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| Lords Clifford | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lords Clifford |
| Caption | Arms associated with the Clifford family |
| Type | Hereditary peerage |
| Region | England |
| Founded | Early medieval period |
| Founder | Roger de Clifford (family progenitor) |
| Current extant | Mixed; several creations extinct or abeyant |
Lords Clifford are members of an English noble lineage whose principal titles and family branches have played recurrent roles in medieval and early modern England and the United Kingdom. The Clifford name is associated with multiple peerage creations, territorial lordships in Westmorland and Yorkshire, and service in key conflicts such as the Battle of Bannockburn era skirmishes and the Wars of the Roses. Over centuries Clifford peers intersected with leading houses including the House of Lancaster, the House of York, the Howards, and the Percys.
The Clifford family traces its ancestry to Norman and Anglo-Norman magnates documented after the Norman conquest of England; early figures include Roger de Clifford and holdings recorded in the Domesday Book. The family developed principal branches centred on Westmorland and Skipton, and through marriage connected to the de Redvers and de Clare houses. Clifford genealogies appear in heraldic visitations and pedigrees alongside peers such as the Beaumonts, the FitzAlans, and the Nevilles. Marital alliances linked Cliffords to royal kin via unions with families allied to Edward I and Edward III, while cadet branches served under magnates like Richard, Duke of Gloucester and later Tudor statesmen including Thomas Cromwell’s contemporaries.
Multiple peerage creations used the Clifford name or were held by Clifford family members. The medieval barony of Clifford of Westmorland emerged in the 13th–14th centuries, and later creations appeared in the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Great Britain. Notable legal instruments affecting these titles include writs of summons to Parliament and later letters patent under sovereigns such as Henry VIII and George I. Some Clifford titles fell into abeyance or attainder after participation in dynastic conflicts like the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War, while other creations were revived in the 17th and 19th centuries alongside peerage restructurings under Charles II and William IV.
Prominent individuals bearing the Clifford name held military, administrative, and court offices. Sir Roger de Clifford (13th–14th century) served as a marcher lord and royal counselor during reigns of Edward I and Edward II. Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh was a Restoration-era figure active in Charles II’s government. The martial reputation of Cliffords is epitomized by those who fought in the Battle of Towton and on Lancastrian side under leaders like Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. Later Cliffords sat in the House of Lords, interacted with ministers such as Robert Walpole, and in some lines produced peers who served under George III and during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Clifford family historically held strategic castles and manors. Skipton Castle in North Yorkshire became a principal seat associated with the Skipton Cliffords; it featured in campaigns during the English Civil War and later parliamentary sieges. The Westmorland barony controlled estates in the Cumbrian marches including lands near Kirkby Lonsdale and fortified sites used against Scottish incursions in periods of conflict with Robert the Bruce. Other residences linked to Clifford kin include manors in Yorkshire and properties transferred by marriage into the estates of houses like the Talbots and the Staffords.
Cliffords often served as royal appointees, wardens of the march, and commanders in major conflicts. They acted as sheriff and justiciar in northern counties during reigns of monarchs such as Edward II and Richard II, taking part in border diplomacy with Scotland and enforcement actions connected to treaties like the Treaty of Northampton. During the dynastic turbulence of the 15th century, Clifford contenders fought at engagements including the Battle of Wakefield and the Battle of Hexham; political allegiances sometimes led to attainders and forfeitures under rulers from Richard III to Henry VII. In the 17th century Clifford loyalties divided in the English Civil War, with some family members supporting the Royalists and facing sequestration by Parliament.
Clifford heraldry is prominent in armorial rolls and church monuments. The arms traditionally blazoned for principal Clifford branches appear in visitations recorded alongside those of the FitzHugh and Scrope families. Clifford heraldic devices feature in stained glass at parish churches patronized by the family, in funerary brasses, and in carved stone at castles such as Skipton Castle. Heralds including those of the College of Arms and antiquaries like Nicholas Harris Nicolas catalogued Clifford coats of arms in England’s armorial heritage.
Clifford figures surface in literary and artistic works connected to periods they influenced. Medieval chroniclers such as Matthew Paris and later historians like William Dugdale mention Cliffords in narratives of baronial power. The family appears in regional histories of Yorkshire and Westmorland and features in preservation efforts for sites like Skipton Castle—now part of heritage tourism narratives promoted alongside institutions such as the National Trust and county museums. Clifford patronage contributed to ecclesiastical endowments recorded in cathedral archives at York Minster and local parish records, shaping cultural memory in northern England.