Feudal barony of Dunster

The feudal barony of Dunster was an English feudal barony with its caput at Dunster Castle in Somerset. During the reign of King Henry I (1100–1135) the barony (or "honour") comprised forty knight's fees and was later enlarged. In about 1150 the manors retained in demesne were Dunster, Minehead, Cutcombe, Kilton and Carhampton in Somerset, and Ham in Dorset.Maxwell Lyte, p.4

Descent

de Mohun The historian the Duchess of Cleveland wrote as follows in her 1889 work Battle Abbey Roll concerning the origins of the de Mohun (alias Mohon, Moion, etc.) family:Cleveland, Duchess of (Catherine Powlett), The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages, 3 vols., London, 1889 "From Moion, near St. Lo, Normandy, where the site of their castle is still to be seen. Wace tells us that "old William de Moion had with him many companions" at the Battle of Hastings, and one of Leland's rolls of the Norman conquerors is nothing but a long list of those who came in the train of "Monseir William de Moion le Veil, le plus noble de tout l'oste." It gives him a following worthy of an Emperor, comprising all the noblest names of Normandy, and numbering at least ninety-four knights, but it is evidently, as Mr. Planché points out, a mistake of the copyists. Sir Francis Palgrave, though he calls him "one of the greatest Barons of the Cotentin," says he was only accompanied by "five knights who held of him." Dugdale, however, gives him "forty-seven stout Knights of name and note," and he was rewarded for his services by the grant of no less than fifty-five manors in Somerset, besides two in Wiltshire and Dorset. He chose Dunster — a place of some note in Saxon times — and built his castle where a former fortress of the West Saxon kings had stood, in a situation unsurpassed in beauty by any in England".

The descent of the de Mohun family, feudal barons of Dunster, was as follows:Sanders, p.114

William de Moyon (died post 1090)

William de Moyon (died post 1090)Sanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086–1327, Oxford, 1960, p.114 (alias de Moion, later de Mohun), Domesday Book holder of Dunster Castle, 1st feudal baron of Dunster, was Seigneur of Moyon near Saint-Lô in Normandy and was Sheriff of Somerset in 1086. He was the founder of the English de Mohun family, prominent in the Westcountry, extinct in the male line seated at Dunster in 1375 and extinct in the junior male line seated at Mohuns Ottery in Devon at about the same time. He is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as holding the manor of Torre (i.e. Dun's Tor) in demesne and "having his castle there".

William de Mohun, 1st Earl of Somerset (died circa 1155)

William de Mohun, 1st Earl of Somerset (died circa 1155) (son), created Earl of Somerset, which title was not inherited by his heirs. He was a favourite of Empress Matilda and a loyal supporter of her in the war against King Stephen, during which he earned the epithet "Scourge of the West"

William de Mohun (died 1176) William de Mohun (died 1176) (heir). During his tenure the barony comprised forty-six and a half knight's fees held by different military tenants. In the opinion of Maxwell-Lyte:Maxwell-Lyte, p.10 "It may fairly be surmised that the number had been originally fixed at forty and that one had been acquired by marriage. Five and a half knights' fees are distinctly stated to have been "of the new feoffment", that is to say creations of the period subsequent to the reign of King Henry I, and when an aid was levied in 1168, on account of the marriage of the King's daughter, William III de Mohun refused to pay on more than forty-one, persisting in this refusal until the end of his life".

William de Mohun (died 1193) William de Mohun (died 1193) (son)

"The Crusader" a Knight died during the 3rd Crusade en route to Jerusalem with Richard the LionHeart. Brought back to England. Buried at Dunster Castle.

Reginald I de Mohun (1185–1213)

Reginald I de Mohun (1185–1213) (heir), who in 1205 married Alice Brewer, 4th sister and co-heiress of William Brewer, feudal baron of Horsley, Derbyshire and of Torr Brewer (later Tor Mohun,Risdon, pp.146,378; Pole, p.272 now Torquay, in Devon). She brought him a great estate, and "is set down among the benefactors to the new Cathedral Church of Salisbury, having contributed thereto all the marble necessary for the building thereof for twelve years."Cleveland, Duchess of, Battle Abbey Roll

Reginald II de Mohun (1206–1258) Reginald II de Mohun (1206–1258) (son), who married twice: firstly to Hawise Fleming, daughter and heiress of William Fleming,Maxwell-Lyte, History of Dunster, Vol.1, p.30 and secondly to Isabel de Ferrers, widow of Gilbert Basset (died 1241)Pole, p.128 and daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby (1193–1254) by his wife Sibyl Marshal.

John de Mohun (1248–1279) John de Mohun (1248–1279) (grandson), son of John de Mohun (died 1253), killed in Gascony, son of Reginald II, whom he predeceased.

John de Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun (1269–1330)

John de Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun (1269–1330) (son). He was the first of his family who had summons to attend Parliament, in 1299, thereby being created by writ a baron. He fought under Edward I (1272–1307) in the wars of Scotland and Gascony, and in 1300 was present at the Siege of Caerlaverock. He appears in the Roll of Caerlaverock, which blazons his armorials in ancient French verse as follows: Jaune o crois noire engreelie La portrait Johans de Mooun (translated as: "Yellow (or), a cross engrailed black (sable)") Together with many other barons and magnates he sealed the Barons' Letter to the Pope of 1301, in which he is called Johannes de Mohun, D(omi)n(u)s de Dunsterre ("John de Mohun, lord of Dunster").Maxwell-Lyte, p.38 He married Anne Tiptoft, daughter of Paine Tiptoft, by whom he had numerous issue including his eldest son and heir apparent John de Mohun (died after 1322), who predeceased his father, having married Christiana Segrave (died 1341), daughter of William Segrave, and having fought at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 and died some time after in Scotland.Maxwell-Lyte, p.39

Sir John de Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun (c. 1320 – 1375)

Sir John de Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun, KG, (c. 1320 – 1375) (grandson), the last in the senior male line of Mohun of Dunster. He was the son of John de Mohun (died after 1322) (eldest son of John de Mohun), who predeceased his father, having fought at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 and died some time after in Scotland. He was aged about 10 when he inherited the barony from his grandfather, and being a minor and a tenant-in-chief, became a ward of the King, who sold his wardship and marriage to Henry Burghersh (1292–1340), Bishop of Lincoln and Chancellor of England, who married him to his half-niece, Joan of Burghersh (died 1404), daughter of his half-brother Bartholomew de Burghersh, 1st Baron Burghersh (died 1355).Maxwell-Lyte, p.44 According to Maxwell-Lyte (1909), Joan of Burghersh "was aiming at something more than a life interest in her husband's estates. She seems indeed to have obtained complete ascendency over him, either by the power of the purse or by superior force of character".Maxwell-Lyte, p.49 He fought at the Battle of Crécy in 1346 with distinction and was one of the 25 founding knights of the Order of the Garter in 1348.Maxwell-Lyte, pp.44–5 With no expectation of male children, after having entered into several complicated settlements and resettlements of his estates, his wife Lady Mohun found herself in control of his estates, and despite the existence of her three daughters, "all of whom made brilliant matches",Maxwell-Lyte, p.51 in 1374 she sold the reversion of the castle and manor of Dunster, the manors of Minehead and Kilton, and the hundred of Carhampton to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell (died 1395), wife of Sir Andrew Luttrell (died 1378/81), and a daughter of Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (1303–1377) and widow of Sir John de Vere, son of the Earl of Oxford.Maxwell-Lyte, pp.50,76 In the following year 1375 Lady Mohun's husband died, being the last in the male line of Mohun. In the following year 1376, Lady Mohun completed the transaction, namely that her trustees settled the castle of Dunster, the manors of Kilton, Minehead and Carhampton, and the hundred of Carhampton on Lady Mohun for her life, with remainder to Elizabeth Luttrell and her heirs.Maxwell-Lyte, pp.52–3

Lady Elizabeth Luttrell never lived at Dunster, as she died in 1395 before Lady Mohun's life interest had expired. But Dunster Castle remained unoccupied after 1376 until Lady Mohun's death in 1404, as she lived the rest of her life at or near the royal court and stayed at Minehead on her rare visits to Somerset. She was buried in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral, where her stone effigy survives."Lady Mohun tomb, Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent". Historic England. Retrieved on 11 January 2017.

Luttrell

Lady Elizabeth Luttrell (died 1395) Lady Elizabeth Luttrell (died 1395), wife of Sir Andrew Luttrell (died 1378/81), of Chilton, Devon, and a daughter of Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (1303–1377) of Tiverton Castle and widow of Sir John de Vere, son of the Earl of Oxford, who purchased the reversion of the Mohun estates in 1376 for 5,000 marks.

Sir Hugh Luttrell (c. 1364 – 1428)

Sir Hugh Luttrell (c. 1364 – 1428) (son of Sir Andrew Luttrell by his wife Lady Elizabeth Courtenay).Maxwell-Lyte, p.78 He married Catherine Beaumont (died 1435),Maxwell-Lyte, p.105 daughter of Sir John Beaumont (died 1379/80)Beaumont, Edward T., The Beaumonts in History. A.D. 850-1850. Oxford, c. 1929, (privately published), Chapter 5, pp.56-63, The Devonshire Family , pp. 62–3 of Shirwell and Saunton in North Devon, MP for Devon 1376-80,Beaumont, Edward T, Chapter 5, p.62, quoting: Transactions of the Devon Society, Vol.45, p.263 a substantial landowner in Devon, by his second wife Joan Crawthorne, granddaughter and heiress of Sir Robert Stockey, MP in 1318, of Crawthorne and Cranstone.Beaumont, Edward T, Chapter 5, p.62, quoting: Transactions of the Devon Society, Vol.45, p.262 Alabaster effigies survive in Dunster Church of himself and his wife, badly mutilated.Maxwell-Lyte, p.103; see illustration between pp.104–5 The arms of Beaumont (Barry of six vair and gules) appear in Dunster Church and on the Luttrell Table Carpet, c.1520, now in the collection of the Burrell Collection in Glasgow (see below).

John Luttrell (c. 1394 – 1430) John Luttrell (c. 1394 – 1430) (son),Maxwell-Lyte, pp.108,112 who in about 1422 married Margaret Tuchet (died 1438), daughter of John Tuchet, 4th Baron Audley (1371–1408). He was buried probably at Bruton Priory.

Sir James Luttrell (1426/7-1461) Sir James Luttrell (1426/7-1461)(son)Maxwell-Lyte, p.118 He was a minor aged 3 or 4 at his father's death and as a tenant-in-chief became a ward of the king, who sold the wardship of his lands to John Stafford, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the wardship and marriage of his person to Humphrey Stafford, 6th Earl of Stafford (1402–1460) (created Duke of Buckingham in 1444), who re-sold to Sir Philip Courtenay (1404–1463) of Powderham, Devon, great-grandson of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (died 1377), who in 1450 in the chapel at Powderham CastleVivian, p.246 married him off to his daughter Elizabeth Courtenay (died 1493), (the couple were cousins, both descended from Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (died 1377)) sister of Peter Courtenay (died 1492) Bishop of Exeter and of Sir Philip Courtenay (b.1445) of Molland, sometime MP and Sheriff of Devon in 1471. Elizabeth Courtenay survived her husband and remarried twice: Firstly to Sir Humphrey Audley (alias Touchet) (c. 1434 – 1471), a younger son of James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet (c. 1398 – 1459) by his second wife Eleanor de Holland. By Sir Humphrey Audley she had children including Philipa Audley, wife of Richard Hadley of Withycombe in Somerset (see below).