(548) Bellville of Tedstone Court, Papillon Hall and Fermyn Woods Hall

According to Burke's Landed Gentry, the first English forebear of this family was John Bellville, a French émigré who came to England at the time of the French Revolution and was the father of John Benjafield Bellville (c.1793-1847), with whom the genealogy below begins. The only certain reference to the first John which I have been able to trace, however, occurs in the apprenticeship indenture of his son in 1807, where the father is described as 'John Bellville of Codford St. Peter' (Wilts). There seems to be no evidence that the first John had any long association with Codford, however, and I have been unable to trace either his burial or his son's baptism (he is said to have been born in Bath). Although the story of John's origin as a French émigré seems perfectly plausible, it bears a slightly suspicious similarity to that of the well-known astronomer, John Henry Bellville (1795-1856), who was baptised at St Pancras (Middx) but was apparently the child of French refugees who settled at Westbury (Wilts) - less than ten miles from Codford - and came under the patronage of Lady Pulteney of Bath. This might be a coincidence, or the two families might be connected, but it also possible that the mercantile Bellvilles quietly copied the background of their namesake when they grew rich and wanted to suggest an obscure but potentially romantic lineage.

John Benjafield Bellville (c.1793-1847) was apprenticed to Matthias Archibald Robinson (1775-1838) as a needlemaker, but in 1823 the two men established the firm of Robinson & Bellville to manufacture patent barley and groats drinks - the ancestor of the modern-day Robinson's Lemon Barley Water. With the death of Robinson in 1838 and J.B. Bellville in 1847, the business was carried on by John's son, William John Bellville (1830-91), who in 1862 merged the business with Thomas Keen & Son, mustard manufacturers. By 1876 he was the sole proprietor of the merged firm of Keen, Robinson & Bellville, and he died an extremely wealthy man, leaving property valued at over £600,000. William left four sons but they had been educated as gentlemen and not for business, and he bequeathed the goodwill of the company to his widow, who sold it to J. & J. Colman of Norwich, a rival mustard manufacturer, in 1903. A connection was maintained with the business as Frank Ashton Bellville (1870-1937), became a director of Colmans at that time.

The four sons of William John Bellville all acquired country houses. Henry Archibald Bellville (1866-1930) bought Tedstone Court (Herefordshire) in 1908, while the other three all bought seats in the prime foxhunting country of the East Midlands, where they could indulge their shared passion for hunting. William's widow bought Papillon Hall (Leics) for Frank Ashton Bellville (1870-1937) in 1901, and he then employed Sir Edwin Lutyens to greatly enlarge and remodel it from 1903. William John Bellville (1868-1937) bought Kibworth Hall (Leics) in 1918 and George Ernest Bellville (1879-1967) acquired Fermyn Woods Hall (Northants) in 1922.

Kibworth Hall: the early 19th century house acquired by William John Belville in 1918 and sold by his nephew in about 1942, from an old postcard.

The sale of the family business in 1903 took place just at the moment when changes in social legislation and taxation were beginning to make it impossible to transmit inherited wealth from one generation to the next in an unimpaired fashion. As the 20th century developed, it was increasingly essential for a country house and the lifestyle associated with it to be actively supported by earned income and for inherited wealth to be husbanded with care and good fortune if it was not to be seriously depleted by capital and other taxes. The legacies left by William John Bellville were big enough to support the next generation without too many cares, but some of the successors of Henry, William, Frank and George Bellville were less fortunate. Miles Aubrey Bellville (1909-80), an Olympic sailor and wartime officer in the Royal Marines, inherited Tedstone Court in 1930. He was able to remain there throughout his life, but his son, Richard John Bellville (1945-2000) sold it in 1996. William John Bellville (1868-1937) had no surviving children, and left Kibworth Hall to his nephew, Anthony Seymour Bellville (1902-70), who sold it and moved to a smaller house on the Isle of Wight. Because Anthony received this inheritance, Frank Ashton Bellville left Papillon Hall to his younger son, Rupert Bellville (1904-62), who tried to sell it almost at once and eventually pulled down the house in 1950 before finally finding a buyer for the estate. He also inherited £105,000 from his father, but in less than twenty years had spent it and been declared bankrupt. George Ernest Bellville (1879-1967) lived for thirty years longer than any of his brothers, but had no sons to inherit Fermyn Woods, which he bequeathed to his divorced elder daughter, Dodo Maxwell (1919-2002). She reduced the size of the house soon afterwards and lived in the surviving part until her death, by which time it was in very poor condition. It was sold after her death to a local architect who was able to finance a thorough restoration thanks to being one of the heirs to a construction industry fortune. In less than a hundred years, therefore, the family have acquired and sold four significant country houses.

Tedstone Court, Tedstone Delamere, Herefordshire

A large and essentially U-shaped building, given its present form by Richard Wight after he inherited the estate in 1805, with the main fronts looking east and south towards the parish church and the wooded valley of the Sapey Brook.  Between the house and the church stood a long-deserted medieval village, and the present house seems to stand on the site of, and perhaps to incorporate elements of, the earlier manor house, which was the seat of the Wyshams from the 14th to the 17th centuries. 

Tedstone Court: the south and east fronts. Image: John Burrows/Historic England IOE01/07479/25

The south and east fronts are rendered and of two-and-a-half storeys, and have sash windows with stone architraves, but the fenestration is irregular, which is strong evidence that Wight remodelled rather than rebuilt the earlier house. The east front has a central Doric porch, mostly tripartite windows, and a two-storey canted bay at the northern end. 

Tedstone Court: west front in 2022.

On the west side the house is partly of brick, and has a three-bay centre under a big pedimental gable. In the 20th century, this part of the house became a separate dwelling (known as Gracefields), but by 2023 the two properties had been reintegrated as one dwelling.

Descent: Robert Mason (d. 1684); to son; to son, Robert Mason (d. 1738)... James Moore (d. 1805) of Shelsley Beauchamp (Worcs); to Richard Wight (c.1780-1821); to widow, Mary Maria (d. 1838), later the wife of Thomas Philip Paine Wight (d. 1834) of Collington (Herefs); to son by her first marriage, James Lane Wight (c.1818-85); to son, Edgar Wight (1845-1918); sold 1908 to Henry Archibald Bellville (1866-1930); to son, Maj. Miles Aubrey Bellville (1909-80); to son, Richard John Bellville (b. 1945); sold 1997 to Stennard Harrison, who divided the property between himself and his daughter, who sold Gracefields in 2013; main house sold 2015 and Gracefields sold 2022 to Andrew and Louise Jones.

Papillon Hall, Lubenham, Leicestershire

The original house on the site of Papillon Hall, which stood on a hillock near the western boundary of Lubenham parish, was built by David Papillon (1581-1659), a French Huguenot architect and military engineer who had prospered as a property speculator in the London area and who later also made designs for Lamport Hall (Northants). He bought the site in 1627 but it was not a manor house and was never associated with a large estate. No doubt under the influence of his military experience, Papillon built an extraordinary octagonal moated two storey house of stone, with a cross-shaped slated roof that had tall gables on the axes. The walls were treated in a remarkable manner, with broad bands in the stonework by which a few courses were alternately raised and recessed to create a primitive and Brobdingnagian rustication. The house was surrounded by a rectangular moated enclosure approached through a single central gatehouse, which is shown on a rather stark drawing that seems to be the only record of its first appearance.

Papillon Hall: a mid 18th century view of the house with its encircling moat and gatehouse.
Image: Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland DE2221/59.

In the years after 1780 the house was altered by George Bosworth, who installed the arched sash windows shown in later records of the building, entirely altered the ground floor layout, and added a service wing at the north-west corner. He probably also altered the surrounding landscaping, for there is no trace in later records of the encircling moat.

Papillon Hall: engraving of 1798 showing the house as altered for George Bosworth in the 1780s.

Papillon Hall: this photograph seems to be the only one showing the house before Lutyens' alterations.

In 1901 Mrs. Emma Bellville of Stoughton Grange bought the house for her son, Capt. Frank Ashton Bellville (1870-1937), who was heir to the Keen's Mustard fortune (hence the phrase, "as keen as mustard"), but who 'did little else but hunt'. He brought in Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1903 to extend the house. Since visiting Norman Shaw's Chesters (Northbld) a few years earlier, Lutyens had always wanted the chance to design a butterfly-plan house as he thought he could improve on the essays of his Arts & Crafts contemporaries. The fact that the existing house was a flattened octagon and had been built for a Papillon (which means butterfly in French) gave him the perfect opportunity. The plan was based on Chesters, which Lutyens much admired, but for the elevations he abandoned the Baroque of Chesters for a more cottagey style, influenced particularly by E.S. Prior's house, The Barn at Exmouth (1893-97), a choice which sits rather oddly with the very formal and rather mannered planning.

Papillon Hall: ground floor plan as remodelled by Lutyens.

Papillon Hall: the south front with the lily pond in 1912. Image: Country Life.

Lutyens added new radiating wings projecting to the NE, SE and SW to the old house containing a dining room, drawing room and billiard room, while the fourth axis on the NW was occupied by an existing service wing. Between the billiard room and service wing Lutyens created a circular open Basin Court connecting the new main entrance with the vestibule within the original octagon. This plan produced some interesting conjunctions of forms, where the single-storey circular court abutted the gabled polygon of the house behind. And there are deliberately shocking conjunctions of style too: while the main building was in a simple vernacular manner, with roughcast walls and a central half-timbered gable, he responded to the formal geometry of the Basin Court with a ring of Tuscan columns, and he also made the entrance itself a powerful classical composition with chunky rustication and a broad three-bay pediment, but cheekily tucked this into the ground floor of an otherwise vernacular block.

Papillon Hall: the Basin Court between the wings on the west side in 1912. Image: Country Life.

Papillon Hall: the entrance arcade created by Lutyens. Image: Country Life.

Papillon Hall: the drawing room in 1912. Image: Country Life.

In 1937 the house passed to Rupert Bellville (1904-67), who put the house up for sale the following year, but a buyer was not found before the house was requisitioned during the Second World War, when it housed American airmen. After it was returned to the family, Rupert Bellville again tried to sell it, but in post-war conditions he failed to find a buyer and it was therefore demolished in 1951. Some of the outbuildings were converted into a farm and a small fragment of the old house was rescued and installed in the gardens of Blagdon Hall in Northumberland.

Finally, an uncanny tale for those who like ghost stories. When Frank Belville moved into Papillon Hall in 1901 he found a tiny cupboard with a padlocked metal grille in the lintel of an internal window over the hall fireplace, containing an early 18th century pair of green brocade women's shoes. The title deeds stated that 'on no account to permit them to be removed from the house, or ill-fortune would assuredly befall the owner'. Despite this warning, the shoes were taken to Belville's solicitors for safe keeping during the remodelling of the house. Work on the contract went slowly, accidents happened on site and a workman was killed, the first contractor abandoned the contract, and the skeleton of a woman was found walled up in the attics of the old house (this was said to be the Spanish mistress of an early 18th century Papillon who had mysteriously disappeared in 1715). In 1905 Bellville himself was in a motor accident and fractured his skull. He recovered, but in 1908 his chauffeur was killed in another accident. During the Second World War, there were two occasions on which American airmen who had removed the shoes from their resting place did not return from missions over enemy territory. The 'cursed shoes' are now in Market Harborough Museum.

Descent: David Papillon (1581-1659); to son?, George Papillon (d. 1684); David Papillon (fl. 1717); to son, who sold 1764 to William Stevens...Charles Bosworth (fl. 1798) of Brampton (Northants); to George Bosworth (d. 1830); to widow, Mary (fl. 1863), later wife of John Breedon; sold 1866 to Lord Hopeton; sold 1872 to Thomas Halford; sold to C.W. Walker (fl. 1892) of Burwash (Sussex); sold to A.C. Isham (d. 1897);... sold 1901 to Mrs Emma Bellville for use of her son, Frank Ashton Bellville (1870-1937), kt.; to son, Rupert Bellville (1904-67), who demolished it in 1951. 

Fermyn Woods (aka Farming Woods) Hall, Brigstock, Northamptonshire

The house began as a hunting lodge in Rockingham Forest, built or remodelled between 1651 and 1656 for Sir John Robinson, 1st bt., who was Lord Mayor of London in 1662. The main front faced south and had a sequence of five gables, perhaps representing a hall range and two cross-wings of the traditional form, but only the porch and a portion of the facade to the right of it are now of the 17th century, due to successive later alterations, additions and contractions.

Fermyn Woods Hall: engraving of the house by J.P. Neale, 1826., showing it before the mid 19th century additions.

In the late 18th century the house was a hunting lodge belonging to the 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory, whose principal seat was at Ampthill in Bedfordshire. He added a dining room and library, and a long, rather plain wing at the west end in two phases of work, in 1777 and 1788. The end elevation of his new range is visible on the left in Neale's engraving above.

There were further alterations in the 1830s for Lady Anne and Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick, and after the house passed to their illegitimate half-sister Emma, the wife of Robert Vernon Smith, 1st Baron Lyveden, Edward Browning of Stamford undertook a radical remodelling and enlargement of the house, giving it most of its later neo-Elizabethan character. His efforts were concentrated especially on remodelling the Georgian west wing, which emerged with two-storey canted bays on the west and south sides, an attic storey with gables and tall chimneystacks, and mullioned and transomed windows.

Fermyn Woods Hall: the west wing as remodelled by Edward Browning, from an old postcard.

Fermyn Woods Hall: the house from the north-west in the early 20th century, from an old postcard.

Inside, the entrance hall has an elaborate tiled centrepiece with the arms of Lord Lyveden, and his shield also appears on the newels of the staircase, which is said to be a copy of that formerly at Lyveden Old Bield. A 17th century gateway from Lyveden Old Bield, built for Sir Lewis Tresham but part of the Fermyn Woods estate until 1908, was moved in the 19th century to form a grand entrance to the stable court, which was built in 1740 but altered later.

Fermyn Woods Hall: the stable court from the south-east, showing the gate from Lyveden Old Bield.

The descendants of the Earls of Upper Ossory finally sold Fermyn Woods in 1897, and over the next twenty-five years it changed hands frequently, and was shorn of most of its 4,000 acre estate by the notorious asset-stripper, T.F. Hooley, who claimed to have made a profit of £70,000 from buying the estate, breaking it up and selling the farms separately, and felling much of the estate timber. In 1919-20, Blackwell & Riddey of Kettering (Northants) remodelled some of the interiors for Maj. Aubrey Wallis-Wright, creating new panelling with Ionic pilasters in the dining room (now the drawing room). More permanent new owners arrived in 1922 with the sale to Capt. George Bellville (1879-1967), who lived here until his death and left the house to his daughter 'Dodo'. They found the house dauntingly large, however, and pulled down the west wing in 1968. The remainder was in poor condition by the time of Dodo's death in 2002, but was lovingly restored as his home by the architect David Laing (b. 1945), later Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, over the next few years.

Fermyn Woods Hall: the reduced house in 2009. Image: Michael Trolove. Some rights reserved.

Descent: Crown sold 1641 to John Mordaunt (1599-1644), 5th Baron Mordaunt and 1st Earl of Peterborough; to son, Henry Mordaunt (1621-97), 2nd Earl of Peterborough; leased 1651 and later sold to Sir John Robinson (1615-80), 1st bt.; to son, Sir John Robinson (1660-93), 2nd bt.; to daughter Anne (d. 1744), wife of Richard Fitzpatrick (c.1662-1727), 1st Baron Gowran; to son, John Fitzpatrick (1719-58), 2nd Baron Gowran and 1st Earl of Upper Ossory; to son, John Fitzpatrick (1745-1818), 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory; to daughters, Lady Anne and Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick (d. 1841); to half-sister, Emma Mary Wilson (d. 1882), wife of Robert Vernon Smith (later Vernon) (1800-73), 1st Baron Lyveden; to son, Fitzpatrick Henry Vernon (1824-1900), 2nd Baron Lyveden, who sold 1897 to John Gardiner Muir (d. 1913); sold 1908 to T.F. Hooley; let and later sold 1912 to Maj. Aubrey Wallis (later Wallis-Wright then Wallis) (d. 1926); sold 1922 to Capt. George Ernest Bellville (1879-1967); to daughter, Dorothy Vivien Bellville (d. 2002), formerly wife of Maj. Eustace Maxwell (1913-71); sold 2003 to David Laing (b. 1945); sold 2012 to James Michael Ruston Broadbent (b. 1965). 

Bellville family of Tedstone Court

Bellville, John Benjafield (c.1793-1847). Son of John Bellville (who in 1807 was of Codford St Peter (Wilts) but who reputedly fled from France at the time of the French Revolution), said to have been born at Bath, 1793*. Apprenticed to Matthias Archibald Robinson of London, needle maker, 1807, and was made free of the Needlemakers Company, 1817. He and his former master established the firm of Robinson & Bellville, manufacturers of a patent barley drink, in 1823. He married 1st, 22 April 1827 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Mary (1804-42), probably daughter of William Bird of Westwell House, Wellington (Som.), farmer, and 2nd, 15 February 1843 at Milton-by-Gravesend (Kent), Ann (1815-80), daughter of William Clark, an official of the East India Company, and had issue:

(1.1) William John Bellville (1830-91) (q.v.);

(1.2) Archibald George Belville (1831-32), baptised at St Mark the Evangelist, Clerkenwell (Middx), 21 October 1831; died in infancy and was buried at the same church, 23 March 1832;

(1.3) Emma Bellville (1834-1906), baptised at St George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury (Middx), 18 February 1834; married, 2 June 1863 at Christ Church, Lancaster Gate, Paddington (Middx), Henry Farrance (1824-65) (who had been one of her father's apprentices), son of Thomas Farrance, confectioner, but had no issue; as a widow, lived latterly at Dorking (Surrey); died 13 August 1906; will proved 29 October 1906 (estate £13,060);

(1.4) Frederick Bellville (1836-1922), born 6 September and baptised at St George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury, 26 October 1836; died unmarried, 14 August and was buried at Dorking, 17 August 1922; administration of goods granted 22 November 1922 (estate £7,589);

(2.1) Alfred Bellville (1843-85), born 18 March and baptised at St Alfege, Greenwich (Kent), 5 May 1843; an officer in the merchant marine (indentured apprentice, 1859; second mate, 1863; first mate, 1867, 1870), who settled in Africa around 1870 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; he joined Lt. Faulkner's ivory hunting expedition to Central Africa, 1868, and a combined Universities' Expedition to Magila and Zanzibar, 1875, after which he published two papers in the RGS transactions; in 1877 he moved to Natal and was ordained deacon in 1880, serving in various Natal parishes; he married, 25 April 1877 at Durban (South Africa) Emma Mary, daughter of T. Crowder, and had issue two sons and three daughters; he died at Sand Hill, Belair, Durban (South Africa), 19 March 1885;

(2.2) Frances Mary Bellville (1844-1917), born 11 November 1844 and baptised at St George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury, 9 January 1845; married, 22 September 1875 at St Luke, West Holloway (Middx), John Pears Walton (1838-1915) of Alston (Cumbld.) and Acomb High House (Northbld.), mine owner, son of Jacob Walton, and had issue two sons and four daughters; died 7 July 1917; will proved 2 November 1917 (estate £4,931);

(2.3) Rosa Hamilton Bellville (1845-1909), born 14 December 1845 and baptised at St George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury, 18 February 1846; died unmarried at Southend-on-Sea (Essex), 27 November 1909; will proved 26 May 1910 (estate £739);

(2.4) Ada Elizabeth Bellville (1847-1926), born 10 April 1847 and baptised at St George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury (Middx), 2 May 1848; married, 2 November 1869 at St Luke, West Holloway (sep. 1890), Rowland John Atcherley (b. c.1848), analytical chemist, son of Rowland Atcherley MD, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 12 October 1926; will proved 24 November 1926 (estate £976).

He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery (Middx), 13 September 1847; his will was proved in the PCC, 15 December 1847. His first wife died Apr-Jun 1842 and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery. His widow died in Holloway (Middx), 28 April 1880; her will was proved 28 May 1880 (effects under £200).

* However, his baptism has not been traced.

Bellville, William John (1830-91). Elder son of John Benjafield Bellville (1793-1847) and his first wife Mary Bird, born February and baptised at St Mark the Evangelist, Clerkenwell (Middx), 23 April 1830. Educated at the University of Bonn (Germany). Freeman of the City of London, 1866. Partner in Robinson & Bellville of Holborn (Middx), manufacturers of a patent barley drink (and ancestor of Robinson's Barley Water), which merged in 1862 with Thomas Keen & Son, an old-established mustard manufacturer; he was sole proprietor of the merged firm by 1876. At his death, the goodwill of the company passed to his widow, who sold it in 1903 to J. & J. Colman of Norwich, another mustard manufacturer. He married, 4 July 1865 at Howe with Little Poringland (Norfk.), Emma (1846-1925), daughter of John Magor of Newton Abbot (Devon), hotel keeper, and had issue:

(1) Henry Archibald Bellville (1866-1930) (q.v.);

(2) William John Bellville (1868-1937), born 4 August 1868; educated at Harrow and Jesus College, Cambridge (matriculated 1887; BA 1891); served with the Duke of Cambridge's Special Corps in the Boer War, 1900; purchased Kibworth Hall (Leics), 1918, which he bequeathed to his nephew Anthony (1902-70); with his brothers Frank and George he was a famous horseman and rider to hounds, a pursuit to which he devoted much of, and ultimately sacrificed, his life; he married, 14 November 1907 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Jessie Bousfield (1871-1921), daughter of James Steains of Westminster, gent., and formerly wife of Sidney Arthur Wolton (c.1870-1940), hop merchant, and had issue one daughter who died in infancy; died from injuries received in a hunting accident, 25 February 1937; will proved 17 June 1937 (estate £393,709);

(3) Frank Ashton Bellville (1870-1937) [for whom see below, Bellville family of Papillon Hall]

(4) Emma Maud Elizabeth Bellville (1875-1952), born 18 May and baptised  at All Saints, Clapton Park, Hackney (Middx), 4 July 1875; married, 13 April 1901 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Lt-Col. Cyril Godfrey Martyr DSO (1860-1936) of Ablington Manor, Bibury (Glos), son of Godfrey Martyr of Melbourne (Australia), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 10 August 1952; will proved 20 November 1952 (estate £26,608);

(5) George Ernest Bellville (1879-1967) [for whom see below, Bellville family of Fermyn Woods Hall];

(6) Dorothy Mary Bellville (1883-1914), born 4 March and baptised at All Saints, Clapton Park, Hackney, 12 June 1883; married, 3 July 1906 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Maj. Philip Alexander Francis Spence (1876-1960) of Oatleys Hall, Brackley (Northants) (who m2, 23 June 1923 at St Mark, North Audley Street, Westminster, Sybil May (1896-1968), daughter of Sir John Latta (1867-1946), 1st bt.), son of Col. John Spence, and had issue one daughter; died 29 November 1914 and was buried at Turweston (Bucks); administration of her goods was granted to her husband, 3 March 1915 (estate £6,748).

He lived at Porchester Terrace, Hyde Park, London and Stoughton Grange (Leics), which he leased from the Powys-Keck family; his widow gave up the lease in about 1913.

He died at Eastbourne (Sussex), 7 August 1891; his will proved 14 September 1891 (effects £631,583). His widow died 8 August 1925; her will was proved 29 December 1925 (estate £177,063).

Bellville, Henry Archibald (1866-1930). Eldest son of William John Bellville (1830-91) and his wife Emma, daughter of John Magor of Newton Abbot (Devon), born 2 November 1866 and baptised at Christ Church, Lancaster Gate, Westminster (Middx), 1 January 1867. Educated at Harrow. An officer in the 3rd battalion, East Surrey Regiment (Lt., 1886; Capt., 1896; retired 1898). He married 1st, 24 September 1896 at Whittingham (Northbld.)  (div. 1903 on the grounds of her adultery with Capt. Walter Neilson), Phyllis Mary (1878-1967), third daughter of Alexander Henry Browne of Callaly Castle (Northbld.) and 2nd, 27 October 1906 at St Peter, Harrogate (Yorks WR), his first cousin, Ethel Mary (1878-1950), eldest daughter of John Pears Walton of Acomb High House (Northbld.), and had issue:

(1.1) Lucy Monica Bellville (1898-1991), born 18 March 1898; married, 9 December 1922 at Holy Trinity, Brompton (Middx), Oswald Stuart Thompson MRCS LRCP (1892-1971) of London, anaesthetist, son of Sidney Thompson of Farnaby, Sevenoaks (Kent), solicitor, and had issue one son; died 26 July and was buried 2 August 1991; will proved 24 September 1991 (estate under £125,000);

(1.2) Colin Guy Archibald Bellville (1901-58), born 27 December 1901; educated at Harrow; steam plough engineer; Fellow of the Geological Society; married, 27 July 1928, Kathleen (1903-93), daughter of Norman John Beastall of Church Gresley (Derbys), but had no issue; died 14 July 1958; will proved 7 November 1958 (estate £36,461);

(2.1) George Dennis Arthur Bellville (1907-25), born in New Zealand, 1907; educated at Harrow; died unmarried in a motor accident, 8 October 1925;

(2.2) Miles Aubrey Bellville (1909-80) (q.v.);

(2.3) Florence Audrey Emma Bellville (1914-2003), born 26 January and baptised at Tedstone Delamere, 15 March 1914; married, Oct-Dec. 1946, Col. Douglas Robert Beaumont Kaye DSO (1909-96) of Brinkley Hall (Suffk.), son of Robert Walter Kaye of Warren's Gorse, Daglingworth (Glos), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 1 March 2003.

He purchased Tedstone Court in 1908.

He died 30 September 1930; his will was proved 22 January 1931 (estate £181,006).  His first wife married 2nd, Apr-June 1904, Maj. Walter Neilson (1866-1941) of Charlton Hall (Northbld), the co-respondent in her divorce, and had further issue two sons and one daughter; she died in Scotland, 8 June 1967 and her will was proved 14 November 1967. His widow died 13 October 1950; administration of her goods was granted 24 January 1951 (estate £13,758).

Maj. Miles Aubrey Bellville (1909-80) 

Bellville, Miles Aubrey (1909-80). Younger son of Henry Archibald Bellville (1866-1930) and his second wife, Ethel Mary, eldest daughter of John Pears Walton of Acomb High House (Northbld.), born 28 April 1909. Educated at Malvern College and Jesus College, Cambridge (BA), where his prowess as an oarsman led to his being elected to the Leander Club. He was a keen sailor who was a member of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club, and competed in the Americas Cup in 1934 and at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, where he was a crew member of the boat Lalage which won gold in the six metre class. He served in the Second World War as an officer in the Royal Marines (2nd Lt, 1940; Lt., 1940; Capt., 1945; T/Maj., 1945) and was awarded the MC, 1942 and MBE, 1943. High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1969-70; a DL for Herefordshire. He married, April-June 1945, Nancy Catherine MBE JP (1912-96), who served as a First Officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service in the Second World War, second daughter of John Deans of Christchurch (New Zealand), and had issue:

(1) Richard John Bellville (1945-2000) (q.v.);

(2) Lalage Jane Bellville (b. 1947), born 17 March 1947; married, Apr-Jun 1975, Thomas Joseph Hawksley (b. 1945), schoolmaster, and had issue two daughters;

(3) Susan Catherine Bellville (b. 1948), born 18 August 1948; schoolteacher; member of Oxfordshire County Council, 2005-09; married, 1973 (div. 1977), Professor John Charles Robert Haffenden FBA FRSL (b. 1945), but had no issue.

He inherited Tedstone Court from his father in 1930.

He died 27 October 1980; his will was proved 30 January 1981 (estate £205,636). His widow died 3 February 1996; her will was proved 29 April 1996.

Bellville, Richard John (1945-2000). Only son of Miles Aubrey Bellville (1909-80) and his wife Nancy Catherine, second daughter of John Deans of Christchurch (New Zealand), born 21 August 1945. Educated at Malvern College. He married, May 1989, Gail H. (b. 1942), daughter of Godfrey Temple Butler (1907-78) and formerly wife of Dudley Michael Kibble-White (1939-2016), but had no issue.

He inherited Tedstone Court from his father in 1980 but sold it in 1996.

He died 3 October 2000; his will was proved 22 February 2001. His widow is now living.

Bellville family of Papillon Hall

Frank Ashton Bellville (1870-1937) 

Bellville, Frank Ashton (1870-1937). Third son of William John Bellville (1830-91) and his wife Emma, daughter of John Magor of Newton Abbot (Devon), born 25 November 1870 and baptised at St Matthew, Bayswater (Middx), 18 January 1871. Educated at Harrow. An officer in the Leicestershire Yeomanry (2nd Lt., 1898; Lt., 1900; retired 1902; returned to colours, 1914; Capt. 1916; retired 1921), who served in the Boer War and First World War. In 1903 he joined the board of J. & J. Coleman of Norwich, mustard manufacturers, which had bought his family firm. He became a freemason in 1910. He was such a keen foxhunting man that it was said 'he did little else but hunt', but he was also the owner and breeder of racehorses. He married 1st, 19 October 1901 at St Mary's RC Church, Cadogan St., Chelsea (Middx) (div. 1910), Gladys Hermione (1883-1962), daughter of Dr. Arthur Cornewall Chester-Master (1854-1900); 2nd, 2 August 1915 (div. 1926 on grounds of her adultery with Nicolano Rhodes), Joan Isobel Margaret (1888-1954)*, third daughter of the Hon. Ernest Bowes-Lyon and widow of Capt. Alfred Ernest Parker (1880-1914); and 3rd, 15 August 1929, Barbara Bertha Mary (1900-80), second daughter of Maj. Herbert Marmaduke Joseph Stourton OBE and formerly wife of Capt. Eric Charlton Tunnicliffe OBE MC (c.1898-1953), and had issue**:

(1.1) Anthony Seymour Bellville (1902-70), born 10 August 1902; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge; an officer in the Grenadier Guards (Lt.); inherited Kibworth Hall from his uncle, William John Bellville, in 1937, but sold it a few years later and moved to The White House, Bembridge (IoW); married 1st, 9 April 1929 at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx) (div. 1947), Audrey Dorothy Campbell (1906-97) (who m2, Oct-Dec 1947, Peter Pleydell-Bouverie of Landford Lodge (Wilts)), daughter of Capt. Archibald Glen Kidston, and had issue one son and two daughters; married 2nd, 30 September 1947 at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., Marylebone, Diana Mary Cameron (1915-2010) (who m2, Jan-Mar 1973, Lt.-Col. Arthur Christopher Grey (1911-82) and m3, 9 October 1984, Rt. Rev. Edward James Keymer Roberts (1908-2001), formerly Bishop of Ely), elder daughter of Ewen Cameron Bruce DSO MC, and had further issue one son and one daughter; died 2 August 1970; will proved 9 October 1970 (estate £71,727);

(1.2) Rupert Bellville (1904-67) (q.v.);

(3.1) Patricia Barbara Bellville (1931-2015), born 15 April 1931; married, 31 December 1965, (Alfred) Charles Gladitz (1923-2014), and had issue one son; died 26 July 2015.

His mother bought Papillon Hall for him in 1901 and he employed Sir Edwin Lutyens to enlarge and remodel it from 1903. He also kept a summer residence at Tyne Hall, Bembridge (IoW).

He died at Tyne Hall, 22 July 1937; his will was proved 26 August 1937 (estate £394,397). His first wife volunteered as a Red Cross nurse throughout the First World War and was painted in her uniform by de Laszlo; after the war she opened a shop near Portman Sq. called Sydalg, which sold antiques and Paris fashions; she married 2nd, Oct-Dec 1923, Henry Gordon Leith (1879-1941), banker, but had no further issue, and died 6 January 1962. His second wife married 3rd, N. Grogan, and died at St Helier (Jersey), 6 July 1954; administration of her goods was granted 28 October 1954 (effects in England, £1,485). His widow married 3rd, 20 September 1946, as his third wife, Capt. Henry Stewart Macnaghten Harrison-Wallace DSO RN (1883-1963), and died 2 May 1980; her will was proved 11 July 1980 (estate £31,025).

* She was a cousin of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002), who in 1923 married the future King George VI.

** Burke's Landed Gentry also mentions three daughters (Effie, Joan and Tina) by his second wife, but I can find no evidence to support their existence and family sources say this marriage was childless.

Rupert Bellville (1904-62) 

Bellville, Rupert (1904-62). Second son of Frank Ashton Bellville (1870-1937) and his first wife, Gladys Hermione, daughter of Arthur Chester-Master, born 28 December 1904. Educated at Eton. He first joined Schroder's as a clerk, but soon quit the company for a more exciting life as a pilot. He was engaged as secretary and pilot to Rupert Byass, and in 1934 took Venetia Montagu (1887-1948) on a journey across Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Persia (where they crashed, but escaped unhurt). A profile in The Bystander in 1937 described him as "a bizarre young man. He has absolutely no fear, not much imagination, and... practically never laughs... He gambles on most things, has a real wanderlust, always looks for trouble and usually finds it". He first went to Spain as a young man to learn the language and fell in love with the country, becoming an amateur bullfighter and participating in the Spanish Civil War on behalf of General Franco's Nationalists: he arranged for all the gates on the Papillon Hall estate to be painted in Franco's colours. He was captured at Santander by the Republican Government's forces and briefly imprisoned before being released after an intervention by the Foreign Office and returned to England at considerable expense in a Royal Navy destroyer. He wrote an account of his experiences for the Leicester Evening Mail. He was an officer in the Royal Air Force Reserve from 1926 (Flying Officer, 1933) and during the Second World War became a test pilot. He was a considerable linguist, speaking French, German and Italian as well as fluent Spanish. He was unusually tall for the period, at 6ft 4in, and his talents included being one of the best backgammon players in Europe. A good swimmer, he is said once to have swum the River Seine in a dinner jacket, but generally took better care of his clothes, being noted as a dapper dresser when in England, although more informally attired abroad. He was twice challenged to a duel, but never fought. Despite inheriting £105,000 from his father in 1937, he was declared bankrupt in 1955. He married, 1 October 1938 in Paris (France) (div.), Jeanette (1907-95), daughter of General Stephen O. Fuqua, US military attaché in Spain, and had issue:

(1) (Rupert) Hercules Fuqua Bellville (1939-2009), born 18 June 1939 in San Diego, California (USA); educated at Ampleforth and Christ Church, Oxford; a leading film producer, working as assistant to Roman Polanski in the 1960s and 1970s and then with Michaelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007) before finishing his career with Jeremy Thomas London's Recorded Picture Co.; he lived in London and Los Angeles, California (USA) at different times, and his obituarists all remarked on his talent for personal friendships; he married, 19 February 2009 (two days before his death), his long-term partner, Ilana Shulman; died of cancer, 21 February 2009, and was buried at Highgate Cemetery (Middx), where he is commemorated by a monument; will proved 21 October 2009.

He inherited Papillon Hall from his father in 1937, twice tried unsuccessfully to sell it (before and after the Second World War) and pulled it down in 1951. The estate was subsequently sold.

He died 23 July 1962; his will was proved 14 September 1962 (estate £7,449). His widow died in London, 23 August 1995; her will was proved 22 August 1996.

Bellville family of Fermyn Woods Hall

George Ernest Bellville (1879-1967) 

Bellville, George Ernest (1879-1967). Fourth son of William John Bellville (1830-91) and his wife Emma, daughter of John Magor of Newton Abbot (Devon), born 10 December 1879 and baptised at All Saints, Clapton Park, Hackney (Middx), 18 February 1880. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1897). An officer in the 16th Lancers (2nd Lt., 1900; Lt. 1900; Capt., 1904), who served in the Boer War (wounded) and First World War; adjutant of 2nd County of London Imperial Yeomanry, 1907. JP for Northamptonshire, 1927; High Sheriff of Northamptonshire, 1941-42; DL for Northamptonshire, 1946 (Vice-Lord Lieutenant, 1951). As a young man he was an accomplished polo and rugby player and like his brothers he became a prominent foxhunting man; Master of the Woodland Pytchley Foxhounds, 1920-32. He married, Oct-Dec. 1922, Madeline Henriette Ghislaine MBE (1884-1967), daughter of Count Rodolph de Kerchove de Denterghem of Belgium, and formerly wife of Baron Edouard de Crombrugghe de Looringhe (1874-1961), and had issue:

(1) Dorothy Vivian Bellville (1919-2002) (q.v.);

(2) Evelyn Hazel Rosemary Bellville (1924-2009), born Oct-Dec 1924; married, 13 December 1947, Sir John Hatherley David Page-Wood (1921-55), 7th bt., and had issue one son and one daughter; living in 1965.

He purchased Fermyn Woods Hall in 1922.

He died 28 June and was buried 3 July 1967; his will was proved 15 December 1967 (estate £85,680). His widow died 24 August 1967; her will was proved 6 February 1968 (estate £57,731). 

Dodo Maxwell (1919-2002) 

Bellville, Dorothy Vivian (k/a Dodo) (1919-2002). Illegitimate daughter of George Ernest Bellville (1879-1967) and his future wife Madeline, daughter of Count Rodolph de Kerchove of Belgium, born before the marriage of her parents, 4 February 1919. She married, May 1940 (div. 1949), Maj. Eustace Maxwell (1913-71), second son of Lt-Col. Aymer Edward Maxwell of Monreith (Wigtowns.), and had issue:

(1) Diana Mary Maxwell (b. 1942), born 10 January 1942; partner of Patrick Helmore, by whom she had issue twin daughters;

(2) Sir Michael Eustace George Maxwell (1943-2021), 9th bt, of Monreith House (Wigtowns.), born 28 August 1943; educated at Eton and London University; Assoc. of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors; succeeded uncle as 9th baronet, 8 July 1987; died unmarried, 28 December 2021, when he was succeeded in the baronetcy by a distant cousin.

She inherited Fermyn Woods Hall from her father in 1967 and demolished part of the house in 1968. It was sold after her death.

She died 20 July 2002; her will was proved 17 January 2003. Her ex-husband died in Edinburgh, 11 April 1971; his will was proved in London, 28 June 1971 (estate £15,835).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1945, pp. 55-56; C.J. Robinson, A history of the mansions and manors of Herefordshire, 1872, reprinted 2009, pp. 301-02; Country Life Architectural Supplement, 4 May 1912; J.A. Gotch, Squires' homes and other old buildings of Northamptonshire, 1939, pp. 7-8; D. Whitehead, A survey of historic parks and gardens in Herefordshire, 2011, pp. 353-54; A. Brooks & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Herefordshire, 2nd edn., 2012, p. 622; B. Bailey, Sir N. Pevsner & B. Cherry, The buildings of England: Northamptonshire, 3rd edn., 2013, pp. 272-73; M. Airs, 'David Papillon: Architect, military engineer, developer, author and jeweller', The Georgian Group Journal, 2017, pp. 1-14; N. Lyon, Useless anachronisms?: a study of the country houses and landed estates of Northamptonshire since 1880, 2018, passim;

http://letslookagain.com/2016/02/keen-as-mustard-keen-robinson/

Location of archives

Bellville of Tedstone Court: deeds and papers, 18th-20th centuries [Herefordshire Archive & Records Centre, AJ49]

Coat of arms

None recorded.

Can you help?

• If anyone can throw light on the accuracy or otherwise  of the story that John Benjafield Bellville's father John was a French émigré, I should be very pleased to learn more.
• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 25 June 2023 and was updated 24 October and 27 December 2023. I am most grateful to Patrick Bellville for his additions and corrections to my post, and to Andrew Jones for a correction.

(547) Bellot of Great Moreton Hall, baronets and of Bochym Manor, baronets

Bellot of Great Moreton and
Bochym Manor

The Bellot family (the name is spelled in many different ways, including Bellott, Belot, Billott and Bellett, but the most common spelling of Bellot has been adopted for this article) are said to have been settled in Norfolk until, in the early 15th century, John Bellot married Katherine de Moreton, who brought him the manor of Great Moreton in Cheshire. It subsequently passed to their son and grandson, both called Thomas Moreton, whose dates of birth and death are unknown. The younger Thomas (with whom the genealogy below begins) had two sons, of whom the elder, John Bellot, inherited Great Moreton, while the younger, Thomas Bellot, moved to Wiltshire. This John Bellot of Great Moreton married Joan, daughter of Ralph Moreton of Little Moreton Hall, and it has sometimes been presumed incorrectly that it was this marriage which brought Great Moreton to the Bellots, although their landholding in the area may have been strengthened by the marriage.

John and Joan's eldest son, Thomas Bellot, was probably born about 1515, and married Alice Roydon, who brought him lands at Burton (Denbighs.) to add to his Cheshire estates. In 1552 he bought further property at Burton and Gresford (Denbighs.), and some sources state that he was High Sheriff of that county in 1556. John and Alice had a very large family, with at least ten sons and six daughters, many of whom had notable careers of which something can be traced. Apart from Edward Bellot (b. c.1540), the eldest son, who was heir to the Great Moreton estate, these included Thomas Bellot (c.1541-1611) and Owen Bellot (d. 1612), who became senior and confidential servants in the households of Lord Burghley and the Earl of Shrewsbury respectively, and the Rt. Rev. Hugh Bellot (1542-96) and Ven. Cuthbert Bellot (c.1560-1620), who entered the church. Hugh became bishop of Bangor (Caernarvons.) in 1585 and was translated to Chester in 1595, and although he died soon afterwards it was not before he had appointed his younger brother as Archdeacon of Chester, a post which Cuthbert held until shortly before his death.

Edward Bellot (b. c.1540) actually died in the lifetime of his father, so on the latter's death (which I have been unable to trace), Great Moreton was inherited by Edward's son, Edward Moreton (c.1570-1622). It is said to have been he who rebuilt the manor house at Great Moreton in about 1606, creating the timber-framed house which survived until the 19th century and was recorded by Edward Blore before demolition,

Great Moreton Hall: the 17th century house, as recorded by Edward Blore.
Image: Victoria & Albert Museum.

 although the appearance of the building might suggest a rather later date. Edward's eldest son, John Bellot (c.1594-1659) inherited other properties. As a result of his marriage to Ursula Bentley in about 1612, John acquired The Ashes at Endon (Staffs), although he did not come into possession until 1638, and he also acquired Thringston Hall (Leics) in 1631 as a result of bequest by his childless great-uncle, George Bellot. Thringston was probably sold soon afterwards, but The Ashes remained in the family for several generations, and was probably rebuilt in the mid 17th century, either by John Bellot (d. 1659) or more probably by his son, Sir John Bellot (c.1619-74), 1st bt. The Ashes is a stone-built house, on the cusp between being a farmhouse and a minor gentry house.

The Ashes, Endon: the house as rebuilt in the mid 17th century,
probably for Sir John Bellot (c.1619-74), 1st bt.

The elder John was High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1640-41 and of Denbighshire in 1642-43: tricky positions in the run up to the Civil War, in which he struggled to reconcile the competing requirements of the Crown and Parliament. Eventually forced into taking sides, John - perhaps rather reluctantly - supported the Royalists, and his estates were subsequently sequestrated for delinquency. He recovered them in 1647 on payment of a composition fine, albeit a relatively modest one of £940. His son, later Sir John Bellot, may have been a more enthusiastic Royalist as he was in arms for the king, and he was certainly in favour at the Restoration, being High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1662-63 and being created a baronet in 1663.

Sir John was succeeded as 2nd baronet by his only surviving son, Sir Thomas Bellot (1651-99), 2nd bt., who became a freeman of Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1678 and was elected to Parliament for the borough in 1679-81, 1690-95 and 1698-99. He unwisely acted as one of the sureties for Morgan Whitley, Receiver-General of Taxes for Cheshire and North Wales, who became financially embarrassed and was involved in long-running negotiations with the Treasury which ended in 1706 in a compromise under which less was paid than was due. We do not know what the financial impact of this on the Bellots was, but it must at least have created a period of anxiety and uncertainty for Sir Thomas' heir, Sir Thomas Bellot (1679-1710), 3rd bt., and probably delayed his marriage, which did not take place until 1706, the year of the compromise. Sir Thomas and his wife did have a son but he died in infancy, and so when Sir Thomas himself died at the beginning of 1710, the baronetcy and estates passed to his younger brother, Sir John Bellot (1680-1714), 4th bt., who sold The Ashes to the Debank family later the same year. Sir John remained unmarried, and at his death, lacking close male relatives, he bequeathed Great Moreton to a friend, who was charged with clearing his debts and paying pecuniary legacies to his relatives, and who subsequently sold Great Moreton to make this possible.

The Thomas Bellot who settled in Wiltshire in the early 16th century, the son of Thomas Bellot of Great Moreton, had one recorded son, Richard Bellot (d. c.1558), who leased the Rectory Manor at Corsham (Wilts) from Syon Abbey and, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, from the Crown. He and his wife Alice Earle had a large family, but his eldest son, Francis Bellot (d. 1597) married a daughter of Reginald Mohun of Boconnoc in Cornwall, who settled Bochym Manor at Cury (Cornw.) on the couple, and this remained the home of their descendants until the 18th century. Francis and his wife had seven sons and one daughter. The eldest son, John Bellot, probably did not live to inherit the estate, although it is known only that he had died by 1608. Since the second son, Thomas Bellot, had gone to seek his fortune in Ireland, Bochym descended to the third brother, the Rev. Reginald Bellot (c.1555-1600), who did not long survive his father, but left a son and daughter. The son, Renatus Bellot (b. 1588), who was still living in 1654, acquired the manor of Bochym (which the Mohuns had retained when the house on the estate was given to the Bellots) in 1616. He was a Royalist in the Civil War, but compounded for his delinquency in 1651. He had probably died before 1660, having outlived most of his children by his first wife, Philippa Bere. His second wife was the sister of General George Monck (1608-70), whose critical role in bringing the interregnum to a peaceful end in 1660 was rewarded with the Dukedom of Albemarle and a period of great influence at the Restoration court. The Bochym estate passed to Renatus' youngest son, Christopher Bellot (c.1622-92), who from 1661-68 leased the coinage duty on tin from Cornwall jointly with another Cornish landowner, Samuel Enys. Surviving correspondence suggests that securing the lease was a ticklish job, and it may well be that the Duke of Albemarle's influence with the king was employed to secure it. Presumably the patent did not prove as profitable as Bellot and Enys expected, however, for after renewing it once they agreed to give it up in exchange of an annual salary of £500, presumably for acting as collectors of the tax on behalf of the Crown.

Christopher Bellot was High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1681-82 and married Bridget, the daughter of William Pendarves of Roscrowe (Cornw.). They had eight daughters but only one son, Renatus Bellot (1674-1710), who was still a minor when his father died. He served briefly as MP for one of the Cornish pocket boroughs from 1702-05, and was twice elected as a member of the Stannary Parliament, which was supposed to regulate the affairs of the tin industry in Cornwall, but was rapidly ceasing to have any meaningful function at this time. In 1697, the year of his mother's death, he married a Cornish heiress, Mary Spoure of Trebartha, and perhaps with an eye to his future acquisition of this more significant estate, he lived beyond his means and encumbered his own estate with debts.

Trebartha Hall: a view of the medieval and Tudor house replaced in the 18th century.
Image: The History of North Hill

He died, however, in May 1710, before he and his wife had succeeded to Trebartha, and Bochym Manor was placed in the hands of trustees for his infant son, Renatus Bellot (1704-12). When the child died two years later, however, the trustees sold the Bochym estate in order to liquidate the debts. Mary married again and she and her second husband, Charles Grylls (d. 1727) lived at Trebartha, but they had no children, and when she died in 1729 she left Trebartha to her cousin, Francis Rodd (d. 1736), on the slightly curious proviso that he never married Jane Parker of Covent Garden; a temptation which he apparently successfully resisted! The Rodd family remained at Trebartha until 1947, but the very large house, which had been rebuilt in the 18th century and enlarged later, was pulled down in 1949.

Great Moreton Hall, Cheshire

An account of this house has been given in a previous post on the Ackers family. 

Bochym Manor, Cornwall

Bochym (pronounced Botcheem) Manor at Cury on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, is an ancient manorial site. It was forfeited to the Crown in 1549 when the owner, John Winslade, joined a rebellion against the religious reforms of the day and was executed. King Edward VI granted the estate to Reginald Mohun, who settled it on one of his daughters when she married Francis Bellot. The house we see today has 16th and 17th century origins and a remarkable plan which speaks vividly of long and incoherent development.

Bochym Manor: the house today.

The house is said to have been damaged in the Civil War, and there was evidently a refit in the 1690s when a formal garden was laid out, the hard landscaping of which survives. The client for this was Renatus Bellot (d. 1710), whose initials and the date 1699 appear on a datestone on the house. Renatus died young, leaving a small son who was the last of his line and after whose death in 1712 the house was sold to George Robinson of Nansloe Manor, who was perhaps responsible for a further early 18th century remodelling: in 1952 there was a fine early 18th century panelled room on the first floor, with the chimneypiece framed by giant pilasters, but this seems to have been taken out in the 1960s or 1970s, and was presumably sold.

Bochym Manor: the staircase in 1952. Image: Herbert Felton/Historic England AA52/10915.

Bochym Manor: the library.

Bochym Manor: the drawing room in 1952. Image: Herbert Felton/Historic England AA52/10912.

In the 18th century the house changed hands several times; it was owned briefly by Robert Furneaux, who designed the first Lizard lighthouse, and was sold in 1825 to Stephen Davey from Redruth, whose fortune was derived from tin mining and brewing (the Redruth Brewery). During his ownership the house flourished and was extensively remodelled in the 1840s. The open well staircase, French Empire drawing room and the Italian walnut panelled library probably date from this time. A fanciful cruciform lodge was built on the south drive in 1851, with walls made of serpentine blocks from the quarries on the estate. The battlemented clock tower near the house was added to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.

The Davey family remained at Bochym until at least 1916, but I have not been able to trace the 20th century ownership until the house was bought in 1974 by Stanley May, who opened it as 'a pub with a difference'. That seems to have been a short-lived venture, and the house returned to private ownership. By 2014 the house was in poor condition, with many fittings having been removed or damaged in the preceding years. It was sold in that year to the present owners, who have been restoring the house with a view to it becoming a wedding venue as well as their home.

Descent: Crown granted c.1550 to Reginald Mohun; to daughter, Anne, wife of Francis Bellot (d. 1597); to son, Rev. Reginald Bellot (c.1555-1600); to son, Renatus Bellot (b. 1588; fl. 1654); to son, Christopher Bellot (c.1622-92); to son, Renatus Bellot (1674-1710); to trustees for son, Renatus Bellot (1704-12), who sold after his death to George Robinson of Nansloe; to son, Edmund Robinson, who sold 1725 to Thomas Fonnereau; sold? 1780 to Christopher Wallis; sold 1785 to Sir Harry Trelawny, bt.; to son, William Lewis Salisbury Trelawny; sold to [fu] Graham of Penquoit; sold to Thomas Hartley, who let to a tenant farmer; sold 1825 to Robert Davey of Redruth; to ?son, Horton Davey... sold 1974 to Stanley May... sold 2000 to Dr Mark Payne; sold 2014 to Martin and Sarah Caton.

Bellot family of Great Moreton Hall, baronets

Bellot, Thomas. Only known son of Thomas Bellot and his first wife, Margaret, daughter of John Spencer. He married 1st, Katherine, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Thurstan Gawen, and 2nd, Elizabeth, daughter of William Liversage of Macclesfield and widow of [fu] Creswall, and had issue:

(1.1) John Bellot (q.v.);

(2.1) Thomas Bellot [for whom see below, Bellot of Bochym Manor];

(2.2) Katherine Bellot; married William Lawton (d. 1551) of Lawton.

He inherited the manor of Great Moreton from his father.

His date of death is unknown. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, John. Elder son of Thomas Bellot and his first wife, Katherine, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Thurstan Gawen. He married Joan, daughter of Ralph Moreton of Little Moreton, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Bellot (q.v.);

(2) Robert Bellot (d. 1561?), of Great Moreton; married Ellen Sandford and had issue two sons; will proved at Chester, 1561;

(3) Philip Bellot; married and had issue one son;

(4) Blanche Bellot; married Robert/Roger Sparke;

(5) Mary Bellot; married Roger Grene;

(6) Margery Bellot; married Randle Thornton;

(7) Ursula Bellot; married Edward Unwin of Chaterley (Staffs);

(8) Elizabeth Bellot; married Roger Davenport of Chorley;

(9) Emma Bellot; married John Comerford;

(10) Catherine Bellot; married John Creswall.

He inherited Great Moreton from his father.

His date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Thomas (b. c.1515). Eldest son of John Bellot and his wife Joan, daughter of Ralph Moreton of Little Moreton Hall. Said by some sources to have been High Sheriff of Denbighshire, 1556. He married Alice, eldest daughter and co-heir of William Roydon (b. c.1490) of Talwyn in Burton (Denbighs.), and had issue:

(1) Edward Bellot (b. c.1540) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Bellot (c.1541-1611); steward and the most trusted and confidential servant of William Cecil (1520-98), 1st Baron Burghley from 1566; Court of Wards feodary for Denbighshire, 1575-78; Collector of Customs for the Port of London, and later jointly held a lease of the customs on cloth, c.1604-10; maintained a household in the parish of St Clement Danes, London, and another at Cheshunt (Herts), probably on his employer's Theobalds estate; probably died unmarried; will proved 11 October 1611;

(3) Rt. Rev. Hugh Bellot (1542-96), born 1542; educated at Christ's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1561; BA 1564; MA 1567; DD 1579); probably ordained at Ely, c.1570; Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, 1567-73; university proctor, 1570; chaplain to Bishop of Ely; rector of Tydd St Giles (Norfk), 1571 and Doddington (Cambs), 1573; vicar of Gresford (Denbighs), 1579 and rector of Caersws (Flints), 1584;  bishop of Bangor, 1585-95 (and also dean, 1587-93); bishop of Chester, 1595-96; a member of the Council of the Marches of Wales; a scholarly and conscientious bishop, but reputedly a misogynist and a persecutor of Roman Catholics; he died unmarried, 13 June 1596 and was buried at Wrexham (Denbighs.), where he is commemorated by a monument, after a funeral in Chester Cathedral on 22 June 1596;

(4) John Bellot (fl. 1603); Court of Wards feodary for Denbighshire, 1578-1603; servant and later steward to Edward Manners, Earl of Rutland;

(5) George Bellot (d. 1627), of Thrington Hall (Leics); Receiver-General of Westminster Abbey, 1593-1608; died unmarried, 1627; will proved in the PCC, 5 October 1627;

(6) Robert Bellot (d. 1643), of Beyham (Denbighs.); a servant to Lord Burghley; married Dorothy, daughter of Robert Brereton of Wettenhall, and had issue at least one son and one daughter; buried at Wrexham (Denbighs.), 8 March 1642/3;

(7) David Bellot (d. 1619?); steward to Sir Reginald Mohun; probably the 'David Byllet' buried at Ruabon (Denbighs.), 11 September 1619;

(8) Matthew Bellot;

(9) Owen Bellot (d. 1612); sacrist and keeper of the monuments in Westminster Abbey, 1579 and clerk of the second kitchen, 1581; steward to Lord Norris of Rycote and later servant to Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury; buried at Astbury, 14 October 1612;

(10) Ven. Cuthbert Bellot (c.1560-1620); educated at Jesus and St John's Colleges, Cambridge (matriculated 1578; BA 1582; MA 1585; BD 1592); Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, 1586-94; prebendary of Bangor, 1593 and Westminster, 1594; archdeacon of Chester, 1596-1619;

(11) Dorothy Bellot; married John Drinkwater (fl. 1586) of Chester, ironmonger, and had issue at least one son and one daughter;

(12) Erminia Bellot (d. 1612?); married 1st, as his second wife, John Manley of Pulton Hall, and 2nd, also as his second wife, Thomas Manley (d. 1617) of Lach, but had no issue; said to have been buried 4 February 1611/2;

(13) Mary Bellot (d. 1608); married 1st, Richard Minshull (d. 1586), and 2nd, Archer Starkey (d. 1622) of Wrenbury (who married 2nd, Anne/Mary, daughter of Charles/Edward Hughes of Holt (Derbys) and widow of John Massey of Coddington (Ches.)), and had issue at least one son; died 1608;

(14) Jane Bellot;

(15) Elizabeth Bellot;

(16) Susan Bellot.

He inherited Great Moreton from his father and purchased lands in Burton and Gresford (Denbighs.) in 1552. He was also farmer of St John's Hospital, Chester

His date of death is unknown, but he is said to have been buried at Gresford (Denbighs.). His wife's date of death is unknown but she is also said to have been buried at Gresford.

Bellot, Edward (b. c.1540). Eldest son of Thomas Bellot (b. c.1515) and his wife Alice, daughter and heir of William Roydon of Denbigshire, born about 1540. He married* Anne, daughter of Edward Moston or Mostyn, and had issue:

(1) Edward Bellot (c.1570-1622) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Bellot (d. 1654); died unmarried and without issue, and was buried at Astbury, 10 November 1654; will proved in the central Probate Court, 5 March 1654/5;

(3) John Bellot;

(4) George Bellot; living in 1624;

(5) Dorothy Bellot; married, as his second wife, William Griffith of Plas Cichle, Beaumaris (Anglesey), son of John Griffith of Plas Cichle, but died without issue;

(6) Magdalen Bellot (d. 1631); married, 1604 (contract 4 February), Peter (or Piers) Wynne Ffoulkes (d. 1636) of Ereifiad, Henllan (Denbighs.), escheator of Denbighshire, son of John Wyn Ffoulkes (d. 1598), and had issue at least one son and one daughter; buried at Henllan, 30 December 1631;

(7) Katherine Bellot (d. 1654); married 1st, John Conwy of Rhuddlan and 2nd, Piers Conwy of Yr Hendref; died 2 August 1654.

He died in the lifetime of his father but his date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

* Lloyd, History of the princes of Powys, 1882, p.232 says he was married 1st to Ursula Unwin, by whom he had no issue, and 2nd to Anne Mostyn, but I have found no other evidence for the reputed first marriage.

Bellot, Edward (c.1570-1622). Eldest son of Edward Bellot (b. c.1540) and his wife Anne, daughter of Edward Moston or Mostyn, born about 1570. He married, c.1590, Amy (d. 1612), second daughter and co-heir of Anthony Grosvenor of Dodleston (Ches.), and had issue:

(1) John Bellot (c.1594-1659) (q.v.);

(2) Susan Bellot (c.1596-1652); married, 1616/7 (licence 26 February), John Broughton (d. 1655) of Broughton (Flints.), eldest son of Randle Broughton, and had issue at least three sons and two daughters; buried at Worthenbury (Flints), 2 March 1651/2;

(3) George Bellot (b. c.1600), of Odd Rode (Ches.), born about 1600; an officer in the Parliamentarian army (Capt.); MP for Staffordshire, 1653; married, 1641 (licence 29 June), Eleanor, daughter of William Lawton (d. 1613) of Church Lawton (Ches.) and had issue two daughters;

(4) Thomas Bellot (d. 1627); will proved in the PCC, 22 January 1627/8; 

(5) Frances Bellot (d. 1631?); married, 1629 (licence 22 May), Peter Legh (d. 1641) (who m2, 12 December 1632 at St Mary-on-the-Hill, Chester, Anne (d. 1688), daughter of Henry Birkenhead of Backford (Ches.), and had further issue two sons), third son of Sir Peter Legh of Lyme Park, and had issue one son, who died young; probably died in 1631;

(6) Elizabeth Bellot (d. 1669?); married, about August 1624, Thomas Bromley (c.1592-1660) of Hampton (Ches.), and had issue one son and two daughters; possibly the woman of this name buried at Marbury (Ches.), 2 March 1668/9;

(7) Mary Bellot (1609-31), baptised at Astbury, 18 September 1609; married, c.1629, Thomas Gamull (1604-35), son of William Gamull, alderman of Chester, and had issue one daughter; died 23 December 1631.

He inherited Great Moreton from his grandfather, and is said to have been responsible for building the timber-framed house there in about 1606. He also owned property at Burton (Denbighshire).

He died 7 August 1622 and was buried at Astbury; his will was proved in 1622 and an inquisition post mortem was held 28 March 1623. His wife died 1 September 1612 and was buried at Astbury.

Bellot, John (c.1594-1659). Eldest son of Edward Bellot (c.1570-1622) and his wife Amy, daughter and co-heir of Anthony Grosvenor of Dodleston (Ches.), born about 1594. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1613). JP and DL for Cheshire. High Sheriff of Cheshire, 1640-41 and of Denbighshire, 1642-43. He adhered to the Royalist party in the Civil War and his lands were sequestrated but redeemed in 1647 on the payment of a fine of £940. He married Ursula, daughter and sole heir of John Bentley of The Ashes, Endon (Staffs), and had issue, with two other children who died in infancy:

(1) Edward Bellot (c.1613-c.1645); married, 18 March 1639/40 at Deddington (Oxon), Sybil (d. 1661) (who m2, 11 September 1649, Sir Edmund Anderson (1605-61), 1st bt. of Broughton and Lea Hall, Gainsborough (Lincs)), daughter of Sir Rowland Egerton (d. 1646), 1st bt. of Farthinghoe (Northants), but died without issue before 1649;

(2) Thomas Bellot (b. c.1618); educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1634; BA 1637) and Grays Inn (admitted 1640); died unmarried in the lifetime of his father; 

(3) Sir John Bellot (c.1619-74), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(4) Philip Bellot; died unmarried;

(5) George Bellot (c.1624-60), born about 1624; educated at Hart Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1640); married, 6 November 1647 at Uttoxeter (Staffs), Ann (d. 1666), the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Colte of Rotherham (Yorks WR), ironmonger, and widow of William Cotton (d. 1641) of Crakemarsh Hall (Staffs), but died without issue and was buried at Uttoxeter, 11 October 1660;

(6) Anne Bellot; married John Ferne (d. 1658) of Crakemarsh (Staffs), son of William Ferne (d. 1651);

(7) Ursula Bellot (d. 1664); married, 1641 (licence 4 December), Thomas Stockton (1609-74), of Cuddington (Ches.) and Grays Inn, barrister-at-law and a judge in Ireland, and had issue at least two sons and one daughter; died 1664.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall from his father in 1622. He also inherited Thringston Hall (Leics) from his great-uncle, George Bellott, in 1631, and The Ashes in right of his wife, gaining possession in 1638.

He died 9 November 1659 and was buried at Astbury (Ches.); his will was proved in the PCC, 14 June 1660. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Sir John (c.1619-74), 1st bt. Third, but eldest surviving, son of John Bellot (c.1594-1659) and his wife Ursula, daughter and sole heir of John Bentley of The Ashes, Leek (Staffs), born about 1619. He was a Royalist in the Civil War and was in arms for the king, but was pardoned by Parliament in 1647. High Sheriff of Staffordshire, 1662-63. He was created a baronet, 30 June 1663. He married, c.1650, Anne (c.1627-1711), daughter of Roger Wilbraham of Dorfold (Ches.), and had issue: 

(1) Sir Thomas Bellot (1651-99), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(2) Mary alias Marjorie Bellot (b. 1653), born 22 September 1653; living unmarried, in 1708;

(3) John Bellot (c.1658-68); died young and was buried at Astbury, 9 January 1667/8;

(4) Elizabeth Bellot (b. 1659), born 21 October 1659; died unmarried after 1708;

(5) Anne Bellot (1664-72), born 1 August 1664; died young and was buried at Astbury, 27 May 1672.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall and The Ashes from his father in 1659, and probably built the present house at The Ashes soon afterwards.

He died 14 July and was buried at Astbury (Ches.), 21 July 1674. His widow died 27 December 1711 and was buried at Astbury, 1 January 1711/2; administration of her goods was granted at Chester, 1713.

Bellot, Sir Thomas (1651-99), 2nd bt. Only surviving son of Sir John Bellot (c.1619-74), 1st bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Roger Wilbraham of Dorfold (Ches.), born 22 October 1651. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1668) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1671). Freeman of Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1678; MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1679-81, 1690-95 and 1698-99. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 14 July 1674. He unwisely acted as a surety for Morgan Whitley, who defaulted as receiver-general of taxes for Cheshire and North Wales and when the Treasury took proceedings against his executors in October 1703, it may have caused financial difficulties for his son. He married, 4 February 1674/5 at St Margaret, Leicester (Leics), Susanna (1654-85?), third daughter of Christopher Packe (1595-1682) of London and Cotes (Leics), draper and Lord Mayor of London in 1654, and had issue:

(1) John Bellot (1676-77), baptised at Astbury (Ches.), 14 December 1676; died in infancy and was buried at Astbury, 5 March 1676/7;

(2) Anne Bellot (1677-1713?), baptised 5 February 1677; died unmarried; administration of goods granted to her sister Elizabeth, 3 September 1713;

(3) Sir Thomas Bellot (1679-1710), 3rd bt. (q.v.);

(4) Sir John Bellot (1680-1714), 4th bt. (q.v.);

(5) Elizabeth Bellot (1682-1732), baptised 7 February 1681/2; died unmarried and was buried at St John the Baptist, Chester, 2 October 1731; administration of goods granted, 12 April 1732;

(6) Susanna Bellot (1683-96), baptised at Astbury, 1 October 1683; died young and was buried at Astbury, 11 November 1696;

(7) Christopher Bellot (b. & d. 1684), baptised at Astbury, 25 November 1684; died in infancy and was buried at Astbury, 31 December 1684;

(8) Edward Bellot (d. 1693); buried at Astbury, 3 October 1693.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall and The Ashes from his father in 1674.

He died 28 November 1699; administration of his goods was granted to his elder surviving son, 3 March 1699/1700. His wife's date of death has not been traced, but it seems likely she died in about 1685.

Bellot, Sir Thomas (1679-1710), 3rd bt. Second, but eldest surviving, son of Sir Thomas Bellot (1651-99), 2nd bt., and his wife Susanna, daughter of Christopher Packe of London and Cotes (Leics), draper, baptised 18 July 1679. Educated at Chester and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1699). He succeeded his father as 3rd baronet, 28 November 1699. MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1705-06, 1708-09. He married, 11 July 1706 at Biddulph (Staffs), Anne (1687-1754), daughter and co-heir of Sir William Bowyer (1654-1702), 4th bt., and had issue:

(1) Thomas Bellot (b. 1707), baptised at Astbury, 4 December 1707; died in infancy and predeceased his father.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall and The Ashes from his father in 1699.

He died by 22 January 1709/10, and his will was proved at Chester. His widow married 2nd, 2 June 1728 at Stapenhill (Derbys), Rowe Pert (d. 1749) of Ilam Hall (Staffs), and died 19 July 1754; she was buried at Biddulph, 31 July 1754.

Bellot, Sir John (1680-1714), 4th bt. Third son of Sir Thomas Bellot (1651-99), 2nd bt., and his wife Susanna, daughter of Christopher Packe of London and Cotes (Leics), draper, baptised at Astbury (Ches.), 14 October 1680. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1699; BA 1704). He succeeded his elder brother as 4th baronet by 22 January 1709. He was unmarried, and had no issue.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall and The Ashes from his brother in 1710, but sold The Ashes to John Debank later that year. At his death he bequeathed the Great Moreton estate to his friend and executor, Richard Vernon of Middlewich (Ches.), charged with the payment of his debts and legacies. It was sold soon afterwards to the Powis family from Staffordshire.

He was buried 8 February 1713/4, when his baronetcy became extinct; his will was proved at Chester, 28 September 1715.

Bellot family of Bochym Manor

Bellot, Thomas. Only known son of Thomas Bellot and his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of William Liversage of Macclesfield and widow of [forename unknown] Creswall. He married [forename unknown] Combesford, and had issue:

(1) Richard Bellot (d. c.1558) (q.v.);

(2) Elizabeth Bellot; married Raffe Brodhurst and had issue at least one daughter.

He settled in Wiltshire.

His date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Richard (d. c.1558). Only recorded son of Thomas Bellot and his wife [forename unknown] Combesford. He married Alice (fl. 1558), daughter of Richard Earle, and had issue:

(1) Francis Bellot (d. 1597) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(3) Robert Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(4) Bridget Bellot (d. 1608); married John Smith (d. 1564?*) of Corsham (Wilts), son of John Smyth (d. 1538) of Corsham, clothier, and had issue six sons and three daughters; will proved in the Corsham Peculiar Court, 16 December 1608;

(5) Dorothy Bellot (fl. 1558); married Robert Chivers (fl. 1558);

(6) Margaret Bellot (fl. 1558); married [forename unknown] Best/Bisse;

(7) Anne Bellot (fl. 1558); married [forename unknown] Hodges;

(8) Katherine Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(9) Christian Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(10) Elizabeth Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(11) Edith Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(12) Mary Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558.

He leased the Rectory Manor at Corsham in Wiltshire from Syon Abbey and later from the Crown.

He died after 2 December 1558, when his will was written. His widow's date of death is unknown.

* A John Smyth senior was buried at Corsham, 18 February 1563/4 and this seems likely to be the right man, but his will (written in 1563) was not proved in the PCC until 25 November 1570.

Bellot, Francis (d. 1597). Eldest son of Richard Bellot of Corsham (Wilts) and his wife Alice, daughter of Richard Earle. He married Anne/Agnes, daughter of Reginald Mohun (c.1508-67) of Boconnoc (Cornw.), and had issue:

(1) John Bellot (d. by 1608); died without issue before 29 July 1608 and probably in the lifetime of his father;

(2) Thomas Bellot (fl. 1620); living in Ireland in 1620; married Lucy (d. 1631), daughter of John Ryves, and had issue at least one son and three daughters; died before 1631;

(3) Rev. Reginald Bellot (c.1555-1600) (q.v.);

(4) Scipio Bellot; perhaps died young;

(5) William Bellot; perhaps died young;

(6) Arthur Bellot; perhaps died young;

(7) Ambrose Bellot (c.1561-1637) of Downton (Devon), born about 1561; MP for East Looe, 1597; JP for Devon by 1610; married 1st, 1596/7 (licence 14 September), Elinor, daughter and heir of Barnard Smith of Totnes and widow of John Charles of Tavistock (Devon), Sir John Fulford (d. 1580), kt. of Great Fulford (Devon) and John Wrey of Trebigh (Cornw.); married 2nd, 1627 (licence 27 June) at Dittisham, Lucy (d. 1631), daughter of [forename unknown] Stockett and widow of [forename unknown] Wood of Modbury (Devon), and had issue one daughter; administration of goods granted in the PCC, 10 October 1637;

(8) Ann Bellot.

He settled after his marriage at the house at Bochym Manor, Cury (Cornwall), which was given to him by his father-in-law. The manor of Bochym remained with the Mohuns until 1616 however.

He died in 1597. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Rev. Reginald (c.1555-1600). Third son of Francis Bellot and his wife Anne, daughter of Reginald Mohun of Boconnoc (Cornw.), born about 1555. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (BA 1574; MA 1577); Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, 1575-84; Rector of Menheniot (Cornw.), 1584-1600. He married Dorothy (d. 1638), daughter of John Dinham of Wortham, Lifton (Devon), and had issue:

(1) Renatus Bellot (b. c.1590; fl. 1634) (q.v.);

(2) Phoebe Bellot (fl. 1600), living in 1600 when she was mentioned in her father's will;

(3) Francis Bellot (b. & d. 1597), baptised at Menheniot, 15 March 1596/7; died in infancy and was buried in the same place, 26 March 1597.

He inherited Bochym from his father in 1597.

His will was proved at Exeter, 5 June 1600. His widow married 2nd, Thomas Hoblyn (d. 1636) of Nanswhyden, St Columb Major (Cornw.), and was buried at St Columb Major, 11 January 1637/8.

Bellot, Renatus (b. 1588; fl. 1654). Only surviving son of Rev. Reginald Bellot (c.1555-1600) and his wife Dorothy, daughter of John Dynham of Wortham, Lifton (Devon), baptised at Menheniot (Cornw.), 5 January 1588/9. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1605; BA 1609). He was a Royalist in the Civil War and compounded for his delinquency in 1651. He married 1st, 1611 (licence 26 July), probably at Dittisham (Devon), Philippa (b. 1592/3), daughter and heir of William Bere of Pengelley, St. Neot (Cornw.), and 2nd, 28 July 1634 at Hartland (Devon), Mary (b. 1603), daughter of Sir Thomas Monck (1570-1627) and sister of General George Monck (1608-70), later 1st Duke of Albemarle, and had issue:

(1.1) Ambrose Bellot (b. 1612), baptised at St Neot (Cornw.), 13 September 1612; educated at Queen's College, Oxford (matriculated 1628); presumably died in the lifetime of his father;

(1.2) Dorothy Bellot (1613-14), baptised at St Neot, 12 December 1613; died in infancy and was buried at St Neot, 27 June 1614;

(1.3) Philippa Bellot (b. 1615); baptised (as Philip) at St Neot, 18 June 1615; possibly to be identified with the 'Philip Bluet' who married, 9 February 1645/6 at St Teath (Cornw.), Hugh Raw, and had issue; 

(1.4) Renatus Bellot (b. 1616), baptised at St Columb Major (Cornw.), 29 September 1616; perhaps died young;

(1.5) Frances Bellot; living in 1620;

(1.6) Loveday Bellot; living in 1620;

(1.7) Christopher Bellot (c.1622-92) (q.v.);

(1.8) Francis Bellot (c.1627-81?); educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1647); perhaps the man of this name whose will was proved in 1681.

He inherited Bochym Manor from his father c.1600, and in 1616 he acquired the manor which had been separated from the house in the mid 16th century.

He was living in 1654 when he was involved in a legal dispute and probably died before 1660. His first wife died between 1627 and 1634. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Christopher (c.1622-92). Third, but eldest surviving, son of Renatus Bellot (b. 1588) and his wife, born about 1622. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1639). He farmed the coinage duty on tin for Cornwall jointly with Samuel Enys, 1661-68, but subsequently gave up the patent in return for a salary of £500 a year, presumably for acting as collector of the duty. High Sheriff of Cornwall, 1681-82. He married, 5 June 1666 at St Gluvais (Cornw.), Bridget (1643-97), daughter of William Pendarves (d. 1673) of Roscrowe (Cornw.), and had issue:

(1) Anne Bellot (b. 1667), baptised at Cury, 28 April 1667; married, 29 May 1683 at Cury (Cornw.), as his second wife, Thomas Hawkins (1650-1716) of Helston and Trewinnard, St. Erth (Cornw.), and had issue four sons and six daughters;

(2) Loveday Bellot (d. 1711), died unmarried of smallpox, and was buried at All Hallows, Exeter (Devon), 16 September 1711, where she was commemorated by a monument; will proved in Exeter, 1712;

(3) Renatus Bellot (1674-1710) (q.v.);

(4) Catherine Bellot (1676-1717), baptised at Cury, 28 March 1676; died of smallpox in 1717;

(5) Bridget Bellot (d. 1719); married, 25 September 1708 at North Hill (Cornw.), Sampson Hele of Exeter (Devon), merchant (who m2, 12 July 1720 at Exeter Cathedral, Elizabeth March); died of smallpox, 10 June 1719, and was buried at All Hallows, Exeter, where she was commemorated by a monument;

(6) Grace Bellot (d. 1717), of Fowey (Cornw.); died unmarried of smallpox in 1717; will proved 1717;

(7) Elizabeth Bellot (fl. c.1711); living c.1711;

(8) Jane Bellot (d. 1717), of Fowey; died unmarried of smallpox in 1717; will proved 1717;

(9) Mary Bellot (1687-1717) of Fowey (Cornw.), baptised at Cury, 4 April 1687; died of smallpox in 1717; administration of her goods was granted in 1717.

He inherited Bochym Manor from his father, and also had a house at Temple Bar, London.

He was buried at Cury, 10 June 1692. His widow was buried at Cury, 23 November 1697.

Bellot, Renatus (1674-1710). Only son of Christopher Bellot (c.1622-92) and his wife Bridget, daughter of William Pendarves of Roscrowe, baptised at Cury, 26 January 1673/4. Educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (matriculated 1691) and Middle Temple (admitted 1691). Tory MP for Mitchell (Cornw.), 1702-05; JP for Cornwall. Stannator (elected member of the Stannary Parliament) for Penwith and Kerrier, 1703, 1710. He was said by a near contemporary to have spent all his estate ‘by riot and excess’. He married, 1697 (settlement 3 April), Mary (c.1680-1729), daughter and heiress of Edmund Spoure of Trebartha (Cornw.), and had issue:

(1) Renatus Bellot (1704-12), baptised at Cury, 18 October 1704; died young, 11 July 1712 and was buried at North Hill (Cornw.), where he is commemorated by a monument.

He inherited Bochym Manor from his father in 1692 and came of age in 1695. After his death it passed to trustees for his son, but following his son's death the estate was sold in 1713 for the payment of his debts. His widow was heiress to the Trebartha estate, which she bequeathed to her friend and cousin Francis Rodd (d. 1736) subject to his not marrying Jane Parker of Covent Garden (which he didn't).

He died of a fever and was buried at Cury (Cornw.), 22 May 1710; his will was proved in 1710. His widow married 2nd, 27 December 1716 at Lewannick (Cornw.), Charles Grylls (d. 1727), and was buried at North Hill, 6 May 1729; her will was proved in the PCC, 7 June 1729.

Principal sources

Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, 2nd edn., 1841, pp. 54-55; https://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/bb4ae/bellot1.php; 

https://www.northhillhistory.co.uk/rodd.htm; ODNB entry for Hugh Bellot (1542-96), bishop of Bangor and Chester.

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Argent, on a chief gules, three cinquefoils of the first.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide further information about the ownership of Bochym Manor in the 20th century?
• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 16 June 2023 and updated 19 June 2023.