Sir Cotton Gargrave
Encyclopedia
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
in 1571 and 1572.
Earli life
Gargrave was the son of Sir Thomas GargraveThomas Gargrave
Sir Thomas Gargrave was a Yorkshire Knight who served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1565 and 1569. His principal residence was at Nostell Priory, one of many grants of land that Gargrave secured during his lifetime...
, High Sheriff of Yorkshire. He resided at Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton close to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, approached by the Doncaster road from Wakefield...
and at Kingsley, Yorkshire.
Political career
In the northern rebellion of 1569Rising of the North
The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.-Background:When Elizabeth I succeeded her...
, Sir Cotton Gargrave commanded a force of 200 men from the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. He 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 Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Boroughbridge was a parliamentary borough in Yorkshire from 1553 until 1832, when it was abolished under the Great Reform Act. Throughout its existence it was represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons....
in 1571 and 1572. In 1583 he was appointed High Sheriff of Yorkshire
High Sheriff of Yorkshire
The High Sheriff of Yorkshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. A list of the sheriffs from the Norman conquest onwards can be found below...
. He was Custos Rotulorum of the West Riding of Yorkshire
Custos Rotulorum of the West Riding of Yorkshire
This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of the West Riding of Yorkshire.* Sir Richard Lyster bef. 1544 – aft. 1547* Sir Thomas Gargrave bef. 1558–1579* Francis Wortley 1579–1583* Sir Cotton Gargrave 1584–1588...
from 1584 to 1588. In his later years, he was forced to mortgage many of the extensive properties left him by his wealthy father.
Family
Gargrave married firstly Bridget Fairfax, daughter of Sir William Fairfax of Steeton, West YorkshireSteeton with Eastburn
Steeton with Eastburn is a civil parish within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,277. The parish includes the villages of Steeton and Eastburn....
, and High Sheriff of Yorkshire. He married secondly Anne Waterton, daughter of Sir Thomas Waterton of Walton and Sandal, Yorkshire
Sandal, Wakefield
-Governance:Sandal was anciently a parish town in the Agbrigg Division of the wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley in the liberty of Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, Sandal Magna became one of the 17 constituent parishes of the Wakefield Poor Law Union...
.
Over the years, the Gargrave family earned what one observer called a reputation for romantic entanglements "remarkable for crime and misfortune." His wife became embroiled in lawsuits after his death. Thanks to ongoing lawsuits and ill-considered liaisons, "the whole family sunk into obscurity." His daughter, Elizabeth, married William Fenwick of Stanton, Northumberland
Stanton, Northumberland
Stanton is a small hamlet in Northumberland, England which is located north west of Morpeth, and north of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Stanton is surrounded by scenic countryside, and is only from the Northumberland National Park ....
. His son Thomas by his first wife was executed for the murder of a servant boy. His son Richard
Richard Gargrave
Sir Richard Gargrave was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1609....
by his second wife inherited an enormous patrimony from the Gargrave estates in Yorkshire, but dissipated it by drinking, gambling and exravagence and was eventually reduced to riding with the pack horses and died with his head on a pack saddle in an old inn.