John Giffard (died 1556)

Sir John Giffard (c. 1465-13 November 1556), of Chillington in Brewood, was a soldier, courtier, member of the English Parliament and Staffordshire landowner, who made his mark mainly during the reign of Henry VIII.

It is thought that Thomas Horde, his father-in-law might have advanced his career, perhaps introducing him at the royal court during the reign of Henry VII.

As well as the posts of gentleman usher and sewer, in which Henry VIII perhaps confirmed him, he was appointed Ranger of the Seven Hayes of Cannock Forest on 2 June 1509.

In 1513, he distinguished himself[5] in Henry's invasion of northern France, in which English troops defeated the French at the Battle of the Spurs, going on to take the important stronghold of Tournai.

He was allowed to carry the Royal Standard of England before the king[3] during this campaign, on which he was accompanied by his friend and near neighbour Edward Littleton of Pillaton Hall.

However, his name appears on subsidy commissions, the bodies charged with imposing taxation and made up mainly of MPs, between 1512 and 1524, so he may have held a seat outside Staffordshire before the known election.

Members came from a small circle of landed gentry families: Giffard was reckoned a leading man in the county at the time of his election – second only to the Earl of Shrewsbury.

Throckmorton, Littleton and Sir John Giffard were all placed by Thomas Cromwell on a list believed to be of members opposed to the 1533 Statute in Restraint of Appeals.

[3] It is possible that Giffard was feeling some disquiet at the pace of change, however, and on 5 June 1533 he obtained a licence for himself and his wife to leave the country on a pilgrimage to Amiens, a shrine of John the Baptist, celebrated for his resistance to royal power.

There is no record of who Staffordshire returned to Parliament in 1536, but Henry VIII had forcefully requested that all existing members serve again, so it is likely that both he and Littleton were re-elected.

Giffard's main estate was Chillington, which had a small village, since disappeared, and a water mill, as well as the medieval moated and fortified manor house.

In addition to these important local acquisitions, he also obtained from the king a number of lordships in Staffordshire, including Plardiwick, near Gnosall, Pattingham and Marston.

As befitting an important landowner in the county, Giffard was pricked High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1509 – part of a shower of honours that descended on him that year.