The Cobbe family is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

landed family The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical Social structure of the United Kingdom#History, British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a Estate (land), country estate. Whil ...

. The family has a notable history, and has produced several prominent Irish politicians, clergymen, writers, activists and soldiers, such as philosopher, writer and social reformer

Frances Power Cobbe Frances Power Cobbe (4 December 1822 – 5 April 1904) was an Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, religious thinker, social reformer, anti-vivisection activist and leading women's suffrage campaigner. She founded a number of animal advocacy group ...

and

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir

Alexander Cobbe General Sir Alexander Stanhope Cobbe (6 June 1870 – 29 June 1931) was a senior British Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Com ...

VC.

Family history

The Cobbes were originally from Steventon, Swarraton,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, with roots traceable back to the 13th century, possibly including a Richard Cobbe, priest of St. Martin's Church, Winchester in 1323, a Robert Cobbe at the Siege of Calais and

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

in 1346, and the Richard Cobbe who was Vice-President of

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

and bequeathed a legacy to the college on his death in 1597. The earliest individual from whom descent is clearly documented is William Cobbe of Steventon (c.1450). A later Richard Cobbe was

Knight of the Shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

for Hampshire in Cromwell's short Parliament of 1656. His son Thomas Cobbe,

Receiver General A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Recei ...

for County Southampton, married the daughter of

James Chaloner James Chaloner (1602–1660) was an English politician on the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War, and commissioner at the trial of King Charles I. Biography Chaloner was born in the parish of St Olave Silver Street, London, the f ...

, grandson of the Elizabethan poet and statesman Sir Thomas Chaloner. James Chaloner was briefly

Governor of the Isle of Man The title of Governor of the Isle of Man existed until 1828. Other titles were also used, especially before 1595. *Holan (1219–?), titled Seneschal *''List incomplete'' *Fogall McHascatt (1260–?), titled Seneschal *Godfrey MacManus (1266– ...

and author of ''A Short Treatise on the Isle of Man'', and some sources indicate that Thomas Cobbe himself later also carried that title. The founder of the Cobbe family in Ireland was

Charles Cobbe Charles Cobbe (1686 in Swarraton – 1765) was Archbishop of Dublin from 1743 to 1765, and as such was Primate of Ireland. Early life Cobbe was the second son of Thomas Cobbe, of Swarraton, Winchester, Receiver General for County Southampt ...

, son of Thomas, Archbishop of Dublin and

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in t ...

, who served as viceregal chaplain to his cousin

Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton (1661 – 21 January 1722) was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Member of Parliament for Hampshire and a supporter of William III of Orange. Life He was the son of Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, and Mary S ...

the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

, moved from Winchester and established the

Newbridge Estate Newbridge Demesne is an early 18th-century Georgian estate and mansion situated in north County Dublin, Ireland. It was built in 1736 by Charles Cobbe, Archbishop of Dublin, and remained the property of his Cobbe descendants until 1985. It wa ...

outside Dublin in 1736. This remained the family home until 1985, after being acquired by

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...

in a unique arrangement with the family, who continue to maintain it as a family home. The son of Archbishop Charles Cobbe and his wife Dorothy Levinge, daughter of

Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet (2 May 1656 – 13 July 1724) was an Irish politician and judge, who played a leading part in Irish public life for more than 30 years. Background Levinge was born at Leek, Staffordshire, the second son of Rich ...

, was Colonel

Thomas Cobbe Thomas Cobbe (1733–1814), of Newbridge, was an Irish politician. Early life Cobbe was born in London in 1733 into the prominent Cobbe family. His mother, Dorothea Levinge, a daughter of Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet, died during childbirt ...

MP (1733–1815). He and his wife, Lady Eliza Beresford, daughter of the

Earl of Tyrone The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created as part of the Tudor attempt to establish a uniform social structure in Ireland by converting the Gaelic kings and chiefs into hereditary nobles of t ...

, extended Newbridge House and to house their picture collection built the Red Drawing-room that remains one of the finest 18th-century interiors in Ireland. He was predeceased by his son, Charles Cobbe MP (1756–1798). The great-grandson of Archbishop Cobbe was Charles Cobbe (1781–1857) who is notable mainly as having kept extensive diaries chronicling the life of a rural landlord and his tenants. He served briefly in India under Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington. The diarist Charles Cobbe's younger brother, Thomas Alexander Cobbe, married the Nuzeer Begum, daughter of Aziz Khan of Kashmir, part of the

Indian nobility Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, and traded

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

to Britain in addition to work in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. In 2011 the family has come to attention as being the possessors of the Cobbe portrait, claimed to be the sole remaining portrait of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

painted from life, which has provoked considerable scholastic discussion.

Family Tree

(1686–1765),

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

. *

Eliza Dorothea Cobbe, Lady Tuite Lady Eliza Dorothea Tuite (née Cobbe) (c. 1764-1850) was an Irish author and poet. She was a member of the Anglo-Irish gentry, the distinguished Cobbe family. Life and work Elizabeth Dorothea Cobbe was born circa 1764. She was the daughter of C ...

(1764–1850), poet. *

(1822–1904), philosopher, writer, social reformer and suffragist. Founded a number of animal advocacy groups, including the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) in 1898, was a member of the executive council of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage, and authored a large number of influential philosophical and religious works. *General Sir

VC GCB KCSI DSO (1870–1931), recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. *

Anne Cobbe Anne Philippa Cobbe (7 August 1920 – 15 December 1971) was a mathematician at the University of Oxford. She was an inspirational and supportive pure mathematics tutor at Somerville College which, during her time there, was still a women's coll ...

(1920–1971) Mathematician. Pure Mathematics tutor at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

. * Hugh Cobbe OBE(b 1942) last private owner of Newbridge House, formerly with the British Library, father of the Countess of Dalkeith.

Other Cobbs and Cobbes in Ireland

Genealogical records indicate the existence of other Cobb and Cobbe families in Ireland, including French refugees during the Huguenot settlements in Ireland who settled in

Portarlington, County Laois Portarlington, historically called Cooletoodera (from ), is a town on the border of County Laois and County Offaly, Ireland. The River Barrow forms the border. The town was recorded in the 2016 census as having a population of 8,368. History ...

.''The

Irish Law Times The ''Irish Law Times'' () is a law journal for practitioners and academic lawyers that covers a range of legal topics. Its forerunner, the ''Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal'' (), was first established in 1865. The journal included law r ...

and solicitors' journal'' Volume 27 1893 Adjudications in bankruptcy – Cobbe, George, of Portarlington, Queen's County, publican and harness maker. 23 December 1892;

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Families of Irish ancestry Irish families People from Portarlington, County Laois