John Higford (c. 1551 – 1612) was an English landowner and MP.[1]

He was the son of John Higford of Dixton Manor, Gloucestershire and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Fettiplace of Besselsleigh, Berkshire.[2] The Higfords/Hugfords were descended from an old Shropshire family, who had acquired Dixton through marriage in the mid-fifteenth century.[3] He matriculated at Hart Hall, Oxford in 1568,[4] but subsequently was tutored by the puritan William Cole of Corpus Christi College, Oxford[5] He entered the Inner Temple in 1571.[1]

Sometime before May 1591[6] he married Dorothy, daughter of William Rogers (d. 1593) of [Dowdeswell], Gloucestershire with whom he had 2 sons, including his heir William Higford and 3 daughters.[2] In 1591 Dorothy was described as her father's sole heir and the couple were executors of his will,[7] the Dowdeswell manor court being held in their names in 1594. However, Dowdeswell subsequently passed to her half-brother William.[8]

Higford represented Cricklade in the parliaments of 1572 and 1586[1] through the patronage of the Brydges family, whose seat at Sudeley castle was close to Dixton.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "HIGFORD, John (c.1551-1612), of Dixton, Glos". Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b The visitation of the county of Gloucester, taken in the year 1623. Vol. 21. Harleian Society. 1885. p. 86.
  3. ^ Rudder, Samuel (1779). A New History of Gloucestershire. p. 220.
  4. ^ "Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Hieron-Horridge". Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  5. ^ Higford, William (1658). Institutions: Or, Advice to His Grandson. p. 46.
  6. ^ "The National Archives E40/13045". Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  7. ^ Calenders to the Proceedings in Chancery in the Reign of Queen Elisabeth. Vol. 2. 1830. p. 51.
  8. ^ "VCH Gloucestershire 9: Dowdeswell". Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  9. ^ "History of Parliament, 1558-1603: Cricklade". Retrieved 30 January 2024.