Ambrose Manaton of Trecarrel
Ambrose Manaton (1589-1651), was the second son of Peter Manaton of Manaton, and therefore his elder brother Sampson was to inherit Manaton Manor. Ambrose was prepared in life to assume the profession of a lawyer which seems to have served him well. An Oxford Alumni, he was admitted to Lincoln’s Inn in 1612. Then in 1613, he married Anne Edgcumbe.
Anne Edgcumbe (d. 1638) was the daughter of Sir Peter Edgcumbe of Mount Edgecumbe (1536-1607) and his wife Margaret Luttrell, the daughter of Sir Andrew Luttrell of Dunster Castle. She was the widow of Richard Trefusis (d. 1612). Anne was a wealthy widow, and the marriage provided Ambrose with a manor and seat in South Petherwin, with other property, and kinship to some of Cornwall’s leading gentry.
Ambrose was appointed to the Cornish bench in 1614. His family ties may have aided in securing his election as M.P. for Bossiney in 1621; his brother-in-law, Sir Richard Edgecumbe, was kinsmen to Sir Nicholas Prideaux, who enjoyed influence over the borough. He was returned again for Tregony in 1624.
In 1622, Ambrose began the acquisition of a new seat at Trecarrel, the ancestral manor of his second great grandmother from heirs who were also his cousins. He would acquire a 2/3 interest in the manor of Trecarrel. He was also a freeholder in the borough of Newport by at least 1624.
In 1628, he used his vote in favor of the election of his nephew Piers Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe (1610-1667) who married Mary Glanville, the daughter of Sir John Glanville of Broad Hinton.
In 1637, Ambrose was called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn, and he likely owed this promotion to John Glanville, father-in-law to Piers Edgcumbe. The following year his wife Anne died; the marriage had produced no issue. Manaton’s connections to Anne’s family remained strong. In 1640, as mayor of Camelford, Ambrose oversaw the election of Piers Edgcumbe and William Glanville, brother-in-law to Piers. Ambrose Manaton was also returned to this parliament for Launceston. John Glanville (1586-1661) of Tavistock, father to William, was elected Speaker of the House for that parliament. He may have been no stranger to Ambrose Manaton either, both having received their legal education at Lincoln’s Inn.
Ambrose married Jane, the daughter of Narcissus Mapowder of Holsworthy in 1642 as his second wife.
