Baron Cobham
The title Baron Cobham has been created numerous times in the Peerage of England; often multiple creations have been extant simultaneously, especially in the fourteenth century.
The earliest creation was in 1313 for Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham, lord of the manors of Cobham and of Cooling, both in the county of Kent. The de Cobham family died out in the male line in 1408, with the death of the 3rd Baron Cobham, but the title continued via a female line to the Brooke family, which originated near Ilchester in Somerset. Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham, was attainted in 1603, when the peerage became abeyant instead of becoming extinct. In 1916, the attainder was removed and the abeyance terminated in favour of the fifteenth baron. The twelfth to fourteenth barons never actually held the title. This creation became abeyant again in 1951.
The second creation was in 1324, when Sir Ralph de Cobham was summoned to parliament as Baron Cobham. The history of this creation is unknown following the death of the 2nd baron in or after 1378.
The third creation was in 1326, when Sir Stephen de Cobham of Rundale, in the parish of Shorne in Kent was summoned to parliament, again as Baron Cobham. Sir Stephen de Cobham was a cousin of Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham of Cobham. This creation became abeyant no later than 1429.
The fourth creation was in 1342, when Reginald de Cobham was summoned to parliament. However, this creation became extinct on the death of the second baron in 1403.
The fifth creation was in 1645, when John Brooke was created Baron Cobham, but this title became extinct upon his death in 1660.
There was a sixth creation in 1714, in the Peerage of Great Britain, for Sir Richard Temple, 4th Baronet. Since he had no children, there was a seventh creation for him in 1718, when he was created Baron Cobham again and Viscount Cobham, and the latter two titles are extant. He was grandson of Sir Peter Temple, 2nd Baronet and his wife Christian, daughter of Sir John Leveson and his wife Frances, daughter of Sir Thomas Sondes and his wife Margaret, daughter of William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham.
Barons Cobham (of (Cobham, in) Kent); First Creation (1313)
The Cobhams were a family of lawyers who worked as circuit judges on the eyre and in local government in various roles such as Sheriff of Kent and Warden of the Cinque Ports.John de Cobham, of Cobham and of Cooling, Constable of Rochester Castle in Kent and one of the Barons of the Exchequer, who married Joan de Septvans, a daughter and co-heiress of Sir Robert de Septvans of Chartham in Kent. A monumental brass, laid down in 1320, survives in St Mary Magdalene's Church, Cobham, of Joan Septvans which displays one of the earliest known specimens of a Gothic canopy. John's younger brother, Sir Henry de Cobham, of nearby Randall in the parish of Shorne, was the father of Stephen de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham of Rundale- a title that was created in 1326.
Henry Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham (1260–1339)
, son and heir of John de Cobham and Joan de Septvans. He was summoned by writ to Parliament in 1313, when he is deemed to have been created Baron Cobham. In 1303/4 he was appointed Constable of Rochester Castle for life; in 1314/15 he was Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports. He married Maud de Moreville, widow of Matthew de Columbers and a daughter of Eudes de Moreville. He died at his daughter-in-law's home at Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset, the seat of the Beauchamp family's feudal barony of Hatch Beauchamp, and was buried in the Beauchamp Chapel at Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset.John de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham (d. 1355)
, son and heir. Elected six times a Member of Parliament for Kent, served as Constable of Rochester Castle. From 1335 he was Admiral of the Fleet from the Thames westward. He married firstly Joan Beauchamp, a daughter of John Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset; and secondly to Agnes Stone, a daughter of Richard Stone of Dartford. He was buried in Cobham Church, where survives his monumental brass, inscribed in rhyming French: "You who pass round this place pray for the soul of the courteous host called John de Cobham May God grant him entire pardon He died the day after the feast of St Mattew and the Almighty took him to himself in the year of grace 1354 and cast down his mortal enemies".John Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham (d. 1408)
, son and heir by his father's first wife. He built nearby Cooling Castle on his estate at Cooling, Kent, acquired by his ancestors in the mid-13th century. In 1362 he founded Cobham College in the parish church of Cobham, a chantry employing a college of five priests. He married Margaret Courtenay, a daughter of Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon of Tiverton Castle in Devon.In 1388 he was one of the Lords Appellant who impeached various of the favourites of King Richard II, including de la Pole and de Vere. In 1397/8 he himself was impeached for his role as a Lord Appellant and was sentenced to death but pardoned on condition of his exile to Jersey. Henry IV restored the estates and he returned to England, where he died in 1408, at a great age. He was buried in the Greyfriars, London, but his monumental brass survives in Cobham Church, next to that of his wife, inscribed in French: "From the earth I was made and formed and into earth and to earth am I returned John of Cobham Founder of this place which was previously named. May the Holy Trinity have mercy on my soul". He died without male issue, leaving an only child and sole heiress Joan de Cobham, who predeceased her father, wife of Sir John de la Pole of Chrishall in Essex and of Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire, a first cousin of Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk.
Joan de la Pole, ''suo jure'' 4th Baroness Cobham (d. 1434)
Joan de la Pole, suo jure 4th Baroness Cobham, granddaughter and heiress of the 3rd Baron. She married five times: firstly to Sir Robert Hemenhale of Norfolk, buried in Westminster Abbey; secondly to Sir Reynold Braybroke who died on the Continent and was buried in Cobham Church, where survives his monumental brass; thirdly she married Sir Nicholas Hawberk, who was buried in Cobham Church, where survives his monumental brass; fourthly she married Sir John Oldcastle, jure uxoris Baron Cobham, 1st Baron Oldcastle, who was hanged as a heretic and traitor. Fifthly she married Sir John Harpeden who survived her by 24 years and was buried in Westminster Abbey, where survives his monumental brass. Joan died in 1434 and was buried in Cobham Church, where survives her monumental brass, commemorating also her second husband Sir Reynold Braybroke, and her 6 sons and 4 daughters, with 6 coats of arms. She died without surviving male issue when her heir became her only surviving daughter Joan Braybroke, the wife of Sir Thomas Brooke of Holditch, Devon.Joan Braybroke, ''suo jure'' 5th Baroness Cobham (d. 1442)
, the 4th Baroness's daughter by her second husband Sir Reynold Braybrooke. She married Sir Thomas Brooke of Holditch in the parish of Thorncombe, Devon.The Brooke family originated at the estate of "la Brook" near Ilchester in Somerset, and later resided at Holditch in the parish of Thorncombe and at Weycroft in the parish of Axminster, both in Devon, both fortified manor houses. Following their inheritance the Brooke family moved to Cobham Hall in Kent.