Luxmoore, Miss Marion, East Bridge House, Okehampton
Marion Luxmoore[1] (1833 – 1893) was born in 1833 and baptised on 3 December 1833. She was the daughter of the Reverend John Luxmoore, Rector of Llanymynech (Shropshire), who owned Okehampton Park and other estates in Devon and his first wife, Isabella Scott. Marion had two sisters, a full sister, Elizabeth Cunningham Luxmoore, born in 1839, and a half-sister, Anne Dove Luxmoore, born in 1853. After the death of his second wife John married Elizabeth Harriette Boylan, an Irishwoman from Dublin. The family lived at the Rectory at Llanymynech. Anne married George Lees in 1871.
John Luxmoore died on 12 July 1876 at Llanymynech and his Okehampton estates were inherited by his daughters. The following spring Marion and Elizabeth came down to visit their estates at Okehampton Park (over 1000 acres), Milden and Kerslake. They spent six months there, and though Elizabeth then married William Trevor-Roper and settled elsewhere. Marion decided to make Okehampton her home. She took on the role of Lady of the Manor, appearing at tenants’ dinners to propose and receive toasts, hosting a dance for her tenants, distributing coals to the poor in the winter.[2] The three sisters agreed in 1892 to lease land on the Okehampton Estate to the War Department for the building of Okehampton Camp.[3]
Luxmoore was a keen follower of sports. She became patroness of the Exe Vale Harriers, following races and proffering hospitality to the participants.[4] She also had an interest in antiquities, writing a pamphlet about All Saints’ Church and hosting a three-day visit by a group of antiquaries in 1885.[5] As there was no house associated with Okehampton Park Luxmoore lodged, first at 54 East Street and then at East Bridge House.[6]
In 1890 Miss Marion Luxmoore signed a petition of women householders seeking to be enfranchised.[7] No further pro-suffrage activity by Luxmoore has been identified.
Marion Luxmoore of Okehampton Park died on 22 December 1893. She left almost £4000. Her two sisters inherited her share of the Okehampton Park estate.
Entry created by Marilyn Smee and Julia Neville, December 2018
[1] Census and family information from www.ancestry.co.uk
[2] Exeter and Plymouth Gazette Telegrams (EPG), 31 Dec 1878; 19 Nov 1880; 28 Jan 1880.
[3] Wessex Archaeology, Okehampton Artilllery Camp: Historical Appraisal, 2002. Available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/39826/Okehampton_Camp.pdf , 14. Accessed 6 Dec 2018.
[4] EPG, 5 Feb 1884, 1 & 2.
[5] Devon and Exeter Gazette, 17 Jul 1885; Flying Post, 22 Jul 1885.
[6] Western Times, 5 Sep 1884; 9 Mar 1894.
[7] Margherita Rendel, ‘The campaign in Devon for Women’s Suffrage, 1866-1908’, Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 2008, vol. 40, 121.