Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (bap. 1648 – 8 June 1701) was an English philanthropist who was the benefactor of

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

and

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Confer ...

Biography

He was the eldest son of Sir William Cookes, 1st Baronet, of

Norgrove Court Norgrove Court is a stately home near Redditch in North Eastern Worcestershire built in 1649. It is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England. Location Norgrove Court is located on Norgrove Lane, in the parish of Feckenham near ...

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 ...

, and his second wife, Mercy, née Dinely. He began his studies at

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

in June 1667, going on to

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 ...

in June 1669. Following the death of his father, he succeeded to the baronetcy in July 1672, His seat was Bentley Pauncefote at

Tardebigge Tardebigge () is a village in Worcestershire, England. The village is most famous for the Tardebigge Locks, a flight of 30 canal locks that raise the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over over the Lickey Ridge. It lies in the county of Worceste ...

. Both of Cookes's marriages were without issue. He died on 8 June 1701 and was buried next to his first wife in

church on 10 June.

Legacy

In 1693 Cookes endowed

. In his will, he then left £10,000 in trust to endow a new college at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, or to add to an existing foundation there. Priority for acceptance should be for students from

Feckenham Feckenham is a village and civil parish in the Redditch district in Worcestershire, England. It lies some south-west of the town of Redditch and some east of the city of Worcester. It had a population of 670 in the 2001 census and its immedia ...

, and his relatives. Negotiations had begun in Cookes's lifetime, with

Thomas Tenison Thomas Tenison (29 September 163614 December 1715) was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs. Life He was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the son a ...

prompting him in 1698. With the prospect of endowment for an Oxford college,

Benjamin Woodroffe Benjamin Woodroffe (1638–1711) was an English cleric and college head. Life The son of the Rev. Timothy Woodroffe, he was born in Canditch Street, St. Mary Magdalen parish, Oxford, in April 1638. He was educated at Westminster School, and wa ...

, Principal of

Gloucester Hall Gloucester College, Oxford, was a Benedictine institution of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, from the late 13th century until the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It was never a typical college of the Universit ...

, had earlier gained a charter of incorporation and laid down statutes for the new college; but Cookes did not like its terms.

James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, (1665–1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the Earl of Ormond (Ireland), earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, ...

as Oxford's Chancellor made clear to Cookes in early 1700 that he favoured

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

as recipient; and Roger Mander the Vice-Chancellor moved to implement Ormonde's wish. John Baron, Balliol's Master, made representations for the endowment. Both parties dealt directly with Cookes and preached sermons on charity in Feckenham church (Baron in 1699, Woodroffe in 1700), as well as producing printed arguments in 1702. The will was proved on 9 July 1701, but the interpretation and execution of his intentions regarding the gift to Oxford took time to settle. It was initially decided that

Magdalen Hall Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

should be the recipient, but on 31 October 1712 the

Lord Keeper The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of S ...

Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, PC (December 1661 – 29 July 1727) of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, was an English Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1690 until 1710. He was raised to the peerage ...

, decreed in the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

that Cookes's wishes were that the money, now totalling £15,000, should go to Gloucester Hall. The trustees agreed to this on 16 November 1713 and Gloucester Hall was incorporated as

Worcester College Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

on 29 July 1714. Cookes left a fee-simple estate of some £3000 per annum and, including the £10,000 earmarked for the Oxford college, a personal estate of £40,000. Norgrove Hall was left to his nephew Thomas Winford on condition that he adopted the additional surname of Cookes.

Family

On 28 August 1672 Cookes married Mary Windsor, the daughter of

Thomas Hickman-Windsor, 1st Earl of Plymouth Thomas Hickman-Windsor, 1st Earl of Plymouth, PC ( 1627 – 3 November 1687), was the son of Dixie Hickman and his wife Elizabeth Windsor, sister and heiress of Thomas Windsor, 6th Baron Windsor. He assumed the additional surname of Windsor and ...

, and niece of

George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, (11 November 1633 – 5 April 1695) was an English statesman and writer who sat in the House of Commons of England in 1660 before ascending to the House of Lords after he was raised to the peerage in 1668 ...

. She died on 3 January 1695, and on 6 December 1695 he married Lucy Whalley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cookes, Thomas Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford 1648 births 1701 deaths People from Redditch (district) Baronets in the Baronetage of England 17th-century philanthropists Founders of colleges of the University of Oxford People associated with Worcester College, Oxford