Monumental brass believed to represent Sir William Cary (1437–1471), lord of the manors of Clovelly and Cockington, Devon. Set into a slate ledger stone in floor of chancel, All Saints Church, Clovelly, without identifying inscription or armorials, next to brass of his son and heir Robert Cary (died 1540)[1]Arms of Cary: Argent, on a bend sable three roses
of the field.[2]
He was the son and heir of
Philip Cary (died 1437) of Cockington,
Member of Parliament for
Devon in 1433, by his wife Christiana de Orchard (died 1472), daughter and heiress of William de Orchard of
Orchard (later
Orchard Portman), near
Taunton in
Somerset. Christiana de Orchard survived her first husband and remarried to Walter Portman,[3] ten times MP for
Taunton,[4] by whom she had children, ancestors of the present
Viscount Portman, owner of the
Portman Estate in London.
Marriages and children
Cary married twice:
Firstly to Elizabeth Poulett, a daughter of Sir William Poulett of
Hinton St George, Somerset (ancestor of
Earl Poulett), by whom he had a son and heir:
Robert Cary (died 1540), of Cockington
Secondly he married Anna (or Alice) Fulford, a daughter of Sir Baldwin Fulford (died 1476) of
Fulford, Devon, by whom he had children:
Eleanor [de] Carey (1499-1526) of Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire. She became a nun at Wilton Abbey.
Marie [de] Carey (1501-1560) of Bideford, Devon, who married Sir Henry Goldsmith (1500-1551) of Richmond, Greater London.
Death
Cary was beheaded on 6 May 1471[1] after the defeat of the
Lancastrians at the
Battle of Tewkesbury.[2] He is believed to be represented by a
monumental brass of a knight, without surviving identifying inscription, set into a slate ledger stone on the floor of the
chancel of All Saints Church, Clovelly, next to a smaller brass, in similar style, of his son and heir Robert Cary (died 1540).[1]
References
^
abcGriggs, William, A Guide to All Saints Church, Clovelly, first published 1980, Revised Version, 2010, p.5
^
abcdVivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.150, pedigree of Cary
^Vivian, p.150, where he is stated incorrectly as James Portman