John Pine-Coffin (abt. 1735 - 1824)

Born about 1735 in Portledge, Devon, England

Ancestors

Husband of Grace (Rowe) Pine-Coffin — married 3 Dec 1765 in Alverdiscott, Devon, England.

Descendants

Died 1824 at about age 89 in East Down, Devon, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

John Pine was baptized 22 March 1735 at East Down, Devon, the son of John Pine and Hannah (Pepys) Pine.^[1]

He assumed the Coffin arms after the death of his cousin Richard Bennett Coffin in 1796.

The Devon estates of the Pine family, East Down and others , were joined with the Coffin family estate of Portledge Manor, Devon.

His paternal grandmother was Dorothy Coffin. Joining the arms of the Pine and Coffin families of Devon into the Pine-Coffin family. His family name was changed to Pine-Coffin in 1797 by Royal licence.

He lived at Portledge, Devonshire, England.

Marriage

John Pine was married to Grace Rowe on 3 December 1765 in Alverdiscott, Devon, England.

Children

• 1. Mary Ann Pine b. 1768 - d. 1858

• 2. Richard Pine b. 1770 - d. 1833

• 3. Charles John Pine b. 1771 - d. 1850

• 4. James William Pine b. 1773 - d.  ?

• 5. Sarah Pine. b. 1777 - d.  ?

• 6. John Pine b. 1778 - d. 1830

• 7. Grace Pine. b. 1783 - d.  ?

• 8. Edward Pine b. 1784 - d. 1862

History

Arms of the Family Coffin: Azure, three bezants between eight crosses crosslet or.

The Ancestral home (Portledge house) sits on the edge of Bideford Bay, looking out over the Bristol Channel. It is Situated in The parish of Alwington and the surrounding area was given to the family by William the Conqueror, as part of a reward for loyalty and service during the Norman Conquest. Most of the current house dates from the 17th century, but parts of it have stood since the reign of King Henry III, circa 1234. The 13th-century arch of the chapel still stands and the Brew House remains from when hops were grown on the estate. The Great Hall's minstrel gallery was moved in the late 19th century to Alwington Church, a 15th-century church containing many monuments to the Coffin family. The dining-room retains a ceiling plastered with the family's coat of arms. The courtyard was roofed in and made into a new hall in the middle of the 18th century.

There are many pieces of fine furniture, ancestral heirlooms, carved stone coats of arms, Spanish armour, and guns from the Spanish Armada. There is also a bell tower and a Spanish courtyard.

The estate's archive, a historical record going back over 700 years, was sold to the Devon Council for almost £50,000.^[2] The family owned most of the surrounding villages, but the last of these were sold at auction in 1981. The estate itself was sold in 1998, after nine centuries in the Coffin family's hands. This was due to a dispute with Inland Revenue.

Impington Hall

The building of Impington Hall was begun by John Pepys in 1579, and the Pepys family remained there until 1805. The Hall was not completed at the time of John Pepys death, but he left instructions concerning the exact way in which the work was to be completed. It was as well-built and beautiful as many a Cambridge College. In the time of Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth (1649 – 1659) the hall was owned by Talbot Pepys. He was the uncle of Samuel Pepys, the Diarist. Talbot was the Member of Parliament for Cambridge in 1625, and he was also the Recorder who signed all marriage certificates. In mentioning Cromwell we note that he visited Impington and Histon and while here is reputed to have stayed at the red brick house near the junction of Station Road and High Street, Histon. Impington Hall was the home of the Pepys family and Samuel Pepys the diaryist visited his uncle, Talbot Pepys, there on various dates in the 1660s. The diary mentions Impington quite a few times, and among these entries there are the following:

15th July 1661 Rode to Impington where I found my old uncle sitting all alone, like a man out of the world; he can hardly see, but in all else he do pretty livily. Samuel Pepys 3rd August 1661 At Cambridge . . . at night I took horse and rode with Roger Pepys and his two brothers to Impington.

14th August 1661 Lord’s Day. Got up and by and by walked into the orchard with my cousin Roger and there plucked some fruit. To church and had a good plain sermon. My uncle Talbot went with us, and at our coming in, the country people all rose with much reference, and when the parson begins he begins ‘Right Worshipful and dearly beloved etc’ to us.

In the late 18th century the Rev. William Cole described the Hall in his manuscript which is now in the British Museum:

“The House pleased me much and is the best of the sort I ever saw. A noble entrance hall is in the centre with 2 Corinthian pillars on one side. There is a common dining Parlour and Kitchen, and on the other side an elegant Dining Room and Drawing Room, and by the hall a most beautiful Salon and Staircase with an open space to the top of the house with a gallery to which all the bedchambers have entrance, the whole elegantly fitted up and furnished, overloaded with carving and stucco.”

The Gatehouse of Impington Hall The gatehouse to Impington Hall. Now flanking the entrance to the Village College playing fields, sports facility.

In 1805, Mrs Anne Pepys died and the Hall passed to a junior branch of the family, the Pine-Coffins of Devon. They did not take possession of it undisputed, because a man by the name of Panton claimed in 1807 that he was Lord of the Manor of Impington; but as he made similar claims in respect of several other manors the claim was not taken seriously.

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5QX-1M9 : 19 March 2020), John Pine, 1735.
2. ↑ A source for this information is needed.

• Marriage. "England, Devon Bishop's Transcripts, 1558-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGNC-LNMJ : 11 March 2018), John Pine and Grace Rowe, Alverdiscott, Devon, England, United Kingdom; citing Marriage, The Devon Record Office, Exeter.

• Baptism of child 1. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JM58-C27 : 19 March 2020), John Pine in entry for Mary Ann Pine, 1768.

• Baptism of child 2. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWX5-5XN : 19 March 2020), John Pine in entry for Richard Pine, 1770.

• Baptism of child 3. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J79K-CD9 : 19 March 2020), John Pine in entry for Charles Pine, 1771.

• Baptism of child 4. "England, Devon Bishop's Transcripts, 1558-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLY2-YRTW : 11 September 2019), John Pine in household of James William Pine, East Down, Devon, England, United Kingdom; citing Baptism, The Devon Record Office, Exeter.

• Baptism of child 5. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWFW-RX7 : 24 March 2020), John Pine in entry for Sarah Pine, 1777.

• Birth & Baptism of child 6. b. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5QX-1MH : 19 March 2020), John Pine in entry for John Pine, 1779.

• Baptism of child 7. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5QX-YJN : 19 March 2020), John Pine in entry for Edward Pine, 1784.

• Baptism of child 8. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NB32-NYV : 24 March 2020), John Pine in entry for Grace Pine, 1783.

See Also

• http://bidefordbuzz.org.uk/history/portledge/comment-page-1/

• Wikipedia: John Pine Coffin