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William Cobb, my 1st cousin 6 times removed, was born in 1748 and baptised at All Saints, Isleworth on 9th October, the son of William Cobb, a market gardener of Brentford End, Isleworth, Middlesex. William, the younger, became William Windham's Steward at Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk from 1777 to 1792.
William married Margaret (Peggy) Cooper on 29th January 1782 at Holt, Norfolk and they had 4 children - William, Thomas, Sarah and Robert, all of whom were baptised in the parish church at Aylmerton, close by Felbrigg.
William died in 1827 and was buried on 27th November at Holt, Norfolk. Margaret predeceased him by some 22 years and was also laid to rest at Holt (her birthplace) in 1805. There is a copy of a Last Will & Testament by William, dated 16th August 1826, in the "Scrapbook of Cobb Family papers" held by the Norfolk Record Office (ref MC 2829/1, 1011X4) but I have found no evidence of it being proved.
EXTRACTS FROM "FELBRIGG - The Story of a House" by R.W.Ketton-Cremer
"In 1777 Windham engaged a man named William Cobb, as Robert Thurston's successor. Cobb served him as steward and general factotum for the next 15 years, kept his accounts in an exemplary fashion, filed and docketed all correspondence most accurately, and in general terms seems to have been diligent and methodical.
The letters from his relations and friends, of which a large number have survived (see below), also show him in an agreeable light. Yet Windham seems never really to have liked him, and never wrote to him in the easy confidential manner in which his parents used to address Frary and Thurston (Cobb's predecessors). Cobb undoubtedly made mistakes, and could be obstinate and opinionated. But Windham, in his dealings with subordinates, had his father's peremptory temper without his father's compensating generosity and warmth of heart. He was not an easy master. His letters to Cobb consist mainly of curt instructions, varied by an occasional severe reproof
Windham's long absences from home inevitably led to difficulties, especially in the relations between Cobb and Nathaniel Kent (Windham's Estate Manager), although Cobb was engaged in the first place on Kent's recommendation. Note:- From 1770 (and most probably earlier) Nathaniel Kent resided in Fulham, Middlesex, where members of the Cobb family also lived. When disagreements arose Windham supported Kent, and no doubt with good reason. On one occasion he wrote to Cobb:
"Your letter to me was foolish, that to Mr. Kent was not only absurd but in the highest degree impertinent. You seem totally to have forgot the distinctions due to the different ranks of life. Mr. Kent has always done you justice. He gives you full credit for your good qualities; but knows, what I could not fail to perceive, that you have a most unbounded share of vanity, together with as great or greater a degree of obstinacy. In the original I shall not at all interfere except to express my hope, if I am asked, that the woman will proceed in her prosecution".
History does not relate who this woman was, or whom she was prosecuting, or why.
Cobb, with all his faults, was an admirable preserver and docketer of letters. But in 1792 he was given, on Windham's recommendation, a small post of some kind in the public service; and thereafter we know much less of the day-to-day history of Felbrigg." And of William Cobb himself !
EXTRACTS FROM THE "NORFOLK CHRONICLE"
Brief glimpses of William's duties at Felbrigg can be gained from the following advertisements:-
27 October 1781. Page 3, column 1 - "To be Sold, a large Quantity of oak, Ash, some Beech, Sycamore, and Lombardy Poplar Plants, all of which are five and six Years Growth, very good healthy Plants, and will be sold on such exceeding cheap Terms as to make them an Object well worth the Attention of any Person inclined to plant this Autumn. Wanted, Some Acorns, Ashenkeys, Beach Masts, and Spanish Chestnut Seeds: - Enquire of Mr COBB, at Felbrigg, near Cromer, Norfolk."
23 September 1786 - "To be SOLD, The Lease of a Farm in the Parishes of Felbridge and Gresham, which has ten years unexpired, and may be lengthened to twenty-one; consisting of 261 acres of inclosed arable, and 33 acres of rich grazing land, at the Rent of 208 l. 10s. Mr. William Cobb, of Felbridge, will shew the Premises from the 25th Instant to the 30th inclusive only; and further Particulars may be known of Mr. Jones, at Burgh, near Aylesham; but no person will be treated with unless he brings proof of an unexceptionable character, and good circumstances."
LETTERS TO WILLIAM COBB FROM HIS FAMILY
(contained in the Ketton-Cremer Family papers - held at the Norfolk Record Office)
These letters to William, preserved in the Felbrigg archives, provide a wealth of information about everyday life in the late 18th century and the joys and tribulations of William and his family.
In June 1780, William gets a first hand account, from his father, of the anti-catholic Gordon Riots in London. "Sad work in London...Destruction by Mobb...Newgate was burnt...and other noblemen's houses...and all the Romish chapels. I was in town those nights." The riots badly affected his father's market garden trade - "We can hardly sell our goods at market."
Also in 1780, William's brother James has a position as Gardener with Sir Harbord Harbord of Gunton Hall, just over 4 miles from Felbrigg. Unfortunately, James and Sir Harbord didn't see eye to eye and by December 1781, despite seeking William's help to resolve matters, James had lost his job and returned home to Brentford .
We also glean from his father's letters that William, while in service at Felbrigg, married Peggy (Margaret Cooper), "an Ironmonger's daughter", at the beginning of 1782.
ref. WKC 7/139 - from his father William Cobb, brothers James and John, cousin ?Hewitt Cobb, and brother in law Thomas Cooper, dates 1779-83
ref. WKC 7/140 - from his father William Cobb, brothers James and John, cousin ?Hewitt Cobb, and brother in law Thomas Cooper, dates 1784-88
ref. WKC 7/141 - from his father William Cobb, brothers James and John, cousin ?Hewitt Cobb, and brother in law Thomas Cooper, dates 1789-92
