Tetcott

Parish church

The parish church was dedicated by the Bishop of Waterford in 1338 or 1339. Before the Reformation it was dedicated to the Trinity. In 1740 the parish feast day was said to have been 3 May (the date of the Invention of the True Cross) probably leading, according to Nicholas Orme, to its present dedication to "Holy Cross", the first record of which dates from 1742.{{cite book

The present-day church has a Norman font and partly dates from the 13th century with some 16th-century additions, mainly the tower.

The south transept of the church, known as the Arscott Chapel, contains an ornate pew for the family and notable pew railings dating from around 1700. There are also four memorials to members of that family, the most elaborate to John Arscott (died 1675), who was Sheriff of Devon, and his wife.{{cite book

Arscott of Tetcott

W. G. Hoskins described the Arscotts as one of the ancient families of freeholders that rose to the ranks of the squirearchy over a period of 300 years or so by the steady accumulation of property, mostly through marriage. Originating at Arscott (now known as South Arscott, north of the town of Holsworthy),{{cite book

Arthur Arscott (1554–1618) built a new manor house at Tetcott in 1603, which survives today in expanded form. A new and larger house was built adjacent to it by his descendants during the reign of Queen Anne (1702–1714). At this time new outbuildings were built in brick, unusual in Devon, some of which survive. The Queen Anne style house was demolished in 1831.

Descent

• John Arscott (died 1558) of Tetcott, was the fourth son of John Arscott (died 1541) of Arscott by his wife Margery Floyer, daughter of Richard Floyer.}} John married Elizabeth Walter, daughter of John Walter of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. His eldest son and heir was:
• Arthur Arscott (1554–1618), of Tetcott, who married Mary Langsford, daughter of John Langsford of Thursleton. His eldest son and heir was:
• Edmund Arscott (1588–1656), of Tetcott, who married Mary Walrond (died 1652), daughter of William Walrond (died 1627) of Bradfield, Uffculme.
• John Arscott (1613–1675), Sheriff of Devon at his death. He married Gertrude Calmady (died 1699), but died childless leaving as his heir to Tetcott his nephew:
• John Arscott (died 1708), of Tetcott who married as his second wife Prudence, of unrecorded family. His third son was Dennis Arscott (1685–1721) of Ethy, Cornwall, Sheriff of Cornwall, whose daughter, Jane Arscott (born 1678) married Sir John Molesworth, 3rd Baronet (1668–1723) in 1699, leaving descendants who eventually inherited Tetcott in 1788 (see below). A mural monument exists in Tetcott Church to John Arscott and his two wives. By Prudence John Arscott had a son and heir:
• Arthur Arscott (1683–1763), of Tetcott, who married Elizabeth Trefusis (died 1714), daughter of Francis Trefusis of Trefusis in the parish of Mylor, Cornwall, which family in 1794 succeeded as Barons Clinton. His mural monument exists in Tetcott Church. His eldest son and heir was:
• John Arscott (1719–1788), of Tetcott, who died without having been legally married and without issue. In the style of a mediaeval lord, he kept as a member of his household a dwarf jester named Black John. His mural monument survives in Tetcott Church. His heir was his cousin Sir William Molesworth, 6th Baronet (1758–1798) of Pencarrow in Cornwall.

Molesworth of Tetcott

Following the Arscotts, Tetcott was inherited by their distant cousins the family of Molesworth, later Molesworth-St Aubyn, of Pencarrow, Cornwall, The 7th and 15th Molesworth-St Aubyn baronets had as a first-name "Arscott". In 1831, whilst retaining the original manor house used some time later as a farmhouse, to serve as a hunting lodge. This was burned down, apparently by disgruntled locals five years later.

In 1925, as a secondary residence to Pencarrow, the family moved into the original manor house, formerly let as a farmhouse, which survives today. It is a long two-storey building built of rubble stone. Above the round arch of the central two-storey porch was reset, in the 20th century, the 1603 datestone taken from Tetcott Mill.

Tetcott hunt

The last of the Arscotts had been a keen hunter, and kennelled his pack of hounds at Tetcott. Later the sporting rights were acquired by Vincent Calmady who in about 1872 formed a pack of otter-hounds. In 1879 he recommenced fox-hunting on the Tetcott country, and the current South Tetcott Hunt and Tetcott Hunt continue today.

HMS Tetcott a Type II British Hunt class destroyer was built for the Royal Navy during World War II, named after the hunt.

Notes

References

Sources

• Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954)
• Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004

References

1. Hoskins, pp.492–3
2. OS Explorer Map 112 (2011) {{ISBN. 978-0-319-23711-3. Lana is at grid ref SX339962.
3. (2007). "Towers & Bells of Devon. Volume Two". The Mint Press.
4. {{harvnb. Vivian. 1895
5. Hoskins, p.79. He includes the Acland, Furse, Monk, and Edgcumbe families and a "whole host" of others in this description.
6. Hoskins, p.411. He says the family started here in the time of [[Henry III of England. Henry III]].
7. Hoskins, p.493.
8. Hoskins, p.493; Pevsner (p.802) states however that the 1603 datestone was removed from Tetcott Mill and affixed to the present house in the 20th century
9. {{efn. John of Tetcott's eldest brother was John Arscott (died 1563) of Arscott who founded the Arscotts of [[Dunsland, Bradford. Dunsland]] in the parish of [[Bradford, Devon. Bradford]], having married Phillipa Battyn, the Dunsland heiress. The 17th-century mansion [[Dunsland, Bradford. Dunsland House]] was purchased by the [[National Trust]] in 1954 and burnt down and was demolished in 1967.Lauder, Rosemary, ''Vanished Houses of North Devon'', Tiverton, 2005, pp.34, 29
10. {{harvnb. Vivian. 1895
11. {{harvnb. Vivian. 1895
12. {{harvnb. Vivian. 1895
13. {{harvnb. Vivian. 1895
14. Pevsner, p.567
15. Debrett's Peerage, 1968, pp.264–5, Baron Clinton
16. "About".
17. Per mural monument, Tetcott Church
18. Pevsner, p.802
19. "Tetcott". Devon Perspectives.
20. Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.709, Molesworth-St. Aubyn baronets, seats: Pencarrow & Tetcott, Holsworthy
21. Hawker. 1903
22. {{harvnb. Luke. 1880