John Rolle (died 1706)

Arms of Rolle: Or, on a fesse dancetté between three billets azure each charged with a lion rampant of the first three bezants

Sir John Rolle (1626 - April 1706), KB, of Stevenstone, Devon, was an English landowner, Sheriff of Devon in 1682 ^[1] and MP for Barnstaple (1660) and for Devon (1661-1679)

Origins

John Rolle was baptised at Week St Mary, Cornwall, on 23 September 1626.^[2] He was the son of Andrew Rolle (d.1628) of Marhayes (anciently Marrays, Marrais, Marrys etc.) in the parish of Week St Mary in Cornwall, six miles south of Bude, by his wife Grace Roberts.^[2] His grandfather was George II Rolle (d.1573), the second son of the patriarch George Rolle (d.1552), of Stevenstone, the founder of the Rolle families of Devon and Cornwall. George II Rolle had been left by his father's will the wardship and marriage, which he had purchased from her father, of Margaret Marhayes (or Marrays etc.), the daughter and sole heir of Edmund Marrys of "Marrys", i.e. Marhayes Manor, Week St Mary, Cornwall. The summarised text of his will concerning this bequest is as follows: 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.^[3] George II duly married his inherited ward and thereby founded the cadet line of Rolle of Marhayes, which eventually itself became the senior line on the inheritance of Stevenstone and Bicton by Sir John Rolle (d.1706), KB, the subject of the present article.

Inheritance

In 1647 he inherited in tail-male the Devon manors of Stevenstone in the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington (23 miles east of Week St Mary) and Bicton, amongst many others, following the death of his second cousin Henry Rolle (1605-1647) of Beam, near Great Torrington, the last male descendent of John's great uncle John Rolle of Stevenstone (d.1570), eldest son of the patriarch George Rolle (d.1552), the founder of the Devon and Cornwall families.^[4] This inheritance made him possibly the largest landowner in Devon, a position certainly held in 1873 by his ultimate adoptive heir Hon. Mark Rolle (d.1907), of Stevenstone, as revealed by the Return of Owners of Land survey.

Career

In 1660 Rolle was elected Member of Parliament for Barnstaple in the Convention Parliament.^[5] He was created a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Charles II. In 1661 he was elected MP for Devon for the Cavalier Parliament and held the seat until 1679.^[5] He was High Sheriff of Devon in 1682.^[1]

Marriage

In 1648 he married Florence Rolle (1631-1705), whose mural monument exists in Tawstock Church, the only surviving child of Denys I Rolle (1614–38) of Stevenstone, by his wife Margaret Paulet, daughter of John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester (c.1598-1675). The heir-male of Denys Rolle had been his cousin Henry Rolle of Beam (d.1647) who had married Mary Stevens, daughter of Mr Stevens of Vielstone in the parish of Buckland Brewer, the lordship of which latter manor belonged to the Rolles of Stevenstone. Henry Rolle had died without issue, his heir thus having become John Rolle (d.1706) the subject of the present article. The Rolle family inter-married further with the Stevens family, which were later of Winscott House in the parish of Peters Marland, Devon, and a Stevens was briefly heir apparent to the vast estates of John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (d.1842), the last of the Rolles.

Mural monument to wife

Mural monument to Florence Rolle (d.1705), daughter and sole heiress of Denys Rolle (1614-1638) of Stevenstone and wife of Sir John Rolle (d.1706) of Marhayes. Tawstock Church, Devon

A mural monument exists in St Peter's Church, Tawstock (by Thomas Jewell of Barnstaple^[6]) to Florence Rolle (d.1705), daughter and sole heiress of Denys Rolle (1614-1638) of Stevenstone and wife of Sir John Rolle (d.1706) of Marhayes. It was erected by her daughter Margaret Rolle,^[7] a spinster who had apparently moved to Tawstock Court, the home of her sister Florence Rolle (Lady Wrey), the widow of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet (d.1696). The inscription is as follows:

"In memory of The Lady Rolle wife of Sr. John Rolle, Knight of ye Bath, ye purity of whose mind, w(hi)ch appeared in all ye dutys of a virtuous life, made her ye best of wives, mothers & friends. Her love was like her piety, constant & unfeigned to her last moment. She dyed Aug(u)st ye 10th 1705.
Rest pious dust thy God has heard thy prayers,
Calm'd all thy sorrows & wip'd off thy tears,
Thy soul doth now behold his face divine,
And with ye heavenly host in confort joyn,
Pitys ye senseless folly of mankind,
While she enjoys an endless peace of mind.
This monument was erected by her daught(e)r M(ist)r(es)s Margaret Rolle".

On top of the monument is an heraldic cartouche showing the arms of Sir John Rolle, namely Rolle of Marhayes with an inescutcheon of pretence of Rolle of Stevenstone, indicating that Sir John's wife was an heraldic heiress. Above that is the crest of Rolle: A cubit arm erect vested or charged with a fess indented double cotised azure in the hand a parchment roll . At the base is a monogram of undeciphered lettering.

Progeny

By Florence Rolle he had the following progeny:^[8]

• John Rolle (d.1689), eldest son, who predeceased his father. He married Lady Christiana Bruce, daughter of Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury and 2nd Earl of Elgin (c.1626-1685). He was survived by two sons, successively heirs to their grandfather, Robert Rolle (d.1710), MP, of Stevenstone, who died without issue and was succeeded by his younger brother John Rolle (1679-1730), MP, of Stevenstone.
• Amos Rolle, who married Mary Risdon, only child of William Risdon of Winscott, in the parish of St Giles in the Wood.
• Col. Dennis Rolle (d.1714), of Horwood in Devon, whose grave slab exists to the south of the altar in the north aisle chapel of Horwood Church.
• Charles Rolle
• Margaret Rolle, spinster, died after 1705 when she erected the monument to her mother in Tawstock Church. Stated apparently erroneously in the Heraldic Visitations of Devon (1895, edited by Vivian) to have died in 1677.
• Florence Rolle, married in 1681 to Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet (1653-1696), of Tawstock.

Death & burial

Rolle died at the age of 79 and was buried at St Giles in the Wood on 1 May 1706. At the time of his death he owned over forty manors in Devon and estates in Cornwall, Somerset and Northamptonshire.^[4]

Sources

• Ferris, John P., biography of Sir John Rolle published in History of Parliament: House of Commons 1660-1690, ed. B.D. Henning, 1983
• Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., The Visitations of the County of Devon, Exeter, 1895, pp. 652–656, Rolle of Stevenstone

References