Great Fulford is an historic estate in the parish of Dunsford, Devon. The grade I listedListed building text manor house, known as Great Fulford House, is about 9 miles west of Exeter. Its site was said in 1810 to be "probably the most ancient in the county".Prince, p.395, 1810 footnote 5 (1810) The present mansion house is Tudor (16th century) with refurbishment from the late 17th century and further remodelling from about 1800.Listed building text The prefix "Great" dates from the late 17th century and served to distinguish it from the mansion house known as "Little Fulford"later known as Shobrooke Park, which was destroyed by fire in 1947.(Pevsner, p.729) in the parish of Shobrooke, Devon, about 8 miles to the north-east, also owned briefly by Col. Francis Fulford (1666–1700), as a result of his marriage to the heiress of the Tuckfield family. Great Fulford has been the residence of the Fulford family (originally "de Fulford"), which took its name from the estate, from the reign of King Richard I (1189–1199) to the present day. In 2004, the estate comprised 3,000 acres (1,200 ha).Fulford, Francis, Bearing Up, 2004, p.122
Descent The descent of the estate was as follows:Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, pp. 847–8, pedigree of Fulford of Fulford.
Honour of Okehampton In the Domesday Book of 1086, Foleford is listed as the 132nd of the 176 holdings of Baldwin FitzGilbertThorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985, part 1, 16,132 (died 1090), Sheriff of Devon (alias Baldwin the Sheriff, Baldwin of Exeter, Baldwin de Meulles/Moels and Baldwin du Sap), an Anglo-Norman magnate and one of the 52 Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief of King William the Conqueror. He was the first feudal baron of Okehampton, which barony, known as the Honour of Okehampton, was later inherited by the Courtenay family, later Earls of Devon.
Modbert Baldwin FitzGilbert's tenant in 1086 was Modbert, who also held from him the Devonshire manors of Kelly,Thorn & Thorn, 16,11 Broadwood Kelly,Thorn & Thorn, 16,26 EggbeerThorn & Thorn, 16,130 and Uppacott.Thorn & Thorn, 16,131
Kelly Modbert's heirs in all these five manors appear to have been the de Kelly family.Thorn & Thorn, part 2 (notes) to 16,11;26;130;131;132
Fulford
Pre-15th century Fulfords The de Fulford family is first recorded as resident at Fulford during the reign of King Richard I (1189–1199). According to Rev. John Prince (died 1723), the name of this family was Latinized to de Turpi Vado ("from the foul ford" (i.e.muddy ford)).Prince, p.392 Records of Feudal Aids record John de Kelli had as his tenant of Fulford a certain William de Foleford.Thorn & Thorn, part 2 (notes), 16,132 The descent of Fulford was as follows:Vivian, 1895 Edmond Fulford John Fulford (son), who married Alicia FitzUrse, daughter and co-heiress of Ralph FitzUrse of Williton in Somerset,Burke, 1838, p.158 son and heir of Sir Reginald FitzUrse.Vivian, p.378, names translated from Latin The canting arms of FitzUrse showed bears (Latin: ursus, French: ours), (Argent, on a bend sable three bear's heads and necks erased of the first) which theme is maintained in the Fulford crest A bear's head erased sable muzzled or and motto "Bear Up", which inspired the title of Francis Fulford's 2004 book Bearing Up. Sir Reginald FitzUrse (1145–1173) was one of the four knights who murdered Thomas Becket in 1170. His name is derived from Fitz, a contracted form of the Norman-French fils de, meaning "son of" and "Urse" from the Latin ursus, meaning a bear (French: ours), probable nom de guerre of his ancestor. Although he lived before the true age of heraldry which developed in the early 13th century, his shield bore the cognizance of a bear, which is visible in a contemporary drawingSee Harley MS 5102, f. 32, British Library:File:Thomas Becket Murder.JPG portraying the murder of Becket. Henry de Fulford (son) William de Fulford (son) William de Fulford (son). Either the first or second William married Mariot Belston, one of the three daughters and co-heiresses of Sir Baldwin de Belston of Belstone,Pole, p.368 situated 10 miles west of Fulford. The Fulfords inherited a one third moietyPole, p.369 of the manor of Belstone and several generations later Col. Sir Francis Fulford (c. 1583 – 1664) was stated by his contemporary Sir William Pole (died 1635), to be patron of Belstone Church. The arms of de Belston (Or, on a bend gules three crosses formée argent) appear as the 4th quartering on the 16th century escutcheon above the entrance to Great Fulford House. Thomas de Fulford (son), who married the daughter and heiress of "Mourton". The arms Argent, a chevron between three moorcocks sable appear as the 3rd quartering on the 16th century escutcheon above the entrance to Great Fulford House, which according to Pole (died 1635) are the arms of "Moore of Moore",Pole, p.493 possibly Moore, near Tavistock.Pole, p.220 These arms with tinctures also appear in the Fulford Chapel of Dunsford Church, namely in the 19th century heraldic window and (as a painted restoration) on the monument to Sir Thomas Fulford (died 1610). John de Fulford (son) Henry de Fulford (son), who married Willmot Brian, daughter and heiress of Phillip Brian.
Sir Baldwin de Fulford (died 1461/1476) Sir Baldwin de Fulford (died 1476)Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition, London, p.394 (son), Sheriff of Devon in 1460, a Knight of the Sepulchre and Under-Admiral to John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter (died 1447), High Admiral of England. According to the Devonshire biographer John Prince (1643–1723): He was a great soldier and a traveller of so undaunted resolution that for the honor and liberty of a royal lady in a castle besieged by the infidels, he fought a combat with a Sarazen, for bulk and bigness an unequal match (as the representation of him cut in the wainscot in Fulford House doth plainly shew), whom yet he vanquish'd, and rescu'd the lady. In commemoration of this victory supporters to the arms of the family were granted (generally reserved as a privilege of the nobility alone) of two Saracens, which they still retain,Prince, 1810 edition, editor's note 5, p.395 and which survive today sculpted in relief on the 16th century wooden panelling of the Great Hall of Great Fulford House, as Prince noted. The carved wooden figure of a Saracen tops the newel post at the base of the Great Staircase.
He may be the same Sir Baldwin Fulford who as is recorded by Stow (d.1605) was executed in Bristol Castle in 1461, in fulfilment of his bond to King Edward IV that he would either kill the Earl of Warwick, who was then plotting to dethrone the reigning sovereign, or lose his own head.Barrett, William, History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol, 1789, p.220-1
He married ElizabethVivian, p.127 (or Jennet) Bosome, daughter and heiress of John Bosome (alias Bosom, Bozun, Bosum, etc.) of Bosom's Hele (alias Bozunsele, etc., modern: "Bozomzeal"Pevsner, p.336), in the parish of Dittisham, near Dartmouth, Devon,Risdon, pp. 167–8; Pole, p.291 by his wife Johane Fortescue. Elizabeth Bozom survived her husband and married secondly to Sir William Huddesfield (died 1499), of Shillingford St. George, Devon, Attorney General to King Edward IV (1461–1483). Huddesfield married secondly (as her third husband) to Katherine Courtenay, a daughter of Sir Philip Courtenay (died 1463) of Powderham, Devon. A monumental brass of Huddesfield and his second wife Katherine Courtenay survives in Shillingford St George Church,Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.727; a framed rubbing of the brass hangs in the chapel of Powderham Castle and the arms of Bosome (Azure, three bird bolts in pale points downward or) survive in a stained glass window in the same church.Rogers, William Henry Hamilton, Wiltshire Notes & Queries, Vol.III, 1899-1901, Devizes, 1902, pp. 336–345, Sir William Huddesfield and Katherine Courtenay his Wife, Shillingford Church, Devon By Jennet Bosome, heiress of Bozum's Hele,Risdon, p.168: "This land descended unto Sir Francis Fulford" he had children two sons and two daughters, namely Thomasine Fulford, who married John Wise of Sydenham House, from whom was descended John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (c. 1485 – 1555), the most powerful magnate in Devon, and another daughter Alice Fulford, who married Sir William Cary of Cockington, from whom was descended Lord Hunsdon and the Earls of Monmouth and Dover.Prince, p.394 His younger son was John Fulford (died 1518), a Canon of Exeter Cathedral and Archdeacon successively of Totnes, Cornwall and Exeter, whose large black marble ledger stone survives in Exeter Cathedral, behind the high altar (or in the eastern aisle), inscribed as follows in Gothic letters: Hic jacet magist(er) Joannes Fulford filius Baldwini Fulford milit(i), hui(us) eccle(siae) Resid. pr. Archid. Tottn. deinde Cornub(iae)' ult. Exon, q(ui) obiit xix die Januarii A(nno) D(omini) xv.xviii cui(us) a(n)i(ma)e p(ro)pitietur Deus ("Here lies Master John Fulford, son of Sir Baldwin Fulford, Knight, residentiary of this church, first Archdeacon of Totnes, then of Cornwall, and lastly of Exeter, who died on the ninth day of January in the year of our Lord 1518, on whose soul may God look with favour").Quoted in: Barrett, William, History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol, 1789, p.221
The manor of Bosom's Hele was inherited by the Fulford familyRisdon, p.168: "This land descended unto Sir Francis Fulford"; Pole, p.291 and the arms of Bozom appear in the 5th quarter of the 16th century relief sculpted escutcheon over the main entrance to Great Fulford House.
Sir Thomas Fulford (died 1489) Sir Thomas Fulford (died 1489) (eldest son and heir), who married his step-father's sister-in-law, Phillipa Courtenay, a daughter of Sir Philip Courtenay (died 1463) of Powderham (by his wife Elizabeth Hungerford, daughter of Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford (died 1449), KG), and sister of Katherine Courtenay, second wife of Sir William Huddesfield (died 1499).Vivian, p.246, pedigree of Courtenay Vivian (1895) states him to have died on 20 February 1489 with an inquisition post mortem having been held in 1490,Regnal date 6 Henry VII but Burke (1838) states him to have been beheaded in 1461 after fighting for the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton.Burke, 1838, p.159 His second son appears to have been Sir Thomas Fulford who in 1497 was with Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (died 1509) at the relief of the City of Exeter following the siege by Perkin Warbeck.Burke, John, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank but Uninvested with Heritable Honours, Volume 4, London, 1838, p.158
Sir Humphrey Fulford (1467–1508) Sir Humphrey Fulford (1467–1508) (eldest son), who married Florence Bonville, a daughter and co-heiress of John Bonville (1417–1494) of Shute, Devon, nephew of the Devon magnate William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville (1391–1461),Vivian, p.102, pedigree of Bonville the latter who during the Wars of the Roses was an enemy of the Courtenay Earls of Devon and an ally of their cousins the Courtenays of Powderham. The marriage was without children.
William Fulford (1476–1517)