Manors and Estates - The Pleydell family

Lyneham Village Online has endeavoured to research the Pleydell family roots and see how they have been associated with the history of Lyneham. The Pleydell roots are shown to derive from Thomas of Coleshilll c1275. and continue through generations where Harriet Pleydell married the 1st Earl of Radnor William de Bouverie and from their marriage date 14th January 1748, they kept their names together Pleydell-Bouverie. The Earl of Radnor name is shown on the 1821 Tithe map of the Heneage Estate as owner of Lyneham Court, which was destroyed by the Air Ministry in 1939 for the build up of the Second World War and the construction of the Lyneham airbase.

The Pleydell family.
Oliver Pleydell, son of Sir Charles Pleydell, (by Jane his wife,) baptised 3rd July 1621; John, 11th July 1622; Gabriel, 24th September 1623; Giles, 21st September 1625; Lucy, 6th January 1625–6 (buried 12th January); Allen, 19th July 1627 (buried 7th June 1631); Charles, 20th January 1628–9; Edward, buried 1st June 1629; Lucy, baptised 22nd February 1629–30; (buried 13th September 1633).

Sir Charles Pleydell was high sheriff for the county of Wiltshire, anno 1620, in which year he was knighted. His second wife was Jane, daughter of Sir John St. John of Lydiard Tregoze, and relict of Robert Atey, Esq. of Kilbourn.

Oliver Pleydell here mentioned, was ancestor of Edmund Morton Pleydell, Esq. of Dorsetshire. John was knighted, and resided at Brinkworth in Wiltshire. Charles was settled at Minety, in Gloucestershire, and lies buried there. Gabriel and Giles died young.

Monument to the Pleydell Family
There is a brass monument located on the east wall of South Chapel Coleshill Church Berkshire which was erected by Sir Mark Pleydell Bart. in 1787 to the memory of his 5th great grandfather, Thomas Pleydell and the rest of his male line ancestry. Thomas erected the chapel in which the monument stands in 1499 but his effigial monument beneath its niche to the south has unfortunately disappeared.

Sir Mark Pleydell Bart. outlines details of his ancestor's will on the plaque as well as an extensive family tree covering ten generations:

William Pleydell (a descendant of Thomas of Coleshill c.1275) born circa 1425 & died 1495 & Isabelle; their son, Thomas d. 8th October 1527 & Agnes;their daughter
Rose, wife of Ambrose Champneys, their son William d. 1555 & Agnes daughter of Robert Reason of Corfe Castle d. 1567; their sons Tobias of Faringdon d. 18th October 1583, Gabriel of Midgehill, John of Westcot & Ilsley & Thomas of Amney Crucis d. November 1605 & Anne daughter of Higgs of Cheltenham d. December 1599; the latter's sons, Edward of Cricklade & John of Shrivenham d. July 1635 & Anne daughter of Oliver Ayshcombe' the latter's son, Oliver died 1680& Martha daughter of John Brind died 1682; their son Thomas born 1645 & died July 1670 & Mary Pratt born 16th Fenruary 1666 & died 1711; their son, Thomas born 26th December 1669 & died 2nd February 1717& Jane Stuart of Hartley Maudit (married 21st January 1691) born 21st August 1665 & died 6th December 1692; their son, Mark Stuart born 29th November 1692 & died 16th October 1768 & Mary Steuart (married 14th January 1719) born 13th November 1700 & died 31st December 1747; and their daughter, Harriet Pleydell (married 14th January 1748 Longford Castle) born 21st October 1723 & died 29th May 1750 & William Bouverie, The 3rd Earl of Radnor born 1779 died 1869 [pictured left]

The Earl of Radnor
Earl of Radnor is a title which has been created several times, first in the Peerage of England in 1679 for Lord Robartes, a notable political figure of the reign of Charles II, and then in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1765. The earldom was created for a second time in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1765 when William de Bouverie, 2nd Viscount Folkestone, was made Earl of Radnor.

Lyneham Village Online has traced the Pleydell family tree and witness that the Pleydell-Bouverie family name has long associations with the Earl of Radnor title, which is linked to Lyneham Court. It was on the 14th January 1748 that William de Bouverie married Harriet Pleyedell and the double-barrel neme of Pleydell-Bouverie started. William's parents Sir jacob des Bouverie, born on the 14th October 1694 was the 1st Viscount of Folkstone, he married on the 31st January 1723 to Mary Clarke.

1st Earl of Radnor, William de Bouverie born 26th February 1725 died 28 January 1776 married Harriet Pleydell.

2nd Earl of Radnor; Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie born 4th March 1750 died 27 January 1828 married 24 January 1777 to Hon Anne Duncombe who died 14 October 1829.

3rd Earl of Radnor, William Pleydell-Bouverie born 11th May 1779 died 9th April 1869 married secondly to Judith Anne St John-Mildray on the 24th may 1814. She was born 2nd April 1790 and died 27 April 1851.

4th Earl of Radnor, Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie was born on the 18th September 1815 died 11th March 1889. He married Mary Augusta Frederica Grimston on the 3rd October 1840.

5th Earl of Radnor, William Pleydell-Bouverie was born on the 19th June 1841 died 3rd June 1900, he married Helen Matilda Chaplin on the 19th June 1866, she died 11th September 1929.

6th Earl of Radnor, Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie who was born 8th July 1868 and died 26th June 1930. During his life he married the daughter of Charles Balfour, Julian Eleanor Adelaide Balfour, mother of Peter, who was born before 1876 and died on the 5th January 1946.

They had quite a large family: Lady Jane Pleydell-Bouverie was born 23rd March 1892. Lady Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie was born 16th May 1894 and died 12th November 1961. Third child Sir William Pleydell-Bouverie was born 18th December 1895 and took the title of 7th Earl of Radnor. Lady Elizabeth Pleydell-Bouverie was born 27 June 1897. Captain Hon Edward Pleydell-Bouverie was born 10th September 1899 and died 7th May 1951. Major Hon. Bartholemew Pleydell-Bouverie was born on the 6th April 1902. Lady Margaret Pleydell-Bouverie was born 26 June 1903 and died 17 September 2002. Hon Anthony Pleydell-Bouverie was born 26th March 1905 and died 25 June 1961. Lady Helen Pleydell-Bouverie was born 2nd January 1908. Hon Peter Pleydell-Bouverie was born 19th October 1909.

Lady Margaret Pleydell-Bouverie was born in 1903, the seventh child of ten. Aged 19, she married Gerald Barry and, in 1926, they left England with their one-year old daughter, Anne, to begin a new life in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). They started out with virtually nothing: a tent was their house, a tin shanty their kitchen and petrol boxes their furniture. Through sheer determination, commitment to their dreams and belief in one another, they built M’Coben, a magical home for their growing family. They survived fire, storms, illness and heartbreak, before the Second World War separated them for over four years, yet their love and courage stood firm and brought success against all the odds

7th Earl of Radnor, Sir William Pleydell-Bouverie was born 18th December 1895 and died 1968, he had the title of the 7th Earl of Radnor. He married firstly Helena Olivia Adeane on 11th October 1922. Their third child born on the 10th November 1927 was named after Sir William's father Jacob and was given the title of the 8th Earl of Radnor. Sir William Pleydell-Bouverie was invested as the 924th Knight, Order of the Garter on the 23rd April 1960.

8th Earl of Radnor, Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie married firstly Anne Garden Farquaharson Seth-Smith on the 8th July 1953 and had two children William and Hon Peter Pleydell-Bouverie born 5th January 1955 and 14th January 1958 respectively. William holds the title of Viscount of Folkstone and Hon Peter Pleydell-Bouverie holds the title of High Sheriff Wiltshire 2007-2008.