Henry Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (7 November 1708 – 17 August 1750) was a British landowner, peer and politician.

Origins

Rolle was the eldest son of John Rolle (1679–1730), Member of Parliament for

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

(who had declined the offer of an earldom by Queen Anne) by his wife Isabella Walter, daughter of

Sir William Walter, 2nd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

, of Saresden, Oxfordshire. His younger brother

John Rolle Walter John Rolle Walter (c. 1714 – 30 November 1779) (born John Rolle) was Tory MP for Exeter in 1754–1776 and for Devon in 1776–1779. He held the honorary position of Town Recorder of Great Torrington in 1739–1779, due to his family's l ...

assumed the surname of Walter on succeeding to the estates of his maternal uncle and also represented Devon in Parliament.Burke, John. ''Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire'', page 888. London: Henry Colburn, 1839.
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Career

Rolle succeeded his father as Member of Parliament for Devon on the latter's death in 1730, and held the seat until 1741. From 1741 to 1748 he represented

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

in Parliament. In 1748 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Rolle of

Stevenstone Stevenstone is a former Manorialism, manor within the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington, North Devon. It was the chief seat of the Rolle family, one of the most influential and wealthy of Devon families, from c. 1524 un ...

, in the County of Devon, and his vacated seat at Barnstaple was won by his first cousin Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet (c. 1715–1784), of

Tawstock Tawstock is a village, civil parish and former Manorialism, 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, Devon, Athe ...

, Devon.

Death and succession

Lord Rolle died unmarried in August 1750, aged 41, when the barony became extinct. His estates devolved on his youngest brother Denys III Rolle (1725–1797), the father of

John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (1750 – 3 April 1842) was a British politician and 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 ...

, in whose favour the barony was recreated in 1796.

Lands held

In 1731 Henry Rolle obtained the following inspeximus from King George II which effectively confirmed his title in part of his inheritance, namely various grants made by King Henry VIII to Sir Thomas Denys of Holcombe Burnell:Devon Record Office 48/22/2/1 25 February 1731 Contents: EAST BUDLEIGH; LITTLEHAM; LONDON (St. Peter-the-Less). Letters Patent. 4 George I

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''Inspeximus (at the request of Henry Rolle of Stevenstone), of a grant of Henry VIII (11 February. 31 Henry VIII), to Thomas Denys of Holcombe Burnell, Knt. for £1,127.3s.4d., of the Manors of Litlam alias Littleham, Exmouth, Littelham and
Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...
e belonging to the late Monastery of Shirbourne, Dorset, in as full manner as the last Abbot held the same; also the messuage formerly in the tenure of Katherine Lytton in the parish of St. Peter-the-Less, in the ward of Beynardes Castell in London; which messuage lately belonged to the late Monastery of Croxden, Staffs and is worth 26s.8d. per year. Also the
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
of Budlegh alias
East Budleigh East Budleigh is a small village in East Devon, England. The villages of Yettington, Colaton Raleigh, and Otterton lie to the west, north and east of East Budleigh, with the seaside town of Budleigh Salterton about two miles south. Until th ...
which came to the King's hands by the attainder of Henry Courteney, late Marquis of Exeter. To hold by the following yearly rent, viz; for the Manors of Litlam and Exmouth, £6. 3s. 10d. for the messuage in London, 2s. 8d., the hundred of East Budleigh to be held by the 20th part of a
Knight's fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. It would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish himself and h ...
without any rent''.

East Budleigh and Bicton had been inherited by the Rolles by marriage to the Denys heiress.

Sources

Matthews, Shirley, biography of Henry Rolle (1708-50) published in History of Parliament: House of Commons 1715-1754, ed. R. Sedgwick, 1970

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolle, Henry Rolle, 1st Baron 1708 births 1750 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George II

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Barnstaple British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Devon