Walter Cope
Encyclopedia
Sir Walter Cope was an English
government official of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
, Oxfordshire
, third son of Edward Cope of Hanwell, Oxfordshire
and his wife Elizabeth Mohun, daughter of Walter Mohun of Overstone, Northamptonshire
(who married Walter's stepfather, George Carleton of Wollaston, Northamptonshire
, after Edward Cope's death in 1557). In 1570 he was entered at Gray's Inn
, and he became Gentleman Usher
to Baron Burghley
, and an official of the Court of Wards and Liveries
in 1574. In 1580 he was appointed as the court's feodary for Oxfordshire. He was described as Burghley's secretary by 1593, and had become the trusted friend of Burghley's son, Sir Robert Cecil
. In 1601 he was also appointed feodary for the City of London
and Middlesex
.
In 1603 Cope travelled to Edinburgh
to welcome James I
at his proclamation as the King of England, and was subsequently knight
ed at Worksop
. He later arranged for Cuthbert Burbage
's theatre company to revive William Shakespeare
's play Love's Labour's Lost
to entertain James' consort, Anne of Denmark
, at the home of Cecil. In 1604, Cope was elected Member of Parliament
for Westminster
in James' first Parliament of England
, and was begged for assistance by Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester
when he was incorrectly suspected of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot
.
In 1605, Cope began building a house others called "Cope Castle", later to be inherited by his daughter, Countess of Holland, and known as Holland House, in Kensington
, London
.
In 1609 he was given a life position of Chamberlain
of the Exchequer
, and was granted in October one-sixth of all fines received by the king for the following twenty-one years. In 1611 or 1612, he was made the public Registrar-General of Commerce, and the keeper of Hyde Park
with Cecil.
Following the death of James' son Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
in November 1612, the king spent the night at Cope Castle, being joined the following day by his son Prince Charles
and granddaughter Princess Elizabeth, and Frederick V, Elector Palatine
. The king appointed him Master of the Court of Wards shortly afterwards.
During the Addled Parliament
of 1614, Sir Thomas Parry
, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, was found to have fraudulently altered an electors' return after they had refused to accept his nominees, including Cope, to whom he had offered one of the Stockbridge
seats; Cope's election was subsequently annulled.
Later that year, Cope's elder brother Sir Anthony Cope, 1st Baronet
died. Anthony Cope had been made a baronet
in 1611. Within a month of his brother's death, Cope became unwell, then died at Cope Castle on 30 July 1614. He was buried at Kensington's parish church. Chamberlain later speculated that Cope's heart had been broken by the loss of his brother and subsequent financial commitments (supposedly over £
26,000, a sum equivalent to approximately £3.3m in 2007), along with rumours of losing the mastership of the wards.
, married Sir Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
.
Cope was the ninth-great-grandfather of Winston Churchill
, and the eleventh-great-grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
government official of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Life
Cope was probably born at Hardwick Manor near BanburyBanbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, third son of Edward Cope of Hanwell, Oxfordshire
Hanwell, Oxfordshire
Hanwell is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, northwest of Banbury.-Early history:Remains of a substantial Roman villa have been found just west of the B4100 main road....
and his wife Elizabeth Mohun, daughter of Walter Mohun of Overstone, Northamptonshire
Overstone, Northamptonshire
Overstone is a civil parish and small village in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 650 people....
(who married Walter's stepfather, George Carleton of Wollaston, Northamptonshire
Wollaston, Northamptonshire
Wollaston is a large village in the borough of Wellingborough. in Eastern Northamptonshire, England. The name is derived from the Saxon "Wulfaf's Town" - named after a Saxon chief of that name.-Wollaston Today:...
, after Edward Cope's death in 1557). In 1570 he was entered at Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, and he became Gentleman Usher
Gentleman Usher
Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders.-Historical:...
to Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
, and an official of the Court of Wards and Liveries
Court of Wards and Liveries
The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wardship and livery issues....
in 1574. In 1580 he was appointed as the court's feodary for Oxfordshire. He was described as Burghley's secretary by 1593, and had become the trusted friend of Burghley's son, Sir Robert Cecil
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC was an English administrator and politician.-Life:He was the son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Mildred Cooke...
. In 1601 he was also appointed feodary for the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
.
In 1603 Cope travelled to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
to welcome James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
at his proclamation as the King of England, and was subsequently knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed at Worksop
Worksop
Worksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England on the River Ryton at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. It is about east-south-east of the City of Sheffield and its population is estimated to be 39,800...
. He later arranged for Cuthbert Burbage
Cuthbert Burbage
Cuthbert Burbage was an English theatrical figure, son of impresario James Burbage and elder brother of famous actor Richard Burbage...
's theatre company to revive William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s, and first published in 1598.-Title:...
to entertain James' consort, Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
, at the home of Cecil. In 1604, Cope was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Westminster
Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)
Westminster was a parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of England to 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain 1707-1800 and the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. It returned two members to 1885 and one thereafter....
in James' first Parliament of England
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, and was begged for assistance by Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester
Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester
Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester was an English art collector, diplomat and Secretary of State.-Early life:He was the second son of Antony Carleton of Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, and of Jocosa, daughter of John Goodwin of Winchendon, Buckinghamshire...
when he was incorrectly suspected of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
.
In 1605, Cope began building a house others called "Cope Castle", later to be inherited by his daughter, Countess of Holland, and known as Holland House, in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In 1609 he was given a life position of Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
of the Exchequer
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...
, and was granted in October one-sixth of all fines received by the king for the following twenty-one years. In 1611 or 1612, he was made the public Registrar-General of Commerce, and the keeper of Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
with Cecil.
Following the death of James' son Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
in November 1612, the king spent the night at Cope Castle, being joined the following day by his son Prince Charles
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and granddaughter Princess Elizabeth, and Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....
. The king appointed him Master of the Court of Wards shortly afterwards.
During the Addled Parliament
Addled Parliament
The Addled Parliament was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England , which sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614...
of 1614, Sir Thomas Parry
Thomas Parry (ambassador)
Sir Thomas Parry was an English politician and diplomat during the Tudor period.Thomas Parry was the son of Sir Thomas Parry Senior of Welford Park in Berkshire, the Controller of the Royal Household, by his wife, Anne, the daughter of Sir William Reade of Boarstall in Buckinghamshire.He first...
, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, was found to have fraudulently altered an electors' return after they had refused to accept his nominees, including Cope, to whom he had offered one of the Stockbridge
Stockbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Stockbridge was a parliamentary borough in Hampshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1563 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act...
seats; Cope's election was subsequently annulled.
Later that year, Cope's elder brother Sir Anthony Cope, 1st Baronet
Sir Anthony Cope, 1st Baronet
-Life:He was a grandson of Anthony Cope the author. He was member of Parliament for Banbury in seven parliaments , and then represented Oxfordshire from 1606 until 1614...
died. Anthony Cope had been made a baronet
Cope Baronets
Ther have been four Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Cope.The Baronetcy of Cope of Hanwell, Oxfordshire was created in the Baronetage of England on 29 June 1611 for Anthony Cope of Hanwell Castle. He was a descendant of William Cope, to whom the manor of Hanwell was granted in...
in 1611. Within a month of his brother's death, Cope became unwell, then died at Cope Castle on 30 July 1614. He was buried at Kensington's parish church. Chamberlain later speculated that Cope's heart had been broken by the loss of his brother and subsequent financial commitments (supposedly over £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
26,000, a sum equivalent to approximately £3.3m in 2007), along with rumours of losing the mastership of the wards.
Family
Sir Walter Cope's only child, IsabelIsabel Campbell, Countess of Holland
Isabel Campbell , Countess of Holland was an English noblewoman, born in London, Middlesex, England, to Sir Walter Cope and Dorothy Grenville. Isabel married Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland in 1616. Henry was the son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and Lady Penelope Devereaux...
, married Sir Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland was an English aristocrat, courtier and soldier.-Life:He was the son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and of Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and the younger brother of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick...
.
Cope was the ninth-great-grandfather of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and the eleventh-great-grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
.