Thomas Cobbold was the name of at least two important Harwich men.

The first that we know of was reputed to have founded a brewery at Harwich in 1723 but it is much more likely that he took over the brewery close to the quay that was operated by the Rolfe family. He lived from 1708 to 1767 and we'll call him Thomas Cobbold 1.

The second Thomas Cobbold was the grandson of our first Thomas Cobbold and took over the Harwich brewery from his father John. He lived from 1780 to 1845 and we'll call him Thomas Cobbold 2.