Sir William Cooke (14 February 1572 – 2 March 1619) of

Highnam Court Highnam Court is a Grade I listed country house in Highnam, Gloucestershire, England, constructed in the 17th century. The estate passed from the Cooke family to the Guise family and, in the mid-19th century, was purchased by a member of the Gamb ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at various times between 1597 and 1614.

Origins

He was the son of William Cooke (died 1589) of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, Member of Parliament, a younger son of Sir

Anthony Cooke Sir Anthony Cooke (1504 – 11 June 1576) was an English humanist scholar. He was tutor to Edward VI. Family Anthony Cooke was the only son of John Cooke (died 10 October 1516), esquire, of Gidea Hall, Essex, and Alice Saunders (died 1510), da ...

Gidea Hall Gidea Hall was a manor house in Gidea Park, the historic parish and Royal liberty of Havering-atte-Bower, whose former area today is part of the north-eastern extremity of Greater London. The first record of Gidea Hall is in 1250, and by 1410 ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. His mother was Frances Grey, a first-cousin to Lady Jane Grey and a granddaughter of

Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 10 October 1530) was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner of the House of Grey. Early life Grey was the third son and heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455–1501), ...

and of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu. His father held the office of Clerk of Liveries in the Court of Wards and arranged for the office to be passed on to his son.

Career

Cooke was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

in 1583. He became Clerk of Liveries on the death of his father in 1589, though he was only 17. He was admitted for the study of law at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1592. In 1593 he went abroad, with a two-years’ licence to travel after his mother's unsuccessful attempt to arrange a marriage for him while he was a minor. By 1596 he was a Justice of the Peace for Hertfordshire. Cooke's father's eldest sister,

Mildred Cooke Mildred Cecil, Baroness Burghley (née Cooke; 1526 – 4 April 1589) was an English noblewoman and translator in the sixteenth century. She was the wife of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the most trusted adviser of Elizabeth I, and the mother ...

, had married

Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

, and Cooke received patronage from both Burghley and

Sir Robert Cecil Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury served as the ...

, his own first cousin. Cecil's influence may have secured him his seats in Parliament. In 1597 he was elected a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map she ...

. By January 1599 he was Purveyor to the Stable and had sufficient property to offer himself, with six men and horses, for service to Queen Elizabeth I. In 1601 he was elected an MP for

. He was knighted at

Theobalds House Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Set in extensive parkland, it was a ...

on 7 May 1603. In 1604 he was elected an MP for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

. He enhanced his estates by purchasing further land in and around

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, and also owned Ribbesford Manor and other property in Worcestershire. In the reign of King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

he was keeper of the lodge and herbage of Hartwell Park, Northamptonshire. By 1605 he was a JP for Gloucestershire. He was steward of the manor of

Bury St. Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A ...

by 1614. In 1614 he was elected as an MP for

Marriages and children

Cooke married twice: *Firstly to Joyce Lucy, only child of Thomas Lucy (1551–1605) of

Charlecote Charlecote is a village and civil parish south of Warwick, on the River Avon, in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 194. The parish touches Wasperton, Newbold Pacey ...

, Warwickshire (son of Sir Thomas Lucy) by his first wife, Dorothea Arnold, only child and sole heiress of Ronald Arnold of

. As Joyce's mother died soon after her birth, she became the heiress of Highnam which she thus brought to Cooke on her marriage. By his wife he had at least three sons and five daughters, including: **Anne Cooke, youngest daughter, wife of Sir Sir Peter Ball, of

Mamhead Mamhead is a rural village and civil parish near Dawlish and Kenton in Devon, South West England, in the Teignbridge local authority area. Current community venues includMamhead Village Halland The Church of England parish church, dedicated to ...

in Devon, and mother of the astronomer William Ball, founder and treasurer of the Royal Society, and of the physician Peter Ball, both Fellows of the Royal Society. *Secondly he married Radigan (also spelt Radagand, etc.) Boscawen, second daughter of Nicholas Boscawen of Cornwall (a member of whose family was created

Viscount Falmouth Viscount Falmouth is a title that has been created twice, first in the Peerage of England, and then in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 for George FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of King Ch ...

in 1706) and widow of

Richard Cole Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

(1568-1614) of

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

in the parish of

Cornwood Cornwood is a village and civil parish in the South Hams in Devon, England. The parish has a population of 988. The village is part of the electoral ward called ''Cornwood'' and Sparkwell. The ward population at the 2011 census was 2,321. Blac ...

, Devon, and of Bokish in the parish of Woolfardisworthy in North Devon, whose large monument with effigy survives in All Hallows Church, Woolfardisworthy. The marriage was childless. It seems she was loved by her two Cooke step-daughters (namely Elizabeth Scudamore of

Kentchurch Court Kentchurch Court is a Grade I listed stately home east from the village of Kentchurch in Herefordshire, England. History It is the family home of the Scudamore family. Family members included Sir John Scudamore, who acted as constable a ...

in Herefordshire and Ann Ball, wife of Sir Peter Ball, of

in Devon,) who each named one of their daughters "Radagand".Harding, T.J., ''Woolsery Church: The Parish Church of All Hallows, Woolfardisworthy West'', A History and Guide, first published 1978, updated and reprinted 2006, p.7

Death

Cooke died at the age 45, and the clerkship of the liveries, which had become ‘quasi-hereditary’, stayed in his family.

Notes

References

*J E Neale, ''The Elizabethan House of Commons'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
Tudor Place
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, William 1572 births 1619 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School Members of Gray's Inn Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall People from Highnam English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614