CASTLE GARY. 87 



were afterwards purchased by Edward, the first Duke of 

 Somerset; and in 1675 they passed again by a fexnale 

 heir to Thomas Lord Bruce, eldest son of the Earl of 

 Aylesbury. In 1684 they were sold to two individuals — 

 Mr. Ettricke, of the Middle Temple, and Mr. Playter, of 

 Gray's Inn. The estate and manor then became divided ; 

 tili Henry Hoare, Esq., having purchased one portion in 

 1782, and the trustees of his grandson, Sir E. C. Hoare, 

 another portion, the manorial rights, together with the 

 largest estate in the parish, and the impropriate rectory, 

 have descended to the present proprietor, Sir Henry 

 Ainslie Hoare, Bart. 



There are some circumstances connected with the early 

 history of the Castle and its proprietors, which should not 

 be passed over without special notice. 



The first Lord of Cary, to whom we have already 

 alluded, Robert Perceval de Breherval, Lord of Yvery, 

 &c, was a companion of William, Duke of Normandy, in 

 his successful expedition against England, A.D. 1066. 

 Soon after the battle of Hastings he quitted England, 

 and, returning to Normandy, devoted himself to a religi- 

 ous life, in the Abbey of Bec. He had three sons, 

 Ist, Ascelin, surnamed Gouel de Perceval ; 2nd, Gouel ; 

 and 3rd, William. Ascelin, his father's eldest son and 

 heir, being a fierce warrior, obtained the name of Lupus, 

 or the wolf ; besides the possessions of his father in Nor- 

 mandy, he succeeded to several manors in Somersetshire, 

 which were fortified by the English, and allotted to the 

 officers and friends of the Conqueror. Harptree, Easton, 

 Weston in Gordano, Stawcll, and Badcombe, were among 

 those which feil to the share of Ascelin Gouel de Perceval, 

 of Cary. He married, by a compact made aecording to 

 the custom of those times, after a successful attack upon 



