Roger Dodsworth (1585–1654) was an English

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

Life

He was born at Newton Grange, Oswaldkirk, near

Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, in the house of his maternal grandfather, Ralph Sandwith. He devoted himself early to antiquarian research, in which he was greatly assisted by the fact that his father,

Matthew Dodsworth Matthew Dodsworth (c.1544 – 1631) was, sometime before 1593, appointed as Judge of the Admiralty Court in England's Northern Counties and was later Registrar and Chancellor for Tobias Matthew, Archbishop of York. He was also the father of the n ...

, was registrar of

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archb ...

, and could give him access to the records preserved there. He married Holcroft Hesketh, the widow of Laurence Rawsthorne of Hutton Grange,

Penwortham Penwortham () is a town in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the river, with major road and rail links crossing it here. The ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

where he subsequently resided until his death in August 1654.

Works

At various times in his life he was able to study the records in the library of Sir Robert Cotton, in Skipton Castle and in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sepa ...

. He collected a vast store of materials for a history of

, a ''Monasticon Anglicanum'', and an English baronage. The second of these was published with considerable additions by Sir

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Cole ...

(2 vols., 1655 and 1661). The manuscripts were left to

Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented comman ...

, who by his will bequeathed them (160 volumes in all) to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

. Portions have been printed by the Yorkshire Archaeological Society (Dodsworth's ''Yorkshire Notes'', 1884) and the Chetham Society (copies of Lancashire postmortem inquisitions, 1875–1876). Dodsworth was aided in his study of early Yorkshire by Thomas Levett, a native of High Melton, Yorkshire and

High Sheriff of Rutland This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Rutland. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement offic ...

, who came into possession of the Chartulary of St. John of Pontefract, a collection of early Yorkshire documents kept by monks at the Cluniac abbey. In 1626–27 Levett gave the documents to Dodsworth. How Levett came to possess them is unknown, but the Levetts had been prominent in Yorkshire for centuries, and had once controlled Roche Abbey.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodsworth, Roger 1585 births 1654 deaths People from Helmsley Antiquarians from the Kingdom of England 17th-century antiquarians 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers English antiquarians