George Rolle MP (abt. 1486 - 1552)

Born about 1486 in Stevenstone, Devon, England

Descendants

Died 20 Nov 1552 at about age 66 in Stevenstone, Devon, England

Biography

George Rolle (c. 1486 – 1552) of Stevenstone was the founder of the wealthy, influential and widespread Rolle family of Devon, which by 1873 in the person of Hon. Mark Rolle (died 1907), the adoptive heir of John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (died 1842), had become the largest landowner in Devon with about 55,000 acres.[nb 1] He was a Dorset-born London lawyer who became in 1507 Keeper of the Records of the Court of Common Pleas and sat as MP for Barnstaple in 1542 and 1545.[1] He became the steward of Dunkeswell Abbey in Devon, and following the Dissolution of the Monasteries he purchased much ex-monastic land in Devon.

George Rolle's place of birth is unknown, but he is known to have been related to Thomas Rolle (died 1525) who had been born at Wimborne Minster in Dorset and whose uncle was William Rolle, parson of Witchampton in Dorset.[nb 2][2] [nb 3] Both George Rolle and William Rolle were joint-remaindermen in the will of Thomas Rolle (died 1525).[1] He died at his Exeter townhouse Buckfast Place, in the parish of St Martin,[49] on 20 November 1552, nine days after having signed his will dated 11 November 1552. He requested to be buried "in such place as he should die at", which remains unknown.[1]

George married, first, Elizabeth Ashton; second, before 1522, Eleanor Dacre, second daughter of Henry Dacres of London, with whom he had 6 sons and 5 daughters; third, before 1551, Margery, widow of Henry Brinklow of London and Stephen Vaughan (died 1549) of London^[1].

His issue with Eleanor Dacres included: John, George, Christopher, Henry, Robert, Morris, Christian (who married Richard Weeks and then James Courtney), Jacquette, Elizabeth and Mary. Mary did not marry. ^[2]

Will

"He therein bequeaths his soul to the Holy Trinity, and all the holy company of saints, and his body to be buried in such place, where he shall depart this miserable life, in such manner as shall please Margery his wife, whom he makes his sole executrix. He bequeaths to Jackit Rolle, Besse Rolle, and Mary Rolle, his daughters, 600 marks each, to be received and paid by his trusty servants and friends, John Wychalf, Geffery Tuthyll, Richard Staveley, and John Thore, or any two of them, out of all his manors, lands, etc. in the counties of Devon, Somerset and Cornwall, accounting to his wife once in the year whilst she lives, within one month after the feast of St. Michael. He grants and bequeaths to George, his son, the wardship and marriage of Margaret Marrys, daughter and sole heir to Edmund Marrys, of the parish of St Mary Wyke in the county of Cornwall, in as ample manner as he had of the gift and grant of the said Edmund Marrys, paying yearly to the said Edmund £ ? during his life. The residue of his goods, etc., he bequeaths to Margery his wife, his sole executrix. He bequeaths to his daughter, (?)Mary Rolle, two tenements in Wandsworth, with the appurtenances; and if she die unmarried, then to his daughter, Elizabeth Rolle, and her heirs. He also bequeathed to his daughter Mary, a basin and ewer, engraved with her mother's arms; and if she died unmarried, then to his daughter, Elizabeth Rolle. And whereas his late brother-in-law, Sir John Pakington, by the name of John Pakington, of Hampton-Lovet in the county of Worcester, Esq. by writing obligatory, dated February 15th, in 28 Hen. VIII. became bounden to him, the said George Rolle, and to Harry Dacres, merchant of London, and others, now deceased, on condition that the said Sir John Pakington, cause to be made 'to Edmund Knightley, serjeant at law, the said George Rolle, and others, a sufficient estate of, and in manors, lands, &c. in the shires of Worcester, Hereford, Stafford, Salop, and Middlesex, or any of them, to the clear yearly value of 120/. over and above all charges, &c. whereof the manor of Chadsley Corbet, with the appurtenances, in Worcestershire, should be parcel; to hold to the said John Pakington, and Anne, for term of the life of the said Anne, and to the heir male of the body of the said Sir John Pakington. His will is, that William Sheldon, of the county of Worcester, Esq. and John Prydyaux, Gent, shall be his executors for the said writing, and be governed in all and every suit, for the recovery of the debt contained in the said obligation, by his dear and well-beloved sister-in law, dame Anne Pakington, widow, for whose security the said obligation was made".^[3]

Research Notes

A View of Devonshire in MDCXXX: With a Pedigree of Most of Its Gentry By Thomas Westcote, page 593 names the sons as " John, George, Christopher, Henry, Robert, Morris, "

Sources

1. ↑ History of Parliament: ROLLE, George (by 1486-1552), of Stevenstone, Devon and London
2. ↑ A View of Devonshire in MDCXXX: With a Pedigree of Most of Its Gentry By Thomas Westcote, page 593
3. ↑ Will: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
   The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 36
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 5111 #941504 (accessed 12 November 2022)
   Will of Georgij Rolle, granted probate on 9 Feb 1552. Died about 1552 in Stebynston, Devon, England.

• Wikipedia: George Rolle
• Will of George Rolle (d. 1552) of London and Stevestone, Devonshire: TNA PROB 11/36, f. 20.
• oxford-shakespeare.com (Nina Green)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rolle
• http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/rolle-george-1486-1552
• The visitation of the county of Devon in the year 1564 : with additions ...Page 184: Rolle