Sir Godfrey Foljambe was born in Walton, the son of Sir Henry Foljambe.
He was three times sheriff of the combined counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. He also became esquire to the body of King Henry VII and King Henry VIII and fought with Henry VIII in France.
Foljambe enjoyed a favoured position at court and was granted the office of steward of the manor of Chesterfield and hundred of Scarsdale in 1506. He increased the family estate by purchasing the manor of Boythorpe.
He is buried next to his wife Katherine in the family vault in Chesterfield Parish Church (the Crooked Spire Church) within the Foljambe Chantry, part of the Lady Chapel.
A second Godfrey Foljambe was born on 21 November 1558 and he married Isabel Wray in 1587.
He was the last member of the Foljambe family to live at Walton Hall and his death in 1595 marked the beginning of the family’s decline. His widow, however, retained possession of Walton Hall until her death in 1622.
A late 18th century house now stands on the site of the original Walton Hall.
Sir Godfrey and his wife, Isabel, had no children and in his will three separate charities were established, one of them for poor relief throughout the parish, one establishing a lectureship in the parish church and the other founding a grammar school, whose master was to have an income of £13 6s 8d a year.
He and Isabel are commemorated by an alabaster effigy in the Lady Chapel in St Mary and All Saints Church (the Crooked Spire Church). Why not pop into the Church and have a look at the Foljambe Tombs in the Lady Chapel.
