2. William, born at Lapford, and died at North Tawton, 1638, leaving with other issue 3. William Kelland of North Tawton, gentleman, died 1672; having married, July 21, 1646, at North Tawton, Anne Jane, and had, with other issue 4. John, born 1651; married June 15, 1675, Jean Triggs, and died, leaving with other issue 5. Christopher, born 1679; died at North Tawton, 1758; having had issue 6. William, died at North Tawton, 1781; having married Mary Hole of North Tawton, by whom he had issue, an only child 7. Jane, died 1782. The property of the Kellands at North Tawton, afterwards passed to the late Capt. John Kelland, Durant, by whom it was sold to the late Lord Rolle, and is now the property of the Hon. Mark Rolle. MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS AT ST. MARY MAGDALENE CHURCH, TAUNTON. In answer to "Viator" (Western Antiquary, Part 7, Series IV., December, 1884), I am enabled to give the following Pedigree of the Courtenays referred to, which I know to be exactly true : John Kelland of Painsford, died 1679 (grandson of Richard Kelland of Lapford, living A.D. 1567), had with issue, John, died 1692, at Painsford, who had, with other issue, Susannah, his eldest daughter. This Susannah Kelland, married three times the first husband was Moses Gould of Hayes; she married secondly, William Courtenay of Methurfe and Tremere, M. P. Mitchell 1701, on whose death she married Arthur Champernowne of Dartington Hall, and finally died Oct., 8, 1716, and was buried at Dartington. His eldest son, William Courtenay, was born in 1706, and died at school, at Taunton, and was buried Dec., 1719, at St. Mary's Church, Taunton. He was the elder brother of Kelland Courtenay, the well-known scholar; M. P. Truro, 1734; Huntingdon 1747; who was the direct ancestor of the present Earl of Cork, Earl Spencer, and the Marquis of Exeter. The William Courtenay, who married Susannah Kelland, was the second son of Humphry Courtenay of Tremere, who was M. P. for West Looe and Mitchell; and Alice, his wife, daughter of Sir Peter Courtenay of Trethurfe; a full pedigree appears in Col. Vivian's Visitations of Cornwall. I may add that my esteemed neighbour, the Rev. T. Melhuish Comyns of Witheridge, now curate of Ladock, has supplied me with 78 registers of Courtenays of Trethurfe, extending down to 1806, which I shall be happy to show anyone interested in the matter. SIR W. H. FANCOURT MITCHELL. The death is announced of Sir William Henry Fancourt Mitchell, President of the Legislative Council of Victoria. Sir William Mitchell, who was knighted in 1875, was a near relative, I believe, nephew of the late Lieut.-Col, C. St. John Fancourt, who was elected M.P. for Barnstaple, in the Conservative interest in 1832; re-elected in 1835, but retired in 1837. POPHAM AND ANDREW FAMILIES. In the note of the marriage of the late Lieut.-Gen. E. W. Leybourne Popham with Miss Andrew in Burke, there is an obvious error, where it is stated that the late Ven. Archdeacon Andrew, married a Miss Courtenay. Arch. deacon Andrew, married a Miss Fitman of Alphington, his father, the late Dr. Andrew of Exeter, married Miss Courtenay of Powderham. RASHLEIGH. In answer to many enquiries I am enabled to give the following information relative to Rashleigh, the ances tral and original seat of perhaps the most eminent of the untitled gentry of England. Rashleigh is situate about 3 miles from my birthplace, and is now the property of the popular M.P. for South Devon, John Tremayne, Esq. Rashleigh Lands comprise 299 acres, Gapes Hole and Kinnlydown, comprise 279 acres, and smaller tenements make up the total to 612 acres. The first Rashleigh, who can be traced, is John Bray alias Rashleigh of Rashleigh, and Rashleigh who was living temp. Richard II. The heiress of the elder branch married Clotworthy, and thus carried Rashleigh into the Tremaynes. LEIGH OF BARDON AND OF RIDGE. Tradition records that the Leighs of Bardon, were a branch of the Leighs of Ridge. The present head of the family is Mr. Henry Leigh of 3 Plowden Buildings, E.C., Barrister, son of the late Mr. H. J. Leigh of Taunton, but Bardon is, Iunderstand now, the property of Mr. Wyndham of Salisbury. Ridge passed to the Quickes, afterwards by purchase to the writer's great-uncle, the late Mr. Philip Kelland of Lapford Court, and is now by bequest from him, the property of the Saunder family, his representative through a female branch. Can any of your readers identify the Bardon Leighs with the Ridge Leighs, the first of whom, Walter de Lega, held lands in Devonshire in the reign of Henry II.? SEPPINGS, KNIGHT. In answer to many inquiries privately, I am enabled to say that the late Sir Robert Seppings, F.R.S. of Plymouth, was born at Fakenham in Norfolk, and died at Taunton, in 1840, where a monument is erected to his memory. He married his cousin Miss Martha Milligan. sister of Lady Dacres. He left several children, one of whom is still living. Louisa, who married Ist, Edward Lock, Esq., son of Sir Joseph Lock of Oxford; and secondly, the Rev. W. Du Sautoy of Taunton. Another daughter married Major Harrison, R. M.L.I., and Helen married Mr. Daniel Godfrey of Abingdon, A daughter of Mrs. Godfrey, married last year, Capt. G. C. ThorneGeorge, of the family of West Buckland in this county. Sir Robert Seppings, was a celebrated naval architect, and repeatedly received the thanks of Parliament for his services. VEN. ROGER MASSEY. The Masseys of Pool Hall, are a younger branch of the Massies of Coddington and of Polford Hall, Co. Chester. The grandfather of the Archdeacon of Barnstaple, was Roger Massie or Massey, second son of Roger Massey, Esq., of Coddington. The Ven. Roger Massey, married Miss Anne Arnold, and died in 1798; leaving issue, one son, John, and four daughters. General Massey, one of the family, of whom a fine portrait is still preserved at Pool Hall, the seat of his collateral descendants, was one of the most distinguished military leaders during the civil war of the reign of Charles I. Pool Hall is now (1884-85) owned by the Archdeacon's nephew, Mr. F. E. Massey. J.P. who is married to the daughter of the late Mr. W. H. Hornby, who sat for Blackburn from 1857 to 1869. FLEMING OF PERTHSHIRE AND OF BIGADON. In answer to a private inquiry, the following is the Pedigree of this family: I. Alexander Fleming of the Bank, Lethendy, Blairgowrie, Co. Perth, married Betty Stephenson, and had issue inter alios 2. John Fleming of Bigadon, Devon, J. P., unsuccessfully contested Devonport, June, 1865, and Barnstaple, 1874; elected M.P. for Devonport, July, 1865, but unseated on petition; High Sheriff for Devon, 1877; b. at Lethendy, 1822; married 1859, Charlotte Mary, only child of John Blyth of London, and had, with other issue 3. John Blyth Fleming, b. 1860; married 1883, Eleanor Mary, daughter of W. H. Bickford Coham, J.P., of Coham, North Devon, on which he assumed the additional surname of Coham. THE LIVING OF BLACK TORRINGTON, NORTH DEVON. In answer to numerous inquiries, I am enabled to give the following particulars of the disposal of the living and of the new Rector : The living of Black Torrington belonged for many years to the family of Lord Poltimore, and was sold in 1882-83 to R. H. Jephson, Esq., one of the family of Jephson of Ireland, represented by Sir J. S. Jephson, Bart., sometime secretary to the Carlton Club, and Sir Denham Jephson-Norreys, Bart., who represented Mallow, from 1826-59. The present Rector, who was presented to the living in 1883 by Mr. Jephson, is the Rev. J. S. Jephson-Gardiner. The Rev. John Samuel Jephson-Gardiner, late Chaplain to the Earl of Dufferin, is a son of Arthur Gardiner, Esq., late of Dublin, but now of London, by Margarett, daughter of the late John Jephson, Esq., of Dublin. He was born 1843; educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated B.A. 1864; M.A. 1868; and took the Divinity Testament in 1866. He married in 1868, Sarah, daughter of the late James MacTier, Esq., of Belfast, Ireland. The Rev. J. S. Jephson-Gardiner, is related maternally to Sir D. Norreys and Sir J. S. Jephson. He is also related to the families of Holmes and Burroughs, of Limerick and Cork. He is a Freemason and Member of the Royal Arch Chapter. TATTERSHALLS OF EXBOURNE: The Rev. William Tattershall of Bishop's Bourne, Kent, in a letter to me, dated Nov. 28, says-" that in the notes of Mr. Walford, that the Tattershalls are related to the Burgoynes, Dukes of Norfolk, is incorrect." He knows nothing of the Burgoynes, but Mary, daughter of George Tattershall of Finchampstead, married Charles Howard; and Katharine (her sister), married Bernard (his brother), 8th son of the Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and from this marriage springs the present Ducal House of Norfolk. * Queries. * KINGDOM OF PLYMOUTH. Can any of your readers give me any information relative to this family? One of the daughters, Sophia, married, I believe, about 1790, the late Sir Mark Isambard Brunel of Hacqueville, Normandy; and her daughter married (I believe, in 1820) the late Sir Benjamin Hawes, K.C.B., M.P., for Lambeth and for Kinsale. BURNABY. The tradition is, that the family of Burnaby of Baggrave, represented by the late Col. Burnaby, of Khiva, and the late General Burnaby, came from Burnaby in Bratton Clovelly. Lyson's Devonshire, however, says that the family of Burnaby became extinct about the latter end of hte 16th century. Can any of your readers reconcile the above or give me a pedigree of the Burnabys? THE MANOR OF ROCKBEare. Who is Lord of this Manor? According to Walford's County Families, Mr. Porter is, while according to another account, Mr. C. H. Bidgood is quoted as such. THE MANOR OF ASHFOrd. According to Walford's County Families, Mr. J. M. Fisher is Lord of the Manor of Ashford, while, according to Kelly's Devon, George Langdon, Esq. and J. M. Fisher, Esq., share that honour, which is correct? BRETT OF DEVONSHIRE. Can any of your readers give me any information of the family of Brett or De Britto of Langabeare, Slottiscombe, and of Pilton, Devon? Risdon and Polwhele considered Alured de Britto descended from the British race. Margarett, daughter of Robert Brett, married Thos. Wise, ancestor of Mr. Tremayne, M. P. for South Devon. I have heard that Lord Justice Brett was the descendant of a younger branch. Is any reader of the Western Antiquary in possession of a pedigree of this family? RADFORD OF NORTH DEVON. I have heard that the Radfords of North Devon, now represented by the Rector of Downe St. Mary, were descended from the Chawleigh family. The earliest mention of the ancestors of the present Radfords is in 1731, when John Radford, Gent., of Witheridge, was buried. His son, the Rev. W. Radford, was many years Rector of Lapford, and died in 1763. HOLE OF DEVONSHIRE. Can any of your readers inform me who was the earliest known ancestor of the numerous and reputable family of Hole. Curiously enough, no pedigree of this family appears in Burke. William Helyar, M. P. for Ilchester, married in 1690, Joannah, daughter of Robert Hole of South Tawton. The Holes of Georgeham, appear to have sprung from Foldhay, in Zeal Monachorum. where they were substantial yeomen in 1700. The first Hole of Georgeham, married a Miss Chichester of Youlston. Under the Hole family of Caunton Manor in Newark, appears this note in Burke, "The Holes of Caunton, are traditionally supposed to be connected with the Holes of Devon, and have been resident at Caunton for more than three centuries." The Rev. Roger Hole, was vicar of Caunton in the year 1567. From this, it would appear that the Holes of Devon, date their origin previous to 1567. No doubt many of your readers can give me an approximate pedigree of this ancient family? TUCKER OF KING'S NYMPTON. In the original edition of Burke, appears a notice of this gentleman, the father of the gentleman who now worthily fills the position of Somerset Herald; in which it is stated that he was descended from Robert Tucker, who was Mayor of Exeter in 1543, and entertained the Spanish Ambassador with great magnificence, but under the Tucker of Coryton Park, it is stated that the line descended from Robert Tucker is now extinct. Can any of your readers reconcile the above statements? BUSK M.P. FOR BARNSTAPLE. In the return of Members of Parliament, it is stated that William Busk, Esq., was elected M.P. for Barnstaple, Jan. 16, 1812, on the death of G. W. Thellusson, Esq. Who was this gentleman? SIR EDMUND WILLIAMS. Who was this gentleman? I find in some old Devonshire newspapers, he married a Miss Hawker of Plymouth, about the end of last century. MADAN OF WESTMINSTER. I find that Lady Northcote, who, as the heiress of Kelland, possessed numerous estates at Paignton, Slapton, and elsewhere in this county which she afterwards sold, married, secondly, in 1754, of course after the decease of her husband, a Mr. Richard Madan, Gent., of Westminster. Can any of your numerous readers inform me whether she had issue of her second husband, and when she died? Burke does not even mention her second marriage. Her only daughter married a Mr. Paynter. Was this Mr. Paynter, one of the Paynters of Richmond? MARSHALL OF PETER'S MARLAND MANOR. Where is a pedigree of this family to be found? They owned the manor for many generations, which now belongs to Joseph Oldham, Esq., J.P. of Hatherleigh. WREFORD OF CLANNABOROUGH. I see in Burke's Landed Gentry, that the Wreford's originally came from Middlecotts in Morchard Bishop. Can anyone give me the connexion between the present respected squire of Clannaborough, Mr. John Wreford and Mr. Wreford of Sevenoaks, an active magistrate of Kent, and which is the elder branch? HARRINGTON. I find there lived at Hatherleigh, in the year 1813, a Lady Harrington, who married a Mr. Goss, of that place. Most of the Harringtons trace their descent from John de Harrington, who was living A.D. 1305. Can any of your readers inform me who was the husband? I have heard that he was the Mayor of Bath, and knighted by the Prince Regent. This Mr. Goss was the first cousin of the father of Mr. Clarke, the present popular M.P. for Abingdon. EASTON OF EASTON AND OF TAUNTON. I should like to know what connexion exists between the families of Easton of Easton and of Taunton. The well-known Mr. Charles Easton of Holton Hall, Suffolk, is of the latter branch. Barnstaple. W. H. KELLAND. THE OR, Note-Book for Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. GILDAS BADONICUS, CALLED GILDAS THE WISE, ALSO GILDAS THE QUERULOUS, BORN A.D. 520. A BY MRS. EDMUND BOGER. PERIOD of legends, myth and uncertain tradition of more than one hundred and fifty years, intervening between two periods of authentic history is a strange fact in the story of our Island. When we lose sight of it, it was Britain, when the curtain lifts, it is (almost) Saxon England. This strange time, which has been turned to such good account by Poets and Romance writers for more than a thousand years, was from the year 420, to that of 599 inclusive. The account of the four hundred and fifty years of Roman rule is clear and accurate. With their withdrawal begins the troublous times, when Picts, Scots, Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were struggling for possession of our land. The native Britons themselves yielded almost wholly to despair, and a thick mist settled down upon our annals. At first the darkness seems well-nigh impenetrable, anon we discern through the gloom, figures moving, there is a rushing to and fro, a pouring in of armed men, faint struggles, massacre and the groans of the dying. The ancient inhabitants are everywhere being forced further to the West as they give way before the fierce onslaught of their foes. But now there comes a change, a strange and weird glow of radiant brightness shines through the mist and lights it up with a. fearful beauty. The Western people have made a stand, they no longer give way, a champion [Vol. 4. comes forth out of the West, we see visions of Christian heroes struggling with Paynim hosts, fair pictures of brilliant deeds of arms, and, like a rock, the brave leader with his followers dashes back the waves of hostile progress. This, almost mythical epoch, is glorious while it lasts, but again the darkness settles down. The Western men (of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall) are turning their arms against each other, and a deep gloom like a funeral pall rests on the moving picture. It was in A.D. 520, the year of the great victory won by the arms of King Arthur at Mount Badon, that Gildas Badonicus or Gildas of Bath was born, and by the time he had come to man's estate, the bright gleam of hope, with which Arthur's victories and Arthur's greatness had imbued his countrymen, had faded away and Arthur died fighting against his own people. Somerset had of course, from its position borne the brunt of the struggle, but never, while Arthur lived, did the heathen cross its boundaries. It necessarily, however, fell first to the Saxons, but not till they too had embraced the Christian faith. Devon and Cornwall did not form an integral part of the Kingdom till perhaps the reign of Athelstan in the 10th century. With Arthur's death, a dull despair fell upon the Britons, and with this despair came the vices born of it. "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die," has ever been the feeble hopeless resolve of those who lack virtue and courage to defend themselves. Gildas, was a witness of the troubles, and the vices which were alike cause and effect of them, but he had neither the courage nor the energy to strive against them. His writings are chiefly remarkable for two things: first, the melancholy despairing tone of every word in them, for, with the exception of the "Lamentations of Jeremiah," they are perhaps the most sorrowful wail that ever was penned: secondly, the intimate knowledge they show of the whole Bible. Gildas, the son of British parents, and it is said of royal blood, was brought as an infant from Bath, where he was born, to the monastery of St. Iltutus, in Glamorganshire, but, as he grew in years, Somerset, by the valiant defence it made against the Saxons, being now considered safe from invasion, he returned to his native county, called Gladerhaf* by the Britons in order to complete his education at Ynis-witrin (Glastonbury) the largest and most learned monastery of the time. Here he took the vows and professed himself a monk. Whilst here, it is said that Guinivere sought refuge in the Abbey from her Husband's indignation at the discovery of her frailty. Arthur beseiged the monastery, but through the mediation of the Abbot, and Gildas himself-who was probably a relation-he was persuaded to receive back his Wife and depart peaceably. But troubles thickened, and, judging from the agreement between the legends and Gildas' own charges against his countrymen, it is plain that the vices of impurity and unchastity were rampant in the land. On the other hand from internal evidence alone it appears plain that he does scant justice to the bravery and resolution that the Britons showed in their battles with the Saxons, for when Gildas was writing, though a hundred years had elapsed since their coming, a large part of the country was still in possession of his fellow countrymen. He speaks too of the foreign warsmeaning the wars against the invaders-having ceased, so that the valour of Aurelius Ambrosius and his Nephew Arthur had won for them temporary peace at least. * See Camden. Of their brave endeavours to repulse the heathen, he makes but this slight and thankless mention. "The poor remnants of our nation, being strengthened, that they might not be brought to utter destruction, took arms under the conduct of Ambrosius Aurelianus, a modest man, who, of all the Roman Nation was then alone in the confusion of this troubled period by chance left alive. His parents, who, for their merit were adorned with the purple, had been slain in these same broils, and now his progeny, in these our days, although shamefully degenerated from the worthiness of their ancestors, provoke to battle their cruel conquerors, and by the goodness of God, obtain the victory." There is more in the same strain, so that, in spite of himself as it were, Gildas bears witness to the wonderful recovery of the country from its first disastrous overthrow by the heathen. But the ulcer that was eating away all that was brave and fair was the sin of impurity, to which the wild and beautiful romance of "King Arthur," by Sir Thomas Mallory-which is but a collection and digest of older legends-bears such grievous witness. But perhaps after all the most noteworthy fact in Gildas' writings is, his intimate acquaintance with the Bible. His quotations are from almost every book in it. He refers to and quotes, in some cases copiously, from Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah, and indeed almost all the prophets, as also from the Gospels and Epistles. He quotes also from some of the fathers, Ignatius, Polycarp, Basil Bishop of Cæsarea, etc. From each of these his gloomy nature delights in drawing denunciations against sinners. But Gildas' mournful diatribes had little or no effect, and it is remarkable that his copy of the Holy Scriptures was not St. Jerome's—or the Vulgate. For some time Gildas lived a hermit life on one, or, perhaps passing from one to the other, ot both of the two islets in the Bristol Channel, called respectively Ronech and Echin |