GROVE: FAMILY OF THE EYRES.
The Eyre family came over from Normandy, with William the Conqueror; and we find it early settled in the county of Derby. By an Inquisitio post mortem taken in the reign of Edward the first, it appears that Robert le Eyre was settled at Hope, in Derbyshire, which he held for being hereditary warden of the Peak Forest; we find also by an Inquisitio post mortem in the reign of Edward the third, that William le Eyre de Hope, was also warden of the forests of Edale, Hassop, and Derwent. One of this family married Joan of Padley, who being an heiress, brought to her husband the manor and estate of Padley, and other considerable estates in the county of Derby. From the Eyres of Hope, many scions branched off, settled in different places, and became heads of families.* One branch settled at Kiveton, on the borders of Yorkshire; and besides Kiveton, possessed the large manor of Newbolt, in the county of Derby. A descendant of this family, Anthony Eyre, of Kiveton, married Barbara, relict of John Babington, Esq, of Rampton, Nottinghamshire, (a younger branch of the Babingtons, of Dethick,) daughter of Sir Henry Nevile, of Grove; and his son, Sir Gervas Eyre, married the daughter and co-heiress of the above John and Barbara Babington. This Sir Gervas Eyre, took an active part in favour of Charles the first, during the troubles in that reign. He raised and commanded several troops of horse for the king, and was esteemed one of the best horsemen in the king’s army. He died at the siege of Newark; where also his father, General Eyre, lost his life. Sir Gervas and his father, sold the property at Kiveton and Newbolt, to Sir Edward Osbourn, ancestor of the Duke of Leeds, and came to reside at Rampton. The son of Sir Gervas Eyre,—Anthony Eyre, was chosen knight of the shire for the county of Nottingham, at the first new Parliament, which was summoned by Charles the second, and he served in that Parliament till his death. Gervas Eyre, the son of the above Anthony, was returned to Parliament at different times, as knight of the shire, and died of the small-pox in London, in 1702, when attending his duty in Parliament. He left a son, Anthony, (with other children,) a minor, who pulled down the old family house at Rampton, and removed to an estate which he had at Laughton-en-le-Morthen, until he purchased the estate of Adwicke, near Doncaster, of his uncle, Sir George Cooke. He then removed to Adwicke, and continued to reside there till his death; he was buried at Laughton. He left one son, Anthony, and four daughters. Anthony married Judith Letitia Bury, daughter of John Bury, Esq. and great niece of Sir Hardolph Wastneys, Bart. of Headon Park, in the county of Nottingham. He purchased of Mr. Levinz, in 1762, the estate and appurtenances of Grove, which joined to the old family estates of Rampton and Treswell; and to Headon, which came to him by his wife. He then removed to Grove, where he made great alterations in the house and place, and made it his principal residence till his death in 1788. He served in several Parliaments for the borough of Boroughbridge. He had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Anthony Hardolph, was brought up in the army, and obtained the rank, of Lieutenant Colonel in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, and was for some time member of Parliament for the county of Nottingham. He married in 1783, Francisca Alicia, third daughter of Richard Wilbraham Bootle, Esq. of Lathom House, Lancashire, and sister to the present Lord Skelmersdale, and had by her one son, Gervase Anthony, born October 29th, 1791, who was also in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, and was unfortunately killed at the victory gained at Barrosa, in Spain, March 7th, 1811, in his 20th year. He has also three daughters, the eldest of whom, Mary Letitia, married the present Earl Manvers, and has by him Charles Evelyn, Viscount Newark, and other children. Frances Julia, his second daughter, married Granville Venables Vernon, Esq. son of the lUght Hon. Edward Vernon, brother of Lord Vernon, and Archbishop of York, and by him has several children. Henrietta, his third daughter, married first, in 1816, her cousin, John Hardolph, eldest son of Archdeacon Eyre, who died S. P. 1818. Secondly, in 1825, Henry Gally Knight, Esq. of Firbeck Hall, Yorkshire.
John, the second son of the above Anthony Eyre, was brought up in the church, and became Rector of Babworth, Canon residentiary of York, Prebendary of Southwell, and Archdeacon of Nottingham. He married in 1790, Charlotte, daughter of Sir George Armytage, of Kirklees, Bart. by whom he had several children, two of which only survive, Charles Wasteneys, in Holy Orders, Rector of Carlton in Lindric, Notts, and Charlotte, married to Henry Willoughby Esq. M. P. of Settrington, Yorkshire.
Charles, the third son of the above Anthony Eyre, was brought up in the church, and became Rector of Headon cum Upton, and of Grove, and died unmarried.
George, the fourth son of the above Anthony Eyre, was brought up in the navy. He obtained the honor of knighthood for his gallantry in taking the Island of Santa Maria, in the Mediterranean, and was afterwards made K. C. B. and became an Admiral. He married Georgiana, daughter of Sir George Cooke, of Wheatley, Bart. and has by her several children. The eldest of whom, George, is Rector of Molesworth, Huntingdonshire; and the second son is a Captain in the army,—. he has also six daughters.
The arms are Argent, on a chevron, sable, three quarterfoils, or; their crest; an armed leg.
* One branch of this family settled at Hassop, in the county of Derby, and still resides there; and having married the heiress of the Ratcliffe family, obtained the earldom of Newburgh, which title, the present possessor of Hassop, now enjoys. Another branch settled at Rowter, In Derbyshire, and the last of this branch left a daughter and heiress, who married the late Viscount Massarene, and the whole has since been sold. Another branch having married an heiress of Gell, of Hopton, assumed the name and arms of Gell, and his descendants continue to reside at Hopton. Other branches also settled in the neighbourhood of Sheffield and Chesterfield, and the Eyres of Wiltshire, and of Ireland, can trace their pedigree to the Eyres of Hope.
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© A P NICHOLSON | PAGE LAST UPDATED: 29 MAY 2003