Kitley Heritage - Pollexfen impaling Woollcombe

12/ Quarterly 1 & 4 Argent a lion rampant gules 2 & 3 Azure Impaling Argent three bars gules – Pollexfen impaling Woollcombe

It is with this marriage that the established sources proved not only to be inadequate in the information which they provided, but also seriously in error in the essential genealogy. The full details of the investigations which finally unravelled the true relevance of the Pollexfen/Woollcombe, impalement displayed at Kitley can hardly by related here – a detailed account of research into the Pollexfen pedigree conducted by the present writer is available in another bookley – and the findings will have to be briefly summarised.

Basically, it has now been established absolutely that the so called “inheritance” in the descent of the Kitley Pollexfens passed through a secondary branch of the family, through the marriage of a Nicholas Pollexfen to a Petronell Woollcombe – neither of these persons are even named in Vivian’s pedigree (amongst a large number of other Pollexfens who are missing from the family tree which he provides). On the contrary, the principal Pollexfen lines inherited Nutwell & Stancombe &c (which is a well publicised fact) and Mothecombe (which appears to have escaped the notice of previous writers), and they also owned other valuable properties in the South Hams (a fact which had also previously been neglected).

However, research has not only identified the principals which are essential to an understanding of the Bastard ancestral lines, but also some dates – the marriage of Nicholas Pollexfen to Petronell Woollcombe took place c1629; Nicholas died on 29th March 1642, and his widow Petronell on 20th October 1679, both buried at Yealmpton. Most importantly, the wills of both husband and wife have also been found, which prove absolutely their relationships to other Pollexfens, and all of their children have also been positively identified (q.v. shield 13).