Joseph Hunkin (Governor of Scilly)


Joseph Hunkin of Gatherleigh in the parish of Lifton in Devon, was Governor of Scilly between 1651 and 1660, during Parliamentary control in the Civil War.

Origins

He was the son and heir of John Hunkin of Gatherleigh, High Steward of the Borough of Liskeard in Cornwall by his first wife Grace Clobery, a daughter of Andrew Clobery of Lifton in Devon, 2nd son of John Clobery of Bradstone, Devon, near the Cornish border.

Career

He was Governor during the construction of Cromwell's Castle, an artillery fort overlooking New Grimsby harbour on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly. According to the Acts and Ordnances of the Interregnum 1642 - 1657 he was a commissioner for Devonshire for December 1649, December 1652 and June 1657.

Marriage

In 1630 at Boyton, he married Frances Loveys, a daughter of Robert Loveys of Beardon in Cornwall. Her mural monument, a simple slate tablet, survives on the external wall of Old Town Church, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, inscribed as follows:

Death and burial

He was buried on 15 August 1661 at Lifton in Devon. A later prominent member of the Hunkin family was Joseph Hunkin, born in Truro, Cornwall, the 8th Bishop of Truro from 1935 to 1950. His monument in Truro Cathedral displays the arms of Hunkin of Gatherleigh, namely: Argent, a mascle sable over all a fess of the last.