remodelled Weare Giffard Mansion,
being succeeded by his son, John in
1472 who completed the restoration.
THE GIFFARDS AND
FORTESCUES.
Colonel Robert Fortescue, born in
1617, defended the hall against the
Roundheads during the Civil War and
was lucky to escape with his life.
Fortunately, little damage was done to
the house. Robert was succeeded by his
brother, Arthur, who lived at the Hall
initially, but then moved to Castle Hill
at Filleigh c 1680. The Fortescues still
owned Weare Giffard Hall but it fell
into disrepair during the next 150 years
and it was not until 1832 that Matthew
Fortescue restored the Hall and came to
live there. The Hall was leased after
this to various tenants and in 1960
Lady Elizabeth Baxendale, nee
Fortescue, sold the manor. She was the
daughter of Hugh William, the fifth
Earl Fortescue. Altogether nine
generations of Fortescues lived in
Weare Giffard.
These are the two families, who in turn
were granted or owned the ‘manor’ of
Weare. Both families descended from
knights who came over with William
the Conqueror.
THE GIFFARDS were descended
from Osborn de Bolebec, Lord of
Longueville.
Robert Giffard was
granted several important manors in
Devon
including:
Lamerton,
Whitchurch, Aveton and Weare. These
manors had been previously granted to
Roald Abodat who became a monk in
1104.
In the Church of the Holy Trinity,
adjoining the Hall are the effigies of Sir
Walter Giffard and his wife Lady Alice
de St George. Sir Walter, the third
Giffard to bear this name, was born
during the reign of King John, around
1211. He was one of the many knights
to go on Crusade to the Holy Land and
his effigy with crossed legs reflects this.
With no male issue the manor passed to
Cecilia and Rohesia, sisters of the
second Walter Giffard, then to Cecilia’s
grandson and his descendants. The last
in line was Elizabeth Denzill who
married Martin Fortescue in 1454.
It is worth noting that the land on
which the Village Hall is built was
given to the village by the Rt. Hon
Hugh, Earl Fortescue in 1860, for the
purpose of building a school and school
house for the education of children in
the village. (See “Education”).
THE FORTESCUES were the
descendants, indirectly, of the 12th
century Giffards, whereas the ‘English’
Fortescues descended from the Norman
knight Sir Richard Le Fort, who came
to England with William the
Conqueror. Martin Fortescue was the
son of Sir John Fortescue, who had
been Chancellor to King Henry V1, last
of the Lancastrian Kings. In the 15th
century,
Martin
enlarged
and
Detail from a brass rubbing on Eleanor
Fortescue’s tomb in Weare Giffard Church
205
Effigy of Sir Walter Giffard in Weare Giffard Church
Fortescue Coat of Arms, 1800
The Fortescue Memorial in
Weare Giffard Church
206