Lucy Reynell

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Lucy Reynell (1577–1652), born Lucy Brandon, was an Englishwoman from Newton Abbot in Devon. Her father, Robert Brandon, was a jeweller to Queen Elizabeth I. In 1600 she married Sir Richard Reynell; they lived at Forde House in Wolborough and had a daughter named Jane. A biography published by her nephew in 1654 describes her as having strict manners but also notes that in 1640 she built almshouses, known as the Clergy Widows House, in Newton Abbot to house four widows of preaching ministers who were left poor. Lucy Reynell died on 18 April 1652, and an altar tomb for her and Richard remains in St Mary’s Church, Wolborough.