Francis Rodes

Sir Francis Rodes (c. 1530–1588) of Barlborough Hall in the parish of Barlborough, Derbyshire, was an English judge who took part in the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots. He built Barlborough Hall and was one of the founders of Netherthorpe School. Origins He was the son of John Rodes of Staveley Woodthorpe in Derbyshire, Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1591, by his first wife Attelina Hewett of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The Rodes family of Derbyshire was founded five generations before Francis by William Rodes, who married Emme Cachehors, daughter and heiress of John Cachehors/Cachehaus of Staveley Woodthorpe. The Rodes family traced its ultimate descent from Gerard de Rodes, a prominent baron in the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189). Career Francis was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, but did not graduate. In 1549 he was entered at Gray's Inn, and in 1552 was called to the bar. He was Lent Reader at his Inn in 1566, and double reader in 1576, and seems to have derived a considerable fortune from this practice. In 1577 Rodes purchased the manor of Hanley in the parish of Steveley from Edmund West. In 1578 he was raised to the degree of the Coif, and on 21 August 1582 he was made Queen's Serjeant. On 29 June 1585 he was raised to the bench as Justice of the Common Pleas, and in October 1586 he took part in the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Fotheringay Castle, though not as one of the main judges. Landholdings His principal seat was at Barlborough, Derbyshire, where he built Barlborough Hall, which is still standing; he also purchased extensive estates at Billingsley, Shropshire, Darfield, South Yorkshire, Great Houghton, South Yorkshire and Little Houghton, South Yorkshire.