Sir Richard Cockburn of Clerkington, Lord Clerkintoun (1565–1627) was a senior government official in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
serving as
Lord Privy Seal of Scotland during the reign of
James VI
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
.
[Anderson, William, ''The Scottish Nation; or the Surnames, Families, Honours and Biographical History of the People of Scotland'', vol. 1, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1862]
Life
He was the eldest son and heir of Sir John Cockburn of Clerkington, and Helen Maitland, a daughter of
Richard Maitland
Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington and Thirlstane (1496 – 1 August 1586) was a Senator of the College of Justice, an Ordinary Lord of Session from 1561 until 1584, and notable Scottish poet. He was served heir to his father, Sir William Mait ...
of
Lethington. He was born around 1565 at Clerkington House near
Haddington,
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the his ...
.
In March 1589 he went to London with
John Colville, Laird of Easter Wemyss and kissed the hand of
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to:
Queens regnant
* Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms
* Queen ...
. He stayed in the house of
Archibald Douglas in London, but wrote to his uncle the
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
,
John Maitland, that he was not minded to have any dealing with Douglas.
Thomas Fowler heard that
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster".
Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wal ...
had arranged for him to have a present of a gold chain, but the gift fell through.
Cockburn trained as a lawyer and became a judge. He accompanied
James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
to Denmark, and gave money to the skipper of the Scottish ships when the king visited the dockyard at Copenhagen on 3 March 1590.
In February 1591,
James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
attended the wedding of his sister to the young Laird of Lugton at
Thirlestane Castle, hosted by the uncle of the bride, the Chancellor, John Maitland. where "friendship was confirmed with a carouse".
In April 1591 he was made
Secretary of State. In May he took letters relating to shipping to James VI at
Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish Kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, providing an escape from political and religious turmoil. Today it is under the stewardship of ...
, with the news that Queen Elizabeth was sending 40 male deer from Colchester as a present for him.
He was Secretary of State to James VI from April 1591 to 1596. In September 1591 Cockburn was admitted as a
Lord of Session
The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...
.
[ According to the English ambassador Robert Bowes, Cockburn had been "Master of Ceremonies" and this office was transferred to the Master of Work, William Schaw. These appointments followed the death of Lewis Bellenden.
In November 1591, he was elected a ]Senator of the College of Justice
The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Sessio ...
being elected at the same time as Andrew Wemyss, Lord Myrecairnie
Andrew Wemyss, Lord Myrecairnie (c.1545–1617) was a 16th/17th century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice.
Life
In the 14th century King David III granted lands in Fife to John Wemyss of Reres and Kincaldrum, previously ...
.
Ambassador in 1594
In July 1594 he was sent as ambassador to London to advise on the danger posed by the Catholic Earls in Scotland and to ask for assistance, especially money, James VI hoped for £3,000 sterling at least. He also complained about the entertainment of the poet Henry Lok
Henry Lok (Lock, Locke) (1553?-1608?) was an English poet.
Life
He was third son of Henry Lok, a London mercer (d. 1571), by his wife Anne Vaughan, the poet. Michael Lok the traveller was the poet's uncle, and Sir William Lok was his grandfathe ...
, an agent of the rebel Earl of Bothwell
Earl of Bothwell was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. Subsequently, the earldom was re-created for the 4th Earl's nephew and heir of line, F ...
at the English court, and the residence of the outlawed Master John Colville at Tweedmouth
Tweedmouth is part of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, England. It is located on the south bank of the River Tweed and is connected to Berwick town centre, on the north bank, by two road bridges and a railway bridge. Tweedmouth ...
. On 15 September 1594 he was still in London where he met the queen and kissed her hand. He was accompanied by James Bellenden and George Douglas of Longniddry
Longniddry ( sco, Langniddry, gd, Nuadh-Treabh Fada)
...
, a servant of Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...
. He wrote in friendly terms to Sir Robert Cecil, who replied on 17 September 1594.
On 12 November 1594 Robert Cecil gave him a letter from the queen to carry back to James VI. He was given £3,000 or £2,000 for James VI. Elizabeth let it be known that the money should be taken to Scotland, and not spent in London, as had happened to the annuity or subsidy money in previous years. He passed £680 Scots from this sum to the goldsmith and royal financier Thomas Foulis
Thomas Foulis ( fl. 1580–1628) was a Scottish goldsmith, mine entrepreneur, and royal financier.
Thomas Foulis was an Edinburgh goldsmith and financier, and was involved in the mint and coinage, gold and lead mining, and from May 1591 the receip ...
for the king's use. The rest of the money was sent to the Duke of Lennox
The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Dumbarton, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lenno ...
for the wages of his soldiers in the north of Scotland. The cost of Cockburn's embassy was met with £1,000 Scots from the Danish dowry, which had been invested with the town council of Haddington.
In 1595 Cockburn's trip to England to see the queen was mentioned in a letter from James to Elizabeth.[Akrigg, G. P. V., ''Letters of James VI & I'', University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1984.] Cockburn wrote to Hudson on 22 May in the "spirit of prophecy" about the fortunes of his uncle the Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower st ...
, John Maitland of Thirlestane
Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Wate ...
and his adversaries. In July Maitland wrote to the Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
, about their future "diligent intercourse of intelligence" involving Cockburn and Anthony Bacon. Essex replied that he wrote only with the queen's knowledge, and they would be happy to receive letters from Maitland or Cockburn.
In September 1595 his uncle the Chancellor, John Maitland became mortally ill and could not sleep, despite the efforts of the court physician Martin Schöner
Dr Martin Schöner or Schönerus (died 1611), physician to James VI and I and Anne of Denmark.
Schöner was born in Głogów in Lower Silesia, then a part of the Habsburg Empire, but was considered to be from Thuringia. He is said to have been a ...
. Maitland sent Cockburn to the king with a message to excuse his previous quarrels with the Earl of Mar
There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. The ...
and the king wrote a kind letter in reply.
Later career
In May 1596 Sir Richard was replaced as Secretary of State by John Lindsay of Balcarres
John Lindsay of Balcarres (1552–1598) was Secretary of State, Scotland. On 5 July 1581 he was appointed a Lord of Session under the title Lord Menmuir.
Life
He was the second son of David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford and Catherine Campbell, d ...
, one of the eight Octavians
The Octavians were a financial commission of eight in the government of Scotland first appointed by James VI on 9 January 1596.
James VI's minister John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane had died on 3 October 1595, and his financial sit ...
who were appointed by James in January of that same year as commissioners to reform the financial processes of the Scottish government.[Fraser, Sir William, ''Memorials of the Earls of Haddington, vol. 1'', Edinburgh, 1889.] On 14 November he returned to the Privy Council the original signed copy of a letter which Elizabeth had written on 2 June 1586, offering annual gifts of money for the king's expenses.
In 1598 Sir Richard regained the office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal. The office has rem ...
, a position that had been taken over temporarily by John Lindsay. In 1610 he was confirmed as a member in the new Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
and at the same time appointed to the Court of High Commission
The Court of High Commission was the supreme ecclesiastical court in England. Some of its powers was to take action against conspiracies, plays, tales, contempts, false rumors, books. It was instituted by the Crown in 1559 to enforce the Act of U ...
for church affairs. But in February 1626 he was removed from the bench as a result of the resolution by the new king, Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
, that no noblemen nor officers of the state be simultaneously members of the judiciary.[
He died in October 1627 in Haddington.][Cockburn-Hood, Thomas H., ''The House of Cockburn and that Ilk and the Cadets Thereof'', Scott and Ferguson, Edinburgh, 1888.]
Family
His sister Marion Cockburn married Thomas Otterburn of Redhall and Auldhame
Auldhame and Scoughall are hamlets in East Lothian, Scotland. They are close to the town of North Berwick and the village of Whitekirk, and are approximately east of Edinburgh.
Saint Baldred's legacy
It is said that the 8th-century Christ ...
in 1595.
In about 1611 Sir Richard married his distant cousin, Margaret Cockburn, the daughter of Sir William Cockburn of Langton. The Cockburns were an important land-owning family in the Scottish Lowlands
The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...
since the early part of the 14th century. The marriage brought together the wealthy Langton and politically influential Clerkington branches of that family. Sir Richard and Margaret had a daughter, born in March 1612 in Edinburgh; a son Patrick, born in March 1613 who died in infancy; and a second son Patrick who was born in November 1614. Sir Richard was succeeded as Laird of Clerkington by his son Patrick.[ Rogers, Rev. Charles, ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Volume 1, Second Edition, Royal Historical Society, London, 1875.]
Church records confirm that Sir Richard had at least seven illegitimate children, all born in Edinburgh, with one or more unrecorded women. Jeane was born in April 1599. Anna was born in March 1604. Johne was born in April 1605. Helene was born in December 1606. Richard was born in July 1608. William was born in August 1609. Issobel was born in December 1610. In 1620 Jeane married James Pringle, the 5th Laird of Torwoodlee.
References
Thomas H. Cockburn-Hood, ''The house of Cockburn of that ilk'' (Edinburgh, 1888)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, Richard
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
16th-century Scottish people
17th-century Scottish people
Government of Scotland
Court of James VI and I
Scottish diplomats
Ambassadors of Scotland to England
People from East Lothian
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1617
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1621
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1625