The Battle Abbey Roll. Vol. I.
by
The Duchess of Cleveland.
Prepared by Michael A. Linton
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Bastard : Robert le Bastard, a son of the Conqueror, received from his father a barony in Devonshire, where he is still represented in the direct male line, though Sir William Pole tells us that none of the ten manors he held in 1086 are now possessed by his descendants. "There is a curious local tradition attaching to a little corner of land—some acres in extent—at Splatt Cove, in Salcombe Harbour. It belongs to the Bastard family; and the legend is that their Norman ancestor had command of one of the vessels of the Conqueror's fleet, which was driven by a gale into Salcombe, and that it was upon this very spot that the leader and his men landed. The retention of the land by the Bastards is ascribed by the country folk to this historical connection. Mr. Karkeek, however, has shown not only that the legend has no pedigree, but that it is inconsistent with the known facts. None of Robert the Bastard's Domesday manors can be connected with Splatt Cove."—Worth's Devon.
The Bastards have given their name to the small village of Loveton-Bastard, and several times appear as Sheriffs of Devon. Their original seat, held from the Conquest, was Efford, in the parish of Egg-Buckland, where they certainly continued up to 1315. In Sir William Pole's time, William Bastard, "learned in the laws," was living at Wolston, in West Allington. Garston, or Gerson, in the same parish, afterwards became their chief residence, and "was occupied till the year 1773, when Lady Bridget Bastard, who held it in dower, died. It is now a farm-house. The gardens were famous for orange and lemon trees, trained against the walls, which are said to have produced as fine fruit as any in Portugal."—Lysons. The head of the house had previously removed to their present home at Kitley, brought to William Bastard in the beginning of the last century by the heiress of Edmund, the last of the Pollexfens, who died in 1710.[1] Since then they have acquired several adjoining estates, including Bowden, Coffleet, Lyneham, &c. In the parish church of Yealston is the monument of John Pollexfen Bastard, obt. 1816, who represented the county in seven successive Parliaments.
The only title of honour ever proffered to them was "modestly declined." In 1779, the appearance of the combined fleets in the offing caused the greatest consternation at Plymouth. Not only was the dockyard believed to be in jeopardy, but much anxiety was felt on account of the thirteen hundred French prisoners of war then collected in the town. At this critical juncture, William Bastard of Kitley came forward, and offered to raise five hundred men for the King's service. This was on the 16th of August. On the 18th he had to make his selection from fifteen hundred young men, all contending for the honour of serving under him for the defence of the country; and on the 19th his regiment, officered by the principal gentlemen of the neighbourhood, was complete. He was then appointed to convey the French prisoners to Exeter, and safely delivered them over to the commanding officer there on the 25th of the same month. For this prompt and signal service, the King ordered a baronet's patent to be made out for him, which had passed the Great Seal and been gazetted three days before the honour intended for him had been notified to Mr. Bastard. He, however, refused to receive any recompense for the loyalty.