George Rolle (c. 1486 – 20 November 1552) of

Stevenstone Stevenstone is a former manor within the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same r ...

in the parish of

St Giles in the Wood St Giles in the Wood is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England. The village lies about 2.5 miles east of the town of Great Torrington, and the parish, which had a population of 566 in 2001 compared with 623 in 1901 ...

near

Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a market town in Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to ...

in Devon, was the founder of the wealthy, influential and widespread Rolle family of Devon, which according to the

Return of Owners of Land, 1873 The two-volume ''Return of Owners of Land, 1873'' is the first complete picture of the distribution of land in Great Britain since the 1086 Domesday Book. The ''1873 Return'' is sometimes called the "Modern Domesday". It arose from the desire o ...

in the person of Hon.

Mark Rolle Hon. Mark George Kerr Rolle (1835–1907; Mark George Kerr Trefusis), of Stevenstone, St Giles in the Wood, Devon, was High Sheriff of Devon in 1864, a DL of Devon and High Steward of Barnstaple. Due to an inheritance from his uncle by ...

(died 1907), the adoptive heir of

John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (1750 – 3 April 1842) was a British peer who served as a Member of Parliament in general support of William Pitt the Younger and was later an active member of the House of Lords. His violent attacks on Edmu ...

(died 1842), had become by that year the largest landowner in Devon with about 55,000 acres. He was a Dorset-born London lawyer who in 1507 became Keeper of the Records of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

and was elected as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

in 1542 and 1545. He became the steward of

Dunkeswell Abbey Dunkeswell is a village and civil parish in East Devon, England, located about north of the town of Honiton. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,553, reducing to 1,361 at the 2011 Census. There is an electoral ward with the ...

in Devon, and following the Dissolution of the Monasteries he purchased much ex-monastic land in Devon. Not only was he the founder of his own great Devonshire landowning dynasty but he was also an ancestor of others almost as great, including the

Acland baronets There have been four baronetcies created for members of the Acland family, which originated in the 12th century at the estate of Acland in the parish of Landkey, North Devon, two in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the ...

Killerton Killerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public. The National Trust displays the house as a comfortab ...

, the

Wrey Baronets The Wrey Baronetcy, of Trebitch (modern: Trebeigh Manor, St Ive, 4 miles NE of Liskeard) in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 30 June 1628 for William Wrey (d.1636), 2nd son of John Wrey (die ...

Tawstock Tawstock is a village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon in the English county of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Barnstaple, Bishop's Tawton, Atherington, Yarnscombe, Horwood, ...

and the Trefusis family of Trefusis in Cornwall now of

Heanton Satchville, Huish Heanton Satchville is an estate in the parish of Huish in Devon. It took its name from the nearby former ancient estate of Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe. It is the seat of Baron Clinton who owns the largest private estate in Devon, known as ...

, later

Baron Clinton Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. Created in 1298 for Sir John de Clinton, it is the seventh-oldest barony in England. Creation and early history The title was granted in 1298 to Sir John de Clinton, a knight who had served ...

, heirs both of Rolle of

Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe Heanton Satchville was a historic manor in the parish of Petrockstowe, North Devon, England. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then owned succ ...

and of Rolle of Stevenstone.

Origins

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 Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

in Dorset and whose uncle was William Rolle, parson of

Witchampton Witchampton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in East Dorset, England, situated on the River Allen, Dorset, River Allen north of Wimborne Minster. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census recorded a population of 398. W ...

in Dorset. Both George Rolle and William Rolle were joint-remaindermen in the will of Thomas Rolle (died 1525).

Career

The place of his education and legal training is unknown, but by 1507 he had become Keeper of the Records of the Court of Common Pleas, of which office in 1523 by means of a private

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

which mentioned his "long, good and perfect knowledge and experience" he acquired a life tenure. His patron during his early legal career appears to have been Sir

Robert Brudenell Robert Brudenell (20 September 1726 – 20 October 1768) was a British army officer and Member of Parliament. Brudenell was the third son of the 3rd Earl of Cardigan and Elizabeth Bruce and a younger brother of the 1st Duke of Montagu a ...

(1461–1531), Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1521. In 1545 he became a JP for Devon and the bailiff of the Hundred of Stratton in Cornwall, part of the

Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...

Work for Viscount Lisle

He gained many prominent private clients including

Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG (died 3 March 1542) was an illegitimate son of the English king Edward IV, half-brother-in-law of Henry VII, and an uncle of Henry VIII, at whose court he was a prominent figure and by whom he was appoi ...

(died 1542) whom he served until the latter's death, and whose wife Honor Grenville was from North Devon and whose Devonshire home was at

Umberleigh Umberleigh is a former large manor within the historic hundred of (North) Tawton, but today a small village in North Devon in England. It used to be an ecclesiastical parish, but following the building of the church at Atherington it becam ...

(the seat of her first husband Sir John Basset (1462–1529)) not far from Stevenstone. He recruited to Lisle's assistance, especially in his purchase of Frithelstock Priory, Richard Pollard (died 1542), General Surveyor of the

Court of Augmentations Thomas Cromwell established the Court of Augmentations, also called Augmentation Court or simply The Augmentation in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII of England. It operated alongside three lesser courts (those of General Surveyors (1540 ...

, his fellow North Devonian lawyer and speculator in monastic lands. He wrote from London to Lady Lisle on 22 December 1536:

"I have sued with your...servant Husee, who right diligently doth apply your business here, to the Chancellor of Augmentations with whom I have often been about the same, and have at this day appointed you the best and most profitable lands belonging to the said late priory, with much pain and suit, wherein we have found Mr Chancellor of Augmentations and Mr Onley both good, which have both deserved your thanks".

He had just received his wish from the Lisles of being appointed their surveyor and receiver of the lands of Frithelstock Priory, which required him to collect rent money from all the tenants on their behalves. The Rolle family's voracious appetite and great skill for amassing Devon property later saw Frithelstock Priory become one of their own estates. He was much involved in the legal affairs of Lisle's wife's dower manor of

and in the protracted legal struggle to obtain the Beaumont inheritance due to her eldest son John Basset (1518–1541), by her first husband John Basset (1462–1528) of Umberleigh. His letter to Lady Lisle dated 25 July 1534 includes the line "Madame, also your ladyship doth know that I bought your images and scripture for Mr Basset and for that I am now paid", which refers to the still surviving monumental brasses on the tomb of her first husband in Atherington Church. Thirteen of Rolle's autograph letters survive in the

Lisle Letters The Lisle Papers are the correspondence received in Calais between 1533 and 1540 by Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (c.1480-1542), Lord Deputy of Calais, an illegitimate son of King Edward IV and an uncle of King Henry VIII, and by his wif ...

, some written from London and a few signed "from my poor house of Stevenstone". Two of Rolle's granddaughters were named Honor, apparently after Lady LisleByrne, vol.2, p.212; Vivian, pp.653,656 and his second son George Rolle married the daughter of Lady Lisle's step-daughter Margery Marrys, (née Basset).

Surviving correspondence

Thirteen letters written by George Rolle survive in the

of which the following to Lady Lisle dated 28 February 1539 is an example, mainly dealing with the disputed Beaumont-Basset inheritance: :"Right honourable and my singular good lady, my duty remembered, I have me humbly recommended unto your good ladyship and to my good Lord Lyle advertising your ladyship that I received your ladyship's letter by which ye willed me to speak with my Lady Coffyn for her title in East Haggynton in the county of Devon who had one estate in tail to him and to his heirs of her body begotten; and now he is dead without issue of his body so that the reversion should revert to Mr John Basset and to his heirs so there be no let nor discontinuance of the same made by Sir William Coffyn in his life. Howbeit Mr Richard Coffyn, next heir to Sir William Coffyn, claimeth the same by his uncle's feoffment to him and to his heirs so that the law will put Mr John Basset from his entry and to compel him to take his action of ''form down'' which is much dilatory as Mr Basset knoweth albeit I intend to sue unto one writ of ''

diem clausit extremum Diem may refer to: Latin phrases *, a Latin phrase meaning "seize the day" *, meaning "per day" *, a legal term meaning "from day to day" People *Diem Brown (1980–2014), American television personality and journalist *Carl Diem (1882–1962), o ...

'' after the death of the said Sir William and so to find Mr Basset's title if we may come and attain any evidence, when we come home, of John Davy, to enforce the same which will cost v marks at least. But the best way when Mr Harys and I meet shall be taken. My Lady Coffyn is in Leicestershire so that I could not speak with her in this matter. And if my lord or your ladyship will command me any service into the country I (God willing) intend to ride the viii th day of March next coming and shall be glad to accomplish the same to the utterest of my power as knoweth our Lord who preserve you both in honour long to endure. Ffrom London the last day of Ffebruary, by your assuryd servant George Rolle".

Lands and assets acquired

The following lands in Devon were amongst those acquired by George Rolle: *

in the parish of

near the town of

in Devon, which he made his principal seat, and which long remained that of his descendants. Rolle's contemporary the antiquarian John Leland (died 1552) noted at this place his "fair brick building", uncommon at the time in Devon. Rolle's work in the

brought him into contact with Sir

Lewis Pollard Sir Lewis Pollard (c. 1465 – 21 October 1526) of Grilstone in the parish of Bishop's Nympton, Devon, was Justice of the Common Pleas from 1514 to 1526 and served as MP for Totnes in 1491 and was a JP in Devon in 1492. He was knighted a ...

(c. 1465 – 1526),

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

of the

manor of King's Nympton The Manor of King's Nympton was a manor largely co-terminous with the parish of King's Nympton in Devon, England. Descent of the manor At the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, the whole manor of ''Nimetone'', in the hundred of Witheridge, belo ...

in Devon, a

Justice of the Common Pleas Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court of common law within England and Wales, dealing with "common" pleas ...

from 1514 to 1526 and

for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

in 1491. The Pollard family were first established in Devon before the 13th century at the manor of

Way Way may refer to: Paths * a road, route, path or pathway, including long-distance paths. * a straight rail or track on a machine tool, (such as that on the bed of a lathe) on which part of the machine slides * Ways, large slipway in shipbuildin ...

in the parish of

, where Sir Lewis Pollard's father had been born and where his senior first cousin still lived. It was Pollard's eldest son, Sir Hugh Pollard (fl.1535,1545), of King's Nympton,

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1535/6, who in his capacity as

Recorder of Barnstaple The Recorder of Barnstaple was a recorder, a form of senior judicial officer, usually an experienced barrister, within the jurisdiction of the Borough of Barnstaple in Devon. He was usually a member of the local North Devonshire gentry. The po ...

in 1545, nominated Rolle to one of the parliamentary seats of the Borough of Barnstaple.

eventually at the start of the 20th century became the ''

caput Latin words and phrases {{Short pages monitor he purchased lands in south Devon worth £720, including the manor of Townstall, later the seat of Adams. *

Pilton Priory The Church of St Mary the Virgin in Pilton is the 13th-century Anglican parish church for the Pilton suburb of Barnstaple in Devon. It has been a Grade I listed building since 1951 and comes under the Diocese of Exeter. History and exterior T ...

, near

, of which he acquired a large part after the Dissolution. On 6 August 1544 in partnership with the

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

lawyer George Haydon (c. 1517 – 1558), co-MP with Rolle for Barnstaple in 1545, he acquired the Priory's agricultural estates in the parishes of Parracombe, Ilfracombe, Ashford, Pilton, Marwood, North Molton, Goodleigh and Okeford, amounting in total annual value to £9 6s 9d and 26 capons. On 28 September 1545 in partnership with Nicholas Adams (died 1557/84) he acquired properties formerly leased from the Crown by

Richard Duke Richard Duke (13 June 1658 – 11 February 1711) was an English clergyman and poet, associated with the Tory writers of the Restoration era. Life He was born in London, son of Richard Duke, and was admitted to Westminster School in 1670. He wa ...

(died 1572), the first post-Dissolution holder, comprising several small tenements, cottages and plots of land of Pilton Priory, to a total annual value of £16 6s 0d. He disposed of parts immediately in 1545, at much inflated prices, including Littabourne, mostly to the occupying tenants. Adams was one of the Commissioners for the suppression of the chantries in Devon and Cornwall established in 1546 and Haydon was a member of the same body re-founded in 1548. *Wardship in 1526 of the minor Hugh Culme (died 1545) of Molland-Champson *Wardship of Margaret Marrys, daughter and sole heiress of WilliamIncorrectly called "Edmund" Marrys in the will of George Rolle, called William Marrys Marrys of "Marrys", i.e. Marhayes Manor,

Week St Mary Week St Mary ( kw, Gwig Sen Maria) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south of Bude close to the River Tamar and the border between Cornwall and Devon in the Hun ...

, Cornwall, whose marriage he bequeathed in his will to his son George Rolle. *Properties in Borough of Barnstaple. *Buckfast Place (''alias'' the "Abbot's Lodge"), Cathedral Close, in the parish of St Martin, Exeter. His

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

, where he died, comprising "messuage, garden and curtilage". It was

held Held may refer to: Places * Held Glacier People Arts and media * Adolph Held (1885–1969), U.S. newspaper editor, banker, labor activist *Al Held (1928–2005), U.S. abstract expressionist painter. *Alexander Held (born 1958), German television ...

from the crown in

burgage Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement ...

, worth 30 shillings. This house, later known as the "Abbot's Lodge", was destroyed in 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bombing. It had been the townhouse of the Abbot of

Buckfast Abbey Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Savignac (later Cistercian) abbey cons ...

, which Abbey and much of its lands, apparently excluding the Abbot's Lodge, had been acquired following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Sir

Thomas Denys Sir Thomas Denys ( – 18 February 1561) of Holcombe Burnell, near Exeter, Devon, was a prominent lawyer who served as Sheriff of Devon nine times between 1507/8 to 1553/4 and as MP for Devon. He acquired large estates in Devon at the Dissolut ...

(c. 1477 – 1561) of

Holcombe Burnell Holcombe Burnell is a civil parish in Devon, England, the church of which is about 4 miles west of Exeter City centre. There is no village clustered around the church, rather the nearest village within the parish is Longdown. Only the manor hou ...

, whose eventual heir was the Rolle family. In 1545 following the Dissolution of the Monasteries George Rolle had acquired "Buckfast House", later known as the Abbot's Lodge, where he died in 1552. The house remained the Rolle

until its sale in 1737. Sir Henry Rolle (1545–1625) of Stevenstone made alterations to the Abbot's Lodge and added decorative heraldic plaster escutcheons dated 1602, one of which showed Rolle impaling Watts of six quarters the other Rolle impaling Fortescue, for his first and second wives respectively. In 1669 Sir John Rolle (1626–1706) entertained the Grand Duke of Tuscany at the Abbot's Lodge.

Marriages

George Rolle married three times: *Elizabeth Ashton, of unknown origin, who died before 1522. *Eleanor Dacres, second daughter of Henry Dacres,

Merchant Taylor In the Middle Ages or 16th and 17th centuries, a cloth merchant was one who owned or ran a cloth (often wool) manufacturing or wholesale import or export business. A cloth merchant might additionally own a number of draper's shops. Cloth was ext ...

and Alderman of London, whom he married sometime before 1522, and by whom he had six sons and five daughters. Eleanor's sister Anne Dacres was the wife of Sir John Pakington (died 1551), MP, of

Hampton Lovett Hampton Lovett is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of the county of Worcestershire, England. It is just north of Droitwich. The church of St. Mary and All Saints is noted for its Norman features. English Heritage lists the c ...

, Worcestershire, and her other sister Alice Dacres was the wife of Robert Cheseman (died 1547), MP for Middlesex. Henry Dacres' monumental brass exists in St Dunstan's Church in the West, City of London, showing two brass kneeling figures, male and female, with labels protruding from their mouths. Beneath them is the following inscription: "Here lyeth buryed the body of Henry Dacres, Cetezen and Marchant Taylor and sumtyme Alderman of London, and Elizabeth his wyffe, the whych Henry decessed the ? day of ? the yere of our Lord God ? and the said Elizabeth decessed the xxiii day of Apryll the yere of our Lord God Mdc and xxx." *Margery, of unknown family, whom he married before 23 June 1551 as her third husband, the widow of Henry Brinklow and Stephen Vaughan, both of London. She remarried to

Sir Leonard Chamberlain Sir Leonard Chamberlain or Chamberlayne (died 1561) was an English soldier and politician, the Governor of Guernsey from 1553. Life The son of Sir Edward Chamberlayne of Shirburn Castle, Oxfordshire, by Cicely, daughter of Sir John Verney, he w ...

(died 1561), MP for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

in 1554.

Children

ElizabethRolle AclandMonument Broadclyst

By his second wife Eleanor Dacres, George Rolle had children including the following: * John Rolle (1522–1570) of Stevenstone, eldest son, who married Margaret Ford, daughter of John Ford of Ashburton. His small

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...

survives now affixed by modern screws into the floor of the south aisle of St Giles in the Wood parish Church, beneath the separate brass figure of his wife, but formerly affixed to his two and a half foot high chest tomb situated in the chancel of that church as recorded by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

in his 1710 work "Worthies of Devon". It is inscribed in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

thus: ''"Hic jacet Joh(ann)es Rolle, Ar(miger), quonda(m) domin(u)s de Stevinstone qui obiit 12.o (duodecimo) die Augusti Anno D(omi)ni 1570"'' ("Here lies John Rolle, Esquire, sometime lord of Stevenstone who died on the 12th day of August in the year of Our Lord 1570"). The arms show Rolle

impaling Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...

''Party per fesse argent (or azure) and sable, in chief a greyhound current in base an owl within a bordure engrailed all counter-changed"'' (Ford) *George Rolle (died 1573), married Margaret Marrys, daughter and sole heir of William Marrys of "Marrys", i.e. Marhayes Manor,

, Cornwall. The wardship of Margaret Marrys had been acquired by George Rolle who in his will left her wardship to his son George, who therefore chose to marry her himself. Margaret Marrys' mother was Margery (or Mary) Basset, a daughter of Sir John Basset (1462–1528) by his first wife Elizabeth Denys, and was thus Lady Lisle's step-daughter. The manor of Marrys was adjacent to the Basset manor of Femarshall, part of which Margery had as her dower. George Rolle named one of his daughters Honor, apparently after Lady Lisle, as his elder brother John Rolle had done for one of his daughters also. *Henry Rolle, who married Margaret Yeo, daughter and sole heiress of Robert Yeo of

by his wife Mary Fortescue, daughter of Bartholomew Fortescue of

Filleigh Filleigh is a small village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon, on the southern edge of Exmoor, west of South Molton. The village centre's street was, until the 1980s opening of the North Devon Link Road, the main highway between ...

. *Jacquetta Rolle, who married Richard Gilbert.Vivian, p.652 She received a grant of her late father's goods after the death of her brother George in 1573. *Elizabeth Rolle, who married twice: firstly to Robert Mallet, of Woolleigh near Great Torrington. Her daughter and the eventual heiress of Woolleigh was Eleanor Mallet (1573–1645), the mother of

Sir John Acland, 1st Baronet Sir John Acland, 1st Baronet (c. 1591 – 24 August 1647) of Acland in the parish of Landkey and of Columb John in Devon, England, was a Royalist commander in the Civil War, during the early part of which he maintained a garrison for the king ...

(1591–1647) of

Acland, Landkey The estate of Acland (''alias'' Accelana,Risdon, p.325 Akeland etc.) in the parish of Landkey, near Barnstaple in North Devon, England, was from 1155 the earliest known seat of the influential and wealthy family of Acland, to which it gave th ...

and of

Columb John Columb John (today "Columbjohn") in the parish of Broadclyst in Devon, England, is a historic estate that was briefly the seat of the prominent Acland family which later moved to the adjacent estate of Killerton. Nothing of the structure of the ...

, which family (later of

) went on to become one of the greatest landowning dynasties in Devon and the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, almost equalling the Rolles. Secondly, as his first wife, she married Sir John Acland (died 1620) of

Broadclyst Broadclyst is a village and civil parish in the East Devon local government district. It lies approximately 5 miles northeast of the city of Exeter, Devon, England, on the B3181. In 2001 its population was 2,830, reducing at the 2011 Census to 1 ...

, Devon, whose great nephew and heir was

(1591–1647). A small kneeling figure representing Elizabeth Rolle survives on the monument with effigy to her 2nd husband in St John's Church, Broadclyst. *Maria Rolle, died childless. She married James Dalton (died 1601), MP. *Maurice Rolle, who married Margaret Brier. They were the patrilineal great-great grandpartents of Edward Rolle.

Death and burial

He died at his Exeter townhouse Buckfast Place, in the parish of St Martin,Death at Buckfast Place from his

inquisition post mortem An Inquisition post mortem (abbreviated to Inq.p.m. or i.p.m., and formerly known as an escheat) (Latin, meaning "(inquisition) after death") is an English medieval or early modern record of the death, estate and heir of one of the king's tenants-in ...

quote in Byrne, vol.1, Appendix 25, p.414 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.

Will

Collins Peerage of England quotes from his will as follows:

''"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".''

Notes

References

External links

Will of George Rolle of Stevenstone, Devon, proved 9 February 1553, National Archives
Retrieved 5 May 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolle, George

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

English MPs 1542–1544 English MPs 1545–1547 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Barnstaple People from Great Torrington 1480s births 1552 deaths