John Manaton (d.1507) married Margaret Kyngdon
John Manaton, the elder inherited the barton lands of Manaton Manor by 1469. By 1504 he had also acquired the tenement of North Norton at Stoke Climsland in freehold. He was a leaseholder for a partial interest in the tenements of West Hurledoun alias Trecombe and Colmanscombe, also in Stoke Climland. In Liskeard, John also inherited a tenement in the manor called Hassocks Park. John Manaton married Margery Kingdon, a daughter of John Kingdon.
John and Margery had two sons. John Manaton, the younger, and Stephen Manaton, Chaplain in the parish of St Stephens by Saltash. Stephen inherited the tenement in Liskeard Manor. Stephen’s burial in 1550 (Capellanus sepultus) is recorded in the parish register of St Stephens by Saltash.
It may be possible that there was a third son, named Sampson Manaton. In 1510, Sampson Manaton inherited the barton lands at Manaton. It has been suggested that this Sampson Manaton was the grandson of John Manaton, the elder; however, this Sampson Manaton was buried at South Hill in 1571 which would suggest that Sampson may have lived to the age of 90. While not impossible, this seems unlikely. If so, then Sampson Manaton, eldest son of
John Manaton, the elder, would have died without issue, and Manaton would have then passed to his nephew Sampson, son of John, the younger.
John Manaton, the elder died by 1510, when his widow Margery held the leasehold tenements in West Hurledoun alias Trecombe and Colmanscombe. This is likely the John Manaton referenced in the ledger stone at South Hill as dieing in 1507.
John Manaton (d. 1525/32), the younger, married the daughter of John Trecarrel
John Manaton, the younger, married a daughter of John Trecarrell. John Manaton inherited North Norton from his father John and is last mentioned in the Climsland manorial assession of 1525. By 1532, his son Sampson Manaton had inherited.
By virtue of this marriage John Manaton was most likely uncle to Henry Trecarrel als Esse (d.1544). It is said that in consequence of the loss of his only son, Henry left his great buildings at Trecarrel manor in Lezant unfinished and he dedicated his fortune to pious uses, building the church of St. Mary Magdalen at Launceston, and the tower and north side of the church at Linkinhorne. He was survived by three daughters and co-heiresses. In the first half of the 17th century, Ambrose Manaton (d. 1651) would acquire two-thirds of Trecarrel manor.
Scenes from the interior of the great hall at Trecarrel manor
Three generations of Manatons were memorialized by a ledger stone emplaced in the nave of St. Sampson’s . If it exists today it would be beneath the modern surfacing. At its angles are four coats of arms marked – Trecarrel, Manaton, Kyngdon and Bicton. These represent the marriages of the Manaton family for the three preceding generations.
The stone was inscribed:
Hic jaceth Joh’es Manaton qvi obit anno d’m. MCCCCC vii; et Joh’is Manaton, et. Joha, ******** qui obiera a. d’m. MCCCCC primo, et Ancia nuper uxor Campeon, qui obit s. d’m MCCCCCmo xxviii.
Here lieth John Manaton who died in the year 1507; and of John Manaton, and Joan…..who died in the year of the Lord 1501, and, Ancia lately the wife of Campeon, who died in the year of the Lord 1528.
Sampson Manaton (d. 1571) married Alice the daughter of Richard Tremaine
Alice was the daughter of Richard Tremaine and Jane Wise. Her brother, Sampson Tremaine, purchased Heligan and established the family line there. Through her mother Alice was second cousin to Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, KG. Alice's cousins and her uncle Thomas Tremaine are remembered in a monument at St. Peter's church in Lamerton, Devon. Her five male cousins are depicted on the monument. Two of these brothers, Nicholas and Andrew, were twins who died in the Battle of Newhaven. It is said they died while one brother was fighting in an effort to avenge the death of the other.
Edward Manaton of Manaton married Katherine Hart
Edward Manaton of Manaton married Katherine, the daughter of John Hart of Stoke Climsland. Hart was descended from a family branch established in Tavistock, Devon, perhaps two generations earlier. Hart’s father, also John Hart, married Joan Winishore of Tavistock and inherited the tenement of Crebere in Tavistock through her.
John Hart, father of Katherine, was kinsmen to another John Hart (d. 1574), the English orthographer, who was appointed Chester Herald 18 July, 1567, by Sir William Cecil, Principal Secretary to Queen and Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries. John appears to have been in the service of Cecil for some years. His connection to Devon is established in the Visitations for Middlesex and by the same arms born by John Hart of Stoke Climsland – Gules, a bend between three fleurs de lis argent the bend charged with a crescent. John is best known for proposing a reformed spelling system for English and as the author of three known works on grammar and spelling: an unpublished manuscript from 1551 titled The Opening of the Unreasonable Writing of Our Inglish Toung; a printed pamphlet titled An Orthographie, published in 1569; and a practical reading primer titled A Methode or Comfortable Beginning for All Unlearned, published in 1570.
Katherine’s brother, Robert Hart (d. 1589) was married to Joane (d. 1606), the daughter of Robert Smith (d. 1569) of Tregonnack. Her brother, Robert Smith was married to Joan Killigrew, connected to William Cecil who was brother-in-law to Henry Killigrew. This may explain how John Smith secured election as MP of Camelford in 1559, as well as pointing to Cecil’s hand in both the heir of John Hart of Stoke Climsland and John Hart the orthographer.