Charles Cox (c. 1731 – 7 April 1808) was a prominent English businessman active in

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. He was mayor of Harwich Corporation six times: 1778, 1784, 1789, 1793, 1798, and 1803. He was an agent for the Harwich

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

. Cox had an enduring working relationship with

John Cobbold (1746–1835) John Cobbold (1746–1835) was an English businessman in Ipswich. At the age of 22 he started running Cliff Brewery, part of the family brewing business established by his grandfather, Thomas Cobbold (1680–1752), Thomas Cobbold. More than thirt ...

after the latter inherited the Cobbold family brewing business in 1767. In 1770, they went into partnership, leasing the Cobbold's family brewery from Sarah Cobbold, John's mother. They founded a private bank together, which became Cox, Cobbold & Co., also known as the Harwich Bank. For many years, this bank had the same partners as another bank, Bacon, Cobbold & Co., of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Death

He was interred in the family vault St Nicholas Church, Harwich, alongside his son, also Charles Cox, who had died age 5, and two grandchildren, Charles and Mary-Ann Cox, both children of his son Anthony Cox and Mary-Anne Cox.

References

{{reflist, 2 1730s births 1808 deaths English bankers People from Harwich Mayors of places in Essex English brewers