Sir Rowland Cotton (baptized 29 January 1581died 22 August 1634) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at various times between 1605 and 1629. Cotton was the son of William Cotton, a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

draper. He matriculated from

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

in 1596 and was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

on 13 June 1599. He was a friend and patron of

John Lightfoot John Lightfoot (29 March 1602 – 6 December 1675) was an English churchman, rabbinical scholar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Life He was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of ...

. He succeeded his father in 1607, inheriting estates in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. He lived at Bellaport Hall,

Norton in Hales Norton in Hales is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies on the A53 road, A53 between the town of Market Drayton and Woore, Shropshire's most northeasterly village and parish. Staffordshire is to the east of the parish a ...

, Shropshire. In 1605, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

and knighted in 1608. He was appointed to the bench as Justice of the Peace for Shropshire by 1614 to his death, and as a commissioner of oyer and terminer for Wales and the Marches by 1616 to death. He served as Mayor of Newcastle in 1614–15. He was appointed also

High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The high sheriff, sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of t ...

for 1616–17 and the following year a member of

Council of the Marches The Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, officially the Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same was a regional administrative body founded in Shrewsbury. ...

for life. In 1626 he was elected MP for

. He was elected MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme again in 1628 and sat until 1629 when

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. He married twice: firstly Frances (who died in childbirth on 23 November 1606), the daughter of Sir Robert Needham of Shavington Hall and secondly Joyce, the daughter and coheiress of Sir Richard Walsh of

Shelsley Walsh Shelsley Walsh is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, on the western side of the River Teme. For administrative purposes it is presently located in the Teme Valley ward of the county’s Malvern Hills district. In the 20 ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. He died in August 1634 aged 53 and was buried at

. The parish church St Chad's contains a monument with effigies of Cotton and his first wife, Frances. The monument was designed by

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

around the year 1611, and a drawing by Jones survives. Rowland Cotton was associated with the court of Prince Henry, as was Jones. The tomb is the earliest known architectural work of Inigo Jones, and the design has some similarities with Jones' scenery for the '' Barriers'' and the '' Masque of Oberon''.Giles Worsley, ''Inigo Jones and the European Classical Tradition'' (Yale, 2007), pp. 6, 8-9. He left no children and his estates reverted to his brother William on the death of his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Rowland 1581 births 1634 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of England for Newcastle-under-Lyme English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 High sheriffs of Shropshire