House Cooke

=Founding=
House Cooke was founded on the 23rd of June 1820, by His Grace William J. Cooke, a Major-General of the Order Of Vallentus and close friend of Queen Charlotte I, who was granted the title of Duke shortly after the foundation of the Kingdom of Vallentus.
=Characteristics=
Members of House Cooke tend to value honour, integrity and tradition above all - they are fiercely loyal to Queen Charlotte I and see the Kingdom of Vallentus as their home. As a result, House Cooke is a proudly military family with the majority of its members either serving in the Order directly or supporting it financially and politically. This has also lead to members of House Cooke having a reputation as highly effective warriors and leaders, befitting the military background of the family's founder and patriarch.
The main weakness of members of House Cooke is their tendency towards being stubborn, prideful and old-fashioned - being slow to embrace new schools of thought or technology and preferring to keep to tradition and the old ways. This stubbornness and pride is also their strength, however, and members of House Cooke tend to be steadfast in their beliefs and unwavering in their loyalty.
=Holdings=
Being one of the first Noble families of the Kingdom of Vallentus since its founding, House Cooke has come to possess large swathes of land which it either rents out to tenant farmers or operates directly through its many country estates. Therefore, the bulk of the family's wealth comes from agriculture - they directly or indirectly produce a great deal of the kingdom's food and textiles, plus a variety of cash crops such as tobacco which is either sold domestically or exported throughout Europe and the Americas. Their role as dominant food producers is partly what has lead to family's nickname of The Kitchen, a pun based on the 'Cooke' surname. 
Being a traditional and highly military family whose wealth comes primarily from agriculture and the renting of their land and properties, House Cooke is among the most feudal and old-fashioned of all the Noble Houses of Vallentus - evoking images of the Lords and Ladies of the middle ages.
Category:Order Of Vallentus Lore