John Rolle (1522–1570) 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 ...

, Devon, was the eldest son and heir of

George Rolle George Rolle (c. 1486 – 20 November 1552) of Stevenstone in the parish of St Giles in the Wood near Great Torrington in Devon, was the founder of the wealthy, influential and widespread Rolle family of Devon, which according to the Return of ...

(died 1552),Vivian, p.652, pedigree of Rolle MP, founder of the great Rolle family of Stevenstone, by his second wife Eleanor Dacres. Three monuments survive in memory of his immediate family in the churches of St Giles in the Wood and Chittlehampton.

Marriage and children

He married Margaret Ford, daughter of John Ford (died 1538) of Ashburton, the son and heir of William Ford of

Chagford Chagford is a market town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign and the A382, 4 miles (6 km) west of Moretonhampstead. The name is derived from ''chag'', meaning gorse or broom, and ...

. John Ford purchased the estate of

Bagtor Bagtor is an historic estate in the parish of Ilsington in Devon, England. It was the birthplace of John Ford (1586-c.1639) the playwright and poet. The Elizabethan mansion of the Ford family survives today at Bagtor as the service wing of a la ...

in the parish of

Ilsington Ilsington is a village and civil parish situated on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is one of the largest parishes in the county, and includes the villages of Ilsington, Haytor Vale, Liverton and South Knighton. The parish is s ...

, which his male heirs successively made their seat. Margaret's great nephew was

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

(1586-c.1639) the dramatist, who was baptised at Ilsington, and her great-great-nephew was Sir

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

(1617-1684), MP for Tiverton and Secretary of State for Ireland. By his wife he had eight sonsEight sons as shown and named on the monumental brass in St Giles's Church, of whom only seven (excluding Richard) were listed by Vivian, p.653 and two daughters: RolleSonsStGilesInTheWoodDevon

Sons

*Sir Henry Rolle (1545–1625) of Stevenstone, eldest son and heir, who married twice: **Firstly to Elizabeth Watts, daughter and heiress of Roger Watts of Somerset, from which marriage were descended his heir to Stevenstone, namely his grandson Denys Rolle (1614–1638), son of Sir Henry Rolle (d.1617) who predeceased his father.Vivian, p.653 **Secondly, without issue, to Joan Fortescue, daughter of John Fortescue of Fallapit in the parish of

East Allington East Allington is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, south of Halwell and just off the A381 road. It lies about from Kingsbridge and about from Totnes. The coast at Slapton Sands is about to the south ...

*Richard Rolle. *Valentine Rolle (1545-1624), of Torrington, died childless. *Alexander Rolle, who married Frances Lippingcott, daughter of John Lippingcott of Webbery.

Alverdiscott Alverdiscott (pronounced ''Alscott'', or ) is a village, civil parish, former manor and former ecclesiastical parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, centred south-south-west of Barnstaple. Demography A rural population – hav ...

*George Rolle who died childless. *Joachim Rolle who died childless in 1638. He married Mary Venner (1579-1651), a daughter of William Venner of

Hudscott Hudscott is a historic estate within the parish and former manor of Chittlehampton, Devon. From 1700 it became a seat of a junior branch of the influential Rolle family of Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe and in 1779 became a secondary seat o ...

Chittlehampton Chittlehampton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Swimbridge, Filleigh, South Molton, Satterleigh and Warkleigh, High Bickington, ...

. A mural monument to Joachim survives in

Church. *Robert Rolle (1559-1628) *John Rolle (born 1563), who in 1603 married Phillipa Halse (d.1655), daughter of Richard Halse of Kenedon. Their eldest son Henry Rolle (1605-1647) of

Beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

eventually succeeded to the vast Stevenstone estates of his cousin Denys Rolle (1614–1638) RolleDaughters StGilesInTheWood

Daughters

*Margerie Rolle, wife of Richard Baker. *Honor Rolle, named after

Honor Grenville, Viscountess Lisle Honor Grenville, Viscountess Lisle (c. 1493–1495Byrne, vol.1, p. 305, Honor's birthyear was estimated at 1493–95 – 1566) was a Cornish lady whose domestic life from 1533 to 1540 during the reign of King Henry VIII is exceptional ...

(c.1493–1566), who with her husband

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 app ...

was an important client of John Rolle's father, the lawyer and patriarch of the Rolle family

(d.1552). In 1569 she married Thomas Pomeroy (1543-1615) of "Bingley",Beenleigh Manor, Harberton Ford, Harberton, Totnes, per ww.geocities.ws/pomerytwig/beenleigh.html/ref> son and heir of Sir Thomas Pomeroy (1503-1566)Vivian, p.607, pedigree of Pomeroy

feudal baron of Berry Pomeroy The Feudal Barony of Berry Pomeroy was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire, England, which existed during the mediaeval era. It had its ''caput'' at the manor of Berry Pomeroy, 20 miles south of the City of Exeter and 2 miles east of the ...

in Devon, who in 1547 had sold his ancient inheritance of

Berry Pomeroy Castle Berry Pomeroy Castle, a Tudor mansion within the walls of an earlier castle, is near the village of Berry Pomeroy, in South Devon, England. It was built in the late 15th century by the Pomeroy family which had held the land since the 11th centur ...

and the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Berry Pomeroy to

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...

Monumental brasses in St Giles in the Wood Church

A 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 ...

to John Rolle survives in the floor of the south aisle of St Giles in the Wood parish church, beneath the separate brass figure of his wife Margaret Ford, but formerly affixed to his two and a half foot high chest tomb situated in the chancel of the 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 shows the arms of Rolle impaling Ford. The monumental brass of his wife Margaret is affixed to the wall. To the left is a brass plaque depicting her two daughters (see above) and to the left a plaque showing her eight sons (see above).

References

Sources

*Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, pedigree of Rolle, pp. 652–653. *Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, pp. 67–68, Rolle Family. {{DEFAULTSORT:John Rolle (1522-1570) Rolle family