faithful discharge of the duties of thy station; and by an humble reliance on the merits of thy Redeemer." Rolle appointed his son Richard II Braginton (1784–1869) as steward of Stevenstone, and the latter's son George Braginton (1808–1886), a merchant and banker, mayor of Great Torrington, was in 1830 Lord Rolle's agent for the Rolle Canal of which he purchased a lease in 1852, ten years after Lord Rolle's death. At the age of 90 Rolle had sufficient vitality to ride at the head of the 1st Devon Yeomanry at its annual inspection. The Rolliad The violence of his attack led the supporters of Fox and Burke to make him the chief object of the Rolliad, which purported to be a literary criticism of an epic poem but was actually a vehicle used by the authors to insult all their opponents. The dedication of the Rolliad reads: Illustrious ROLLE! O may thy honour'd name Roll down distinguish'd on the rolls of fame! Still first be found on Devon's county polls! Still future Senates boast their future ROLLES! It gives a spoof pedigree of the Rolle family, which cannot in reality be traced further back than 16th-century Dorset, as sprung from "Rollo, Duke of the Normans". Although Rolle seemed to be an opponent of Fox, he was not a true supporter of Pitt. He opposed Pitt on Parliamentary reform and on the Duke of Richmond's fortifications plan, and was a member of the St. Alban's Tavern group which tried to create a united Ministry involving both Pitt and Fox. He consistently described himself as an "independent country gentleman". Regency crisis Rolle backed Pitt on the regency crisis in 1789, making a direct attack on the Prince of Wales' relations with Maria Fitzherbert which was thought inappropriate by the Whigs. Rolle responded by saying that he would have made the same speech if the whole House was against him. In the general election in 1790 he was forced into a token contest against a Bampfylde Whig and declared his "firm attachment to Mr Pitt, founded on personal esteem as well as public principles", and was returned with a healthy majority. His opposition to Parliamentary reform continued and intensified due to the French Revolution of 1789; he spoke against Thomas Paine's doctrines and supported the repressive legislation aimed at damping down revolutionary sentiment in Britain. He supported moves to abolish slavery and campaigned