Sir Roger Tocotes () was a member of the

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

in late 15th-century England. Originally a

retainer Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA Retainer (A329), RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer p ...

of George, Duke of Clarence, he was accused by the Duke of poisoning Isabel, Duchess of Clarence. His co-accused, Ankarette Twynho, was hanged outside

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

in April 1477, but Tocotes managed to evade capture until the Duke himself had been arrested. Tocotes transferred his service to

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile; c. 1437Karen Lindsey, ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived'', p. xviii, Perseus Books, 1995. – 8 June 1492), known as Dame Elizabeth Grey during her first marriage, was Queen of Engla ...

, serving as her Master of Game.

Background

Tocotes' parents were James and Elizabeth of Tocketts, North Yorkshire near Guisborough. Tocotes is recorded in a 1457 roll as an "esquire, of Bromham".

Career

Tocotes is known to have been in Clarence's inner circle from 1468; "nobody was a more constant associate of the Duke of Clarence in adversity or prosperity", comments the historian Michael Hicks. His elections to parliament had been as the Duke's candidate, he had been in Clarence's army when he defected to Edward before Barnet in 1471, had travelled with him in the same capacity to France in 1475, and had been a ducal councillor ever since. Further, he appears to have been a close personal friend. As such, suggests Hicks, "a more improbable object of Clarence's hostility it is difficult to imagine". However, in December 1476 Clarence's wife,

Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence Lady Isabel Neville (5 September 1451 – 22 December 1476) was the elder daughter and co-heiress of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the ''Kingmaker'' of the Wars of the Roses), and Anne de Beauchamp, suo jure 16th Countess of Warwic ...

, died, probably from complications following childbirth. By April the following year, Clarence appears to have convinced himself that Isabel had been poisoned. He arrested Twynho, who had been one of her

ladies ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

, and one other, and intended to arrest Tocotes for masterminding the plot. Sir Roger Tocotes was also accused by Clarence of aiding, abetting and harbouring the criminals, although he managed to avoid capture. Clarence seems to have considered him the guiding hand behind the operation, with Twynho and Thursby his agents. Of the three accused, Tocotes was the most important. Unlike the Twynhos, he was a member of the leading county gentry. His wife, Elizabeth Braybrooke of St Amand, was the sister-in-law of the

bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

, Richard Beauchamp, whose

executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, is sometimes used. Executor of will An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker o ...

he was to be. By 1477, Tocotes was a

knight banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the pennon flown by the lower- ...

and had twice been Member of Parliament for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

and

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

. Tocotes having not yet been apprehended, Twynho's trial went ahead without him; she was found guilty and executed. However, on 11 May 1477, a

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

of ''

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...

'' was dispatched to the sheriff of Warwick, transferring their case to the King's Bench in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. On learning of this writ—which removed the danger of his arrest by the Duke—Tocotes surrendered himself to the

Marshalsea Prison The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, ...

; he was later acquitted of complicity in the death of the Duchess. Historians have suggested that previously loyal household servants such as Twynho, and intimates as Tocotes, may no longer have felt the Duke's service provided security or the prospect of promotion. It is known, for example, that even before Clarence's execution, Tocotes had become Master of Game for the queen,

. However, notwithstanding his role in Clarence's downfall, he received little royal favour and actually lost the stewardships of Ringwood and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

to a royal servant, William Berkeley.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:tocotes, roger 15th-century English nobility 15th-century English MPs People from Wiltshire 1470s in England History of Warwickshire Treason in the United Kingdom George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence Fugitives wanted on murder charges Fugitives wanted by the United Kingdom Elizabeth Woodville