William Hankford

Sir William Hankford (c. 1350 – 1423), also written Hankeford, of Annery in Devon, was an English lawyer who acted as Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1413 until 1423.

[2] Born about 1350, he came from a minor gentry family who took their name from their estate of Hankford, near Bulkworthy in the Devon parish of Buckland Brewer.

[2][6] When King Henry IV replaced Richard II in 1399, he reappointed Hankford to the bench and at his coronation made him a Knight of the Bath.

[2] He died on 12 December 1423 and was buried in Monkleigh church, which he had largely rebuilt, where his ornate Easter Sepulchre monument survives in the south wall of the Annery Chapel.

In his will made two days before his death, in addition to family bequests (including provision for the education of two illegitimate grandsons), he left generous sums to churches, charities, and religious foundations in North Devon.