John Hody

Sir John Hody' (died 1441) of Stowell in Somerset and of Pilsdon in Dorset, was Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Origins He was the son of Thomas Hody (d. 1442), lord of the manor of Kington Magna in Dorset, Escheator of Dorset in 1419/20. John's mother was Margaret Cole, daughter and heiress of John Cole of Nitheway in the parish of Brixham in Devon, which thus became the birthplace of his children. John's elder brother was Alexander Hody (died 16 May 1461), a strong supporter of the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses who was attainted in the first year of the reign of King Edward IV for his adherence to the deposed King Henry VI. Hody was descended from a family of considerable antiquity, though of no great note, in Devon. Jordan de Hode held lands in Hode in the thirteenth century; Richard de Hody was the king's escheator of that county in 1353/54 and 1357/58, and the same office was filled by William Hody in 1400/01. Career He was educated as a lawyer and is frequently mentioned in the Year Books from 1424/25. Although there is no record of his summons to take the degree of the coif, there is very little doubt that he was by 1435/36 a serjeant-at-law, as his name appears on the list of those called upon to contribute towards the equipment of the army against France in 1435/36. Certainly, he had attained that rank before July 1439.