View source for Manor of Tor Mohun

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
[[File:StSaviour'sChurch TorMohun Torquay.PNG|thumb|St Saviour's Church, the mediaeval parish church of Tor Mohun]]
'''Tor Mohun''' (formerly '''Tor Brewer''')<ref name=R378>Risdon, p.378</ref> is a historic [[Manorialism|manor]] and [[parish]] on the south coast of Devon, now superseded by the Victorian sea-side resort of [[Torquay]] and known as '''Tormohun''', an area within that town. In 1876 the Local Board of Health obtained the sanction of Government to alter the name of the district from ''Tormoham'' (sic) to ''Torquay''.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/historytorquay00whitgoog/historytorquay00whitgoog_djvu.txt White, J.T., ''History of Torquay'', Torquay, 1878, Preface]</ref>

The ancient Church of St Saviour, the parish church of Tor Mohun, is on Tor Church Road, today serving as the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Andrew. It contains several monuments, most notably to Thomas Ridgeway (1543–1598) of Torwood House, lord of the manor of Tor Mohun, and of the Cary families of nearby [[Torre Abbey]], and [[Cockington|Cockington Court]],<ref name=P851>[[Bridget Cherry|Cherry, Bridget]] & [[Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner, Nikolaus]], ''The Buildings of England: Devon''. Yale University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-300-09596-8}}., p.851</ref> both within the parish.

==Descent==
<gallery mode=packed heights=150px>
File:Arms of Brewer.svg|Arms of Brewer
File:MohunArms.png|Arms of Mohun of Dunster
File:RidgewayArms.png|Arms of Ridgeway
File:PalkArms.PNG|Arms of Palk
</gallery>

===William the Usher===
The manor of ''TORRE'' is listed in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as held [[tenant-in-chief|in-chief]] and in [[demesne]] by ''Willelmus Hostiarius'' ("William the Usher"),<ref>Name given in full in Latin for his holding of Taw Green, Thorn 51:2</ref> a servant of King [[William the Conqueror]] and one of the minor [[Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief]] of that king. He also held from the king in Devon the manors of Taw Green, Raddon, Bolham, Ilsham and Mariansleigh.<ref>Thorn, Chapter 51</ref>

===Brewer===
The [[Manorialism|manor]] subsequently became known as '''Tor Brewer'''<ref name=R378 /> when held by [[William Brewer (justice)|William Brewer]] (died 1226). In 1196 he gave part of the manor's land for the founding of [[Torre Abbey]],<ref name=T25112>Thorn, Part 2 (notes), Chapter 51:12</ref> a [[monastery]] for [[Premonstratensian]] [[canon (priest)|canons]]. The two estates of Tor Mohun and Torre Abbey remained apart until shortly after the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] in the 16th century and were once again parted in the 17th century (see below). Since Brewer's only surviving son died childless, his eventual heirs became his daughters, the fourth of whom, Alice married (as her first husband) Reginald de Mohun (1185–1213)<ref name=P272>[[William Pole (antiquary)|Pole, Sir William]] (died 1635), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WF4OAAAAQAAJ Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon]'', Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.272.</ref><ref>Sanders, p.123</ref> [[feudal barony of Dunster|feudal baron of Dunster]], of [[Dunster Castle]] in Somerset. She brought him a great estate, and "is set down among the benefactors to the new [[Salisbury Cathedral|Cathedral Church of Salisbury]], having contributed thereto all the marble necessary for the building thereof for twelve years."<ref>Cleveland, Duchess of, Battle Abbey Roll{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref>

===Mohun===
Reginald de Mohun (1185–1213) acquired Tor on his marriage to Alice Brewer, and thenceforth it was known as '''Tor Mohun'''. She gave the manor to her younger son, who died childless, when it reverted to the Mohun family of Dunster.<ref name=P272 /> (For future descent see: [[Feudal barony of Dunster]]).

===Ridgeway===
[[File:TorwoodHouse TorMohun Devon ByJohnWallaceTucker 1808–1869.jpg|thumb|upright|Torwood House, Tor Mohun, residence of the Ridgeway family. Demolished 1840s. Painted by John Wallace Tucker (1808–1869)]]
Tor Mohun was purchased by [[John Ridgeway (died 1560)|John Ridgeway]] (c. 1517 – 1560)<ref name=P272 /> of [[Abbotskerswell|Abbots Carswell]] in Devon, a [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Dartmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Dartmouth]] and [[Exeter (UK Parliament constituency)|Exeter]]. His son Thomas Ridgeway (1543–1598), MP, later purchased the adjoining Torre Abbey<ref>Risdon, p.146</ref> from [[Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet]] ({{circa|1563}}–1613)<ref name=P272 /> of [[Berry Pomeroy]], Devon. A monument to Thomas Ridgeway, with his [[effigy]], survives in the former St Saviour's Church, Tor Mohun.<ref name=P851 /> Thomas Ridgeway's son was [[Thomas Ridgeway, 1st Earl of Londonderry]] (c. 1565 – 1631).

In 1653<ref>Rhodes, Michael, ''Devon's Torre Abbey: Faith, Politics and Grand Designs'', Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2015, p.65</ref> Torre Abbey was sold to Sir John Stawell (1625-1669) of [[Parke, Bovey Tracey|Parke]] in the parish of [[Bovey Tracey]], Devon (whose mural monument survives in Bovey Tracey Church), a counsellor-at-law.<ref>Per [[History of Parliament]] biography of his son William Stawell [http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/stawell-william-1651-1702#footnote2_8ut53ap]</ref> In 1662 Stawell sold it to Sir George Cary,<ref name=B443>Burke, Sir Bernard, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=DqkTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA443 Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies ...]'', 2nd Edition, 1841, p.443.</ref> (d.1678) whose first cousin Sir Henry Cary, [[Sheriff of Devon]] in 1637, had sold nearby Cockington (the ancient Cary family seat) during the [[English Civil War|Civil War]] "in his zeal for royalty".<ref>Vivian, p.152</ref> The last male member of the family was [[Robert Ridgeway, 4th Earl of Londonderry]] (died 1714), who died without male progeny and was buried at Tor Mohun.<ref name=V647>Vivian, p.647</ref> His two daughters and co-heiresses were:
*Lucy Ridgeway (died 1736), wife of [[Arthur Chichester, 4th Earl of Donegall]] (1695–1757), without progeny.<ref name=V647 /> In 1768<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/historytorquay00whitgoog#page/n60/mode/2up White, J.T., ''History of Torquay'', Torquay, 1878, p.37]</ref> Tor Mohun was sold "by the Earl of Donegal" (sic, deceased)<ref name=B443 /> to [[Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet]] (1717–1798), later of [[Haldon House]] in the parish of [[Kenn, Devon|Kenn]], Devon.<ref name=B443 />
*Frances Ridgeway, wife of [[Thomas Pitt, 1st Earl of Londonderry]] (died 1729), who in 1726 was created [[Earl of Londonderry]].<ref name=V647 />

===Palk===
[[File:TorwoodHouse TorMohun Devon ByRevJohnSwete 1793.jpg|thumb|Torwood House, former mansion house of the Ridgeway family, painted by [[John Swete]] in 1793]]
In about 1768,<ref name=B443 /> the Earl of Donegal sold Tor Mohun with its [[manor house]] known as ''Torwood'',<ref name=GR165>Gray & Rowe, Vol.1, p.165</ref> and several other estates, to [[Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet]] (1717–1798), who had recently returned from his career as [[Governor of Madras]] in the [[East Indies]] with a "princely fortune" at his disposal and was "in quest of a seat in his native county where he might enjoy the fruits of his toil in elegant leisure and courteous hospitality".<ref name=GR165 /> He was not however happy with the layout of the estate as fields next to Torwood House had been sold off by the Ridgeways and thus "interfered with the [[demesne]]", that is to say interfered with his privacy.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} He attempted to buy back the fields in question from his neighbour Mr Cary of Torre Abbey, who refused to sell. He therefore decided to alter his plan of turning Torwood House into a palatial residence, and purchased another estate at [[Haldon]], where he built [[Haldon House]] as his new seat, one of the grandest houses in Devon.<ref>Gray & Rowe, Vol.1, pp. 165–6</ref> He let Torwood House and the Tor Mohun estate to a farmer ("converted it into a farm house" (Swete)<ref>Gray & Rowe, Vol.1, p.84</ref>). Torwood House was described by Rev. [[John Swete]] as follows, when he visited the area in 1793:<ref name=GR164>Gray & Rowe, Vol.1, p.164</ref><br/>
:''"The house was not quite half mile distant from the quay: passing by an elm of great bulk I ascended some steps and through an arch'd gateway enter'd a spacious court of a quadrangular form surrounded by high walls. The house had a venerable aspect, its windows formed by stone mullions and over its projecting doorway was a sculpture, possibly the arms of the family of Ridgeway, its antient possessor. The rooms within have nothing remarkable but their size; the [[Great Hall|Hall]] in particular possesses from this circumstance no small degree of consequence and the chamber above, now converted into a general dormitory for the servants of the farmer who rents the estate, seems to be of equal dimensions. There are however no other remains of the magnificence of the family that inhabited it, no fretwork, no sculpture but the arms I have before noticed, no painted glass in the windows..."''

Swete painted three watercolours of the house and its setting in 1792/3, which survive in the Devon Record Office.<ref>DRO 564M/F4/14, 18 & 22, published in Gray & Rowe, Vol.1, pp. 163–5</ref> The only element he found which reminded him of the "savour of antient workmanship" was the staircase, the steps of which were made not of planks but of solid blocks of oak.<ref name=GR164 /> Eventually Palk, together with his neighbour Cary of Torre Abbey, devised a plan to develop the two adjoining estates of Tor Mohun and Torre Abbey into a seaside resort town for visitors, now Torquay. On a previous visit in 1792 to the then small village of "Torquay", Swete remarked in his ''Travel Journal'': "About six in the evening I {{notatypo|quitted}} Torquay which under the auspices of Sir Robert Palk (if the plans which I have seen be carried into execution) will be one day raised into importance".<ref>Gray & Rowe, Vol.1, p.85</ref>

Cockington Chapel was anciently a [[chapel of ease]] of St Saviour's Church, Tor Mohun.<ref name=T25112 />

The Manor itself and manorial title are now separated. The current manorial lord is American Philanthropist Terry A. Perkins.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*[[Todd Gray (Devon Historian)|Gray, Todd]] & Rowe, Margery (Eds.), ''Travels in Georgian Devon: The Illustrated Journals of The Reverend [[John Swete]], 1789–1800'', 4 vols., Tiverton: Devon Books, 1999.
*[[Tristram Risdon|Risdon, Tristram]] (died 1640), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=w_0GAAAAQAAJ Survey of Devon]''. With considerable additions. London, 1811.
*Sanders, I.J. ''English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327'', Oxford, 1960.
*Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) ''Domesday Book Vol. 9: Devon'', Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985. {{ISBN|0-85033-492-6}}
*[[John Lambrick Vivian|Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L.]], (Ed.) ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620''. Exeter, 1895.

[[Category:Former manors in Devon|Tor Mohun]]
[[Category:Torquay]]