Field Marshal The Right Honourable, The Viscount Combermere, GCB GCH KSI PC was born 14 November 1773 in Lleweni Hall, Denbighshire, England to Robert Salusbury Cotton, 5th Baronet of Combermere (1739-1809) and Frances Stapleton (c1740-1825) and died 21 February 1865 Colchester House, Clifton, Bristol, England of unspecified causes. He married Anna Maria Clinton (c1775-1807) 1 January 1801 in England. He married Caroline Greville (c1775-1837) 22 June 1814 in England. He married Mary Gibbings (c1785-) 1838 in England.
Royal Titles and Awards
- 6th Baronet of Combermere
- 1st Viscount Combermere
- GCB: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
- GCH: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order (Hanoverian)
- KSI: Knight Companion of the Order of the Star of India
- PC: Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Biography
Statue of Lord Combermere outside Chester Castle, Cheshire
Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere was a British Army officer, diplomat and politician. As a junior officer he took part in the Flanders Campaign, in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and in the suppression of Robert Emmet's insurrection in 1803. He commanded a cavalry brigade in Sir Arthur Wellesley's Army before being given overall command of the cavalry in the latter stages of the Peninsular War. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Ireland and then Commander-in-Chief, India. In the latter role he stormed Bharatpur—a fort which previously had been deemed impregnable.
An equestrian statue in bronze, the work of Carlo, Baron Marochetti, was raised in his honour at Chester by the inhabitants of Cheshire in October 1865. An obelisk was also erected in his memory on the edge of Combermere Park in 1890. Combermere was succeeded by his only son, Wellington Henry Stapleton-Cotton.
Early Life
Cotton was born at Lleweni Hall in Denbighshire, the second surviving son of Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton, 5th Baronet and Frances Cotton (née Stapleton). When he was eight, Cotton was sent to board at the grammar school in Audlem some 8 miles (13 km) from the family's estate at Combermere Abbey, where he was tutored by the headmaster, the Reverend William Salmon, who was also chaplain of the private Cotton chapel outside the estate gates.
Military Service
Stapleton Cotton was a very active military officer serving under Wellington during the Napoleanic Wars.
- Served in Flandersat Prémont and Catteau, 1793-1794;
- commanded his regiment at the Cape of Good Hope 1796-1797;
- served against Tippoo Sahib at Malavelly 1799
- at the siege of Seringapatam, 1799;
- elected Member of Parliament for Newark in 1806.
- in command of a Brigade in the Peninsula, 1809;
- when in command of the 1st division of cavalry he covered the retreat to Torres Vedras, 1809;
- as 2nd in command under Wellington, he led the charge at Salamanca, to victory, 1812;
- fought at the great victory of Toulouse, 1814;
- in command of the allied Cavalry in France, 1815 till the end of 1816;
- Governor of Barbados and commander of the West Indian forces in March 1817
- Commander in Chief in the East Indies, where he restored the English supremacy by his gallant capture of Bhurtpore, 1825.
- succeeded Wellington as Constable of the Tower and Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets in October 1852
- promoted to field marshal on 2 October 1855.
- appointed a Knight of the Order of the Star of India on 19 August 1861.
Cotton Family Ancestry
The Cotton Family of Combermere Abbey has an extensive family ancestry that is directly descended from Henry II of England (1133-1189), Charlemagne (747-814) and the ancient Kings of Wessex. There are also many other notable family descendants.
Combermere Abbey
Combermere Abbey
Principle residence was the Combermere Abbey located in Dodcott cum Wilkesley, English County of Cheshire. A former Christian monastery founded in 1130 AD and at one time the third largest church in Cheshire. In August 1539, the abbey and its estates, were granted to Sir George Cotton, an esquire of the body to Henry VIII of England (1491-1547). The Cotton Family kept it as a country home which they held up till 1919.
Between 1814 and 1820, (while Governor of Barbados) Cotton undertook an extensive remodelling of his home, Combermere Abbey, including Gothic ornamentation of the Abbot's House and the construction of Wellington's Wing (now demolished) to mark Wellington's visit to the house in 1820.
Marriage and Family
Viscount Combermere A memorial obelisk in Combermere Park, near Whitchurch, Shropshire.
1st Marriage: Lady Clinton
On 1 January 1801, Lady Anna Maria Clinton (d. 31 May 1807), daughter of Thomas Pelham-Clinton, 3rd Duke of Newcastle. They had three children:
- Robert Henry Stapleton Cotton (1802-1821) heir apparent, died young
- Son Stapleton Cotton (c1802-) died very young
- Son Stapleton Cotton (c1804-) died very young
2nd Marriage:Lady Greville
On 22 June 1814, Caroline Greville (d. 25 January 1837), daughter of Captain William Fulke Greville. They had three children:
- Wellington Henry Stapleton Cotton, 2nd Viscount Combermere (1818-1891) - heir to Combermere Abbey estates
- Caroline Stapleton Cotton (1815-)
- Meliora Emily Anna Maria Cotton (c1810-)
3rd Marriage: Mary Gibbings
In 1838, Mary Woolley (née Gibbings), by whom he had no issue.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Robert Henry Stapleton Cotton (1802-1821) | |||
| Son Stapleton Cotton (c1802-) | |||
| Son Stapleton Cotton (c1804-) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Wellington Henry Stapleton Cotton, 2nd Viscount Combermere (1818-1891) | 24 November 1818 Bridgetown, St Michaels, Barbados, British West Indies | 1 December 1891 St James Place, Westminster, London, England, United Kingdom | Susan Alice Sitwell (1819-1869) |
| Caroline Stapleton Cotton (1815-) | |||
| Meliora Emily Anna Maria Cotton (c1810-) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Robert Salusbury Cotton (1768-1809) | |||
| Frances Cotton (1769-1818) | |||
| Penelope Cotton (1770-1786) | |||
| Hester Maria Cotton (1772-1845) | |||
| Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere (1773-1865) | 14 November 1773 Lleweni Hall, Denbighshire, England | 21 February 1865 Colchester House, Clifton, Bristol, England | Anna Maria Clinton (c1775-1807) Caroline Greville (c1775-1837) Mary Gibbings (c1785-) |
| William Cotton (1775-1853) | |||
| Sophia Cotton (1777-1838) | |||
| Lynch Cotton (1780-1808) | |||
References
- Robert Cotton - disambiguation
- Combermere Abbey - Wikipedia
- 1st Viscount Combermere - Wikipedia
- Combermere Abbey
- Combermere Restoration - Cotton Family History
- 'Houses of Cistercian monks: The abbey of Combermere' in A History of the County of Chester (Vol. 3), pp. 150–156 (1980)
- The Cottons of Combermere Abbey