Modbury

Modbury was the site of two battles in the English Civil War. The first battle was a surprise attack by a mounted Parliamentarian force led by Sir William Ruthven that moved under cover of darkness from Plymouth via Ivybridge on 7 December 1642. In the early morning charge they routed a mostly untrained Royalist force that had gathered in the town, where Sir Ralph Hopton, the King's senior commander in the West Country, was holding council at the manor house of Champernowne Court. The house was badly damaged by fire, Hopton escaped but many notable Devon Royalists were captured.

The second Battle of Modbury occurred on 22 February 1643 when the Royalists forces, expecting an attack by Parliamentarian forces assembled at nearby Kingsbridge, had fortified the town. Outnumbered approximately four to one, and running short of ammunition, the royalists retreated. This victory was largely instrumental in the lifting of the Siege of Plymouth, and the driving of the encircling Royalist forces into Cornwall.

By 1801, the population of Modbury had risen to 1,813, with almost half engaged in the wool trade. The impact of the mechanisation of the wool industry had a dramatic effect on the economic prosperity and population of the town from the mid-1820s. Many workers left the town and headed to large cities in search of employment, while others left the country altogether, emigrating to America.

The railway line bypassed Modbury, contributing still further to this decline. Modbury remained an important market town until as late as 1944 when the cattle market ceased.

The estate of Little Modbury, formerly owned by the le Rouse (le Rous) Family,[16] was subdivided in the 18th century,[17] and now is just a locale south of the village,[18] although Little Modbury Farm still maintains the name.

Orcheton within the parish was long a seat of the Prideaux family. The much mutilated effigy survives in the Orcheton (or Prideaux) aisle of Modbury Church of Sir John Prideaux (c.1347-1403) of Orcheton, twice a Member of Parliament for Devon in 1383 and 1388.[19]

In the parish, just outside the village of Modbury, is Shilstone Manor, a restored Georgian manor house on the estate of Silfestana, a property listed in the Doomsday Book,[20][21] also known as "Shivelston".[17] At the time of the Doomsday Book it was in the demise of Osbern de Salceid.[22] The Hill family (originally "de la Hille") owned the estate from the late 14th century, notably Judge Robert Hill and his son Robert Hill II, Sheriff of Devonshire,[23] until around 1614 when the fortunes of that branch of the Hill family had declined, the estate was acquired by the Savery family,[24] whose members included members of Parliament, and who were engaged in both farming and trade.[25]

In the 20th century the house had fallen into disrepair and was being used as a farmhouse.[26] In the early 2000s it was restored to its Georgian glory. The restoration won several awards including Country Life's ‘Restoration of the Century’ award[26] and The Georgian Group's ‘New Building in the Classical Tradition’ award for restoring the "1800 remodelling of mediaeval house".[27] The historic gardens at Shilstone have also been restored.[25]

The English inventor, Thomas Savery, was born about 1650 at the old medieval manor at Shilstone.[28]

Whympston (Wimpston) in the parish of Modbury is a historic manor.[17] King John granted the estate to John Fortescue in 1209.[29] It became the earliest English seat of the prominent Norman family of Fortescue, influential in British and West Country history, which survives today as Earl Fortescue, seated in Gloucestershire, but until recently seated at Castle Hill in Devon.

Yarnacombe in the parish of Modbury is a historic manor, once belonging to the Hart Family, and subsequently to the attorney W. Mackworth Praed.[17]