Wootton Fitzpaine
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1841 Tithe Map of Wootton Fitzpaine. Click here or on map for larger version
This engraving of the Village Hall at Wootton Fitzpaine appeared in "The Building News" on November 27th, 1908
 
little vill, lying in or near Marshwood Vale, miles south-west from Pillesdon, three from e Regis, seven from Bridport, twenty-two
Dorchester, two miles long and two broad, ded east, west, and north, by Whitchurch inicorum, and south by Catherston Lewston. contains," says Hutchins's Continuator, " 50 es, about 50 acres, and six or seven teams; about 800 sheep are fed by grass in summer 3n turnips in winter. The soil is a light clay, thirds meadow and pasture; the grain, wheat,
oats; manure for arable lime at 3*. per head. The mode of tillage is broad cast; orer's wages Is. per diem: poors' rate 3s. n the pound, or thereabouts ; the usual fuel
is wood and turf. The appearance of the country is hilly and inclosed, and there are two small brooks in the parish, and in them small trout and eels. The air is soft and moist, but very healthy."
Wodtone, quasi Wood-town, as Dugdale, who also derives it from Quatone, from the British word Coit, a wood; d in Wodtone being changed into t, for a smoother pronunciation: others (as Thoroton) read Whatton or Watton, q. d. a watery situation: both these etymologies will suit this place.
In Domesday Book "Wodeton" is surveyed in two parcels, both held by Bretel of the Earl of Moreton, and there is a place called " Odetun," which is no doubt another Wootton, held by Aiuit the Chamberlam. there are no less man six Woottons in this county, and it is therefore almost impossible to identify either of them with the places thus mentioned in Domesday.
The most ancient lords of this vill we find were the Fitzpains, from whom it received its additional denomination. 9 Edw. II. Robert Fitz-pain held this manor of Henry de Urtiaco,a by service of one knight's fee. 20 Edw. III. Robert Fitzpain held here one small fee, formerly held by Robert Fitzpain. 28 Edw. III. he held this manor and advowson of the lord of the manor of Cokelington, jointly with Ela his wife, and their heirs ; remainder to Robert, son of Richard Grey of Codnor, and Elizabeth his wife, and his heirs. But we find" that Robert Fitzpaine sold this, and other estates, to John Maltravers, jun. of Litchet ; on whose attainder they were forfeited to the crown. King Edward III. in the 9th year of his reign granted this to William Monteacute, Earl of Sarum ; but not long after it was re-granted to John Maltravers, sen. who died seised of it 38 Edw. III. held of Roger Beauchamp. His heiress brought it to the Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel, who held it, as the inquisition says, sometimes of the heirs of Henry de Lorty, sometimes of the manor of Marshwood." In this family it continued till 17 Hen. VIII. when Thomas Earl of Arundel died seised of it, whose son Earl "William seems to have alienated it ; for, 26 Eliz. John Wadham at his death held lands here. 36 Eliz. this manor and advowson, and the manor of Wol-comb Maltravers, and lands in Bagleshay, value 15£. were held by Hardy, with licence to alienate to several.
We have no further account of it till about the reign of Charles I. when it came to the Roses, originally merchants at Lyme. Thomas Rose, esq. sheriff of this county 1 George I. left an only daughter, Mary, who married Francis Drewe, esq. co. Devon. Mr. Rose died January 17, 1747. A stone of eight ounces and one dram was found in his kidneys. This estate afterwards came to Thomas Rose Drewe, second son of Francis Drewe, who resided here till his death in 1815, as did his relict Mrs. Rose Drewe. In 1865, it is the property of Mrs. Luttrell of Kilve Court near Bridgwater, relict of Colonel Francis Luttrell, third son of John Fownes Luttrell, esq. to whom it was left by her brother, F. W. Drewe, esq. of the Grange, Devon.
This manor has a court leet and baron. Wotton farm, in Wotton Fitzpaine and Whitchurch Canonicorum, was worth in 1774 about 500£. per annum
HAMLETS AND FARMS IN THIS PARISH. (SJllppJ), a farm.
), alias (Srfjamprenlesf), or cres 01 lana in \\ omesieigii m » otton ±itz and several manors and lands, in Somerset Devon. Sir John Whalesborough of Wh borough in Cornwall, knt. married Joane, da ter of John Rawleigh of Nettlecomb, and < and heir of Sir Simon Raleigh. She ma secondly Sir Thomas Pomerey, knt. and die 1435. Thomas Whalesborough, her son heir, at his death 21 Edw. IV. held the prez of Walter Eshlegh, by service of one tenth of a fee ; also the manor of Nettlecomb. several other manors and lands, co. Some Elizabeth, wife of John Trevilian, his dau° and heir.4 John Trevilian died 8 Hen. VII did his son John 34 Hen. VIII. who gave manor and other estates to his second son^Geo It belonged, about 1790, to Henry Hoste Hei esq. This manor has only a court-leet.
Cijutci) 3Lanirs.
14 Eliz. lands in Wotton Fitzpaine, and t acres near Bridport Way, given for the maitenance of lights in this church, were granted Richard Hill and William James, and their h in fee farm.
A rivulet rises near Wotton Fitzpaine.
The Register begins 1678 ; but is impe: from 1721 to 1728. The number of births o average about ten a year; marriages thre< four.
anciently a manor, now a farm. 18 Hen. VI. Simon Rawlegh held eight messuages, and 190
is a small fabric, which stands a little to the r of the manor house. It consists of chancel. tral tower, nave, south aisle, and porch. chancel is Early English, and has the ori; corbel-table entire. There is a good win do the north and south walls on each side of altar, of two trefoil-headed lights each, w pointed quatrefoil at the apex. They have moulds on both sides of the wall, with carvec minations. There is a similar window in west gable of the nave. The aisle and porcl late Perpendicular; the latter has a cylinc roof. On the boss of the central intersect! Latin cross is carved in relief. The font 1 Norman stem encircled at the top with the i moulding. In the east window is a coat of in stained glass, —
Quarterly of nine : — I. Erm. a lion pa guardant gules, Drewe. II. Arg. a chevron s a label of three points gules, and a mulle difference, Prldeaux of Thuborough. III. bend between two dolphins naiant or, Tr IV. Arg. on a bend az. three mullets pierc the field, Wynard. V. Per chevron sable or, in chief four scythes conjoined two anc argent, the handles of the second, in base a cock of the first, Hackmore. VI. Az. a ; head cabossed attired or between three 1 arrows points downwards of the third, Buc
John Rose came for St. Burlado in Jersey and was elected mayor of Lyme Regis in 1611.He shortly after married Faith, daughter of Ralph Ellesdon, Esq. Richard his son, married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Henley, Esq., of Leigh, and represented Lyme in parliament from the year 1639 to 1655.he occurs the first possessor of Wootton Fitzpaine about that time. Thomas Rose, esq., sheriff from the county in the reign of George l left an only daughter, who married Francis Drew of Grange, Devon.
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PORTRAIT OF THOMAS ROSE OF WOOTTON FITZPAINE, DORSET(1679-1747)Half length, wearing a grey coat and long wig, oil on canvas 74.5 x 62cm. The Roses were originally merchants at Lyme Regis.Thomas Rose (1679-1747) was sherrif of Dorset in 1714. He left an only daughter. Mary, who married Francis Drewe, Esq. This estate afterwards came to Thomas Rose Drewe. second son of Francis Drewe, who resided in Wootton Fitzpaine until his death in 1815.
1782 Land Tax for Wootton Fitzpaine showing Thomas Rose Drewe as the major land owner.
Thomas Rose Drew (1740–1815) and his wife Betty Incledon, pastels by Lewis Vaslet (1742–1808), collection of Dunster Castle. (His half-sister Mary Drewe (died 1830) was the wife of John Fownes Luttrell (1752–1816), feudal baron of Dunster)

Francis Drewe (1712–1773) (son), Sheriff of Devon in 1738, who married twice:

  • Firstly in 1737 to Mary Rose (died pre-1753), daughter of Thomas Rose of Wooton FitzPaine of Dorset, by whom he had children including Francis Rose Drew (1738–1801), eldest son and heir.
  • Secondly in 1753 to Mary Johnson, daughter of Thomas Johnson of London.[19] Mary Johnson's portrait dated 1754 survives showing her dressed as a shepherdess, in a gold dress, with flowers in her hair, holding a crook in her left hand.[20] By his second wife he had a daughter Mary Drewe (died 1830) who in 1782 married John Fownes Luttrell (1752–1816), feudal baron of Dunster of Dunster Castle in Somerset, MP for Minehead (1776–1816).[19]
Francis Rose Drew (1738–1801), eldest son and heir by his father's first wife. He purchased the estate of Leyhill in the parish of Payhembury, formerly the seat of the Willoughby family, also of Molland Champson, Devon. There survives of him a portrait silhouette painted on laid card c. 1777, probably by Francis Torond.[21] He died without children. In June 1800 he was visited at The Grange by the landowner and landscaping connoisseur Rev. John Swete (died 1821) of Oxton House near Exeter, who made a watercolour painting of the house and recorded the event in his Travel Journal.[22]
Thomas Rose Drew (1740–1815), younger brother, of Wooton FitzPaine, who inherited The Grange on the death of his elder brother. In 1782 he married Betty Incledon (1738-), daughter of the antiquarian Benjamin Incledon (1730–1796)[23] of Pilton House, Pilton, Devon. Individual oval portraits of Thomas and his wife painted by Lewis Vaslet (1742–1808) survive in the collection of Dunster Castle in Somerset.[24] He died without children.
William Drewe (1745–), younger brother, a lawyer of New Inn, London, who died unmarried.
John Rose Drewe (1747–1830), younger brother, who married Dorothy Bidgood (died 1834), daughter of Charles Bidgood of Rockbeare. He left no surviving male children.
The comparative peaceful time of the 1700s heralded a century of agricultural progress and wealth for the landed gentry. Wootton was to see a redesign of its entire estate after the death of Thomas Rose and the marriage of his daughter Mary to Francis Drewe on the 8th September 1737. Francis Drewe was the grandson of Edward Drewe, Sergeant-at-Law to Queen Elizabeth I. Edward had built the great house called the Grange near Broadhembury, Devon after buying the village and surrounding land. The Grange remained the seat of the Drewe family for nearly three hundred years. Francis and many of his family are buried in the family vault in Broadhembury church.
Wootton Manor was extensively rebuilt in 1765, giving it the general appearance as we see it today. Although as yet there is no proof, it would seem the manor farmhouse and other farm cottages were either built or extensively remodelled during this period.
Sacred to the memory of Thomas Rose Drew of Wootton House, Esq.
The second son of Francis Drewe Esq.
Of Grange in the County of Devon.
Succeeded in early life to his maternal estates. 
He spent his days at this place.
In the faithful and unwearied discharge 
Of all the duties of his Station,
And died on the first of June, 1814
Aged 76 years.
Beloved
Lamented
His afflicted widow
Erected this monument 
As a lasting tribute of her affection
Also
To the memory of
Betty Rose Drewe,
The widow and relict of the above named
Thomas Rose Drewe esq.
She died on the 7!day of May 1846
Aged 88 years. 
Marriage Certificate between Emma Louisa Drewe and Francis Luttrell in 1824.
Francis Fownes Luttrell (1792-1862) Will
John Fownes Luttrell (1752–1816), eldest son and heir, of Dunster Castle. In 1770 he matriculated at Queen's College, Oxford. He was MP for Minehead (1776–1816). In 1782 he married Mary Drewe (died 1830), daughter (by his 2nd wife) of Francis Drewe (1712–1773) of The Grange, Broadhembury, Devon, High Sheriff of Devon in 1738,[69] by whom he had 5 sons and 4 daughters.
George Fownes Luttrell (1826–1910), nephew, JP, DL, Sheriff of Somerset in 1874. He was the eldest son of Lt-Col Francis Fownes Luttrell (1792–1862) of Kilve Court and Wootton House, Somerset (3rd son of John Fownes Luttrell (1752–1816) of Dunster Castle), Lt-Col of the Grenadier Guards who fought and was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and was Lt-Col of the Somerset Militia in 1839. Francis's portrait in the library shows him in military uniform with his right eye missing, a battle wound. George's mother was Emma Louisa Drew, daughter of Samuel Drewe of Kensington, his father's cousin. George Luttrell was Master of the West Somerset Foxhounds.
 
 
 
15th March 1859
January 1866
 
Mrs Emma Luttrell is shown living at Wootton Fitzpaine Manor in 1871
Mrs Emma Luttrell is shown living at Wootton Fitzpaine Manor in 1881. This is the year she died and there is a commomerative stained glass window to her Dunster Church.
Wootton Manor House c.1870
This engraving from John Hutchins History of Dorset (1764) shows what is today Abbott's Wootton Farm, Abbott's Wootton Lane, Wootton Fitzpaine, Bridport, Dorset. The Dorset record Office still has the " Plans of farms and tenements in the manor and liberty of Abbott's Wootton, Hawkchurch, Berne, Moorcombes Blake [Morecombelake], being an estate belonging to the Rt Hon Lord Milton Surveyor: William Woodward" dated 1769.
A previous owner was John Henley, who inherited Wootton Abbots from his mother's family, was the grandson of Sir Robert Henley, master of the King's bench, and kinsman to the Henleys of Lyme Regis. 1 His elder brother, the well known Anthony Henley, M.P., was father of another Anthony and of Robert Henley , 1st Earl of Northington. After unsuccessfully contesting Milborne Port in 1702, he was returned unopposed as a Whig on his family's interest at Lyme Regis in 1715. He voted for the Administration in all recorded divisions but did not stand again. On his death on 25 Apr. 1732 he left Wootton Abbots away from his wife and sons to his �dear and only friend and brother Robert Henley of Glanville Wootton ... begging him for God's sake not to refuse the care of his unfortunate brother's children.'
The Record Office also has the "Sale Particulars for the Wootton Fitzpaine Estate, comprising Lower and Higher Abbotts Wootton Farms and Northay Farm To be sold by Humbert, Flint, Rawlence and Squarey, auctioneers, on 24 May 1973"