Manor of Affeton

"Affeton Castle", the gatehouse of the former manor house of Affeton, restored to a private residence in 1868-9^[1]

Affeton Castle

Affeton Castle viewed from the public highway

Affeton is a former historic manor in Devon. It was at one time also a parish with its own parish church, but was later merged into the parish of West Worlington. The manor house was almost entirely demolished in the Civil War, the only part left standing was the gatehouse, which fell into ruin. A large farmhouse known as "Affeton Barton" was soon after built over the foundations and cellars of the manor house. The ruinous gatehouse was converted in 1868-9 to a shooting box for the use of the Stucley family of Hartland Abbey and Moreton House, Bideford, and became known thereafter as "Affeton Castle".

Descent

The descent of Affeton is as follows:^[2]

de Affeton

Left: Arms of de Affeton: Argent, a chevron engrailed between three fleurs-de-lys sable;^[3] right: Affeton arms carved in relief on 15th century screen of the Affeton Chapel, south aisle of St Mary's Church, West Worlington

The de Affeton family are the earliest recorded holders of the manor of Affeton, from which they took their name. They held the manor from the feudal barony of Plympton, the barons of which were the Courtenay Earls of Devon and feudal barons of Okehampton.^[4]

Stucley

Arms of Stucley: Azure, three pears pendant or^[5]
Motto: Bellement et Hardiment ("beautifully and bravely")

The Stucley family, which inherited Affeton on the marriage of Hugh Stucley, Sheriff of Devon in 1448, to Catherine de Affeton, daughter and sole heiress of John de Affeton by his wife Elizabeth Manningford,^[6] originated at the estate of Great Stukeley in Huntingdonshire.^[7] The Stucley family was almost ruined during the Civil War for its adherence to the Royalist cause, and sold much of its landholdings, amounting to several thousand acres. The Stucley family died out in the male line on the death, unmarried and without progeny, of Dennis Stucley (died 1755), Sheriff of Devon in 1748. The marriage of his aunt Sarah Stucley (died 1742), to George I Buck (1674–1743) of Bideford, brought Affeton to her grandson George II Buck (1731–1791), who became the heir on the death of Dennis Stucley in 1755.

Buck

Canting arms of Buck of Daddon (Moreton), Bideford: Per fess embattled argent and sable, three buck's attires each fixed to the scalp counterchanged^[8]

Buck of Daddon

• George I Buck (1674–1743) of Daddon, Bideford, 3rd son and eventual heir of Hartwell Buck (died 1691) of Bideford. He was seven times mayor of Bideford. In 1697 he married Sara Stucley (died 1742), daughter and in her issue heiress of Dennis Stucley (1673/4-1741/2) of Affeton. The family of Buck were Bideford ship owners and merchants who from the 17th century traded with the American Colonies and owned tobacco plantations in Virginia and a saw-mill in Bideford, Maine. Bideford was the leading tobacco trading port in England. From their profits they acquired much land near Bideford and eventually by the end of the 18th century their estates almost surrounded the north side of the town from Westleigh to Northam.^[9] Their arms are: Per fess embattled argent and sable three buck's attires each fixed to the scalp counterchanged. These arms are quartered with the ancient arms of Stucley by the present Stucley Baronets, with the Stucley arms in the 1st and 4th quarters of greatest honour.^[10]
• John Buck (died 1745), 3rd son and heir, who in 1729 married Judith Pawley (died 1739), sole heiress of William Pawley of Bideford

Buck of Affeton

• George II Buck (1731–1794), eldest son and heir, JP for Devon. In 1755 he inherited the estate of Affeton and other lands from his great-uncle Dennis Stucley (died 1755), Sheriff of Devon in 1748, who died unmarried. In 1754 he married Anne Orchard (1730–1820), daughter of Paul I Orchard (died 1740), MP, of Hartland Abbey, near Bideford, and sister of Paul II Orchard (1739–1812) of Hartland Abbey, who died childless and bequeathed it to his other sister Charlotte Hooper Morrison of Yeo Vale House.^[11] The Orchards had made their wealth through their involvement with the Customs and Excise in Exeter, Barnstaple and Bideford.^[12] George II Buck rebuilt Daddon House in about 1760,^[13] which he made his residence.^[12] The irregular plan indicates that some of the fabric of the older structure was retained.^[13] The Buck family, which in the late 18th century resided alternately at two large houses in North Devon, namely Hartland Abbey, and Moreton House, Bideford, still on occasion visited the estate of Affeton for sporting purposes and to inspect the tenant farms, but had nowhere to stay other than to lodge with the farmer at Affeton Barton farmhouse, although the family had resided for a time at Cobley Farm on the Affeton estate.^[7]

George Stucley Buck (1755–1791), of Daddon House (later called Morton House) and Affeton, Devon, dressed in military uniform. Portrait by a follower of George Romney (1734–1802), collection of Bideford Town Council, displayed at Bideford Town Hall

• George Stucley Buck (1755–1791), only son and heir. In 1780 he married Martha Keats (1753–1833), eldest daughter of Richard Keats, Master of Tiverton school, rector of Bideford and King's Nympton. He died aged 36,^[14] thus having predeceased both his parents. His portrait painted by a follower of George Romney (1734–1802) hangs in Bideford Town Hall.
• George Pawley Buck (1782–1805), 2nd son and heir, died aged 23 without progeny.^[15]
• Lewis William Buck (1784–1858), younger brother. MP for Exeter 1826-32 and for North Devon 1839-57.^[16] He was educated at Blundells School in Tiverton and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He inherited Hartland Abbey under the will of his great-aunt Charlotte Hooper Morrison.^[12] He thus possessed the paternal Buck estate of Daddon and other lands, the Stucley inheritance of Affeton and other lands and also Hartland Abbey and other lands. In 1808 he married Ann Robbins daughter of Thomas Robbins of Roundhams, Berkshire. Lewis is believed in 1821 to have undertaken further building work at Daddon House and to have changed the name to Moreton House. He entertained Benjamin Disraeli at Moreton House,^[13] but before he became Prime Minister in 1868, thus after Lewis's death. He had a distinguished political career and it is believed that had he lived long enough to serve under Disraeli's premiership he would have been made a minister and peer, and thus the honour of a baronetcy awarded to his son was in some way a recompense.^[17]

Buck (Stucley)

• Sir George Stucley Buck Stucley, 1st Baronet (1812–1900), son and heir, who in 1858 assumed by royal licence the name and arms of Stucley and was created a baronet in 1859. He served as MP for Barnstaple twice, but retired from politics in 1868 and later served as Sheriff of Devon.^[18] He married firstly Lady Elizabeth O'Bryan, 4th daughter and co-heiress of William O'Brien, 2nd Marquess of Thomond (1765–1846), by whom he had progeny. He had a keen interest in family history, heraldry and his ancestors.^[19] He redecorated Hartland Abbey and in 1868-9 reconstructed the ruinous Gatehouse at Affeton, the only part of the fortified manor house of the Stucleys which had been left standing since the destruction of the house during the Civil War, which he renamed "Affeton Castle" and used as a shooting lodge for the grouse shooting season^[7] on Affeton Moor. He lived at Hartland Abbey from 1840 to 1870,^[19] when following the death of his first wife he handed ownership of Hartland Abbey to his son Lewis. He married secondly in 1872 to Louisa Granville, daughter of Sir Beville Granville of Wellesbourne, Warwickshire.^[20] He moved to Exbury House on the Solent,^[18] which he rented to pursue his pastime of yacht-sailing. He died in 1900 aged 88 at Moreton House.^[21]
• Lt.-Col. Sir William Lewis Stucley, 2nd Baronet (1836–1911), eldest son by his father's first wife, died without progeny. He was survived by his 2nd wife Marion, who lived on at Hartland Abbey until 1932.^[21]
• Sir Edward Arthur George Stucley, 3rd Baronet (1852–1927), younger brother, died without progeny. In 1913 he combined three of the first floor rooms of Moreton House overlooking the gardens to create a ballroom.^[22]
• Sir Hugh Nicholas Granville Stucley, 4th Baronet (1873–1956), eldest half-brother, son of Louisa Granville. He had moved to Moreton House in 1913 and made substantial alterations.^[23] Sir Hugh served as a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy. He was elected to the Bideford Town Council and served as Mayor of the Borough. It was the thirty-seventh time that a member of his family had served the Borough as Mayor. He was also elected to Devon County Council in 1906 and was a county alderman in 1908. His main interests were County Finance and Education. His personal interests were fishing, shooting and landscape gardening. It was he who designed the beautiful gardens which Moreton House was formerly well known for. From 1939 to 1945 during World War II Moreton House became the temporary home of King's Mead Preparatory School, which moved from its premises in Seaford in Sussex. Sir Hugh moved to the lodge house and looked after those boys who were too young to be boarders at the school.^[24]
• Sir Dennis Frederic Bankes Stucley, 5th Baronet (1907–1983). He spent his early childhood at Pillhead, East-the-Water, Bideford, and his adolescence at Moreton House.^[25] Like his father he served as mayor of Bideford. In 1947 he was given by his father the estate of Affeton, when it comprised the manor and parish of West Worlington, with the exception of the glebe land, Burridge Farm and woods in Chawleigh parish with further land in the parishes of Chulmleigh, Cheldon and Meshaw. He made substantial improvements to the tenanted farms to which he brought mains electricity and piped water supply, with "modern amenities" for every house on the estate. He installed two bathrooms in the castle (where previously there were none) and planted over 300 acres of trees and reclaimed much moorland.^[26] In 1932 he married Hon. Sheila Bampfylde, daughter and (following the death of her brother in 1936) eventual sole heiress of George Wentworth Warwick Bampfylde, 4th Baron Poltimore (1882–1965) of Poltimore and North Molton and other estates in Devon and elsewhere. The 4th Baron sold off most of his English estates and moved to Rhodesia where he died in 1965. Sheila however inherited the manor of North Molton, with Court Hall (the manor house) and Court House, another large house in the village. The 5th Baronet and his wife lived partly at Court Hall, North Molton, where he followed his enthusiasm for pheasant shooting, and at Hartland Abbey, where his wife created a new garden. In 1956 he sold Moreton House.^[27]
• Sir Hugh George Copplestone Bampfylde Stucley, 6th Baronet (born 1945). In 1976 he was resident with his wife and young family in the ancient gatehouse of Affeton, which he had extended to form a nursery wing and additional bedrooms, and personally managed the farm enterprise there of 1,000 acres, which in 2002 he "managed himself down to the last nut and bolt".^[19][28] The 6th Baronet's residence marked the first time a Stucley family had been raised at Affeton since the Civil War, and he added an extension housing a nursery wing and additional bedrooms.^[26] He regards Affeton as the family's main seat,^[27] which unlike Hartland Abbey is a private house, not open to the paying public. The heir apparent to the baronetcy is George Dennis Bampfylde Stucley (born 1970), eldest son of the 6th Baronet.

Sources

• Emery, Anthony. (2006) Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-58132-5.
• Pettifer, Adrian. (2002) English Castles: a Guide by Counties. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-0-85115-782-5.

References