Tamerton Foliot
Encyclopedia
Tamerton Foliot was a village and is now a dense suburb in the north of Plymouth
, England
that also lends its name to the parish
of the same name.
Situated near the confluence of the rivers Tamar
and Tavy
, the village is situated in a valley, the stream of which quickly broadens out to a large estuarine creek. This passes under a bridge beneath the Tamar Valley Line
railway. Tamerton Foliot railway station
, now a private property, is situated at the end of a two mile road and is on the edge of a heavily wooded riverside nature reserve. It had been built in 1890 by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway
on its line from Lydford
to Devonport
and Plymouth
.
The village has a population of around 2300 (2001 census) and has three pubs, one Methodist chapel (which has recently closed in 2008) and the Anglican parish church of St Mary's. This dates from the 12th century, and is thought to be on the site of an earlier building perhaps founded by St Indract
. It has been much extended since, with the 78 feet (23.8 m) perpendicular style tower added around 1440 and most of the rest of the fabric renewed in the 19th century. There is a peal of six bells.
, 6th Baron of Rochdale
. Tarpst, was a companion of Byron's during his poor days in Aberdeen before Tarspt moved to the village and became Vicar of St Mary's Church.
After a series of firebrand sermons, in which Rev. Tarpst preached against his old friend Byron's works and in particular the Drama Cain (1821), in which Byron attempts to dramatize the story of Cain and Abel
from Cain's point of view. Byron's notes in his correspondence, "It is Cain that seemed to anger him the most". But this did not stop him from dedicating his epic work about the Welsh rebellion, Glyndwr
(1822) to his friend the Rev. Tarpst. Tarpst preached no less than seventeen sermons with Cain as his main theme. He also wrote over sixty letters to his old friend criticising his work. When Tarpst learnt of Byron's death on April 19 1824, he was noted as saying "this is the Lords own justice, but I shall miss that scoundrel". Tarpst spent his remaining years writing his memoirs as well as several books on religion and poetry. He was a huge character in the village and was often seen taking weather readings on the church tower. He died on a stormy night October 1839, during the great storm. He was found dead at the foot of the tower, from which he fell. He is buried in the churchyard of his beloved St. Marys.
, created a Baronet
in 1641, and it was his daughter, Grace, who married Sir William Bastard, Knight.
Estate not far from the Village of Tamerton Foliot.
, one of whose members, with his wife, has a recumbent stone effigy in St Mary's Church. The effigies have been much damaged in the various fires which the church has suffered, most recently in 1981, when the roof of the north aisle fell over this area. The effigies are variously believed to be William de Gorges(d.1346) or according to Raymond Gorges who wrote a history of the Gorges family in 1944,
John Gorges of Warleigh House, lord of the manor of Tamerton Foliot, who flourished in the early 15th. c. Formerly the Gorges heraldic canting arms
of the Gurges, which is Latin for "whirlpool" could be seen on the front of the jupon
of the knight in the form of 3 concentric annulets. No trace remains today. The armorial was borne in 2 forms, as 3 concentric annulets or as a whorl, blazoned
thus: "Argent, a gurges azure". It was thus a blue device on a white background. The whorl form can be seen as one of the quarterings on the escutcheon on the funerary monument to John Copleston, Esquire(d.1608).
, formerly the home of John Copleston, Esquire(d.1608). It is grade II listed. It is now situated within Bickleigh parish.
. But the Prince fell ill with camp fever in mid-November 1643 and withdrew from the siege to recover.
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that also lends its name to the parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of the same name.
Situated near the confluence of the rivers Tamar
River Tamar
The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...
and Tavy
River Tavy
The Tavy is a river on Dartmoor, Devon, England. The name derives from the Brythonic root "Taff", the original meaning of which has now been lost...
, the village is situated in a valley, the stream of which quickly broadens out to a large estuarine creek. This passes under a bridge beneath the Tamar Valley Line
Tamar Valley Line
The Tamar Valley Line is a railway line from Devonport in Plymouth Devon, to Gunnislake in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The line follows the River Tamar for much of its route.-History:...
railway. Tamerton Foliot railway station
Tamerton Foliot railway station
Tamerton Foliot was a railway station, located on the present-day Tamar Valley Line. It opened in 1890, and closed in 1962....
, now a private property, is situated at the end of a two mile road and is on the edge of a heavily wooded riverside nature reserve. It had been built in 1890 by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway
Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway
The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway in England was built by an independent company but operated by the London and South Western Railway as part of its main line to give it independent access to Plymouth. It ran from to Devonport Junction, just west of Plymouth North Road...
on its line from Lydford
Lydford railway station
Lydford railway station was a junction at Lydford between the Great Western Railway and London and South Western Railway situated in a remote part of north-west Dartmoor in Devon, England.-History:...
to Devonport
Devonport Kings Road railway station
Devonport Kings Road railway station was the London and South Western Railway station in Devonport, Devon, England. It opened in 1876 and closed in 1964...
and Plymouth
Plymouth Friary railway station
Plymouth Friary railway station was the London and South Western Railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England.-History:London and South Western Railway trains first arrived at Plymouth on 17 May 1876, entering the town from the east...
.
The village has a population of around 2300 (2001 census) and has three pubs, one Methodist chapel (which has recently closed in 2008) and the Anglican parish church of St Mary's. This dates from the 12th century, and is thought to be on the site of an earlier building perhaps founded by St Indract
Indract of Glastonbury
Indract or Indracht was a saint who, along with his companions, was venerated at Glastonbury Abbey, a monastery in the county of Somerset in south-western England...
. It has been much extended since, with the 78 feet (23.8 m) perpendicular style tower added around 1440 and most of the rest of the fabric renewed in the 19th century. There is a peal of six bells.
Reverend Tarpst
In 1819, the fiery Reverend Cederic Warner Tarpst, a cousin and friend of George (Gordon) ByronGeorge Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
, 6th Baron of Rochdale
Baron Byron
Baron Byron, of Rochdale in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1643, by letters patent, for Sir John Byron, a Cavalier general and former Member of Parliament...
. Tarpst, was a companion of Byron's during his poor days in Aberdeen before Tarspt moved to the village and became Vicar of St Mary's Church.
After a series of firebrand sermons, in which Rev. Tarpst preached against his old friend Byron's works and in particular the Drama Cain (1821), in which Byron attempts to dramatize the story of Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....
from Cain's point of view. Byron's notes in his correspondence, "It is Cain that seemed to anger him the most". But this did not stop him from dedicating his epic work about the Welsh rebellion, Glyndwr
Glyndwr
Glyndŵr was one of six districts of Clwyd between 1974 and 1996.It was formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, from parts of the administrative counties of Denbighshire and Merionethshire....
(1822) to his friend the Rev. Tarpst. Tarpst preached no less than seventeen sermons with Cain as his main theme. He also wrote over sixty letters to his old friend criticising his work. When Tarpst learnt of Byron's death on April 19 1824, he was noted as saying "this is the Lords own justice, but I shall miss that scoundrel". Tarpst spent his remaining years writing his memoirs as well as several books on religion and poetry. He was a huge character in the village and was often seen taking weather readings on the church tower. He died on a stormy night October 1839, during the great storm. He was found dead at the foot of the tower, from which he fell. He is buried in the churchyard of his beloved St. Marys.
Copleston Oak
Just outside the eastern boundary of the churchyard stands an ancient hollow oak tree called the Copleston Oak believed to date from the 17th century. It is named after a Lord of the Manor, Christopher Copleston, who supposedly stabbed his godson to death against the tree following a family dispute.Sir John Bampfield
Sir John Bampfield was married to Gertrude, daughter of Amias Copleston in Tamerton Foliot on the outskirts of Plymouth on 3rd May 1632. He was son of the John Bampfield, who was MP for PenrynPenryn (UK Parliament constituency)
Penryn was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1553 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to until 1832...
, created a Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in 1641, and it was his daughter, Grace, who married Sir William Bastard, Knight.
Descent of the manor
Foliot
The Foliot part of the village's name derives from the Foliot family, John Foliot being a half-brother of William the Conqueror and recipient of large amounts of land for services rendered during the Norman conquest. Some of these historical family names such as Bampfield Way and Copleston were used as street names in the new SouthwaySouthway
Southway is a large suburban housing estate in north-west Plymouth in the English county of Devon. The name is believed to have derived from the route into Plymouth often used by Buckland Abbey monks, which was known as the "South Way".-Geography:...
Estate not far from the Village of Tamerton Foliot.
Gorges
The manor then passed into the hands of the Gorges familyGorges family
The House of Gorges is an ancient English family with Norman origins. Radulph, Lord of the Château de Gorges came over to England from Gorges in the canton of Périers in Normandy in the army of William the Conqueror in the year 1066 and acquired a knighthood. He had thus started the history of...
, one of whose members, with his wife, has a recumbent stone effigy in St Mary's Church. The effigies have been much damaged in the various fires which the church has suffered, most recently in 1981, when the roof of the north aisle fell over this area. The effigies are variously believed to be William de Gorges(d.1346) or according to Raymond Gorges who wrote a history of the Gorges family in 1944,
John Gorges of Warleigh House, lord of the manor of Tamerton Foliot, who flourished in the early 15th. c. Formerly the Gorges heraldic canting arms
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
of the Gurges, which is Latin for "whirlpool" could be seen on the front of the jupon
Surcoat
A surcoat was an outer garment commonly worn in the Middle Ages by both men and women. It can either refer to a coat worn over other garments or the outer garment of a person...
of the knight in the form of 3 concentric annulets. No trace remains today. The armorial was borne in 2 forms, as 3 concentric annulets or as a whorl, blazoned
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
thus: "Argent, a gurges azure". It was thus a blue device on a white background. The whorl form can be seen as one of the quarterings on the escutcheon on the funerary monument to John Copleston, Esquire(d.1608).
Copleston
By the marriage of a Gorges heiress the manor passed into the Copleston family. The Latin inscription on the Copleston funerary monument in St. Mary's Church is translated thus:
"To John Copleston, Esquire, lord of this manor, a man famed as greatly for true virtue as noble descent, who after he had reached his 59th year went to sleep gently in Christ at Warleigh, November 9 1608. Susanna his most beloved wife who brought forth five sons and as many daughters lay down piously in well deserved hope of resurrection, September 4, 1617".
Warleigh House
This is a Tudor manor house close by on the east bank of the River TavyRiver Tavy
The Tavy is a river on Dartmoor, Devon, England. The name derives from the Brythonic root "Taff", the original meaning of which has now been lost...
, formerly the home of John Copleston, Esquire(d.1608). It is grade II listed. It is now situated within Bickleigh parish.
Civil War
Tamerton was one of the quarters of Prince Maurice, the Brother of Prince Rupert and his army, when he besieged Plymouth from October to December 1643, during the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. But the Prince fell ill with camp fever in mid-November 1643 and withdrew from the siege to recover.
External links
- County council website on the village (Comprehensive)
- GENUKI(tm) page
- Saintmary's Church, Tamerton Foliot
- Copleston family website