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Savile of Oaklands

Albany Bourchier Savile held one big block, 3,643 acres, all in Okehampton parish. He is the point where the Wrey and Palk families meet: his mother was a Wrey and his wife was a Palk.

In 1840 the tithe lists them as Albany Bourchier Savile. 3,643 acres on the Dartmoor-parish tithe maps: Okehampton 3,643.

See their land on the map →

Family tree

Click a name to see everything the sources say about that person, with the exact words quoted, below the chart. Yellow marks the 1840 tithe owner.

Christopher Savile

Christopher Savile, born Christopher Atkinson about 1738, a London corn factor of 15 Mark Lane and contractor of wheat and malt to the Navy Victualling Board; of 3 Park Street, Middlesex, and Hill Hall, Hales, Norfolk. M.P. for Hedon 1780 to December 1783 and 1796 to 1806, and for Okehampton 1818 until his death. Married Jane, daughter and co-heiress of John Savile of Enfield (her sister married Sir Thomas Hallifax); one son and two daughters. Convicted of perjury in 1783 and expelled from the House (see the story below); took the name Savile in 1798. Died 23 April 1819, his personal estate sworn at under 60,000 pounds. He also had an illegitimate son, Robert Farrand, later an M.P. S3, S4

Children shown: Albany Savile of Oaklands

Where this comes from

S3 Fisher, History of Parliament 1820-1832, member biography: Savile, Albany (1783-1831), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/savile-albany-1783-1831

Born about 1783, only legitimate son of Christopher Savile of Park Street and Hill Hall, Hales, Norfolk, and his second wife Jane, daughter and co-heiress of John Savile; Christ Church, Oxford 1802; Lincoln's Inn 1804, called 1817; married 7 March 1815 Eleanora Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., 8 sons and 5 daughters; succeeded his father in 1819, whose personalty was sworn under 60,000 pounds; M.P. Okehampton 1807 to 9 June 1820; his property gave him complete control of Okehampton; died 26 January 1831; his personalty was sworn under 25,000 pounds and the bulk of the estate, including the Okehampton property, passed to his eldest son Albany Bourchier Savile, a minor.

S4 Brooke, History of Parliament 1754-1790, member biography: Atkinson, Christopher (c.1738-1819), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/atkinson-christopher-1738-1819

Summary of the entry: a corn factor of 15 Mark Lane and Victualling Board contractor; returned for Hedon in 1780; accused of fraud in the General Advertiser on 31 January 1781, swore an affidavit denying it and was prosecuted for perjury; found guilty in July 1783 and sentenced to the pillory, a fine of 2,000 pounds and twelve months in prison; expelled from the House on 4 December 1783; changed his name to Savile in 1798; died 23 April 1819. Sat for Hedon 1780-83 and 1796-1806 and Okehampton 1818-19.

Albany Savile of Oaklands

Albany Savile of Oaklands, Devon, only legitimate son of Christopher; born about 1783 (Christ Church, Oxford, 1802, aged 18; Lincoln's Inn 1804, called to the bar 1817). M.P. for Okehampton 1807 to June 1820 and recorder of the borough. Married 7 March 1815 Eleonora Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bart. (see Wrey of Tawstock); eight sons and five daughters. Succeeded his father in 1819, with complete control of Okehampton through his property there. Died 26 January 1831 after a short illness. S1, S2, S3, S5

Child of Christopher Savile. Children shown: Albany Bourchier Savile

Where this comes from

S1 Walford, The County Families of the United Kingdom (1860), entry Savile, Albany Bourchier

SAVILE, Albany Bourchier, Esq. (of Oaklands). Eldest son of the late Albany Savile, Esq., by Eleanora Elizabeth, dau. of Sir Bourchier Wrey, Bart., of Tawstock Court, Devon; b. 1816; s. 1831; m. 1848 Elizabeth Anna, dau. of Sir Lawrence V. Palk, Bart., of Haldon House, Devon.

S2 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Wrey

Eleonora-Elizabeth, m. 1st, in March, 1815, to the late Albany Savile, Esq. of Oaklands, co. Devon; and 2ndly, to the Rev. Mr. Fayle, of Torquay.

S3 Fisher, History of Parliament 1820-1832, member biography: Savile, Albany (1783-1831), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/savile-albany-1783-1831

Born about 1783, only legitimate son of Christopher Savile of Park Street and Hill Hall, Hales, Norfolk, and his second wife Jane, daughter and co-heiress of John Savile; Christ Church, Oxford 1802; Lincoln's Inn 1804, called 1817; married 7 March 1815 Eleanora Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., 8 sons and 5 daughters; succeeded his father in 1819, whose personalty was sworn under 60,000 pounds; M.P. Okehampton 1807 to 9 June 1820; his property gave him complete control of Okehampton; died 26 January 1831; his personalty was sworn under 25,000 pounds and the bulk of the estate, including the Okehampton property, passed to his eldest son Albany Bourchier Savile, a minor.

S5 Lysons, Magna Britannia, vol. 6, Devonshire (1822), Okehampton

The present proprietor is Albany Savile, Esq., M.P. Mr. Savile is building a mansion for his residence, of Grecian architecture, a short distance from the town, to which he has given the name of Oaklands.

Albany Bourchier Savile

Albany Bourchier Savile, Esq., eldest son, born 1816; succeeded 1831, while still a minor, to the bulk of the estate including the Okehampton property (personal estate sworn at under 25,000 pounds). Educated at Eton; cornet in the 7th Hussars 1833; a magistrate for Devon. Of Oaklands near Okehampton. Married 1848 Elizabeth Anna, daughter of Sir Lawrence V. Palk, Bart., of Haldon House (see Palk of Haldon). The 1840 owner of the Okehampton land. S1, S2, S3

Child of Albany Savile of Oaklands

Where this comes from

S1 Walford, The County Families of the United Kingdom (1860), entry Savile, Albany Bourchier

SAVILE, Albany Bourchier, Esq. (of Oaklands). Eldest son of the late Albany Savile, Esq., by Eleanora Elizabeth, dau. of Sir Bourchier Wrey, Bart., of Tawstock Court, Devon; b. 1816; s. 1831; m. 1848 Elizabeth Anna, dau. of Sir Lawrence V. Palk, Bart., of Haldon House, Devon.

S2 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Wrey

Eleonora-Elizabeth, m. 1st, in March, 1815, to the late Albany Savile, Esq. of Oaklands, co. Devon; and 2ndly, to the Rev. Mr. Fayle, of Torquay.

S3 Fisher, History of Parliament 1820-1832, member biography: Savile, Albany (1783-1831), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/savile-albany-1783-1831

Born about 1783, only legitimate son of Christopher Savile of Park Street and Hill Hall, Hales, Norfolk, and his second wife Jane, daughter and co-heiress of John Savile; Christ Church, Oxford 1802; Lincoln's Inn 1804, called 1817; married 7 March 1815 Eleanora Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., 8 sons and 5 daughters; succeeded his father in 1819, whose personalty was sworn under 60,000 pounds; M.P. Okehampton 1807 to 9 June 1820; his property gave him complete control of Okehampton; died 26 January 1831; his personalty was sworn under 25,000 pounds and the bulk of the estate, including the Okehampton property, passed to his eldest son Albany Bourchier Savile, a minor.

Stories from the record

Each story is backed by at least two independent sources, at least one of them a printed or official record. The sources are listed under it.

Etching of a man standing in a pillory above a crowd, with printed verses beneath
Christopher Atkinson in the pillory, etching by Thomas Rowlandson, 1784. Wellcome Collection

Christopher Atkinson (later Savile): convicted of perjury and pilloried

Christopher Atkinson, later Savile, was a London corn factor at 15 Mark Lane and a contractor of wheat and malt to the Navy Victualling Board. He won a seat at Hedon in 1780 after a contest. In January 1781 a letter in the General Advertiser accused him of fraud in his dealings with the Board; he swore an affidavit that the charge was untrue and was prosecuted for perjury. He was tried in the Court of King's Bench before Lord Mansfield on 19 July 1783, and a shorthand report of the trial was printed that year. He was found guilty and sentenced to the pillory, a fine of 2,000 pounds and twelve months in prison. His request in August that the Victualling accounts go before the commission of public accounts was refused, and he was expelled from the Commons on 4 December 1783. A Rowlandson etching of 1784 shows him in the pillory. He sat again for Hedon from 1796 to 1806, took the name Savile in 1798, and sat for Okehampton from 1818 until his death on 23 April 1819; his son Albany inherited his Okehampton property.

Sources: The Trial of Christopher Atkinson, Esq. for Perjury (printed 1783, J. Debrett) - Google Books record; History of Parliament 1754-1790, Atkinson, Christopher (c.1738-1819), by J. Brooke; Hull and East Yorkshire History Calendar, entry for 19 July 1783; Wellcome Collection, Rowlandson etching of Atkinson in the pillory (1784); Tavistock Today, 'Mayor left road building legacy to town' (2006)

Okehampton, the borough that came with the land

Okehampton was a small borough returning two members, and whoever owned its property controlled both seats. Albany Savile, whose father Christopher Savile had bought property in the town, sat for it from 1807 and was recorder of the borough. After he inherited his father's estate in 1819 the History of Parliament says his property gave him complete control. Lysons records in 1822 that the manor of Okehampton had passed through the Mohuns, the Pitts, Lord Clive, the Prince of Wales and Henry Holland, and names Albany Savile as its proprietor, building the Grecian mansion he called Oaklands. At the 1820 election he returned himself and a supporter of Lord Liverpool's government, but about seven weeks after the new Parliament met he stood down for Lord Glenorchy, a Whig and fellow member of Brooks's Club, and went on returning paying guests for the seats without regard to their politics. He died in January 1831 before the Reform Act abolished the seats, and the Okehampton property passed to his eldest son Albany Bourchier Savile, then a minor: the owner shown in the 1840 tithe records.

Sources: History of Parliament 1820-1832, Savile, Albany (1783-1831), by D. R. Fisher; Tavistock Today, Mayor left road building legacy to town (2006); Wikipedia, Okehampton (UK Parliament constituency); Lysons, Magna Britannia, vol. 6, Devonshire (1822), Okehampton

Where the sources differ

Burke (Palk entry) calls Savile 'of Holne Park, near Ashburton' in 1869, while the 1860 County Families gives Oaklands near Okehampton. The 1840 tithe land is in Okehampton, which fits Oaklands; Holne Park appears to have been a later or additional house.
The History of Parliament gives Albany Savile's marriage as 7 March 1815, citing The Times of 15 March 1815, and notes that Burke's Landed Gentry says 2 March. Burke's Peerage (1869) says only March 1815.
Christopher Atkinson (later Savile): convicted of perjury and pilloried. The Hull calendar gives his Hedon returns as 1796 and 1802, and Wikipedia as 1796 to 1806; the History of Parliament gives 1796 to 1806, which is used. Wikipedia says he received a royal pardon in 1791, which the History of Parliament does not mention, so it is left out.
Okehampton, the borough that came with the land. Lysons (1822) names Albany Savile as proprietor of the manor and Henry Holland as the owner before him, without a date or price. Wikipedia's constituency article says the Saviles bought the borough interest after 1791 for 60,000 pounds; its article on Christopher Savile says he bought Okehampton properties after 1806; and the History of Parliament gives 60,000 pounds as the size of the personal estate Albany inherited. The purchase date and price are therefore left out.

Sources

S1 Walford, The County Families of the United Kingdom (1860), entry Savile, Albany Bourchier

SAVILE, Albany Bourchier, Esq. (of Oaklands). Eldest son of the late Albany Savile, Esq., by Eleanora Elizabeth, dau. of Sir Bourchier Wrey, Bart., of Tawstock Court, Devon; b. 1816; s. 1831; m. 1848 Elizabeth Anna, dau. of Sir Lawrence V. Palk, Bart., of Haldon House, Devon.

S2 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Wrey

Eleonora-Elizabeth, m. 1st, in March, 1815, to the late Albany Savile, Esq. of Oaklands, co. Devon; and 2ndly, to the Rev. Mr. Fayle, of Torquay.

S3 Fisher, History of Parliament 1820-1832, member biography: Savile, Albany (1783-1831), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/savile-albany-1783-1831

Born about 1783, only legitimate son of Christopher Savile of Park Street and Hill Hall, Hales, Norfolk, and his second wife Jane, daughter and co-heiress of John Savile; Christ Church, Oxford 1802; Lincoln's Inn 1804, called 1817; married 7 March 1815 Eleanora Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt., 8 sons and 5 daughters; succeeded his father in 1819, whose personalty was sworn under 60,000 pounds; M.P. Okehampton 1807 to 9 June 1820; his property gave him complete control of Okehampton; died 26 January 1831; his personalty was sworn under 25,000 pounds and the bulk of the estate, including the Okehampton property, passed to his eldest son Albany Bourchier Savile, a minor.

S4 Brooke, History of Parliament 1754-1790, member biography: Atkinson, Christopher (c.1738-1819), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/atkinson-christopher-1738-1819

Summary of the entry: a corn factor of 15 Mark Lane and Victualling Board contractor; returned for Hedon in 1780; accused of fraud in the General Advertiser on 31 January 1781, swore an affidavit denying it and was prosecuted for perjury; found guilty in July 1783 and sentenced to the pillory, a fine of 2,000 pounds and twelve months in prison; expelled from the House on 4 December 1783; changed his name to Savile in 1798; died 23 April 1819. Sat for Hedon 1780-83 and 1796-1806 and Okehampton 1818-19.

S5 Lysons, Magna Britannia, vol. 6, Devonshire (1822), Okehampton

The present proprietor is Albany Savile, Esq., M.P. Mr. Savile is building a mansion for his residence, of Grecian architecture, a short distance from the town, to which he has given the name of Oaklands.

Tithe polygons: Devon Tithe Mapping Polygonisation Project (Adnams 2023), © Devon County Council and Devon Heritage Centre, CC BY 4.0. Transcriptions: Devon County Council.