Family and Education

b. c.1551, 1st s. of Sir John Higford^† of Dixton by Elizabeth, da. of Edmund Fettiplace of Besselsleigh, Berks. educ. Hart Hall, Oxf. 1568, aged 17; I. Temple 1571. m. Dorothy, da. of William Rogers of Dowdeswell, 3s. 2da. suc. fa. 1607.

Offices Held

Biography

There were two John Higfords, father and son. The father, lord of Alderton and Dixton and purchaser of the manors of Coin St. Aldwyn and Little Rissington, was knighted by the Queen when she visited him in September 1592. In all probability it was he who acted as sole witness to the will of Giles Brydges, 3rd Baron Chandos, made on 23 July 1592, and as trustee, together with John Puckering and William Oldsworth, to a settlement of lands created by that nobleman shortly before his death. It was the younger John Higford whom Brydges twice returned for Cricklade: the 1572 indenture describes him as ‘junior’ and the father was sheriff during the election of 1586.1

In 1595, together with Edmund and Thomas Harewell, Higford paid £700 for lands in the manor of Notgrave. On the death of his father he inherited Alderton and Dixton. He died in 1612. In his will, made 21 Nov. 1611 and proved 19 May 1612, he asked for forgiveness of his sins and requested burial in the church at Alderton. He provided for his children and gave legacies to members of the Persall, Whittington and Compton families. The poor of Alderton received 40s. The will included a schedule of debts to tradesmen, mostly overdue, amounting to over £500. Richard Delabere and John Croker were overseers. He was succeeded by his son William.2

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603

Author: W.J.J.

Notes

• 1. C142/296/130; W. B. Crouch, Hist. Cricklade, 142; Vis. Glos. (Harl. Soc. xxi), 86; PCC 33 Fenner, 88 Huddleston, 12 Dixy; Bristol and Glos. Arch. Soc. Trans. lvi. 49, 54, 216; Nichols, Progresses Eliz. iii. 129.
• 2. Bristol and Glos. Arch. Soc. Trans. xvii. 157; xxxvii. 2; lvi. 216; PCC 83 Huddleston, 33 Fenner.