Goddard Oxenbridge

Sir Goddard Oxenbridge, KB (died 1537) was an English landowner and administrator from Sussex.

Origins Prominent in East Sussex for generations, the family's home in Brede, which he improved and extended, had been built in the 14th century. Probably born in the 1470s, he was the son and heir of Robert Oxenbridge (died 1487), of Brede, and his wife Ann Livelode (died 1494).

Family His first wife was Elizabeth, the widow of Roger Fiennes (died before 1486), possibly a son of Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Dacre. She was the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Etchingham (died 1486), of Etchingham, Elizabeth (died 1578), courtier and author, who married Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, of Leighton Bromswold.

Another telling of the story suggests that the legend originated some 200 years after his death. Brede Place was purchased in 1708 mainly for the land, and the house allowed to fall into disrepair. It was then that smugglers took over the house and spread rumours that it was now haunted by Oxenbridge's ghost, and either concocted the tale or built upon it about his former child-eating habits.