Roper Families in England

L. David Roper

1001 Auburn Drive SE, Blacksburg, VA 24060-8123

ROPERLD@VT.EDU

10 July, 2000

Roper Families in England-Part II.

History and Topological Survey of the County of Kent by Edward Hasted, Vol. 6 (1798): Chap: Milton Hundred: p.140: Newburgh, common ly called Newbarrow, is another estate in the southern part of this parish, adjoining to Linsted,...Henry de Apulderfield died possessed of it in the reign of Edward I (1272-1307) in whose descendants is continued down to William Apulderfield, esq. who died in the reign of king Henry VI (1422-61) leaving his two daughters his coheirs, one of whom, Elizabeth, carried this estate in marriage to Sir John Phineux, chief justice of the king's bench, and he too leaving only daughters and coheirs, one of them, Jane, entitled her husband John Roper, esq. of Eltham, to the the possession of it. He was attorney general to Henry VIII (1509-47) and died in 1524, leaving by her two sons and several daughters; of the former, William succeeded him at Eltham, where his descendants continued till of late, and Christopher was of Lodge, in the adjoining parish of Linsted, and by his father's will inherited this estate. His son Sir John Roper, anno 14 James I 1616, was created

lord Teynham, anddied in 1618, possessed of this estate, which continued in his descendants till

Henry Roper, lord Teynham, in the year 1766, alienated it to Mr. William Chamberlain, gent. of London, the present possessor of it. p.284: Chap: Tenham Hundred: Tenham, called in Saxon, Teynham... The manor of Tenham remained part of the see of Canterbury, so far as I have learned, till the reign of queen Elizabeth (1558-1603), when it was exchanged with the crown for other premises, where it lay till James I in his 5th year (1607), granted it to John Roper, esq. of the adjoining parish of Linsted, whom he afterwards, in the 14th year of his reign (1616), knighted and created lord Teynham, the property of this manor has continued down to the Right Hon. Henry Roper, the 12th lord Teynham, who is the present possessor of it. A court baron is held for this manor.

p.289: Tenham Outlands, alias New-Gardens, is an estate in this parish adjoining to the north side of the London road at Greenstreet which was part of the demesne lands of the manor of Tenham, and part of the possessions of the Ropers, lords Teynham, but in 1714 it had been alienated from that family, and was become the property of Sir Robert Furnese, bart. of Waldershare.

p.292: The parish of Tenham, or Teynham, gives title of baron to the right hon. Henry Roper,

lord Teynham, whose ancestor Sir John Roper, was created lord Teynham, by patent, on July 9, in the 14th year of king James I anno 1616, of whom and his descendants, lords Teynham, a full account will be given in the description of their seat, at Lodge, in the adjoining parish of Linsted.

p.296: Chap: Linsted: The next parish southward from Tenham is Linsted, which lies adjoining the high London road, at the 43rd mile stone at Green-street ... the church is situated near the centre of it. ... On the west side of it is a seat called Dadmans, formerly Dodmannys, so called from a family of that name. It was, in the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509) inthe possession of William Apulderfield, of Faversham. The fee of it has for many years belonged to the Ropers, lords Teynham; it is occupied by the hon. Philip Roper, uncle to the present lord Teynham. A little below Dadmans is an estate, called Bumpit, belonging likewise to lord Teynham.

p.298: The manor of Badmangore ... Sir William de Apulderfield was a man of much note in the reigns of Henry VI (1422-61) and Edward IV (1461-83). He left an only daughter Elizabeth, who became his heir to this manor, among the rest of his estates, which she carried in marriage to Sir John Fineux, chief justice of the king's bench in in the reigns of king Henry VII (1485-1509) and VIII (1509-47). He died in the 17th year of the latter reign (1525), leaving two daughters his coheirs, Jane, married to John Roper, esq. of Eltham, and Mildred, to James Diggs, esq. of Barham. The origin of the family of Roper has been very fully treated of in the first volume of this history, p.472, under the description of Eltham, where the eldest branch of it remained till within memory, and the descent of it is there brought down to the above-mentioned John Roper, esq. On the division of their inheritance, this manor, among others, was allotted to John Roper, in right of his wife. He was Prothonotary of the king's bench, and attorney-general to Henry VIII and died in 1524, at his manor of Welhall, in Eltham, to which he had removed from St. Dunstan's, the antient seat of the family. He left two sons, William Roper, esq. clerk of the king's bench, who succeeded him at Eltham, and Christopher, ancestor of the lords Teynham and six daughters. Christopher Roper, esq. the second son, succeeded his father in the manor of Badmangore, and its appendages, at the manorhouse of which he resided; it stood on the east side of the park, but on the family's removing their residence from it, it was suffered to decay and run to ruin. By Elizabeth his wife, daughter and coheir of Christopher Blore, esq. of Rainham, he had several children, of whom

John Roper, esq. the eldest son, succeeded him in this manor He was knighted in 1616, anno 14 James I, and on the same day created lord Teynham, baron of Teynham in this county, as a reward for his forward attachment to the king's interest, having been the first man of note who proclaimed the king in this county. He built the present seat of Linsted lodge, and included a park round it, and afterwards made it his residence. He died in 1618, and was buried in the vault which he had made in the south chancel of this church. His descendants, lords Teynham, continued to reside at Linsted lodge, all of whom lie buried in this church, down to Christopher, lord Teynhan, the fifth in succession, who in 1687 was constituted lord lieutenant and custos rotulorum of this county. He died at Brussels next year, having married Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Brown, viscount Montague, by whom he had several sons and daughters, of the former, John, Christopher and Henry, became all three successively lords Teynham, the latter succeeding to the title and estate on the deaths of his two elder brothers unmarried, and became the eighth lord Teynham. He died in 1716, leaving by his first wife two sons, Philip and Henry, successively lords Teynham, and by his third wife the lady Anne, second daughter and coheir of Thomas Lennard, earl of Sussex, and widow of Richard Barret Lennard, lord Dacre, remarried thirdly to the hon. Robert Moore, he likewise left issue, whose descendants became afterwards, in her right, intitled to the fee barony of Dacre. He was succeeded by his eldest son Philip, lord Teynham, who died unmarried in 1727, upon which the title and estate devolved to his next and only whole brother Henry, lord Teynham, who left by his first wife Catherine, daughter and coheir of Edward Powell, esq. of Sandford, in Oxfordshire, five sons and two daughters, of whom Henry the eldest son, on his death in 1781, succeeded him as lord Teynham, and married first Mary-Wilhelmina, eldest daugh ter of Sir Francis Head, bart. (whose second daughter and coheir married John his next brother) who died f.p. amd secondly Betty, widow of John Mills, esq. of the island of St. Christopher, and daughter of

Mr. Webber, of Sommersetshire, by whom he had two sons Henry and John, and two daughters. He died in 1786, and was succeeded by his eldest son Henry, being the present right hon. lord Teynham, and the twelfth lord, in succession from the first grant of the title. He has never resided at the Lodge, which has been for some years occupied by different tenants, and the greatest part of the park converted into farms of arable land. He is at present unmarried, and still continues the proprietor of these estates, with Colyers and Newnham farm, and others in this parish. He bears for his arms, Pary per fess, azure, and or, a pale and three roebucks heads erase, counterchanged; for his crest, On a wreath, a lion rampant, sable, holding a ducal coronet between his paws, or; and for his supporters, on the dexter side, a buck, or; on the sinister, a tiger reguardant, argent. And he has likewise a right to quarter with those of Roper, the several coats of Apledore, St. Laurence, Tattersal, Apulderfield, the same for service, Twite, Parke and Hugdon, as appeared by a pedigree in the possession of Edward Roper, esq. of Welhall, in Eltham, attested and collected by John Philipott Somerset herald in 1629.

p.305: Linsted is within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Ospringe. The church, which stands on the south side of the village, is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. Sir John Roper, the first lord Teynham, who died in 1618, lies buried in the vault made by him under the south chancel. In the chancel is a noble altar tomb of marble, with the figures of him and his lady lying at full length on it. His son Christopher, lord Teynham, lies buried in it likewise; and in the chancel is an handsome tomb of marble, with his effigies in armour on it, in full proportion, and that of his wife, who survived him, both kneeling before an open book on a reading desk. Several of the family of Greenstreet lie buried in the middle isle. ... In the Teynham chancel are monuments for John Rooper, first lord Teynham, obt. 1618 and for Christopher, lord Teynham, obt. 1622, and no others, or even gravestones for this family.

p.402: The estates of Loiterton and Stuppington both belong to lord Teynham.

p.408: Stuppington ...Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir William de Apulderfield, of Badmangore, in Linsted, carried this estate in marraige to Sir John Fineux,chief justice of the king's bench, who died possessed of it in 1525, leaving two daughters his coheirs, of whom Jane, the eldest, carried it in marriage to John Roper, esq. of Eltham, who gave it to his second son Christopher Roper, esq. of Badmangore, whose son Sir John Roper, removed his residence to his new-built seat of Lodge, and was created Lord Teynham, in whose descendants lords Teynham, this estate of Stuppington has continued down to the present right hon. Henry, lord Teynham, the present owner of it.

p.543: Perry Court: ...sold it to Richard Parke, esq. of Malmains, in Stoke, who having purchased the other moiety of it that year of Sir james Darell, became the sole proprietor of this manor, which his daughter and sole heir Elizabeth carried in marriage to John Roper, esq. of Linsted, afterwards created lord Teynham, who in the 25th year of queen Elizabeth (1582), settled it on his son

Christopher Roper, esq. and he afterwards alienated it to William Finch, esq. ...

The White and Black Books of the Cinque Ports: p.136: General Brotherhoodyeld held at Romney on 21 Apr 1506: Three purses collected i.e. 13li. 12d. Nicholas Tufton 20s. Master Roper for his half due 20s....

p.138: Gen. Broth. held at Romney on Tuesday 13 Apr 1507: 8li. 14s. gathered for the common purse. Nicholas Tufton 20s., to him for costs at London 35s. 6d. Master Roper by Nicholas Tufton 20s. ...

p.139: Gen. Broth. held at Romney on Tues. 27 Jul 1507: 18li. gathered for the common purse. Nicholas Tufton fee and expenses 3li. 6s. 9d. Master Ropere by Tufton 20s....

P.141: Gen Bro. held at Romney Tues 23 Jul 1508: Robert Sparowe expenses in fish and wine to "Maister Sudwell" for prisage 20s. Master Roper 20s....

p.142: Gen. Bro. held Ramsey Tue 17 Apr 1509: 6li. 10s. 6d. gathered for 1 1/2 purses. Nicholas Tufton 20s. and for costs 3li. 8s. 9d. Maister Roper 20s. ...

p.145: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 9 Apr 1510: Master Roper 40s. John Waren for bringing down the new charter 10s. ...

p.150: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 27 Jul 1512: Master Roper 40s. Colyn of Birchington by Robert Skluse of Dover 6s. 10d. ...

p.157: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 17 Apr 1515: 8li. 14s. gathered for 2 purses. The mayor of Winchelsea for wine given to Lord Abergavenny 46s. 8d. Mr. Roper 20s. ...p.158: 7li. 12s. 2d. gathered for 1 3/4 purses. To the mayor of Dover for Mr. Roper 20s. ...

p.162: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 1 Apr 1516: Thomas Wreke for Mr. Roper 20s....

p.165: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 21 Apr 1517: Payments:...Mr. Roper 40s....

p.168: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 13 Apr 1518: Expenses about privileges and about a felon 4li. 3s. 7d., whereof paid to Mercer 22s. 2d Mr. Roper by Mr. Manwod 40s. ...

p.178: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 17 Apr 1520: Paid Mr. Westclyve for Mr. Roper 40s.

p.181: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 9 Apr 1521: Payments made:...Mr. Roper by John Westclyve 40s....

p.213: Gen. Bro. held Romney Tue 13 Jun 1531: Four purses granted... The mayor of Sandwich for

Mr. Roper 40s....

The Parish Church of St. Dunstan, Canterbury, Kent by Hugh O. Albin, p.4: St. Dunstan's Church is noted chiefly for two historical events The first happened on the 18th July 1174, when Henry II rode as a penitent to Canterbury...for his part in the murder of Thomas Beckett. ... The second event happened in 1535 when Sir Thomas More, sometime Lord Chancellor of England and author of Utopia was beheaded on Tower Hill. His devoted daughter Margaret, wife of William Roper of Canterbury, obtained the heas and after her death it eventually found its resting place in the Roper family vault within the Church. Sir Thomas More was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church in 1935 and the greatness of Thomas More has meant that the chapel of St. Nicholas (the Roper Chapel) has become a place of pilgrimage for countless numbers of pilgrims from all over the world.

p.5 picture: A view of the St. Nicolas (Roper) Chapel showing the three stained glass windows and the two Bethersden marble tomb chests, the foreground one reputed to be that of William & Margaret Roper.

p.6: The existing Chapel used for services is the St. Nicholas or 'Roper Chapel'. This was a chantry chapel. A licence was granted at a fee of L80 to Ralph Roper, John Rolling and Edmund son of

Ralph Roper, to "found a chantry of two chaplains to celebrate divine service at the altar of St. Nicholas in the church of St. Dunstan without the Westgate, Canterbury, for the souls of John Roper, his parents, friends and benefactors".

p.7 picture: Marble Memorial Slab to Sir Thomas More, designed by Lawrence Turner, in the pavement of the St. Nicholas (Roper) Chapel.

p.8: The Re-opening of the Roper Vault. Although the vault had previously been opened in 1835, 1880 and in 1932 by accident when the marble memorial slab mentioned above was being laid in the floor no detailed archaeological survey had been done until the opening of 1978 which was to mark the 500th Anniversary of the birth of Thomas More. The re-opening confirmed the fact that the remains of a human skull, presumably based on historical traditions as being that of Thomas More, were found in a leaden casket in a niche in the North wall. There were also found the lead coffins of the Henshaw familythe later descendents of the Ropers-in the early 18th century. The research of the archaeologists suggests that vaults were made on the site about 1524, also in the 1540's and the latter part of the

16th century. Perhaps the most exciting discovery of the re-opening of 1978 was that of a very large ledger or grave stone, the indents on which suggesting a date in the 15th century and the archaeologists furth suggest that his was probably the grave slab of Edmund Roper who died in 1433 and whose brief inscription is recorded by Somner in 1640. On the other hand see the recently published The Lost Monumental Brasses in Kent (Appendix 1980 pp5-9) by A.G. Sadler who, on stylistic grounds, suggests that the brass indent at the end of the South aisle adjacent to the Roper Chapel could be earlier than this newly discovered stone, i.e. 1433, and identifying it with Edmund Roper. He would then date the recently discovered stone later circa 1520, in which case it might be the grave slab of a brother or sister of John Roper. In any case the grave slab of Edmund Roper is probably either the one or the other. The importance of these dis coveries lies in the clue they give us as to the site of the tomb of

William Roper and Margaret his wife. Previously the two chest tombs in the Roper Chapel had been identified with Edmund Roper (The Eastern one) and John Roper and his wife Jane (the Western one) leaving no tomb site for William Roper and his wife Margaret although an early inscription in St. Dunstan's Church cited by Somner as early as 1640 mentions that both William and Margaret Roper were buried in St. Dunstan's. The discovery of Edmund Roper's grave slab now makes it possible to say that the present two tomb chests should now be identified with John and Jane Roper (the Eastern) and with William and Margaret Roper (the Western). The inscription cited by Somner is not extant but Somner is a very reliable source. To those readers wishing a more detailed report of the opening of the Roper vault I would suggest their reading this report in the Cathedral Library Archives in Canterbury. The Enigma of the Burial Site of Margaret Roper: Students and pilgrims will be aware that some scholars e.g. E.E. Reynolds have maintained that whilst William Roper was buried in St. Dunstan's, Margaret Roper was buried in the More vault in Chelsea. The problem has always been to reconcile this with the Somner inscription stating categorically that Margaret Roper lies in St. Dunstan's. I have suggested that if the Chelsea tradition is true then it can only be reconciled with the St. Dunstan's tradition by allowing for the fact that after William Roper's burial in St. Dunstan's in 1578 his son Thomas Roper may have been instrumental in getting his mother's body reinterred in St. Dunstan's from Chelsea, thus confirming the veracity of the Somner inscription. At the same time my good friend and renowned More scholar-Professor Hubertus Schulte Herbruggen from Dusseldorf Univ. is not so convinced that Margaret Roper was ever buried in Chelsea rather than at St. Dunstan's in 1544. The archaeological report of the building of William Roper's tomb some time in the 1540's might perhaps incline one to believe that this tomb might not have been ready in 1544 to receive Margaret's body which might account for a Chelsea burial in which case was it meant to be onlyh temporary or permanent? I feel that although some More scholars may not be so certain as to when Margaret Roper's body was buried at St. Dunstan's the fact is gradually being established (if it were needed to be established) that she lies with her husband William Roper in the Roper vault. Indeed the relevant words in the will of William Roper (10 Jan 1577), can be interpreted as implying that Margaret Roper at the time lay in the Roper vault in St. Dunstan's. These words said-"And my body to be buried at Chelsea in the vault with the body of my dearly beloved wife, where my father-in-law, Sir Thomas More (whose soul Jesus bless) did mind to be buried." The Stained Glass: ...In the St. Nicholas or Roper Chapel the window on the South side depicting St. Dunstan, Thomas More and Archbishop Lanfranc was unveiled on 26 Sep 1909. ...In the East wall overlooking the Elizabethian Altar is the new Thomas More window unveiled and dedicated by Archbishop Michael Ramsay on 14 Jun 1973. ...The window was the gift of Mr. Alfred Blasco K.G.C.H.S. and the S. Thomas More Church of Kansas City, MO ...

p.11: Monuments and Memorials: ...The most interesting memorial is that on the North wall of the chancel to Thomas Roper, son of William Roper and Margaret Roper (nee More), erected by his son William. The inscription, in Latin, may somewhat freely be translated as follows: (See outside back cover) "Stay, you who pass by and read these few words that you may gain the power of learning to live better and to die better. You are unconcerned? behold, in a short time, perhaps while still unconcerned, you also will be an example of our mortal condition! In pious dedication to his parents, Thomas Roper, armiger, grandson to Thomas More through his daughter Margaret (a cause of special honour to this family) inheritor also of his virtues, and following his father William of whom in that function, he could be seen as a partner rather than a successor. In the court or on the King's Bench, the highest court in the whole realm, he acted as First Secretary for twenty-four years or more, as much by his own great deserts as by wit of his high standing among all men, in firm and public display of good faith, never accustomed to pronounce judgement deceitfully or to sell it at an inordinate price either to litigants or defendents. As his wife unparalleled as such, he had Lucy, daughter of Anthony Browne, sprung from the illustrous family of Montagu, Knight Commander of the Horse to King Henry VIII (1509-47) and also one of his Councillors. By her he begot twelve children, six of each sex. On both sides was there wonderful and perfect love, great harmony and mutual esteem. Thus, (both publicly in the court and privately at home) everywhere passing his life in holiness and modesty, when he had come to a quiet old age, like one who falls asleep he rested in Christ in the 65th year of his life, on the 21st day of January in the year 1597. William Rooper (Roper) as a most dutiful son to a most loving parent

p.13, picture: View of the recently discovered grave-slab stone now in the floor of the Roper Chapel, probably that of Edmund Roper,1433 (But see alternative new theory, foot of page 8)

p.16, picture: A close up of the grille and niche with the hole in the casket which contains the remains of the head or skull of Thomas More, taken from the interior of the vault.

p.17, picture: Partial view of the interior of the Roper vault during the excavation by archaeologists in July 1978. Back cover, picture: The Memorial to Thomas Roper, son of William and Margaret Roper (nee More) erected by his son William in the Chancel of St. Dunstan's Church. (Date of book: 1988)

History of County of Buckingham, DA670 B9 V6 1969, V.3: Desborough Hundred: Great Marlow: p.71: ...in 1529 a 21 year lease in reversion was obtained by William Roper. Roper transferred his interest to John Daunay,...

Peerage of England, CS421 C74 1970, V.4: p.296: Earl of Portsmouth: To the said Richard Wallop, Esq. succeeded, Robert, ...who...was Sheriff of the county of Southampton, in the 1st, 7th & 15th of Henry VII (1548-1509)...He made his will on August 22 1529;... William Roper, and other persons of note, subscribed their names thereto, to prevent disputes.

V.2, p.459: ...Richard Townshend, Esq resided also at Brampton, and died in the 5th year of

King Edward VI (1551)...He married Catharine third daughter and coheir of Sir Humphry Brown, of Ridley, in Cheshire, one of the justices of the Common Pleas, who was afterwards espoused to

Sir William Roper, Knight, ancestor to the Ropers of Welhall; ...

V.3, p.674: The last will and testament of the said William, Lord Windsor...The probat bears date

Dec 10 1558, and administration was granted to the Lady Elizabeth, his relict, Sir John Baker, Knight, the Lord John, Bishop of Winchester, Sir Chidioke Poulet, Knight, Sir Thomas White, Knight, and

William Roper.

A History of the Country of Somerset, DA670 S5 V5, V.5, p.117: Notwithstanding its poverty the cloisters of the monastery were being rebuilt in 1534, for in that year Sir Hugh Roper, vicar of Stogumber, left in his will L60 for 'the newe bewylding of the clawsta of the abbey of Clif.'

Wills Proved in the Consistory Court of Norwich, CS434 B7, V.73.p144

1602 Bartholomew Roper, Rooper, Shelfanger, Norf.,carpt., 13 Candler

1589 Cassandra Roper, Gissing, Norf., widow 299 Flack

1599 Nicholas Roper, Hoe-by-East Dereham, husbandman 6 Pecke

1558 Richard Roper, Banningham, Norf. 297 Ingold

1551 Robert Roper, Pulham Magdalen, Norf. 275 Corant

1555 Robert Roper, East Somerton, Norf. 132 Beeles

1560 Robert Roper, senior, Saxlingham-by-Holt, Norf. 13 Bircham

1559 Walter Rooper, Thurgarton, Norf., clerk 477 Colman

Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, p. 365: In an 8 Aug. 1556 will for John Flete of Bedenden co. Kent: "To my 4th son Samuel F., annuities etc., save one fee simple bought of Rooper ..."

Wills Preserved in the Probate Registry at Canterbury, p.114:

John Roper 1558-9, Baddlesmere, A. V.33, Folio 105

John Roper 1568-9, Hollingbourne, C.Act. V.7, Folio 12

William Roper 1559-60, Biddenden, A.Act. V.13, Folio 155

William Roopar 1562-3, husbandman, Teynham, A. V.37, Folio 63

Peculiar of the Archbishop Wills, p.206: John Roper 1589, Pagham, V.I B, p.6,58

Robert Roper 1576, South Bersted, V.I B, p.5,5,52; William Roper 1564, Pagham, V.A, p.17

Baron Teynham (Lynsted):

1st: John Roper b 1580 d 1618 (created Baron 9 Jul 1616)

2nd: Christopher Roper b c1562 m 1590 d 1622 (son)

3rd: John Roper d 1627 (son) 4th: Christopher Roper b c1621 m 1640 d 1673 (son)

5th: Christopher Roper m 1674 d 1689 (son)

6th: John Roper d 1697 (son)

7th: Christopher Roper d 1699 (brother)

8th: Henry Roper b c1676 m 1703,1715 d 1723 (brother)

9th: Philip Roper b 1707 d 1727 (son)

10th: Henry Roper m 1733,1766,1772 d 1781 (brother)

11th: Henry Roper b 1733 m 1753 d 1786 (son)

12th: Henry Roper b 1764 d 1800 (son)

13th: John Roper b 1767 d 1824 (brother)

14th: Henry Francis Roper-Curzon b 1767 m 1788,1828 d 1842 (cousin)

15th: Henry Roper-Curzon b 1789 m 1815,1839 d 1842 (son)

16th: George Henry Roper-Curzon b 1798 m 1822,1873 (brother)

17th: Henry George Roper-Curzon b 1822 m 1860 d 1892 (son)

18th: Henry John Philip Roper-Curzon b 1867 m 1895 d 1936 (son)

19th: Christopher John Henry Roper-Curzon b 1896 m 1927,1955 (son)

20th: John Christopher Ingham Roper-Curzon b 1928 m 1964 (son)

These data were gathered from Debrett's Illustrated Peerage, 1980.

(The compiler of this document visited the 20th Lord Teynham at his home in Lymington, Hampshire, England on 19 June 1992.)

Historical Southern Families, p. 88: Crispe of Oxfordshire and Kent, England ancestors of

Thomas Warren of Smith's Fort Plantation, Surry, VA: John Crispe of Quex, died 1583, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Roper; whose son was Sir Henry Crispe of Quex; subscribed the 1619 pedigree.

Dictionary of National Biog., V.17, by Robinson & Sheares, p. 215: Samuel Roper (d. 1658), antiquary, was eldest son of Thomas Roper of Heanor, Derbyshire, by his second wife, Anne, daughter and coheir of Alvcered Gresbrooke of Middleton, Warwickshire. About 1615 Dugdale made the acquaintance of Roper, and afterwards became connected with him by marriage. Roper, who lived for some time at Monk's-Kirby, Warwickshire, aided Dugdale in his history of the county, making investigations which resulted in the discovery of 'foundations of old walls and Roman bricks.' Dugdale, in his 'Antiquities of Warwick shire,' mentions him as 'a gentleman learned and judicious, and singularly well seen in antiquities.' Roper also had chambers in Lincoln's Inn, and there Dugdale first met in 1638,

Roger Dodsworth, his future collaborator in the 'Monasticon Anglicanum'. Roper worked out the genealogy of his own family with great industry, and his pedigree fills several pages in the 'Visitation of Derbyshire' of 1654. It is illustrated by numerous extracts from deeds and drawings of seals; but the proofs are usually taken from private muniments, which are seldom corroborated by public records. It satisfied Dugdale, who repeated it in his 'Visitation of Derbyshire' of 1662. In the 'Visitation' of 1654 Roper is called 'collonell for the parlament.' He died on 1 Sept 1658. Roper married Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Dir Henry Goodera of Polesworth, Warwickshire, and had issue two sons and four daughters. The eldest son, Samuel Roper (1633-1678), who inherited his father's antiquarian tastes, died unmarried. [Dugdale's Life, ed. Hamper, pp.8,10,103,166-7,286-7, and Antiquities of Warwickshire, ed. Thomas, pp.74,286-7 n.; Chester Waters's Chesters of Chichely (giving Roper pedigree).]

General History of Kent: p.21: Peers who have seats in this county, with the date of their creation, and town residence, an account of their seats in this county will be found in the respective parishes in which they are located....Kent-Teynham.-16 baron created 1616. George Henry Roper Curzon. The 14th baron assumed the name of Curran in addition to his patronymic Roper, in 1788; seat, Linstead Lodge.

p.550: Tenham or Teynham, is a small scattered village, 4 miles E. from Sittingbourne, which gives name to the hundred in which it stands. And also the title of baron to the Roper family. Lords Teynham, whose ancestor was created Lord Teynham Baron of Teynham, by patent, 9 Jul 1616, in the 14th year of King James I. ...Population in 1801, 421; in 1831, 753...The principal landowners are...

Mr. William Roper...Charity.-Thomas Brook, by will, 1609, gave an annuity of 40s. per annum, to be distributed to the poor of this parish about Christmas. The poor have also a yearly sum of ten shillings paid by the lessees of the parsonage. ...William Roper farmer Lower Teynham.

The Gentry 1540-1640, by H. R. Trevor-Roper, p.10: Sir John Roper paid L10,000 for the barony of Teynham. He could afford to do so. His office of Clerk of Enrolments of the Kings Bench was evidently worth some L3500 p.a. Three successive royal favourites intrigued for the succession to it, and for arranging its reversion to the Duke of Buckingham a Lord Chief Justice received L500 p.a. out of it as a broker's fee, [footnote: The great competition for Sir John Roper's office may be followed in the Cecil Papers and in the State Papers (Domestic), and in Whitelocke's Liber Famelicus (Camden Soc. 1858).]...

p.16: ...rich house of England...Lynsted and Doddington illustrated the profits of law;...

p.17: ...rich recusants, like the Ropers, with their great legal fortune, set up in the church of Lynsted some of the most elegant of all such monuments.

p.30: ...it was this hereditary of office, no less than hereditary of land, that carried many a gentry family upwards over several generations. ... the Ropers of Kent were protonotaries of the King's Bench for four generations,...

The "recusants" were those that clung to the Catholic faith when the Church of England broke from the Catholic Church. John Roper was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.

London Marriage Licences, Book 6: 26 Sep 1618 Tho. Jay & Eliz. Roper

History of Buckingham County 1619-1653, p.198: In 1551 the manor [of Luffield] and site were granted to Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, whose second son Arthur Throckmorton settled the estate by fine in 1580, and again in 1582, 1596, and 1614. Sir Arthur, who died in 1626, had four daughters, of whom the second, Ann, married Sir Peter Temple of Stowe. She had died in January 1619-20, leaving a dau. and heir Ann, who, after the death of her father in 1653, made a settlement of Luffield with her husband Thomas Roper, Viscount Baltinglass. They were sued for degt in 1658 by Clement Throckmorton and others, who complained that a secret conveyance of Luffield prevented the recovery of the money, and were confined in the Fleet Prison, where Ann died in 1696. A quarrel arose over her inheritance, which included Thornborough (q.v.), between William Temple, of Lillingstone Dayrell her first cousin once removed on her mother's side, the grandson of Sir Arthur Throckmorton's third dau. Elizabeth. In the final division of the property in 1701 Luffield was allotted to William Temple. His son and heir

William Temple, who inherited the manor in 1706, gave up his rights in it in 1718 to his cousin

Sir Richard Temple, bart., of Stowe, Lord Cobham of Cobham, whom he afterwards suceeded in the baronetcy. ...

Peerage of England CS421 C74 1970 V.2: Marquis of Buckingham, p.412: Sir Peter Temple, the eldest son and successor of Sir Thomas, served for the town of Buckingham in the two last parliaments of Charles I [1625-1649] and married two wives, first, Anne, daughter and coheir of

Sir Arthur Throgmorton, of Paulerspury in Northamptonshire, Knight; and, secondly, Christian, sister and coheir of Sir Richard Leveson, of Trentham in Staffordshire, Knight of the Bath, and daugh ter of

Sir John Leveson, Knight, ...By the first of these ladies (who was buried at Stow, 23 Jan 1619), he had two daughters, viz, Anne, married to Thomas Roper, Viscount Baltinglass, and Martha, to Weston Ridgeway, Earl of Londonderry, of the kingdom of Ireland: and by the latter, (who was buried at Stow, 3 Apr 1655) he had Sir Richard Temple, his successor, and two daughters, Frances, and Hesther. Sir Peter died in 1653, and was burried at Stow.

Signet Bills, p.180: Sir Thomas Roper, letter, Aug 1622

A Calendar of Chancery Proceedings Bills & Answers filed in the reign of King Charles the First, V.II: 1625-1649 p. 151: Bu.R.2 Roper, esq. Wiseman, knt;

p.152: Bu.R.4 Rooper vs Crisye Rooper, esq. vs Rooper

p.153: Bu.R.6 Roper, etc. vs Sheepye, etc. Bu.R.5 Roper vs Smith

p.156: Bu.R.10 Rooper, knt vs Reyner;

p.157: Bu.R.12 Roper, esq vs Fuller; Bu.R.13 Roper vs Batcheler, etc

p.160: Bu.R.17 Rooper vs Harvey, etc.; p.161: Bu.R.19 Rooper, etc. vs Grimston;

Bu.R.20 Roper, etc. by Huddelston, lady vs Byatt

p.162: Bu.R.21 Roper vs Holden

p.163: Bu.R.22 Roper vs Farmer als. Winsey; Bu.R.23 Roper vs Proud

p.164: Bu.R.27 Roper vs Holden; p.167: Bu.R.29 Roper vs Chalcrofte,etc Rooper vs Pope

p.168: Bu.R.30 Roper vs Pulton; Bu.R.31 RopervsSmith

p.169: Bu.R.33 Roper, knt. vs Whitfeild, etc.

p.170: Bu.R.33 Roper vs Ballowe; p.171: Bu.R.36 Roper, knt. vs Best

p.172: Bu.R.37 Rooper vs Snopwood; Bu.R.38 Roper vs Acton, etc.

p.175: Bu.R.43 Roper vs Harvye, etc.; Roper vs Tufton, knt.&bart,etc

p.176: Bu.R.45 Roper vs Vaughan, etc.; Roper vs Roper

p.177: Bu.R.46 Roper vs Vaughan; p.183: Bu.R.57 Roper vs Sale, etc.

p.187: Bu.R.61 Roper vs Roper, lady; Bu.R.61 Rooper vs Rooper

p.188: Bu.R.62 Rooper vs Brock, etc.; Roper vs Roper

Charles the Second, King of England, Scotland and Ireland by Ronald Hutton, Ch. "The Pensioner of Spain, 1656-1660", p. 108: One Francis Roper had been sent to Vienna in the winter to solicit money for the invasion force from the Emperor Ferdinand, but the imperial treasury was as overstrained as ever.

This was possibly the son of John Roper, the 3rd Baron Teynham who died c1627. This Francis was born c1625.

London Marriage Licences:

30 Oct 1633 Tho. Jenkinson & Eliz. Roper; 27 Jan 1633-4 Hen. Roper & Eliz. Baxter

10 Aug 1637 Wm. Roper & Isab. Nickson; 18 Dec 1637 Rachael Roper & Wm. Sparkes

16 Dec 1639 ?Helenor Roper & Rich. Waring; 28 Nov 1648 Jane Roper & John Stephens

27 Jan 1669-70 John Roper & Anne Blunsden; 23 Aug 1680 Rebecca Roper & Jas. Rathborne

Dictionary of National Biog., V.17, by Robinson & Sheares, p. 213: Abel Roper (1665-1726), tory journalist, younger son of Isaac Roper, was born at Atherstone in Warsickshire in 1665. He was adopted in 1677 by his uncle, Abel Roper, who published books from 1638 at the Spread Eagle, opposite

St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street; he was master of the Stationrs' Company in 1677, and gave the company a large silver flagon. When he was fourteen, young Roper was apprenticed to his uncle, but on the latter's death, in 1680, he was turned over to the printer Christopher Wilkinson. He showed a talent for learning, and is said to have spoken Greek by rote before he understood Latin. Under his uncle's will (P.C.C 40 Bath) he received 100l on the completion of his apprenticeship, with all the elder Roper's copyrights; and having married, when he was thirty, the widow of his last master, he set up business in one side of a saddler's shop near Bell Yard, opposite Middle Temple Gate, but afterwards he moved next door to the Devil tavern, at the sign of the Black Dog. Roper is said to have worked for the revolution, and to have been the first printer of 'Lilliburlero.' The preface to 'The Life of William Fuller, the pretended evidence,' 1692, is signed by Roper. A warrant was issued for his arrest in May 1696, on an information that, under the name of John Chaplin, he had printed a paper on the assassination plot called 'An Account of a most horrid Conspiracy against the Life of his most sacred Majesty,' with intent tto give notice to the people mentioned in it to fly from justice. He had been committed to prison on 18 April, but must have been released soon afterwards. Roper sided with Tom Brown, the comic writer (1663-1704), in his quarrel with Richard Kingston, and after 1700 he undertook the publication of Brown's works. Brown subsequently assisted Roper in 'The Auction of Ladies,' a series of lampoons which ran to eight or nine in numbers. Roper got into trouble with the Earl of Nottingham for his 'Newsletters into the Country,' with Secretary Boyle, and with Secretary Trumbull for printing a play without license, and he was summoned before the lord mayor and court of aldermen for relecting upon the Society for the Reformation of Manners. A Frenchman named Fontive, who wrote the 'Postman,' was Roper's assistant, and afterwards his partner. In May 1695 Roper had started a newspaper called the 'Post Boy,' which appeared three times a week, and was the rival of the whig 'Flying Post,' begun by George Ridpath in the same month. Roper's enemies said he wrote for either party, according as he was paid. John Dunton, who commends Roper's honesty, says that the 'Post Boy' was written by a man named Thomas, and on his death by

Abel Boyer, compiler of the 'Annals of Queen Anne,' which Roper published. After editing the 'Post Boy' for Roper for four years, Boyer grew ;dissatisfied and started a 'True Post Boy' of his own, which, he complained, Roper tried to burke. When Steele lost the post of gazetteer in Oct 1710, Roper, on whose behalf Lord Denbigh had written to Lord Dartmouth as early as June, was an unsuccessful candidate for the vacant post. Next year (Nov 1711) Roper gave great offence by papers printed in the 'Post Boy' on behalf of the proposed peace, and, upon complaint of the envoys extraordinary from the king of Portugal and the Duke of Savoy, he was arrested on a warrant from Lord Dartmouth, and bound over to appear at the court of queen's bench. He escaped further punishment by begging pardon and publishing a recantation. It was suspected that men of greater importance were behind the scenes and made use of Roper's paper for party purposes. We know that Swift sometimes sent paragraphs to the 'Post Boy,' 'as malicious as possible, and very proper for Abel Roper, the printer of it.' The pamphlet 'Cursory but Curious Observations of Mr. Abel R_er, upon a late famous Pamphlet entitled "Remarks on the Preliminary Articles offered by the F.K. in hopes to procure a general Peace,"' 1711, appears to be mainly a satire upon Roper, who is made to say 'I am called Abel, without the least respect to the station I bear in the present ministry.' Another piece, 'Tory Annals, faithfully extracted out of Abel Roper's famous writings, vulgarly called "Post Boy and Supplement,"' 1712, is in the Advocates' Library, Edinburg. 'The Character of Richard St[ee]le,Esq with some remarks by Toby, Abel's kinsman,' appeared on

12 Nov 1713, and was often mentioned in the 'Post Boy.' This libel was either by Dr. William Wagstaffe, in whose 'Miscellaneous Works' it appeared in 1726, or by Swift; it was certainly not by Roper. The writer of a well-informed but hostile pamphlet called 'Some Memoirs of the Life of Abel, Toby's uncle, by Dr. Andrew Tripe,' which appeared on 11 Dec 1725, says that 'Toby' was Roper's nephew,

Edward King, son of Thomas King, a farrier of Coventry, and Ruth Roper, Abel's sister; King helped in his uncle's business. Soon after Queen Anne's death [1714] the 'Post Boy' gave offence to the whig government, and Roper was examined on 27 Aug 1714. He said he had for some time not been concerned in the paper; and John Morphew, the publisher of it, said he did not know the author of the offending articles, but that it was long since he had accounted to Roper for the profits. Subsequent ly Roper sank into obscurity, and he died on 5 Feb 1726, the same day as his old opponent Ridpath, leaving behind in the 'Post Boy' 'abundant testimonials of his zeal for indefeasible hereditary right for monarchy, passive obedience, the church, the queen and the doctor'. By his will, dated 19 Aug 1725, his property was to be divided into three equal parts, according to the custom of the city of London, one part going to his wife, Mary Roper, and the second to his sone Francis. Out of the third portion of his property he left to his son his right and title to the copy of certain books, and small legacies to his brother, John Roper of Atherstone, and others. There is an engraving of Roper, with his nephew, Toby, by Vandergucht (pub. in Mar 1713), and a mezzotint by G. White, after H. Hysing.

Memoirs of the Life of Able, Toby's Uncle by Dr. Andrew Trip (in the Beinecke Rare Bood Library, Yale Univ.) Composed, collated, comprized, digested, methodized, written and illustrated. To which is added, the Phyz of his Nephew Toby, curiously engraved on Coper: as also his Life and Character. London; Printed by T. Warner, at the Black-Boy in Peter-Nostr-Row 1726. I have spent a pretty time in his Company, especially during the last four years of Queen Anne's reign (Price 1s) Abel was born in the Year 1665, of Honest Parents, at a Market Town call'd Atherstan in Warwickshire, about Nine miles from the City of Coventry. When he was Twelve Years old, his Uncle, a wealth Bookseller in London, sent for him...Being arrived at the age of Fourteen, or thereabouts, he was bound Apprentice to his aforesaid Uncle Abel Roper, in Fleetstreet. But his Master happened to die within a Year and half...Abel married his mistress, the Widow of Mr. Christopher Wilkinson (his master)...31st year of his age.

p.41: Memoirs of Toby, Abel's Kinsman. Toby's father was named Thomas King, a Farrier in Highstreet, Coventry; an honest and industrious man; who marry'd Mrs. Ruth Roper, Sister to Abel,...and by her has his Son Edward King, commonly called Toby. This Toby, when about 14 Years of Age, was sent for to Town by his Uncle Abel Roper, and by himbound Apprentice to himself as a Bookseller.

Index to Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Cantebury, V.1:

p.315: Roper: Christopher, Murrow, Cambs. 1653-4 V.II F.49

John, Atherston, Warws. 1651 V.II F.38; Ralph, (Cal.2) [no act] 1654 V.II

Thomas, widr., St. Dunstan in the West Lond. 1649 V.II F.134

Thomas, Linckstead, Kent 1653-5 V.I F.149; Thomas, (Cal.4) [no act] 1654 V.I

Ropier, Richard, blcksmith, Great hampton, Worcs. 1653-4 V.II F.609

In the Principal Probate Registry, London. P.C.C. 26 Grey. 1650 Oct 1 American Colonists in English Records, p.137: Kelway, Walter, of Chelmsford, Essex, in his will names "my wife Joanna" executrix. "My land in Writtle called Cheanes." "My grandchild Eliz. Kelway, dau. of my son Jonathan, deceased. Mountague, Margaret. Snow, Melcas and Lane, Mary, my three daughters, all in New England.

Roper, John, my grandchild. Caunte, Ruth, my daughter. My dau. Marie Lane at Boston in

New England. Holbrough, Mr. Richard, to be my overseer. He and Kellum, Sarah are witnesses. Proved at London 28 Feb 1650/51 by Joanna K., the relict.

Index to Administrations in the Prerogrative Court of Canterbury, V.II 1655-1660: Roper als. for all: French, Benedict, see French; James, Barneham, Suff. 1660 F.61

John, Lawrence Pountney, London, 1658 F.13; William, Mannaton, Devon, 1655 F.89

William, in frigate "Gloucester" at sea (P.A.) 1656 F.285

William, bach., Goringe, Sussex 1658 F.215; William, Chatham, Kent, 1658 F.342

The Visitation of Derbyshire, Taken in 1662, and reviewed in 1663 by Wm. Dugdale, 1879:

p.7: Roper Arms.-Sable, a parrot Or. Crest.-A commet Or. Samuel Roper of Heaner (Collonell for ye Parlament) m ? son: Samuell, Barrister.

The Ministry of Baptism and the Lord's Supper and the Spirit of Jesus, the Guide unto both, and onely and Infallible Rule Leading both into them, and all other Ordinances and Ornaments of God, and a Saint's Life. Which may serve as an Answer unto Randel Roper's Answer unto a paper written by me in the sense of the Mistery of God Directed to all Baptists every where, etc....John Perrot, London, Printed for Robert Wilson 1662....do quietly sit down under the reviling phrases of Randal Roper,...that brief Writing which sent from Rome, which Randal Roper wrote his long Answer unto;...requiring what the practised, though Randal Roper treats very earnestly for it in his Book, pages 9,12 &c...to the opinion of R.R. intimated in his Book...

Ecclesiastic History DA670 W9 V6 1871 V.2: p.75: In a record of the conventicles in the diocese in 1669 there was a conventicle of Anabaptists at the house of John Fryers at Feckenham, another of "twenty or thirty mean persons" at the house of John Poole at Dormston, two at Kington, both of about thirty "mean persons," at the houses of William Haynes and Samuel Roper, and under the leadership of Mr. Eagleston, a clothier, and Thomas Feckenham, a cobbler.

The Windsor Beauties by Lewis Melville, p.208: The Queen [Catherine, w/o King Charles II (reign 1660-85)] in May 1670 took the Duchess of Richmond in her suit to Calais to meet the Duchess of Orleans; and in the following October the Duchess accompanied her on a visit to Audley End, where, as is recored in the Paston Letters, they indulged in a "frolic." "There being a fair at Audley End, the Queen Duchess of Richmond, and Duchess of Buckingham had a frolic to disguise themselves like country lasses, in red petticoats, waistcoats, etc., and to go see the fair. Sir Bernard Gascoigne, on a cart-jade, rode before the Queen, another stranger before the Duchess of Buckingham, and Mr. Roper before Richmond. ...

This was probably Christoper Roper, the 5th Baron Teynham, who died before 1689.

Calendar of Wills in the Prerogative Court of Cantebury, p.179:

George Rooper, Limehouse, [Stepney], Middx., gunner 1671 F.136

History of Yorkshire N. Riding: p.79: The Topcliffe Grammar School, including benefactions of William Robinson, will 1635, and Henry Roper, will, 1674.

p.478: Topcliffe School....The principal endowment is derived, however, under the will of Henry Roper, 16 Jan 1674.

History of County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: p.442: The Anglican and Tory College: ... in the later 17th century, it is clear that three tutors, Watson, Roper, and Orchard, had charge of a large proportion of the undergraduates in the College.

Calendar of Wills in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury: p.289:

Abel Roper, cit. and stationer of Lond. [St. Dunstan-in-the-West] 1680 F.40

George Roper, marriner, Lymehouse, Stepney, Mdx. [d. overseas, bach] 1676 F.105

Randall Roper, sailemaker, cit. and baker of Lond. [Stepney als. Stebonheath, Mdx.] 1680 F.154

William Roper, gent., Kings-Norton, Worcs. 1681 F.31

William Roper als. Morrells, St. Margaret, Westminster, Mdx. 1681 F.168

A History of Yorkshire: p.462: The general tenor of the indenture certainly proves that the scythe-smith's industry was no new thing in 1574, and that the people concerned were natives of the district. Unfortunately the scythe-smiths did not join the Cutler's Company until 1681, but they were even then all in the neighbourhood of Norton and, with one exception, bore names common to the locality from the 14th century. There were three Brownells, four Wainwrights, four Hollands and two Ropers;...

The Act Books of the Archbishops of Canterbury, 1663-1859 V.IIp.242: Joseph Roper, M.A., 1682-3: Dispens. R. Thorp Basset, R. Escrick, Yorks; iv, 308

Bonded Passengers to America: V.4 Western Circuit: 1664-1775: Comprising the Counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. With a list of the Rebels of 1685: Rebels Transported in 1685: Henry Roper

A History of Sussex: Sport Ancient and Modern: Hunting: Fox Hunting: The Charlton Hunt: p.56: Two packs of hounds were kept at Charlton at this period, one belonging to Monmouth, the other to Lord Grey. The field-master or "manager" of both packs was Mr. Roper, a Kentish gentleman, who was credited with a most intimate knowledge of hounds and hunting. During Monmouth's rebellion, in 1685, Roper felt it necessary for his safety to quit Sussex and take refuge in France.

p.442: Charlton was now famous. St. Victor and other visitors came over from France and Germany to partake of the sport. Squire Roper, who had been solong connected with the hounds, died suddenly in 1715

London: Inhabitants Within the Walls 1695:

Susan Rooper widow Allhallows, Barking F.26; Jacob Roper servant St. James, Duke's Place F.16

Jane Roper servant St. Mary, Aldermary F.6; Sarah Roper; Sarah daughter St. Dunstan in the East F.6

Archives of MD, Proceedings of the Council of MD 1707: p.230: I allow that persons have been bayled on the returnes of habeas Corpus at Comon Law who were comitted by the Lord Cancellr for Contempts or by order of the King and Councill high Comrs Judges of the Ecclesiasticall Court or any other Courts in England..,but illegally comitted or such causes were properly cognizable at comon Law as in

Sr Anthony Ropers Case... p.232: ...as in Sr Anthony Ropers Case in hughes Abr. about the...

Peerage of England CS421 C74 1970 V.7: p.73: This Robert Dormer mar. Mary, dau. of Edward Banester, of Ilsworth, in com. Southampton, Esq. sister of Sir Edward Banester, Knt. by whom he had eight sons; viz. 1. Robert. 2. Edward. 3. James. 4. Charles, father of the fifth Baron. 5. John. 6. William. 7. Anthony. And, 8. Thomas. And also six daughters; of whom Elizabeth was married to

John Webb, Esq.; Mary, to John Roper, Esq.; Anne, to George Eyston, of Hendred, Esq. and she died in 1712, and was buried at East Hundred, in Berkshire; and Frances, Bridget, and Winifred, the other three, died unmarried.

The Illustrous Lady by Elizabeth Hamilton, p.206: The girl [Barbara Villiers, Countess Castlemaine] who had first come to London in 'a plain country dress' had put behind her the impoverishment of her youth and left a well-established family. The dynasty of the Graftons, founded with the help of her charm, ambition and matchmaking ability, has survived right down to the present day. She left her sons and daughters well furnished with fine titles and good prospects. The Countess of Lichfield was able to live a prosperous life of conventional domesticity with her many progeny. Anne, Countess of Sussex, was widowed in 1715 and married two more husbands-Lord Teynham who shot himself in a fit of madness, and Robert Moore, whom she was to outlive by twenty-seven years. Barbara Fitzroy, after the peccadillo which resulted in the birth of the charming Charles Hamilton-who was to have a brief moment of fame as a second in the duel when his father the Duke of Hamilton died of a severed artery and Lord Mohun also lost his life-lived a saintly life as a nun, becoming a prioress at the Convent of Saint-Nicholas, where she died in 1731.

This refers to the 8th Lord Teynham, Henry Roper. See the History of the Three Villages of Kingsdown, Lynsted and Norton excerpted above for more information about Anne, Countess of Sussex.

The Kinsmen CS432 O9 S6, Engrafted Foundations with Privileges,p.154 23. Five scholarships founded in 1715 by Francis Roper, Canon of Ely sometime fellow, with first preference to those of his name and kindred. (footnote: Smith & Shortt, History of the Parish of Ribchester, 1890 p.71).

Peerage of England, CS421 C74 1980, V. 9, p. 29: Sixth, Robert, member for the county of Louth, and borough of Belfast, in the parliaments of Queen Anne and King George I, who married (see a pardon granted to him for this marriage, she being a Papist, dated at Westminster, 3d Feb 1726, enrolled 6 Jun 1727, Ao 13 George I) the Lady Anne Lennard, youngest daughter, and at length heir to Thomas,

Earl of Sussex, and Lord Dacre (who died in 1715), afterwards Baroness Dacre, widow of

Richard Lennard Barret, of Bell-House in Essex, Esq. and also widow of Henry, Lord Teynham; by her he had issue one son, Henry. (Chap. on Lord Moore)

Queen Anne's reign was 1702-14 and George I's was 1714-27. This was the 8th Lord Teynham.

History of County of Cambridge & Isle of Ely: p.80: Church...in Melbourn...vicar...Thomas Day, vicar 1667-1696, and Henry Roper, 1722-1755, were both resident,...

History of Yorkshire N. Riding: V.2 South Kilvington: Birdforth Wapentake: p.41: The manor of Thornbrough...William Saltmarsh sold his moiety in 1757 to John Roper and Thomas Strangways.

V.1: p.304: ...manor...Coburn...1757 William Saltmarsh sold it to John Roper and Thomas Stangways.

Dictionary of National Biog., V.17, by Robinson & Sheares, p. 214: Roper Stote Donnison Roper (1771-1823?), legal writer, born on 9 Mar 1771, was only son of the Rev. Watson Stote Donnison of Trimdon, Durham. Through his mother, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Jonathan Sparke, esq., of Hutton-Henry (by Elizabeth daughter of William Roper, esq., of Clayport), he became heir to the Trimdon estates, the property of the Roper family, and at the age of about 25 assumed the surname of Roper. On 29 Mar 1793 he was admitted at Gray's Inn, and on 6 Feb 1799 was called to the bar. In 1805 he appeared in the 'Law List' as of 2 Lincoln's Inn Square, equity draughtsman. His name figured there for the last time in 1823. Roper Stote Donnison Roper of Trimdon, probably a son, married, 25 Oct1838 Jemima Margaret, daughter of the Rev. John Gilpin of Sedbury Park, Yorkshire. Roper was the author of several legal works. the first, a 'Tretise upon the Law of Legacies,' appeared in 1799, and was reissued in 1805. It was commended by Lord Eldon, Story, and Kent. The author at his death left a portion of it thoroughly revised. The work was completed by Henry Hopley White, and issued in two volumes, 1828, as a third edition. A fourth edition appeared in 1847, and a second American edition in 1848. Roper also published 'Treatise on the Revocation and Republication of Wills and Testaments, together with tracts upon the law concerning Baron and Ferme,' 1800, 8vo. (American edition, 1803), and 'Treatise on the Law and Property arising from the Relation between Husband and Wife,' 1820, 2 vols. 8vo. A second edition of the latter, with additions, was issued by E. Jacob in 1826, and American editions appeared in 1824, 1841, and 1850. J.E. Bright's 'Treatise on the Law of Husband and Wife' (1849) was largely founded on it.

History of Worcestershire: Inkberrow: Oswaldslow Hundred: V.3: p.429 Charities: The parochial charities are regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners 19 Feb 1886. They comprise the charities of:-1. The Poor's Land, including the charities of the Conway family; Walter Smith, will, 1729; Mrs. Sarah Roper, will, 1782, and others.

How it Must Work: in an Address to the Freeholders and Electors of the United Empire by

Henry Francis, Lord Teynham, 2nd Ed.; with a preface, and additions London, James Ridgway, Piccadilly 1833 (2 s) (In Beinicke Rare Book Lib., Yale Univ.) Preface: Bruton St., 6 Nov 1832: The wild misrule of one hundred and twenty years...after the struggles of fifty years... James II: On James' arrival at Faversham, he was waited on by Christopher (Roper), Lord Teynham, his Lord Lieutenant of Kent, and many distinguised persons. They all promised to carry him back to London with the men of Kent, and drive the Dutch guards into the Thames; and there is little doubt Lord Teynham would have done so, but James was betrayed by the treachery of his own family...

History of Yorkshire N. Riding: V.1: p.48: Charities: J. T. Roper, by will proved in 1865, bequeathed 500 pd consols, the dividends to be applied for church purposes.

History of County of Buckingham: V.6, p.281: Stone Hundred, Haddenham: Church of Dinton ... Charities: ...Mrs. Sarah Maria Clotilda Roper by will 1866, proved in 1881, among other charitable legacies, bequeathed specific sums and share of residue for the benefit of this parish.

The Kent County Year Book, 1934-5: p.157: George Francis Roper; sec. Faversham Cham. of Com.; b 14 Jan 1877; educ. Barrow School, Borden, Sittingbourne; m Agnes Isabel Taylor; three d.; auctioneer and valuer, Faversham; Past Master of Lodge of Harmony No.133 (1932-33); pastimes, music, amateur acting, tennis, bowls; address. Hawthorne, Dene, Upper St., Ann's Road, Faversham. (David Jackson-Grant private communication to compiler: Lodge of Harmony is the Masonic Lodge in Faversham and is held in the most fantastic Elizabethan building.

History of Surry: Sport Ancient and Modern: V.2: p.535: Clubs: Among its records Croydon can recall one of a quite exceptional kind in the feat of Mr. H. A. Roper, who took 5 wickts with 5 consecutive balls in 1878.

History of Sussex: V.1: p.42: ...1883...In his Flora of Eastbourne Mr. F.C.S. Roper published an excellent account of that of the Cuckmere. p.64: The Lichens: ...In east Sussex we have lists made by Roper and Bloomfield,...

Knightage CS420 B8 1970: p.3146: Sir Harold Roper, Kt. Bach. (1945), C.B.E. (1943), M.C., educ. Blundell's, and Sidney Sussex Coll. Camb. (B.A. 1913). M.P. for N. Div. of Cornwall Feb 1950-

Sep 1959, Gen. Mgr. in East of Burmah Oil To. Ltd. 1936-45 (despatches), Burma Leg. Council

1935-37, Burma Senate 1937-42, Chm. Burma Chamber of Commerce 1940, Devon C.C. 1961-68, served in WWI as Capt. 8th Devon Regt., b. 2 Sep 1891; son of late Arthur Charles Roper, F.R.C.S., of Exeter; m 25 Jul 1929, Norah, dau. of William Keys, of Edinburgh, and has issue: 1.Kathleen

m 21 Apr 1956, Robert Buchanan Pollock, yr. son of late William Pollock, of Paisley; 2.Julia;

3.Geraldine Margaret (Cherry) (twin) m 18 Dec 1954, Thomas Alexander Preston, elder son of Prof. G. D. Preston, of Craigellie, Alyth, Perthshire, and his issue; 4.Norah Melanie m 22 Dec 1961, David William Neil Landale, only son of David Fortune Landale, of Dalswinton, Dumfriesshire (see Burke's L.G.), and has issur. Address-Gorse Hill, Marine Drive, Torquay, Devon.

Twentieth Century Authors, First Suppl, Kanitz: p.1008: Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper (15 Jan 1914), Endlish historian, was born in Glanton, Northumberland, England, the elder son of

Dr. B. W. E. Trevor-Roper. He received his education at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford. He was a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, before the war, and in 1945 was appointed a Student of Christ Church Oxford. Both before and during the war Trevor-Roper traveled fairly widely in western Europe. His first book was published in 1940, Archbishop Laud, 1573-1645. But his fame came with

The Last Days of Hitler, which appeared when the fate of Hitler was causing interesting speculation throughout the world. The author was a British Intelligence Officer at the time he was sent, under official orders, to collect the material used in this book. The investigation uncovered a great deal of evidence about a dark period of history, and all this was used in The Last Days of Hitler, including interviews with thosewho witnessed the events and hitherto secret documents. The author has an inquisitive mind and a flair for the well-rounded phrase," wrote the Chicago Sun Book Week. "He can marshal the facts as well as any lawyer to prove a point, but he can also sustain interest by skillful writing." The Manchester Guardian commented: "It may be a poor compliment to say of an historical work that is is more readable than a novel, but in this case it is true." The book discussed not only the question of Hitler's death, but the plot of July 20, 1944, Hitler's routine, health, and character, his relations with the generals, Goebbels' program of universal destruction, Himmler's fantastic character and maneuvers, Goering's fall, and Bormann's intrigues. In 1953 Trevor-Roper returned to the field of his special interest, Elizabethan history, with The Gentry,1540-1640 In the same year he contributed an introductory essay on the mind of Adolf Hitler to the publication of Hitler's Secret Conversations, 1941-44. Principal Works:

Archbishop Laud, 1573-1645, 1940; The Last Days of Hitler, 1947; The Gentry, 1540-1640, 1953.

The White and Black Books of the Cinque Ports: p.610: General Meeting of Brotherhood and Guestling held at Hastings on 1920: Signatures of: Seaford: ...Alfred F. Roper ...

Wall Street Journal, 17 Jun 1987: Each Gorbachev initiative could catch the West flat-footed and divided, as the nuclear proposals have done. "Conventional arms reductions could be very sticky for us," says John Roper, of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. "If he offers attractive troop reductions just when Congress is trying to save some money on U.S. troops, he could touch off some real Euro-handwringing just by doing what we've asked him to do."