For the hoax figure, see Roger Dodsworth (story)

Roger Dodsworth (1585–1654) was an English antiquary

Antiquarian

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 objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...

.

Life

He was born at Newton Grange, Oswaldkirk

Oswaldkirk

Oswaldkirk is a small village and civil parish near Helmsley in the district of Ryedale in North Yorkshire, England. It is named after the village church of St Oswald, King and Martyr, the Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria who was slain by the pagan, Penda in 642...

, near Helmsley

Helmsley

Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. The town is located at the point where the valleys of Bilsdale and Ryedale leave the higher moorland and join the flat Vale of Pickering. It is situated on the River Rye and lies on the A170 road, east...

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, 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

Matthew Dodsworth 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...

, was registrar of York Minster

York Minster

York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...

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

Penwortham

-Landmarks:Penwortham Priory was built for the Rawsthorne family and redesigned by the Cumbrian architect George Webster. The priory was demolished due to the rapid expansion of the area and the need for new housing...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 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

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

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

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

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

William Dugdale

Sir William Dugdale was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.-Life:...

 (2 vols., 1655 and 1661).

The manuscripts were left to Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron

Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron

Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War...

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

Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

 at Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

. 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

Thomas Levett

Thomas Levett , was an Oxford-educated Lincoln's Inn barrister, judge of the Admiralty for the Northern Counties and High Sheriff of Rutland...

, a native of High Melton, Yorkshire and High Sheriff of Rutland

High Sheriff of Rutland

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Rutland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129...

, who came into possession of the Chartulary

Chartulary

A cartulary or chartulary , also called Pancarta and Codex Diplomaticus, is a medieval manuscript volume or roll containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the foundation, privileges, and legal rights of ecclesiastical establishments, municipal corporations, industrial...

 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

Roche Abbey

Roche Abbey is a now-ruined abbey located near Maltby, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated in a valley alongside Maltby Beck and King's Wood.-Early history:...

.