The Baronetcy of Cockayne of Ashbourne was created in the Baronetage of England on 10 January 1642 for Aston Cockayne, Lord of Ashbourne Hall, Derbyshire and Pooley Hall, Polesworth, Warwickshire.
Sir Aston Cockayne was a cavalier and author. He was a friend of King Charles I and received the title Baronet Cockayne of Ashbourne in return for his support during the English Civil War.
The Cockayne (or Cokayne) family settled at Ashbourne in the twelfth century. Ancestors of the baronet included Sir John Cockayne, steward to John of Gaunt, Sir Edmund Cockayne, slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. [1] and Sir John Cokayne, a turbulent Lancastrian knight who represented Derbyshire nine times in Parliament.
The Cockayne family owned the Manors of Ashbourne Hall and Pooley Hall.
Sir Aston Cockayne was the first baronet and last of his branch of the family. The baronetcy passed to the senior line of the Cockayne family and to Aston's first cousin, once removed (son of his first cousin): Caleb Cockayne.
