the Courtenay family
Devon Champions for over 800 years
Powderham Castle is home to the Earl and Countess of Devon and their children.
They bear the illustrious Courtenay name, a family line that stretches back
over 1000 years, most of which has been spent in Devon.
F
ollowing the death of Hugh
Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and
the return of his son Charles, and
his wife AJ, to the family home at
Powderham Castle, we offer this
brief history of one of Devon's more
prominent families: the Courtenays.
Since the 1180s the family has been
at the forefront of our great county's
story, playing all manner of roles
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from Barons of Okehampton, Sheriffs of Devon, Marquises of Exeter,
and Viscounts, to Archbishops,
Bishops, Members of Parliament
and, currently, Earls of Devon. The
family has built and/or stewarded
many of Devon's most iconic castles,
houses and landscapes, including
at Okehampton, Tiverton, Exeter,
Forde House, Ugbrooke, Molland,
Colyton and, currently, Powderham
Castle on the River Exe. In this article, we follow the family's
remarkable story, as its status, role
and wealth rose, fell, rose, fell and
rose again repeatedly over the past
8 centuries. Fascinating in its own
right, this one family’s journey
provides a unique reflection on
the story of Devon, the county to
which the family is so closely tied:
Countryside, History, Walks, the Arts, Events & all things Devon at: DEVONSHIRE magazine.co.uk
12th Century Immigrants and Warriors:
A
s the name suggests, the Courtenay
family origins are French, and their
first traces are found in the early medieval town of Courtenay, 100 miles south
of Paris in the region of Burgundy. Athon,
the patriarch, was a knight resident at
Chateau Renard, who fortified the town
around 1000 AD, and took the town's
name in return, becoming Athon de
Courtenay. He established a family that
flourished under the early Capetian
monarchy, distinguished in battle, and
canny in marriage and politics, adopting early a strategy since followed for
centuries through good times and bad.
13th Century Crusaders
and Barons:
T
he French Courtenay family found glory as
crusaders, becoming variously Counts of
Edessa (modern-day Syria), kings of Jerusalem
and Emperors of Constantinople.
Despite early glories, the family’s fortunes foundered when Athon's great
grandson, Reginald, fell foul of his king,
Louis le Gros, and was banished, his lands
forfeited, and his daughter married to
Peter, Prince of France. Reginald moved
to England in 1154, with Eleanor of
Acquitaine, king Henry II's new Queen,
where he established his family in Devon.
He was appointed Baron of Okehampton,
and the family acquired Okehampton
Castle, from where they could defend the
new Plantagenet monarchy's interests
in the West.
An engraving of Okehampton Castle
14th Century Earls and Garter Knights:
H
aving settled in Devon, allied themselves with local magnates, and
fought with prominence in the national
cause, the 14th century saw the Courtenay
Their English cousins had more modest ambitions, firming up local ties with marriage to
the De Redvers family, the Norman Earls of
Devon, and becoming locally important as
Sheriffs of Devon, with residence at Exeter Castle.
The English Courtenays were not shy to bask in
the glory of their crusading cousins, and it was
during this time that the distinctive Courtenay
coat of arms was adopted - three red spots on
a golden background, symbolic of the three
spots of Christ's blood brought back from the
Holy Land on a golden salver and bestowed as
a relic in Bruges Cathedral.
The family took a minor role in the major event
of the century: king John was married to a
Courtenay lady, his second wife, when he signed
the Magna Carta in 1215. The family also
joined in the battles of Edward 1 in Wales and
in Scotland, assisting their king in the early
and bloody efforts to forge a United Kingdom. The Courtenay coat of arms, the three
red spots are symbolic of Christ's blood
brought back from the Holy Land
The port
of
Topsham
family rise to prominence. The family
acquired and built castles at Tiverton,
Bickleigh and Colcombe. They oversaw
an international trading business to the
continent, principally with the Plantagenet
lands in the south of France, around
Bordeaux. The centre of this business
was the Exe Estuary, which became one
of England's busiest ports during this era,
exchanging wool for wine, and transporting pilgrims. When the Countess' Wear
was built across the river Exe by the
Countess of Devon to restrict shipping
to the port of Exeter, the beneficiary
was the Courtenay-owned port town
of Topsham, which was granted a royal
charter by Edward I in 1300.
When the Norman De Redvers family
failed to produce an heir, it was to the
Courtenays that the king Edward III
turned to represent his interests in the
county, making Hugh the 1st Courtenay
Earl of Devon in 1335. What's On in Devon?
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The 1st Earl's son, another Hugh, consolidated this new-found status. He was
a distinguished knight, who fought at the
battles of Crecy and Poitiers and married
Margaret de Bohun, granddaughter of
Edward I, whose dowry included the
Manor of Powderham. Hugh and Margaret
were buried together in Exeter Cathedral,
where their tomb can be admired to this
day in the South Transept. Hugh’s son and heir, another Hugh,
predeceased him, but not before he had
become a founding member of Edward
III’s new Order of the Garter. The family's rise to national prominence was
further confirmed when Hugh's brother,
William, became Archbishop of Canterbury, responsible for many developments
in England's greatest Cathedral, where
he is buried in state next to the Black
Prince - his close friend and the great
hero of the Hundred Years' War.
Hugh Courtenay - Exeter Cathedral
As the century drew to a close, building
work began at Powderham, the royal
manor gifted by Margaret to her sixth son,
Philip, on the banks of the Exe, establishing a home for the cadet branch of the
family on the shores of the Exe, which
remains to this day.
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W
the
theCourtenay
Courtenayfamily
family
Devon Champions for over 800 years
15th Century Ambassadors and Enemies:
he Powderham Courtenay family approached
centre stage at the start of the 15th century,
through Sir Philip Courtenay's eldest son
Richard, close friend and confidant of the young
king Henry V. The youngest ever Chancellor
of Oxford University, Richard became Bishop
of Norwich, and Keeper of the king's purse, in
which role he was responsible for financing the
Agincourt campaign, and negotiating for peace
with France. Indeed, it was Richard Courtenay
that famously returned from France carrying
the gift of tennis balls, a diplomatic sleight later
made famous in Shakespeare's play.
Most notable was one of England’s final private
battles, which took place in 1452 at Clyst Heath,
just east of Exeter (where Exeter Chiefs now
play). This match was principally between the
Courtenays of Tiverton (the main family) and
their cadet cousins, the Courtenays of Powderham, who sided with a rival magnate from
East Devon – the Bonville family. The Tiverton
team won, and the Powderham team (direct
predecessors of the current Earl) withdrew to
the Castle where they successfully sued for
peace after a long siege. An engraving from a painting by
Philip James de Loutherbourg
T
The Battle of Bosworth
Richard travelled on the Agincourt
campaign with Henry V, but died
of dysentery at the preceding siege
of Harfleur – in the king’s presence.
Henry V washed his dead friend’s
feet and sent his body home to be
buried in Westminster Abbey, next to
Henry's own tomb within the shrine
of England’s saint-king, Edward the
Confessor.
During the decades that followed,
as England descended into civil war,
the family faced turbulent fortunes. Members of the family fell in battles
on both sides of the Wars of the Roses. The family later lost members on both
sides at the Battle of Tewkesbury and
Courtenays represented both sides at
the Battle of Bosworth, the culmination
of the Wars of the Roses. Despite losing
many Earls and other family members
during these troubled decades (the
title was lost and re-granted multiple
times), by hedging loyalties, reading
the wind, and most importantly maintaining good relations locally in Devon,
the Courtenay family survived the
Plantagenet/Tudor transition better
than many and survived to suffer the
even greater turbulence of the Tudor
Reformation.
Courtenay at Agincourt
16th Century Royal Cousins and Exiles: H
enry Courtenay, later created 1st Marquess
of Exeter, was born in 1498, son of William,
Earl of Devon, and his wife, princess Catherine
of York - the sixth daughter of Edward IV and
the sister of Henry VII’s wife. By this marriage,
the Courtenay family took Plantagenet blood,
and tied closely to the Tudor monarchy, as
Henry Courtenay was first cousin and a close
childhood friend of Henry VIII. As Henry VIII’s (in)famous reign unfolded,
the courtenay
> timeline >
Athon, Knight
resident at Chateau
Renard in Courtenay,
France, adopts the
town's name.
Athon's great grandson, Reginald, banished
from his lands, moves to England with Eleanor
of Acquitaine, King Henry II's new queen. Also
appointed Baron of Okehampton defending the
Plantagenet monarchy's interests in the west.
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1,100 AD
1,200 AD
political machinations, the Marquess of Exeter
was disgraced by alleged treason, attained
and beheaded. Ancient families with royal
pretensions did not fare well during Henry
VIII’s latter years.
Henry Courtenay’s son, Edward, aged only 12,
was imprisoned and spent his adolescence in the
Tower of London befriending Henry VIII’s two
disfavoured daughters – Princesses Mary and
Elizabeth. When Mary I later took the throne,
family
Hugh, is the first Courtenay to be made
Earl of Devon in 1335 by Kind Edward III.
Topsham granted a royal
charter by Edward I in 1300.
King John married a Courtenay lady when
he signed Magna Carta in 1215. Joined the
battles of Edward I in Wales and Scotland, in
attempt to forge a United Kingdom.
Athon flourished
under the Capetian
monarch and
distinguished in
battle.
1,000 AD
so the Courtenay family fortunes fluctuated
again. Henry Courtenay was at one point
privy councillor and accompanied his king to
the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1525, where
he tilted with distinction against the French
Dauphin. Henry Courtenay’s wife Gertrude was
close to Catherine of Aragon and godmother
to Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth
I. But by 1538, once Henry VIII had divorced
Catherine of Aragon, married Anne Boleyn
and appointed Thomas Cromwell to effect his
Richard Courtenay made Chancellor
of Oxford University - close friend
and confidant to king Henry V.
Hugh's son (another Hugh),
one of the founding knights
of the Order of the Garter
The Earl's 1st son fought at battle of Crecy and
Poitiers, also marrying the granddaugher of
Edward I, Margaret de Bohun, whose dowry
included the Manor of Powderham.
William Courtenay made
Archbishop of Canterbury
1,300 AD
Countryside, History, Walks, the Arts, Events & all things Devon at: DEVONSHIRE magazine.co.uk
1,400 AD
War of the Roses - battle at
Clyst Heath, principally between
Courtenays of Tiverton (main
family) and cadet cousins at
Powderham, who sided with the
Bonville family.
1,500AD
Powderham Castle, home to the current Earl and Countess of Devon
Edward was released from prison and,
in a brief blaze of glory, he was recreated Earl of Devon, carried Mary’s
sword of state at her coronation, and
was touted as her English consort. No sooner had Mary’s interests, and
affections, turned to Catholic king
Phillip II of Spain then Edward was
disgraced and exiled. He died soon
after, unmarried and childless in
Italy, and so the Tiverton Courtenay
family expired in ignominy and with
it the Courtenay family ceased to call
themselves the Earls of Devon.
17th Century Civil Warriors and Glorious Revolutionaries:
T
he Powderh a m
Forde House - Newton Abbot
Courtenays took on
the family’s uncanny
knack of placing themselves at the centre
of local and national
politics during the next
century. A Courtenay
descendent sailed on
the Mayflower in 1620,
and thus the family was present
at the beginnings of the New
World.
The cadet cousins at Powderham,
however, kept themselves apart from
the traumas of Tudor court, living a
gentler life beside the Exe. During
the reign of Elizabeth I, they provided
service by the provision of ships to
fight the Armada. The family was
active in local politics and Sir William
of Powderham married the widow of
Devon's seafaring hero, Sir Francis
Drake, who lived her last days at
the Castle. Powderham was a royalist
stronghold during the English
Civil War, and was besieged over
Christmas 1645 by overwhelming Parliamentary forces. For
a second time, the family survived by suing for peace on
beneficial terms, and even had
the forethought to marry into
the family of Parliamentary
the courtenay
Henry Courtenay made 1st
Marquess of Exeter and Earl of
Devon by Henry VIII in 1525.
Edward Courtenay released
from Tower of London 15
years later in 1553.
Henry Courtenay beheaded
for alleged treason in 1539,
son Edward incarcerated.
William Courtenay
released from Tower
of London by Henry
VIII in 1509.
1,500AD
family
Sir William of Powderham
marries Elizabeth Sydenham,
widow of Sir Francis Drake.
Sir William Courtenay enobled
as Viscount Courtenay in 1762.
Earldom of Devon restored
to the family in 1832.
> timeline >
World War II - Christopher
Courtenay at Dunkirk and
Hugh born during the Blitz
of Exeter (1942).
James Wyatt's Music Room
for 3rd Viscount Courtenay
(1794-96).
Powderham beseiged during
English Civil War - 1645.
1,600AD
The Cour tenays
remained a leading Devon
family during the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy
such that, when William of
Orange landed in Brixham
in 1688, it was to Sir William
Courtenay’s home at Forde
House, Newton Abbot, that
he journeyed to stay the night
and hold his first Court on
English soil. The chair on
which he sat remains in the
family collection at Powderham Castle. William of Orange lands at Brixham in 1688,
staying and holding court at Sir William
Courtenay's home, Forde House, Newton Abbot.
Edward Courtenay incarcerated
again in Tower of London
alongside Princess Elizabeth.
William Courtenay incarcerated
in the Tower of London in 1504.
William of Orange Chair
General, Sir William
Waller. Therefore,
when Oliver Cromwell was victorious,
the family survived
to play a role following his Protectorate
government. Hugh Courtenay becomes
last hereditary peer to make
a maiden speech in House
of Lords by right (1999).
Brunel's Atmospheric
Railway (1844).
1,700AD
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Powderham hosts
BBC Radio 1's
Big Weekend!
in 2016
2,000 AD
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the
theCourtenay
Courtenayfamily
family
Devon Champions for over 800 years
18th Century Builders and Viscounts:
T
he next century saw
the family restore
something of the fortunes that had been lost
during the traumatic
Tudor years. The family’s estate grew both
in Devon and overseas,
principally in Ireland,
where they founded
one of Ireland’s earliest
public schools in Newcastle West, County
Limerick. In Devon, another Sir
William Courtenay
The Staircase Hall
ser ved as MP for
Honiton and for Devon,
and was enobled as Viscount Courtenay in 1762. He and his
son undertook remarkable architectural developments at Powderham
during the century, converting a
ruinous medieval castle into the
sumptuous Georgian home we see
today. Notable achievements were
the insertion of the staircase hall
and libraries, and the remarkable
woodland garden and Belvedere
tower familiar to many that know
the Exe estuary. The portraits around
Powderham today are a testament to
the taste, style and aesthetic of the
Viscounts Courtenay, who commissioned work from England’s leading
Cosway - 'Kitty' Courtenay
(3rd Viscount)
The Music Room
artists, the Devon-born Hudson
and Reynolds.
Later in the century, Powderham
was filled with life as the 2nd
Viscount’s 13 daughters filled the
house to the rafters. Their brother,
William ‘Kitty’ Courtenay, completed
the re-design of Powderham with a
sumptuous Music Room by James
Wyatt, and portraits by another
Devonian, Richard Cosway, before
tragically being exiled himself for
his homosexual proclivities, once
more thrusting the family into
public disgrace.
Sir William Courtenay (1st Viscount) by Hudson
19th Century Benefactors and Gamblers:
T
he rollercoaster of family fortunes did not let up during the Victorian
century. The exiled Kitty’s cousin, another William, was a lawyer
who petitioned the House of Lords to have Kitty re-created Earl of
Devon. Devon’s case was successful, and restored to the Powderham
branch of the family, the honours previously restored by Queen Mary
to Edward Courtenay in 1556, and recognised that Kitty Courtenay was
the rightful heir to the ancient 1335 Earldom of Devon. The Gatehouse
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On Kitty’s death, William conveniently succeeded
and set about a further major overhaul at Powderham. Engaging Charles Fowler, the Devon-born
architect of Covent Garden, William, the 10th
Earl, created the courtyard and western approach
that we see today and embraced modernity by
permitting Brunel’s Atmospheric Railway to
run alongside the Powderham Deer Park beside
the River Exe.
'The Good Earl
William’s son, yet another William known
as ‘the good Earl,’ set about many worthy
works in and around Devon. He established
psychiatric hospitals in Exminster, Starcross
and Dawlish, and became involved in Devon
and national politics, serving as Chancellor
of the Duchy of Lancaster for a time. A
statue of him, paid for by public prescription
now stands in Northernhay Gardens outside
Exeter’s Rougemont Castle. The Good Earl’s son, Baldwin, suffers somewhat from comparisons
to his father. Reputed to have taste for fast living and slow horses, he
had a career as an MP, but died childless aged 54 after suffering a fit
while walking home across Trafalgar Square. He had been Earl only a
few years. The title passed to his uncle, Henry Hugh, an elderly cleric,
and the family estates fell into considerable financial distress, with
major sales in Devon, Ireland and elsewhere. Indeed, the Castle was
let out for a period of time, as the family could not afford to live there. Countryside, History, Walks, the Arts, Events & all things Devon at: DEVONSHIRE magazine.co.uk
20th Century Survivors and Innovators:
A
t the turn of the 20th Century estate finances
helmet at the battle of longstop Hill and lost
were weak and prospects were not strong. much of his company to land mines in North
The elderly Earl’s son had just died before
Africa on Christmas Eve, 1942. His young
inheriting, leaving three sons, the eldest of
family (Kate and Hugh were born in 1940 and
which, Charles, inherited aged 34 in 1904. 1942) meanwhile found their feet at Powderham,
Under ‘Uncle Charlie’s’ stewardship, Powderham
dodging bombs, ghosts and making do; Hugh
became a lively Edwardian home, with the
was born in the State Bed at Powderham in
introduction of more recognisably modern
the early hours of May 5, 1942, during the
leisure amenities such as an indoor tennis court
Exeter Blitz, when the city was ablaze and
(now the Riding School) and a squash court. Nazi Germany was looking supreme in Europe. Uncle Charlie did not find success in love, and
despite turning Powderham into an Edwardian
sports centre for his girlfriend, she married
another leaving him broken hearted. He died
childless in 1927, initiating yet another traumatic chapter in Powderham’s history, one
which was only exacerbated by the global
upheavals of the 1930s and 40s. Uncle Charlie’s two brothers, Henry (a parson)
and Frederick (a rector), both unexpectedly
died in succession in 1935, leaving Frederick’s
only son Christopher to inherit aged 18. At
Sandhurst at the time, before commission into
the Coldstream Guards, Christopher was retitled
Hon. Courtenay, Lord Courtenay and the Earl
of Devon over six tragic months, and his home
moved from Honiton Rectory, where he had
happily lived his childhood with 6 wonderful
sisters, to Powderham, facing death duties on
a penal scale. The upheaval was compounded
shortly after Christopher married his adored
Venetia in July 1939 by the outbreak of World
War II. Christopher was re-commissioned into
the Coldstream Guards and fought a hard war. One of the last on the beaches at Dunkirk,
Christopher later took a bullet through the
burdens of repair and taxation at Powderham,
set about decades of retrenchment. Multiple
sales of ancient family lands and artistic treasures permitted them to pay debts and refine
the family business down to its core that exists
today – the Powderham Estate. The Castle was
one of the earliest to be opened regularly to the
public in 1957 alongside Longleat and Beaulieau. The family began farming, as modern
agriculture made the traditional tenant farming
model unsustainable, and more
actively managing businesses in
the Estate, such
as the ancient
deer herd. Helmet worn by
the 17th Earl
Exeter Cathedral - in the Blitz during
the Baedeker Raids
Christopher and Venetia, bruised and battered
by their war experiences and buffeted by the
Christopher famously rarely attended the House
of Lords. Earl since 1935, he was the longest
serving peer never to have made a maiden
speech when he died in 1998. Hugh, his successor, quickly put this omission right, and by
so doing in January 1999 he became the last
hereditary peer ever to make a maiden speech
by right, when he addressed the Upper House
in the debate on the abolition of hereditary
peers. Hugh, the current Earl’s father, was
active locally, and together with Diana his wife,
was a champion of his county serving in many
public and charitable roles. Hugh and Diana
also continued the process of modernisation
at Powderham, introducing a country store
and welcoming weddings and open air music
to the Castle, including Shirley Bassey, Elton
John, and many others. The Courtenays in the 21st Century…
I
t is this business that many know today under its new stewards, Charlie and AJ, the current
Earl and Countess of Devon, who took on the management of Powderham after Hugh’s death
in 2015. Charlie and AJ currently live at the Castle, and within their first year caused something
of a stir by welcoming Radio 1’s Big Weekend to Powderham.
See next issue in Devonshire magazine for an introduction to the modern day Powderham Estate.
What's On in Devon?
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