Coat of arms of Sir Robert Rochester, KG

Sir Robert Rochester KG (ca. 1494 – 28 November 1557) was an English Catholic and

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

and a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in the reign of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

Family

Rochester's family were 'minor Essex gentry' associated with the Earls of Oxford. According to Ross, Robert Rochester, esquire, was Comptroller of the Household to

John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (8 September 1442 – 10 March 1513), the second son of John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, and Elizabeth Howard, a first cousin of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (2nd creation), was one of the principal ...

, at a fee of £10 per year, from about 1495 until his death in 1508. Robert Rochester was born at

Terling Terling (pronounced Tar-ling) is a village and civil parish in the county of Essex, England, between Braintree to the north, Chelmsford to the south-west and Witham to the east. History A settlement at Terling dates back to Roman times. Accor ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, the third son of John Rochester and Grisold Writtle, daughter of Walter Writtle of

Bobbingworth Bobbingworth is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The village is situated approximately north-west from Chipping Ongar, west from the county town of Chelmsford, and lies off the A414 road. Bobbingwort ...

. Grisold Writtle's sister, Eleanor, married James Walsingham, and was the mother of

Edmund Walsingham Sir Edmund Walsingham (c. 1480 – 10 February 1550) of Scadbury Park, Scadbury Hall, Chislehurst in Kent, was a soldier, Member of Parliament, and Lieutenant of the Tower of London during the reign of Henry VIII of England, King Henry ...

Lieutenant of the Tower of London The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like the ...

. Rochester's younger brother, Blessed John Rochester, was a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

priest and martyr who was executed in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in May 1537, and beatified in 1888.

Career

According to Hughes, by 1542 Rochester had been appointed receiver to

John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford (1516 – 3 August 1562) was born to John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford and Elizabeth Trussell, daughter of Edward Trussell. He was styled Lord Bolebec 1526 to 1540 before he succeeded to his father's title. ...

, and was also appointed bailiff of the Earl's manor of

Lavenham Lavenham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is noted for its Guildhall, Little Hall, 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walks. In the medie ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. By 1551, Rochester had been appointed

to Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's elder daughter by

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

. In that year, the

ordered Rochester to stop any priest from saying mass in the Princess's household; Rochester refused, and was imprisoned in the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

(according to the National ArchivesThe Oxfordian
/ref> he was imprisoned in the Fleet), and replaced as Comptroller by Sir Anthony Wingfield. The next year, he was released to retire due to his health. He was soon allowed to resume his post as Comptroller. When the Princess assumed the throne as Mary I, she rewarded Rochester for his faithful service, making him

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

and appointing him to the inner circle of the

. He served 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

from 1553 to 1555.

Death

Rochester died, ummarried, on 28 November 1557. William Rochester, Sir Robert's older brother received a third of his lands. Robert Rochester was buried on 4 December at the Charterhouse at

Sheen Sheen may refer to: Places * Sheen or West Sheen, an alternative name for Richmond, London, England ** East Sheen ** North Sheen ** Sheen Priory * Sheen, Staffordshire, a village and civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands, England * Sheenb ...

, the house reconstituted by the remnant of the English Carthusians under Dom

Maurice Chauncy Dom Maurice Chauncy (c. 1509–1581) was an English Catholic priest and Carthusian monk. Life He was born at an uncertain date, the eldest son of John Chauncy, esq., of Ardeley, Hertfordshire, by his first wife, Elizabeth, widow of Richard Manfiel ...

. He was succeeded in his post as Chancellor of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...

by his nephew, Sir Edward Waldegrave (died 1 September 1561), son of John Waldegrave (died 1543) and Rochester's sister Lora (died c. 1545).

Notes

References

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External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Rochester, Robert 1490s births 1557 deaths People from Terling Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Garter Knights appointed by Mary I 15th-century English people 15th-century Roman Catholics 16th-century Roman Catholics English Roman Catholics English MPs 1553 (Mary I) English MPs 1554 English MPs 1554–1555 English MPs 1555