William Courtenay (died 1630)

Sir William Courtenay, Knight, (1553 – 24 June 1630) of Powderham in Devon was a prominent member of the Devonshire gentry. He was Sheriff of Devon in 1579–80 and received the rare honour[1] of having been three times elected MP for the prestigious county seat (Devon) in 1584, 1589 and 1601.

For other uses, see William Courtenay (disambiguation).

Arms of Sir William Courtenay (1553–1630) of Powderham: Quarterly 1st & 4th, Or, three torteaux gules (Courtenay); 2nd & 3rd: Or, a lion rampant azure (Redvers), as seen impaled by Wrey in Tawstock Church, Devon, on the monument of John Wrey (d.1597) whose son Sir William Wrey, 1st Baronet was the husband of Elizabeth Courtenay, Sir William's daughter

Origins

He was the only son and heir of Sir William Courtenay (c. 1529 – 1557) of Powderham, MP for Plympton Erle in 1555, by his wife Elizabeth Paulet, a daughter of John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester. He was 9th in descent[2] from Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (1303–1377), of Tiverton Castle, feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton,[3] one of whose younger sons was Sir Philip Courtenay (1340–1406) of Powderham, founder of the junior line of Courtenay of Powderham.

Career

In 1557 at the age of 4 he succeeded his father. He trained as a lawyer in the Middle Temple. He was knighted on 25 March 1576,[4] served as Sheriff of Devon for 1579–80 and was also involved in the Munster Plantation in Ireland in the 1580s, being granted Desmond Hall and Castle in Newcastle West. Sir William was elected as a Member of Parliament for Devon in 1584, 1589 and 1601.[5] In 1831 he was recognised by a retrospective decision of the House of Lords as having been de jure 3rd Earl of Devon.[6]

Marriages and issue
Mural monument to Margaret Courtenay, eldest daughter of Sir William Courtenay by Elizabeth Manners, kneeling effigy with her second husband Sir John Chudleigh; St Mary Magdalene's Church, Richmond, Surrey (de Redvers arms with incorrectly restored tinctures)
Arms of Sir William Wrey, 1st Baronet (d.1636), impaling Courtenay of Powderham, for his wife was Elizabeth Courtenay, 3rd daughter of Sir William Courtenay. Detail from monument of his father John Wrey (d. 1597) in Tawstock Church, Devon (with incorrectly restored tinctures)

He married three times:

First marriage

At some time between 18 January 1572 and 1573, he married firstly Elizabeth Manners, a daughter of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, and by her had seven sons and three daughters:[7][8]

  • Sir William Courtenay, (died 1605), eldest son and heir apparent who died without progeny and predeceased his father.
  • Francis Courtenay, (1576 – 3 Jun 1638), of Powderham, MP, 2nd but eldest surviving son and heir. In 1831 he was recognised retrospectively as having been de jure 4th Earl of Devon.
  • Thomas Courtenay
  • George Courtenay
  • John Courtenay
  • Alexander Courtenay
  • Edward Courtenay
  • Margaret Courtenay, eldest daughter, whose mural monument with kneeling effigy survives in St Mary Magdalene's Church, Richmond, Surrey. She married firstly Sir Warwick Hele (1568-1626) of Wembury in Devon, MP, secondly Sir John Chudleigh (born 1584), knighted by King Charles I 22 Sept 1625, 3rd son of John Chudleigh (1565-1589) of Ashton, Devon, and younger brother of Sir George Chudleigh, 1st Baronet (d.1656).[9]
  • Bridget Courtenay
  • Elizabeth Courtenay, 3rd daughter, who married Sir William Wrey, 1st Baronet[10] of Tawstock in Devon. Her father's arms survive, impaled by Wrey, on the monument of her father-in-law John Wrey (d.1597) in Tawstock Church.

Second marriage

On 25 Aug 1595 he married secondly Elizabeth Sydenham, a daughter of Sir George Sydenham of Combe Sydenham in Somerset and widow of Admiral Sir Francis Drake (d.1596).[7]

Third marriage

Thirdly he married Jane Hill, a daughter of Robert Hill of Taunton, Somerset.[7]

Death

He died in London on 24 June 1630 and was buried in Powderham Church, Devon.[5][7]

References
  1. Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.180
  2. Vivian, pp.244–247
  3. Sanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086–1327, Oxford, 1960, p.138
  4. Shaw, W. A. (1906). The Knights of England. II. London: Sherrat and Hughes. p. 77.
  5. Hasler, P. W. (1981). Hasler, P. W. (ed.). "COURTENAY, Sir William I (1553–1630), of Powderham, Devon". Members. The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1558–1603. Historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  6. "Sir William Courtenay, de jure 3rd Earl of Devon". Cracroft's Peerage. Cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  7. "Sir William Courtenay, 1553–1630". Family Search: Community Trees. Europe: Royal and Noble Houses of Europe. Histfam.familysearch.org. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  8. Colby, Frederic Thomas, ed. (1872). "The Visitation of the County of Devon in the Year 1620". The Publications of the Harleian Society. London: Harleian Society. VI: 76.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  9. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.247, Courtenay; p.190 Chudleigh
  10. Vivian (1895), p.247

Sources
  • Vivian, J. L. (1895). The Visitations of the County of Devon, Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564, to 1620, with additions by J. L. Vivian. Exeter: H S Eland.

Further reading
Peerage of England
Preceded by
William Courtenay		 Earl of Devon
de jure
1557 – 1630		 Succeeded by
Francis Courtenay
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