The first record of the surname Kelly emerges around 1100 in the reign of Henry I with Martin of Kelly. The Kellys are one of the eleven Knightly families of Devonshire, with responsibilities to raise men to defend the land in the time of Henry II, and have remained at Kelly since these early times descending in a continuous male line to this day.
The Family have rarely sought fame and fortune away from the parish, but have been country gentlemen concerned with administering their estates and keeping a good eye on local justice.
In the 1530s for instance William Harris and John Kelly with the support of many locals did battle with the Abbot of Tavistock in an attempt to remove a high fish weir built near Gulworthy by the Abbey, which the locals claimed was restricting their fishing rights. Although unsuccessful they were gratified a few years later when Henry VIII abolished all weirs.
Edward Kelly was one who sought adventure and accompanied Richard Grenville and others on the Roanoak expedition to America ending his life in the surf on their second visit to this small colony.
During the civil war it appears the family kept their heads down, probably supplying victuals to whichever band of troops were in the vicinity. We are told there were marriages in both directions during this time. Philippa who married Royalist Henry Bidlake, and another daughter who it is said married a Cromwellian in order to save the glass in the church.
By the 18th century the family owned estates in varied parts of Devon and Somerset, and were prosperous enough in 1742 to build a new house attached to the old. This house did not shelter from the weather but confidently faces out towards Bodmin Moor. In 1873 it is recorded that the Kellys owned 2,781 acres in Devon, this at a time when changes in agricultural practice and returns over preceding years meant that life on the land was not as prosperous as before. In the 20th century as has been the case with many country families economic fortune has declined dramatically as a result of Wars, changes in agriculture, and most of all in our case taxation, and we are all trying to reinvent ourselves to survive in the 21st century.