Rowland *1548 and Katherine
Information from parliamentonline and Wikipedia Cotheridge Court.
He originated from Hereford and there are indications he learned the clothier's trade in Worcester. William became a wealthy Worcester clothier. He bought Cotheridge in 1615.  William was in 1617 Sheriff of Worcestershire.
   Auditor, Worcester 1581-2, member of the Twenty-Four 1583, high chamberlain 1583-4, low bailiff 1585-6, low alderman 1586-7, high alderman and judge of the Orphans Court 1587-8, high alderman 1588-9; gov. of the g.s. and almshouse, Worcester, by 1606-d., treas. 1606-7, 1609-10.

  By the 1590s he was well established among the ruling mercantile families of Worcester (for his eldest son, William, married the daughter of another of the city's MPs, Thomas Chettle). He was master of the Weavers, Walkers and Clothiers' Co., Worcester 1590. Berkeley also lent money to impecunious members of the Worcestershire gentry, including (Sir) William Ligon and Edmund Harewell, and purchased their land. In 1606 Berkeley bought the manor of Spetchley, three miles from Worcester, which became his principal residence. At his death he also owned property in Herefordshire and elsewhere in Worcestershire, and leased land belonging to the bishop of Worcester.
  Following the death of the sitting MP, Christopher Dighton, Berkeley was re-elected to Parliament by the corporation of Worcester on the last day of 1604, although the return is dated ten days later. During the second session (1605-6) he was probably the 'Sir Rowland Barkley', appointed on 5 Feb. 1606 to consider the bill to repeal an Elizabethan statute concerning the length of kerseys, a matter of undoubted interest to him, although Worcester did not specialize in that type of cloth.
  There is no trace of him in the surviving records of the fourth or fifth sessions of parliament. Behind the scenes, however, he may have been lobbying to elevate Worcester to county status for in March 1604 this matter had been 'wholly referred' to him by his fellow councillors.

  Berkeley drew up his will on 15 Aug. 1610 in which he bequeathed more than £4,000 in cash. He provided for money to be distributed to the poor of Worcester on the day of his burial, on Ash Wednesday and 'on the third day of May commonly called holy rood day'. He also gave £100 each to the Worcester Clothiers' Company and the corporation of Hereford for the benefit of young clothworkers. The same amount was left each to eight of his daughters 'hereby named and to none other', suggesting that the ninth had been disowned. In a codicil to his will, added on 28 Sept., Berkeley removed the promise of 10 shilling a year to the churchwardens of Spetchley, but did not alter his wish to be buried in the parish church. Berkeley died at his house in Spetchley on 1 June 1611. In accordance with his father's wishes, the second son, Robert Berkeley, the next MP in the family, erected a monument in his honour.

Thomas Chettle and Elinor
All information is from parliamentonline and Wikipedia Thomas Chettle.
Constable, All Saints Ward, Worcester 1588-9; member of the Forty-Eight, Worcester aft. 1588, low chamberlain 1590-1, auditor 1593-4, 1596-7, 1599-1600, 1602-3, 1607-8, the Twenty-Four by 1600, high chamberlain 1600-1, low bailiff 1603-4, low alderman 1604-5, high bailiff 1605-6, judge of Ct. of Orphans 1605-6, high alderman 1606-7, permanent alderman 1622-7; gov. of g.s. and almshouse, Worc. by 1622-33, treas. 1623-4, 1626-7.
  Warden of the Weavers, Walkers and Clothiers' Co., Worcester 1589-90, asst. by 1596, high master 1603-4, 1622-3; gov. Free sch. and Trin. almshouse, Worcester by 1626.

  Chettle married Elinor, daughter of Thomas Hanbury  [ name of his wife Elinor is from myheritage ], an auditor in the Exchequer (under James I) and a member of an armigerous Worcestershire family. He was in 1614 elected member of the Worcester parliament, but stood aside for Robert Berkeley, the younger brother of his son in law (from parliamentonline). This Robert Berkeley played a role in the "wool trade wars" of abt. 1620-25.
  Chettle, whose ancestry is unknown, was probably related to the namesake who was senior bailiff of Worcester in 1550.
  Chettle made his will on 8 Jan. 1641 and added a codicil five days later. He bequeathed his Herefordshire property to All Saints parish, Worcester, to provide cloth for the poor, and gave his company £100 for the same purpose. He left £200 for a 'decent' funeral and £20 was to be distributed among the poor of Worcester on the day of his burial. In accordance with his request he was interred, on 24 Jan., in All Saints church and had a monument at Kempsey. An inventory taken the next day valued his goods and cash at £464 13s. His will was proved on 16 Feb. 1642.

William (*1582) and Margaret
William was Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1617.  They lived at Cotheridge Court (6 km west of Worcester), given to him by his fahter. The house then was a large, two-storey timber-framed dwelling with a third floor of gabled attics having carved bargeboards. The house contained a small, panelled room known as the 'sots hole' where drunks were held in order to sleep off their drunkenness. This room probably dates back to pre-15th century and before, when the house was a Court House (from Cotheridge Court).

Rowland and Dorothy
Dorothy's descent is taken from geni.com. The couple had one son and five daughters (see at end).   All information is from Wikipedia: Cotheridge and Sir Rowland.   Rowland was politician. He was knighted by Charles I at Whitehall 30 June 1641.

Sir Rowland was one of the Commissioners of Array appointed to call out the Militia in June 1642. The muster rolls were kept at Cotheridge. He was appointed High Sheriff of Worcestershire for 1644-45.  And he was Cavalier Officer.  [ "Cavalier Officier" stood for the heridetary aristocracy and gentry, supporting King Charles I and later Charles II; city-based merchants supported parliament against the king in the 1640-51 civil war. ]
  Immediately after the Siege of Worcester July 1646 he had obtained a written pass of safety to his home, Cotheridge, on taking an oath to not again bear arms against Parliament.  He was obliged to pay a fine of £2,030 on 25 August 1646 having been charged that "his house being within three miles of Worcester, he continued to live there while it was held for the king, and was placed on a Commission for the safeguarding of the County, and for raising contributions for the king's forces."

  Sir Rowland was one of the gentlemen chosen by King Charles II in 1660 to be invested with the order of the Royal Oak, an order which was not instituted. Sir Rowland Berkeley served as MP for Worcester from 1661 to 1679.
  Sir Rowland's only son, Thomas, died unmarried, on 25th October 1669, in Greece. He was on a diplomatic mission to Turkey, travelling with His Excellency Sir Daniel Harvey from King Charles II to Sultan Mahomethan, Emperor of the Turks. The two men were travelling from Constantinople towards Thessalonica when Thomas fell ill. He was 30 years old and his remains were buried amongst Christians. Having no other sons, Cotheridge Court passed to Sir Rowland's eldest daughter Elizabeth.  The other daughters were Penelope, Rebecca, Mary, and Margaret.

(2021.07.24)     begun April 2021