Background
He was the son of Richard I Hankford (d1419), Member of Parliament for Devon in 1414 and 1416, the son of Sir William Hankford (ca 1350 – 1423) KB, of Annery in Devon, Chief Justice of the King"s Bench from 1413 until 1423. As Richard I had predeceased his own father, Richard II became heir to his grandfather Sir William Hankford on his death in 1423. The Hankford family had been long established at the estate of Hankford, from which they took their name, near Bulkworthy in the parish of Buckland Brewer, North Devon.