COCK, John I (by 1479-1548/49), of Sandwich, Kent.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Family and Education

b. by 1479, s. of William Cock of Sandwich. m. Alice.2

Offices Held

Common councilman, Sandwich (St. Clement’s parish) 1500-4, jurat 1505-47, auditor 1510, 1514, 1515, 1533, 1534, mayor 1511-12, keeper of the chest 1513-15, 1516-18, of the orphans 1526-7, 1533-6; bailiff to Yarmouth 1511; burgess to the Shepway 1536.3

Biography

John Cock doubtless belonged to the family which had furnished four Members for Sandwich between 1429 and 1469. His father had been mayor in 1492-3 but when ten years later he himself was elected treasurer he claimed exemption on business grounds and was discharged from the office for life on payment of a 20s.fine. He was none the less to serve the town in many capacities, including that of its delegate to the Brotherhood at Romney on ten occasions in the 16 years from 1507. His membership of the Commons was limited to the five weeks of the Parliament of 1510. The 15 years which were to elapse before the town agreed to give him and John Hobard £2 each in ‘full payment’ of what was owing them in wages may help to explain why Cock was not re-elected: the lapse of time was such that the entry recording the payment represented them as having sat in Parliament under Henry VII, which neither of them had done.4

The only clue which has been found to Cock’s occupation is a decision of the mayor and jurats in 1521 that he should settle a dispute by handing over a quantity of bay salt; this also locates his house as standing next to St. Clement’s stile. His claim to gentility and his possession of property outside the town may mean that he was not actively engaged in trade. By his will, made on 19 Dec. 1548 and proved on the following 9 Feb., he left to his wife Alice in fee simple houses and lands in Kent, especially in the parish of Worth, as well as in the parishes of St. Clement and St. Peter, Sandwich.5

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558

Author: R. J. Knecht

Notes

  • 1. Sandwich white bk. ff. 176 and v.
  • 2. Date of birth estimated from first reference. Canterbury prob. reg. A26, ff. 237-8.
  • 3. Sandwich white bk. ff. 74-368 passim; old red bk. ff. 11-200 passim; treasurers’ accts. Sa/FA t. 19, 30; Cinque Ports White and Black Bks. (Kent Arch. Soc. recs. br. xix), 147.
  • 4. Sandwich white bk. ff. 114v, 348; Cinque Ports White and Black Bks. 138-88 passim.
  • 5. Sandwich white bk. f. 279v; Canterbury prob. reg. A26, ff. 237-8.