Robert Victor Cooke 1902 - 1978

Robert Victor Cooke ?1902 - 1978, MD, ChM, FRCS Bristol 1926, was a British orthodox physician, House Surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital, Assistant Surgeon Cardiff, Honorary Surgeon at the Bristol General Hospital and Bristol Children’s Hospital, Senior Surgeon at the United Bristol Hospitals,  Sheriff of Bristol 1971 - 1972,  Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons 1972 and Huntarian Professor, President of the Royal Society of Medicine (Surgery and Proctology) who also worked as a  Surgeon at the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital,

Cooke was a close friend of Hamilton Bailey,

Robert Victor Cooke was born in Berkley Gloucestershire, and alongside his medical career, he was a Keen sportsman (playing hockey, cricket, golf and tennis), an avid collector of antique furniture, extremely interested in horticulture, and he made extensive renovations to his home Athelhampton House,

In 1957, Cooke bought Athelhampton House, as he had long wished to restore the house, but sadly his first wife died (he married Elizabeth Cowie MD, MRCGP in 1929 - they had 2 sons), in 1964 and he lost interest in the project. He presented the house to his son Robert Cooke and his second wife Jenifer in 1966.

Robert Victor Cooke’s Obituary is in the Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1978 July; 60(4): 358–359,

Of interest:

Sir Robert Cooke - 1987, son of Robert Victor Cooke, was MP for Bristol West 1957 - 1979, his wife Jenifer died in 1995 having married for a second time to Sir Edward du Cann in 1990.

Patrick Cooke, grandson of Robert Victor Cooke, now owns Athelhampton House, and is continuing the renovations.