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Whipham of Gidleigh Park

The Whipham family bought the manor and advowson of Gidleigh in 1819 and held Gidleigh Park for three generations that the sources name. The 1840 tithe owner 'Dr Thomas Whipham' is the vicar of Kingsteignton who bought it.

In 1840 the tithe lists them as Dr Thomas Whipham. 333 acres on the Dartmoor-parish tithe maps: Gidleigh 333.

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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.

Rev Thomas Whipham

Rev. Thomas Whipham, D.D. (matriculated Oriel College, Oxford, 1791, aged 18; B.D. and D.D. 1836), vicar of Kingsteignton cum Highwick from 1812, rector of Ideford from 1836; died 1 July 1844. Bought the manor and advowson of Gidleigh under a decree of Chancery in 1819. The 1840 tithe owner in Gidleigh. S1, S2, S3

Children shown: Thomas Henry Whipham, Rev Arthur, Theodore William Whipham

Where this comes from

S1 Foster, Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886, vol. 4 (1888), entries Whipham: Thomas; Thomas Henry; Thomas Tillyer; Arthur (Peregrine); Theodore William; Alfred Guy

Whipham, Thomas, s. Thomas, of London, gent. Oriel Coll., matric. 13 Dec, 1791, aged 18; B.A. 1795, M.A. 1798, B. & D.D. 1836, vicar of Kingsteignton cum Highwick, Devon, 1812, rector of Ideford 1836, until his death 1 July, 1844.

S2 Lysons, Magna Britannia, vol. 6, Devonshire (1822), Gidleigh

The manor and advowson have lately been purchased under a decree of the court by the Rev. Thomas Whipham, vicar of King's Teignton.

S3 Crossing, Guide to Dartmoor, vol. 2 (1914), p. 173

The manor was purchased in 1819 by the Rev. Dr. Whipham, and is now in the possession of his grandson, Mr. A. Guy Whipham, of Gidleigh Park.

Thomas Henry Whipham

Thomas Henry Whipham, eldest son (Trinity College, Oxford, 1826; barrister, Lincoln's Inn 1833); died 18 March 1860. S1

Child of Rev Thomas Whipham. Children shown: Thomas Tillyer Whipham

Where this comes from

S1 Foster, Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886, vol. 4 (1888), entries Whipham: Thomas; Thomas Henry; Thomas Tillyer; Arthur (Peregrine); Theodore William; Alfred Guy

Whipham, Thomas, s. Thomas, of London, gent. Oriel Coll., matric. 13 Dec, 1791, aged 18; B.A. 1795, M.A. 1798, B. & D.D. 1836, vicar of Kingsteignton cum Highwick, Devon, 1812, rector of Ideford 1836, until his death 1 July, 1844.

Thomas Tillyer Whipham

Thomas Tillyer Whipham, eldest son of Thomas Henry (Oriel College, 1857; M.A. 1864, B.Med. 1866, D.Med. 1888). The London physician; shown here as a grandson of the Gidleigh purchaser, which settles the question earlier research left open. S1

Child of Thomas Henry Whipham

Where this comes from

S1 Foster, Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886, vol. 4 (1888), entries Whipham: Thomas; Thomas Henry; Thomas Tillyer; Arthur (Peregrine); Theodore William; Alfred Guy

Whipham, Thomas, s. Thomas, of London, gent. Oriel Coll., matric. 13 Dec, 1791, aged 18; B.A. 1795, M.A. 1798, B. & D.D. 1836, vicar of Kingsteignton cum Highwick, Devon, 1812, rector of Ideford 1836, until his death 1 July, 1844.

Rev Arthur

Rev. Arthur (Peregrine) Whipham, second son (Trinity College, Oxford, 1828, aged 17; B.A. 1832, M.A. 1835), rector of Gidleigh 1835-65, of Hittisleigh 1865-8, of Belstone from 1877 until his death on 18 November 1882. Owner of the Gidleigh estate; in 1846 he leased 2.5 acres at Gidleigh Tor for 99 years to his friend Thomas Levett Prinsep. S1, S4

Child of Rev Thomas Whipham. Children shown: Alfred Guy Whipham

Where this comes from

S1 Foster, Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886, vol. 4 (1888), entries Whipham: Thomas; Thomas Henry; Thomas Tillyer; Arthur (Peregrine); Theodore William; Alfred Guy

Whipham, Thomas, s. Thomas, of London, gent. Oriel Coll., matric. 13 Dec, 1791, aged 18; B.A. 1795, M.A. 1798, B. & D.D. 1836, vicar of Kingsteignton cum Highwick, Devon, 1812, rector of Ideford 1836, until his death 1 July, 1844.

S4 Crossing, Gems in a Granite Setting (1905), pp. 60-61

In 1846 Mr. Whipham's father, the late Rev. Arthur Whipham, rector of Gidleigh and owner of the estate, granted a lease for ninety-nine years of two-and-a-half acres of land immediately adjoining Gidleigh Tor to his friend Mr. Thomas Levett Prinsep.

Alfred Guy Whipham

Alfred Guy Whipham, third son of Arthur (St Edmund Hall, Oxford, 1868, aged 20; barrister, Middle Temple 1873). Of Gidleigh Park; owner in 1905 and 1914, described as grandson of the purchaser. S1, S4, S5

Child of Rev Arthur

Where this comes from

S1 Foster, Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886, vol. 4 (1888), entries Whipham: Thomas; Thomas Henry; Thomas Tillyer; Arthur (Peregrine); Theodore William; Alfred Guy

Whipham, Thomas, s. Thomas, of London, gent. Oriel Coll., matric. 13 Dec, 1791, aged 18; B.A. 1795, M.A. 1798, B. & D.D. 1836, vicar of Kingsteignton cum Highwick, Devon, 1812, rector of Ideford 1836, until his death 1 July, 1844.

S4 Crossing, Gems in a Granite Setting (1905), pp. 60-61

In 1846 Mr. Whipham's father, the late Rev. Arthur Whipham, rector of Gidleigh and owner of the estate, granted a lease for ninety-nine years of two-and-a-half acres of land immediately adjoining Gidleigh Tor to his friend Mr. Thomas Levett Prinsep.

S5 Crossing, Gems in a Granite Setting (1905), p. 60

the manor and estate of Gidleigh, with the advowson, were purchased in 1819 under a decree of Chancery by the Rev. Dr. Whipham, grandfather of the present owner.

Theodore William Whipham

Theodore William Whipham, third son (Balliol College, Oxford, 1833, aged 16; barrister, Inner Temple 1846); died 14 January 1858. S1

Child of Rev Thomas Whipham

Where this comes from

S1 Foster, Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886, vol. 4 (1888), entries Whipham: Thomas; Thomas Henry; Thomas Tillyer; Arthur (Peregrine); Theodore William; Alfred Guy

Whipham, Thomas, s. Thomas, of London, gent. Oriel Coll., matric. 13 Dec, 1791, aged 18; B.A. 1795, M.A. 1798, B. & D.D. 1836, vicar of Kingsteignton cum Highwick, Devon, 1812, rector of Ideford 1836, until his death 1 July, 1844.

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.

The rector of Gidleigh and the divorce court

The Rev. Arthur Whipham was rector of Gidleigh from 1836 until his successor, Owen Owen, took over in 1862. The National Archives holds a Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes file, J 77/59/W94, which names Whipham and a co-respondent called Rowe and is catalogued under 1861. Newspaper-based accounts, citing the Western Times law report of 19 June 1863, say Whipham petitioned for divorce on the ground of his wife's adultery with Philip Rowe, a farmer's son from Berrydown, Gidleigh. The catalogue date and the newspaper date do not agree, so the exact year of the petition is uncertain.

Sources: The National Archives, J 77/59/W94, Divorce Court File: Whipham (Rev. Arthur) with co-respondent Rowe, dated 1861; Wikipedia, Holy Trinity Church, Gidleigh (cites Western Times, Law Intelligence, 19 June 1863; rector list); Legendary Dartmoor, 'Never happen to a vicar'

Places on this family's land

Places on this site that stand on, or beside, the fields this family held in 1840.

On their 1840 fields (3)

Where the sources differ

Legendary Dartmoor gives the 1819 purchaser as 'Dr. J. Whipham'. Lysons (1822) and the Oxford register name him as the Rev. Thomas Whipham, vicar of Kingsteignton.
The Oxford register gives the father of Thomas Henry and Arthur as 'Thomas, of Kingston, Surrey, cler.' and the father of Theodore William as 'Thomas, of Kingsteignton, Devon, cler.'. All three are shown as sons of the Kingsteignton vicar, because Crossing calls Alfred Guy Whipham, Arthur's son, grandson of the 1819 purchaser.
The rector of Gidleigh and the divorce court. The National Archives catalogue dates the divorce file 1861; the newspaper accounts give the petition as filed on 12 June 1863. Rowe's forename is given as Phillip (Legendary Dartmoor) and Philip (Wikipedia); the catalogue gives none. The details of the allegation come from one chain of newspaper reporting.

Sources

S1 Foster, Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886, vol. 4 (1888), entries Whipham: Thomas; Thomas Henry; Thomas Tillyer; Arthur (Peregrine); Theodore William; Alfred Guy

Whipham, Thomas, s. Thomas, of London, gent. Oriel Coll., matric. 13 Dec, 1791, aged 18; B.A. 1795, M.A. 1798, B. & D.D. 1836, vicar of Kingsteignton cum Highwick, Devon, 1812, rector of Ideford 1836, until his death 1 July, 1844.

S2 Lysons, Magna Britannia, vol. 6, Devonshire (1822), Gidleigh

The manor and advowson have lately been purchased under a decree of the court by the Rev. Thomas Whipham, vicar of King's Teignton.

S3 Crossing, Guide to Dartmoor, vol. 2 (1914), p. 173

The manor was purchased in 1819 by the Rev. Dr. Whipham, and is now in the possession of his grandson, Mr. A. Guy Whipham, of Gidleigh Park.

S4 Crossing, Gems in a Granite Setting (1905), pp. 60-61

In 1846 Mr. Whipham's father, the late Rev. Arthur Whipham, rector of Gidleigh and owner of the estate, granted a lease for ninety-nine years of two-and-a-half acres of land immediately adjoining Gidleigh Tor to his friend Mr. Thomas Levett Prinsep.

S5 Crossing, Gems in a Granite Setting (1905), p. 60

the manor and estate of Gidleigh, with the advowson, were purchased in 1819 under a decree of Chancery by the Rev. Dr. Whipham, grandfather of the present owner.

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