St Vincent Cotton

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name = Sir St Vincent Cotton, 6th Baronet


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birth_date = 6 October, 1801
birth_place = Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridgeshire
death_date = death date|1863|1|24|df=y
death_place =Hyde Park Terrace, Kensington, London
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resting_place =Brompton Cemetery
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occupation = Sportsman and socialite
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Sir St Vincent Cotton, 6th Baronet was a noted British nineteenth century gambler, sportsman and socialite as well as the last of the Cotton Baronets of Landwade. Despite being the son of a distinguished naval officer and the descendant of several senior and influential politicians, Cotton refused to undertake any profession and became a notorious rake and sportsman of the era, participating in top-flight amateur cricket, boxing and coach-driving.

His dissolution ended in disaster however as his gambling losses ruined his family and his sporting injuries left his bloated and crippled. Following his mother's death in 1855, he gambled away her remaining fortune and was left without any means of support. He died aged 62 as an invalid, survived only by the woman he married on his deathbed, his long term mistress. After his death, debtors broke up the family estate and his title died out.

Early life

St Vincent Cotton was born in 1801, the eldest son of Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet and Philadelphia Cotton "née" Rowley. His father was a distinguished admiral who served in several British fleets during the Napoleonic Wars and who rarely saw his children. His grandfathers were Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley and Sir John Hynde Cotton, 4th Baronet, another famous admiral and a highly-respected politician. In 1812, Charles Cotton, commander of the British Channel Fleet, collapsed and died at Plymouth from apoplexy, without ever having had a significant influence on his children.

St Vincent Cotton inherited the baronetcy at age eleven, and was soon dispatched to Westminster School, where many of his ancestors had attended. In 1820 he enrolled at Christ Church, Oxford although he never studied or received a degree. In 1827 he was purchased a commission in the 11th Hussars, where he served uneventfully until 1830 when he cashed in his commission. The brief military career was the final attempt by his family to curb his excessive socialising behaviour which was already proving a significant financial burden.

porting life

During the 1820s, Cotton had become well-known amongst a set of well-to-do tavern goers in London whose main hobbies were drinking and brawling. Cotton himself once offered the advice in an article published in "Sporting Life", that when brawling one should "pitch into the big rosy men, but if you see a little lemon-faced nine-stone man, have nothing to do with him". This energy turned to a short career in amateur boxing, fighting under the names "Vinny Cotton", "Sir Vincent Twist" and "The Baronet". Being six feet tall and heavily muscled, Cotton was quite successful in the ring. He also spent years following hunts, becoming famous in Leicestershire especially for his horsemanship. Between 1830 and 1835, Cotton also played cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club. He followed cricket, boxing, hunting and horse racing his entire life and became a notable face at racetracks.

In 1836, Cotton developed his greatest love in the then popular sport of coach racing. Buying a Brighton coach named "Age", Cotton regularly raced her between Brighton and London, becoming popular for his banter and skill with the horses. It was said of him that he could stop the coach in full flight with a single tug of the reins, such was his strength and skill. He was known for the safety of his rides compared with many of his compatriots, but there was a less savoury side of his showmanship.

Debts, injuies and death

In fact, Cotton was an inveterate gambler who had already spent his inheritance by 1830 and was forced to take the coach racing job to maintain his lifestyle. Family members were repeatedly forced to pay off his extensive debts to avoid scandal, and his adventures included several arrests for bankruptcy and debt. In 1845 it was falsely put about that he had committed suicide to avoid a debt, and in 1846 he fled the country, pursued by collectors. By this stage of his life, Cotton had been forced to give up the sports which kept him financially afloat, a series of terrible injuries leaving him battered and toothless. As time passed, his injuries did not heal correctly and he was left semi-paralysed and unable to move unaided.

On his return from the continent in 1846, Cotton was arrested once more for bad debt and was forced to sell what remained of the family holdings bar those still in his mother's hands. Once again, only his family's charity saved him from ruin. Cotton did not change his ways however, and on his mother's death in 1855, he once again sold all that she left to him to pay off gambling debts. He died in 1863, with only his mistress Hephzibah Dimmick beside him. On his deathbed he married her to give her the status title of Lady Cotton. He died childless and the baronetcy died with him, there being no other property or assets to bequeath. He was buried in Brompton Cemetery, where he was joined by his wife ten years later. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6427 Cotton, Sir St Vincent] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", John D. Pickles, Retrieved 13 January 2008 ]

Notes

References

* cite web
title = Cotton, Sir St Vincent
work = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, John D. Pickles
url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6427

Persondata
NAME=Cotton, Sir St Vincent, 6th Baronet
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= St Vincent Cotton
SHORT DESCRIPTION= British sportsman and socialite
DATE OF BIRTH=6 October 1801
PLACE OF BIRTH=Madingley, Cambridgeshire
DATE OF DEATH=24 January 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH=Kensington London