Vellacott

The Vellacotts have a long history in the north west part of North Devon including purchasing large amounts of property and farmland in and around Lynton.  Their ownership of the farms in and around Furzehill – near Barbrook and on the edge of the original Royal Forest of Exmoor – included several shepherd’s huts.  These huts, used to house shepherds running sheep up onto the high moors for pasturing (as part of local farmers’ “commoners rights” on the Royal Forest), would have been single room buildings used only during the summer months.  Benjamy, Foley and Hoar Oak were all such shepherds huts and all, in time, were extended and became full-time homes to shepherd families.  Only Hoar Oak grew into a substantial building with outbuildings and 25 acres of land.  When the Royal Forest of Exmoor was sold, in 1818, to John Knight – a wealthy Midland’s industrialist and MP for Worcester – land around the edge of the Forest was ‘allotted’ to local land owners to compensate them for their loss of their commoners rights. The Vellacotts were awarded the Hoar Oak allotment and turned the hut at Hoar Oak into a cottage.  They moved their son Charles, and wife Elizabeth into Hoar Oak Cottage and the start of its life as a permanent home began. The images below are from the original Award Document and Map showing the allotments following the sale of the Royal Forest with the sections pertaining to the Vellacott’s award highlighted.  Thanks to the National Archives for permission to photograph and share these images.

Award Map Exmoor Forest Sale 1816 Archive Ref: 3394/HOC320-1
Section of Exmoor Sale Map 1916 showing Allotments 279 and 280 Archive Ref: 3394/HOC320/2
Image of page from Exmoor Sale Award Document describing Vellacott allotments Archive Ref: 3394/HOC320/3 Cite: The National Archives

In time, Charles and Elizabeth (nee Passmore) Vellacott – the first inhabitants of Hoar Oak Cottage – moved on and the cottage was used to house several shepherd families for many decades.  But in the 1850s another Vellacott son, John and his wife Agnes (nee Crocombe) lived at Hoar Oak and John who was known as the schoolmaster at Brendon also, it is remembered, ran a small school at another Vellacott cottage – Foley – to educate the many children living out on that remote part of the moor.

In June 1866, the Vellacotts decided to sell Hoar Oak and the land around it.  Their ‘award’ or ‘allotment’ of the land linked to the sale of the Royal Forest of Exmoor required that the land stayed in Vellacott hands for three generations.  This having been achieved, they put the land and cottage up for sale as part of what was advertised as Lot 4 – The Reversion in Fee of a Moiety of the Furze Hilland Hoar Oak Estates containing together 454 acres of ‘arable, meadow and psture land.’  The purchaser is believed to be a Mr Jeune who then let the Hoar Oak land and cottage to Mr Taylor.

The headstone of Charles and Elizabeth Vellacott, shown below, can be found in St Marys, Lynton churchyard.

Charles and Elizabeth Vellacott Headstone. Lynton Churchyard. Archive Ref: 3394/HOC34

The Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage are indebted to several Vellacott descendants for information about the family including Jim and Mabel Vellacott, late of Bampton in North Devon;  Rob and Elaine Vellacott of Tasmania;  David Wilde of Lynton and Terry Hicks of Sydney, Australia.

The Friends Archive holds many documents, family trees, photos and researches about the Australian branch of the family.  Please contact info@hoaroakcottage.org if you wish to access that information.  More details about the Vellacotts can also be found in the publication ‘The Women of Hoar Oak Cottage’ and details on how to obtain a copy can be found at the Whats On tab above or this link www.hoaroakcottage.org/books4sale/

Vellacott Family Tree showing links between two of the families - in Devon and Australia. Archive Ref: 3394/HOC35

Another, later Charles Vellacott, is remembered for the hymn he wrote in commemoration of the losses of the First World War.  It was played and sung at St Mary’s Church, Lynton for the commemorations in 2018.  Image below.  The complete document is held in the Archive.

First World War hymn by Charles Vellacott Archive Ref: 3394/HOC36A