Weare Giffard

Weare Giffard is a small village, parish and former manor in North Devon. The church and manor house are situated 2 1/2 miles NW of Great Torrington in North Devon. Most of the houses within the parish are situated some 1/2-mile east of the church. The church is situated on a hillside to the north and slightly above the wide and flat valley floor of the River Torridge. The Church of the Holy Trinity and the adjacent Weare Giffard Hall are designated members of the Grade I listed buildings in Devon .

The historian of Devon Tristram Risdon(d.1640) supposed the name Weare to be derived from a fish weir which was historically situated in the river to catch fish. The construction of a fish-weir generally required a licence from the feudal overlord, as naturally these affected the catches of other inhabitants further along the river. Many disputes are recorded in the medieval records over disputes concerning fish-weirs.

One of the earliest holders of the manor was the 13th-century Sir Walter Giffard, after whom the manor subsequently took its suffix, who lived during the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272). He left a daughter Emma as his sole heiress who married thrice:

Stone effigies of an early member of the Giffard family and his wife exist in the Parish Church, now housed separately in arched niches set into the north wall of the nave. They are believed to represent Sir Walter Giffard and his wife Lady Alice de St George, whose son was also named Walter, however no identifying inscriptions or armorials survive to confirm any attribution of identity. The original location of these effigies was in the north transept, from which they were removed in the 19th century to make room for the new organ.

The estate of Brightley in the parish of Chittlehampton, about 10 miles east of Weare Giffard, was acquired by Sir Roger Giffard (d.1547) on his marriage to Margaret Coblegh, the heiress of Brightley. Over the porch of Brightley Barton, now a large farmhouse, still exists an escutcheon bearing the arms of Giffard. Roger was a son of Sir Thomas Giffard (c. 1461–1513) of the manor of Halsbury, about 13 miles west of Weare Giffard. The Giffards of Halsbury appear to have been a cadet line of the Giffards of Weare. Bartholomew Giffard (died c. 1314) of Clovelly, married Joan de Halsbury, the heiress of Halsbury. The 13th-century Testa de Nevill lists the manor of Clovelly as being held by Sir Roger Giffard from his overlord Sir Walter Giffard of Wear. The senior male line at Clovelly died out in 1303 on the death of Sir Matthew Giffard, who left two daughters co-heiresses.

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