Furse (surname)

Furse is a Devon surname as well as one of several names for the evergreen shrub more widely known as gorse. The name is believed to be derived from Old English: fyrse (meaning "gorse").[1] the name is often compared to that of Furze that is also found in Cornwall.[1] The first recorded Furse appears in the South-west circuit of the Domesday Book (known as the Exon Domesday) as Robert Furse.

The Furse family of Halsdon and Morshead

A notable family of the name Furse was resident on the estate of Halsdon in north Devon)[2] from 1680 until the early 1980s,[3][4] having previously resided at Morshead. [5] Conclusive proof of lineage of the Furses of Halsdon in parish records can only be established from the late 17th century, when Philip Furse (1650-1720) acquired Halsdon from a maternal uncle.[3] Various records held by the North Devon Record Office show the expansion of the estate, including title deeds for land at Alverdiscott, Ashreigny, Beaford, Bideford, Dolton, Fremington, Great Torrington, Hartland, High Bickington, Poughill, St Giles in the Wood, Weare Giffard, Winkleigh and Yarnscombe. The estate eventually became unsustainable, and was sold off during the 19th century,[6][7][8] being finally broken up in 1983.

The house is now owned by Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones, whose wife Shirley breeds Arabian horses on nearby land that was part of the estate throughout its history.[9] The farms owned by the estate were sold to their tenants and remaining woodland donated to the Devon Wildlife Trust (Halsdon Nature Reserve).[10]

The estate was photographed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by James Ravilious,[11][12][13] whose son Ben also photographed it and the surrounding area in 2005.[14]

People named Furse

References
  1. "Last Name Meanings and Origins | Search Surnames at". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  2. Optix Solutions Ltd 2010. "Devon Wildlife Trust". devonwildlifetrust.org.
  3. Burke's Landed Gentry, 18th edition, ed. Peter Townend (Burke's Peerage Limited - 1965), Furse of Halsdon - p. 295
  4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, International Genealogical Index (Internet Version) (Copyright 1999-2002), Parish Records of Stockleigh English, Devon
  5. Visitations to the county of Devon (the 1531, 1564, & 1620 editions.)
  6. "Discovery - The National Archives". a2a.org.uk.
  7. "Discovery - The National Archives". a2a.org.uk.
  8. "Discovery - The National Archives". a2a.org.uk.
  9. "Halsdon Arabians". halsdonarabians.com.
  10. Optix Solutions Ltd 2010. "Devon Wildlife Trust". devonwildlifetrust.org.
  11. James Ravilious. "Photographer of rural life 1939 - 1999, photographs of Devon". James Ravilious. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  12. "BBC - Devon - In Pictures - James Ravilious Photographs". bbc.co.uk.
  13. "Beaford Archive : About Beaford Archive". beaford-archive.org.uk.
  14. "Devon photographs and images". Benravilious.com. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
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