Gidly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Gidly was first found in Devon where "Gidleigh gave name to the family of Gidley is certain, but whether it came to them by a grant from ' one Martine Duke and Earl of Cornwall ' to ' his nephew, Giles de Gidleigh,' as Westcote affirms, may be doubted, and certainly cannot now be proved. The family of Prouz, who were associated with the manor and built a castle here in early Edwardian times, of which the shell yet remains, are said to have acquired it by marriage with the heiress of Giles de Gidleigh ; and, as one of the Prouzes is stated to have been steward to Richard, King of the Romans, it is not difficult to see how Westcote's story may have arisen. After the line of Prouz and their successors had long passed away, a Gidley, if not the Gidley family, came back again, and for awhile the manor was once more in the old name. Bartholomew Gidley (died 1686) was a local Royalist leader of note." 1 "Gidley Castle, a fragmentary ruin, still belongs to the family." 2

"The Gidleys of Gidleigh, an ancient and an honourable family, came into the possession of the manor of Holcombe, Winkleigh, in the 17th century, and there they have since resided or held property. Bartholomew Gidley was a prominent supporter of Charles II. before the Restoration." 3