Roger Wyck (died c.1467) (''alias'' Wykes, Wycke, Wick, Wicks, Weeke, etc.) of Bindon in the parish of Axmouth in Devon, was a Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle (UK Parliament constituency) in 1413.Woodger

Origins

He was a younger son of William Wyke of

North Wyke North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

in the parish of South Tawton in Devon, by his wife Katherine Burnell, daughter and heires of John Burnell of Cocktree in the parish of South Tawton. He inherited much of his mother's property and "no doubt for this reason" he adopted his maternal canting arms of Burnell ''Argent, a chevron ermines between three burnells proper'' (where burnells are a type of bird, probably Barnacle geese) in lieu of his paternal arms of Wyck, which continued to be borne by his elder brothers.

Early origins

North Wyke was long a possession of the Wykes family. Worthy (1896) suggested this family, Latinized to ''de Wigornia'' ("from Worcester"), was descended from a certain William de Wigornia, a younger son of Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (c.1142-1204) and ''de jure'' Earl of Worcester, by his marriage with Maud FitzRoy, daughter of Reginald de Dunstanville, 1st Earl of Cornwall. The manor of South Tawton was anciently a possession of the Beaumont family.

Career

He was close to the Courtenay family, Earls of Devon and feudal barons of Plympton, and it is likely he was elected as an MP for Plympton due to their influence over that

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

. It is possible that Wycke himself was the catalyst for the Bonville–Courtenay feud which erupted in Devon and which ended in the Battle of Clyst Heath (1455). He certainly had some involvement as in 1427 he petitioned the Court of Chancery to try Bonville for assault, claiming he had broken into his property at Axmouth and had stolen goods worth £20. In May 1451 he was summoned to appear in the Court of Chancery and in 1454 he provided securities in Chancery that

Thomas de Courtenay, 5th/13th Earl of Devon Thomas de Courtenay, 5th/13th Earl of Devon (3 May 1414 – 3 February 1458) was a nobleman from South West England. His seat was at Colcombe Castle near Colyton, and later at the principal historic family seat of Tiverton Castle, after his mot ...

(1414–1458) would appear before the King's Council, "undertaking on the same occasion that Courtenay would curb his hostile behaviour towards Lord Bonville".

Marriage and children

At some time before 1422 he married Joan Bingham (d.1462/3), widow of Thomas Cayleway (''alias'' Kelloway), daughter and heiress of ..... Bingham, of

Sutton Bingham Closworth is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, south of Yeovil in the South Somerset district, on the border with Dorset. The village has a population of 220. The parish includes the villages of Pendomer and Sutton Bingham, the lo ...

in Somerset, and eventual heiress of her grandfather Sir Walter Romsey. Wykes inherited several former Bingham estates from his wife's paternal lands, including the manor of Sutton Bingham and the advowson of its church, to which he made presentations eight times between 1422 and 1467. He inherited even more property due to her inheritance from her grandfather Sir Walter Romsey, including estates in Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. Rockbourne in Hampshire appears to have been the most important of these estates, which involved Wyke in several lawsuits brought by claimants from other Romsey descendants. By his wife he had one son and heir: *John Wykes, of Bindon, whose wife was of the Camill family of Shapwick. John's younger grandson Richard Wyke became the eventual heir but died with no sons, leaving four daughters and co-heiresses. The youngest of whom was Mary Wyke, heiress of Bindon and Charborough in Dorset, which she brought to her husband Walter Erle (d.1581), an officer of the Privy Chamber to King Edward VI and to Queens Mary and Elizabeth, whose descendant

Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (born 29 January 1958) is a British Conservative politician, journalist and landowner, serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dorset since 2010. Early life Drax was born on 29 January 195 ...

(born 1958), MP, remains seated at Charborough House, the ancient Wyke possession.

Landholdings

In 1406 he purchasedPole, p.224 the manor of Bindon in Axmouth, from Nicholas Bach, which he made his seat. It later became a seat of his descendants the Erle family "with fayre

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

s thereunto belonginge". Much of Wyke's original mansion house survives, including the chapel for which he was licensed by the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

in 1425. Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.181

Death

Wyck probably died before September 1467, and is last mentioned in surviving records in June 1467.

References

Sources

*Woodger, L.S., biography of ''Wyke, Roger (d.c.1467), of Bindon in Axmouth, Devon'', published in '' History of Parliament: House of Commons 1386-1421, ed. J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe., 199

*Wykes-Finch, Rev., ''The Ancient Family of Wyke of North Wyke, Co. Devon'', published in ''Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature, and Art'', 1903, Vol.35, pp.360-42

*Worthy, Charles, ''Devonshire Wills: Wykes of North Wyke'', 189

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyke, Roger Members of the Parliament of England for Plympton Erle People from East Devon District 1467 deaths English MPs May 1413