William Helyar

William Helyar of Coker Court, East Coker, in Somerset, was Archdeacon of Barnstaple and a chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I.

Biography

He was the son of William Helyar by his wife Alice Veale and was baptised on 8 January 1559 at St. Budeaux, Devon. He graduated Master of [Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)|M.A.] from Exeter College, Oxford in 1587. His later clerical appointments included:

In 1616 he purchased Coker Court, the manor house of East Coker, Somerset, from Sir Edward Phelips. He started the construction of the Helyar Almshouses in East Coker in 1640, but died before their completion. They were finished by his grandson William Helyar.
During the Civil War, on 19 January 1642, he was dragged at midnight from his bed in Exeter by Roundheads and carried on board a ship, where he was detained until he consented to pay the sum of £800. He received a copy of the protection thus purchased:

He married Mary Cary, daughter of William Cary of Cockington, Devon, by whom he had children including:

Henry Helyar who in 1621 married Christiana Cary daughter of William Cary, lord of the manor of Clovelly, Devon, JP for Devon, MP for Mitchell, Cornwall, in 1604. He predeceased his father. His son William Helyar thus succeeded his grandfather to the manor Coker Court in 1645.
Elizabeth Helyar, who on 29 April 1606 married John Bridgeman, son of Thomas Bridgeman and later Bishop of Chester.
William Helyar. Daughters: Mary, Phillis and Grace.