Robert Corbet

Robert Corbet (1542–1583) was an English landowner, diplomat and politician of the Elizabethan period, a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Shropshire, his native county. Background and education Robert Corbet was the eldest son of Sir Andrew Corbet of Moreton Corbet, Shropshire.The Corbets had a history as Marcher lords in Shropshire stretching back to the Norman conquest and were the leading landed gentry family in the county, although they were never ennobled. Their seat was at Moreton Corbet Castle, although they had very large property holdings across Shropshire and in many other parts of the country. Jane Needham the daughter of Sir Robert Needham of Shavington Hall, Shropshire. The Needhams were another important Shropshire gentry family and close neighbours of the Corbets. Sir Andrew was to emerge in the 1560s as a pillar of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. He was a member for a quarter of a century of the Council in the Marches of Wales, of which he became vice-president and effective leader in his last years. However, when Robert was born he was still a youth of about nineteen, not yet a knight. Like his father, Roger Corbet, Andrew underwent a prolonged wardship although he was fortunate that the wardship was purchased by his uncle Richard Corbet. Richard was responsible for arranging his marriage to Jane Needham and it is likely that they had been married for only a very short time before the conception of their first child. Robert was born more than a year before Andrew could take livery of his estates. He was one of at least eleven children of the marriage, including six sons. Robert had been a favourite name for Corbet heirs for centuries but had been demoted in recent generations. Elizabeth Corbet, née Vernon, Robert's great-grandmother, who survived until 1563, may have had a decisive say in the choice of name.