FORD, Nicholas

The name Ford was a common one, but it is probable that the man who represented Tavistock in the Commons in 1432 came from the nearby parish of Milton Abbot. It is not clear whether Nicholas was in any way related to John Ford† (d.1406/7), who had sat for Tavistock in the reign of Richard II, but he certainly owned some property in the town, and probably even lived there, for in 1427-8 he served as churchwarden of the parish church of St. Eustace, and in 1434 he leased a tenement to Bartholomew Wyndsore and his wife Maud for an annual rent of 6s.3 The Commons 1386-1421, iii. 101-2; Devon RO, Tavistock parish recs., 482A/PF43.

Few other details of Ford’s career are known. In November 1422 he had been among the feoffees of Agnes, widow of William Coryton, for her property in Tavistock,4 Cornw. RO, Coode and French mss, CF/2/215/44. and in early 1433 he was being sued in the King’s courts by the vicar of Marystow, Robert Franke, for a debt of £10 under the terms of a bond sealed by his recently deceased father.5 CP40/688, rot. 122.