Early origins
The Mortimer family in Cornwall can be traced back to at least 1449, when William Mortimere lived at Stratton near Bude. He featured in a counterpart indenture of feoffment, dated 6 Jan 1448/9. William featured in two further documents relating to land at Stratton, between 1448-1452. He was perhaps the ancestor of later Mortimers who lived nearby. At the same time, John Mortimer lived near Stockleigh English, and William and John were perhaps related. Both a William and John Mortimer lived in Pencombe, near Bromyard, Herefordshire in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, and the same first names were often repeated down generations of the Mortimer family.
Stratton is in the most northerly part of Cornwall, close to the border with Devon. In the 15th century, Cornwall was a hotbed of unrest and rebellion and the area played a part in the major events of the time. The Wars of the Roses began in the mid 15th century, and William Mortimer may have been caught up in such events.
William Mortimer obviously died after 1452, when the last record relating to him is observed. William was one of a number of residents who released all their right and claim over a tenement called Popysplas, near the banks of the sea, to John Langston, vicar, Nicholas Leghe and John Ounger, recorded 5 Oct 1452.
