Dartmoor

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A unique and cherished landscape

Though Dartmoor today remains windswept and deserted, Mortimers lived on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor since the 15th century. Here the land was more easily habitable and cultivated. In early times, farming revolved around sheep rearing and wool production, for the important English wool trade. Farmers would also have grown crops to subsist on. This region of Devon is one of the most spectacular in the country and is now a national park, with the landscape dotted with several unique and picturesque villages, such as Dunsford, Lustleigh and Moretonhampstead. The Mortimers presumably arrived in this region from nearby Mid Devon, living first in the parish of Tedburn St Mary, which is adjacent to both Crediton and Newton St Cyres. From then on, they follow a different course to the Mortimers of Sandford, and have been termed the Mortimers of Dartmoor for the purposes of this study.

The Mortimers of Dartmoor begin with Thomas Mortimer who lived in Tettebourne, or Tedburn St Mary, in the year 1500/1. He was presumably closely related to the Mortimers living at Sandford, Crediton and Bow. He may have been the same Thomas Mortimer who featured in earlier records related to Stockleigh, in the manor of West Budleigh. The will of John Mortimer of Priorton hints at an existing relationship between the Mortimers of Sandford and Tedburn St Mary, as he mentioned in his will Thomas French, b.1596 Tedburn St Mary son of John French and Thomasin Mortimer, and James Mortimer, possibly b.1586 Exbourne and related to Mortimers at Tedburn St Mary. However, he did not explicitly name the above individuals as relatives.