He was the eldest son and heir of Sir
Arthur Bassett (1541-1586), of Umberleigh and Heanton Punchardon, a member of the ancient and prominent west-country
Basset family,
MP for
Barnstaple in 1563 and
Devon in 1572 and
Sheriff of Devon in 1574–5. Robert's mother was Eleanor Chichester (died 1585), a daughter of Sir
John Chichester (died 1569), MP, lord of the manor of
Raleigh in the parish of
Pilton, Devon.
Due to his
Plantagenet ancestry he made what turned out to be a foolish and costly decision to offer himself as one of the many claimants to the throne of England after the death of
Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603), perhaps encouraged by his father-in-law Peryam.[1] He suffered a heavy fine for his action which according to the biographer
John Prince, involved the sale of thirty of the family's manors.[2]
Marriage and children
Monument to Basset's wife, Elizabeth Peryam, in Heanton Punchardon church
He married Elizabeth Periam (1571-1635) the second daughter and co-heiress of Sir
William Peryam (1534-1604), of
Little Fulford, near
Crediton in Devon,
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Her mural monument survives in the Basset Chapel (now the vestry) of Heanton Punchardon Church. Within a lozenge at the top and on an
escutcheon to the
sinister are shown her paternal arms of Peryam: Gules, a chevron engrailed or between three lion's faces affrontes of the last. The arms of Peryam are also shown on an oval cartouche underneath,
impaled by Bassett.
Sons
Arthur Basset (living 1635), eldest son and heir, who died childless.[3] In 1635 he erected the surviving monument to his mother in Heanton Punchardon Church, as is recorded by part of the inscription as follows: "Arthur Bassett, Esquire, her sorrowing first-born son, of a duty of gratitude and respect therefore placed this monument to his mother in the year of Our Lord 1635".
Col. Arthur Basset (1598-1673), second son and heir to his elder brother. He was a law student at the
Inner Temple in 1616 and during the
Civil War served as a
Royalist commander. For his delinquency he was fined by Parliament and
compounded for his estates in the sum of £1,321 6 shillings 6 pence.[3] He served as
Deputy Lieutenant of Devon. He married Agnes Leigh, daughter of Sir William Leigh of
Northam, Devon.[3] His elaborate mural monument survives in Heanton Punchardon Church.
William Basset (1602-1634), third son, whose monument survives in Atherington Church,[3] the parish church of Umberleigh
Elizabeth Basset (living 1642), second daughter, who in 1621 married George Yeo (1597-1671),
lord of the manor of
Huish, Devon, who was admitted to the
Inner Temple in 1618.[7] Her descendant continued at Huish until the death unmarried in 1782 of the last in the male line,
Edward Roe Yeo (1742–1782), twice MP for
Coventry.
Elinor Basset, third daughter, who died unmarried in 1634/5.[3]
Mary Basset, fourth daughter, who in 1631 married Jonathan Sparke of Plymouth,[8] who was the second son of
John Sparke (c.1574-1640) of The Friary, in the parish of St Jude, Plymouth, Devon,
Member of Parliament for
Mitchell. Jonathan Sparke's mother was Deborah Rashleigh, a daughter of
John Rashleigh (1554–1624), of
Menabilly, a cousin of Mary Basset. Mary's eldest son was Sir
John Sparke (1636-1680), MP, of the Friary, Plymouth,[8] who is mentioned in the Travel Journal of
Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1642-1723) who was visiting Plymouth on 5 April 1669:
"On the 5th of the same month Sir Jonathan Spark came to pay his respects to the serene prince, accompanied by his son. This gentleman is an inhabitant of Plymouth, in the neighbourhood of which he possesses an estate of a thousand pounds a year; consequently he is considered the principal person of the place".[9]
Death and burial
Ledger stone to Sir Robert Basset in Heanton Punchardon Church
He died on 11 November 1641 aged 68 and was buried in the Basset Chapel (now the vestry) of Umberleigh Church, in the floor of which survives his plain
ledger stone inscribed in Latin as follows:
Hic jacet Robertus Basset, Miles, qui (obiit) undecimo die Novembris An(n)o D(omi)ni 1641 aetatis suae 68 ("Here lies Robert Basset, Knight, who died on the 11th day of November in the year of Our Lord the 1641st, of his age the 68th")
^Magalotti, Lorenzo, Conte, 1637-1712, Travels of Cosmo the Third, Grand Duke of Tuscany, through England during the Reign of King Charles the Second (1669), London, 1821, p.126
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