STIKELANE, Roger, of Bridport, Dorset.

The Stikelane family had lived in Bridport since the mid 13th century, being then evidently quite wealthy.2Hutchins, ii. 19. In the late 14th century they continued to hold property there, but their interests came to be centred more on Lyme Regis, the borough which John, Ralph and Thomas represented in Parliament.

Roger’s parentage is not known, but the fact that he paid an entrance fee of £2 to be admitted to the freedom of Bridport, suggests that he was not claiming to be a burgess by patrimony. He was probably involved in the town’s manufacture of and trade in rope, for in 1393-4 he held office as one of the searchers of rope and hemp, and it was by the leading dealer in these products, William Mountfort II, that, in 1414, he was asked to witness a conveyance at Pymore. Although his public career made him prominent in Bridport, Roger also had connexions with Lyme: he was one of that town’s delegates who in October 1414 delivered to the sheriff in the county court at Dorchester the names of its parliamentary representatives.3Dorset RO, B3/D2 f. 121v, M11 f. 9; C146/3599; C219/11/5.