John Cobbold (1746–1835) was an English businessman in

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, ...

. At the age of 22 he started running

Cliff Brewery The Cliff Brewery is a Grade II listed former brewery in Ipswich, England. The building dates to 1896 and was designed by William Bradford. Location The building is located on Cliff Lane, near the Ipswich wet dock. History The business that ...

, part of the family brewing business established by his grandfather, Thomas Cobbold. More than thirty men of the Cobbold family have been named John, but he was known as "Big John". He greatly expanded the family business and had 22 children. His father Thomas Cobbold left money to his sons and daughters, in trust to his wife, Sarah Cobbold. She leased the family brewery 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 ...

to John and his partner Charles Cox. In 1773 he married Elizabeth Wilkinson, with whom he had 15 children before her death in 1790. They moved into the Manor House, St Margaret's Green, located by

St Margaret's Church, Ipswich St Margaret's Church is a medieval church in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It was built in around 1300 by the Augustinian canons of the adjacent Priory of the Holy Trinity to cater for the increasing population. The building and much of the congreg ...

. In 1791 he married Elizabeth Knipe in

St Clement's Church, Ipswich St Clement's Church, Ipswich, is a redundant church. The church is one of twelve medieval churches in Ipswich, six of which had been declared redundant by the 1970s. In the twenty-first century it was taken over by Ipswich Historic Churches Trus ...

, with whom he had another 7 children.

References

1746 births 1835 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

English brewers English bankers Businesspeople from Ipswich {{UK-business-bio-1740s-stub