FIFTEENTH GENERATION

50. Nicholas 2nd FORTESCUE of Cookhill⁽⁵⁸⁾ died in 1549. He was a Groom Porter to Henry VIII. Nicholas (1st and 2nd): There seems to be some doubt over which one was the first of the two Nicholas's - sons of John. A Visitation of Worcester, 1569, assigns the Groom Porter post to the Nicholas from a nameless wife, and the second Nicholas by "the daughter of Skinner", second wife of John.!! The family tree does not show this second wife. Elsewhere one Nicholas is described as a bastard. Wills indicate that this is correct. (Note that Clermont's Spridlestone and his Cookhill etc. family trees differ, but only over whether the Nicholas who married Katherine Skinner and became Groom Porter was the first or second of the two sons of John who have that name. Here, this family tree is an amended version of Clermont's in that it shows the Nicholas who married Katherine as the second of the two. In some documents Nicholas (Groom) is styled Sir Nicholas.

He was appointed Keeper of the Park of Malwyke in 1537, under Lord Denbighe. In 1542 he was given the Nunnery of Cokehill, in Cookhill and Church Lench, Worcestershire, following the dissolution of the churches etc.

Cookhill, near Alcester in Worcestershire had a nunnery that was taken by Henry VIII and given to Sir Nicholas Fortescue (Groom Porter). In 1864 the old house was partly used as a farm-house. The manor and estate of Wheatley, near Cookhill in Gloucestershire, was bought by Sir Nicholas in 1543. The burying place of this family for many generations was Cookhill chapel, which was restored by Capt. John Fortescue, the last of the family to be buried there.

Sir Nicholas was also granted property in the parish of Campden, near Ebrington in Gloucestershire; it was called Nun-heys. He bought the manor and estate at Wheatley, as reported above.

In Visitations of the County of Devon, 1620 Niholas the nameless wife is shown as Elizabeth Sture

He was married to Katherine SKINNER (daughter of Robert SKINNER of Sheffield, Warks). Nicholas 2nd FORTESCUE of Cookhill and Katherine SKINNER had the following children:

+83 i. William FORTESCUE of Cookhill and Wheatley.
84 ii. Mabel FORTESCUE of Cookhill⁽⁵⁹⁾.
85 iii. Jane FORTESCUE of Cookhill⁽⁶⁰⁾ .