There are at least four differing family pedigrees for Sir Walter Ralegh. The two Visitations by the Royal College of Heralds to Devon, 1564, and 1620, do not agree with each other, Sir William Pole, a relative of Sir Walter, shows a similar, yet different pedigree, and Joseph Holland, a fourth. 

Dr T.N. Brushfield explores these difficulties in his series of papers ‘Raleghana’ for the Devonshire Association.  He found the fourth pedigree by Joseph Holland (Harl. MS 1500), in the archives of Exeter Cathedral. Holland was a lawyer of the Inner Temple, a native of Devonshire and an historian who had been asked by Sir Walter Ralegh to look into his family pedigree.   Dr Brushfield asserts that it may be impossible to form a true lineage and while not suggesting an accurate pedigree, points out the anomalies in the others.  There are many papers now held collectively in The National Archives (TNA) that can substantiate certain events.

The name Ralegh is derived from a small manor near Pilton, Barnstaple. All early members of the family are styled de Ralegh. The earliest ancestors were recorded in North Devon.

From this family there descended at least five houses of Ralegh all in the West Country. The Raleghs that we are concerned with moved to Nettlecombe in Somerset, then to Smallridge, nr Axminster, and then to Fardell nr Cornwood. They held the manors of Colaton Raleigh, Withycome Raleigh, Bolham (Tiverton) and Smallridge.

John Hooker the Exeter Chamberlain wrote a letter to Sir Walter dated 12 Oct 1586, containing some interesting information regarding his family.  Sir Walter believed the information was correct, naming his first born son, Damerei, who unfortunately died before his first birthday.

The shortened contents of the letter are:
‘An early Knight of the family, Sir John Raleigh married an Elizabeth Damerei (1318-1360).
Elizabeth was the daughter of Sir Roger Damerei (d’Amory) ((1284-1322) and Lady Elizabeth de Clare.
Lady Elizabeth de Clare was the daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester (1243-1295) and Joan d’Acres (Plantagenet) (1272-1307).
Joan d’Acres was the daughter of King Edward I and Eleanor of Castille’

This particular alliance has not proved to be accurate. It is well recorded that Lady Elizabeth Damerei (d’Amory) married Lord John Bardolf.  However the Clare family arms are shown in the quartering’s of the Ralegh shield according to Dr Brushfield, so somewhere there was a marriage of a Clare to our Raleghs.

It is useful to remember that the age of marriage in medieval times was 12 years for a girl and 14 for a boy. Many were betrothed by their parents when much younger.  It was all about acquiring land and therefore money, love may have been a bonus.  A girl would have brought to the marriage a Dowry from her father and if he had no sons she could expect to inherit her father’s lands, which would then become her husband’s property. 

Life expectancy was around 40-50 years on average for both men and women, although many women died very young in childbirth, and the life of a Knight could also be short, many being killed in battle. Multiple marriages for both sexes were very usual amongst the landed classes and could account for some of the inaccuracies in the known pedigrees.
 
To return to Sir Walter Ralegh

1. Sir Wymond Ralegh a young son out of ye house of Nettlecombe, Somerset had his dwelling house at Smallridge, Axminster. ibid.

2. Wymond de Ralegh of Nettlecombe his son and heir, who died on the 29 Sep 1258 married Constance the daughter and heir of Robert Coleton before 1242, when they were both named in a Curia Regis Roll.  By which marriage Colaton Raleigh came to the Ralegh family. Wymond had a brother William, a Cleric and Lawyer who was Bishop of Norwich in 1239, he died in 1259.

3. Sir Hugh Ralegh son and heir of the above was styled of Bolham in Tiverton and ‘Widecombe’,  Withycombe Raleigh, where he is listed as a tenant in the Feudal Aids 1303, he married circa 1273. An Obit list of the Guild of Exeter Kalenders gives his death as April 1310 and also of Mathilda – his presumed wife.
Dean Andrew Kilkenny of Exeter in the Inventory of Accounts 1302-15, gave Sir Hugh Ralegh a table.

4. Sir John Ralegh son and heir of the above married in 1302, Joanna the daughter and heiress of William Newton of Fardell, Cornwood. By which marriage Fardell came to the Ralegh family. The Newton’s had held the Manor of Fardell for generations.

5. Sir Peter de Ralegh the son and heir was styled of ‘Widecombe and Fardell’ he married Margary Dawney. He was mentioned as a Knight of Devon 1333-1350 and paid taxes in Colaton Raleigh (Lay Subsidy 1332)

 At this time it is recorded that there were three Ralegh Knights of Devon: Sir John of Charneys, who was the Sherriff of Devon, Sir Peter of Fardell, and Sir John of Nettlecombe.

6. Sir John Ralegh son and heir married Matilda a daughter of William Ferrers, of Beer Ferrers.  An Inquisition Post Mortem at the National Archives gives the date of his death as 1376. He was recorded as a Knight of Devon in 1366

7. Sir John Raleigh of Smallridge and Fardell, son and heir of above married Elizabeth daughter of John Copplestone Snr in about 1399. He was living in 1409 when he was granted a sacrament certificate recorded in Bishop Stafford’s register, to hold office as the Escheator of Devon. In feudal England, escheat was a privilege exclusively given to the king. The policy of inheritance was to preserve the wealth of noble families by permitting one individual to inherit an entire estate. There was no writing of wills that would leave property to several heirs because that would have the effect of breaking up the estate. In addition, the law established a hierarchy of heirs who stood in line to inherit the estate. If there was no living person of a designated class to inherit, the king took the property by escheat. Sir John was the person who presided over the Inquisitions Post Mortem.
In 1422 Elizabeth Ralegh relict (widow) of John Ralegh was granted a license by Bishop Lacy of Exeter to build a Chapel at Fardell.

8. Walter Ralegh of Fardell the second son of Sir John, married Alice Carminowe  the daughter of Walter Carminowe, a descendant of the ancient family of Cornwall, one of whom reputedly led a West Country army against the invasion of the Romans. This alliance is recorded in the Visitations of Devon, and by Sir William Pole in his ‘History of Devonshire’ and also recorded in Cornish family histories. Early Deeds held in TNA under ‘Seymour of Berry Pomeroy’ mention Walter Ralegh in 1449, then Alice Ralegh in 1457 in deeds relating to the same property. A sister of Walter also named Alice married Henry Pomeroy.

9. The next generation is rather obscure, the Heralds in 1584 suggest a marriage of Walter of Fardell to a Katherine Prowse, possibly a daughter of the family of Chagford and Gidley.

10.  Walter Ralegh married a Margaret and had at least two sons Adam and Wymond.
Her surname is disputed, some biographies allege she was a Champernoun, but that is not recognized by any Champernoun pedigrees. Others, including Sir William Pole as the daughter of John Hatch of Wooley.
 Walter Raleigh died young in 1486 and an Inquisition Post Mortem was held.

The young Wymond , who was possibly six years old when his father died, was put under the custody of Sir Richard Edgecombe. 
 
Chancery Documents dated Dec 20 1486 say:
‘Richard Edgecombe knight, controller of the Kings Household, of the custody and marriage of Wymond son and heir of Walter Raleigh and also of all the lands and possessions lately pertaining to the said Walter to hold during the minority of the heir or as long as the said lands shall remain in the Kings hand.’

It was quite usual for the Escheator to remove the Manors and Heir from the family and give them to someone in the King’s favour. Sir Richard Edgecombe held an important position in Devon. He would have paid a fine to have the lands, they would bring him in a lot of money in rents.  He was also entreated to arrange a good marriage for Wymond.    Sir Richard died in France in 1489 and his son Peter presumably just kept control of the lands, as a marriage was arranged between a daughter of Richard Edgecombe, Elizabeth, and Wymond Raleigh. This must have been before 1497, when their son Walter was born.
 
11. Wymond Ralegh probably married twice, firstly Elizabeth Edgecombe circa 1495. They had two children that are known; Walter, the father of Sir Walter Ralegh and a daughter Jane.

Wymond tried to get his Manors returned from the Edgecombe family when he became 21. The first Court case is dated Michelmas 1502, for the recovery of title Deeds (Cornwall R.O. ME/763). This was apparently unsuccessful as they still held the Devon lands in 1515, when Wymond died.

He was then fined by the King in 1505 – 700 marks for Misprisons, the deliberate concealment of one's knowledge of a treasonable act or a felony, which could be failure to report a treason, or an abuse of proper authorities.
As a result of this loss he subsequently sold the manor of Smallridge.

He then married a second time, either late in 1513 or early 1514, Jane Grenville, daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville.

This is the only explanation of the disagreements of various biographies.  Heralds Visitation of Devon state he married Elizabeth Edgecombe, so does the Edgecombe family pedigree, however Sir William Pole, Joseph Holland and Dr Brushfield, all agree he married Jane Grenville and Grenville family pedigrees say she married Wymond.  It is the Grenville coat of Arms that is carved with the Raleghs on the Pew End in East Budleigh Church.  She could not however have been the mother of Walter, a view favoured by Dr Brushfield, she was too young. Her father Sir Thomas Grenville in his Will dated March 1513 states that his daughter Jane, ‘that I had by my last wyff’ is unmarried.  Jane would have been born after 1494, when Isabella Gilbert, the first wife of Sir Thomas Grenville died, and we know when Walter was born from the Inquisitions following the death of his father.

The Grenville family retained family ties with the Raleghs, Sir Richard Grenville of the ‘Revenge’ is famously quoted as asking for news of ‘my cousin Ralegh’

After the death of Wymond Ralegh there started a number of Inquisitions and Chancery Proceedings contained in the Calendars of State Papers (Domestic Series 1515-1518). Briefly the Edgecombe family were ordered to give up the Lands, and person of the young Walter Ralegh on the May 16 1516, the wardship of him had been granted to Sir Nicholas Vaux, Sheriff of Northants, Courtier and favorite of the King, a month earlier on April 21. 
Sir Nicholas was relieved of his duty in 1518 when Walter was 21.

It is clear that the Ralegh family had been dealt a very hard financial blow by the Edgecombes, which accounts for the reduced circumstances that forced the young Walter to buy the lease on the moderate farmhouse of Hayes Barton.
 
12. Walter the father of Sir Walter Ralegh married three times:
 
     1. Joan Drake the daughter of John Drake of Exmouth c1527
     2. Isabel Darrell c1535
     3. Katherine Champernoun the daughter of Sir Philip of Modbury c1548
        Katherine was the widow of Otho Gilbert and had six children by him.

Researched and written by Roz Hickman, © 2016, Local History Dept. Fairlynch Museum

Some of the many sources used in the compiling of the family tree held in the Fairlynch Museum:

History of Devonshire – Sir William Pole  
Visitations of Heralds to Devonshire  
Visitations of Heralds to Cornwall  
British History online    
Mapping the Medieval Countryside  
Devon Transactions (Raleghana)   
A View of Devonshire –Thomas Westcote  
Plantagenet Ancestry    
The Heraldry Society    
The History of Parliament
Magna Britannica
Castles Study Group
Burkes Peerage
BBC History
Exeter Diocesan Architectural Society
Westminster Abbey.org
History of the Granville Family
The Project Gutenberg Book of Sir.W.Ralegh

EB-B-00008 Biography,Raleigh