The Battle Abbey Roll. Vol. III.
by
The Duchess of Cleveland.

Prepared by Michael A. Linton
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Turbeuile : or Troubleville. William de Troublevilla occurs in the Norman Exchequer Rolls of 1180-95. "Payne de Turbeville witnessed the foundation charter of Neath Abbey, temp. Henry I. Hence the Turbevilles of Glamorgan and Brecon. William de Turbeville was of Dorset 1130; and in 1165 there were branches in York, Norfolk, Dorset, and Wilts."—The Norman People. Near the small town of Bere in Dorsetshire, "for a long time the ancient and famous family of De Turbida Villa, commonly call'd Turbervill, had their seat."—Camden. Of "this worshipful family, who have long lived of great account in this County," says Fuller, "was James Turbevil, who was consecrated Bishop of Exeter in 1556, and 'deserved right well of that See. When he entered thereon, it was most true what his successor therein since said "that the Bishop of Exeter was a Baron, but a bare one;' so miserably had that Cathedral been pilled and polled. But Bishop Turbevil recovered some lost lands, which Bishop Voysey had vezed" (driven away, in the dialect of the West): "and particularly obtained of Queen Mary the restitution of the fair manor of Crediton. But who can stay what will away? It was afterwards alienated again in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

"This Bishop Turbevil carried something of trouble in his name, though nothing but mildness and meekness in his nature. Hence it was, that he staved off persecution from those in his jurisdiction, so that not so many as properly may be called some suffered in his diocese." Edward Turbervil was Sheriff of Dorset and Somerset 2 Hen. VII.; and in the following reign Robert Turbevill shared in "the golden shower of Abbey lands," and received some of the temporalities of Tarrant Abbey at its dissolution. His descendants remained at Bere Regis till the last male heir died in 1714. Their old house is still in existence.

"The Turbervilles were sub-feudatories of the Earls Ferrers, t. King John, in Oxon; and were soon after deprived of their possessions."—Lipscomb's Bucks. Hemingford-Turberville in Huntingdonshire, and Acton-Turville in Gloucestershire (held, according to Sir Richard Atkyns, by Richard Turbervill 12 and 15 Ed. I.) keep the name.

In Wales the descendants of Sir Pain de Turberville, one of the twelve knights of Robert Fitz Hamon, continued till the last century. Sir Edward Mansel relates, that when Fitz Hamon had succeeded in wresting Glamorgan from Rhys, Prince of South Wales, and "after eleven of the knights had been endowed with land for their services, Pain Turbervill asked Sir Robert what was his share? to which Sir Robert answered 'Here are men and here are arms; go get it where you can.' So Pain Turbervill with the men went to Coity, and sent to Morgan the Welsh lord to ask whether he would yield up the castle: whereupon Morgan brought out his daughter Sara (Sar, or Assar) by the hand, and passing through the army with his sword in his right hand, came to Pain Turberville, and told him if he would marry his daughter, and so come like an honest man into his castle, that he would yield it to him quietly; and 'if not,' said he, 'let not the blood of any of our men be lost, but let this sword and arm of mine, and those of yours, decide which shall call the castle his own.' Upon this, Pain Turbervill drew his sword, and took it by the blade in his left hand, and gave it to Morgan, and with his right hand embraced his daughter; and after settling every matter to the liking of both sides, he went with her to church and married her, and so came to the lordship by true right of possession, and, being so counselled by Morgan, kept two thousand of the best of his Welsh soldiers in his castle." Coity (Anglice, wood-house) near Bridgend, was held by eleven generations of his descendants, ending with Sir Richard Turbevill, who leaving no legitimate son to succeed him, settled his property on the son of his sister Catherine, Sir Laurence Berkerolles, Lord of St. Athan's. But this nephew likewise had no heir, and died a horrible death in 1412. His wife Maud, the daughter of Sir Thomas Despencer of Caerphilly, was found guilty of having "poisoned him so that he died," and expiated her crime by a frightful penalty. She "was buried alive, agreeably to the sentence pronounced upon her by the country and the lord, Sir Richard Begam, Lord of Glamorgan." Coity passed to the Gamages (See Gamage).

One of this Welsh house, Thomas de Turberville (discreetly ignored in the pedigree) disgraced his name in the wars of Edward I. "He had been taken prisoner by the French, and released on the promise to betray one of the Cinque Ports, but was detected and hanged."—Blaauw's Barons' War.

The Turbervilles bore Checquy Or and Gules a chief Ermine. They were, we are told, "a numerous family at one time in Glamorganshire, with several branches, as at Tygethston, Penlline, Llanilltyd or Lantwit, but were in all cases sprung from the Turbervilles of Coity Castle."—Nichol's Counties and County Families of Wales. Leland mentions Penlline Castle, near Cowbridge, that "longith to Turberville;" and adds "There were a while ago 2. Brethren of the Turbervilles, whereof the Elder left a Doughter and Heyr: the younnger left a Sunne. The Doughter was married to Loughor. After great strife the 2. Turberville's Children partid the Landes."

One of this name, George Turbervile, was "a sonnetteer of considerable note in his time." He was the younger son of Nicholas Turbervile, belonging to a good Dorsetshire family. He was born about 1530; and we have no account of his death; but he was still living "in great esteem" in 1594.