James Templer (canal builder)

Arms of Templer, as depicted 1794 stained glass image in Shute Church of arms of George Templer of Shapwick, which differ in several details from the official grant of 1765 registered in the College of Arms: On a mount in base vert the perspective of an antique temple argent of three stories, each embattled; from the second battlement two steeples, [sic] and from the top, one, each ending in a cross sable [sic] on the pinnacle; in the first quarter an eagle displayed; in the second a stag trippant regardant or. In no image of the Templer arms in Shute Church, Stover House or Teigngrace Church are two steeples shown from the second story. Often only one cross argent is shown from the top steeple. The depiction above shows three crosses or. The temple is seemingly a canting reference to the mediaeval round Temple Church of the Knights Templar in London (itself modelled on the Byzantine version of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem) which was reconstructed after WWII bomb damage with two embattled stories but without a spire

James II Templer (1748–1813) of Stover House, Teigngrace, Devon, was a Devon landowner and the builder of the Stover Canal.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of James I Templer (1722–1782), of Stover House, Teigngrace, Devon, a self-made magnate who had made his fortune building dockyards.^[1]

Career

Templer was a Master in the Crown Office at London.^[1] He inherited the Stover estate in 1782, and began construction of a new church at Teigngrace, built in the local granite from quarries at Hay Tor.^[2] This was completed in 1787,^[3] and his brother Rev. John Templer (1751-1832) of Lindridge House was the first rector of the church. The mining of ball clay in the area had begun to rapidly expand, and from 1790 Templer built the Stover Canal at his own expense to transport clay to cellars on the banks of the River Teign,^[4] for onward transportation by barge down the river estuary to the port of Teignmouth on the coast.

Marriage & progeny

In 1776 he married Mary Buller (1749-1829^[5]), 3rd daughter of James Buller (1717-1765)^[6] of Downes, Crediton, Member of Parliament for East Looe in Cornwall (1741-7) and for the County of Cornwall (1748-1765). By his wife he had progeny including:

• George Templer (1781–1843), son and heir, who inherited the Stover estate.^[7]
• Charlotte Frances Templer (d.1875^[8]), who married twice:
  • Firstly in 1811^[9] to Capt. Richard Dalling Dunn (1767-1813), Royal Navy, whose mural monument survives in Teignrace Church, showing the arms of Dun of Taartie, Scotland: Gules, a sword in pale erect proper hilt and pommel or between three padlocks argent a crescent for difference.^[10] He died at Stonehouse,^[11] Plymouth, the former residence of Thomas Parlby, partner of James I Templer. He was Flag Captain to Admiral John Duckworth and last commanded HMS Dublin, a brand new 78 gun ship of the line launched 13 Feb 1812. Dunsborough and Dunn's Bay in Western Australia are named after him.^[12]
  • Secondly in 1819 to Capt. Charles Richard Acland (1793-1828), Royal Navy, 3rd son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 9th Baronet (1752–1794), of Killerton House in Devon. He died from blackwater fever off Simondstown, South Africa.^[13]The marriage was without progeny^[14]

Death & burial

He died aged 65 on 21 June 1813,^[2] and is commemorated by a Coade stone monument in Teigngrace church.^[15]

References

1. Ewans 1966, p. 11
2. "The Templers and their history". Stuart Callon. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
3. Ewans 1966, p. 12
4. Ewans 1966, p. 13
5. Dates per her mural monument in Teigngrace Church
6. Burke's, 1937, p.278, pedigree of Buller of Downes
7. Ewans 1966, p. 15
8. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitation of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.5, pedigree of Acland
9. http://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_crewman&id=378
10. William Berry, Encyclopaedia Heraldica, Or Complete Dictionary of Heraldry, Volume 2
11. Per his mural monument in Teignrace Church.
12. http://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_crewman&id=378 quoting sources: Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793 - 1817; David Bonner Smith, Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy; Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714 - 1792
13. http://www.thepeerage.com/p46698.htm
14. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitation of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.5, pedigree of Acland
15. "Teigngrace Church". Devon Historic Churches Trust. Retrieved 2012-09-16.

Bibliography

• Ewans, M.C. (1966). The Haytor Granite Tramway and Stover Canal. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.