Buckland Filleigh

Buckland Filleigh is a village, civil parish and former manor in the Torridge district of North Devon, England, situated about 8 miles south of the town of Great Torrington. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 170. Within the parish is the manor house known as Buckland House, damaged by fire in 1798 and rebuilt in 1810 in the neo-classical style by John Inglett Fortescue (1758–1841) to the designs of the architect James Green.

The manor of Bocheland was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the 13th of the 99 holdings of Geoffrey de Montbray (post 1049–1093), Bishop of Coutances. His tenant was Drogo, who held several other manors from him. It had been held before 1066 by Wulfeva. It was in the historic hundred of Shebbear.

The manor became the inheritance of the de Filleigh family seated at Filleigh in North Devon, from which manor they took their name. They also held lands at the adjoining estate of Hartleigh during the reign of King Edward I (1272–1307) and within the neighbouring settlements to Filleigh of East Buckland, Bray and Charles.

On default of male heirs, the manor passed by marriage to the Denzell (or Densyll etc.) family. This family originated from Denzell manor in St Mawgan parish, near St Columb Major, near Newquay, Cornwall. The senior line became extinct in the male line on the death of John Denzel (died 1535), sergeant-at-law and Attorney-General to the Queen Consort, Elizabeth of York. He held large estates in Cornwall and left two daughters as his co-heiresses, Ann who married Sir William Holles (1509–1591), later Lord Mayor of London, and another daughter who married into the Roskymer family. It was a cadet branch of this family which had acquired the de Filleigh lands by marriage. The arms of Denzell were: Sable, a mullet in chief and a crescent in base argent. These arms can be seen sculpted on a bench-end, c. 1510, in Weare Giffard Church, where exist others adorned with Fortescue arms and those of other heiresses who brought possessions to the Fortescue family. The Denzell arms are also shown in the second quarter of the arms of Richard Fortescue (died 1570) on his monumental brasses in Filleigh Church.

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