Thomas Cokayne

Sir Thomas Cokayne or Cockayne (27 November 1520 — 15 November 1592) was an English soldier, huntsman, and MP for Derbyshire in March 1553. Early life and education Thomas Cokayne was born on 27 November 1520 to Francis Cokayne of Ashbourne, Derbyshire and his wife, Dorothy (daughter and heiress of Thomas Marrow of Berkswell). He was born into the family of Cokayne, who first settled in Ashbourne in the mid-12th-century, and were one of the oldest families in Derbyshire, obtaining many estates in their home county, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire. On 5 August 1538, aged 18, Cokayne came into his father's inheritance. Francis had been the head of the family for only 16 months, and his death left the underage Cokayne its new head. The following year, he was admitted to Gray's Inn, and Cokayne put himself into the service of Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury. Military career Cokayne, like his grandfather, Thomas Cokayne "the Magnificent", was a keen soldier, commended by contemporaries as "a bold and [...] worthy knight". In 1544, he took part in the Rough Wooing of Scotland, alongside Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and was knighted on 11 May 1544, for his part in the Burning of Edinburgh. In a 13 August 1548 muster, he was listed among the captains selected "For the Battaile", as part of the relief for George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury at the Siege of Haddington. Later in life, Cokayne credited "many extraordinary favours" to the earls of Shrewsbury, evidently grateful for his military service. He was among those who, in the reign of Elizabeth I, confronted the Spanish Armada at the Battle of Gravelines. In 1587, on her way to her final imprisonment and eventual execution at Fotheringhay Castle, he attended Mary, Queen of Scots' travel "with but a small trayne" as far as Derby. He was evidently a trusted subject, selected on this occasion as "sound in religion [...] and faithful to her Majesty". Public offices and duties According to C. J. Black, writing for The History of Parliament: "under Elizabeth, Cokayne was evidently one of the local pillars of church and state". His first public office was as the commissary of musters for Derbyshire in 1546 (an office he held again in 1577 and 1584).