The Birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh
The Village
East Budleigh
SIR WALTER RALEIGH
Sir Walter Raleigh was born in East Budleigh in
1552 at Hayes Barton, son of Walter Raleigh
'Yeoman' who was Church Warden at All Saints.
The house did not belong to the Raleighs, but to
Mr Duke then Lord of the Manor of Otterton. In a
letter to Mr Duke in 1584, written shortly after
having been knighted by Queen Elizabeth I,
Raleigh asked Mr Duke if he might purchase the
house, Sir Walter refers to the fact that he was
born there. The original letter may now be seen at
the Royal Albert Museum Exeter.
Hanneke Coates
Hayes Barton. The Manor where Sir
Walter was born and spent his early
childhood.
VICARS MEAD
Vicars Mead opposite Hill Farm and down Hayes Lane was built in
1485. As the name implies, it was the Vicarage for many centuries.
Used as a school where little boys were educated by the Vicar,
Walter Raleigh received his early education here. In the 18th and
19th centuries smuggling was a very lucrative business and often a
violent reality in Devonshire coastal villages. East Budleigh was
certainly a hotbed of smuggling, especially during the incumbency
of the Rev Mattew Mundy 1741 and the Rev Ambrose Stapleton
1794-1852. Both were deeply involved with smuggling and
Vicars Mead has always been known to have been the centre of
those smuggling days. The "Dissenters", who worshipped at
Salem chapel at the top end of the village, had often been
deprived of their livelihood so it is not surprising that they have
also been connected to the lucrative smuggling trade. The
churches may have been divided, but it seems that an excellent
trade of smuggled goods existed between the All Saints Vicar and
the Minister at Salem Chapel.
Hanneke Coates.
All Saints Church would have looked
very similar when the Raleigh family
worshipped there, all those years ago. In
the center isle and you will see a mat
covering the grave of Sir Walter Raleigh’s
wife.
