Combe, Dulverton

Combe is a historic estate in Somerset, England, situated between the town of Dulverton and the village of Brushford.

Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII, the estate was one of the possessions of Taunton Priory, which also held the manor of Dulverton.

The Victoria County History (Somerset, Volume 3) states that in 1549 he purchased Pixton from Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk.

[8] Humphrey Sydenham (died 1625)[11] (son by his father's second wife) of Combe, was assessed at £40 in the 1581 subsidy, the highest level of any person in the locality and twice as much as Robert Courtenay of Molland.

John Sydenham (born 1590),[11] eldest son and heir, who married Margery Poulet, daughter of Sir Anthony Poulett (1562–1600) (alias Paulet), of Hinton St George, Somerset, Governor of Jersey, and Captain of the Guard to Queen Elizabeth.

[12] He died without male children, leaving only four daughters, whilst Combe passed to his younger brother Humphry, apparently under tail-male.

Humphrey Sydenham (son), of Combe, who married Jane Pole, second daughter and eventual co-heiress of Sir William Pole, Knight (1614–1649), eldest son and heir apparent of Sir John Pole, 1st Baronet (died 1658) of Shute, Devon, by his second wife Katherine St Barbe, only daughter of Henry St Barbe of Broadlands, Hampshire.

His monumental brass survives on the north wall of All saints' Church, Dulverton (repositioned after the 19th century rebuilding), inscribed in Latin as follows: Humphrydus Sydenham de Comba in comit(atu) Som(er)set, Armiger, mortuus est vicesscimo et sexto die Junii Anno Dom(ini) 1710 magno amicorum detrimento aeta(tus) suae 38.

(Humphry Sydenham of Combe in the county of Somerset, Esquire, died on the twenty-sixth day of June in the year of our Lord 1710, to the great detriment of his friends, of his age 38)Above are shown the arms of Sydenham: Argent, three rams passant sable with crest above: A ram's head erased.

[12] His financial situation was restored by a large inheritance from his great-great-uncle Sir John St Barbe, 1st Baronet (died 1723), MP, of Broadlands in Hampshire.

In the chancel of Ashington Church, Somerset, is a monument of grey and white marble, inscribed:[31] In 1736 Humphrey Sydenham sold Broadlands to Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston.

[37] He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford in 1814, and gained BA in 1817; and was appointed by his family as Rector of Brushford in 1835.

Charles St. Barbe Sydenham (died 1904) was Dr George Francis Sydenham (1861–1924), born at Combe as his monument in Dulverton Church states, who spent most of his life working as a surgeon and family doctor in Dulverton, living at Battleton House,[47] formerly part of the Combe estate.

In the north aisle of All Saints Church in Dulverton are five memorials to the Sydenham family of Combe.

He appears to have continued to reside at Horsington (later sold by his son Roger in 1923)[52] and to have let Combe to a series of tenants, including: In 1895 Combe was the residence of General James Kempt Couper[53] (1827–1901), Indian Staff Corps,[54] second son of Sir George Couper, 1st Baronet (1788–1861), KH, CB, and whose youngest daughter Mary Emiline Bertha Couper in 1895 married her father's landlord Roger Marriott-Dodington (1866–1925) of Orchard Portman House and Horsington House, Somerset,[55] High Sheriff of Somerset in 1922.

A photograph c. 1856-57 of "James Kempt Couper 2nd Native Indian Regiment", by Ahmad Ali exists in the records of the India Office, National Archives.

[60] In 1924 Combe House and its estate of 260 acres[61] was purchased by Col. Eustace James Harrison (1876–1962), TD, Hon.

Colonel 6th (Rifle) Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool), lord of the manor of Hawkridge in Somerset, who served in World War I.

[64] Harrison purchased the adjoining manor of Hawkridge from the Earl of Carnarvon, of Pixton Park, directly eastwards across the River Barle from Combe.

Col. Harrison died unmarried and without children and bequeathed his estates to his nephews, one of whom (Douglas Edward) George Wilson (1906–1980) (son of Elizabeth Harpin Harrison by her husband G.D. Wilson (died 1916)[67]) inherited Combe and together with his wife Barbara Reid Nicholl (1907–2002) is buried in Hawkridge churchyard.

[68] A small brass tablet affixed to the gatepost of Brushford churchyard is inscribed: "In memory of Barbara Wilson of Combe 1907-2002".

[70] He retired to Combe but in 2013 was still attending shoots regularly, mainly as a dogman picking-up shot birds, at least four days a week.