Cooke Family History

Memorial in Arksey Church to Sir George Cooke 1st Baronet

The Cooke Family Of Wheatley Hall

Arguably the one family who left the greatest mark on Arksey were the Cookes; their influence, buildings and benevolence are still in evidence today.

In this article we take a look at the lineage of the Cooke family from their origins, to the title of Baronet and to the new direction of the succession.

Contents

• The Rise of the Cooke Family
• Early Cookes
• The Baronetcy
• 17th Century Cooke Baronets
• 18th Century Cooke Baronets
• 19th Century Cooke Baronets
• 20th Century Cooke Baronets
• The Next Generation of Cooke Baronets
• The Cooke-Yarborough Family
• Pedigree Charts

The Rise of the Cooke Family

The family’s origins can be traced back to Robert Cooke of Almholme in the 15^th century. His Son or Grandson (records are unclear on this) Edward lived at Arksey and became Mayor Edward Cooke of Doncaster, 1504-1508. With reasonable financial status the family began to acquire lands around Bentley, Arksey, Shaftholme, Almholme and Doncaster in the early 17^th century. They soon expanded to Norton, Balne, Snaith, Hensall, Great Hecke and Little Hecke. Mayor Edward lived at Arksey Hall and had two sons, William and Lawrence.

Early Cookes

Lawrence Cooke (1480 - 1540)
Lawrence Cooke became head of the Carmelite Priory in Doncaster in 1536. During the Reformation a rebellion force opposed to King Henry VIII’s government (during his attempt to break away from Rome and become head of the church in England) led to the Pilgrimage of Grace. The force was led by Robert Aske and they made their headquarters at Pontefract. 

A royal army of five thousand, led by the Duke of Norfolk, marched north and stopped at Doncaster. The larger body of the militant Pilgrims had left Pontefract and were camped on the north bank of the river Don at Scawsby Lees. Aske and his party were lodged at the Grey Friar’s house in Marshgate, while the leaders of the royal forces lodged at the Carmelite Priory on High Street. Prior Cooke was proved to be a supporter of the rebels after confessing that he had urged one of the rebel leaders to "stick fast", and told him of a union of lords prepared to suppress heresy. Cooke was imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1538 to 1540. Evidence of his imprisonment can still be seen in the carving of his name ‘Doctor Cook’ in the wall of the first floor of the Beauchamp Tower. After initially being pardoned, he was arrested again for failing to conform and was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in 1540.

Myself with the 'Doctor Cook' carving at the Tower of London in 2016

Sometime in the 1500's the Cooke family moved into the old Newmarch residence at Moat Hills, Bentley. It is thought they later moved to a residence in Sandall, before building Wheatley Hall in 1683.



William Cooke (1483-?)
William Cooke was the other son of Edward Cooke and the one who continued the family name. He was born in 1483, lived in Doncaster and had one son, Bryan.

Bryan Cooke (1519-?)
Bryan Cooke was the son of the above William Cooke. He was born in 1519, but no mother's name is recorded. He died in 1589. There is no record of a wife, but the following children are listed:

1. Anne (b.1560)
2. Alice (b.1562)
3. Elizabeth (b.1565)
4. Dorothy (b.1568)
5. Brian (b.1570)(d.1653)
6. Thomas (b.1572)
7. George (b.1574)
8. Robert (b.1576)

 

Brian Cooke Esq. (1570-1653)
Brian Cooke Esq. was born in 1570 in Sandall, the son of Bryan Cooke; he was an alderman and mayor of Doncaster in 1623 and 1630. He married Sarah Ryley, daughter of Henry Ryley, another mayor in 1605. In 1636 Brian became Lord of the Manor of Sandal and bought the manor of Langthwaite, near Adwick le Street in 1639. Brian was a Royalist in the Civil War, and as a consequence suffered terrible losses. Brian was one of Doncaster’s most successful merchant elites with aspirations to rise to the ranks of landed gentry. He and Sarah had eight children; one of his daughters, Susan married Charles Butler of Coates-by-Stowe in Lincolnshire. When Brian ended up being banished from Yorkshire during the Civil War, he went to live in Coates, and it was there that he died. There is a monument to Brian in the parish church at Coates, where he is buried. In 1659 Brian's son Sir Henry Cooke (the 2nd baronet) married Diana Butler, the sister of Charles.

Brian died on 27^th December 1653, Sarah died on the 3^rd of December 1647. The children of Brian and Sarah were:

1. Alice (b.1617)(d.27/02/1617)
2. Susan (b.1618)
3. Bryan Esq. (b.17/07/1620)(d.06/01/1661)
4. Sarah (bap.07/05/1622)
5. William (b.1623) died young
6. Margaret (b.1625)
7. Sir George, 1st Bt (b.1628)(d.16/10/1683)
8. Sir Henry, 2nd Bt (bap.29/10/1633)(d.1689)

Note: There is sometimes conflicting evidence as to the names and dates of Brian's children. I present as accurate a list as possible at this time taken from various parish records.

Memorial to Bryan Cooke
St Edith's church, Coates-by-Stow, Lincolnshire
Photo courtesy of JMC4-Church Explorer on flikr

For a fuller account of the life of Brian Cooke go to The Royalist 'Devil'.

The Baronetcy

A baronetcy was awarded to the Cooke family on the 10th of May 1661, in recognition of the family’s suffering and loyalty to the crown during the Civil War. George, now the eldest son (his two elder brothers Bryan and William had already passed away), took the title of Baronet, a title that would be passed down through all the eldest male descendants. The family’s arms are shown below:

The Cooke Arms and Crest

They are described thus:

 

‘Arms: Or, a chevron gules between two lions passant-guardant sable. Crest: Out of a mural crown argent, a demi-lion guardant issuant as in the arms gorged with ducal coronet.’

For more on the coat of arms go to The Royalist 'Devil'.

17th Century Cooke Baronets

1st Baronet - Sir George Cooke (1628-1683)
Sir George Cooke was born in 1628 and became the 1st Baronet of Wheatley on the 10th of May 1661. The third son of Brian Cooke and Sarah Ryley, his elder brother Bryan having died in January of 1661 meant that George was now the eldest male heir. Another older brother, William, had died when young. 

George bought the manor of Wheatley in 1658, with his younger brother, Henry for the sum of £3,000 from Viscountess Carlingford. In all £6,550 had been spent on acquiring estates of over 4,000 acres. 

Sir George's late brother Bryan had left a bequest in his will of 1660 for the building of a 'hospital' (charitable home) for twelve of the poorest and oldest people in the parish of Arksey, with an endowment of £120 per annum. Sir George saw to it that his father's bequest was carried out and the Almshouses were built in 1660.

The Almshouses in 1895

A Latin inscription above the entrance refers to the bequest of Bryan Cooke. Much of the inscription has weathered and this makes translation very difficult, however it has been recorded as follows: 

'Bryan Cooke of Wheatley in the county of York, Esq., by his last will and testament signed the third day of January A.D. 1660, appointed this building to be erected. A sum of money sufficient for that purpose being bequeathed, for the use of twelve persons, the most distressed by poverty and age in the parish of Arksey, to each of whom he left £5 annually, in succession for ever. Sir George Cooke, Baronet, great grandson of the above named Bryan, rebuilt this porch nearly levelled to the ground by the injuries of time, October 30th A.D. 1736.'

For more on the Almshouses go to The Almshouses.

The inscription over the gate

Sir George also financed the building of the Endowed School next to the Almshouses in 1661, the endowment coming from the will of his brother Bryan. 


For more on the Endowed School go to Educating Arksey.

The Endowed School in 1895

George Cooke, 1st Baronet died unmarried on the 16th of October 1683. He is buried in the family vault at Arksey church and a memorial to him is on display there. The Cooke family home at Moat Hills was deserted following George's death and the title of Baronet passed by default to his younger brother Henry of Coates by Stowe.

Memorial to Sir George Cooke
photographed in 1895

2nd Baronet - Sir Henry Cooke (1633-1689) 
Sir Henry Cooke, of Coates, co. Lincs, was born in 1633, the fourth son of Brian Cooke and Sarah Ryley. Sir Henry became the 2^nd Baronet after his brother Sir George’s death in 1683, he married firstly, Diana Butler (the sister of Charles Butler, husband of his sister Susan) on the 29th of October 1659, and they lived at Carlinghow. They had four sons and three daughters:

1. Bryan (bap.21/03/1661)(d.2/6/1662)
2. Sir George, 3rd Bt (b.1662)(d.05/10/1732)
3. Jane (bap.18/05/1664)(d.27/08/1664)
4. Henry (b.26/05/1665)(d.02/05/1717)
5. Sarah (b.04/07/1666)(d.02/07/1689)
6. Catherine (b.11/10/1667)(07/11/1704)
7. Anthony (b.25/12/1667)(d.03/04/1690) 

Diana Cooke died on January 5th 1668.

Lady Cooke

The portrait above is attributed to 'Lady Cook, wife of Sir Henry Cook Bart, of Wheatley Co. York' on the reverse. It is thought to be a portrait of Sir Henry's first wife, Diana Butler, but as she never became Lady Cooke, this portrait may in fact be that of Anne Stanhope, Sir Henry's second wife, who was indeed 'Lady Cooke'. It was painted by Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680).

His second marriage was to Anne Stanhope, and took place on the 10th of February 1669 at Sprotborough. They had no children together. 

In 1658 Henry, along with his brother Sir George bought the Manor of Wheatley from Viscountess Carlingford.

After Sir George’s death in 1683, Henry built and moved into a magnificent house at Wheatley, named Wheatley Hall. The four-storey house (one of which was underground) had many windows and lay in 103 acres of land. The close proximity of the River Don meant that the basement of the hall was prone to flooding whenever the river burst its banks. Although Henry and his descendants were non-residential Lords of the Manor of Arksey and Bentley they still attended church services at Arksey, boating across the river to get there. Henry died in 1689 and is buried at Arksey Church. He was succeeded by his son George. 

Wheatley Hall

3rd Baronet - Sir George Cooke (1662-1732)
The 3^rd Baronet was Sir George Cooke, the second son of Henry Cooke (2^nd Baronet) and Diana Butler. He was born in 1662. He married Catherine Copley, daughter of Sir Godfrey Copley, 1^st Baronet of Sprotborough, on the 19^th of June 1683. George and Catherine had nine children, as named below:

1. Sir Bryan, 4^th Bt (bap.17/12/1684)(d.25/10/1734)
2. Diana (b.1686)(d.1765)
3. George (b.28/12/1687)(d.12/09/1763) 
4. Henry (b.1690)
5. Godfrey (b.1692)
6. William (b.1694)(d.1700)
7. Alexander (b.1696)(d.1757)
8. John (b.abt 1701)(d.1767)
9. Elizabeth (b.1702)(d.1772)

The Cooke-Yarborough line is descended from No 3 child, George (1687 - 1763), see more below.  

During his lifetime Sir George sat as an M.P for Aldborough. Catherine died in April 1703 and is buried at Arksey church. George died in 1732 and is buried at Arksey Church. He was succeeded by his son Bryan.

18th Century Cooke Baronets

By the beginning of the eighteenth century the Cooke’s were well established as lords of the manor and had already done a huge amount to help the people of Arksey; although the manor also included Bentley it seems the family did very little for the people there, favouring instead the village of Arksey. 

4th Baronet - Sir Bryan Cooke (1684-1734)
The 4^th Baronet, Sir Bryan Cooke was born in 1684 and was the son of Sir George Cooke and Katherine Copley. During his lifetime Sir Bryan represented East Retford in the House of Commons. He married Priscilla Squire, daughter of Robert Squire on the 3rd of October 1711.

It was through his marriage to Priscilla that the Cooke family became involved in the alum industry. Alum is a natural product which was used as a fixative for dyes in leather production. It was mined on the north east coast of England from the sixteenth century until the late nineteenth century. 

Priscilla's father Robert (1648-1707) operated the alum works at Peak (modern day Ravenscar). The marriage settlement of Sir Bryan and Priscilla refers to the works and from there they passed down through the next two baronets where they are mentioned in a codicil to Sir Bryan Cooke's (6th baronet) will. 

The works ultimately passed to Sir George's (5th baronet) grandson, Sunderland Cooke. The works were sold to Robert Campion, a merchant banker of Whitby in 1834 and so ended the Cooke association with the alum industry. 

Many thanks to Peter Appleton for the above information.

__________

Priscilla Squire had a famous sister, Jane Squire, who was an eccentric mathematician and astronomer; she became famous for publishing a method for finding longitude in 1742; the book, A Proposal to Determine our Longitude, was first published in 1731 in an eleven page pamphlet but was later expanded and printed in parallel English/French text. Her method proved impracticable but she must have hoped to make enough money from her work to pay off her debts, as reference is made to her ‘discovery’ in her will of 1742/3, in which she requests that her debts and funeral expenses are to be paid from any profits of her ‘discovery’. The will also mentions her discharge from the Fleet Prison by an ‘Act for Relief of Insolvent Debtors’, so it seems she got herself into some trouble over debt at one time. The will ends by bequeathing  the residue of her estate to her two nephews, Sir George and  Bryan Cooke, and her three nieces, the sisters of George and Bryan. It is not known if she managed to clear her debts or indeed make any money from her book. As for the book itself, I found a second edition copy of it on the internet valued at £1600.00 (Jan 2018).

Jane Squire's book

Sir Bryan and Priscilla had five children as listed below:

1. Sir George, 5^th Bt (b.14/03/1714)(17/08/1756)
2. Sir Bryan, 6^th Bt (b.11/08/1717)(d.1766) 
3. Priscilla (b.1719)(d.24/01/1794)
4. Catherine (b.1720)(d.1788)
5. Elizabeth Cooke (b.1722)   

Priscilla died in June 1731 and Sir Bryan died on 25^th of October 1734 and is buried in the family vault at Arksey Church. He was succeeded by his eldest son George.



5th Baronet - Sir George Cooke (1714-1756)

The 5^th Baronet was Sir George Cooke the elder son of Sir Bryan Cooke and Priscilla Squire. He was born on the 14th of March 1714. Sir George was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1739. He married Catherine Sunderland (1715-1792), daughter of John Sunderland and they had two daughters:

1. Catherine (b.1739)
2. Priscilla (b.1740)(d.1800)

He died on 16^th August 1756 and is buried at Arksey church. 

As Sir George and Catherine only had daughters, the title passed to George’s brother Bryan following his death in 1756.

6th Baronet - Sir Bryan Cooke (1717-1766)
The 6^th Baronet was Sir Bryan Cooke, born in 1717; he was the younger son of Sir Bryan Cooke and Priscilla Squire and brother of the 5^th Baronet, Sir George. He married Mary Foley around 1744 and they had two children. Sir Bryan had a property in Pontefract which passed to his daughter Mary when he died in 1769.  The children of Sir Bryan and Mary are below:

1. Sir George, 7th Bt (b.1745)(d.02/06/1823)
2. Mary (b.1755)(d.03/06/1825) 

Sir Bryan died in 1766 and was buried in the family vault at Arksey Church.

7th Baronet - Sir George Cooke (1745-1823)

Sir George Cooke, 7th Baronet
By Joseph Wright 1766

The 7^th Baronet was Sir George Cooke born in 1745 to Sir Bryan Cooke and Mary Foley. His first marriage was to Frances Jory Middleton (b.1749), daughter of Sir John Lambert Middleton, Bart. of Belsay Castle, Northumberland, and Anne Hodges, in 1770. They had ten children:

1. Frances Elizabeth (b.1771)(d.13/12/1843)
2. Sophia (b.17/05/1774)(d.05/11/1779)
3. Harriet (b.1775)
4. Caroline Esther (b.1777)(d.06/11/1824)
5. Louisa Lucy (b.1778)(d.1824)
6. Georgiana (b.14/08/1779)(d.1839)
7. George Augustus (b.22/10/1780)(d.05/05/1808)
8. Sir William Bryan, 8th Bt (b.03/03/1782)(d.24/12/1851)
9. Caroline Amelia (bap.05/10/1786)(d.1786)
10. Sophia Ann Elizabeth (b.17/07/1791)(d.15/09/1838)

Frances Jory Cooke

Frances Cooke died in the city of Bath on the 15th of December 1796, and is buried in the family vault at Arksey church. Two years later, Sir George married Harriet Farrer (b.1757), daughter of James Farrer, Esq. of Barmborough Grange, relict of Thomas Hewitt, Esq of Bilham. She died on the 5th of June 1814 without issue.  
    
Sir George gained the rank of Colonel whilst in the service of the 3^rd Battalion, West Yorkshire Militia. He also formerly served as an officer in the Royal regiment of Horse Guards (blue).

Sir George Cooke died on the 2^nd of June 1823 and his remains were interred in the family vault at Arksey Church.

As the heir apparent George Augustus had died in 1808, Sir George  was succeeded by his only other son, William Bryan Cooke.

19th Century Cooke Baronets

The domination the Cooke family had over Arksey and Bentley would gradually end during the last quarter of the nineteenth century; they had already moved across the river to the Wheatley Estate, and while they were still the majority landowners in the area, times were changing and the income from agriculture was now competing with growing competition from industry. Indeed, land itself was being bought up for new factories and the ever growing railway network. The Cooke family would have to change their interests if they were to keep their status in society. The 8^th Baronet, William Bryan Cooke was the last major purchaser of land in the Cooke family, after this the land was rented out and eventually sold off.


8th Baronet - Sir William Bryan Cooke (1782-1851)

William Bryan Cooke
From a portrait which hangs in
The Mansion House
Doncaster

The 8^th Baronet was Sir William Bryan Cooke, born on the 2^nd of March 1782. He was the son of the 7^th Baronet, Sir George Cooke and Frances Jory Middleton. He married Isabella Cecilia Viviana Middleton, daughter of Sir William Middleton and Jane Monck on the 8^th of April 1823. Sir William acquired 1447 acres of land following the Acts of Enclosure in 1827 and was the last major landowner of the Cooke family; he also gained the rank of Officer in the service of the Foot Guards and was a Mayor of Doncaster. Sir William and Isabella had four children, as listed below:

1. Louisa Janetta (b.19/04/1824)(d.12/07/1838)
2. Isabella Cecilia (29/12/1825)(d.28/12/1904) 
3. Sir William Ridley Charles, 9th Bt (b.05/10/1827)(d.27/09/1894) 
4. Charles Edward Stephen (b.01/08/1829)(d.31/10/1895) 

Sir William Bryan Cooke died on the 24^th of December 1851 and was buried in the family vault at Arksey following a lavish funeral. He was succeeded by his elder son William Ridley Charles Cooke. The Dowager, Lady Isabella Cooke died on the 26th of November 1869.

To read the full story of Sir William Bryan's funeral go to A Victorian Funeral in Arksey.






9th Baronet - Sir William Ridley Charles Cooke (1827-1894)

Sir William Ridley Charles Cooke

The 9^th Baronet was Sir William Ridley Charles Cooke born on the 5^th of October 1827. He was the elder son of Sir William Bryan Cooke and Isabella Cecilia Viviana Middleton. He married firstly Harriet Eloise Trebeck, daughter of Reverend Jonathan Trebeck, on the 17^th of April 1855. This marriage produced no children and was annulled in 1863. His second marriage was to Blanche Harriet Juanita Georgina Feilden on the 27^th of April 1871 and took place in Scarborough. 

Lady Blanche Cooke

Sir William gained the rank of Captain in the service of the 7^th Hussars and he held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Yorkshire. Sir William Cooke engaged Sir George Gilbert Scott to make alterations to Arksey church in 1870. William and Blanche had three children, as listed below:

1. Sir William Henry Charles Wemyss, 10^th Bt  (b.21/06/1872) (d.11/06/1964)
2. Arthur Gordon Wyatt Cooke (b.1876) (d.29/04/1969)
3. Ruby Blanche Juanita Cooke (b.3/06/1879) (d.21/07/1950)

Ruby Blanche Juanita Cooke in 1904 when Ruby was 25.
Taken in Reading, Berkshire for Tatler Magazine.
Photo courtesy of Neil Howell

Sir William Ridley Charles Cooke, 9^th Bt. died on the 27^th of September 1894 and was buried in Arksey church yard. 

The grave of Sir William R C Cooke

The inscription reads as below:

In loving memory of William Ridley Charles Cooke 9^th Baronet of Wheatley Park. Born Oct 5^th 1827 died September 27^th 1894. Fear thou not for I am with thee.

Sir William was succeeded by his eldest son William Henry Charles Wemyss Cooke.

Sir William's widow Blanche and daughter Ruby moved to Reading in Berkshire following his death. By 1911 they were living in Teignmouth, Devon where they remained until Blanche died on the 24th of February 1930, aged 86. Ruby inherited her mother's estate and never married; she died on the 22nd of July 1950, aged 71. The graves of Blanche and Ruby lie side by side in Teignmouth cemetery.

Graves of Ruby Cooke (left), and her mother Blanche (right).
Photo courtesy of Neil Howell

The inscriptions read as below:

             In Loving Memory of Blanche Juanita Cooke who died on February 24th 1930 aged 86. 

           In Loving Memory of Ruby Blanche Juanita Cooke, the daughter of Blanche Juanita Cooke. Died on July 22nd 1950 aged 71.

To read about the lives of Blanche and her daughter Ruby in more detail, please read the excellent article put together by Neil Howell on the Teignmouth Old Cemetery site.

Sir William R C Cooke’s brother, Charles Edward Stephen Cooke is also buried in Arksey church yard. He married Lady Mary Louisa Stewart (1842 - 1929), daughter of Sir Randolph Stewart, 9^th Earl of Galloway and Lady Harriet Blanche Somerset, on the 13^th of August 1874. He and Mary were childless and lived at St Catherine’s, Doncaster. He financed the building of St Peter’s Church in Bentley, although it wasn’t actually built until after he died. He died on October the 21^st 1895 and his memorial is in Arksey churchyard.

The grave of Charles E S Cooke

The inscription reads as below:

In loving memory of Charles Edward Stephen Cooke erected by his devoted wife Mary. Born August 1^st 1829 entered into the joy of His Lord Feast of St Simon and Jude. Interred All Hallows Eve 1895 aged 66. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. When I awake up after thy likeness shall be satisfied with it.

St Peter's Church, Bentley 1929

The Cooke family began selling off land, farms and cottages in 1868 and during the 1880’s and 1890’s the Cooke’s finally relinquished their hold on the parish as mining and the railways moved in. This is not the end of their story though; the late 20^th century would see the return of the 12th Baronet, albeit temporarily, to oversee the renovation of one of his ancestors most prized projects, the Arksey Almshouses, more of that later.

20th Century Cooke Baronets                                                                                               

The age of the manorial lords was well and truly over by the time the First World War broke out in 1914. The 10^th Baronet, Sir William Henry Wemyss Cooke (the last Baronet to live at Wheatley Hall), made huge profits from the sale of land at Bentley for railway and colliery purposes and it was time to move on. The family would make their new homes in less industrialised surroundings in the twentieth century, but charitable work for Arksey would continue.

10th Baronet - Sir William Henry Charles Wemyss Cooke (1872-1964)                                                                                                                                                                                              

Sir William Henry Charles Wemyss Cooke in childhood

                            

The 10^th Baronet was Sir William Henry Charles Wemyss Cooke born on the 21^st of June 1872. He was the son of the 9^th Baronet, Sir William Ridley Charles Cooke and Blanche Harriet Juanita Georgina Feilden. He married firstly Lady Mildred Adelaide C Denison, daughter of William Henry Forester Denison and Lady Edith Frances Wilhelmina Somerset, in London, on the 15^th of July 1902. 

Sir William and his 1st wife,
Lady Mildred.
Photo courtesy of Neil Howell

He and Lady Mildred had two children, but were divorced in 1925. Below are listed the children of Sir William and Lady Mildred:

1. William Francis Henry (b.29/09/1903) (d.12/03/1950)
2. Major Sir Charles Arthur John, 11^th Bt (b.12/11/1905) (d.05/07/1978)

He married, secondly, Margaret Ross, daughter of Richard Ross on the 6^th of August 1927. He and Margaret had one child, as below:

1. Elizabeth Hera (b.02/10/1928)

Sir William gained the rank of Temporary Lieutenant in the service of the East Kent Regiment and the rank of Lieutenant in the service of the Yorkshire Dragoons. He also held the office of High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1903 and the office of Deputy Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire. When at home, William was a keen breeder of racehorses.

Sir William moved out of Wheatley Hall in 1911 to live at Ranby Hall in Lincolnshire, then St James Square, London, before settling in Hampstead Norris, Newbury, in Berkshire. He continued to breed racehorses and other animals, such as Jacobs Sheep. He also started an orchid garden at Wyld Court in Berkshire. After William died, his daughter Elizabeth continued the orchid research and growing in Madeira, where she ran a garden*.

Sir William died on the 11^th of June 1964 and Margaret died on the 11^th of March the same year.

*Information courtesy of Catherine F M Cooke, July 2012. 

11th Baronet - Sir Charles Arthur John Cooke (1905-1978)
The 11^th Baronet was Sir Charles Arthur John Cooke born on the 12^th of November 1905. He was the second son of the 10^th Baronet, Sir William Henry Charles Wemyss Cooke and Lady Mildred Denison. Sir Charles’s elder brother, William Francis Henry Cooke died before their father in 1950, at the age of forty six, therefore the Baronetcy passed by default to Charles.

He married Diana Perceval on 12^th July 1932; she was the only daughter of Major General Sir Edward Maxwell Perceval, K.C.B., D.S.O., J.P. of The Grange, Farnham, in Surrey.  They had two children as listed below: 

1.  David William Perceval, 12^th Bt (b.28/04/1935)(d.13/05/2017)
2.  Amanda Norah Mildred Cooke (b.14/06/1939)

Sir Charles was educated at Wellington and R. M. C. Sand Hurst. He was a major in the 4^th/7^th Dragoon Guards and served in the Second World War between 1939 and 1940 where he became a prisoner of war. Sir Charles died on the 5^th of July 1978.



12th Baronet - Sir David William Perceval Cooke (1935-2017)

Sir David William Perceval Cooke at
The Mansion House, Doncaster

The 12^th Baronet was Sir David William Perceval Cooke; he was born on the 28^th of April 1935 and is the son of the 11^th Baronet, Sir Charles Arthur John Cooke and Diana Perceval. Sir David married Margaret Frances Skinner, daughter of Herbert Skinner on the 30^th of April 1959. Sir David and Margaret had three daughters as listed below:

1.  Sara Elizabeth Mary (b.11/02/1960)
2.  Louisa Diana Margaret (b.27/01/1962)
3.  Catherine Faith Maria (b.24/07/1968)

Sir David was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire and at the Royal Military Academy, Sand Hurst, in Berkshire. He was commissioned in 1955, in the service of the 4^th/7^th Royal Dragoon Guards and transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps in 1958.

Sir David and family members at Doncaster Mansion House under the portrait of his forebear,
Sir William Bryan Cooke, the 8th Baronet.

He was decorated with the award of the Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. He graduated from the Open University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). He gained the rank of Colonel in 1984 and retired from the military in 1990. Since retiring from the military he was registered as an Associate Member of the Institute of Traffic Administration and was also registered as an Associate of the Royal Aeronautical Society (A.R.Ae.S.). He has also been invested as a Fellow of the British Institute of Management (F.B.I.M) and as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport (F.C.I.T). 

The Cooke family's associations with Arksey came full circle, when in 1999 Sir David Cooke returned to Arksey following renovations to the Almshouses, which had fallen into dereliction. The Cooke Almshouse Charity secured finance from a number of sources to renovate the dwellings and provide six, larger homes for the elderly and disabled. Sir David is seen in the newspaper cutting (below) accepting the keys following the renovations in 1999.

Sir David died on May 13th 2017 at his home in Edinburgh. His funeral was held in Arksey church on the 1st of June and he was interred in the family vault, the first Cooke Baronet to be interred there since his Great Great Grandfather in 1851.

To read about the opening of the vault (in 2013) prior to Sir David's death go to Secrets of the Vault. 

Order of Service booklet

To read an account of Sir David Cooke's funeral go to Funeral for a Baronet.

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The Next Generation of Cooke Baronets

The Cooke-Yarborough Family

Following the death of Sir David Cooke some feared that the baronetcy might expire as Sir David had no male heirs. However, Sir David had in fact assisted his distant cousin Edmund (Ted) Cooke-Yarborough, and his son Anthony, to establish a succession pedigree at the College of Arms. This was formally recorded in 2010, and it facilitated Anthony's succession on the Official Roll of the Baronetage after Sir David's death. 

13th Baronet - Sir Anthony Edmund Cooke-Yarborough (1956-)
The 13th Baronet is Sir Anthony Edmund Cooke-Yarborough; he was born in Oxford in 1956 and is descended from George Cooke (1687-1736), son of the 3rd Baronet Sir George Cooke (1662 - 1732). This George also had a son named George and he changed his name to Cooke-Yarborough in 1801 when he inherited the Campsmount estate at Campsall from his maternal cousin Elizabeth Yarborough. Sir Anthony's Grandfather George Eustace (1876 - 1938) owned Campsmount (the name of the hall), and that is where Anthony's father Edmund Harry (1918 -2013) grew up. Sadly George Eustace had to sell up in the 1930's and the hall was demolished in the 1950's.

Campsmount

  

Sir Anthony Edmund Cooke-Yarborough is the son of Edmund Harry and Anthea Katharine Dixon. He was educated at Eton college and read Economics at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. He joined an international bank in 1980 and has lived and worked in Argentina, Paraguay, Spain, the USA and Brazil. Since 2011 he has been CEO of EFG Private Bank in London, a UK bank with a Swiss parent. He married Joanna Northrop in 1990, they live in Oxfordshire and they have three children:

1. George (b.1991)
2. Eliza (b.1993)
3. Chloe (2000)

Sir Anthony Cooke-Yarborough

Anthony met Sir David Cooke many times and he was Godfather to his son George.

Anthony's father Ted became heir presumptive in 1978 when Sir David's father (the 11th Baronet) died, and when Ted died in 2013 Anthony in turn became heir presumptive. But this was not the first time a Cooke-Yarborough had been heir presumptive to the Baronetcy. George C-Y was heir presumptive to the 7th Baronet for fourteen years between 1766 and 1780, and his son John C-Y was heir presumptive to the 8th Baronet between 1823 and 1827. It is only now that the succession has been proved in favour of a Cooke-Yarborough with no male Cooke heirs to take the title. 

Sir Anthony received confirmation of his succession in December 2017.

Certificate of Succession

Much of the above Cooke-Yarborough information has been provided and published with the kind permission of Sir Anthony Cooke-Yarborough. 

Pedigree Charts

The following charts show the descending lines of the Cooke and Cooke-Yarborough families.

Alison Vainlo

First written 2012, updated 2018, further updated and corrected 2020.