| Earldom of Cottenham | |
| Creation Date: | 11 June 1850 |
| Present Holder: | Mark Pepys, 9th Earl of Cottenham |
| Heir Apparent: | Charlie Pepys, Viscount Crowhurst |
| Remainder To: | the 1st Earl's heirs male of the body legally begotten |
| Subsidiary Titles: | Viscount Crowhurst Baron Cottenham |
| Motto: | Mens Cujusque is est quisque ("Each man's character is his true self") |
Earl of Cottenham, of Cottenham in the County of Cambridge, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1850 for the prominent lawyer and Whig politician Charles Pepys, 1st Baron Cottenham.)[1] He served as Lord Chancellor from 1836 to 1841 and from 1846 to 1850. Pepys had already been created Baron Cottenham, of Cottenham in the County of Cambridge, in 1836, and was made Viscount Crowhurst, of Crowhurst in the County of Surrey, at the same time he was given the earldom. These titles are also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The viscountcy is used as a courtesy title for the Earl's eldest son and heir apparent.
In 1845 Lord Cottenham succeeded his elder brother as third Baronet, of Wimpole Street, and in 1849 he also succeeded his cousin as fourth Baronet, of Brook Street, according to a special remainder in the letters patent. The Baronetcy, of Wimpole Street, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1801 for Lord Cottenham's father William Pepys, a Master in Chancery. The Baronetcy, of Brook Street, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1784 for Lucas Pepys. the titles are held by the first Earl's great-great-great-grandson, the ninth Earl, who succeeded his father in 2000.
The title of the earldom is derived from the village of Cottenham in Cambridgeshire, birthplace of John Pepys, ancestor of the first Earl, and great-uncle of Samuel Pepys the diarist. Another member of the Pepys family was Henry Pepys, third son of Sir William Pepys, 1st Baronet, and younger brother of the first Earl. He was Bishop of Worcester from 1841 to 1860.
The family seat is Priory Manor, near Kington St Michael, Wiltshire.
Mark John Henry Pepys, 9th Earl of Cottenham (born 11 October 1983) is the elder son of the 8th Earl of Cottenham and his wife Sarah Lombard-Hobson. He was styled as Viscount Crowhurst between 1983 and 20 October 2000, when he succeeded to the peerages and baronetcies. He has an older sister, Lady Georgina Pepys (born 1981), and a younger brother, Sam Richard Pepys (born 1986).[5]
In 2019, the fund manager Bite Investments appointed Cottenham as its Head of Operations for China[6]
The heir apparent is Cottenham's son Charlie Thomas Crowhurst Pepys, Viscount Crowhurst (born 2020).[6]
see Earls of Cottenham for further succession
. Bernard Burke. Ashworth P. Burke. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage. 65th. 1903. Harrison and Sons. London. 368.