The Cocke (or Cock) family appears to have had roots in Hertfordshire for some generations. John Cocke (1506-1557) purchased Broxbourne manor in 1544. He served Queen Catherine Parr as attorney and treasurer in the 1540s; sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire 1548-9 and an MP for Hertfordshire several times between 1545 and 1555. He was master of requests 1550-1553, and a privy councillor to Edward VI from 155-1553. Henry Cocke (1538-1610) inherited Broxbourne and other properties, including in St Albans, from his father and himself purchased the manor of Weston from the Earl of Pembroke. He served the county as sheriff 1574-5 and in Parliament five times between 1571 and 1593. He had a good relationship with his Hertfordshire neighbors, the Cecils, who may have been responsible for Henry Cocke being named cofferer of the royal household in 1597 and continuing to hold that position under King James, who stayed with Cocke at Broxbourne on his trip south to London in 1603.
D. F. Coros, “Cock, John II (by 1506-1557), of London and Broxbourne, Herts.” The History of Parliament. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/cock-john-ii-1506-57.
Roger Virgoe, “Cocke, Henry (1538-1610), of Broxbourne, Herts.” The History of Parliament. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/cocke-henry-1538-1610.
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