COPE, William (c.1577-1637), of Hanwell, Oxon.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Family and Education

b. c.1577, 1st s. of Anthony Cope, of Hanwell by his 1st w. educ. Queen’s, Oxf. 1594. m.1602, Elizabeth, da. and h. of Sir George Chaworth of Wiverton, Notts. Kntd. 1603; suc. fa. as 2nd Bt. 1615.

Offices Held

Sheriff, Oxon. 1619-20.

Biography

In the manuscript list of Members for 1597 only the initial letter of the christian name of the junior Member for Newton is given, raising the possibility that it was not William Cope, but his uncle Walter, who represented the borough in this Parliament. This possibility is not supported, however, by the practice of the compiler of the list, who consistently used ‘W’ to represent William and not Walter. If, as seems likely, Cope was returned for Newton through the influence of Robert Cecil (a friend of the Walter Cope just mentioned), he would be the only Elizabethan MP for Newton after 1582—the year in which the owner of the borough came of age—who did not owe his return to Thomas Langton. Cope’s parliamentary career proper belongs to the Stuart period, when he was associated with William Lord Saye and Sele and Richard Knightley of Fawsley in opposition to the Court. He died 2 Aug. 1637. His will, made on 10 May that year, was proved on 26 Oct. by his son John.2

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603

Author: A. M. Mimardière

Notes

  • 1. Folger V. b. 298.
  • 2. C142/570/148; PCC 131 Goare.