A Brief History of Yarcombe
Settlements have long existed in the Parish of Yarcombe and Marsh. During their early history variations of their names have occurred. Yarcombe was known as Erticoma, Herticombe, Artecumbe and Zertecome. Marsh was known as Mersh or Le Mersch in Ertecomb.
The earliest reference is a charter of 854 A.D. which defined the county boundary between Somerset and Devon; "Therein the right branch of the Yarty is called Withycomb and the confluence of the two streams Aertancumbes ford."
The origin of the river name is the subject of much conjecture and could be derived from "Aer" meaning' stream of slaughter', "Arto" a Celtic word meaning 'the river of the holy bear or bear god', "Yart" an old British word meaning 'water or fresh, vigorous water' or "lar or lear teg", an old British word meaning 'a fair, clear river'
 In the days of Edward the Confessor (1042 - 1066) the Parish was part of the possessions of the Benedictine Priory of St Michael's Mount in Cornwall. After Harold II was defeated at the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror directed Robert Earl of Mortain and Cornwall to annex Yarcombe to the foreign abbey of St. Michael in Periculo Maris in Normandy. William the Conqueror died in 1087. Within fifty years the country was plunged into a civil war between Stephen and Matilda; eventually Matilda's son, Henry II, succeeded to the crown in 1154. The civil war had left the countryside ravaged and Erticombe (Yarcombe) was described as lying desolate with its demesnes (land belonging to the lord) squandered. The prior in England representing the Abbey of St. Michael, Robert de Sancto Pancratio, strove strenuously to regain the lands for St. Michael's use.
The next hundred years saw an improvement in the Parish, and by the year 1264 Yarcombe had a church and a mill. Most of the administration of the Estate was carried out by the priory of Otterton
The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 had brought a certain kind of stability to all the country, giving the clergy and laity protection and rights, whilst limiting the monarch's power.
Yarcombe and Marsh grew wealthier and more populous. Sheep were a source of prosperity, wool being exported from the South West to the Flemish cloth-making industries.
By 1311 the Parish Church of Yarcombe, although much smaller than it is today, was important enough to warrant a visit from Bishop Stapledon, in order to dedicate the high altar. Then during the period from 1348 - 50 the Black Death struck, killing between twenty-five and fifty percent of the population.
King Henry II inherited much of France from his father, Geoffrey of Anjou, so ruled an area from Scotland to Southern France. Many of these territories were lost by King John, but Edward III laid claim to them, and the Hundred Years War against France began. Yarcombe was in an unenviable position, because a large area of the Parish belonged to an alien (French) priory.
Eventually all alien priories were suppressed and their estates given to English foundations. Yarcombe was first given by Henry VI to King's College, Cambridge, and then to the newly founded Syon Abbey at Isleworth in Middlesex, where it remained until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, when it became the property of the Crown.
The rest of the former St Michael's Estate and the advowson (right to select the vicar) was also vested with the Crown. In 1581 Elizabeth I gave it to her most dear cousin Robert, Earl of Leicester and her beloved John Morley Esq. Morley was probably the younger son of a landed family and acted as an armiger to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. A sale was quickly agreed with Richard Drake of Ashe near Colyton.
July of the same year saw the estate sold again, this time to a family that was to play an important role in the village's fortunes and history from the 16th to the 21 st century. Five thousand pounds was paid by Sir Francis Drake to his 'cousin', Richard Drake. (The title 'cousin' indicates a familiar term, rather than one of actual kinship). Thus the Lordship and Manor of Yarcombe became the property of the famous admiral, who had recently circumnavigated the world. Sir Francis already had land in the area.
The unfortunate death at sea of Sir Francis, whilst on an expedition to the West Indies in 1596, brought several issues to the fore. Backers of the ill fated expedition pressed for payment. Sir Francis' debtors tried to escape paying their dues, and Lady Drake and Sir Francis Drake's brother, Thomas, immediately 'crossed swords'. The will left his second wife, Elizabeth, well provided for, and the residue of his realty (property) and personalty (personal possessions) went to his brother Thomas. A codicil drawn up the same day as the will altered it on three important points. Yarcombe manor was bequeathed to his "well beloved cousin Ffrancis", Son of Richard Drake of Esher, (formerly Ashe), upon condition that within two years he should pay to Thomas Drake the sum of £2,000 (a bargain as Drake had paid £5,000 for the manor).
After lengthy and complicated legal wranglings the case went to the High Court of Chancery. A decree was issued, stating that if Thomas Drake paid Richard and Ursula Drake £1,500, to be used for the benefit of their son Ffrancis, they must relinquish all rights to title of Yarcombe Manor, and deliver all deeds relating to the manor still in their possession. Thomas paid the £1,500, and in the year 1600 Yarcombe Manor was secured for the Drakes of Buckland Abbey, near Plymouth.
Elizabeth I died in 1603. The throne went to James I who, although a learned scholar, did not have Elizabeth's acumen, especially when dealing with parliament. He antagonised the gentry, so that by the time his son Charles I acceded to the throne, England was full of plots and intrigues. Charles I tried to rule without Parliament. To raise money he imposed taxation on yeomen and freeholders. Landed gentry were "encouraged" to give money to the king. Thomas Drake's son, Francis, gave "voluntarily", and was created a baronet!
During the Civil War the owners of Yarcombe manor, the Drake family, were on the Roundhead side. Although skirmishes took place at nearby Membury, there are no records of activity at Yarcombe. Sir Francis' estates were impounded, but he continued to fight for the Roundheads. The formation of the New Model Army, successfully harnessing militant Puritanism and commanded by Fairfax, saw a turn around, and by 1646 the South West was in Parliamentarian hands.
Cromwell's death in 1658 brought confusion, and in 1660 the Convention Parliament restored the monarchy, and Charles II became King. James II became king in 1685.
James II's predilection for promoting Catholics to the army and universities made him very unpopular, so when his son-in-law, William of Orange landed in South Devon, James' days as King were numbered. One of the first landowners to welcome William was Sir Francis Drake.
Although the Drake family owned a large Estate at Yarcombe, there were other quite substantial land owners, notably the Newberys, Vincents, Stephens, Cossins, Bovetts and Spillers. Some of these families prospered, others disappeared
The next Sir Francis, the 4th baronet, made little effort or impact. His son, Sir Francis Henry Drake, who inherited the title in 1739, was made of 'sterner stuff. Consolidation and improvement of all his estates was his format.
Letters from Drake's bailiff, John Cooke, who lived at Longbridge, show that Sir Francis was kept well informed about his Yarcombe Estate, although resident in London a great deal as Master of the King's Household. The Estate at Yarcombe seems to have been let out on very commercial lines, with the bailiff keen to get the best rental
Sir Francis remained a bachelor after the death of his fiancee, a Miss Knight, the daughter of Admiral Sir Joseph Knight. His surviving brothers, Francis William and Francis Samuel were both in the Navy. Neither of these siblings, who pre-deceased Sir Francis, had legitimate sons, so when Sir Francis died in 1794, the male line of the Drakes of Buckland Abbey near Plymouth died with him.
The Estate was left to Sir Francis' eldest sister's son, Colonel, the Honourable Francis Augustus Eliott, who later became Lord Heathfield, succeeding his Father, Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar.
It is interesting that Yarcombe then had two inns, The Angel, which is now The Yarcombe Inn, and The Castle, which was probably situated close by what is known as the Old School House. Marsh had a small privately owned ale house, The Heathfield Arms, and The Globe, which is now known as The Flintlock.
Lord Heathfield was a bachelor, and left his estates to his eldest surviving nephew or the nephews' sons; on his death it came to Thomas Trayton Fuller Eliott Drake. His initials T.T.F.E.D. can be seen on houses and buildings all around the Parish, a testament to his industry and interest in the villages of Yarcombe and Marsh.
In 1811 the Turnpike Trust cut a new road, which came from Chard, went through Yarcombe, and joined with the Honiton turnpike road. Substantial engineering was required to build what is now known as the A. 3O.
The new road roused Yarcombe from its rural slumber and various facilities sprang into life to accommodate the increased traffic flowing through the village. The Angel Inn (now the Yarcombe Inn) developed as a coaching inn.
Thomas T.F.E.Drake was created a baronet in 1821, and owned or rented practically the whole of Yarcombe and Marsh.
Sir Thomas T.F.E.Drake treated his tenants in a humane way, so it is not surprising that a school was started at Yarcombe, by public subscription, as early as 1818. By 1833 there was a well established day school with 51 scholars, which was free to pupils who regularly attended Sunday School. Sir Thomas T.F.E.Drake and the current vicar subsidised the school with cash and books.
The Post Office Directory of 1856 shows that Yarcombe and Marsh have always been areas where agriculture has been the main occupation. There were 36 farmers then and most of the farms listed are still farmed today.
Sir Thomas T.F.E.Drake had no children, so when he died in 1871 the Estate was inherited by the son of Rose Henry Fuller, Sir Thomas' younger brother. Although Yarcombe and Marsh were visited by their Drake landlords, they rarely resided in the Parish, letting the manor house of Sheafhayne, usually with sporting rights on the Estate. The Estate was administered by a steward. Sir Francis George Augustus Fuller - Eliott Drake was no exception, although it is evident that both he and his wife, Lady Eliott Drake, who wrote the two volume history, "The Family and Heirs of Sir Francis Drake," took a keen interest in the Yarcombe Estate.
In 1895/6 a new classroom was built at Yarcombe. This was sorely needed, as pupil numbers at the two schools had risen to a hundred. Schooling eventually took place on one site, at Yarcombe. It is this school, which educated its last pupil in 1965 that is now The Belfry!
When Sir Francis Elliot-Drake died in 1915 the First World War had broken out. Strong young men all over England enlisted to serve their country. Yarcombe and Marsh were no exception, leaving their beautiful green countryside for the mud and horror of the French trenches.
Lady Drake and her daughter, Beatrice, as largely absentee owners, continued to administer affairs during the war-torn years. Beatrice married the Honourable John.R.V.Colborne, the son and heir of Lord Seaton. The Seatons spent most of their married life at Buckland Abbey or Nutwell Court, and did much to restore Buckland to its former glory. However the golden age of large estates was coming to an end. Crippling death duties were levied on the aggregate value of all property passing on death. It became necessary for Lady Seaton to sell some of their property, and in the summer of 1931 1,478 acres of the outlying portion of the
Yarcombe Estate were put up for sale.
Lady Seaton died after several years of widowhood. There were no children, so what was left of the erstwhile Drake Estate went to Captain Richard Owen Tapps-Gervis Meyrick, a third cousin of Lady Seaton. Captain Richard O. T. G.Meyrick was the second son of Sir George Augustus Eliott Tapps-Gervis Meyrick of Hinton Admiral, Hampshire and Bordogan, Anglesey. The link was provided by Thomas Trayton Fuller Eliott Drake and Rose Henry Fuller's brother, Augustus Eliott, who had married Owen Putland Meyrick's daughter and heiress, Clara.
This was a time of great uncertainty in Yarcombe and Marsh; part of the Estate had already been sold and little was known about the new owner. Shortly after his succession there was a devastating fire at Buckland Abbey, the family seat. Captain Meyrick’s wife, Evelyn, (nee Harris) and two sons were in residence, and it was the elder son, Richard Anthony Tapps-Gervis Meyrick, who saved the famous “Drake's Drum". However, circumstances were not good. The second World War was about to begin, and it became necessary to sell more of the Estate. Yarcombe and Marsh were this time not affected. The Meyrick brothers, Richard and Peter, were both serving officers in the Grenadier Guards. Richard was mentioned in despatches and came home to inherit what was left of the Estate on his Father's death in 1948. Peter was killed in action at Salerno, and the entrance gates to the village hall, together with a nearby plaque, serve as a memorial to him. It is fitting that this memorial to a 21 year old, who lost his life in defence of his country, should be at Yarcombe, where his forbears had held and administrated a little bit ofEngland for so long. It is strange that, of all the properties once possessed by the Drake family, only Yarcombe and Marsh remain. The aftermath of war, crippling taxes and changing social values saw the continued disintegration of estates, but somehow Capt. Richard Anthony Meyrick managed to survive, and today his son, David, is slowly but surely rebuilding the Estate and maintaining the standards set by his ancestors.
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Natural Beauty the village offers views of and access to some of the most stunning scenery in the country. Our small but friendly community comprises several generations of old Devon families and newcomers from all over (some newcomers have been here over thirty years!). The community spirit here in Yarcombe is strong - so much so that Yarcombe is the 2005