410 THE H0TT8B OF GODOLPHIN. 



The story is regarded by many persons as apocryphal, and 

 may be so ; but it is stated that Sheriff John was the first to use 

 the modern spelling of the name, and it is at least curious to 

 find that a family with the unusual name of Knava actually were 

 living near Breage about this time. In the register of that parish 

 is a record of the funeral of a Richard Knava in 1560. If the 

 story be true, he was probably a descendant of a collateral branch 

 of the family. 



At all events it appears certain that a John Godolphin was 

 Sheriff of Cornwall in 1504, and that is nearly all that we know 

 about him. According to one authority he was a second time 

 sheriff in 1508. I have been unable to find any record of when 

 he died or where he was buried. His son, William, became a much 

 more prominent figure, and in the course of a long life raised the 

 name of Godolphin to a position of eminence in the county ; a 

 position which his successors fully maintained. Some authori- 

 ties assert that this famous William was a grandson of John, but 

 a comparison of dates renders son the more probable relation. 

 He is said to have been a personal friend of Henry VIII, from 

 whom he early received the honour of knighthood. When the 

 French war broke out, Sir William accompanied his sovereign to 

 France, taking with him his brother, Thomas, and his nephew, 

 Francis, who must then have been a mere lad. All three were 

 present at the siege and capture of Boulogne in 1544, where Sir 

 William fought so valiantly, that, on returning to England, 

 King Henry sent him an achievement of the Royal Arms fully 

 emblazoned, as a mark of recognition of conspicuous gallantry 

 in the field. It was, in fact, the Victoria Cross of the period. 

 At home Sir William seems to have been one of those who enjoyed 

 holding public office. He was Vice-warden and Steward of the 

 Stannaries ; was chosen several times as Knight of the Shire • 

 and was four (some say five) times Sheriff of Cornwall. He 

 eventually died at an advanced age and was buried in Breage 

 church, July 30th, 1570, according to the entry in the parish 

 register. By what is probably a clerical error, the modern brass 

 tablet that has been placed to his memory in Breage church, 

 records his funeral on July 30th, 1590. He was succeeded by his 

 nephew, Francis Godolphin, a man then well on in middle life. 

 Upon him also the duties of public office fell thickly. He 



