Lecture: The Copleston Family by Paul Copleston

The Copleston family have long been associated with Devon, and can be traced back as far as 1200 with Richard de Copleston, and William de Copleston who witnessed a Grant of Wotton in Colebrooke in 1241. They also married into well-known, wealthy Devon families such as Bonville, Courtenay, Chichester, Bampfylde, Pollard, Hawley and Arundell. In this illustrated talk, Paul Copleston will explore the various Copleston families, their manors and houses, land ownership, clergy, local history, heraldry, occupations, and the wider world history their descendants were involved in up to the end of the 20th Century.

Paul was born and raised in Plymouth, where he worked for the NHS for 38 and a half years until 2020, when he retired as Chief IM&T Support Officer at Derriford Hospital. His interest in genealogy grew from research begun by Muriel Reson in the late 1960s. Muriel dedicated her life to researching the Copleston family until her death in 2003, and Paul continues her work in digital format at www.copleston.net. He is currently working to complete the long-awaited Copleston Family Book, Our Roots are in Devon.

This event is part of the Devon Rural Archive’s 2026 lecture series. Please follow the signs to the Cafe and Archive upon arrival.

Image: Warleigh House, Tamerton Foliot