Thomas Rolt Explained

Sir Thomas Rolt (c.1631–1710)^{[1] [2]} was a British official of the East India Company, President of Surat and Governor of Bombay from 1677 to 1681.^{[3] [4]} His father was Edward Rolt of Pertenhall in Bedfordshire; his mother was Edward Rolt's second wife Mary, a daughter of Sir Oliver Cromwell.^[5]

Rolt began his career at the Surat factory of the Company, and was a writer from 1658. He moved to Persia where he was the local chief, agent on the Persian Gulf from 1671 to 1677.^{[5] [6] [7]} During his period as President of Surat, the Company ordered him to cut back expenditure.^[8] Rolt pursued a policy that aimed to be even-handed with respect to the Marathas and the Siddis of Gujarat, which brought him criticism from Richard Keigwin.^[9]

In 1682 Rolt returned to England with a fortune.^[5] He bought the manor of Sacombe in Hertfordshire in 1688, from Sir John Gore. In the vestry of Sacombe Church, there is a memorial to Rolt, who died in 1710, and to his wife, who died in 1716.^[10]

Family

Rolt married Mary, daughter of Thomas Coxe. Edward Rolt the Member of Parliament was their son.^[5] Their daughter Constantia married John Kyrle Ernle.^[11] The marriage also made Rolt stepfather of Samuel Rolt, another Member of Parliament, and the son of Thomas Rolt of Milton Ernest.^[12]

Notes and References

1. Book: Hugh C. Prince. Parks in Hertfordshire Since 1500. 8 August 2013. 2008. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. 978-0-9542189-9-7. 60.
2. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/93241 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Colonial administrators and post-independence leaders in India (1616–2000).
3. Book: George Bradshaw. Bradshaw's Illustrated Hand-Book to the Madras Presidency, and the Central Provinces of India ... Illustrated with splendid maps, etc. 8 August 2013. 1864. W. J. Adams. 5.
4. Book: Great Britain. India Office. The India List and India Office List for .... 8 August 2013. 1819. Harrison and Sons. 125.
5. Book: Eveline Cruickshanks. D. W. Hayton. Stuart Handley. The House of Commons, 1690-1715. 8 August 2013. 1 January 2002. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-77221-1. 297.
6. Book: Anne Rowe. Hertfordshire Garden History: A Miscellany. 9 August 2013. 2007. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. 978-1-905313-38-9. 52.
7. Book: Paul John Rich. Creating the Arabian Gulf: The British Raj and the Invasions of the Gulf. 8 August 2013. 2009. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-0-7391-2705-6. 1183.
8. 5289. Child, Sir John. I. B.. Watson.
9. Book: Philip J. Stern Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of History Duke University. The Company-State : Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India. 8 August 2013. 25 March 2011. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-987518-4. 63.
10. Web site: Parishes: Sacombe . William Page . Institute of Historical Research . 1912 . A History of the County of Hertford: volume 3 . 8 August 2013 .
11. Book: John Burke. Sir Bernard Burke. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland, and Scotland. 8 August 2013. 1844. J. R. Smith. 296.
12. Web site: Members Constituencies Parliaments Surveys . Rolt, Samuel (c.1671-1717), of Epsom, Surr. . Historyofparliamentonline.org . 8 August 2014.