Feudal barony of Berry Pomeroy

The feudal barony of Berry Pomeroy was one of eight[1] feudal baronies in Devonshire, England, which existed during the mediaeval era. It had its caput at the manor of Berry Pomeroy, 20 miles south of the City of Exeter and 2 miles east of the town of Totnes, where was situated Totnes Castle, the caput of the feudal barony of Totnes. The exact location of the 11th-century baron's residence is unclear; perhaps it was next to the parish church on the site of the former rectory known as Berry House,[2][3] as it is now believed that the nearby ruined Berry Pomeroy Castle was not built until the 15th century.[4]

The manor and barony was owned by the Pomeroy family from before 1086 until 1547, when it was purchased by Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, in whose family it has since remained. Today the manor and much of the former estate belongs to his descendant the Duke of Somerset, seated at Maiden Bradley House in Wiltshire.

  1. ^ Sanders, 1960 (page needed).
  2. ^ Kightly, Charles, Berry Pomeroy Castle, English Heritage guidebook, 2011, pp. 5, 25.
  3. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p. 166.
  4. ^ Kightly, Charles, Berry Pomeroy Castle, English Heritage guidebook, 2011, pp. 3, 25, 26: "No archaeological finds from the site (of the castle) can be dated before the late 15th century" (p. 25).