Synopsis

Much that is erroneous has been written about this particular Drake family. This can now be corrected in light of recent discoveries.

This family did not originate in Devon, and Drakes were not there before the Norman Conquest. Rather, members of this family using the name Drake first come to our attention in an area near Stratford-on-Avon known as the Vale of Evesham. Sometime in the last half of the 12th century a certain Humphrey had holdings there, and also in Warwickshire. He evidently lived for a time at the manor of Drakenage, within the parish of Kingsbury, Warwickshire. He took his surname from this manor, becoming Humphrey of Drakenage.

In time, the surname was shortened to Drake. The name is English, of course, for legends have dragons, or drakes, guarding treasure, and since treasure was buried with kings, having a Drakenage near Kingsbury makes sense.

Recently published research into Humphrey's antecedents demonstrates that he his male-line ancestors were not of English stock. The family is older than the surname, and Humphrey was a cadet of the family of "de Ewias" and "de Sudeley," descended from Harold de Ewias, feudal lord of Ewias Harold, Herefordshire. Harold, in turn, was the son of Raph, Earl of Hereford, who was a descendant of the Flemish counts of Amiens, Vexin, and Valois.

After adopting the name "Drake," descendants of Humphrey spread throughout Warwickshire and Worcestershire, and in the 13th century into Ireland. In Ireland, Drakes attained prominence quickly, which is consistent with the discovery that they were not originally English. Their early uses of heraldry and French forenames also point to a non-Saxon origin.

About the same time, the mid 13th century, after some of their relations or associates inherited property in Devon, some of the Drakes moved there, becoming established first in the central part of the county. Most of them continued to live quietly, holding land by copy-hold tenure, except for the branch that moved to Otterton, near Exeter. Through a series of fortunate marriages to heiresses, these Drakes rose in wealth, becoming at length, the family known as the Drakes of Ashe. Ashe is a manor in the parish of Musbury in east Devon.

Their cousins in Tavistock, away in the west of the county of Devon, lived humbly, until their most famous son, Sir Francis Drake, achieved fame as a sailor and privateer. Whether there was a family connection between Sir Francis and the Drakes of Ashe became a controversy even during his lifetime. If legends or memories of a connection were extant then, they were apparently insufficient to convince the heralds, though Sir Francis always professed the belief. Many writers have drawn negative conclusions about his character based on a denial of that profession, so evidence to support it goes some way to correct those misapprehensions.

Home