The Coote family’s association with Ireland began with Sir Charles Coote (1581-1642), who in 1621 was granted one of the first baronetcies in Ireland for his military service to the crown during the Nine Years War. In 1628, he founded the town of Mountrath in county Laois. His son and namesake was created Earl of Mountrath in 1660. The title became extinct in 1802 on the death of Charles Henry Coote, 7th Earl of Mountrath. However, the title Baron Castlecoote, granted to Charles Henry in 1800 for his support of the Act of Union, passed to his distant cousin and namesake, Charles Henry Coote (1754-1823) of Leopardstown Park, county Dublin, eldest son of the Very Reverend Charles Coote, Dean of Kilfenora. Along with the title, he also inherited the 7th Earl’s Irish properties. This title, too, became extinct on the death of Eyre Tilson Coote (1793-1827), the third baron, but his widow, Barbara née Meredyth, retained ownership of the Coote estate. Following her death in 1874, the estate passed to Sir Eyre Coote (1857-1925) of West Park, Hampshire, grandson of the younger brother of the second Baron Castlecoote. The Coote Papers reflect this rather complex network of family relationships and resulting problems of succession.