Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet

Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet (c. 1563 – 10 April 1613) of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, was Member of Parliament for Devon, twice High Sheriff of Devon and an Army Colonel.

Born at Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon, of a family greatly influential in the Western counties, he was the son and heir of Lord Edward Seymour (died 1593), by his wife Margaret Walsh. He was the grandson of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. 1500 – 1552), Lord Protector, in the elder but lower ranking line of his descendants. Because of the alleged adultery of the Duke's first wife Catherine Fillol, the Dukedom had been entailed with preference to his sons by his second marriage.

Aged 20 he was appointed Deputy Vice Admiral for the County of Devon. In 1586 he was Vice Admiral for Cornwall. In the late 16th century there was concern at the threat of a Spanish invasion and he received a commission as a Colonel in 1595, in charge of 1,600 men, and responsible for an area of the south Devon coast from Dartmouth to Plymouth. He was appointed High Sheriff of Devon in 1595 and 1605 and returned as Member of Parliament for Devon in 1593 and between 1601 and 1611.

He spent a large sum extending Berry Pomeroy Castle, over £20,000 according to John Prince in his Worthies of Devon, 1697, particularly in the building of the north range in about 1600. In 1604 he tried to claim part of his grandfather the Duke of Somerset's estate, but was opposed by his half-cousin Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford and was unsuccessful.

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