Robert Corbet (died 1583)

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.

From the outset, it had a distinctly Calvinist ethos, and under Thomas Ashton, its head appointed in 1561, it developed a reputation as a centre for humanistic learning and drama.

[1] Shropshire's second MP was Edward Leighton (died 1593),[7] an older and more experienced man and a close colleague of Sir Andrew in the military organisation of the county and the Council in the Marches, and he was a member of the committee investigating the succession question, which continued to preoccupy parliament.

[3] On 15 April 1574 Sidney, residing in Venice, recommended Corbet in a letter to Hubert Languet, a Huguenot who acted as diplomatic representative of Augustus, Elector of Saxony and who was at that time at the court of Maximilian II, the Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna: Shelley, Corbet's travelling companion on this occasion was last grand prior of the Knights of St. John in England, a Catholic notable who resided in Venice acting informally as the queen's trade representative and even less formally as a spy for the English government.

However, in 1575, he received a government commission to act as an emissary to the Spanish governor of the Netherlands, Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga, known to the English as the Commendator.

Requesens held the post only briefly and had shown considerably more flexibility in confronting the Dutch Revolt than the Duke of Alba, his predecessor.

After significant victories, his funds had run out and he was now attempting to find common ground with the rebels under William the Silent, with the Emperor Maximilian acting as mediator: this may have been the background to Corbet and Shelley's journey to Vienna in the previous year.

[15] It strongly stressed the queen's concern for England's commercial interests: "the recovering and better settling of the ancient intercourse between her subjects and those of the Low Countries."

However, there was a red line: the queen might even support Spain "if she perceived that the King would permit his subjects to enjoy their liberties and be governed peaceably."

They feared an intervention by forces allied to the French Huguenot champion, Henri, Prince of Condé (1552–1588), and long-expected Spanish reinforcements had amounted to a mere 700 men.

[18] Corbet offered to go straight to the Dutch camp and press for peace negotiations but Requesens would not hear of it, refusing to create the impression that he had made the first move.

Corbet sadly requested permission to return home, concluding: Burghley was as much concerned by developments in the French wars of religion as in the Dutch revolt, but had no intention of committing English forces to either conflict.

The very State Papers detailing Corbet's mission constantly refer to large sums expended subsidising Reiters (German mercenary cavalry) for John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, called "Duke Casimir" by the English, whose forces were marching to the aid of the Prince of Condé in France's civil war.

The political and social dislocation caused by this recruitment drive had destabilised the Rhineland, obstructing Corbet's travels the previous year.

[5] Later rendered Sowbatch, this is almost certainly the modern hamlet of Sowbath, south of Stanton upon Hine Heath, in a parish neighbouring Moreton Corbet.

These were concentrated in Shropshire, where Sir Andrew had held land in 40 parishes,[3] but spread over many counties: Herefordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cornwall.

However, Robert's generation had very different expectations of domestic architecture from their forebears and he very quickly set about the construction of a new home immediately south of the castle.

[21] However, its large, rectangular windows and pilasters made clear it was intended for an entirely different way of living from the neighbouring castle - a significant achievement for a landed gentry family at that period.

It also accords better with an extensive period of travel in Robert's earlier years, some of it in association with circle of Philip Sidney, generally thought to be homosexual[24][25] Corbet's widow Anne remarried after his death.