giffard was engaged in many disputes with his monastic cathedral chapter, long accounts of which, written from the monks' point of view, have survived in the "annals of worcester". one main area of disagreement was whether or not the bishop should be allowed to annex some of the more valuable livings in his gift, to the prebends of the college at westbury. this dispute led to some tedious litigation which was ultimately decided in favour of the monks. however, the claim of the bishop that he was entitled to receive the monks' ‘profession’ produced still more lawsuits. in 1288, at an ordination at westbury, an unseemly dispute arose between the precentor of worcester and john of evreux, the then archdeacon of gloucester (he was a favourite nephew of the bishop) as to who had the right to call over the names of the candidates and which led to the expulsion of the precentor from the chancel with the connivance of the bishop.