PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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The name of Edgcumbe apparently originates from the Manor of that name in the parish of Cheriton Fitzpaine, near Crediton, and the church there is adorned with the various coats-of-arms given to the family over the centuries. In the time of King Edward III, William de Eggecomb married Hillaria, the daughter and heiress of William de Cotehele, of Cotehele, in Cornwall, where they set up home. William died in 1380 and to his heir, William Edgecombe, King Henry granted the custody of the lead mines, with the silver ore therein, in Devon. By the time of King Henry VI, his son, Peter Edgecombe, was one of the most important men in the county of Devon. Then there was Richard Edgcumbe, who in 1467 was the Member of Parliament for Tavistock. He took part in the Duke of Buckingham's rebellion in 1484 but escaped to Brittany when it failed. He was knighted by King Henry VII for valour at Bosworth Field in 1485 and he erected a chapel in honour of the victory. Sir Richard died in 1489 at Morlaix. But the first of the family to really play an active part in the Plymouth area was Sir Piers Edgcumbe. He was the one who, by marrying Joan, the heiress of Stephen Durnford, acquired the estates of East and West Stonehouse. He thus became the owner of the most strategic pieces of property in the area, commanding the entrance to the Hamoaze. He took a leading part in the Battle of Spurs in 1513 and died in 1539. In the meantime, his son, Richard, born in 1499, had erected the house called Mount Edgcumbe, so called, it is said, because it lay opposite the grand manor house of the Wise family -- Mount Wise. Richard had married Lady Anne, the daughter of the Earl of Sandwich and was knighted in 1537. He held the post of Sheriff of Devon in 1543 and 1544 and was Commissioner of the Muster for Cornwall in 1557. Nearly a century later, in 1680, another Richard Edgcumbe was born and he became the Member of Parliament for Plympton and St Germans in 1702. In 1742 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Edgcumbe in order to prevent him from being examined about the management of the Cornish boroughs. Sir Richard was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1743 until his death in 1758. His eldest son, yet another Richard, was born in 1716 and achieved the military rank of Major-General. He represented Lostwithiel in Parliament from 1747 until 1754, after which he became of Lord of the Admiralty. In 1756 he was appointed as Comptroller of the King's Household. Richard became the second Baron Edgcumbe in 1758. Richard's younger brother was George, born in 1721. On August 16th 1761 he married Emma Gilbert, the daughter of John Gilbert, Archbishop of York. He joined the Royal Navy and speedily passed up through the ranks to be made Post-Captain aboard HMS Kennington in 1744. Three years later he was responsible for the capture of the Jason, a French East India ship of considerable value and in the same year he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Fowey. After a short time as the Commander of HMS Monmouth, he was posted to Deptford and despatched to cruise the Mediterranean. When his older brother, Sir Richard, died in 1761 the title passed to him. In that year he also became Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. Died 1795. Emma died December 22nd 1807. In 1762 George was made Rear-Admiral of the Blue and eight years later he became that Squadron's Vice-Admiral. In 1781 he was created Viscount Mount Edgcumbe in gratitude for his 'voluntary and gratuitus sacrifice of several of the plantations at Mount Edgcumbe, military men having declared it absolutely necessary for the safety and defence of Plymouth in case of any hostile attack'. His Lordship was elevated to the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in 1789 and died on February 5th 1795. The second Earl Mount Edgcumbe was Richard, born on September 13th 1764. He married Sophia Hobart, the daughter of John Hobart, the 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, on February 21st 1789. He died on September 26th 1839. From him the title passed to their second son, Ernest Augustus Edgcumbe (March 23rd 1797- September 3rd 1861), who married Caroline Augusta Fielding on December 6th 1831. She died November 2nd 1881. William Henry Edgcumbe (born November 5th 1832 or 1833) became the 4th Earl. He died on September 25th 1917. Piers Alexander Hamilton Edgcumbe (1865-1944) was the 5th Earl. The title then missed a generation because Richard John Frederick Edgcumbe, died in 1937 and it thus passed to his eldest son, Kenelm William Edward Edgcumbe. Born on the October 9th 1873, the son of the aforementioned Richard and his first wife Mary Louisa Monck. He died in 1965. The latest holders of the title the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe have been Edward Piers Edgcumbe (1903-1982) the 7th Earl and Robert Charles Edgcumbe (1939-), the current 8th Earl. As an example of the life of the Earl's family, on the afternoon of Tuesday April 29th 1856 the Countess of Mount Edgcumbe attended the second drawing-room of the season held by HM Queen Victoria at St James's Palace. The Countess was there to introduce to Her Majesty Mrs Rupert Featherstonhaugh, on the occasion of her marriage; and Miss Theresa Nicholl. Others present were the Countess of Devon and Lady Yarde Buller. For the occasion the Queen is recorded as wearing a train of white moire antique, trimmed with bunches of roses and white blonde, with a petticoat of white satin, also trimmed with roses and white blonde, to correspond with the train.
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