Newnham Park (before circa 1718 Loughtor) is an historic estate in the civil parish of Sparkwell, Devon, UK. It was known as Loughtor until about 1700 when the ancient Strode family, long seated at Newnham, about 1 mile south-east of the manor house of Loughtor, abandoned Newnham and moved their residence to Loughtor (which they had inherited by a marriage in the 16th century) where they built a new mansion house which they renamed "Newnham Park". In 2014 the mansion house with an estate of about 1,550 acres is still owned by a descendant (via various female lines) of the Courtenay and Strode families which held the estate from the 15th century, and which were well established in the county of Devon long before that time. In 2014 part of the estate is operated as a commercial clay-pigeon shooting ground.
Descent
Sir William Pole (d.1635) relates the early holders of Loughtorre as follows:
Le Abbé
The first recorded holders of Loughtor was the family of Le Abbé (alias Le Abbe, le Abby) William Le Abbé of Radford (alias Redford), in the parish of Plymstock, recorded as having held Loughtor in 1242 Robert Le Abbé Henry Le Abbé, of Alsemston Walter Le Abbé, whose descendants adopted the surname de Radford
de Radford
The de Radford family (formerly known as Le Abbé) continued to hold Loughtor, apparently until the 15th century, when the next known holder was William Courtenay, a younger son of Sir Philip Courtenay (d.1488) of Molland in North Devon.
Courtenay
The next recorded holder following the de Radford tenure was a younger son of the Courtenay family of Molland in North Devon. It is not clear how this family acquired Loughtor, but the feudal barony of Plympton had certainly been held by Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (1303-1377), seated at Tiverton Castle and Okehampton Castle, from whom the Courtenay family of Molland was descended. William Courtenay, a younger son of Sir Philip Courtenay (d.1488) of Molland in North Devon. His monument survives in St Mary's Church, Plympton, against the south wall of the south chancel aisle, consisting of a stone effigy of a recumbent knight on a chest tomb within a canopied niche. Sir Philip Courtenay (son), who according to Vivian (p. 251) died without progeny, but according to Pole (p. 330) had a daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth Courtenay. According to Pole (p. 330) she was a daughter of Sir Philip Courtenay of Loughtor, William's son. However, according to Vivian (p. 251) she was the daughter of Philip Courtenay, William's elder brother, by his wife Jane Fowell (d.1523), daughter of Richard Fowell of Fowelscombe in the parish of Ugborough, which former mansion house is today a ruin. Jane Fowell survived her husband and remarried (as his first wife) to Humphrey Prideaux (1487-1550) of Thuborough in the parish of Sutcombe. Elizabeth Courtenay, heiress of Loughtor, married William Strode (1512-1579) of Newnham.
Strode
William III Strode (1512-1579) of Newnham, who married Elizabeth Courtenay, heiress of Loughtor. He had by Elizabeth several sons and daughters, the eldest son and heir having been Richard V Strode (d.1581). The 6th son however was Rev. Sampson Strode (born 1552), rector of Dittisham, whose great-great-grandson was Richard Strode (1750-1790) of Boterford, who inherited the ancient estates of the senior Strodes on the failure of the male line of Strode of Newnham, following the death in 1767 of William Strode of Newnham. The 4th son was Philip Strode (d.1605) who married Wilmot Houghton, daughter of William Houghton of Houghton Towers, Lancaster, and was the father of William Strode (1602-1644), Doctor of Divinity and Public Orator of Oxford University, one of the Worthies of Devon of John Prince (d.1723), who called him "this reverend divine, this rare poet, this charming orator".
For the descent of Loughtor in the Strode family until 1718 see Newnham (Old).