'Presented to Captain J.H.P. Leschallas on the occasion of his marriage by the tenants of Boscastle and Otterham Manor Estates 22 June 1904'. It was modelled on a famous ancient Roman pottery vase, excavated near Tivoli in 1771. Known as the Warwick vase, the original was displayed at Warwick castle until removed to the Burrell Museum, Glasgow. On the day of the wedding, 22 June 1904, all the tenantry of the manor sat down to a dinner provided by Captain Leschallas. The catering was carried out by Mr H.W. Ince of the Wellington Hotel. After the dinner a tea was provided for all the children and young people of Boscastle. The arrangements for the tea were carried out by Mesdammes Couch, F. Pearn, J.A. Pearn, Sharrock, Sanders, Northcote, Brown, Nicholls, Wivell, Honey and Dingle and the Misses Sharrock, Faull, Northcote, Garland and Wivell. The room was decorated with flags, art muslin and evergreens. After the tea all the children were presented with an orange and a packet of sweets. They adjourned to a field, kindly lent by Dr Charlie Wade for sports which were organized by H.W. Ince, J. Cowling, E.W.Couch and W. Nicholls. They were entertained by Boscastle Band which was conducted by Mr W. Prout. The Leschallas family had taken over the running of the manor in difficult times. Henry Pige Leschalles was a business man first and foremost. His purchase of the manor would have been a investment. However the country was involved in the Boer War in South Africa from 1899 to 1902 and twelve years later was thrown into the First World War. When Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914 the forty-year-old Major, who had already served in South Africa with the Queen's Boys, had already written to a senior officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders volunteering his services to the regiment. In a letter dated 4 August he was offered the position of Captain. Two weeks later he was in Devonport. John Leschallas served with the British Expeditionary Force on the western front and records in his letters home being under fire in the trenches. Despite the war, work went on at home with the construction of the villas, Bottreaux House and Lundy View, the New Bridge in Quaytown and the opening of the Public Hall which took place in November 1909. The building which was opened by Capt J.H. Leschalles had acetylene lighting and was said to cost about £8 per annum to maintain. Due ceremony was given to the opening with the band being present and Mr Ernest Couch's young ladies choir who 'rendered a tableaux and song'. The Leschalles family acquired additional property which went into the manor estate following the death of Colonel Hawker who had taken out mortgages with Leschalles on several of his properties. The family were also responsible for overseeing the installation of a water and sewerage system in the village to which he made a substantial contribution. Both J.H.P. Leschallas and his son presided over the Courts Leet held at the Wellington Hotel where the manor provided a dinner and discussed the matters of the day. Officers of the manor like the pig ringer and town crier were appointed. Most villagers kept a pig for meat. If the pig escaped from its pen the pig ringer was responsible for rounding it up, putting a ring in its nose and returning it to the owner on payment of a fine. The cost of bringing Boscastle into the twentieth century, together with the vast improvements being made to Glenfinart in Scotland, appear to have put the then Major Leschallas's outgoings considerably in excess of his income. In order to make ends meet various parts of the Glenfinart estate together with some of the Ardentinny properties were sold. Maintaining Highams proved a heavy burden and the Manor of Boscastle was sold to George Bellamy in 1918 followed by the sale of Glenfinart House and its estate in 1926. The Bellamy family kept the manor only from the end of World War 1 to the end of World War 11 when they sold it to Thomas Percy Fulford a corn merchant from Launceston. He bought almost the entire village and many of the surrounding farms for £95,000. It was a speculative venture and he immediately put it up for auction to be sold as a whole or one hundred and forty four lots in 1946. Fortunately he decided to cancel the auction and offered each tenant the opportunity to buy their property and land for 'a reasonable sum'. Many cottages were sold for around £200 each. Other tenants chose not to buy properties, many of which were in a poor state of repair, still with outside toilets and only having very basic amenities. After nearly nine hundred years Boscastle ceased to be a manor and became open to the influences of the outside world. Houses, which had been the homes of people who worked and supported the community became second homes and holiday businesses until today Boscastle's own families can no longer afford to live in the homes that had been theirs for over 800years. |
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