History of the Lordship of Blakewell
The Lordship of Blakewell
The Lordship of the Manor of Blakewell in Marwood Parish, Devon is a feudal lordship with a long history and is kept alive by the current custodians, the 6th Baron and Baroness of North Cadbury and 11th Lord and Lady of Blakewell, on behalf of the nation.
The Manor of Blakewell is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Blachewilla, Blakewille, meaning ‘black stream or spring’ and dates back to King Edward the Confessor, the first Lord of Blakewell in 1066. It was apparently owned directly by the King and therefore a Royal Manor - the King's Manor.
Blakewell is a hamlet in Marwood parish, 3 miles (5 km) N of Barnstaple in the North Devon district.
County of Devonshire - original Thomas Moule hand-coloured Map c.1840
History of the Manor & Lordship of Blakewell
The first holder and Lord of the Manor of Blakewell was King Edward the Confessor in 1066. The Manor has been recorded in the Domesday Book as part of Braunton, the King’s Manor.
In 1086 Robert de Pont-Chardon hold the Lordship of Blakewell from Baldwin the Sheriff. Baldwin FitzGilbert of Brionis or Moels hold Blakewell as tenant-in-chief or 1st Baron of Okehampton. Robert de Pont-Chardon was a knight who came over with William the Conqueror and received the Manor of Blakewell and other Manors located in North Devon from Baldwin the Sheriff.
Sir William I de Punchardon, Knt., 3rd Lord of Blakewell, eldest son of Robert, who retained the Devon and Hampshire estates, but those manors they also held in Hertfordshire and Somerset fell to younger brothers. Roger de Punchardon eldest son inherited the Manor of Blakewell.
After a few transactions with his brothers Reginald and Robert, he confined his interest to Devonshire. In 1243 Sir William II de Punchardon, Knt. eldest son of Roger, succeeded his father and largely increased the estates. Sir William's widow Ermegard de Punchardon outlived him twenty years and married Alexander de Viteri, who tried unsuccessfully to retain possession of some of the Punchardon manors.
Sir John de Punchardon, Knt., 6th Lord of Blakewell, son and heir of Sir William II was the last of the direct male line. Mention of him is frequently made in various documents down to 1296. It seems to be sure that until the death of Sir John, the male line with all the Devonshire possessions also held the Lordship of Blakewell.
Sir John left three daughters as co-heiresses: Ermegard, heiress of Heanton Punchardon, wife of Sir Philip de Beaumont, Mabil, wife of Sir Henry Raleigh, Pilton and Margery, who married twice, firstly Sir Richard Beauple of Langkey and secondly Joel de Buckenton. The Heanton Punchardon estate which included the Manor of Blakewell went to the oldest daughter Ermegard and with her into the Beaumont family.
In 1407 the Manor of Blakewell was held by Sir William Beaumont, Knt., High Sheriff of Devon in 1399, 9th Lord of Blakewell, and Lord of other manors of the Punchardons. The last recorded reference to the Manor and Lordship of Blakewell was in 1411. Thomas Pyllond, 10th Lord, held Blakewell as two messuages and one carucate as a 1/2 fee of Sir William Beaumont.
Thereafter, the Lordship was held in dormancy by extinct private ownership, before being rediscovered and claimed by a researcher in 2009, and re-created by legal process and passed on to its next rightful successors in 2010.
In 2010, Jörg Hubert and Regina Dumke de Newmarch became the rightful successors as 11th Lord and Lady of Blakewell. The Lord and Lady obtain the title and all associated hereditary rights of the Lordship of the Manor of Blakewell in Devon.