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Charles Cobbe was born in 1686, the second son of Thomas and Veriana (nee Chaloner) Cobbe of Winchester in Hampshire, England.
In 1730 Charles married Dorothea Levinge, widow of Sir John Rawdon Bt, of Moira, Co. Down. Dorothea had 2 sons, John and Arthur Rawdon, by Sir John and had also 2 sons by Charles Cobbe, Charles (1731-50) and Thomas (1733-1814).
We have a first hand account of Charles Cobbe's character - "He is a genteel, well bred man and not to be prevailed on in matters he thinks not right, but frank and open in his behaviour to all".(noted by the Earl of Egmont when they dined together in London in 1744) Note:- Charles' stepson, Sir John Rawdon, married the Earl of Egmont's daughter, Helena Perceval.
Further information about Charles' character and incidents in his life is provided by his 2 x Great Grand Daughter, Frances Power Cobbe, in her autobiography, "Life of Frances Power Cobbe". In 1743...."he was appointed Archbishop of Dublin, a post which he held with great honour until his death in 1765. On every occasion when penal laws against catholics were proposed in the Irish House of Lords, Archbishop Cobbe contended vigorously against them, dividing the House again and again on the Bills; and his numerous letters and papers in the Irish State-Paper office bear high testimony to his liberality and integrity in that age of corruption. Two traditions concerning him have a certain degree of general interest. One, that John Wesley called upon him at his country house, - my old home, Newbridge-; and that the interview was perfectly friendly; Wesley approving himself and his work to the Archbishop's mind. The other is; that when Handel came to Dublin, bringing with him the manuscript of the Messiah, of which he could not succeed in obtaining the production in London, Archbishop Cobbe, then Bishop of Kildare, took lively interest in the work, and under his patronage, as well as that of several Irishmen of rank, the great Oratorio was produced in Dublin."
Charles Cobbe's Ecclesiastical Career
August 1717 Charles arrived in Ireland, as chaplain to Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton.
By January 1718 he was appointed Dean of Ardagh
1720 Appointed to Bishopric of Killala
1726 Translated to the See of Dromore
1731 Promoted to the Bishopric of Kildare and the Deanery of Christ Church
10th March 1743 Enthroned as Archbishop of Dublin
Note:- As Archbishop of Dublin (fourth in precedence in the government of Ireland), Charles could have expected to succeed as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. However, his ambition received a serious blow when, in April 1747, George Stone, Bishop of Derry and 22 years Charles' junior, was appointed to the See of Armagh. (With acknowledgement to "Clerics & Connoisseurs" by English Heritage & Azimuth Editions.)
Newbridge House, Donabate - the Family Seat of the Cobbes in Ireland
On June 19th 1736 Charles Cobbe paid £5,526 5s 6d for the townlands of Donabate, Lainstown, Haggardstown and Newbridge, containing 490 acres. On 21st July 1742 for the sum of £6,425, Charles made his second purchase of lands in the parish, consisting of the townlands of Kilcreagh, Corballis and Baltra - 510 acres in all. It was at Donabate, 12 miles north of Dublin, that Charles had Newbridge House built sometime between 1747 and 1752 (to a design by the architect James Gibbs), replacing the Stuart house that existed on the estate when he bought it. The house remained in the ownership of the Cobbe family until 1986 when, under an arrangement with the family, it was transferred to the care of Fingal County Council.
Faulkner's Dublin Journal. Sat., 13 Apr 1765 - Tues. 16 Apr 1765. Deaths.
"Suddenly, about 2 O'Clock, after a short Illness of two Days, in the 79th Year of his Age, the most Rev. Dr. Charles COBBE, Lord Archbishop of Dublin. He was educated at Winchester, and then at Trinity College, in the University of Oxford. He came into Ireland Chaplain to Charles, Duke of Bolton, Lord Lieutenant, in August 1717."
Burial
Charles Cobbe was brought to Donabate Church for burial, where a marble tablet was erected to his memory within the Church. "In the morning the remains of his Grace, the Archbishop of Dublin, was carried from his palace in Cavan Street and interred at Donabate in the County of Dublin" (Dublin Gazette - 17th April 1765)
