Sir Richard Champernowne (1344-1419) was an English landowner and administrator who held lands at

Modbury Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...

, Dodbrooke,

Bridford Bridford is a village and civil parish in south west England, located in the Teign Valley, Devon on the edge of Dartmoor. The parish is surrounded (clockwise from the north) by the parishes of Dunsford, Doddiscombsleigh, Christow, and Moretonha ...

, and

East Portlemouth East Portlemouth is a small Devon village situated at the southern end of the Kingsbridge Estuary, on the south Devon Coast. The population of this parish taken at the 2011 census was 162. The village is sited on a hill giving views to the north ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and at

Aston Rowant Aston Rowant (anciently ''Aston Rohant'') is a village, civil parish and former manor about south of Thame in South Oxfordshire, England. The parish includes the villages of Aston Rowant and Kingston Blount, and adjoins Buckinghamshire to the ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

Origins

Born on 29 June 1344 at the manor of Suddon in the parish of

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a small town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a populati ...

and baptised in the parish church of Wincanton, he was the son of Sir Thomas Champernowne, a member of the Champernowne family that had been landowners in Devon for many generations, and his wife Eleanor Rohant, daughter and heiress of Sir Roger Rohant. His sister Cecily Champernowne married Simon Fleming.

Career

In his public life, he served as

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Devon in 1368, in 1381, and again in 1387. In 1386 was appointed by Thomas Brantingham, the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

, to demarcate the disputed border between Devon and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. In his private life, he and his second wife obtained in 1404 permission from the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

to have a portable altar and to choose their own

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

on 3 April 1419.

Family

About 25 April 1369, when he was 25 years old, he married Alice Astley, daughter of Thomas Astley, 3rd Baron Astley, and his wife Elizabeth Beauchamp. Their children included: :Alexander Champernowne (died 1441), who before November 1384 married Joan Ferrers, daughter of Martin Ferrers. :Joan Champernowne (died 1419), who married first Sir James Chudleigh (died 1402), of Ashton, and secondly Sir John Courtenay (died 1406), of Powderham. After Alice died, by 13 August 1394 he had married Catherine Daubeney, daughter of Sir Giles Daubeney and his wife Eleanor Willington, and their children included: :Richard Champernowne (died 1418), later knighted, who married Isabel Bonville, daughter of Sir John Bonville and his wife Elizabeth FitzRoger. :Margaret Champernowne (died 1434), who married Robert Hill, of

Shilstone Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...

, son of Sir Robert Hill.Vivian makes her the aunt rather than the daughter of Sir Richard. :John Champernowne, who married Margaret Spriggy, daughter of John Spriggy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champernowne, Richard 1344 births 1419 deaths High Sheriffs of Devon People from South Hams (district)