The Cooke Family was prominent in the village of Church Lawford from the 18th Century until modern times. The family appeared in the first village Census of 1801, with Walter Cooke (1770-1806) living with his wife Jane, a son and two daughters. Walter had married Jane Benn at St Peters in 1793, and her links via both the Benn and maternal Downing family lines go back even further.
Walter’s son was also called Walter (1793-1866), and he became a key tradesperson in the village, both as a Carpenter and Wheelwright. He married Elizabeth Burton from another village family of Carpenters in 1819, and their first son was also called Walter (1820-1898). Walter took on the Wheelwright and Carpentry business. As well as building that business he also performed the role of Parish Clerk for 29 years. He was also the agent for the Rugby Advertiser, and in latter years he ran one of the first instances of a Post Office service in the village. He also performed the role of Overseer of the Poor for many years, and created and erected the gates for the new Church in the latter part of the 19th Century.
Walter was married twice, and after his first wife died in 1863 he married Sophia Mason from Aynho and had three further children – the brothers Harry (1866-1949), Arthur (1868-1949) and Fred (1871-1949). These three brothers lived in the village for all of their lives, a combined total of 240 years, and their stories are told below.
Harry Mason Cooke (1866-1949) became the Village Butcher, and had a smallholding in Church Road from which he ran that business – see details of this and the links with the Barnwell family in a separate story here.
Arthur Cooke (1868-1949) lived at the Triangle at the top of the village, and with his brother ran the wheelwright and carpentry business. His carpentry work was well noted, especially in St Peters Church, where he also held the roles of Parish Clerk and Sexton, having taken them over from his father, as well as being the Village Undertaker. He was also a Bellringer, and was a secretary and trustee for the Village Reading Room. Like many in the family he was also a keen sportsman, notably at Cricket and Football. He also volunteered to assist in many village events.
Fred Cooke (1871-1949), also lived at the Triangle, and he ran the garage and petrol station there for many years – his story is told in the article below. He had a son Fred in 1906, as well as two daughters. Evelyn Nellie who married Arthur John Hallam in 1922, lived in the village at Ivy Cottage in Coventry Road (by then known as “The Bank”) with Mrs Hallam becoming well known in the village for her work with the Church and Women’s Institute. Fred was the local correspondent for the Rugby Advertiser for fifty-five years, and it was his attention to detail and awareness of village people and events that led to so much valuable information about Church Lawford and Kings Newnham being preserved in the Advertiser archive.
Sadly the three brothers died within 12 months of each other, but the family business at the Triangle was then run by Fred jr (1906-1976) into the latter half of the century. The Haulage side of the business had been run in partnership with Bill Simmonds from 1932 through to when Haulage was nationalised in the late 1940s. The family Garage / Maintenance business and Petrol Station continued until changing hands in the 1970s.
