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Sir Thomas Wise (c. 1576–1630),[1] KB, of Sydenham in the parish of Marystow and of Mount Wise in the parish of Stoke Damerel in Devon, was Sheriff of Devon in 1612 and in 1621 served as a member of parliament for Bere Alston in Devon.[2]
Wise was the second son and eventual heir of Thomas Wise (1546–1593) of Sydenham, by his wife Mary Buller,[3] a daughter of Richard Buller (died 1556)[4] of Shillingham in Cornwall (ancestor of the prominent Buller family of Morval and of the Buller Baronets). The Wise family is earliest recorded in the Heraldic Visitations of Devon in the person of John Wise (fl.1403) of Sydenham, living in 1403.[5] The family can however be traced to Westcountry roots from the eleventh century.[6] They provided a Knight of the Shire (Member of Parliament for Devon) in three of the Parliaments of King Henry VI (1422–1461).[7] In about 1400 the manor of Stoke Damerel, within which was situated the estate later called Mount Wise, was inherited by Thomas Wise of Sydenham (son and heir of John Wise (fl. 1403) of Sydenham), upon his marriage to Margaret Brett (alias Brit),[8] daughter and heiress of Robert Brett of Staddiscombe, near Plymstock,[9] [10] [11] lord of the manor of Stoke Damerel.
He was created a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of King James I in 1603. In 1612 he served as Sheriff of Devon.[12] [13] In 1621 he was elected a member of parliament for Bere Alston[2] in Devon, where he had gained influence following local land purchases.[6]
He re-built Sydenham House and added such height and such a great amount of stone to it that his contemporary Risdon (died 1640) described Sydenham as:
"Beautified with buildings of such height as the very foundation is ready to reel under the burthen".[14]
He also built a new mansion house on his ancestral estate at Stoke Damerel, which he named Mount Wise,[15] on a headland jutting out into Plymouth Sound. His contemporary the Devon historian Sir William Pole (died 1635) remarked as follows concerning the manor of Stoke Damerel and Sir Thomas Wise:
"Hee hath bwilded heere, uppon an advanced ground a newe howse for his pleasure & named it Mount Wise, where Thomas (Wise) Esqr. his sonne now dwelleth, w(hi)ch hath married (Mary), daughter of Edward Lord Chichester, Vicont of Cairfergus".
In about 1600[12] Wise married Margery Stafford (born 1583), daughter and sole heiress of Robert Stafford (died 1604)[16] of Stafford (alias Stoford) in the parish of Dolton in Devon. The surname of the Stafford family had anciently been Kelloway. By his wife he had children as follows:[12]
Wise died in 1630 and was buried in Marystow Church, where survives his "splendid"[6] marble monument with eight Corinthian columns surrounded by other monuments to the Wise family.[21]