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Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers

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Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers
portrait by Mather Brown
Born29 June 1725 Edit this on Wikidata
Died30 January 1806 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 80)
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician, lawyer Edit this on Wikidata
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Eliot, Anne Pole Edit this on Wikidata
Children9[1]
Parent(s)
  • John Cocks Edit this on Wikidata
  • Mary Cocks Edit this on Wikidata
FamilyJames Cocks, Philip Cocks Edit this on Wikidata
TitlesBaron Somers (1, death, 1784–1806) Edit this on Wikidata

Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers (29 June 1725 – 30 January 1806), known as Sir Charles Cocks, 1st Baronet, from 1772 to 1784, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1747 to 1784.

Life

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Cocks was the son of John Cocks and his wife Mary Cocks who was his cousin and daughter of Thomas Cocks of Castleditch and was born on 29 June 1725. His paternal grandfather Charles Cocks was the husband of Mary Somers, sister of John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, Lord Chancellor of England. He matriculated at Worcester College, Oxford in 1742 and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1745, where he was called to the bar in 1750.[1]

Cocks was elected Member of Parliament for Reigate in the 1747 general election and held the seat until 1784. He was appointed Clerk of Deliveries of the Ordnance from 1758 to 1772 and Clerk of the Ordnance from 1772 to 1782.[1]

He succeeded his father in 1771 and the following year was created a baronet of Dumbleton in the County of Gloucester, and on 17 May 1784 the barony inherited from his great-uncle was revived when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Somers, of Evesham in the County of Worcester.[1]

A panel with the coat of arms of Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers, displaying his arms impaling the paternal arms of his second wife, Anne Pole.

He is buried in Eastnor, Herefordshire with a monument sculpted by William Humphries Stephens.[2]

Family

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Lord Somers married, firstly, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Eliot and Harriot, natural daughter of James Craggs the Younger, in 1759. After her death in 1771 he married, secondly, Anne, daughter of Reginald Pole, in 1772. There were children from both marriages. Cocks was succeeded in his titles by his son from his first marriage, John, who was created Earl Somers in 1821. Anne, Lady Somers, died in 1833.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "COCKS, Charles (1725–1806), of Castleditch, Herefs". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  2. ^ Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis p.373
  • Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David, eds. (1990). Somers. New York: St Martin's Press: Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  • Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Somers (107th ed.). Cassells. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Reigate
1747– 1784
With: Philip Yorke 1747
Charles Yorke 1747–1768
John Yorke 1768–1784 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance
1758–1772 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Clerk of the Ordnance
1772–1782 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation Baron Somers
1784–1806 		Succeeded by
Baronetage of Great Britain
New creation Baronet
(of Dumbleton)
1772–1806 		Succeeded by


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