Filleigh

Filleigh /faɪliː/ is a small village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon, on the southern edge of Exmoor, 3 1/2 miles west of South Molton. The village centre's street was, until the 1980s opening of the North Devon Link Road, the main highway between the North Devon administrative centre of Barnstaple and South Molton, leading westwards to Taunton. Much of the village's land is contained within grade I listed park and garden, Castle Hill, which straddles both sides of the Link Road providing a glimpse of some of it.

The manor was held in the 14th century by a family which took its name from the manor, de Filleigh. The family also held lands within the neighbouring settlements 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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