Cobham – 14th century

A pre-existing building on this site descended through the Cobham family until 1362 when it was inherited by John de Cobham of Devonshire. John was a tax collector and a Justice of the Peace in Sussex and Surrey. In 1383 John was granted a licence to crenellate the Castle by Richard II. In 1392 he was appointed a deputy to Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, as constable in the Court of Chivalry and accompanied Richard II to Ireland as an Esquire of the Household. John died in 1399 and was buried under the belfry at St Peter’s Church in Hever with his second wife Joan Lewknor and their son Reynold. His will reveals that he provided for £30 to be spent on his funeral and twenty poor men to stand vigil over his tomb for forty days.