William Rokeby
William Rokeby (died 29 November 1521) was a leading statesman and cleric in early sixteenth-century Ireland, who held the offices of Bishop of Meath, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He is commemorated in the Rokeby Chapels in two Yorkshire churches, St Oswald's Church, Kirk Sandall, and Halifax Minster. Early life. He was born at Kirk Sandall, near Doncaster, eldest of the five sons of John Rokeby (died 1506). By 1521 his health was failing: he retired to Kirk Sandall and died there on 29 November. In his will he left £200 to  rebuild St. Mary's Church, Beverley, whose tower has collapsed the previous year. The Rokeby Chapels. Rokeby made elaborate provision in his will for the disposal of his remains. In accordance with his wishes, his body was buried in St Oswald's Church, Kirk Sandall, but his heart and bowels were buried in the Church of St John the Baptist, Halifax (now known as Halifax Minster). Mortuary chapels were erected at both spots, which still exist today. Character. O'Flanagan praises Rokeby as a good man, a good bishop and, so far as we can tell from the scanty records, a  good judge. Elrington Ball, while acknowledging his good qualities, suggests that he was a failure as Irish Lord Chancellor, due partly to his frequent absences in England.