Paul Speccot Explained

Paul Speccot (died 1643) of Penheale in the parish of Egloskerry in Cornwall, was a Member of Parliament successively for Bossiney, East Looe and Newport all in Cornwall, between 1626 and 1640.

Origins

He was the second son of Sir John Speccot (c.1561-1644) of Speccot in the parish of Merton, Devon,^[1] and of Penheale in Cornwall,^[2] a Member of Parliament for St Mawes in Cornwall from 1604,^[3] Sheriff of Cornwall in 1622/3, Sheriff of Devon 1614/15, feudal baron of Great Torrington^[4] in Devon and lord of the manor of Holsworthy in Devon. His mother (his father's first wife) was Elizabeth Edgcumbe, daughter of Peter Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall.^[5] His elder brother was Peter Speccot (died 1655) of Thornbury and Speccot, MP for Tregony in Cornwall in 1624.^[6]

Career

In 1626 Speccot was elected as a Member of Parliament for Bossiney in Cornwall. In 1628 he was elected MP for East Looe in Cornwall. In April 1640 he was elected MP for Newport in Cornwall, in the Short Parliament.^[7]

Marriages

Speccot married twice:^[8]

• Firstly to Grace Halswell (died 1636), daughter of Robert Halswell of Somerset, by whom he had children:
  • John Speccot (died 1677/8), son and heir, of Penheale, MP for Newport 1661–1678. He was buried in Egloskerry Church, where survives his monument.^[9] In 1663/4 he married Honor Eliot (died 1692), daughter of John Eliot of Port Eliot in the parish of St Germans, Cornwall, ancestor of the Earl of St Germans. He had three sons and one daughter:^[10]
    • Paul Speccot (died 1671/2), who died young.
    • John Speccot (died 1705), MP for Newport 1685-95 and for Cornwalll 1695–1701, who died without children, having married Lady Essex Robartes (died 1689), daughter of John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor (1606–1685).^[11]
    • Humphrey Speccot (died 1705/6), died unmarried.
    • Dorothy Speccot, wife of John Beaumont.
  • Elizabeth Speccot, wife of Rev. Richard Long. She was the eventual heiress of Penheale on failure of her brother's male descendants.
• Secondly he married Dorothy Wise, daughter of Christopher Wise of Totnes, Devon, who survived him and in 1647 remarried to Henry Wills.^[12]

Death and burial

Speccot died in 1643 and was buried at Egloskerry where he left £700 for the curate.^[13]

Notes and References

1. [John Lambrick Vivian|Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L.]
2. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=021-bw&cid=-1#-1 National Archives Cornwall Record Office BW/18/1
3. Web site: SPECCOTT, John (C.1561-1644), of Thornbury, Devon. | History of Parliament Online.
4. [Tristram Risdon|Risdon, Tristram]
5. Vivian, p.707
6. Vivian, p.707
7. 1. 2. 229-239.
8. Vivian, p.707
9. Vivian, p.707
10. Vivian, p.707
11. Vivian, p.707
12. Vivian, p.707
13. [Fortescue Hitchins]