The Noble and Gentle Men of England / or, notes touching the arms and descents of the ancient knightly and gentle houses of England, arranged in their respective counties.

by Evelyn Philip Shirley

Present Representative, the Rev. Sir Paul William Molesworth, 10th Baronet.

Gentle.

Polwhele of Polwhele, in the parish of St. Clement.

This venerable family, supposed to be of Saxon origin, traces its descent to one Drogo or Drew, Chamberlain to the Empress Maude, and Grantee of the Manor of Polwhele in the year 1140. The family are said to have been seated there even before the Conquest; there appears however no proof that Drogo was the descendant of Winus de Polhill, the owner of this place in the time of Edward the Confessor. The Rev. Richard Polwhele, the historian of this county, was the representative of the family.

See Polwhele's Cornwall, i. 42; Gilbert's Survey, ii. 239; and Lysons, pp. cxi. 60.

Arms.—Sable, a saltier engrailed ermine.

Present Representative, T. R. Polwhele, Esq.

Trefusis of Trefusis, in the parish of Milor, Baron Clinton 1299.