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Sommerwill -a Devon Family: Family History

Family History

Photo Gallery of Thelbridge & Witheridge

Map of Thelbridge

Map

Origins

Half way between South Molton and Tiverton, in the 4000 acre rural parish of Thelbridge, is Summer Farm, which was once two farms, still shown on old maps as Over (or Higher) Summerwell and Lower Summerwell. [ Click here for Google map] About 1428 a certain John Somerwill lived there, a free man about 40 years old, who had lived there all his life; he is briefly mentioned in The Register of Edmund Lacy, Bishop of Exeter [1]. A reference in Feudal Aids (a tax record) shows that he was a tenant of an estate along with John Thilbrige and Thomas Wodhouse.[2] Unfortunately, nothing else is known about him, but the connection between the surname and the place name is intriguing, for all three surnames (Thilbrige, Wodhouse and Somerwill) are still today the names of adjacent areas of land "to the south-west of the parish of Witheridge" (as Lacy's Register says).

The names are descriptive. In Old English Þelbrige (Thelbridge) means "plank bridge". Note on the map above that a footpath—the most direct route between Witheridge and Thelbridge and therefore probably ancient—crosses the stream alongside Thelbridge Hall. The bridge is known to have been there as long ago as 1086. Woodhouse is alongside a wood. Old detailed maps show that both Somerwell farms had a well immediately adjacent to the farmhouse. Somer wielle in Old English denotes a summer spring or well, i.e. one that does not dry up in summer. Since wells that do not dry up in summer are very common it might seem strange that one should be singled out to be named in this way. However, in this region of Devon there are many natural springs and the Somerwell farms are so near to the summit of a hill where one would not expect a year-round water supply by natural drainage that their wells are likely to be spring-fed and therefore a little unusual. Gover et [11] al give this derivation of the name in Witheridge.

It seems certain, therefore, that this was where John Somerwill lived and that his surname was derived from the place name. However, the fact that in both of the medieval sources it is spelt -will, whilst the place name must have ended in -well, might suggest that as a surname it had been in use for long enough for a difference of pronunciation to creep in. The same is true for Thelbridge, which in the Feudal Aids reference is spelt Thilbrige as a surname and Thylbrigge as a place name in the same sentence. Thelbridge is named in the Domesday Book, and as a place name Somerwell also was very likely pre-Conquest Saxon, as old as the settlement on this site. As a surname it may already have been in use since the 13th century.

See Appendix 1 for Notes on Medieval Thelbridge and Appendix 2 for Thelbridge: Miscellaneous Sources for a detailed analysis of the most ancient documentary evidence and its significance.

Earliest References

The eatliest reference to the Somerwill name, which is mentioned in the Burnett Morris Slip Index, is to a Michael de Somerw'll, which reads "1218 Suit as to land in MANE with held by Robert son of Alan (Assize Roll)". Another is a mention of a certain Jacobus (James) de Somerwill of Hartland in the 1273 Hundred Roll. [4] I have been unable to find the originals of either of these references, and the first may not even be a Devon reference at all. The other source is the 1332 Lay Subsidy [5], a list of taxes paid, which records that Walter Somerwille of Thelbridge paid 12d. Twelve people in the parish paid either 8d or 12d; the rector paid 18d. Walter was not as rich as the rector but was evidently better off than most. This source also lists Thomas de Somerwille and William de Somerwill' of Stoke St Nectan, Hartland, who paid 10d and 8d respectively. Some 40 miles separate Thelbridge from Hartland. We have no reason to suppose that there was any relationship between the Thelbridge and Hartland Somerwills. It is most likely that they were separate families who both independently derived their surname from a feature of the place where they lived, a summer well.

Spiegel-Halter [7] derives the name Somerville from a pseudo-French form of Summerwell, Hartland, citing the same reference to J. de Somerwille, 1275. This may be true for Hartland, where the name Summerwill or Summerwell is still the name of a farm today. As noted above, two taxpayers, Thomas and William de Somerwille, lived there in 1332 but that is the last documentary mention of Somerwills in that parish. There are none to be found there in the parish registers which began in the 16th century, nor in any other parish west of Barnstaple. There does not appear to be any connection between these Hartland Somerwilles and later people with a similar surname in Devon. They are all (apart perhaps for the Stoke Damerel family mentioned below) apparently descended from Somerwills in the region north-west of Thelbridge. It seems to me most probable, therefore, that the name of Somerwell or Somerwill originated both at Hartland and at Thelbridge independently of each other as a place name and was adopted as a family name by those living there when surnames came into use after the Norman Conquest.

Other dictionaries of surnames (see Miscellaneous Sources) tend to repeat the same 13th and 14th century citations and leap to the conclusion that the Hartland references point to the origins of all later Devon Somerwills. It is an illogical assumption when unsupported by evidence. Whenever a family name originates from a geographical feature that is not unique, one may expect to find more than one family assuming that name in different places and quite unconnected with each other. That is what seems to have happened here, and the geographical spread of the name in Devon bears this out. The parishes in which they are found in the early tax lists and muster rolls (see below) are nearly all to the north-west of Thelbridge at no great distance. The fact that no Somerwills are mentioned in them in the 1332 Lay Subsidy suggests that the Somerwill settlement in them occurred during the 15th and early 16th centuries. The hiring fair at South Molton would be the natural place for a young man from Thelbridge to go in search of work. Taken on by a farmer from Goodleigh, Charles or North Molton, he would settle, marry and found his family there. It is surely significant that the movement of Somerwills across Devon is a slow one spread over centuries in a broadly north-westerly direction.

14th cent: Thelbridge
15th cent: Witheridge
16th cent: South Molton, Swimbridge, Goodleigh, Charles, etc
17th cent: Bratton Fleming, High Bray, North Molton, Bishop's Tawton
18th cent: Marwood, Shirwell, Heanton Punchardon
19th cent: Ilfracombe, Combe Martin

It is not certain that the Somerset Somerwills and Somerfields also have their origins in the same family in Thelbridge, yet it is interesting to see a similar geographical movement away from the Thelbridge area northwards towards Nettlecombe and Minehead, followed later by Bristol to the north east. See Group S.

Medieval Times

Lacy's Register also records the stages in the ordination of a certain Richard Somerwill of Exeter, as acolyte in 1424, subdeacon and deacon at St Nicholas' Exeter in 1428, and priest in 1429. Nine years later Sir Richard was appointed Vicar of Luppitt (near Honiton) and promptly complained to the bishop about "the disrepair of the vicarage caused by the neglect of sir William Steven his predecessor". [3] Whether John and Richard were closely related we cannot know. It is likely that they were. The name of Richard crops up again in Thelbridge a century later, where the value of Richard Somerwell's goods is assessed at £16 for the purpose of taxation. That was a considerable amount in those days when a farm bailiff earned less than £3 a year.

The Other Somervilles

One would like to suppose that the Thelbridge Somerwills were related to the Somervilles of Staffordshire, who derived their name from the village of Sémerville in Normandy, whence they came. A Walter de Somerville came to England with William the Conqueror. His family held lands at Wicknor in Staffordshire certainly from 1164 onwards and a younger branch of the family acquired an estate at Aston Somerville in Worcestershire, where an ancient, much defaced effigy remains. When the male line at Wicknor failed in 1356 the baronetcy and inheritance passed to a branch of the family living at Edstone in Warwickshire. In 1583 John Somervill of this Warwickshire family was involved with members of the Arden family in an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I (the Somervilles having Roman Catholic sympathies). Edward Arden was "hanged bowelled and quartered" at the Tower of London for his treason; Somervill escaped that fate by strangling himself the night before his execution. John's younger brother, Sir William Somerville, managed to retain the lands at Edstone and Aston, though another part of the estates near Solihull was forfeited to the Crown. [6]

One branch of this family survived on the Scottish border until the 18th century. The title passed back and forth between Scotland and Worcestershire until it became extinct in 1870 on the death of the 19th Baron Somerville at Aston Somerville.

It is just possible that some younger branch of this noble family came into Devon at an early period and became the ancestors of the Somerwills of Thelbridge known to us in the 1332 Lay Subsidy and Bishop Lacy's Register. There is, however, no evidence for this, nor any evidence (except perhaps the case of Sir Richard Somerwill, Vicar of Luppitt) that the Devon Somerwills had the kind of wealth and status we should expect if that were the case. In the late 18th century the 16th Baron, John Southey Somerville, inherited the manor of Exbourne through his mother, Elizabeth Cannon Lethbridge, who was born in Pilton, but there is no evidence of any Somervilles being born there, and no other evident earlier connection of this family with Devon.

In 1392 William Somerwell, a burgess of Bristol, died leaving a will. Whether he was connected with the Devon family I do not know.

16th-18th Centuries

The main sources of information about Somerwills in the early 16th century are tax lists. The Devon Subsidy Rolls 1524-7 [8] name three Somerwells in Thelbridge—Richard (goods valued at £16), Philip (£2) and John (£3). From his greater wealth we may guess that Richard was possibly the father or elder brother of Philip and John. These were very likely direct descendants or relatives of that John of 1428 whom Bishop Lacy mentions.

A generation later in the 1545 Subsidy Roll [8] only John is named. The value of his goods had increased to £5. There is a Richard at South Molton, but since his goods are worth only £1 it is unlikely to be the same one (unless he had been extremely wasteful or unfortunate!).

John and his family (if he had one) were probably the last Somerwills in Thelbridge. Unfortunately the 16th century parish registers for Thelbridge have not survived to give us a fuller picture. Bishop's transcripts exist for some of the years from 1607 onwards; the extant registers begin in 1633. There are no Somerwills in them at all.

In the adjacent parish of Witheridge no Somerwills are named in these subsidy rolls. The Devon Muster Roll 1569 [9], however, names Philip, and he is one of several who are mentioned in the Witheridge Parish Registers, which begin in 1581. There are no Somerwill entries in that parish after 1611. The line there also appears to have died.

The tax lists show that there were Somerwills in other parishes. The Subsidy Rolls 1524-7 name Alex Somerwyll in South Molton (£2) and William Somerwell in Goodleigh (£2). The 1545 Subsidy names four at South Molton—Alexander (£10), Matilda (£5), Richard (£1) and Emmot (£1). This is probably the Alexander who married in North Molton in 1543. Was he the Alex Somerwyll who 20 years earlier at South Molton had been assessed at £2, or maybe his son?

The Devon Muster Roll [9] lists all the able-bodied men in each parish, who constituted a kind of 'home guard' and who had to assemble on one day in each year to be counted and to have the state of their weapons assessed. That of 1569 includes pikeman John Somerwill of Goodleigh, William Somerwill of Charles parish, one of the 'presenters' or senior officers, billman Philip Somerwill of Witheridge, and Edward Somerwill, an archer of Morchard Bishop parish.

In the 1581 Subsidy [10] there are but two references: Thomas Somerwill of Swymbridge (£5) and Philip Somerwill of Witheridge (£4).

In the 16th century Somerwills begin to appear in such parish registers as have survived from that period. The earliest references are in Barnstaple (1592—an isolated marriage), Charles (1543—a burial), Goodleigh (1542—two marriages), North Molton (1543—an isolated marriage), Oakford (1569—an isolated marriage), and Swimbridge (1562—the first of many baptisms).

The largest and most permanent settlement of Somerwills was in Swimbridge, where a continuous line can be traced from the 16th to the 20th century. Between 1562 and 1850 there were 60 Somerwill marriages (35 of males) and 176 baptisms. The Landkey Somerwills were closely related to them, and at certain times Swimbridge Somerwills went to Landkey Church for baptisms and marriages (and vice versa).

Status and Occupations

The status and occupations of the Somerwills prior to the censuses of the 19th century can only be guessed at. Most of them were probably farmers and farm labourers whilst some may have been employed at the tannery, the lime kilns and the smithy. A much wider range of occupations is evident in the 19th century—mason, carpenter, cobbler, innkeeper, cab driver, coachman, iron miner, shop keeper, etc—but no evidence of wealth. Yet it does seem that some of those who lived in the earlier centuries may have been yeoman farmers with a little substance, since ten of them left wills and the Land Tax Assessments show that a few owned land. See notes on Summerwill Land at Widden Among these was Lewis (see Group B2), who in the 18th century owned part of the ancient manor of Swimbridge and had enough wealth to erect a gravestone for his sons and daughters, who died in childhood. His legacy went to his wife's family.

Naval Somervilles

A somewhat mysterious group is the naval family of Somervilles at Stoke Damerel (Devonport, Plymouth) in the 19th century, originating with the birth in 1763 of Philip, who became a captain in the Royal Navy and whose son and grandson rose to the rank of commander. His father, William, may have been the William Sommerwill, mate of 'The Duke', who married in Stoke Damerel in 1761. If so, then they were a branch of the Somerwill family. It is possible, though, that they were distantly related to the noble family of Somervilles mentioned earlier, and not of Devonian origin. See Group F.

19th-20th centuries: dispersion

During the 19th century the population of North Devon declined as more and more farm workers, driven by poverty, left to seek employment elsewhere. The 1881 census shows ex-Devon Somerwills scattered to South Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire, South Wales, London, and even one to North Yorkshire: most, however, remained in the county (though not always the parish) of their birth. In 1891 there were Somerwills in Swimbridge, Parracombe, Warkleigh, Exeter and Southampton; Somervilles in North Molton (who had come from Combe Martin); Summerfields in Marwood, Pilton and Plymouth; and Summerwills in Ilfracombe, descended from a line going back to Swimbridge a century earlier through Marwood, Fremington and Chittlehampton. The Exeter Somerwills were basket makers. The Parracombe Somerwills were masons, though one of them for a time was landlord of the Fox and Goose Inn. The Ilfracombe Summerwills around the middle of the 19th century were plumbers and gas workers.

Some of the more enterprising members of the family started a new life in the New World. Around 1840 a William Virgo Somerville (whose origins have still to be traced) emigrated to Australia, where his descendants still live. About the same time a Samuel and Sarah Summerwill emigrated from Barnstaple to Canada. From them are descended a family of Summerwills in America, mainly in Iowa. Samuel's grandson, Ben Samuel, was the founder of the Iowa State Bank, which is still run by members of the family.

Two brothers from Exeter, John Mortimer and George Mortimer Somerwill, emigrated to America in 1861 and had families there.

In the 1870s Lydia Summerwill from Marwood left her husband, George, and took all but one of her children to Canada, where Summerwill descendants can still be found. I am descended from the one left behind in England.

Also in the 1870s William Somerfield of Ashford emigrated to Australia and had a large family.

References

(1) Vol II, ed G.R. Dunstan, 1966, Devon & Cornwall Record Society.
(2) Feudal Aids 1284-1431, West Country Studies Library.
(3) Dunstan, op cit pp 82f,89,124f.
(4) In Bardsley's Dictionary of English & Welsh Surnames.
(5) Ed A.M. Erskine, 1969, Devon & Cornwall Record Society.
(6) Genealogist, New Series, Vol xiii, pp 73-81.
(7) A Dictionary of Devon Surnames, 1958. Typescript at the Athenaeum, Barnstaple.
(8) Ed T.L. Stoate, 1979 & 1986. Copies at the West Country Studies Library.
(9) Ed A.J. Howard & T.L. Stoate. Copy at the Society of Genealogists.
(10) Devon Taxes 1581-1660, ed T.L. Stoate (1988).
(11) Place Names of Devon, J.E.B. Gover, A. Mawer & F.M. Stenton, CUP (1932)