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The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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Weston Peverel or Pennycross was a chapelry forming part of the parish of St Andrew's, Plymouth. The church was, and still is, dedicated to St Pancras, from which Pennycross appears to be derived. The original name was Weston, the west "tun" or farm in Saxon, but exactly what it was west of, apart from the main route from Plymouth to Tavistock, is still a mystery given there is no evidence of a north or east "tun". The south "tun" became Sutton, the birthplace of Plymouth.
Map showing the location of the
parish The Saxons made the manors of Weston, Burrington, Manadon and Mutley into a Tything, a unit of local government. At the time of the Norman's Domesday Book, Weston was owned by Ulnod and Manadon by Colbert, with the latter being worth twice as much as Weston. Godwin owned Mutley and Alwin owned Burrington. After the Norman Conquest, all four manors were owned by Judhel of Totnes Castle and tenanted by Odo. But there had also been a change in fortunes, for Weston was now worth more than Manadon. This may date when the first chapel was built in Pennycross, adjacent to the Norman manor house of Weston. When, in 1238, the manor of Weston passed to Hugh Peverell of Ermington in South Devon, the tything picked up the name of Weston Peverel. Hugh's son, John, gave Weston as a dowry of his sister Amicia to Nicholas Carew of Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire. Nicholas passed Weston to his son, John, and four generations later it passed to another Nicholas Carew, who died in 1469 in possession of both Weston and Manadon manors. Both manors remained in the Carew family for a further five generations until John Carew mortgaged Weston to a John Harris of Plymouth in 1620. Eight years later Harris gained Manadon as well. Mutley seems to have disappeared from the records completely, possibly because of its closeness to the Borough of Plymouth. Burrington passed quietly from generation to generation until in 1658 it is recorded that 'John Reed of Burrington' got married. John died in 1736 and the manor passed via his only daughter, Joan, to Thomas Were. It remained in that family until 1778. Ham remained in the Trelawny family for generations until 1784, when Miss Mary Trelawny, an only child, married Mr George Collins. Plymouth Town was a place of prosperity at that time and many of its wealthier inhabitants were looking to move out from the overcrowded Town. Possibly encouraged by the improvement in the roads from Plymouth and Plymouth Dock which met at the bottom of Manadon Hill, the parish of Pennycross was an ideal spot. It must be remembered that although Plymouth's boundary was at roughly the present Hyde Park Hotel, the Town itself barely touched North Hill. Benjamin Donn's Map of Devon in 1765 shows Mutley (House) being occupied by a Miss Alford; Pound (House) by a Doctor Guineas, Tor and Burley to the south of the Plymouth Dock Road. Bellair was on the south side of that road, opposite Stubbs' Farm on the northern side of the road. Further north were Prospect, occupied by Mr Philips; Greater Ham (probably the later Ham House) in the occupation of the Trelawney family; Little Ham, occupied by a Mr Guineas; Burrington, the home of the Were family, and Maneton (Manadon). Interestingly, Weston is shown on the site of the mill, at the head of the creek. Also of note is that Lower Venn, Middle and Lower Mutley and Pennycross Barton are not shown on that map. The house at Manadon is thought to have dated from 1567. It was enlarged circa 1681 by the Harris family and passed to the Hewer family of Plymouth in 1737. Under the will of Mr Robert Hewer, Manadon and Pennycross were left to Mr Humphrey Hall, although he had to fight a lawsuit with another claimant before he took possession in 1767. When he died in 1801, there were more problems. He left his estate to his three daughters jointly and they and their husbands soon starting fighting over it, resulting in yet another court case. Eventually, the estate was inherited by Laetitia Hall, who had married Mr J A Parlby of Portsmouth. It is thought that Pennycross Barton was originally built by a member of the Prowse family, descendants of the ancient Norman family of le Prouz. They had done well for themselves in Exeter and Tiverton and possibly expected to enhance the family name with property near Plymouth. However, the family did not survive here. The property had apparently changed hands more than once by the time it was acquired by Mr Humphrey Hall. During some restoration work at a later date, the old Prowse coat-of-arms was revealed from beneath a coat of plaster. Mr Hall had this removed from its original position over the front door and placed over a chimney-piece in one of the best rooms in the Barton, with another stone bearing the inscription "H.1792.H" beneath it. By 1820 these old houses and farms listed above had been joined by Fields Farm, on the south side of the lane we now call Langstone Road, and Montpelier. It was this influx of "new money" that brought about the building of a new Chapel of St Pancras and agitation for it to be made a parish in its own right. Mr George Herbert, who lived at the new Montpelier, did not have a seat in the old Chapel and urged the Lord of the Manor, Mr George Collins, to enlarge the building. It was by this time in a very poor condition, with the sky being visible through the missing slates in the roof. It was said to be in a worse condition than the local barns. Luckily, perhaps, the services seem to have been few and irregular, probably depending on when the Vicar of St Budeaux could manage to attend the Chapel. However, thanks to the generosity of Mr Collins and of Mr and Mrs Clark of Burrington (Mrs Clark gave the bell for the new turret), the Chapel was rebuilt and reopened for services on August 26th 1821. The Tything had a Poor House provided out of the local Poor Rates. In 1765 this was near Prospect Farm and the Poor Rate at the time produced £9 2s 2d out of which one Hannah Northam was provided with clothing to the value of fifteen shillings and 'Tom's idiot son' got a shirt worth two shillings. When Sir Edward Pellew bought Montpelier House he refused to renew the lease for the Poor House and it was pulled down. In 1812 a new one was built near the pound, where stray animals were kept, roughly where the modern Cherry Tree Public House is now situated. It cost £312 3s 10d to erect. Poor children of the Tything were apprenticed locally. Two parish constables were appointed in 1842, Mr John Jago of Weston Mill, and Mr Samuel Hoare of Venn Cottage. They were unpaid at first but from 1846 were paid £1 10s a year. For many years the Devon and Cornwall Archery Society held its meetings in the grounds of Manadon House, down in the valley where the Parkway now passes just to the west of the Manadon interchange. At the end of the season, in September, they held a formal dinner and dance after the last meeting of the year and prizes were awarded. At the event on Friday September 13th 1850 the Lady Yarde Buller Prize, a travelling clock 'of most elegant workmanship' was presented to Captain A G West, RN, while one of the Foot daughters received a handsome brooch set in rubies and diamonds presented by Miss Yarde Buller. The Ladies Season Prize of a papier machee writing desk went to Miss Saltau and the unspecified Gentlemen's Season Prize was awarded to Mr Sydney Strode. Mrs Hall Parlby, who just happened to be the wife of the Lord of the Manor, was selected to be the Lady Paramount for the following year. At the time of the census on Sunday March 31st 1851, Pennycross had a population of 321. There were 127 males and 194 females. There were just 45 inhabited properties in the Parish. The population of rthe Parish had grown by 54 people since 1841. A school for about forty children was provided sometime around 1869 on a site adjacent to the Church. It was supported by the National School Society. The building was demolished circa 1962 and replaced by the present Church Hall. Eventually, on February 8th 1898, came the announcement that Pennycross was to be created its own parish. It comprised almost all of the Tything of Weston Peverell, just a small portion to the west passing to the parish of St Mark's. This was duly confirmed by the Local Government Board Order Number 39,882 dated October 1st 1899. Under the Devonport Corporation Act 1900, part of Weston Peverel was added to Devonport from November 9th 1900. This was therefore within the new Plymouth Town boundary when the amalgamation took place on November 9th 1914. By the Devon Review Order 1935, the southern part of Weston Peverel that was still outside Plymouth was transferred to Compton Gifford and the northern part to St Budeaux. Finally, in 1939, the whole of the old Weston Peverel came within the Plymouth City boundary, which was extended northwards to Crownhill Road. Places within the Parish of Pennycross and Tything of Weston Peverel The following houses, farms and public houses/inns were within the Parish of Pennycross: Beaconfield House; Beauchamp House; Belair House; Box Hill House; Burraton Farm; Burrington Farm; Burrington Manor; Camel's Head Public House; Ham Barn; Ham House; Manadon House; Montpellier House; Mount Athos; Mount View; Mutley House; Oakland Villa; Pennycross Barton; Peverel Park Villa; Peverell Cottage; Pounds House; Torr Grove; Venn Farm; Weston Villa. Numbers 16, 17, 18 and 19 Elphinstone Road are on the site of Belair House. Numbers 1, 2 and 3 of the pre-War Westeria Terrace were on the site of Montpellier House. Lord of the Manor The Lord of the Manor of Pennycross in 1870 was the Reverend John Hall Parlby MA JP of Manadon House. Overseer of the Poor
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