of his descendants was Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham (1762–1820), who developed the Signal Code adopted by the Navy in 1803. Penelope Popham; Elinor Popham; Elizabeth Popham (d.1637), wife of Sir Richard Champernowne (1558–1622), lord of the manor of Modbury in Devon, Sheriff of Devon in 1591, created a knight of the Bath in 1599. Mary Popham; Amy Popham. Residences Wellington House, Somerset As his main residence he built Wellington House, a "large and stately mansion" in the town of Wellington, Somerset, "only slightly smaller than Montacute" also in Somerset (built in about 1598 by Sir Edward Phelips, Master of the Rolls and the prosecutor during the trial of the Gunpowder Plotters). It was destroyed during the Civil War (1642–1651), having been "obtained by strategem by one Bovet of Taunton who converted it into a garrison for the use of the Parliament army and defended it for a considerable time against Sir Richard Grenville who came to its rescue in which contest it was so battered that it was never afterward deemed worthy repairing". In March 1645 the Royalist commander Grenville was ordered to march into Somersetshire and assist in the siege of Taunton. While inspecting the fortifications of "Wellington House" he was severely wounded, and obliged for a time to resign the command of his forces to Sir John Berkeley. Wellington had probably been supplying Blake with necessaries for some time, and Colonel Bovet, a very ardent Parliamentarian, got possession of Popham's house and made it a stronghold for his party. So against Wellington Grenville directed the Royalist force and levelled Popham's house almost to the ground, himself being so severely injured that the leadership of his men had to be transferred to Sir John Barkley. The following document dated 19 October 1650 was addressed to Justices of Peace of Somerset: "Anne Martyn of Wellington, widdowe, being in the howse of the Honourable Alexander Popham with her family, att the seige thereof by the late Kinge's forces, sustayned greate losses of goodes and cattle, viz., several kine, one heifer, tenne young cattle, three calves, five colts, a mare and a horse, forty sheepe, five bedds with their furniture, bacon, butter, and cheese, wool, lynnen, corne of all sorts, pewter, brasse, and other moveable goodes, valued in all att the summe of ... hundred and threescore and fifteen poundes, besides the summe of twenty and two poundes in ready money;