In or before 1380 Thomas Rokeby was born based on his being knighted in o before 1405.
On 21st January 1405 Thomas Rokeby [aged 25] was appointed High Sheriff of Northumberland which office he held until November 1405.
In August 1405 Thomas Rokeby [aged 25] was awarded by King Henry IV [aged 38] the manor of Ryton in Ryedale, Yorkshire, together with other property in and around Wrawby in Lincolnshire, all of which had been forfeited by the traitor, Sir Robert Percy. The grant brought Sir Thomas additional revenues of £36 a year, some of which he may have set aside as bail for Sir John Hothom, another rebel, whom he and Sir Edmund Hastings agreed to help at about this date. Together with Peter, Lord Mauley, they advanced securities of at least £120 so that Hothom could obtain a royal pardon, although because of an administrative blunder the Exchequer attempted to charge them twice over.
In 1406 Thomas Rokeby [aged 26] was called to Parliament as Knight of the Shire Yorkshire.
On 23rd November 1407 Thomas Rokeby [aged 27] was appointed High Sheriff of Yorkshire which office he held until 15th November 1408.
On 19th February 1408 Thomas Rokeby's [aged 28] force of Yorkshire levies defeated the Percy army during the Battle of Bramham Moor bringing to an end the Percy rebellion.
Henry Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland [aged 66] was killed. His body was afterwards hanged, drawn and quartered, his head being sent to London bridge and his quarters to diverse places. Possibly captured hanged, drawn and quartered after the battle. Earl of Northumberland, Baron Percy of Alnwick and Baron Percy of Topcliffe forfeit.
Thomas Bardolf 5th Baron Bardolf [aged 38] was killed. Baron Bardolf of Wormegay in Norfolk had been forfeited in 1406 when Thomas Bardolf 5th Baron Bardolf was declared a traitor. It was restored on the 19th of July 1408 to his two daughters Anne Bardolf Baroness Cobham Sternborough [aged 18] and Joan Bardolf [aged 17] and their husbands William Clifford [aged 33] and William Phelip [aged 25] respectively.
The Abbot of Hailes Abbey [Map] was executed following the battle since he was wearing armour. Bishop Griffin Yonge [aged 38], Bishop of Bangor, was captured, but wearing his vestments, he avoided execution.
After 19th February 1408 Thomas Rokeby [aged 28] was rewarded by King Henry IV [aged 40] for defeating the Percy family at the Battle of Bramham Moor with the gift of Northumberland’s manor of Spofforth, North Yorkshire [Map], and the promise that he might keep all profits to the value of £80 p.a. for the rest of his life. Two years later, in April 1410, Sir Thomas obtained permission from the King to settle the manor on trustees, so his title was effectively confirmed. He was also allowed a reduction of almost £10 in the fee farm still outstanding from his term as sheriff, 'by reason of the great labours and expenses that he had sustained in resisting the malice of the Earl of Northumberland, who is now dead'.
Around 1410 Thomas Rokeby [aged 30] and Anne Eure [aged 14] were married.
On 10th December 1411 Thomas Rokeby [aged 31] was appointed High Sheriff of Yorkshire which office he held until November 1412.
25th October 1415. At the Battle of Agincourt the English included: Louis Robbessart [aged 25], Richard Beauchamp 13th Earl Warwick [aged 33], William Botreaux 3rd Baron Botreaux [aged 26], William Bourchier 1st Count of Eu [aged 41], Thomas Rokeby [aged 35], John Cornwall 1st Baron Fanhope 1st Baron Milbroke [aged 51], Edward Courtenay [aged 30], Ralph Cromwell 3rd Baron Cromwell [aged 12], Thomas Dutton [aged 19], Edmund Ferrers 6th Baron Ferrers of Chartley [aged 29], Roger Fiennes [aged 31], Henry Fitzhugh 3rd Baron Fitzhugh [aged 57], John Grey [aged 28], John Grey 1st Earl Tankerville [aged 31], William Harrington [aged 42] as the King's Standard Bearer, Walter Hungerford 1st Baron Hungerford [aged 37], Piers Legh [aged 26] (wounded), Alfred Longford, Thomas Montagu 1st Count Perche 4th Earl Salisbury [aged 27], Thomas Morley 6th Baron Marshal 5th Baron Morley [aged 22], John Rodney, Richard Scrope 3rd Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 22], Robert Strelley [aged 18], James Tuchet 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet [aged 17], Robert Umfraville [aged 52], Thomas West 2nd Baron West [aged 35], Robert Willoughby 6th Baron Willoughby [aged 30]. Thomas Erpingham [aged 60] commanded the archers. Thomas Rempston [aged 26] was present. Thomas Strickland [aged 48] carried the Banner of St George.
Thomas Tunstall [aged 57] was killed.
The Welsh included: William ap Thomas "Blue Knight of Gwent" Herbert [aged 35], Walter Sais [aged 95], Roger Vaughan [aged 70] and his son Roger Vaughan [aged 5]. Owen Tudor [aged 15] is believed to have been present as a squire.
In March 1417 Thomas Rokeby [aged 37] contracted to serve the King for 12 months with a private retinue, which, at the time of embarkation in the following July, comprised 12 archers, three crossbowmen, three lances and a man-at-arms. In the event, he spent at least four years in the field: he was present throughout most of the siege of Rouen, which dragged on from July 1418 to January 1419; a contingent of his men were on hand at the capture of Gisors in September 1419; and in December 1420, he marched in triumph through Paris with the victorious Henry V.
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In 1423 Thomas Rokeby [aged 43] stood for Parliament as Knight of the Shire Yorkshire.
In November 1425 Thomas Rokeby [aged 45] was present at Bishop Auckland when Langley granted probate of the will of Ralph, earl of Westmorland, his sometime friend and associate.
In or after 1440, when he is mentioned as in Yorkshire, Thomas Rokeby [deceased] died.