Godric the Sheriff

Godric (died c. 1066) was the Anglo Saxon sheriff of Berkshire and possibly Buckinghamshire in the 11th century prior to the Norman Conquest.[1]

This article is about the historical character. For the fictional character, see Godric (True Blood).

The High Sheriff of Berkshire's chief residences were at Wallingford and Aldermaston. As a sheriff, Godric had the powers of arrest, he could raise armies, collect taxes and levies, and he presided over courts, dealt with traitors and generally supervised on the King's behalf everything that went on in the area of the Kingdom under his jurisdiction. It was recorded that Godric was "a colourful old scoundrel".[2]

Godric had at least one daughter, who was taught gold embroidery by a maid called Aelfgyth in Oakley, Buckinghamshire before the Norman Conquest. Henry de Ferrers had acquired lands at Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) belonging to Godric the Sheriff, probably between 1055 and 1067. Finally, there is a mention of "Godric the Sheriff, of Fyfield (Berkshire, now Oxfordshire)" as being a member of King Harold Godwinson's forces at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

References
  1. Hudson, John (2007). Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis:The History of the Church of Abingdon, Volume I: The History of the Church of Abingdon. Clarendon Press. p. 201. ISBN 9780199299379.
  2. "What is a High Sheriff?". High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
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