Robert Cooke (abt. 1535 - 1593)

Born about 1535 in Yorkshire, England [uncertain]

Biography

Robert Cooke is Notable.

Childhood

Robert Cooke was born around 1535.^[1] It is unknown where he was born, but probably in Yorkshire as this is where he was said to have lived before attending college. He was said to be the son of a Catholic tanner.^[2]

He was raised at the court of Sir Edmund Brudenell at Deene Park, Northamptonshire.^[3] It was a common practice at this time for a poorer family to send off a son to a wealthier family. Sir Edmund Brudenell was known to create genealogical pedigrees^[4], something which Robert seems to have picked up on in his youth.

At some point afterwards, he became a servant of Lord Robert Dudley, later the Earl of Leicester.^[5]

Cooke matriculated at St. John's College, Cambridge, on 6th November 1553.^[6] He was admitted on a scholarship paid for by the estate of Marmaduke Constable, who granted money to the college in his will.

He obtained a Bachelor's degree in 1557-8, and left after receiving his Master's degree in 1561.^[6]

College of Arms

The College of Arms was a heraldic institution responsible for granting arms and keeping track of pedigrees. There were three offices, headed by the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk:

1. King of Arms (Garter, Clarenceux, Norroy, Ulster)
2. Herald of Arms (Lancaster, Somerset, Richmond, York, Chester, Windsor)
3. Pursuivant of Arms (Rouge Dragon, Bluemantle, Portcullis, Rouge Croix)

Cooke first joined the College of Arms on 25th January 1561 as a Rose Herald, a title given to him as a junior Pursuivant of Arms.^[7]

Chester Herald

Four days later, on the 29th, he was promoted to Chester Herald of Arms.^[8] This was said to have been done without the consent of the Earl Marshal.^[9] His connection with the now Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley, may have helped Cooke to boost his career in the College of Arms.

As the Chester Herald of Arms, he was a deputy of William Harvey, the Clarenceux King of Arms at the time, who was in charge of all matters heraldry in the South of England.

The first visitation that Cooke took part in was the 1563 Visitation of Warwickshire, as a deputy of Harvey.^[10]

It was perhaps this work with Harvey that showed Cooke's abilities, as after 6 years, he took Harvey's place as Clarenceux King of Arms after he died.

Clarenceux King of Arms

Works

• 1562 - Visitation of Lincolnshire
• 1563 - Visitation of Warwickshire^[10]
• 1563 - Visitation of Leicestershire^[11]
• 1564 - Visitation of Lincolnshire

Research Notes

Cooke lived in a lot of different places in his youth, making it hard to determine a location of birth.

• He supposedly attended Kirkham Grammar School in Lancashire, though there is no evidence for this.
• He was brought up at the court of Sir Edmund Brudenell, who resided in Northamptonshire.
• On his university admittance, he said he was living in Yorkshire at the time.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Cook,_Robert_(d.1593%3F)
2. ↑ John Horace Round (ed), Peerage and pedigree, studies in peerage law and family history, London: James Nisbet & Co, 1910, volume 1, page 102. Archive (accessed 19 June 2023)
3. ↑ Rev. Mark Noble (ed), History of the College of Arms, London: J Deberett, 1804, page 184. Internet Archive (accessed 19 June 2023)
4. ↑ Trevisan, Sara. “Genealogy and Royal Representation: Edmund Brudenell’s Pedigree Roll for Elizabeth I (1558–60).” Huntington Library Quarterly 81, no. 2 (2018): 257–75. JSTOR
5. ↑ Henry Machyn, 'The diary of Henry Machyn, citizen and merchant-taylor of London, from A. D. 1550 to A. D. 1563', London: AMS Press, 1848, page 275. Internet Archive (accessed 19 June 2023)
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "Cooke, Robert (CK553R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
7. ↑ Walter H Godfrey and Anthony Wagner. "Clarenceux King of Arms," in Survey of London Monograph 16, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, (London: Guild & School of Handicraft, 1963), 74-101. British History Online (accessed 19 June 2023)
8. ↑ Walter H Godfrey and Anthony Wagner. "Clarenceux King of Arms," in Survey of London Monograph 16, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, (London: Guild & School of Handicraft, 1963), 74-101. British History Online, accessed June 20, 2023, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/bk16/pp74-101.
9. ↑ Anthony Wagner, Heralds of England: a history of the Office and College of Arms, London : Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1967, page 189. Internet Archive (accessed 20 June 2023)
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} John Fetherston (ed), The Visitation of the County of Warwick in the Year of 1619..., London : Mitchell and Hughes, 1877, page vi. Internet Archive
11. ↑ The Visitation of the County of Leicester in the year 1619, London: Tayler and Co, 1870, page vii. Internet Archive (accessed 1 Jul 2023)

• Wikipedia: Robert Cooke (officer of arms)

• Venn, Cambridge Alumni: Cooke, Robert