Background
He was born in Derbyshire in 1317, the fourth son of Sir Thomas de Foljambe.
He was born in Derbyshire in 1317, the fourth son of Sir Thomas de Foljambe.
His tomb can still be seen at All Saints Church, Bakewell. The Foljambe family were Lords of the Manor of Tideswell and also held lands at Darley Dale. He sat in the House of Commons as knight of the shire for Derbyshire in several of the Parliaments of King Edward III of England.
In 1344 he went to Ireland as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland), and was quickly transferred to the Court of King"s Bench (Ireland).
He served as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1351 to 1354. On his return to England he sat regularly on commissions for the peace in Derbyshire and Lancashire.
He enjoyed the trust and confidence of John of Gaunt, for whom he acted in numerous administrative capacities, including steward for the Duchy of Lancaster. Foreign a number of years he had a lease on a substantial part of Newcastle under Lyme for which he paid £127 p.a. to John of Gaunt.
He died in 1376. Among his descendants were Sir Francis Foljambe (died 1640), first and last of the Foljambe baronets, and the Earls of LIverpool, second creation.
The mural alabaster monument to Godfrey and Avena is said to be very rare with only two surviving to the present day. Below the mural is an explanatory inscription that dates from 1803 and was "added by Mr Blore".