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THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 



fortuitous survival in such turbulent times. He 

 consequently caused to be erected the fine Lady 

 Chapel in Bromham church, and probably also that 

 of St John's, Devizes - the parish church of his 

 castle. He obtained licence to found a perpetual 

 chantry in Bromham, the chaplain to celebrate 

 divine service daily for himself and his wife as 

 founders, for his wife's first husband, William 

 Beauchamp Lord St Amand, and for his father and 

 mother, James and Elizabeth Tocotes. Lands and 

 annuities were to be granted for the maintenance 

 of the chantry. But Sir Roger Tocotes did not live 

 to see the completion of his foundation, for he died 

 on 2 November 1492. A later licence was granted 

 to Sir Richard Beauchamp Lord St Amand, his son- 

 in-law, and Anne his wife, to assign to the chaplain 

 property in the county to the annual value of £10. 26 

 Even in the last few months of his life Tocotes 

 was appointed an escheator for the counties of 

 Bedford, Buckingham, Hertford and Huntingdon, 

 but it is not known whether on this occasion he 

 was able to carry out these duties, for his will is 

 dated 2 September 1492. 28 In this he desired burial 

 in 'the middle aisle of Our Lady's chapel at 

 Bromham'. He died two months later and was 

 buried in a tomb of Purbeck marble with his life- 

 sized effigy, sculpted in alabaster and represented 

 in contemporary armour, wearing the Lancastrian 

 collar of S.S., from which is suspended a rose, his 

 headpiece supported by two angels and at his feet 

 a lion reguardant. Round the tomb were shields of 

 arms which have now disappeared, together with 

 only a part remaining of a brass inscription which, 

 according to a note on the fly-leaf of the earliest 

 parish register, once read [in translation] : 



Here lyeth Roger Tocotes, knight, husband of Lady 

 Elizabeth, Lady St Amand, and Knight of the Body 

 of Henry the Seventh, King of England, and 

 Comptroller of the Household. On whose soul may 

 God have mercy. Amen. 2 ' 



Tocotes, then, had lived and largely prospered, 

 through the reigns of three of this country's most 

 memorable monarchs. First there was Edward IV, 

 a charismatic and dominating figure, whose prowess 

 on the battlefield was second to none. His forces 

 never lost a battle in four of the fiercest engagements 

 in the Roses conflict. Second his brother Richard 

 III, whose short reign has stimulated more 

 difference of opinion and fierce partisanship than 

 perhaps any ruler before or since. On the one hand 

 are those who view him as a much-maligned and 

 misunderstood figure, while others see him as a 



medieval gangster whose life best became him in 

 the leaving of it. Certainly his most enduring 

 monument is his brave end on Bosworth field, 

 'fighting manfully in the thickest press of his 

 enemies'. The manner of his exit has undoubtedly 

 predisposed posterity to view him in a more 

 sympathetic light, and left a potent memory for all 

 who come after. Lastly RogerTocotes lived into the 

 reign of Henry VII, one of the most successful of 

 medieval kings, who shrewdly and single-mindedly 

 left his Exchequer with full coffers. He was fortunate 

 in his able administrators and in many aspects 

 pointed the way forward into the modern age. 

 Tocotes, as a high official in his government, must 

 be accorded his own measure of credit for this 



Notes 



1 VCH Wilts, 7, 103, manor of Shaw. 



2 Jackson, J E, 1857, 'Sheriffs of Wiltshire', WANHM 

 3, 189-235. 



3 Calendar of Patent Rolls (hereafter CPR), 1467-77, 

 346 (1 July 1472); see also WANHM 51, 1947, 265. 



4 CPR 1467-77, 284; see also WANHM 3, 1857, 207 

 (26 April 1471). 



5 Ibid. 408 (17 Sep 1473). 



6 Ibid. 218: commission to John Roggers and Tocotes 

 to seize all castles, lordships, manors, lands and 

 possessions of George, duke of Clarence, 25 April 

 1470. Ibid. 247: commission to enquire into felonies, 

 murders, etc. to Tocotes and others in Wiltshire, 27 

 Oct 1470. Ibid. 351: commission of array to Clarence, 

 Gloucester, Tocotes and others in Wiltshire, 7 Mar 

 1472. Ibid. 406: commission to enquire, Tocotes and 

 others, including William Colyngbourne, John 

 Whittocksmede,ThomasTropnell, John Hygons, John 

 Heron, and sheriff of Wilts, etc, 18 Aug 1473. Ibid. 

 517: licence to George Duke of Clarence to enfeoff 

 RogerTocotes and others whilst the duke is away on 

 the king's service, 1 May 1475. Ibid. 573: commission 

 to the king's brothers to enquire into treasons, 

 lollardries, heresies, etc in Dorset and Wiltshire, also 

 names Tocotes and others, 7 Dec 1475. Ibid. 597: 

 licence to Duke of Clarence, Tocotes, William Catesby 

 and Thomas Bishop of Lincoln to found a fraternity 

 in the church of St Mary, Asshewell [sic], Herts., 26 

 Aug 1476. 



7 Ibid. 428: commission to Roger Tocotes, John 

 Cheyney of Falstone, Henry Longe, John 

 Whittocksmede and others re alienations in mortmain 

 without licence, 7 Dec 1473; see also WANHM 11, 

 1865, 306. 



8 WANHM 51, 1947, 265. 



9 PRO Third report of the Deputy Keeper, app 2, 2 1 4: 

 indictment against AnkaretteTwynyho, RogerTocotes 



