Falkes de Bréauté

Sir Falkes de Bréauté (died 1226) (also spelled Fawkes de Bréauté or Fulk de Brent) was an Anglo-Norman soldier who earned high office by loyally serving first King John and later King Henry III in the First Barons' War. He played a key role in the Battle of Lincoln Fair in 1217. He attempted to rival Hubert de Burgh, and as a result fell from power in 1224. His "heraldic device" is now popularly said to have been a griffin, although his coat of arms as depicted by Matthew Paris (died 1259) in his Chronica Majora (folio 64/68 verso) was Gules, a cinquefoil argent.

Falkes' home in London was then called "Fawkes Hall" (Falkes' Hall), which over the years changed into "Foxhall" and finally into "Vauxhall". The Vauxhall car company derived its name from that part of London and still uses de Bréauté's griffin as its badge. The house stood on approximately 31 acres in the royal manor of Kennington; it was the centre of tension between the Archbishop at Lambeth Palace and the monks of Canterbury, who tried to influence the election of English bishops.