Sir John Stowford (c.1290Prince, p.727 – c.1372Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.390) of Stowford, West Down in Devon, was Chief Baron of the ExchequerPrince: "Lord Chief Baron" in 1346. He is one of John Prince's Worthies of Devon.
Origins He was born at the family estate of Stowford in the parish of West Down in North Devon.Prince, p.727
Career It is not known at which Inn of Court he trained as a lawyer, but he was called to the bar and became a serjeant at law. In 1341 he was appointed King's Serjeant to King Edward III.Prince, p.727 In 1346 he was knighted and was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer.Prince, p.727, quoting Dugdale In 1349 he was appointed one of the Justices Itinerant for the county of Kent.
Builds Pilton Causeway
Stowford built Pilton Causeway which links the towns of Barnstaple and Pilton, which were then separated by the treacherous marshy ground in which flowed the tidal meanders of the small River Yeo. It is recounted by Prince that Stowford decided on building the causeway when on his way from his home at Stowford to Barnstaple, he met whilst fording the Yeo, the drowned bodies of a woman with her child.Prince, p.728 He is also believed to have contributed to the financing of the long-bridge in Barnstaple.Prince, p.728
Marriage He married Joan Tracy, a co-heiress of the Tracy family of Woolacombe Tracy, Devon.Prince, p.729
Death and burial He died at Stowford and was buried in the Stowford Chapel in the north transept of West Down Church, where survives his much-wornPevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.900 life-size effigy carved in oak, dressed in his robes of office,Hoskins, p.390 set on the floor under a low recessed arch set into the north wall.Pevsner, p.899 The colouring of the effigy was renewed in 1873,Hoskins, p.390 but no trace survives today.
Further reading Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 55, biography of Sir John StowfordStowford, John (DNB00)From Wikisource
Sources Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition, pp. 727–729, biography of Sir John Stowford
References