Notes

Note N1260 Index

Known as 'the Younger'

Notes

Note N1295 Index

Dau and heir of John Bussel, or Busshel, of Bradley.

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Note N1296 Index

Dau of Gilbert de la Yeo.

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Note N1297 Index

Dau of Philip Monach.

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Note N1298 Index

Not shown in Heralds' Visitations

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Note N2023 Index

The Wakelys of Hartland and Morwenstow.

This branch of the Wakelys of Hawkchurch separates from the main tree a bout 1600, starting with Sylvester Rockett alias Wakely. “Rockett” come s from a transliteration in Chard parish register where often “o’s” in w riting of the period narrow to a point where they look like “C’s”.
Sylvester’s descendants’ names make it practically certain he was the s on of William Wakely alias Rockett of Whitestaunton (Will proved 1624). T he tree shows that Sylvester was still in his home when area when he ma rried. The fact the marriage took place in Chard is a further indicatio n that Robert Rockett alias Wakely (of Chard at death) in the main tree , was the father of both Hawkchurch and Whitestaunton branches.
The move to Hartland, the furthest end of Devon from Dorset, connects w ith the theory that the Rocketts had strong trading interests. In the t ime of Sylvester, Hartland was more important as a trading town than ne ighbouring Bideford. Difficult to credit now because the quay which his tory reports as bustling with ships has long since been washed away by t he fierce seas swirling below Hartland’s steep cliffs. A twentieth cent ury guidebook describes it as ‘the most sparsely populated farming area o f the West Country, a great cul-de-sac of an 18,000 acre parish’.
Morwenstow, now in Cornwall, was where Sylvester’s grandson settled. It h as been described as ‘the lonely farthest north of England’s farthest s outh’. Like hartland it was obviously rich at one time – its Norman chu rch is beautifully decorated, and the local manor house of Tornacombe, s urviving now much as it did in Sylvester’s day, shows that the local lo rds were prosperous.
The tree does not give all the details of the considerable race of Wake lys founded by Sylvester but it does show enough to be able to eliminat e the branch from the direct ancestry of the Stoke Abbot line, Usefully , it is a typical bit of evidence to show the devotion to traditional n ames in a family – Sylvester and his father William are repeated often a nd it is likely that Peter was the name of Sylvester’s farther-in-law.
A much larger version of the Morwenstow branch of the Wakelys is lodged i n the Library of the Society of Genealogists in London.

Notes

Note N2024 Index

Prust, originally of Gorven. Fifteen descents of this ancient family ar e traced in the Visitation of 1620. John Prust, the eighth in descent, m arried the heiress of Holman, od Gorven; his great grandson, of the sam e name, a co-heiress of Drue; and Hugh, grandson of the last-mentioned J ohn, a co-heiress of Anderton, of Cornwall. The elder branch moved to N otticott in Hartland, and became extinct more than a century ago. There a re still some male descendants of this family at Hartland, but not of t he rank of gentry. A co-heiress of Davie married into a younger branch o f this family, which was settled at Woolsfadisworthy, near Hartland. Ca ptain Bartholomew Prust, the last heir male of this branch, died in 175 2. The Rev. Joseph Prust Prust, son and heir of Joseph Prust Prust, for merly Prust Hamlyn, had a grant form the Heralds’ College, in 1808, to b ear the name and arms of Prust.

Notes

Note N2025 Index

William is known through the Will of his son. He lived into his 70s. Hi s and his wife's Wills were lost in a bombing raid destroying Devon/Som erset records in Exeter during the Second World War.

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Note N2026 Index

Lived at "Mattislande". Profession given as gentleman on children's bap tismal records.

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Note N2027 Index

Robert signed his Will Rockett alias Wakely, but appears in all other r ecords as Rockett. His Will was proved in 1579 and at death he resided a t Chard. Like Colyton, Chard was an important center of the wool and cl oth trade. Robert was almost certainly a yeoman with extensive trading i nterests.
Robert’s wife Alice Balstone is the fisrt known Wakely bride and she wa s the daughter of Thomas and Cicely Balstone of Hawkchurch and sister o f Sylvester Balstone. Thomas and Cicely died in 1553 and 1567 respectiv ely. She was named as Alice Rockett in both her parents’ Wills; Robert ( with Nicholas also) is named as brother-in-law of Alice’s brother John i n the 1658 Will and he re-appears as a legatee in the Will of Alice’s n iece Ann in 1575. The Balstones appear in the 1525 lay subsidy but not t he 1327 or 1332 returns. Their main 16th century centre appears to have b een Honiton. They disappear from the Phillyholme scene in about the fir st quarter of the 17th century going them towards Bridport.
Two pieces of evidence help assess Rober’s possible date of birth: his m arriage to Alice and his appearance in the muster roll of 1542. A minim um age of 21 at marriage appears to mean he must have been born before 1 532. The muster roll for which 16 was the minimum age brings this back t o 1526. Assuming he was the eldest of the three sons of William who wer e also mustered then 1520 seems a good estimate. This in turn fits in w ell with the presumed birth date of his son John c. 1549.