Sir William Godbold.
Mr. Editor,--In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for July, 1842, occurs
this:--
"In the parish church of Mendham, Suffolk, is a mural monument
bearing an inscription, of which the following is a transcript:
"'M.S.V.Cmi Doctissimique D. Gulielmi Godbold Militis ex
illustri et perantiquâ Prosapiâ oriundi, Qui post Septennem
Peregrinationem animi excolendi gratiâ per Italiam, Græciam,
Palæstinam, Arabiam, Persiam, in solo natali in bonarum
literarum studiis consenescens morte repentinâ obiit Londini
mense Aprilis Ao. D. MDCXIIIC, ætatis LXIX.'
"One would presume that so great a traveller would have obtained
some celebrity in his day; but I have never met with any notice
of Sir William Godbold. I have ascertained that he was the only
son of Thomas Godbold, a gentleman of small estate residing at
Metfield, in Suffolk, and was nephew to John Godbold, Esq.,
Serjeant-at-Law, who was appointed Chief Justice of the Isle of
Ely in 1638. He appears to have been knighted previously to
1664, and married Elizabeth daughter and heir of Richard
Freston, of Mendham (Norfolk), Esq., and relict of Sir Nicholas
Bacon, of Gillingham, Bart., whom he survived, and died without
issue in 1687. I should consider myself under an obligation to
any of your correspondents who could afford me any further
account of this learned knight, or refer me to any biographical
or other notice of him."
To the writer of that letter the desideratum still remains unsupplied.
Your welcome publication appears to offer a channel for repeating the
inquiry.