The Vosper relationship to the great Arundell family by Yvonne Morant

From: Yvonne Morant
Sent: Friday, January 22, 2016 11:35 PM

Subject: RE: The Vosper relationship to the great Arundell family

Hi Teri and all

Yes I did know about the Vosper relationship to the great Arundell family through the marriage of Mary Arundell and Oliver Dinham. In fact, for me, my descent from the Arundels came before my research established the existence of the Vospers in my tree. It was the excitement of this find that sent me scuttling off to Cornwall last year to visit Trerice the seat of this branch of the Arundels in Cornwall. Trerice is a manor house built by my 11^th GG in 1573 near Kestle Mill, a small locality near Newquay. My husband and I were fortunate to get accommodation at Kestle Mill, 10 mins by foot from Trerice. Trerice is a National Trust property open to the public. Imagine the thrill when I saw the initials JA (John Arundel) intertwined with KA (Katherine Arundell nee Cosworth, his wife). Sir John had rebuilt the house inherited from his father so the property goes back further than that. Katherine and John were parents of Mary Arundel (who married Oliver Dinham). After Katherine died, Sir John remarried to Gertrude Dennys and they had a son, John, who later became Governor of Pendennis Castle, another great story!

This Sir John (there are many!), the one married to Katherine, was an MP and Sherriff of Cornwall. His father before him, also Sir John, was twice Sherriff of Cornwall and Vice Admiral of the West under Kings Henry VII and VIII.He was knighted after the Battle of Spurs in 1513. He was also Esquire of the Body of Henry VIII (in charge of King's personal safety) etc. This Sir John had two wives, Juliana Erisey (my 12XGG) and Mary Beville. He is buried with them at St Andrews church, Stratton and there are brass memorials for them all depicting how they looked! At Trerice the day I visited, the National Trust had set up brass rubbing facilities with brass replicas of the originals of Sir John and the two wives so I was able to bring home my very own brass rubbings. We later saw the originals in situ at the church.

But wait there's more!

My 14^th GG, Sir John Arundell, was knighted in the 1460s. At that time, he did not live at Trerice but Ebbingford. According to tradition, Sir John was told by a shepherd he had convicted that "when upon the yellow sand, thou shall die by human hand." Sir John took this seriously and decided to move further inland to Trerice to avoid fulfilling the prophecy. However, in 1471, while Sherriff of Cornwall (another one!), he was ordered by the King to regain St Michael's Mount in Cornwall from the Lancastrian Earl of Oxford who had fled there after the battle of Barnet (this is The War of the Roses). Arundell attempted to take the Mount by force but was killed on the sands at Marazion.  I visited there last year too and it was a poignant moment standing on that yellow sand.

I visited Caerhayes last year as well. My understanding is that the present castle which we were able to visit is of much more modern origin. Nevertheless, it was the birthplace of Ralph Arundell (my 19XGG) in 1238.

As important as this family of Arundells was, they are cousins only to the even greater Arundells of Lanherne and may have been connected to the Norman Earls of Arundell. The name itself is French in origin, reflected in the family coat of arms, which features six swallows, a pun on the French word for swallow, "hirondelle".

There's more but too much to go into here. I have all this in my tree which any of you are welcome to have access to and I have copies of any references etc to support the genealogical links and historical accounts. The National Trust booklet confirms all this as well so I think we are on pretty safe ground, although some of the early dates are a bit rubbery.

My husband and I do a travel Blog when we are away so here is the link to the posting, with photos, about my family history connections and other attractions in Cornwall, if you're interested:

https://moranttravelblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/england-cornwall-week-1/ - Cornwall Week 1

https://moranttravelblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/england-cornwall-week-2/ - Cornwall Week 2.

If anyone wants any further info about the Arundells of Cornwall or access to my tree or anything else, please let me know and I'd be happy to oblige.

Regards

Cousin Yvonne (whose grandmother was a Shugg who was descended from Jervis Shugg who married Ann Vosper in 1717, and the rest, they say, is history – family history, that is).

Perth,

Western Australia