John Giffard (1602–1665)
The Devon branch of the family were originally seated at Weare Giffard, near Great Torrington, at Awliscombe near Honiton and at Halsbury.
Frances was the niece of Rachel Fane, the wife of Henry Bourchier, 5th Earl of Bath of Tawstock,[15] Giffard's near neighbour under whom he served as a Commissioner of Array at the start of the Civil War.
[20] On 14 October 1638 Giffard purchased the lordship of the manor of Chittlehampton from Sir Lewis Pollard, 1st Baronet of King's Nympton, and thereby became the first recorded resident lord.
On Tuesday 13 September 1642, with other fellow commissioners, he accompanied Bourchier to South Molton for the purpose of a public reading of the Commission to the townsfolk, which attempt was met with much hostility and resulted in an ignoble retreat.
[24] According to a letter written by an inhabitant of South Molton at the time, the party was met by an angry mob of over 1,000 persons armed with muskets, halberts, bills, clubs, pikes and poles who were "in a great rage with the mayor and his company for giving licence that they should enter and swore that if they did attempt anything there or read their commission of array they would beat them all down and kill them (even) if they were all hanged for it".
On 23 or 24 September 1642 Hopton, lieutenant-general of Royalist forces in the West, on his march from Minehead in Somerset into Cornwall, before crossing the River Taw rested with his cavalry at Chittlehampton.
During the Civil War, by then a Colonel, Giffard commanded the Devon pikemen at the Battle of Lansdowne, fought on 5 July 1643, near Bath, Somerset.
He was advised to take the earliest opportunity to do so, and thus following the departure of the royalist horse from Brightley, Giffard immediately sought an order of protection from Sir Thomas Fairfax, commander-in-chief of the Parliamentarian forces.
Twelve parishioners of Chittlehampton, all of whom claimed to have "always stood right and well affected to the Parliament", signed the counter-petition in which they called Giffard "a violent and active enemy to the state", who had persecuted them "with all eagerness and cruelty", and had caused them and others losses valued at five to six thousand pounds.
[11] Following the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 Giffard [9] was selected by King Charles II as one of the proposed fourteen Devonshire Knights of the Royal Oak.
This honour was proposed for the Englishmen who had actively supported that king during his exile in France, but was abandoned before being formally established lest it might perpetuate dissension.
[9] His image survives as a kneeling figure on the monument in the Giffard Chapel in Chittlehampton Church he erected himself in 1625 in memory of his grandfather, John Gifford (died 1622) of Brightley.
Insomuch, his sobriety and piety brought great reputation to the royal cause in those parts where he lived; and he was an excellent ornament to his profession, both as a subject and a Christian.Among all the instances of the piety of this worthy gentleman, unto whom I had the honour of being personally known, that must not be forgotten which he did to the memory of his grandfather; for in the north isle of the parish church of Chittlehampton aforesaid, he erected a monument to him of alabaster (sic) of great cost and curiosity;[f] where his similitude in armor is lively represented, and the whole adorned with escutcheons of the family
