PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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The parish of Stoke Damerel was known in the Domesday Book as "Stoches" and the manor was held prior to that by the Saxon, Brismar. When it was seized by King William I in 1066 it was given to the Norman, Robert de Albamarle, form whose name it gradually became anglicised to its present form. It is said that the manor at that time was occupied by only 25 people, as against the 7 in nearby Sutton (Plymouth). Over time the manor was held by the families of Courtenay, Kemiell, Branscombe, Britt and Wise. In 1667 Sir Edward Wise sold the manor to Sir William Morice, Knight, for £11,050. Sir William was Secretary of State to King Charles II and was instrumental in restoring him to the throne after the Civil War. Upon Sir William's death his son, also William, succeeded him. There were also two daughters, Catherine and Barbara, the first marrying Sir John St Aubyn of Clowance in west Cornwall in 1725 the the second marrying Sir John Molesworth in 1728. When the younger Sir William Morice, Baronet, died in 1749 he had no issue and the title became extinct. His estates was therefore divided and Stoke Damerel passed through his sister, Catherine, to her husband Sir John St Aubyn. Stoke Damerel appears in the General Registrar's records as a Registration District. It had five sub-districts, Clowance, Morice, St Aubyn, Stoke and Tamar. It was allocated volume number IX between 1837 and 1851 and volume 5b from then until the District was renamed Devonport from November 9th 1898.
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