He was the eldest son of Christopher Rolleston of Watnall Hall by Anne, daughter of Captain Nicholas, Royal Navy.
[2] He was appointed Colonel of the disembodied Royal Sherwood Foresters Militia on 11 April 1833, and retained the position when the regiment was reformed in 1852, when he commanded it during its initial training periods.
It was embodied for home defence duties in the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny, although the command was exercised by younger officers.
[4] He was re-elected unopposed[3] in 1841[5] and 1847,[6] and resigned from the House of Commons in 1849 by the procedural device of accepting the post of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds.
[2] His daughter Charlotte Frances Anne Rolleston (died January 1853) was married on 11 April 1840 to the Whig politician George Heneage.