The Wrey Baronetcy, of Trebitch (modern: Trebeigh Manor,
St Ive, 4 miles NE of
Liskeard[4]) in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the
Baronetage of England. It was created on 30 June 1628 for William Wrey (d.1636), 2nd son of
John Wrey (died 1597) of Trebeigh,
St Ive, Cornwall, a member of an ancient
Devon family. The third Baronet was a supporter of the Royalist cause and sat as
Member of Parliament for
Lostwithiel after the
Restoration. He married Lady Anne, third daughter and co-heir of
Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath, and a co-heir to the
barony of Fitzwarine (which fell into abeyance on the death of her father). The fourth Baronet represented
Liskeard and
Devon in the
House of Commons. The fifth Baronet was Member of Parliament for
Camelford while the sixth Baronet represented
Barnstaple.
Trebeigh Manor
Trebeigh, St Ive, in Cornwall was a manor listed in
Domesday Book as held by the Earl of Mortain, the largest landholder in that county. He is said to have taken it away wrongfully from the church.
It was given in 1150 by King Stephen to the
Knights Templar, and thenceforth formed, together with that order's other nearby manor of Temple on
Bodmin Moor, the Preceptory of Trebeigh, which also held the
advowson of the parish church of St Ive. Following the suppression of the Knights Templar, the preceptory passed in 1312 to the
Knights of Malta.[5] Following the
Dissolution of the Monasteries the manor of Trebeigh was granted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1573 to Henry Wilbye
and George Blyke, from whom it was acquired by John Wrey,[6] who made it his family's chief seat until his descendants inherited
Tawstock in Devon from the Bourchiers in 1654.[7]
Sir Robert Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 11th Baronet (1855 – 16 January 1917). (son) He was the son of Sir Henry Bourchier Toke Wrey, 10th Baronet. He served in the
Royal Navy, seeing action in the
1882 Anglo-Egyptian War and with the Naval Brigade landed in the
Third Anglo-Burmese War. He retired from the service with the rank of captain, and later served as the honorary lieutenant-colonel of the
Royal North Devon Hussars. Wrey was married, with one daughter, Rachel Wrey (born 1911). In 1900 he succeeded his father in the baronetcy and the family estates. He was the last to live at
Tawstock Court and "to keep house in the old manner" and moved to Corffe a nearby house on the estate, having let the Court.[9] On his own death in 1917 the title passed to his younger brother, Sir Philip Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 12th Baronet (1858–1936),[10] who in 1919 sold 2,500 acres of the estate for £67,000, leaving some 7,000 acres remaining.[11]
Sir Philip Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 12th Baronet (1858–1936) (brother), left only female progeny.
Rev. Sir Albany Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 13th Baronet (1861–1948) (brother), died without progeny.
Sir (Castel Richard) Bourchier Wrey, 14th Baronet (1903–1991) (nephew, son of Edward Castell Wrey, 7th son of 10th Bt.)[12]
Sir George Richard Bourchier Wrey, 15th Baronet (born 1948)
The
heir apparent to the baronetcy is Harry David Bourchier Wrey (born 1984), eldest son of the 15th Baronet.