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| Cary family (England) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cary |
| Region | England |
| Founded | 12th century |
| Founder | Sir Robert de Carey (disputed) |
Cary family (England)
The Cary family emerged as a landed lineage in Somerset and Devon from the medieval period into the early modern era, intersecting with the offices of Sheriff of Somerset, seats in the Parliament of England, and patronage networks around Taunton and Exeter. Their fortunes linked to marriages with houses such as the Hungerford family, Pryce family, Trevor family, and later the Plantagenet-adjacent gentry, producing peers and justices who engaged with events from the Hundred Years' War through the English Civil War.
The family traces purported descent to Norman or Anglo-Norman retainers recorded in feudal surveys alongside names like de Courcy family, de Clare family, de la Pole family, and FitzGerald family, and appears in documents relating to Exchequer returns and Pipe rolls in the 12th and 13th centuries; early beneficiaries held manors near Castle Cary and around Bruton, often recorded with knights who served under magnates like Earl of Gloucester and Earl of Devon. Genealogical claims linked the Carys to cadet branches of regional magnates evident in charters witnessed by clerks from Wells Cathedral, agents of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and stewards to the Duke of Lancaster. Later pedigrees were compiled alongside heraldic visitations of Somerset and Devon by officers appointed under William Camden-era antiquarians and the College of Arms.
Notable figures include Sir George Cary (d. 1617), who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland contemporaneous with administrators of Elizabeth I and James I; Sir Robert Cary (c. 1495–?), who appears in legal records alongside lawyers of the Court of Chancery and commissioners of the Star Chamber; and Sir Edward Cary (d. 1618), connected by office to courtiers around Anne of Denmark and bureaucrats in the Privy Council. The family produced Members of Parliament who sat for boroughs like Barnstaple, Ilchester, and Okehampton, sitting alongside contemporaries such as Sir Francis Drake, John Pym, and Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. Later lines intermarried with families producing peers such as Viscount Falkland, Baron Hunsdon, and parliamentary magnates tied to the Stuart and Tudor courts.
Principal seats associated with the family included manors at Cary Fitzpaine, properties in Castle Cary, and estates at Clovelly and Bampfylde-adjacent holdings; these estates were conserved in inquisitions post mortem and conveyances filed with the Court of Common Pleas and administered by stewards linked to the Earl of Devon. The family also held residences in urban centers such as houses in Exeter and chambers in London near Ludgate and the Temple precincts, using these as bases for parliamentary campaigns and legal appeals to the Star Chamber and Court of King's Bench.
Carys acted as sheriffs, justices of the peace, and Members of Parliament engaging in the politics of Somerset and Devon during periods including the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War. Military service placed family knights in campaigns under commanders like John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury in the Hundred Years' War and later under royalist captains during sieges associated with commanders such as Prince Rupert of the Rhine and parliamentarian leaders like Oliver Cromwell. Their administrative roles connected them to the machinery of the Exchequer, commissions of array, and militia organization alongside officers from the West Country gentry.
Heraldic bearings recorded in visitations attributed to the family featured tinctures and charges registered at the College of Arms and emblazoned in funerary monuments in churches under the patronage of bishops like the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The Carys used seals comparable to those of neighbouring families such as the FitzWalter family and Harcourt family, and some branches acquired baronetcies and baronies recognized by the Peerage of England, interacting with titles held by the Earl of Pembroke and Baron Clinton.
Strategic marriages connected the Carys with houses including the Hungerford family, Courtenay family, Russell family, Stourton family, and Poldark-adjacent lesser gentry (regional textual traditions often conflate folklore); alliances were recorded in marriage settlements lodged with notaries and extents consulted by counties' commissioners. Descendants entered into cadet branches that allied to peers like Earl of Devonshire, furnished daughters to households at Knole House and Windsor Castle courts, and produced jurists and clerics who served dioceses under bishops like Richard Foxe and clergy connected to Canterbury Cathedral.
Category:English families Category:Somerset history