Corbet family

In the Domesday Book of 1086, Roger Corbet and his brother Robert were listed as some of the most important tenants-in-chief of the king and the powerful Marcher Lord Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury[5][6] Roger is generally believed to have been the first feudal baron of Caus in Shropshire, which was a barony within the marcher lordship of Roger de Montgomerie (died 1094). He was succeeded after 1121 by his son Robert Corbet (d. pre-1155). He was succeeded by Roger Corbet, who himself was succeeded by Robert (died 1222), who left a son Thomas who died in 1274. There followed his son and heir Peter Corbet (died 1300) who left a son Peter Corbet (died 1322), who died childless. The barony then passed to his half-brother John. Although the family soon died out in the senior line, when the barony was lost, cadet branches spread out and thrived.

From the eclipse of the senior line at Caus, the most important Shropshire branch of the Corbets was that of Moreton Toret, later called Moreton Corbet, where they had a castle. Members of this branch regularly represented Shropshire, and sometimes other constituencies, in the House of Commons of England over several centuries. They were among the most powerful and richest of landed gentry families in the county, especially in the 16th century, when there was no resident aristocracy.[7] Together with its offshoots at Stoke upon Tern and Stanwardine, the Moreton Corbet family played a major part in the county's passage through the English Reformation and the English Civil War. Some of the Corbet politicians are featured in the family tree below. The Corbets long retained part of their former vast estates in Shropshire. The Return of Owners of Land, 1873 showed that, of the 13 landowners who owned more than 8,000 acres in the county, two were Corbets: Sir V. R. Corbet owned 9,489 acres and I. D. Corbet owned 8,118 acres.

1880s image of Jean Thomas Corbet and wife taken by Grut photographers, Guernsey Channel Island

The Corbets of the Channel Islands are documented in numerous Extentes namely; 1309 Roll of Assizes – 2 references to "Richard Corbel" of Trinity 1272 Extentes – 1 reference to "Raoul Corbel" 1331 Extentes – 1 reference to "Richard Corbel", and 2 each to "Jean Corbey" and "William Corbey" 1528 Extentes – 1 reference to "Vincent Corbel" of Trinity 1607 Extentes – 1 reference each to "Silvester Cobell", "Hellier Corbet", "Vincent Corbell", "John Corbell" and 2 references to "Drewet Corbell" 1668 Extentes – 1 reference to Corbel family 1749 Extentes – 2 references to "Elizabeth Corbet, daughter of James Corbet" Some of these Corbets were born Jersey and the most notable was – Major Gov. Moses Corbet (1728–1814) – Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. Most of the Corbets had already moved to or later moved to Guernsey where the family flourished until c. 1956 upon the death of William Corbet, son of Jean Thomas Corbet. By the 20th century the Corbets were the largest land owners in the Vale Parish once known as the Clos du Valle. The Corbets under Jean Thomas Corbet Esq. (1836–1926) owned and operated two granite quarries which they exported stone to England. Louise Corbet, daughter of Jean Thomas married John Bichard and thus together the families created the first glasshouse growing operation in Guernsey; the vast estate was called "Les Landes". The Corbets entertained King George V and Queen Mary on their visit to the vineries in 1921. The Corbets' Fruit Export Company thrived and they were suppliers to Buckingham Palace. In the 1930s the Corbet family donated land that would become the Corbet Field, an important athletic area.

Notable descendants and relatives of Jean Thomas Corbet include; – Denys Corbet (1826–1909), poet and painter. (cousin) – Christian Cardell Corbet (born 1976), FA, FRSA, portrait sculptor and painter, sculptor in residence – Royal Canadian Navy and benefactor; regimental sculptor – The Royal Canadian Regiment.[11][12]

The first Corbet in Scotland came from Shropshire, and settled in Teviotdale under Earl David (later King David I of Scotland) in the first quarter of the 12th century. He is said to have obtained the manor of Fogo which he held as a vassal under the Earls of Dunbar.

Robert fitz Corbet appeared in Scotland in about 1116 as one of the retinue of Earl David, who later became King David I. The author, Augusta Corbet, who wrote The Family of Corbet – Its Life and Times, says that Robert was the son of Roger Corbet and grandson of Corbet le Normand. It is said he belonged to the family which held Drayton in Northamptonshire.

Robert Corbet was a witness in the instrument or Inquisition made by David, Prince of Cumberland, into the lands belonging to the old Church of Glasgow, and is also a witness in other deeds of David when he was King of Scotland (1124–53).

The Cumberland or Cumbria of those days extended to the Clyde, and included Glasgow, which David incorporated into Scotland. David appears to have allotted lands in Roxburghshire to Robert Corbet, where his descendants were "great lords of several generations". For many centuries the Corbets held lands in the Scottish Borders and were loyal to Scotland. By the late 13th century, the Corbets owned land in the Castle Douglas/ Dalbeattie areas in addition to their traditional tenures. A century later, Constantine Corbet owned lands in Fife and a Walter Corbet owned lands around Lochmaben. By the late 16th century, Corbets owned lands in Clydesdale, with Symont Corbet's will showing land held near Hamilton (1574).

In 1745 the Corbets supported the British Government. When Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in Scotland. Robert Corbet, then provost of Dumfries, rode out with his men to meet him and warned the Prince to stand aside as Dumfries would have nothing to do with him. He then returned to Dumfries and locked the gates against the Prince.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Corbets were busy in Scotland in a variety of occupations, including shipmasters, tanners, tailors, schoolmasters, weavers, etc. In 1784, James Corbett was a weaver in Larkhall and in Hamilton, other Corbetts were prospering in the late 18th century. Janefield, part of the Tollcross estate and now a cemetery, was occupied and farmed by a James Corbett in 1751.

Sir Bernard Burke: The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, Harrison, London, 1884, accessed 9 December 2013 at Internet Archive

Augusta Elizabeth Brickdale Corbet: The family of Corbet; its life and times, Volume 2 at Open Library, Internet Archive, accessed 9 December 2013.

George Grazebrook and John Paul Rylands (editors), 1889: The visitation of Shropshire, taken in the year 1623: Part I by Robert Tresswell, Somerset Herald, and Augustine Vincent, Rouge Croix Pursuivant of arms; marshals and deputies to William Camden, Clarenceux king of arms. With additions from the pedigrees of Shropshire gentry taken by the heralds in the years 1569 and 1584, and other sources. Accessed 9 December 2013 at Internet Archive.

History of Parliament Online: Members, History of Parliament Trust, 1994, accessed 9 December 2013.