| Code | P/0024 |
| Dates | d.1517 |
| Person Name | Cotton; Sir; Robert (d.1517); of Landwade |
| Surname | Cotton |
| Forenames | Robert |
| PreTitle | Sir |
| Epithet | of Landwade |
| Activity | Sir Robert Cotton's life is shrouded in mystery, he did not hold the office of Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire that both his father and son held, and while he may have held other local offices this is unclear. Because his date of birth is difficult to determine, it is difficult to speculate on the reason for his knighthood received directly from the king. It could be that he was a soldier who helped the Tudor cause at the close of the Wars of the Roses but this is pure speculation, and he may simply have been dubbed out of recognition for his father or his own lands. All that can be said for sure about Sir Robert's life is that he maintained the family's position as major landowners across three counties. |
| Relationships | Father: Sir Thomas Cotton (c.1439-1499) High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire (1475)
Mother: Joan Sharpe, daughter and heiress of Nicholas Sharpe, esq.
Spouse: Dorothy Clere daughter of Sir Robert Clere
Alice Thornburgh, daughter of John Thornburgh Esq.
Children of First Marriage: Thomas Cotton (d.1526)
Anne Cotton, nun at Denny Abbey
Children of Second Marriage: Sir John Cotton MP (1513-1593) m. Isabel Spencer (c.1515-1578) daughter of Sir William Spencer of Althorp, Northamptonshire
Bridget Cotton m. Sir John Huddleston (1517-1557) of Sawston, Cambridgeshire |
Linked entries in the catalogue
| RefNo | Title |
| KP114/28/1 | Volume of historical notes and cuttings begun by Rev. R.Y. Whitehead, vicar, and continued by others |
| K588/M/14 | Roll of estreats of court manors of Coggeshall in Exning, 1499, 1507 (paper), and Exning (Hall), 1509, 1510. |
| K588/E/7 | Copy of writ diem clausit extremum of Henry VII to escheator in Suffolk (4 August 1499) and inquisition post mortem held at Ipswich (30 June 1500) into lands of Thomas Cotton, principally Manor of Exning, detailing descent of manor and naming Robert Cotton of full age his heir. |
| K588/W/6 | Will of Anne Cotton, sister and sole heir of Thomas Cotton, son and heir of Robert Cotton, on entering the Abbey of Denney. |
| K588/M/3 | Manor of Coggleshells in Exning (Suffolk). Court Roll |
| K588/T/82 | Feoffment to uses with power of attorney of manor of Exning. |
| K588/W/7 | Probate of will dated 10 May 1542 of Dame Alyce Cotton, widow of Sir Robert Cotton. |
| K588/F/39 | Cole's history of the Cottons of Madingley and Landwade and related families with pen and ink illustrations. |