he supported the war, and
in May 1640, after the dismissal of the Short Parliament, he declared it
his opinion that at such a crisis the king might levy money without the
Parliament. His attempts to get funds from the city were unsuccessful,
and he had recourse instead to a speculation in pepper. He had been
appointed constable of the Tower, and he now prepared the fortress for a
siege. In the trial of Strafford in 1641 Cottington denied on oath that
he had heard him use the incriminating words about "reducing this
kingdom." When the parliamentary opposition became too strong to be any
longer defied, Cottington, as one of those who had chiefly incurred
their hostility, hastened to retire from the administration, giving up
the court of wards in May 1641 and the chancellorship of the exchequer
in January 1642. He rejoined the king in 1643, took part in the
proceedings of the Oxford parliament, and was made lord treasurer on the
3rd of October 1643. He signed the surrender of Oxford in July 1646, and
being excepted from the indemnity retired abroad. He joined Prince
Charles at the Hague in 1648, and became one of his counsellors. In
1649, together with Hyde, Cottington went on a mission to Spain to
obtain help for the royal cause, having an interview with Mazarin at
Paris on the way. They met, however, with an extremely ill reception,
and Cottington found he had completely lost his popularity at the
Spanish court, one cause being his shortcomings and waverings in the
matter of religion. He now announced his intention of remaining in Spain
and of keeping faithful to Roman Catholicism, and took up his residence
at Valladolid, where he was maintained by the Jesuits. He died there on
the 19th of June 1652, his body being subsequently buried in Westminster
Abbey. He had amassed a large fortune and built two magnificent houses
at Hanworth and Founthill. Cottington was evidently a man of
considerable ability, but the foreign policy pursued by him was opposed
to the national interests and futile in itself. According to Clarendon's
verdict "he left behind him a greater esteem of his parts than love of
his person." He married in 1623 Anne, daughter of Sir William Meredith
and widow of Sir Robert Brett. All his children predeceased him, and his
title became extinct at his death.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Article in the _Dict. of Nat. Biography_ and
authorities there quoted; Clarendon's _Hist. of the Rebellion,
passim_, and esp. xiii. 30