Robert de Stokes

7.  ROBERT DE7 STOKES CUSTODIAN OF NEWCASTLE MNT (JOHN DE6, ROBERT DE5, ROGER DE4, SIR RICHARD DE3, WILLIAM DE STOKE OR FITZ2 RANULF, RANULPHUS DE1 PRAERS LORD OF VIL OF STOKES) was born Abt. 1203 in Essex, England.  He married MISS DE PRAERS Abt. 1228 in Gosfield, Essex, England, daughter of RICHARD DE PRAERS.  She was born Abt. 1207 in Gosfield, Essex, England.

ROBERT STOKES

He was on the side of Earl Simon de Montfort fighting the injustice and tyranny of Henry III. He fought in the Battle of Evesham (1265) where he was badly defeated and had a large part of his property confiscated. When Henry died, Edward gave his property back and made him Sheriff of Lincolnshire A sherrif was an important and powerful person. Back then, a shire was the largest unit of local government and a sheriff was its executive officer, appointed by the king to see that his writs were executed.

The Noblemen

English noblemen

      The next generations of Stokes were now the ruling class, and so continued to be in positions of power, holding public office. This of course makes it much easier for future descendants to trace the line.

      Many momentous events in English history took place during these hundreds of years and the Stokes' had their part in them. It is the feeling of the genealogists of this line that the family's influence in English history was a constructive one. To put it another way, they were usually aligned with the right side.

      During this time, the family was very much a part of the Court. In succeeding generations, they would gradually become less so and would enter the phase of Stokes which I call the Age of the Gentlemen.

Links

• http://www.wirrelwind.net/SFR/randestokes10381.htm