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Whitaker's History of Richmonshire is in Tudor Books.
The fourth of these brothers was Rafe Rokeby, seriant at the co'mon lawes, your grandfather by the father. I will not say more of him because he was mine owne father, but that in the skill of his science, and other good thinges, he was the doctor's brother-germane as well as by blood. He refused to be lord cheife justice of England when Justice Morgan fell madd and distracted of his witts, and got a patent for the dischardge of his attendance of the co'mon la we; and he served as one of the councell in the north. Itt hath done me good to heare the old benchers of Lincolne's Inn speake well of him, especially S' WiU'm Cordell, knt. Master of the Rolls, who would acknowledge that he had beene in effect informed by him in the lawes of England, of whome one bound to him in dutye made this memoriall in English verse as followeth:
Then skill of lawe he gained by studious paines,
And itt employ'd to prince and countrye well,
Who recompcnc't him hei'e with worldly gaines,
Alive, and dead, his praises due forth tell,
That he did virtue vance, and vice down quell;
That the evill's foe he were, the good man's friend,
And pray God send moe menn of this man's mind.
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He died in the great good love of his country, I thanke God, and lyeth buried in Wakefield church1, in Yorkeshire; and yet I may not soe injuriously defraude my father of his due praise as to omitt his service against Wyatt, which was thus:
Se Thomas Wyatt, the rebell of Kent against King Phihp and Queene Mary, the Spaniards being noised to be comeing towards London, your grandfather went to Westminster in his seriant's robes to plead, under them a good coate armour, and heareing at Charing Crosse the nere approach of the enemie, the rebell, he hastened him to the queene's court, at Whitehall, strunge and fetled an archer's of the guard liverye bow that stood there unstrunge, threw downe the seriant's robes for that tyme, and went to the Gate House to serve there with a bowe and a slieafe of arrowes, and there taried till the enemie was yielded. Old Nicholson, of Panic's Chaine, told me my father then committed a bagg of money to him to keepe, and that Alexander Metham, his clerke, was with him, but that Will'm. Bell hidd him under my father's bedd in Seriant's Inn, and there laye vntill his master retorned. And thus in the tymes of need he was ready with his bodye in armes to fight with rebells for his prince, on whom he had jurisdiction in the tyme of peace in the circuite of Northampton, Warwicke, Couentrye, Leicester, Derby e, Nottingham, Lincolne, and Rutland, to adjudge of their lives, lands, and goods, for there he was justice of assizes and goale deliverye.
Note 1. I have never been able to discover any memorial of him in that church.