Roger Wyck (died c.1467) (''alias'' Wykes, Wycke, Wick, Wicks, Weeke, etc.) of Bindon in the parish of

Axmouth Axmouth is a village, civil parish and former manor in the East Devon district of Devon, England, near the mouth of the River Axe. The village itself is about inland, on the east bank of the Axe estuary. The parish extends along the estu ...

in Devon, was a Member of Parliament for

Plympton Erle (UK Parliament constituency) Plympton Erle, also spelt Plympton Earle, was a parliamentary borough in Devon. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act The Representa ...

in 1413.Woodger

Origins

He was a younger son of William Wyke of

North Wyke North Wyke is an historic manor in the parish of South Tawton, Devon. The surviving grade I listed manor house, the original Devonshire seat of the Wyke (''alias'' de Wray) family from the early 13th century to 1714, retains its basic mediaeva ...

in the parish of

South Tawton South Tawton is a village, parish and former Manorialism, manor on the north edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. An electoral ward bearing the same name exists. At the 2011 census the population was 1,683. In front of the church is a "Crosstree", ...

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 Canting arms are heraldry, heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. The expression derives from the latin ''cantare'' (to sing). French heralds used the term (), ...

of Burnell ''Argent, a chevron ermines between three burnells proper'' (where burnells are a type of bird, probably

Barnacle geese The barnacle goose (''Branta leucopsis'') is a species of goose that belongs to the genus '' Branta'' of black geese, which contains species with extensive black in the plumage, distinguishing them from the grey '' Anser'' species. Despite its s ...

) 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 Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

"), 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 Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. Worcester is a cathedral city in Worcestershire, England. Five creations The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumon ...

, by his marriage with Maud FitzRoy, daughter of

Reginald de Dunstanville, 1st Earl of Cornwall Reginald de Dunstanville (c. 1110 – 1 July 1175) (''alias'' Reginald FitzRoy, Reginald FitzHenry, Rainald, etc., ''French:'' Renaud de Donstanville or de Dénestanville) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and an illegitimate son of King Henry I (110 ...

. The manor of South Tawton was anciently a possession of the Beaumont family.

Career

He was close to the Courtenay family,

Earls of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay family. ...

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 of 1832, which had a very small electo ...

. 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 The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

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 (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 Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * Su ...

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 Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

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 Sir Walter Erle or Earle (22 November 1586 – 1 September 1665) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1648. He was a vigorous opponent of King Charles I in the Parliamentary ...

(d.1581), an officer of the

Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

to King Edward VI and to Queens Mary and Elizabeth, whose descendant Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (born 1958), MP, remains seated at

Charborough House Charborough House, also known as Charborough Park, is a Listed building (United Kingdom), Grade I listed building, the manor house of the ancient Manorialism, manor of Charborough. The house is between the villages of Sturminster Marshall and Be ...

, 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 subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

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 (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

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 The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in ...

'': 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