yeovil people
sir john horsey
Lord of Hendford Manor
Sir John Horsey, JP, was a knight of Henry VIII, knighted on 22 February 1546 and Lord of the Manors of Clifton Maubank and South Perrott as well as Lord of Hendford Manor.
He was born in 1510, the son of Sir John Horsey and Joan Mawdley. Sir John married Edith Phelips, daughter of Sir Richard Phelips, in 1539. Sir John and Edith had one son, Sir John Horsey (1546–1588) and two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary.
In 1546 he inherited most of his fathers lands, including the Lordship of Hendford Manor. He became addicted to gambling and, together with his extravagant construction projects, this became a severe drain on the family resources.
In 1546 the family estate Clifton Maybank on the south side of Yeovil was largely rebuilt to create a grand mansion. He was elected knight for the shire for Dorset in 1553 and appointed Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset for 1559.
Sir John Horsey died on 30 January 1564 and is buried alongside his father in Sherborne Abbey in an "impressive" tomb with life-size effigies of the two in medieval armour in the Wykeham Chapel.
In 1786 Clifton Maybank was dismantled and an entrance to this mansion, with intricate stone carving around the doorway celebrating the marriage of Sir John and Edith, was removed and added to the west entrance of Montacute House.
