"Coke of Trusley, in the county of Derby, and branches therefrom: a family history"

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Coke of Truslev, In the county of Derby, 




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COKE of TRUSLEY, 

In the County of Derby ^ and Branches 

therefrom : 



Compiled by 

Major JOHN TALBOT COKE. 



" He (Dr. Johnson) agieed with me that there should be a chronicle kept in every 
considerable family, to preserve the character .and transactions of successive 
generations. 1 *; — BosiveWs Life ofjobmon. 



Printed for Private Circulation. 



MDCCCLXXX. 



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PRINTED BY 

W. H. AND L. COIXINGRIDGE, CITY PRESS, 

ALDEBSGATE STREET, LONDON. 




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PREFATORY NOTE. 

In compiling this History it has been my desire simply to 
arrange all evidence relating to the Family in proper order. 
Nothing is given which is not from perfectly authentic sources ; 
and I have been careful, as far as possible, to retain all original 
wording. 

I have been assisted in the early part by notes made in 
1810 by my Grandfather, D'Ewes Coke, of Brookhill Hall. 

J. Talbot Coke. 



York, January, 1880. 



INDEX PEDIGREE. 



Robert Coke 
(page i). 



J 



Hugh Coke =p Agnes Owen, 
(page I). 



Robert Coke 
(page 2). 



Thomas Coke : 
(page 2). 

William Coke = 
(page 4). 

1 

William Coke = 
(page 4). 



J 



= Elizabeth de Odingsells. 

=Joan Hilton. 

= Cicely Brentwood. 



I 

Sir Francis Coke =j= 1. Frances Holies, 
(page 13). 2. Elizabeth Curzon. 

William Coke =j= 1. Maud Beresford. 
(page 18). 2. Dorothy Saunders. 

Richard Coke =f= Catherine Charlton, 
(page 23). ! 

! L _! 

Robert Coke =j= Elizabeth Samwell. John 
(page 43). J (page 38). 

1 ' Virginian 

William Coke =p Catherine Ballidon. Line 
<page 45)- I (page 39 to 42). 



William Coke =j= Isabell Longford, 
(page S). 

, 1 

William Coke =j= Dorothy Fitzherbert. 
(page 6). j 

1 ' 

Richard Coke =j= Mary Sacheverell. 
(page 8). I 



Sir John Coke-p 1. 
(page 58). I 2. 



1. Mary Powell. 
Joan Lee. 



Thomas Coke =p Mary Pope, 
(page 67). I 



George Coke, 
Bishop of 
Hereford, 
(page 76). 



! Jane Heigham. 



John Coke =j= 
(page 69). I 

r ' 

Thomas Coke = 
(page 72). 



Mary Leventhorpe. 



Richard Coke =j= 
(page 82). I 



= 1. Lady Mary Stanhope. 
2. Hon. Mary Hale. 



Catherine Cassandra 
(page S3)- 



Frances 
(page S3)- 



George Lewis Coke, 

of Melbourne, 

S.P. 

(page 75). 



Heigham Coke =j= 
(page 83). j 

D'Ewes Coke=r= 

(page 84). I 



Mary Kayse. 



1. Elizabeth D'Ewes. 

2. Mary Lechmere. 

1. Frances Coke. 

2. Catherine Hurt. 



George Coke =j= Elizabeth Ellis, 
(page 86). | 



D'Ewes Coke=f= 
( page 89). j 

D'Ewes Coke=r= 
(page 102). I 



Hannah Heywood. 
Harriet Wright. 



William Sacheverell Coke =j= I. Sarah Deane. 
of Brookhill 2. Susan Miller, 

(page 105). 



Edward Thomas Coke ■ 
of Trusley 
(page 107). 



= Diana Talbot. 



John Henry 
(page 109). 



Richard George 
(page no). 



William Coke =p Elizabeth Hopton. 
(page no). 1 

1 — ; ' 

Francis Coke^i. Lucy Coucher. 
(page in). I 2. Barbara Harper. 

I ' 

George Coke =j= Elizabeth Bytheway. 
(page 112). ! 

1 J 

Richard Coke =j= Jane Griffiths, 
(page 113). 

r — : 

Francis Coke =p Anne Whitcombe. 
(page 114). j 



George Coke =j= Anne Hodgson. John 
(page 116). j (pie 118). 

„ 1 ' 

George Francis Coke 
of Lemore 
(page 122). 



INTRODUCTION. 



"""THE Manor of Trusley was held by one Hugh, under Henry de 
Ferrars when the Survey of Domesday was taken, then 
called " Toxenai." 

Two Vellum Pedigrees of the Cokes, procured at different times 
from the College of Arms, give undoubted authority to the family 
history as far as they extend. The most ancient was prepared in the 
reign of Elizabeth, and is signed by Robert Cooke, Clarencieux King- 
at-Arms. The later one was drawn up in 1772, and is signed by Mr. 
Bigland and Sir Isaac Heard, the Lancaster and Somerset Heralds. 
It is stated to have been taken from the Register HoWard, folio 34, 35, 
existing in the College of Arms. Some variations in these two 
Pedigrees appear in the Arms of the females with whom the Cokes 
intermarried. These will be noticed in their proper places, but the 
descent is uniform in both. 

The earliest part of the history depends not only on these Pedigrees, 
and the evidence possessed in the College of Arms, but it is also 
confirmed by the possession of property obtained through the inter- 
marriage of the Cokes with the heirs female of several ancient families. 
The Parish Registers of Trusley, Kirkby, Pinxton, &c, with inscriptions 
on tombstones and achievements in those churches, corroborate the 



vi INTRODUCTION. 



descent as far as these go back, and deeds in the possession of different 
branches of the family form the last species of evidence which has 
been resorted to. 

The Pedigrees are silent as to the residence of the first of the 
Cokes, but the earliest intermarriage with an heir female is that with 
Owen of Marchington. Marchington is a village on the very border 
of Derbyshire, but situate in the county of Stafford, on the bank of the 
Dove, and within three or four miles of Uttoxeter. It is not more than 
six or eight miles from Trusley, where the second intermarriage with 
the heir female of Odingsells took place, and, as marriages in those 
early days were in general contracted amongst neighbours, the 
presumption is that the Cokes lived somewhere between the two 
places. 

A tradition in the Trusley family states that the founder of it 
was one Cook or Coke, who was employed in the service of Henry 
de Ferrars, Superintendent of William the Conqueror's horse armourers 
and farriers. They are said to have been located near Tutbury 
Castle, in some office or other. 

Whether their original residence was in Derbyshire or Staffordshire, 
it appears that on the marriage with the Owens they resided in the 
latter county, and continued there till they changed their residence 
for Trusley, soon after their marriage with the Odingsells. 

It is generally supposed that the crescents on the Coat-of-Arms, 
and the Sun as crest, were adopted by the family at the time of the 
Crusades to Palestine, when Richard introduced the custom of wearing 
armorial coats, and of having them engraved upon seals. His own 
broad seal, when he embarked for the Holy Land, contained two 
crescents (the Turkish ensign), and they seem not to have been 
uncommon emblems, as we read of another Prince (according to 
Speed) who, going against the Turks, adopted a crescent, with this 



INTRODUCTION. vii 



motto, "Plenior redibo" — ("I will return more full"). Richard I., 
after his return from captivity in Germany, ordered a new broad 
seal to be engraved, bearing a full moon, which Speed thinks was 
done emblematically. The adoption also of one of the heavenly 
bodies as a crest strengthens the probability of the Coat of Arms 
originating with the family in the manner described, and that they 
took arms from the Badges of Richard — the moon and stars — which 
were emblazoned upon all his standards, and cut upon his great 
seals. 




PEDIGREE, 



ROBERT COKE 



Hugh Coke, his heir. 

This Robert Coke is the first of the family named in the Pedigrees. 

Robert le Coke, Robert son of William Coke, and others, are mentioned 
in a deed dated 9th December, 1343, drawn up by Nicolas de Cantelupe, 
Lord of Ilkeston, in the county of Derby, who had obtained a license of 
King Edward III. to found a monastery in his park at Greasley, for a prior 
and twelve monks of the order of Carthusians. 

In the deeds of Wigwell Grange, co. Derby, which commence in 
1200, and run down, in almost unbroken succession, till comparatively 
modern times, Thomas Coquo is one- of the witnesses to the grant from 
Henry Braund to the Canons of Darley of lands in Wiggewell {circa 1206). 
He is also a witness to the grants from William Le Suries, and from Robert, 
son of Gilbert, to the same, also of lands in Wigwell. In these two deeds 
his name is spelt " Coco "; the date of both is about 1200. 



HUGH COKE of Marchington 
Woodhouse, co. Stafford, son and heir 
of Robert Coke. Was living 46 Edward 

III. A.D. 1373. 



AGNES, daughter and heir of Robert 
Owen of Marchington Woodhouse. Was 
living 9 Richard II. a.d. 1386. 



1. Robert Coke, his heir. 

2. John Coke. 



See page 2. 



It appears by an old deed, dated 46 Edward III., that Hugh Coke had 

B 



PEDIGREE, 



ROBERT COKE 



Hugh Coke, his heir. 

This Robert Coke is the first of the family named in the Pedigrees. 

Robert le Coke, Robert son of William Coke, and others, are mentioned 
in a deed dated 9th December, 1343, drawn up by Nicolas de Cantelupe, 
Lord of Ilkeston, in the county of Derby, who had obtained a license of 
King Edward III. to found a monastery in his park at Greasley, for a prior 
and twelve monks of the order of Carthusians. 

In the deeds of Wigwell Grange, co. Derby, which commence in 
1200, and run down, in almost unbroken succession, till comparatively 
modern times, Thomas Coquo is one of the witnesses to the grant from 
Henry Braund to the Canons of Darley of lands in Wiggewell (circa 1206). 
He is also a witness to the grants from William Le Suries, and from Robert, 
son of Gilbert, to the same, also of lands in Wigwell. In these two deeds 
his name is spelt " Coco "; the date of both is about 1200. 



HUGH COKE of Marchington = AGNES, daughter and heir of Robert 



Woodhouse, co. Stafford, son and heir 
of Robert Coke. Was living 46 Edward 

III. A.D. 1373. 



Owen of Marchington Woodhouse. 
living 9 Richard II. a.d. 1386. 



Was 



1. Robert Coke, his heir. 

2. John Coke. 



See page 2. 



It appears by an old deed, dated 46 Edward III., that Hugh Coke had 

B 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



WILLIAM COKE of Trusley, son =JOAN, daughter of John Hilton. Married 



and heir of Thomas. Obt. a.d. 1504. 
Temp. Hen. VII. 



27 Hen. VI. 



William Coke, his heir. 



Thomas de Acard and others gave to William, son and heir of Thomas 
Coke of Marchington, in fee marriage with Joan his .wife, daughter of John 
Hilton, all these lands and tenements which he the said Thomas was 
enfeoffed with to the said William and the heirs of his body, as appears 
by deed dated 27 Henry VI. (1448). 

In this deed, which is only noticed in the first, pedigree, Thomas Cpke 
is described as of Marchington, though he possessed Trusley by. his 
marriage with Elizabeth de Odingsells, so that he probably continued to 
reside at Marchington. ' 

There is a small village named Hiltpn near Etwall, between Trusley 
and Marchington, and in those days, persons often bore the name of the 
town they lived in. In the Trusley Register the Hiltons are mentioned in 
1695. 

William Coke gave a lease of lands in Trusley to Thomas Toplis for 
twelve years on 23rd October, 1496 (11 Henry VII.). He also by deed 
dated 20th March, 1491 (6 Henry VII.), gave a lease of lands in Trusley" 
to Sir Richard Longforth, Knt., and others. 



Second wife, 



MARGERY, dau. of. = WILLIAM COKE of = CICELEY, otherwise 

Trusley, son and heir Cecilia, dau. of. 

of William. Died a.d Brentwood. 

1514. Temp. Hen. 
VIII. 



1. William Coke, bis heir. See page 5. 

2. Robert Coke of Marchington. 



This William Coke survived his father only ten years. 

Robert Coke, the second son, had the Marchington estate : his descent 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



is traced no further. What became of his property is not known ; it may 
have reverted to the head of the family and have been afterwards sold, 
but this is the last time it is mentioned in the Pedigrees. 

There is a bond to perform award from Robert Coke and John Coke of 
Marchington to William Coke of Trusley, dated 9th July,- 15 16 (7 Henry 
VIII.) ; from this it would appear he had a son named John. 



WILLIAM COKE of Trusley, son = ISABELL, daughter of Sir Ralph 



and heir of William. Died a.d. 1518. 
Temp. Hen. VIII. 



William Coke, his heir. See page 6. 



Longford of Longford, Knt. 



This William Coke appears to have survived his father only four years. 

Longford is within four or five miles of Trusley, and is now the property 
of the Hon. Edward Keppel Coke, of the Norfolk family, which is in no 
way related to the Trusley Cokes. 

Fourteen generations of the family of Longford of Longford were 
recorded in the Visitation of 1569. The last male heir, Sir Nicholas Long- 
ford, died in 1610. Sir Ralph Longford was High Sheriff for the county of 
Derby in 1501. In the reign of Edward III. Sir Ralph Longford, an 
ancestor of the above, married one of the two daughters of Sir William le 
Wyne, to whom the manor of Pinxton (or, as it is written in old writings, 
Penkeston) belonged. Sir Ralph, a descendant, sold his moiety to Sir 
Francis Coke. The other daughter was married to Sir John Sulney, whose 
portion descended to the Staffords, and from them to the Revells, from 
whom it was. purchased by the Cokes. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



WILLIAM COKE of Trusley, son 
and heir of William. ( 8 ) Died Sept. 18th, 
1 S7S-( 1 ) Buried at Trusley, Sept. 29th, 

1575- 

r 



DOROTHY, daughter of Robert Fitz 
Herbert, of Tissington. Died 3rd 
December, i558.( 7 ) 



(*) 



( s ) 
( 6 ) 



1. Richard Coke, his heir. See page 8. 

2. Jane. Died young. 

3. Rose. Died unmarried. 

4. Anthony. Died young. 

5. Edward. Died young. 

6. Margaret, wife to Jeffrey Whalley of Bradmore, co. Notts. 

7. Dorothy, wife to Christopher Thacker. 

8. Francis, a son. 

9. Elizabeth, wife to John Bird of Nether Locko, co. Derby (1st Husband). 
William Gilbert of Locko (2nd Husband). 

10. John Coke, was Rector of North Wingfield, co. Derby. 

n. Edmond, a son. Died young. 

12. Elena, wife to Robert Keys. 

13. Ann, wife to Philip Streethay of Streethay, co. Stafford. 

14. Isabell, wife to John Danvers of Swithland, co. Leicester. 

15. Arthur. Died young. 

Extracts from Trusley Register. 

( s ) "Christopher Thacker and Dorothy Coke married January 28 th 1567." 

( 3 ) "Rob« Kyers & Elina Coke married Aug. 22. An. 1554." 

( 4 ) " Anne Cooke fill Wilhelmi Coke bapt Nov. 1555" 

( 5 ) " & Anne Cooke married Oct. 22. 1565." 

( 6 ) " John Davers & Isabell Coke married Maii 25. Anno 1569." 

(i) " Wilhelmus Coke generosus sepult. Sep. 29, Anno prsed 1575." 

Extracts from the Family Chronicle. 

( 7 ) " My moth' whoe depted this lyff on Wednesday next after S e Andrew's day bying 

y« afternoon y= iij day of December betwixt 3 & 4 of y e clock, y= fyrst yeare of 
y e raynge of Queen Elizabeth." 

( 8 ) "William Coke of Trusley y e fourth of that name and father of Richard Coke died 

y« xviij day of September in y= xvij year of y e Rng of Queen Eliz., An Dom 1575 
about viij in y e morning." 

The wife of this William Coke was a very fruitful vine, having borne 
fifteen children, of whom nine appear to have lived. 

Tissington, whence she came, is about twelve miles from Trusley, and 
near to Ashbourne ; it is still the property of the Fitz Herberts, though 
Somersall is the seat of the head of the family. They became baronets in 
1783. Their ancestor's name appears on the Roll of " Battel Abbeie." There 
is an old book, now in the possession of Colonel E. T. Coke of Trusley, 
which was commenced in the time of this William Coke (temp. Henry 
VIII.), and entries have been made in it by successive generations of 
births, deaths, marriages, accounts, agreements, and other notes of interest, 
until the reign of Charles II., at which period the book was completed. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 7 



The book (which in future reference will be called the " Family Chronicle ")" 

is in good order, with the exception of a few pages that at some period 

have been torn out. This was noticed in 1787, when the following was 

written on the outside : — * 

" This book must not be destroyed." 

"1787 F. Wilmot." 

The first entry in it is : — 

" In my beginning God be my guide, In grace and verity to spede ; '' 

and 

" began to wyrt of this boke the xx day of November in the xxvj" 1 yere of the renge 

of the puissant Lord Kynge Henry the yegth." (a.d. 1535.) 

The entries of births, deaths, and marriages were not made in any order, 
or in any particular part of the book, but are scattered throughout it, many 
of them being very hard to decipher. The first records the marriage of 
Richard Coke (the eldest son of William and Dorothy), and the ,second 
entry gives the death of Dorothy Coke as entered by Richard Coke. 

William Coke survived his father fifty-eight years. 

John Coke, his fourth son, was Rector of North Wingfield. He seems 
to have been a student of heraldry, and published a book entitled " The 
debate between the Heralds of Englande and France. MDL. Imp 1 by 
me Rycharde Wyer 16 ." The Thacker family, into which Dorothy Coke 
married, had a grant in 1540 of Repton Priory from Henry VIII. 

Gilbert Thacker, the last of this family, died in 171 2. 

Elizabeth, the fifth daughter, was twice married. Her first husband, 
John Bird, was of the family of Bird, or Bride, which had possessed the 
Manor of Nether Locko as early as the reign of Henry IV. She survived 
her husband, having had a son, William, who sold the manor in the reign 
of Queen Elizabeth to William Gilbert, then of Barrow, his mother's second 
husband. The Gilbert family consequently removed there, and resided at 
Locko Park for several generations. 

John Gilbert, William's descendant, became possessed of Thurgaton 
Priory, in the county of Nottingham, by bequest from the Coopers, and 
took the name of Cooper by Act of Parliament in 1736 ; and having about 
the same time sold Locko to the Lowe family, who at present reside there, 
removed to Thurgaton, which place was sold a short time previous to his 
death by Colonel John Gilbert Cooper Gardiner, who died unmarried in 1833. 

In the year 1630 there was another intermarriage between the Gilberts 
and the Cokes, of which presently. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



RICHARD COKE of Trusley, esq., = MARY, daughter and sole heir :6f 



son and heir of William. Died 20th 
November, i582.( 2 ) 



Thomas Sacheverell of Kirkby, co. 
Notts. Married 26th April, " 1558.0 
Died 27th August, i58o.( 3 4 ) 






I. 


( B ) 


2. 


(10) 


3- 


(") 


4- 


(12) 


s- 


(14, 


6. 


n 


7- 


( 6 ) 


8. 


<») 


9- 


(13) 


10. 


(U) 


11. 



Sir Francis Coke, his heir ; born nth November, 1561. See page 13. 

Sir John Coke, of Melbourne, Knt. ; bom 5th March, 1563. See page 58. 

Thomas Coke; born January, 1567 ; died at Padua, a.d. 1621.' 

Philip Coke ; born 27th August, 1568 ; Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and 

died there, S.P. 
George Coke ; born 3rd October, 1570 ; Bishop of Hereford, &c. See page 76". 
Robert Coke; born 21st November, 1574; killed in the Battle of Newport. Temp. 
• Eliz. 

Elizabeth; born 22nd April, 1559; died 27th April, 1559. 

Elizabeth ; born 26th July, 1560 ; wife to William Woodcock of Edale, co. Derby, 
Mary ; born 28th November, 1565 ; wife to Francis Fulwood of Middleton. 
Margaret ; born 1573 ; wife to Francis Bussy of Clifton, co. Lincoln. 
Dorothy ; born 26th October, 1576 ; wife to Valentine Carey, Bishop of Exeter. She 
died 1626, and lies buried in the choir at St. Paul's, London. 



Extracts from the Trusley Register and Family Chronicle. 

(') "Richard Coke was maryed y e Tuesday beyng y e xxvj* day of April in y e forth and 
fuyth yeare of y= raynge of ye Kyng & Queen Philip and M!ary. Anno Dom. 1558," 
(F.C.) 

( 2 ) " Richard Coke of Trusley y« first of that name died y= xx day of November in 

y e 25 yere of y« raigne of Queene Elizabeth. Anno dmi 1582." (F.C.) 

( 3 ) "Marie Cooke sepulta Sep. 28. Anno 1580." (Reg.)' 

( 4 ) "Mary wyffe to Richard Coke dyed after long lyng syck y c xxvij" 1 day of Agst. 

An. 1580. R.R. Eliz. xxij." (F.C.) 

p) "A. 1. R. Eliz (1559) Elizb. Coke daughtr to R. C. was borne y Monday next after 
Trynty Sunday beyng y= xxij* day of Apl hallffe an houre after sone settyng and 
dyed xxvij" 1 -" 

( G ) "A. 11. R. Eliz (1560) Elizabeth the second daughter of Richard Coke by Marye 
his wyffe was borne the morow aftr Saint James day beying y e xxvj* day of 
July betwixt the houre of xij and one in the aft' none of the same day." 
" maried to W. Woodcock of Edale." 

( 7 ) "ffrancesCoke the fyrst sone of R d Coke was borne on Saint \ "he was made 

Martyn Day the byshope and conf* beyng the xj* day off Knyght by King 
November Anno tertio R. Elizabeth at betwixt xij & one I James Anno : 1629 
in the fore none." (1561.) ) a t Tutbury." 

( 8 ) " John Coke sone to Ric was borne at London y= v th of March almost a qrt r before 

iij of y= clock in y= fore noon of y<= same day A R.R. Eliz. 50 " (1563.) 

" He in Herefordshire at Hall Court neare Ledbury and marryed 

y e daughter of J. Powell and was master of requests to Kinge James 
y" first, & Knyght & after principal Secretarie to King Charles." 

( 9 ) " Mary Coke thyrd daught' to Richd & Mary was borne on Thursday y= xxviij* 

of Novembr An. vij. Reg. Eliz (& An Dom 1565) hallfe houre after ix of y« clocke 
in y e fore none of y e same day." 

" married to ffra ffulwood of Midleton." 



COKE OF TRVSLEY. 



( l0 ) " Thorn 8 Coke iij sonne to y e said Rich d & Mary was borne on beying 

y° day of January about of y e clocke in y e Ano viij R . 

Eliz (1567)." 

" never maried : Died at Padua in Italia Anno 1621." 
( n ) " Phylype Coke iiij* sonne of y e said Ric & Mary was borne on Thursday beyng 
y e xxvij" 1 of August An. ix° R. Eliz. betwyxt ij & iij in y= morning" (1568). 
"Died in Cambridge being fellowe of Trinitie Colledge there." 

( 12 ) "George Coke fyth son of y e sd Ric Coke borne on Monday y e iij day of October 

about iiij of y e clocke in y e fore none An. xi° R. Eliz." {1570). 

" he was .... of Bygrave in Hartfordshire, Bishop of Bristol 1633 after 
Byhape of Hereford Ano. 1 636." 

( 13 ) "Margaret Coke borne on y e day of Ano xiiij R. Eliz. (1573) 

married to ffraunces Busy." 
( u ) "Robert Coke, syxt sone of y° said Ric Coke borne on Tuesday beyng y e xxj ,h 
day of November A° xvj R. Eliz (1574), about viij of y e clocke in y e after none 
of y e same day." 

" he was slayne at y e battle before Newport. Anno Reg Eliz." 

(15) "Dorothy Coke fyth daughter of y e said Richard and Mary was borne on Frydy 
beying y e xxvj* day of October in y° xviij" 1 yeare of Qn Eliz. An. d. 1576 at y e 
houre of xj in y= fore none." 

" She was wyffe to Doctor Carey deane of London and 

Mast' of Colledge in Camb. aftr Byhope of Exeter." 

By the marriage with Miss Sacheverell, Kirkby Old Hall, with the first 
Nottinghamshire property, came into the family. Kirkby is nearly twenty- 
five miles from Trusley; and Snitterton, the seat of the head of the 
Sacheverells, is as far from Kirkby as Trusley. However, about this period 
marriages began to be contracted between parties at greater distances than 
heretofore. 

Kirkby Hall was originally the property of the Kirkbys of Kirkby, and 
came to the Sacheverells in the fifteenth century by the marriage of 
William Sacheverell of Snitterton with Agnes, daughter and heiress of 
Kirkby. It continued in the Sacheverell family for three generations, when 
Mary, the sole heiress, married Richard Coke of Trusley. It has remained 
since this time to the present in the Coke family, a period of 322 years, 
and is now the property of Mr. Coke of Brookhill. It generally forms part 
of the marriage settlements of the family, and is, therefore, likely long to 
remain in their possession. 

It was originally a timber house with plaster between the frames' of the 
timber. The chimneys were brick and stone. It stands at the foot of the 
hill, at the Western extremity of Kirkby parish, and within two miles of the 
old Nun Car Gate, which opened till of late years into Sherwood Forest. 
At that period, not only the forest, but all the adjoining grounds, were 



io COKE OF THUS LEY. 



wood, and it must have been a very desirable sporting residence. Notwith- 
standing this, it does not appear to have been inhabited by the family 
except when a second house was wanting. Trusley always continued the 
family seat. In the Harleian Collections in the British Museum are many 
Derbyshire Visitations. No. 5,809 contains a Pedigree of the Coke family, 
with an emblazonment of their arms and quarterings in the year 1580, 
when Richard Coke was living at Trusley. Arms as follows : — 

1. Coke : gules, three crescents and a canton, or. 

2. Owen : part per chevron, or and az., two roses stalked and slipped. 

3. Odingsells : arg., a fesse, two mullets in chief, gules. 

(There were three brothers Odingsells. The eldest, a great soldier, called 
" de Flanders," carried one mullet ; Odingsells of Trusley two ; and Oding- 
sells of Epperston, co. Notts., three.) 

4. Sacheverell : arg., on a saltier, az., five water bougets of the field. 

5. Kirkby : az., fesse between two chevrons, engrailed, erm. 

6. Coke : as before. 

Crest : sun in full splendour. 

There is now at Trusley, in S. Woodward's farmhouse (one of Col. 
E. T. Coke's tenants), an old oak wainscoat chimney mantel : a motto is 
carved on it, "CAVE DNS^VIDET." There are also three coats of arms, 
each in a wreath. The first contains the arms of Coke and Odingsells, 
the second Coke and Odingsells with Sacheverell and Kirkby, the third 
Sacheverell and Kirkby only. 

This chimney-piece is believed to have been taken from a bedroom 
when Trusley Hall was pulled down, and from the Sacheverell arms being 
impaled with the Coke, and being on the sinister or wife's side of the 
shield, it must have been carved after the marriage of Richard Coke and 
Mary Sacheverell, and was probably put up soon after this event (1558). 
The carved work is extremely well done and the chimney-piece, though 
not fixed up, is in good preservation. 

The numbers of the family about this time were considerably increased, 
Mrs. Richard Coke having had eleven children, of whom only one appears 
to have died young. 

As Richard Coke died in six years after his father, he probably resided 
at Kirkby Hall during the first years of his marriage, but the Kirkby 
registers do not go so far back as his time. 



COKE OP TRUSLEY. n 



No further notice being taken of any of the younger brothers of 
Richard Coke in the Pedigrees, it is probable that none left issue. 

In making the turnpike road from Pinxton through Kirkby, over the 
forest of Sherwood (about 1789), a finger seal of silver-gilt, with a crest, 
the sun, the same as the Cokes', was found, and is now at Brookhill. It 
probably was lost while hawking by Richard Coke. Thumb seals and seals 
on the fingers were worn about the time of Henry VIII. and probably 
later, and Richard Coke lived at Kirkby Hall about the beginning of 
Mary's reign. 

Richard Coke, as has been before stated, bought the rest of the Manor 
of Trusley of the* heirs of Sir George Vernon ; he is also said to have 
bought half the Manor of Pinxton of Sir Francis Leake, and half the 
Manor of Normanton of Mr. Longford of Longford, in 1567, and to have 
sold the residue of his ancestor's lands in Marchington, Egginton, and 
Oslastpn, and two farms in Kirkby. Nothing further is known of his 
daughters after their marriage. Considering how wild and sequestered a 
place Edale was, the lady who married Mr. Woodcock must have gone 
into perfect exile. The Middleton to which place her sister married was 
Middleton-by-Youlgrave, and that may account for the connection, as they 
are not very far apart. 

Eight generations of the Sacheverells are shown in the Coke Pedigrees. 
The family was originally of Hopwell, and the sixteenth generation settled 
at Morley (temp. Richard III.), on the marriage of John Sacheverell with 
Joan, the heiress of Stathum, a family that had been in possession of that 
property for thirteen generations. Thoroton's pedigree of this family 
describes John de Sacheverell as having married a co-heiress of Fitz 
Ercald, five generations before 15 Edward I. (about the year 1020). They 
appear to have been knights at an early period, and to have married into 
most of the principal Derbyshire families. Mary, daughter and sole 
heir of Thomas Sacheverell, who married Richard Coke, was the last of a 
younger branch of the Morley family, who three generations before had 
acquired Kirkby Hall by the marriage with Agnes, daughter and heir to 
Richard Kirkby of Kirkby. 

A ruined doorway is all that now remains of the home of the Stathums 
and Sacheverells at Morley, but the fine ancient family monuments in the 
church are in good preservation. 

The name of Sacheverell is derived from " Saut de Chevreuil," or 



12 COKE OF TRUSLEY 



goat's 1 leap. Kirkby Hall was for some time called Sacheverell Hall, 
thus changing its name with its owners ; it is now the residence of 
Major Langton Coke. The old hall contains much valuable and 
beautiful oak carving, and is wainscoted -throughout in black oak. The 
chimney piece in the drawing-room is a fine specimen of elaborate 
workmanship, and that in the principal bedroom bears the motto — 

"LY DOWNE TO REST 
& THINKE TO HAVE 
THY SLEEPE THY DEATH 
THY BED THY GRAVE." 

Sir John Cokej the second son of Richard, founded a branch of the 
family at Melbourne, «o. Derby, for which see page 58. 

George Coke, Bishop of Bristol and Hereford, founded a third branch 
in Herefordshire, for which see page 76. 

Deeds at Debdale Hall. 

18th April, 1557, 4 & s Ph. & Mary— Marriage settlement Ric. 
Coke. 

1577, 19 Eliz. — Richard Coke & Hy. Vernon — Lands in Trusley. 
1569, 21st Oct., 11 Eliz. — John Manners and Dorothy his wife, to 

Richard Coke — Sale of lands at Trusley. 

1578, 16 Feb y ., 20 Eliz.— John Harpur to Richard Coke— Hallows 

farm, Trusley. 
1 561, 8 June, 3 Eliz. — Thomas Leigh of Eggington, to Wm. Coke — 

Sale of Hyckelyng Meadow, Trusley. 
1583, 22 Oct., 25 Eliz.— Inquisitio post Mortem, Richard Coke of 

the Manor of Trusley — 3s. iod. payable yearly. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



'3 



ELIZABETH, »dau. of = 
Sir George Curzon of 
Croxall, and relict of 
Thomas Leigh of Eggin- 
ton. Married June, 1592. 
( 6 ) Died 24th August, 
1632.O 

Second wife. 



O 

( 9 ) 

no 14 m 

( M ) 

(12 161 
(1316) 

( 8 ) 



SIR FRANCIS COKE = FRANCES, dau. of Den- 



of Trusley, Knt., son and 
heir of Richard. Born 
nth November, 1561.C) 
Died 16th August, 1639. 

^Etat. 78. 



zell Holies, son and heir 
of Sir William Holies 
(and sister to John, Lord 
Houghton). (') Married 
20th June, 1586. ( 4 )Died 
14th August, 1589. 
First wife. 



1 . William Coke. Bom 29th March, 1594, his heir. See page 18. 

2. Gilbert Coke. Born 28th September, 1596 ; Captain in the Netherlands. See 

page 17. 

3. John Coke. Born 3rd October, 1597 ; died September, 1599. 

4. Francis Coke. Born 6th November, 1598; Archdeacon of Stafford. Seep. 17. 

7. Elizabeth, Bom nth November, 1599 ; married Percival Willoughby, M.D. 

She died February 15th, 1666. 

8. Ann. Bom February, 1601 ; married John Mundy of Markeaton. She died 

17th January, 1645. 

9. Mary. Died young. 



5. Eleanor. Born 4th August, 1587 ; died unmarried. 

6. Susanna. Bom 26th March, 1589 j married Roger Bates, D.D., Chaplain to 

Charles I. 



( 2 ) 



( 3 ) 



Extracts from the Trusley Register and Family Chronicle. 

(') " ffrancis Coke the fyrst sone ofR d Coke was borne on Saint Martyn day the byshope 

& conf r beyng y e xj of November Anno tertio R. Elizabeth at betwixt xij & one 

in y e fore none." (1561.) (Fam. Chron.) 

My father S r Fra Coke Knight died at Trusley uppon fryday y e sixteenth day of August 

Anno Dni 1639. Reg. Reg. Caro. 15 & 16 interred in y<= chancell at Trusley." 

(Fam. Chron.) 

Note that ffraunces Coke married to ffrances Holies daughter to Denzell Holies, Esqr 

on Weddensday being y e xx th of June in y e xxviij th yeare of Queen Elizabeth Ano Dni 

1586 at in Nottinghamshire." (Fam. Chron.) 

( 4 ) "ffrancis Coke wyff unto ffraunces Coke of Trusley Daughter unto Denzell Hollys esquire 

eldest sone to Sir William Hollys Knight of Hangford died at Erbye in Lincolnshire on 

Thursday the xiiij th of August 1589 & is there interred." (Fam. Chron.) 
' F was married agayne at Egginton y e . . . . of June in y e yere of ye Lord God 1592, in 

ye yere of y e raigne of Elizabeth 34 and wee remayned at Egginton untyll ano Regn 

390 Dni 1597." (Fam. Chron.) 
( 6 ) "Elizabeth wyfe of Sir ffraunces Coke of Trusley, Knight, after long sickness died 

at Trusley y e 24 th of August & is there interred Anno dni 1632." (Fam. Chron.) 
(') "William Coke first sonne of ffraunces Coke and Elizabeth his wyfe was borne at 

Egginton on Good fryday being y" 5 xxix th of March Anno. 1594. Anno Regni Reg. 

Elizabeth 36°-" 

( 8 ) " Mary Coke daughter of ffr. Coke died younge. 

( 9 ) " Gilbert Coke borne at Egginton being y e second sone of ffraunces Coke and Elizabeth 

his wyffe, ye xxviij th of September being Michalmas' Even one quarter before xi of 
y» clocke at night y« moune then beinge xvj'een days old andpoyntinge nyne of y= clock 
of y e sonne diall. " 1 596. 

John Coke third sonne of ffr and Eliz. bome at Trusley uppon Monday beinge 
y e third daye of October about iij of ye clock in y e after noone Ano Eliz. 39°-" (1597.) 



; 5 ) 



(10) 



i 4 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



(") "ffrauncesCoke fourth sonne of ffr. and Eliz borne at Trusley upon y vj"» daye of 
November 1598." 

( 12 ) " Elizabeth Coke second daughter was borne at Trusley y e xj day of November 1599." 

( 13 ) " Anne Coke youngest daughter borne at Trusley, Feb. 1600." 

(ii) "1597— John Cooke, fil. francisci Coke, generosi— baptiz. Oct. 3. Anno prsed." 

(Trusley Reg.) 
( 15 ) "1598— Francis Coke, fil. francisci Coke generosi— bap*- Nov b ° 8 Anno praed." 

(Trusley Reg.) 
( ls ) "1599 — Elizabeth Coke, fil Francisci Coke generosi — bap' Noveb. 11 Anno praed." 

(Trusley Reg.) 
(") " 1599— John Cooke, fil Francisci Coke buried Sep' 7. Anno praed." (Trusley Reg.) 
( 19 ) "1600 — Anne Cooke, fil Francisci Coke et Eliz. uxoris ejus baptiz the first of March 

Anno praed." (Trusley Reg. ) 
(") " Sir Francis Coke, Knight buried 27 day of August 1639." (Trusley Reg.) 

Sir Francis Coke was within a few days of being twenty-one when his 
father died, and he survived him fifty-seven years. 

This brilliant part of the history of the family affords a proof of the 
truth of the remark that large families usually do well. The eldest son, 
Francis, appears to have gone to Court and was knighted by King James, 
at Tutbury, in 1629. He married on 20th June, 1586, Frances, daughter 
of Denzell Holies, by Ellen, daughter of Baron Sheffield. The Holies 
family possessed considerable property in the county of Derby. Denzell 
Holies, one of King Charles's " five members," was grandson of the first 
named ; he was born in 1597, eight years after the death of Frances Coke ; 
but Sir Francis lived to see him one of the popular opposers at the 
beginning of the King's quarrel with Parliament. She died 14th August, 
1589, at Erbye. in Lincolnshire, after being married only three years, and 
left two daughters, Eleanor and Susanna, the latter of whom became wife 
to Roger Bates, D.D./ chaplain to Charles I. 

From the marriage of Frances Holies the Cokes derive their descent 
of Founder's-kin to Archbishop Chichell, at All Souls' College, Oxford. 



Admitted Descent. 



John Verb, 

5th Earl of Oxford. 



Elizabeth Trussell. 
Born in 1496. 



Edmond Sheffield, Lord Sheffield. =j= Anne Vcre. 
Ob. 2 Ed. VI. (1548). 



r 



John, Lord Sheffield. Eleanor Sheffield =t= Denzell Holies, b. 1538 ; 



I d. '59°- 



John Holies, Earl of Clare. Frances =j= Sir Francis Coke, 1586. Jane = Thomas Sanderson, Earl of 

Y Scarboro'. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 15 



Sir Francis Coke married his second wife in June, 1592, at Egginton, 
which place had been the property of her first husband, Thomas Leigh, 
and had belonged to that family since the fourteenth century. They 
lived there for five years after marriage, as is stated in the Family 
Chronicle: "We remayned at Egginton untyll 1597." Their three elder 
children were born there, but they removed to Trusley before 3rd Oct., 
1597, when the fourth entered the world, and they appeared to have 
lived there the remainder of their lives. She died 24th August, 1632, 
and he survived her nearly seven years. 

The entry in the Family Chronicle by Sir Francis Coke of the birth 
of his son Gilbert Coke on " Michalmas even one quarter before xj of 
y e clock at night y e moone then being xvj teen days old and poyntinge 
nine of y e clock of y e sonne diall," is certainly most curious. 

Amongst the tributes to the memory of Sir Philip Sydney, in the 
Editor's Preface to Sir Philip Sidney's Countess of Pembroke's " Arcadia," 
are some Latin verses by Franciscus Cocus. It is very likely that they 
were written by Sir Francis Coke, for everybody at that time doated on 
the memory of Sir Philip Sidney. 

Sir Francis does not appear to have been in Parliament, or to have 
taken any part in the disturbances of those times ; he died, however, 
before things came to the last extremity. He was appointed deputy- 
lieutenant for the county of Derby, 29th March, 1626. The Commission 
is from the second Earl of Devonshire, and is amongst the Debdale Papers. 
After the Civil War had broken out a Commission giving him increased 
powers was sent, dated 13th November, 14 Charles I. (1639). By this 

" Any two or more Deputies are to leavy, gather and call together .... all degrees meet 
and apt for y e warres, to conduct and lead against all and singular Rebells Traytors .... slay, 
kill 'and put to execution of death by all wayes and means by yor said good discretion .... 
and to doe execute and use against y e said Enemies, y e law, called y e Martiall Law, according 
to y e Law Martiall .... and of such offenders apprehended, or being brought in subjection to save 
some whom you shall thinke good to be saved, and to slay destroy and put to execution of 
death such, and so many of them as you shall thinke meet by yor said good discretion to be 
put to death." 

Sir Francis was one of the Commissioners appointed to collect the 

subsidy granted to Queen Elizabeth. He was also one of the collectors 

to James I., to which he was appointed May 3rd, 1 James I. (1603). 

" The condition of this Recognizance sets forth that the above bounden ffrancis Cooke his 
heirs or Exectors do truly consent and pay to the use of the Kinge's Mat i<! his Heirs or suc- 
cessors in his Receipt of Exchequer at or before the last daie of June next ensuing the daie of 



16 COKE OF TRUSLEY, 



the above-written Recognizance, so much of the some of money alloted and appointed to his 
collection and charge within one monoth next after such tyme as he hath gathered and collected 
the same Residue That then this Recognizance to be paid or els' to stand in full strength 
and Virtue." 

This is signed by Francis Coke, and witnessed by John Wilaghby and 
J. R. Harpur. 

Sir Francis was also one of the three Commissioners (the other two 
being Sir Gilbert Kniveton and Sir Richard Harpur) appointed in the 
1st of King Charles I. for the collection of the subsidies in the hundred 
of Morleston and Litchurch. 

In the chancel of Trusley Church, within the communion rails, is a 
flat stone to his memory ; his arms being impaled with those of his second 
wife, with the following inscription, which at this day is hardly legible. His 
own shield contains : — I, Coke ; 2, Owen ; 3, Odingsells ; 4, Sacheverell-; 
5, Kirkby; 6, Coke. His wife's arms are the same as the present Lord 
Scarsdale's, and she was of that family * 

" Franciscus Coke de Trusley Eques 
Aur : ex Elizab : Uxore 
Georgii Curzon de Croxall 
Arm : Filia 4 Filios susceperat 
GuiL : GlLB : JOH : FRAN : 
et 3 Filias Mar: Eliz: et 
An : Qu.e 68 Annos nata 
24 Aug Anno Dmi 1632 in 
Domino obdormivit et 
proxima huic Terr.« obtegitur 
is 16 Aug. An. ^Etat 78 
An. Dom. 1639 

Senis confectus Hoc in Tumulo requiescit. 
— Memento Mori. — " 

No mention on this stone is made of the children by his first wife. 
She was buried at Erbye, in Lincolnshire. Sir Francis Coke bought 

* Croxall was one of the Knight's fees held by Richard de Curcun in the reign of Henry I., 
and continued to be the property and seat of this ancient family till the reign of Charles I., when 
Mary, only daughter and heiress of Sir Richard Curzon (niece to Elizabeth, wife of Sir Francis 
Coke), brought it to Sir Edward Sackville, afterwards the fourth Earl of Dorset. The younger 
branch of the Curzons, which had settled at Kedleston, are now represented by Lord Scarsdale. 
the elder branch becoming extinct by the death of Henry Curzon of Croxall, in 1639. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 17 

from Sir Ralph Longford a moiety of the manor of Pinxton. The first 
mention of this property is in his marriage settlements, 20th July, 1586. 
Trusley, Kirkbye-in-Ashfield, and Brookhill House are also named. 



Captain Gilbert Coke's Line. 
(Seepage 13.) 

GILBERT COKE, 2nd son of Sir = ELIZABETH, daughter of Thomas 
Francis Coke. Born at Egginton, 28th 
September, 1596; a Captain in the* 
Army serving in the Netherlands. 

1 



Gilbert of Locko. 



Charles Coke, died unmarried, 24th May, 1720. Frances Coke, died =f= William Munday of 

29th August, 1672. Darley, died Sept., 
^Etat. 33. I 1682. 

The above pedigree is given in the Coke Vellum Roll. Some 
monumental inscriptions in Allestree Church are referred to : it is the 
burying place of the Mundys of Markeaton. This line extended no 
further than is above traced. There is a letter at Brookhill written by 
this Captain Gilbert Coke, dated Zutphen, in Holland, in the year 
1647, to his cousin, Mrs. Coke of Trusley. He is supposed to have 
died at Zutphen. 



The Rev. Francis Coke's Line. 
(See page 13.) 
FRANCIS COKE, 4th son of Sir = MARGARET, daughter of.. 



Francis Coke. Born at Trusley, 6th 
November, 1598; Rector of Yoxail, co. 
Stafford, and Archdeacon of Stafford. 

Died May, 1682; aged 84. 

Buried at Yoxail, 6th May, 1682. 




Evans, of.. 

Wiltshire. Died 1 694, September. Buried 

at Yoxail, September 5th, 1604. 







( 5 ) 
( 4 ) 



( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 



i. Francis. Died young. [in 1720. 

2. Richard Coke == Mary, daughter of. Issue, Elizabeth Coke. Living in London 

3. Charles. Died unmarried. 

4. William. Died unmarried ; born 1650. 

5. Ann. Died young ; born 1645. 

6. Catherine. Died young; born 1649. 

7. Mary. Married William Squire, Parson of Rolleston, co. Stafford. 

8. Elizabeth. Married Ralph Coton of Coton, co. Stafford. 

9. Dorothy. Born 1616 ; married, 1st, Williamson; 2nd, Thomas Lister, of 

Little Chester ; 3rd, Thomas Man, of Donnington. 
10. Francis. Also died young. 

D 



1 8 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

This line is now extinct. Dorothy is the only lady of the Coke family 
who had three husbands. She seems, however, to have met with a man 
at last. 

Extracts from Yoxall Register. 

" Baptisms (') 1645 — Ann, dau. of ffrancis & Margaret Coke — bap' July 5 th - 

„ ,, ( 2 ) 1646— Dorothy, dau. of ffrancis & Margaret Coke — bap' Mar. 12 th - 

„ „ ( 3 ) 1648 — ffrancis, son of ffrancis & Margaret Coke— bap' May y& 

„ ,, ( 4 ) 1649 — Catherine, dau. of ffrancis & Margaret Coke, bap. July 2a">- 

,. .. ( 5 ) 1650— William, son of ffrancis & Margaret Coke, bap. Mar. 5* 1650. 

Burials ( 6 ) ffrancis Coke Rector of Yoxall, buried cum affidavit May 6 th 1682. 

>i » C) 1694— Mrs. Margaret Cook, widd. buried Sep' 5." 

No other entries. The Register commences 1645, entries are signed 
by Francis Coke till 1681. His hand was steady in 1680, at 82 years of 
age. In 1681 it was much shaken. There are no monuments, tombs, 
or gravestones. 



DOROTHY, daughter = WILLIAM. COKE of 

of Francis Saunders of Trusley, Esq., son and 

Shankton, co. Northamp- heir of Sir Francis. Born 

ton. Died 1 2th November, 2 9th March, 1 5 94. (') Died 

i653-( 5 ) S.P. Buried in 27th March, 1641. ( 2 ) 

Kirkby" Church. Second ^Etat. 47. Buried at 

wife. Kirkby. ('•) 



= MAUD, daughter and co- 
heir of Henry Beresford, 
of Alsop-in-the-Dale. 
Married 12th November, 
i6i6.( 3 ) Died 4th March, 
162 8.( 4 ) JEt&t. 37. Buried 
in Kirkby Church. ( u ) First 
wife. 



( e ) 


1 


<■) 


2 


n 


3 


( u ) 


4 


C) 


S 


,10, 


6 


(Oil, 


7 



(II) 



Richard Coke. Born 7th December, 1617, his heir. See paee zx. 

Francis Coke. Born February, 1620. Died young. 

Henry Coke. Died young. Buried at Kirkby, 8th July, 1627. 

Timothy Coke. Died unmarried at Trusley, 8th February, 1684 ; aeed W. 

Elizabeth. Born 21st January, 1619. Married Thomas Sherman, of London. 

Mary. Born 6th February, 1620. Married John Fitzherbert of Somersall. 

Alice. Born 24th March, 1621 ; married William Harpur of Bilson, 27th January, 1647 ; 

son of Sir Henry Harpur, Bart. 
Isabel. Died young. Buried at Kirkby, 1 6th June, 1627. 

Extracts from Church Registers and Family Chronicle. 

(') " 1594-Wilham Coke first sonne of ffrances Coke and Elizabeth his wyfe was borne 

at Egginton on Good fryday being ye xx j x th f March Anno 1594-Anno Reeni 

Reg. Elizabeth 36°-" (Family Chron.) 
( 2 ) "My father Will Coke Esqre died at Trusley upon Saturday ye 27 of March Anno 

Dom 1641 reg: reg: Caro : 17 and is buryed in ye chanceU at Kirkby together with 

Maude his first wife." (Family Chron.) 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. i 9 



( s ) "1616 — William Coke first sonne of ffra : C. and Elizabeth his wyfe married at Alsope 
in y 6 dale y e xij th day of November 1616 to Maude one of y e daughters & heirs of 
Henry Beresford Ano Regni Jacobi. 14°-" 

(') " 1628 — Y e said Maude died at Kirkby uppon Weddensday y e fourth of March 1628." 

( 6 ) " 1653 — Dorothy y» second wife of William Coke late of Trusley in y e county of 
Derby sister to S r Matthew Saunders of Shankton in y e County of Leicester, died 
at Trowell in y e County of Notingham y e 12 day of November, 1653, and was 
buryed in y e chancell at Kirkby in Ashfield in y e said County, with her said 
husband y e 14 th day of y« same monoth." (Fam. Chron.) 

( 6 ) "Richard Coke fil Wilhelmi Coke et Mathildse uxoris ejus was borne on Sunday the 
seventh day of December, between the hours of 2 & 3 of the Clocke in the night 
and was baptized the 16 day of the same month, Ano Dom. 1617." (Trusley Reg.) 

(') " Elizabeth Coke fil Wilhelmi Coke et Mathildse uxoris Ejus was borne on Thursday 
the one & twentieth of January at Eleven a Clocke in the night & was bap- 
tized on Tuesday the 26 of the same month Anno Dom. 1619." (Trusley Reg.) 

( 8 ) " 1620 — Francis Coke son of William Coke & .... his wife was born on Tuesday 

the Baptized on 7 February." (Trusley Reg.) 

( 9 ) "Mr. William Harpur & Mrs. Alice Coke married the 27 day of Janv 1647." 

(Trusley Reg.) 

The first name in the first Register of Kirkby Parish is — 
( 10 ) " 1620 — Maria filia Gulielmi Coke generosi et Magdelense Uxoris Ejus baptizata fuit 

februarii die Sexto." (Kirkby Reg.) 
(") "An. proedict 1621. Alicia filia Gulielmi Coke generosi baptizata fuit Martii 

vicesimo quarto." (Kirkby Reg.) 

( 12 ) " Burials — 1627 — Isabell the Daughter of Mr. Coke, Esquire, was buried the 16 th 

June." (Kirkby Reg.) 

( 13 ) "Burials — 1627 — Henry the son of the said Mr. Coke was buried the 8 July." 

(Kirkby Reg.) 
( u ) " Memorandum y 4 my uncle Tymothy Coke y" youngest son of my grandfather William 
Coke of Trusley and Maude his Wife died y e Eight of february 1684 & was burried 
on y e tenth of y e same month in ye chancel at Trusley." (Fam. Chron.) 

( 15 ) "Mrs. Coke was buried the i6» March 1628." (Kirkby Reg.) 

(16) "William Coke Esqre sepult Martii tricesimo primo 1641." (Kirkby Reg.) 

This William Coke survived his father barely two years. He lived at 
Kirkby Hall during his father's life, but moved to Trusley when he inherited 
that estate. He married, when not twenty-three, Maud, daughter and 
co-heiress of Henry Beresford * of Alsop-in-the-Dale, co. Derby, and 

* The Beresfords were originally of Staffordshire. Thomas Beresford, a younger son, 
married the heiress of Hassall of Hassall, and settled at Fenny Bentley in the reign of 
Henry VI. In the parish church is an alabaster altar-tomb, on which the body of the above- 
mentioned Thomas Beresford, and Agnes his wife, are represented tied up in shrouds, and 
shrouded representations of their sixteen sons and five daughters are incised on the south side 
and east end. On the west end is an inscription, concluding: 

" As yov now are soe once were wee • 

And as wee are soe shall yov bee." 

He died in 1473, and must have lived to a great age, for it appears by a singular passage in 



20 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



lineal descendant of John de Beresford, lord of Beresford, in the co. of 
Stafford, in the reign of William Rufus, and whose ancestor's name 
appears in the train of William the Conqueror. The arms of this family 
are argent: a bear, rampant, sable, muzzled and collared, with a chain 
turned over his back, or. They are thus given in the Coke Pedigrees, 
but there is a silver seal, now at Debdale, which probably belonged to 
this William Coke, on which the Beresford arms are made like those 
of the Marquis of Waterford, who is of the same name, and said to be 
of the same family. The seal contains : I, Coke ; 2, Owen ; 3, Oding- 
sells ; 4, Sacheverell ; 5, Kirkby ; 6, Beresford. There is a painted 
coat of arms in one of the chancel windows at Kirkby similar to the 
Beresford arms on this seal, and on a monument at Dovebridge the 
arms are shown in both ways. 

By this marriage with the Beresfords came small properties at Alsop- 
in-the-Dale and at Fenny Bentley, both near Ashbourne, where some of 
the Beresfords have till lately remained. The marriage settlements are 
dated 12th November, 1616 (14 James I.), the day of the marriage. The 
estates settled are Trusley and Pinxton ; Sir George Curzon of Croxhall 
and Henry Fitzherbert being the trustees. 

While William Coke and his first wife lived at Kirkby Hall they do 
not appear to have been on very good terms with their neighbours — the 
Fitzrandolfes of Langton Hall ; at least, there was a quarrel about the right 
to a pew in Kirkby Church. Mathew Dodsworth, Chancellor of York, went 
to Kirkby to hear the evidence, and by the decree following Mrs. Maud 
Coke was to be placed in the pew. 

" Tobie by the providence of God Lord Archbishop of York primate of England and 
Metropolitan. To the Minister and Churchwardens of the Parish of Kirkbie in Ashfield of our 
Diocese of York greeting. Whereas upon the humble Petition of William Coke of the said 
Parish Esqre. shewing that the ancestors under whom he claimelh for many years past have 
had the use of a seat or pew next adjoining to the Chancell on the South side of the said 
church ; which notwithstanding a parishoner there made claim thereunto, as of right belonging only 
to him for his Wife and Family. Whereupon we directing for our better Information a View 
to be taken of the said Stall by our Chancellor Mr. Mathew Dodsworth, He did find upon 
Examination by the testimony of divers persons very aged produced and brought before him 
at the said Church in the presence of the said James Fitzrandolfe that Mrs. Saint Sacheverell 

his epitaph that he distinguished himself at the battle of Agincourt (1415), where he had a 
command : — 

"Militia cxcellens, strenvvs Dvx, foitis, et avdax 
Francia testatvr, cvria testis Agen." 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 21 



about threescore years since did sit in the said pew with Mrs. Fitzrandolfe, and after Mary 
Sacheverell wife to Mr. Richard Coke as belonging to Sacheverell Hall, and so continued 
during the time of their dwelling there. Wherefore we have thought it very convenient to give 
good and due Respect in such Causes of Antiquity in regard whereof and for othej respects We 
will and require you the Churchwardens of Kirkbie aforesaid to take present order that Mrs. 
Maude Coke the wife of the said William Coke be placed in the said Stall in controversy 
next adjoining to the Chancell of the said Church as aforesaid wherein if any opposition 
or disturbance shall be offered, then we do likewise require you to Certify Us in our Court 
of Chancery the names and surnames of the parties withstanding the same. 

"Given at York under the seal of the Office of our Vicar General which we use in this 
Behalf the 28 th day of September in the year of our Lord 1620." 

William Coke had eight children by Maude, his first, wife ; three 
of these — Francis, Henry, and Isabel — died before their mother, who after 
a married life of eleven years died 4th March, 1628, and was buried 
in Kirkby Church, on the south side of the chancel, just below the steps 
of the altar. The inscription is effaced on the slab placed over her grave, 
but there is a singular memorandum made at the beginning of the 
first register kept, in the parish (the first entry in which relates to 
"Maria, filia Guilielmi Coke," A.D. 1628) : it is a drawing on parchment, 
rudely stitched to the cover, of the monumental stones, with the 
inscriptions which were placed over William Coke and Maude his 
wife. That upon her thus runs : — 

" Here lieth interred the Body of Maud Coke, wife of William Coke of Kerkby Hall, 
in the county of Nottingham, Esq., daughter and co-heir of Henry Beresford, of Alsop in 
Le Dale, in the county of Derby, who lived religiously and died 16th March 1628, 
aged 37." 

There is an error in the date of her death on the stone ; she died 
on the 4th March, as appears by the entry in the Family Chronicle, 
and was buried on the 16th, which is here given as the date of her death. 

About fifty years ago one of these stones was taken up, the inscription 
being nearly effaced, and another inscription was cut on the other face 
of it to some stranger lately deceased. No proceedings were taken 
against the offender. 

At the foot of her grave lie the bodies of two of their eight 
children : Isabell, who was buried 16th June, 1627, and Henry, 8th July, 
1627 ; but without any inscriptions. 

William Coke had no children by his second wife, Dorothy, daughter 
of Francis Saunders of Shankton. He appears to be the last of the 
family who made Kirkby Hall a permanent residence. 

He bought on 2nd January, 1639, of Francis Powell of Carnfield, 



22 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



for £66 13s. 4d., the Hill Close, eight acres, and a little close with it. He 

is described as of Trusley, though Sir Francis did not die till the August 

following. . The feoffment is amongst the Deeds of Langton Hall. The 

Hill Close was described to be in the possession of one Edward Coke. 

The Will of William Coke is amongst the Debdale Papers ; it is 

dated 20th May, 1640, and accounts for his being buried at Kirkby, though 

he died at Trusley. He desires, — 

"And for my body I will that the same bee buried in the Chancell at Kirkbye near 
to the place where my first wife was buryed." 

His gravestone, already mentioned, had the following inscription : — 

"Here lieth the Body- of William Coke, Esqr. Son .and Heir of Francis Coke, of Trusley 
in the County of Derby, Knight, who married Maud, eldest daughter of Hen. Beresford, 
of Alsop, & by whom he had issue 4 sons and 4 daughters. He being of the age of 47 
years, March 27. Anno Dom. 1641. Lived Godly and died comfortably." 

This stone has no mention of his second wife ; she died at Trowell, 
in Nottinghamshire, 12th November, 1653, twelve years after William 
Coke's death, and was also buried in the chancel at Kirkby. The twa 
inscriptions end with the same words, except that he only is stated to 
have " died comfortably." The stone-cutter, however, does not appear to 
have had room for more words on her stone. 

Thoroton, writing of Kirkby in 1677, says that the church contains 
" the monument of William Coke of Trusley in Derbyshire and his two 

wives, the first the daughter of Alsop-in-le-Dale ; the second the 

relict of Mr. Gilbert of Lockhagh ; " evidently confusing him with his 
brother Gilbert, who married one of the Gilberts of Locko. 

William Coke was not called upon to pay the full tax of knighthood. 

At the Court at Whitehall, December 5th, 1638, a warrant was issued 

showing that 

" William Coke, Esq. one of his Majesty's Justices of Peace for the County of Nottingham, 
having by his under-writing of 25 L for composition for Knighthood (being the Rate appointed for 
Persons of Quality) made himself liable in the payment thereof, and is returned as Debtor for the 
same. Forasmuch as We are informed by the Commissioners imploied in that Service, that he hath 
done his Majesty very good service upon several occasions, We therefore think it fit that the said 
sum of 25 L be reduced to 5 L. — And do accordingly will and require you, that the said M r Coke, 
having paid the sum of 5 L be discharged of the overplus of the said fine returned upon him insuper 
upon the account of Sir Jervis Clifton, Knight and Baronet, Collector of the said Monies for the 
Fines of Knighthood in the said county of Nottingham. And for so doing this shall be your 
Warrant." 

There was it seems an old statute, long out of use, though not out 

of force, which enjoined all subjects who had some special privilege to 



COKE OF TAUSLEY. 



2 3 



appear at the coronation of every King, to bear arms ; that is, to present 
themselves before the Lord High Chamberlain, who was to deliver to 
each a Belt and Sur-coat out of the King's wardrobe ; and if upon four 
days' attendance they were not employed they might depart to their 
homes. But they who were guilty of default and made no appearance 
were to submit to fine. This was now the case of almost the whole king- 
dom, and the Sheriffs were ordered to return the names of all persons 
liable to fine. By this means one hundred thousand pounds were brought 
into the Exchequer. 



RICHARD COKE of Trusley,: 
Esquire, son and heir of William. Born 
7th December, 1617.C) Died 12th 
March, i664.( 3 «) ^Etat. 47. 



( 8 ) 
(11 25) 

(12 26) 
(14 29) 
(15 80) 


I. 
2. 

3- 

4- 

5- 


19 33 IS 32) 


6. 


(18 36) 
(7 23) 


7 
8. 


( 9 ) 


9- 


(10) 
(21 24) 


10. 
11 


(13 27 2S) 


12 


(22 31) 


'3- 


(17 31) 
(20 35) 


14. 
IS- 



CATHERINE, daughter of Robert 
Charl ton of Whitton, co. Salop. Married 
26th December, i644.( ! ) Died 29th 
March, i668.( 56 ) 



Robert Coke. Born 17th November, 1646; his heir. See page 43. 
William Coke. Born 20th September, 1651, barrister-at-law, &c. See page 30. 
Francis Coke. Born nth November, 1652. Died young, February 19th, 1654. 
Thomas Coke. Born 26th September, 1655, Rector of Trusley, &c. Seepage3i. 
John Coke. Born 24th August, 1656, MJD. Twice married. Elizabeth, second 

wife, was daughter and co-heir of Col. R. Fowler of Harnage. Died iStli 

November, 1720, and was buried at All Saints. 
Gilbert Coke. Bom 19th September, 1658. Died at Repton, October 25th, 

1669. ^Etat. n. 
Richard Coke. Born 9th November, 1664; settled at Dalbuiy. Seepage 38. 
Anne. Born 23rd October, 1645 ; married Paul Ballidon, of Derby, Nov. 19th, 

1662. ' 
Susanna. Born 13th April, 1648 ; married Edward Wilmot of Spondon, 

barrister-at-law, May 30th, 1667. 
Emma. Born 29th March, 1649; died unmarried 1709. ^Etat. 60. 
Elizabeth. Bom 27th May, 1650; married Rev. John Ward, Rector of 

Mickleover, co. Derby. 
Catherine. Bom 21st January, 1654 ; died unmarried 23rd April, 1674. 

JEtat. 21. Buried at Trusley. 
Isabel. Bom loth August, 1657 ; died unmarried 1734. Her will was proved 

by Edward Wilmot, 6th November, 1734. 
Frances. Bom 20th October, 1662. Died an infant. 
Matilda. Born 4th September, 1663 ; married Thomas Bull. 



Extracts from Church Registers and Family Chronicle. 

P) " Richard Coke fil Wilhelmi Coke et Mathildse uxoris ejus was borne on Sunday the seventh 
day of December,, between the hours of 2 & 3 of the clocke in the night and was bap- 
tized the 16 day of the same month. Anno Dom. 1617." (Trusley Reg.) 

( 2 ) " Richard Coke first son of William and Maud his wife married Katherine y e daughter of 
Robert Charlton of Whitton in y° County of Salop on S' Stephene day being y e 26 of 
December An 1644 and reg. Caro. Reg. 20. at Whitton aforesaid." (Family Chron.) 



24 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



(3) « My father Richard Coke of Trusley in y" County Derby, Esq. died at Trusley ye 12* 

day March being Sunday Anno Dom : 1664 being y« seventeenth yeare of y e raigne 
of Charles y e Second, King of England, and is buryed in ye Chancell at Trusley in 
ye aforesaid county." (Family Chron.) 

( 4 ) " Richard Coke Esqre buried March 13, 1664." (Trusley Reg.) 

( 5 ) "My Mother M rs - Katherine Coke daughter of Ro°ert Charlton, Esqre of Whitton in 

ye county of Salop died ye twentieth ninth of March being Sunday Anno Dom : 1668, 
being y e twentieth yeare of y° raigne of King Charles y e second, and was buried by 
her husband Rich: Coke Esqre at Trusley." (Family Chron.) 

( 6 ) " Katherine Coke generosa. sepult Mar. 31. 1668." (Trusley Reg.) 

(') " October 25. 1645— being Thursday about five of y e clock in ye morning Anne Coke was 

borne at Whitton & baptized at ye chappell there on y e 30 day of ye same." (Family 

Chron.) 
( e ) " November 17. 1646. being Thursday about one of ye clock in y 8 morning Robert Coke 

was borne at Whitton and baptized there on ye 27 day of y e same month." (Family 

Chron.) 

( 9 ) " Aprill 13. 1648. being Thursday betwixt nine & ten of y° clock in y e morning Susanna 

Coke was borne at Whitton and baptized there y e same day." (Family Chron.) 

( 10 ) " March y e 29. 1649 being Thursday about nine of y e clock in ye morning Emma Coke 

was borne at Croxall and baptized there y e second of April." (Family Chron.) 
(ii) "William the sonne of Richard Coke & Kath. his wife bap* 9* Oct. 1651." (Trusley 

Reg.) 
(") "Francis the sonne of Richard Coke Esqre & Katherine his wife bome & baptized the 

1 1* Nov. A.D. 1652." (Trusley Reg.) 

( 13 ) " Katherine, daughter of Richard Coke Esqr & Katherine his wife baptized 3 Feb. 

1653." (Trusley Reg.) 

( 14 ) Thomas, son of Richard Coke Esquire & Katherine his wife bome " 

(Trusley Reg.) 
( ls ) "John Cooke, son of Richard Cooke Esqre & Katherine his wife borne i»' Sep' baptized 

11*1656." (Trusley Reg.) 
( X6 ) " Gilbert the sonne of Richard Cooke Esqre & Katherine his wife was bome Sep' l8* 

and bapt. 19th 1658." (Trusley Reg.) 
"An Infant of Rich d - Coke Esqre & Katherine his wife buried about Oct. 29. 1661." 

(Trusley Reg.) 
(") " Frances the dau. of Rich Coke Esqre & Katherine his wife bom Oct. 20. baptized 

Nov. 7"" 1662. buried Sept. 28, 1663." (Trusley Reg.) 

( 18 ) " Richard the sonne of Rich Coke Esqre & Katherine his Wife baptized Feb* 16. 1664." 

(Trusley Reg.) 

( 19 ) " Mr. Gilbert Coke buried October l6"> 1669." (Trusley Reg.) 

( 2 °) " Matilda ye daughter of Richard Coke & Katherine his Wife bapt. Sept. ye 8«> 1663." 

(Trusley Reg. ) 
(»') " Elizabeth the daughter of Richard Coke Esqre & Katherine his Wife baptized the 

28 May 1650." (Trusley Reg.) 
(") " Isabell the daughter of Richard Coke Esqre & Katherine his Wife bome Aug' 18 

& bapt Aug' 26, 1657." (Trusley Reg.) 

(23) "M; r _ Paul Ballyngdon & Mrs. Anne Coke the daughter of Mr. Richard Coke Esquire 

& Katherine his wife were married November 19 th 1662." (Trusley. Reg.) 

( 24 ) "May 17. 1650. being Friday about eleven of y e clock in y e forenoone Elizabeth Coke 

was borne at Trusley and baptized there y° 28 th day of y e same month." (Family Chron.) 

( 25 ) " September 20. 1651. being Saturday about 5 of y e Clock in morning William 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 25 



Coke was borne at Trusley and baptized there y° 9* day of October following." 

(Family Chron.) 
( M ) "November 11 th 1652. Francis Coke was borne at Trusley about seavon of y e clock in 

y e morning being Thursday, and being then very -weake was baptized in y e chamber 

y e same day. hee died y° 19 of February 1654." (Family Chron.) 
( !r ) "January 21. 1654. being Saturday about halfe an hour after five o'clock at night 

Katharine Coke was borne at Trusley and baptized in y e great Parlour there y e 3 d day 

of February following." (Family Chron. ) 
( 38 ) " Memorandum, that my sister Katherine Coke daughter of Richard Coke Esquire & 

Katherine his Wife died at Trusley y e 23 d of April 1674, & is buryed in y e chancell 

at Trusley.". (Family Chron.) 
( 2B ) " September 26. 1655 — being Wednesday about three quarters of an hour past two in 

y e after noone Thomas Coke was borne and baptized at y e Church there y e 16 th of 

October following." (Family Chron.) 

( 30 ) ' ' August 24. 1656. being Sunday about halfe an hour after 3 o'clock in y* afternoone 

John Coke was borne at Trusley and baptized 'at y e church y e 11 th of September 
following." (Family Chron.) 

( 31 ) "August 10 th 1657. being Monday about nine of y e clock in ye forenoon Isabell Coke 

was borne at Trusley and baptized y e 27 th of y» same in y e church there." 

(Family Chron.) . 

( 3S ) " September 19, 1658. being Sunday betwixt : 12 : & 1 : a clock.in y e morning Gilbert 

Coke was borne and baptized y e after noone of y° same day in y<= little parlour at 

Trusley." (Family Chron.) 
( 3S ) " Memorand : My Brother Gilbert Coke died at Repton y e 25 th of October 1669 & was 

buryed in y e chancell at Trusley." (Family Chron.) 
( si ) " October : 20 : 1662 : being Munday about four in y e after noon Fran'ces Coke was borne 

& baptized at Trusley in y= church y e 7" 1 : day : of November/' 

" She died at nurse." (Family Chron.) 

( 35 ) " September y e 4 th 1663, being Friday betwixt eleven & twelve aclock in y fore noone 

Matilda Coke was borne at Trusley & baptized at y e Church there y e 8 th day of 
y e same monoth." (Family Chron.) 

( 36 ) " November : 9 : 1664 — being Thursday Richard Coke was borne at Trusley about 

4 aclock in y° morning and baptized at y 6 church there y e sixteenth day of y e same 
monoth." (Family Chron.) 



26 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



Richard Coke of Trusley. 

Richard Coke was twenty-three when his father died. He married on 
26th December, 1644, when twenty-seven, Catherine, the third daughter of 
Robert Charlton, Esq., of Whitton in Shropshire, who suffered severely for 
his adherence to the loyal cause. The family of Charlton is of very 
ancient extraction. They had a royal charter in the 7th of Edward II. 
confirmatory of all their lands and castles in North Wales, South Wales, 
and Powys ; in the same year (26th July, 1313) John Charlton was 
summoned to Parliament as Baron Charlton. On the death of the fourth 
baron the title fell into abeyance. Sir Job Charlton, who was Speaker of 
the House of Commons, and made a baronet in the second of James II., 
was brother to Catherine, the wife of Richard Coke. The family is now 
extinct. Whitton and Ludford, co. Hereford, passed to the Lechmeres in 
1784, on the death of Sir Francis Charlton. Nicholas Lechmere then 
assumed the additional surname of Charlton. Heigham Coke, as will be 
noticed further on, married one of these Lechmeres. 

Richard Coke did not return to Trusley after his marriage, but lived at 
Whitton, the residence of the Charltons, where his three elder children 
were born ; the fourth was born aJ^Groxhall, the seat of the Curzons. 
Trusley at this time does not seem to nave been a place where he could 
safely take his bride. Sir John Gell had seized Derby for the Parlia- 
mentary party, and although the nobility and gentry of the county were 
mostly Royalists, the vigilance and activity of Sir John and the soldiers he 
had raised prevented the town from falling into their hands. His troops 
made frequent raids on Trusley, the Royalists being in possession of 
Tutbury, five miles distant. Capt. Swetnam seems to have been partial 
to the place, and paid it two visits, one of which he remained two nights 
with his troop. There is a most interesting old parchment-covered memo- 
randum book at Debdale, in which Richard Coke has entered an account 
of these raids, and the amount of his losses, which he tried. to recover 
from the Parliament, May 5 th, 1646 : — 



Imp?- lent upon the publique faith and paid to M r - Hallowes... 
It. sent to Derby 60 loades of Hay 

10 loades of peas and oats 

one grey stoned horse and a filly taken by Cap' Watson's men 

one black nagg taken by Cap' Whyte's souldiers 

2 grey mares taken by Cap' Heye's souldiers 



It. 
It. 
It. 
It. 
It. 



one bay stoned nagg and one bay gelding taken by Cap' Derby's souldiers 



£32 








30 


O 





6 


13 


4 


20 








8 








12 








20 









COKE OF TRVSLEY. 



27 



It. one stoned nagg taken by Cap' Swetnams souldiers 

It. 7 loades of Hay taken to Burton 

It. 20 men of Cap' Swetmenhams troup 2 nights besides other quartering ) 

which cannot now be remembered ' 

It. the pfits and rente of the land at Alsop belonging to Sir Tho. Mil ward \ 

and Mr. Coke for two years, the moity to Mr. Coke amounting to > 



£3 o 
3 10 

3 



o 
o 

o o 



60 o 



The total is ^290 5s. id. There is no evidence as to whether the 
Parliament ever paid this little bill. 

Captain White and Captain Swetnam were two of Sir John Gell's 
principal officers. Mr. Hallowes, who received the ^32, was one of the 
Parliamentary committee, Colonel Thomas Gell (brother of Sir John) 
being the other of the district. 

Mr. Eaton was at this time agent for Richard Coke, and managed 
the Trusley property in his absence, though it appears that he made 
visits occasionally. His account book has also entries for "maimed 
souldiers," " Constable for disbanding the souldiers," " more to the foot 
souldier," &c. He moved to Trusley when affairs had quieted, and 
his fifth and ten following children were born there. 

Richard Coke was one of the eight persons in Derbyshire "fit 
and qualified to be made Knights of the Royal Oak in 1660." In 
the list is shown the value of the respective estates of those deemed 
worthy of having such a mark of distinction conferred upon them. 
Trusley in this was rated at £2,000. 

List of Persons (in Derbyshire) who were fit and qualified to be made Knights of 
the Royal Oak, with, the value of their Estates. Anno 1660: — 



William Fitzherbert, Esqre 
— Horton of Elton, Esqre 
Charles Agard, Esqre ... 
Nathaniel Bate, Esqre... 



... ;£looo o o 

... 3000 o o 

... 2000 o o 

600 o o 



Richard Coke, of Trusley Esqre £2000 o o 

Simon Degge, Esqre .. ... 600 o o 

— Ferrers, of Walton, Esqre. 1000 o o 

Colonel William Bullocke, Esqre. 1000 o o 



The Knights were to wear a silver medal, with a device of the 
king in the oak,' pendent to a ribbon about their ijecks. 

This honorary reward, to be bestowed upon the loyal and firm 
adherents of Royalty in its darkest days, was never carried into effect; 
the advisers of Charles II. considering that such a ste# would only 
have a tendency to keep alive those dissensions and party feuds which 
were best consigned to oblivion. 

Livery of Seisin 'is indorsed to have been made to Richard Coke, 



28 COKE OF THUS LEY. 

son and heir of William deceased, on 8th July, 1641. John Mundy is 
one of the witnesses — probably he who married Ann, fourth daughter 
of Sir Francis Coke. 

He bought, on 28th August, 1658, of Henry Spurr of Pinxton, for 
£5$, the Broad Meadow, called 2 acres, and the May Pole, called 
1 acre and 1 rood : these adjoined the Kirkby Hall farm. The May- 
pole was in a great measure destroyed in making a brick-yard ; it is 
now covered with water, and forms the lower pond at Brookhill. 

The Will of Richard Coke is amongst the papers at Debdale Hall. 
On the back of it is written by Robert Coke, 

" The Will of Richard Coke, 18* February 1664. 

" My ffather Cokes Will-which I had out of his Study at Trusley above 30 years after his Death 
in y e presence of my bro r Thomas, cousin Paul Ballidon, sister Em, cousin W m Coke, March 
y e 16, 1694 being Saturday morning early." 

Deeds of Richard Coke, at Debdale Hall. 

" 1647, i"t May 23 Charles I. Rich 11 Coke & others, Bargain & sale of Trusley in order 

to make a settlement." 
" 1647, 24 th May 23 Charles I. Settlement of Trusley, Dalbury, & Burnaston." 
*' 1649, 4* Feb? Richard Coke to Rob. Charlton. Deed of Trust for payment of Debts." 

He died 12th March, 1664, aged 47, at Trusley, and is buried in 
the chancel there. His wife survived him four years. He had the 
large family of fifteen children, twelve of whom appear to have lived. 
The youngest, Richard, was posthumous — eight months after his father's 
death. 

It may be interesting to note a few prices of this time, taken from 
Richard Coke's account book: — A quarter of lamb, is. lid. ; a loin of 
beef, 3s. 6d. ; a quarter of mutton, 3s. ; a strike of malt, 3s. o,d. ; a 
bridle, is. 2d. ; a saddle, 7s. 6d. ; an ell of holland, 9s. 6d. ; a .dozen 
of pigeons, 2s. 8d. Farm labourers received 6d. a day. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



29 



By the marriage of Richard Coke with Catherine Charlton the Cokes 
trace Royal descent from Edward I. See Burke's " Royal Families," 
Pedigree CXXIV. 



Eleanor, dau. of Ferdinand =f EDWARD I., =j= Margaret, dau. of Philip, 
III., King of Castile. King of England. I King of France. 



Edward II., King of =p Isabella, of 



England. 



J 



France. 



Margaret, sister and heir =j= Edmund, of Woodstock, 
of Thomas, Lord Wake. | Earl of Kent. 



Edward III., King of England, 
founder of the Most Noble Order 
of the Garter. 

, J 



Sir Thomas Holland, 
Earl of Kent, K.G. 



Joan, the FairMaid =F Edward the Black 



of Kent, dau. and 
heiress of Edward, 
Earl of Kent. 



Prince, last -hus- 
band. 



John of Gaunt, Duke of=p Catherine, dau. Thomas Holland, =j= Lady Alice Fitzalan, Richardl., 



Lancaster, King of Cas- 
tille. 



of Sir Payn 2nd Earl of Kent ; 

Roet ; d. 1403. d. 1360. 



dau. of Richard, Earl King of 
of Arundel. England. 



Duke of Lancaster ; d. 1440. 



of Salisbury. 



Joan, dau. of John of Gaunt, =j= Ralph Neville, Lady Eleanor Holland. =f= Thomas Montacute, Earl 

Earl of West- 
moreland, Mar- 
shal of Eng- 
1 1 land. 

Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, &c. 

Beheaded at Wakefield, 1460. 



Alice, daughter and heir of Thomas Montacute, Earl of 



T Alice, aai 
Salisbury. 



Lady Alice Neville, dau. of Richard Neville, and sister of the =j= Henry, Lord Fitz-Hugh ; d. 1472. 
renowned Earl of Warwick. 



J 



Sir William Parr, Knt. =j= Elizabeth, dau. and. co-heir. =j= Nicholas, Lord Vaux, 2nd husband. 



Sir Thomas Parr. 



Hon. Catherine Vaux. =j= Sir John Throckmorton, Knt. 



Anne Parr ; 
m. Earl of 
Pembroke. 



Catherine Parr ; 
wife of Henry 
VIII. 



Clement Throckmorton. =j= Catherine, dau. of Sir Edward 
Neville, Knt., 2nd son of Lord 
Abergavenny. 



Catherine, dau. of Clement Throckmorton, Esq. 



Jof 



Thomas Harby, Esq., 
" Adston. 



Emma, eldest dau. of Thos. Harby, Esq., and sister of =f= Robert Charlton, Esq., of Whitton, co. 
Sir John Harby, Bart. J Salop. 

Catherine, dau. of Robert Charlton, and sister of Sir Job Charlton, =p Richard Coke, Esq., of Trusley, 
Speaker of the House of Commons. I co. Derby ; d. 1664. 

Robert Coke, Esq., of Trusley. 
See Coke Pedigrees. 



3 o COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



William Coke's Line (Barrister and Groom of Closet to Charles II.) 

ANNA, eldest = WILLIAM COKE, 2nd = M A R T H A, = JANE, dau. of 

Thomas White, 
Citizen & Dyer, 
London. She 
re-married one 
Wroth. Third 
wife. 



dau. of Thomas son of Richard Coke. dau. of Thomas 

Argall ofBaddow, Born September 20th, Witherden, of 

co. Essex, Esq. 1651 ; barrister - at - law, St. Giles-in-the- 

First wife. Purveyor of Wheat, and Fields. Second 

Groom of the Closet to wife. 

Charles II. 



Thomas Coke, of London, Esq., = Sarah. 
only son ; was living in 1737. 

This line is carried no further in the Pedigrees, and it appears to 
have become extinct. This William Coke is the last of the family who 
were about Court, or obtained anything under the Government at 
home. He seems to have adopted the spirit of the times in which he 
lived with regard to wives : the last was probably a money match. 

By deed dated 14th February, 10 GeO. II. (1736), Thomas Coke, of 
St. Martin's-le- Fields, son and heir of William Coke, late of Lincoln's Inn, 
barrister-at-law, deceased, and Sarah the wife of said Thomas Coke, 
convey land in Sheen to Thomas Coke, of Lincoln's Inn aforesaid, Esquire 
(his cousin), son and heir of Thomas Coke, late of Allestry, in the county 
of Derby, clerk, deceased. Consideration £200. Fine of same lands. 
The above Thomas Coke, of St. Martin's-le- Fields, is afterwards (in another 
deed, to declare the uses of a fine) described as of St. James', Westminster. 
These deeds were among those belonging to Daniel Parker Coke. 

Emma Coke (the sister of the above William Coke), by her will, 
dated 29th October, 1709, left her estate at Sheen in the co. of Stafford 
to her nephew Thomas Coke, son of her late brother Thomas Coke, for 
the term of ten years, after that to her nephew Thomas Coke (the. above), 
son of her late brother William Coke. She died in 1769, so that in 17 19 
the estate at Sheen was handed over to the above Thomas Coke, who sold 
it in 1736. This will is amongst the Debdale Papers. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



3i 



Rev. Thomas Coke's Line. 
THOMAS COKE, B.D., 4th son of Richard Coke, = SARAH, daughter and 



Rector of Trusley and Pinxton. Born September 26th, 
1655. Died at Allestree, 26th May, 1699. MteX. 44. 



heir of William Willett, 
of Derby. Married 1st 
September, 1698. 



Thomas Coke, of Derby, barrister-at-law. Born =j= Matilda, dau. & heir 



30th July, 1699 (after the death of his father), 
Married 2nd" March, 1736, at All Saints, Derby, 
Buried at All Saints, Derby, 21st November, 
1776. ;Etat. 77. 



of Thomas Goodwin, of 
Derby, Esq., barrister- 
at-law. Born in All 
Saints' parish, 1 5th Jan. , 
1706. Buried there, 7th 
August, 1777. JEtat. 71. 
4 



Daniel Parker Coke. 
Born 17th Jan., 1745. 
Of the College, Derby. 
M.P. for Nottingham 
for 35 years, barrister- 
at-law. Died unmarried 
6th Dec, 1825. Buried 
at All Saints, 14th Dec. 
Mta.t. 80. 



I 
Emma Matilda. 
Born 8th Oct., 1737. 
Married Lt.-Colonel 
Thornhill Heathcot. 
Buried at All Saints 
12th Dec, 1821, S.P. 
JEtat. 84. 



Dorothy. 
Born 23rd Aug., 1740. 
Married Thomas Hat- 
rell, of Newcastle- 
under-Lyne. Buried at 
Newcastle, 19th Nov. , 
1828, S.P. JEtat. 88. 



Sarah. 
Born 5th Feb., 1747. 
Married Henry Hatrell, 
of Stoneyfield, near 
Newcastle. Buried at 
Great Malvern, 6th 
Dec, 1828, S.P. ^Etat. 
81. 



This line thus became extinct in the third generation. 

There is a monument in All Saints' Church, Derby, to Thomas 

Coke and Matilda, his wife, on a pillar in the chancel, with following 

inscription : — 

"In a Vault near this Pillar are deposited the remains of Thomas Coke, Esq.,- & Matilda his 
wife. He departed this life on the 15th of November, 1776, aged 76. She on the 1st of August, 
1777, aged 71. They lived together Man and Wife more than 40 years (In times not abounding 
with such Instances) In perfect harmony & affection, and in the Evening of their Days When this 
world could afford nothing to them but what is inseperably the lot of Humanity In so advanced a 
period, Infirmities, they followed each other to a better & more perfect state : Where they will 
receive the reward of their Virtues. They have left one Son & three Daughters. Out of Filial 
Gratitude & from a sincere Respect, This Monument was erected to their Memory by their only 
son Daniel Parker Coke." 

This Thomas Coke was born after the death of his father, and his 

mother also died when he was young. In 1716, when he was seventeen 

years of age, he appointed his aunt, Isabell Coke, to be his guardian. 

"And whereas the said Isabell Coke out of kindness to me hath 

'for some years past undertaken the management of me and my 

affairs .... I do ratify and confirm whatever she hath acted in the 

business." Isabell Coke seems to have been fond of this service, as 

in 1730 she was appointed by D'Ewes Coke and Edward Wilmot to 

take charge of her nephew William Ballidon. (Both these deeds are 

amongst the Debdale Papers.) His will, dated 29th December 



32 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

"according to the new stile," 1752, is at Debdale. He left his property 
to his son Daniel Parker Coke, after the death of his wife, and ^1,000 
to each of his daughters ; " and in case they or any of them or all 
marry, then I will that he pay the sister or sisters marrying £100 
more for Wedding Cloathes." He died, aged 77, and was buried at 
All Saints, Derby, 21st November, 1776. In 1768 he was one of 
the Trustees appointed by Act of Parliam'ent for the sale of part 
of the Nun's Green, Derby, and for applying the money for the 
improvement of the remainder of the said Green. 

Daniel Parker Coke, 
The only son of Thomas Coke, was born July 17th, 1745, and was 
educated under the Reverend Thomas Manlove, whom he afterwards 
presented with the living of St. Alkmund, in Derby. In the year 1762 
he was admitted of All Souls' College, Oxford, and during his residence 
there attended the lectures of Doctors Blackstone and Beever, whose 
discourses (as then delivered) he committed to writing in several quarto 
, volumes ; Dr. Beever's lectures being valuable, the introductory one 
only having been published. Mr. Coke was afterwards called to the 
Bar, and for many years attended the Midland Circuit. In 1775 he 
stood a contested election for his native town, Derby, against John 
Gisborne, Esq., Mr. Gisborne being elected by a majority of fourteen 
votes ; but in consequence of a petition to the House of Commons, 
February 8th, 1776, Mr. Coke was by the Committee declared to have 
been duly elected. The proceedings of this Committee were published 
in a book entitled, " The Proceedings of the Committee appointed to 
Try the Merits of the Derby Election, which began on First of February, 
1776, and ended on the Eighth of the same' month, when Daniel 
Parker Coke, Esq., the Petitioner, was declared duly elected. 

" ' Corruption in this Land shall lose his sway, 
Meeting the check of such another day ; 
And since this Business so far fair is done, 
Let us not leave, till all our own be won.' — Shakespeare. 

"Printed for J. Sanders, bookseller, in Derby: &c, &c. 1776." 

In this election D. P. Coke had the influence of the Devonshire 
family against him, as appears by letter from F. Cavendish, January 
iSth, I77S- 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 33 



During the administration of Lord North, D. P. Coke took an 

active part in the House of Commons. In 1780 he was returned for 

the town of Nottingham, jointly with Robert Smith, Esq., afterwards 

Lord Carrington. At the close of the American War, he was appointed 

one of the Commissioners for settling the American claims. In a 

letter of October 1st, 1782, Mr. Eose, writing from Westminster, says : — 

" I am extremely happy to understand from Mr. Wilmot that you have undertaken with 
him the charge of investigating the situations & claims of the several American sufferers, 
because I am sure general satisfaction must be the consequence of the Business being in 
such hands." 

This Committee was named by Lord Shelburne 4th September, 
1782. In 1785 he resigned this post, thus: — 

" American Office, 
" To The Right Honble. " Lincoln's Inn Fields, 

"William Pitt, &c, &c, &c. "June 24th, 1785. 

" Sir, — The Act of Parlt. unto which I have had the honor to act as a Commissioner 
for the last two years being nearly at an end, and being perfectly convinced in my own mind 
that this enquiry will subsist in some shape for many years, I feel myself obliged to say I am unable 
to attend the farther prosecution of the business without material injury to my Health. 

Permit me, Sir, to take this opportunity of returning my thanks to you, as an 

Individual, for the confidence which you have expressed in the Proceedings of the Board, and 
for your Intention of continuing as under the New Act, an Honor which I feel it impossible for 
me to accept for the reasons which I have mentioned." 

Pitt answered thus : — 

"Downing St., June 29th, 1785. 
" Sir, — I am sorry to have been prevented from acknowledging more immediately the favor 
of your letter of the 24th inst., and thanking you for the attention of the communication 
contained in it. I learn with great Regret that the state of your Health will deprive the 
Public of the Benefit of your further assistance on a subject on which you have been so 
long and so meritoriously engaged. 

" I am, Sir, 
" To " Your most obedient and most humble Servant, 

"Danl. Parker Coke, Esq." "(Signed) W.Pitt. 

During the previous year he was presented with the Freedom of 

the City of Glasgow. The illuminated record on vellum is now at 

Brookhill Hall:— 

" At Glasgow, the twenty-third day of September, one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
four -years, In presence of the Right Honorable Patrick Colquhoun, Esquire, Lord Provost ; 
Robert Findlay, Joseph Scott, and Robert Smith, Esquires, Baillies and Magistrates ; James 
McGregor, Esquire, Dean of Guild ; Robert Mann, Esquire, Deacon Convener ; and other 
Members of the Common Council of the said City, in Council Assembled, 

" Daniel Parker Coke, Esquire, Member of Parliament for the Town of Nottingham, is 
by an unanimous Vote admitted a freeman Citizen of Glasgow, with power to him to enjoy 
the whole liberties, privileges, and immunities belonging to an Honorary Burgess and Gild 

F 



34 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

Brother of the said City, now granted to him in the most ample form, In Testimony of the 
just sense this Community entertain of his eminent public services as a Member of Parliament, 
and of his peculiar attention to the Manufactures of the Country. — Extracted from the 
Records by " (Signed) John Wilson." 

There was a severe contest for the representation of Nottingham in 
1803, when the polling lasted from May 30th to June 6th, both days inclu- 
sive, Daniel Parker Coke being opposed by Joseph Birch : the former polled 
i,3S9 votes to the latter's 1,165. A Radical supporter of Birch's published 
a List of the Burgesses and Freeholders who polled, from the Preface to 
which the following is extracted ; it gives some idea of the magnitude 
•of elections in those days when there were seven days' polling. Mr. 
Coke spent a large fortune on his many contests. 

" M r - Daniel Parker Coke, who has represented the Town of Nottingham for above 20 years " 
— .... " opposed to this Monarch loving gentleman was Mr. Joseph Birch.'' 

" . . . . M r - Coke's friends next began their canvass, in that gentleman's absence, and if wealth 
afford the only claim to respectability, they unquestionably bore the bell : Bankers, Parsons, 
Lawyers, Soldiers, some who had seen much service, and others, who had seen none : Dukes, 
Lords, Ladies, all conspiring together to maintain that imposing attitude which should render 
resistance to their mandates the apparent act of insanity or desperation. 

" Towards the close of their canvass, the friends of Mr. Coke, anxious to display their 
numbers as well as respectability, had bolstered up the shew by dressing every adherent, even to 
their footmen, in blue ribbons : — 

" On the day of Mr. Coke's entry, there was indeed a grand display of his ■ real electors ' ; it 
has been stated in the Nottingham Journal, not less than 1,600 horsemen ; two-thirds at least of 

which were the impressed dependants of the surrounding aristocracy Upwards of 100 

light blue flags attended the procession. On one was the couplet 

" ' Our rights depends 
On Coke and Friends.' " 

But these and other attacks on his seat in the House failed, and he 
continued to represent Nottingham for seven successive Parliaments. He 
retired from the representation in 18 12, having held his seat for thirty-eight 
years, thirty-three of which he was member for Nottingham. 

There is a curious jug now at Brookhill, which must have been 
made in 18 13, from the fact of the battle of Vittoria being painted on it. 
The body of the jug is white with the top rim (about two inches wide) 
blue, with little figures upon it. It is of immense size, holding four 
gallons. Round the thick part of the bowl is in large letters 

" DANIEL PARKER COKE. ESQR. 
Late Member of Parliament for 
NOTTINGHAM." 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 35 



On the other side is 

" LOYAL TRUE BLUE 

CLUB. 
GOD SAVE THE KING." 

In front is a portrait of. the Duke of Wellington on horseback, with 
cocked hat and feathers, scarlet coat- and yellow breeches, his sword 
brandished over his horse's head ; in the background is the battle-field 
with red soldiers on horseback. In front of the horse is 

" FIELD MARSHAL 

WELLINGTON. 

VITTORIA." 

Daniel Parker Coke was for some time Chairman of Quarter Sessions 
for the county of Derby, from which he retired through infirmity in the 
year 1818, and from that period he declined all public business. He 
was independent in his principles, and his conduct in Parliament appears 
to have been upright and conscientious, and he was much respected by 
his friends and acquaintance. 

He lived at the College, Derby, which was his property. It was 
formerly a collegiate establishment, with eight prebendaries. It appears 
that Hugh, Dean of Derby, who gave Derley to St. Helen's, was Dean of 
All Saints, and before 1268 it was annexed to the deanery of Lincoln. 
The Canons of the free chapel of All Saints are mentioned in the record 
of 1268. King Edward I. styles it our free chapel, and in 1432 a special 
service was founded for the souls of the King and his progenitors. There 
was formerly a Chantry of Our Lady and a Guild of the Holy Trinity in 
this church. The College house, which was the residence of the Canons, 
passed at the Reformation into the Allestry family, who sold it to the 
Goodwins, from whom it descended to the Cokes (by the mother of D. P. 
Coke). Here Daniel Parker Coke died December 6th, 1825, aged 80. 
He was buried in the family fault in All Saints' Church, Derby, on 
Wednesday, 14th December (1825), where a handsome monument was 
erected to his memory, with following inscription : — 

" Sacred to the Memory of Daniel Parker Coke, Esq, Barrister at Law, and for 35 years 
Representative in Pari' for the Town of Nottingham. In the discharge of which trust his devoted 
attention to the interests of his constituents was no less conspicuous, than was, in the whole of his 



36 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



political and private life, the most disinterested independence, and thoughtlessness of self. In the 
unpaid and voluntary duties of the magistracy sedulous, and constant in attendance ; Highminded 
and in its true and just sense liberal ; and by his mild and engaging manners endeared to all. In a 
state of protracted and hopeless infirmity he sank at last regretted by all : closing an active and 
useful life on the 6 th day of December in the year of our Lord 1825. Aged 80. 

He sold (the year previous to his death), 1st November, 1824, and five 
following days, his library and collection of paintings. A copy of the 
catalogue is at Debdale, which shows 1,126 lots of books and 100 paintings 
and prints, the whole being a very valuable collection. He sent, probably 
at the same time, nineteen of his best pictures to Brookhill Hall, and 
there is a description of these, with their value, size, &c, made out by 
himself, now at Debdale. 

By his will, dated 23rd August, 1823, he left legacies— £2,000 to his 
brother D'Ewes Coke ; £500 to each of his (D'Ewes') five sons ; £1,000 to 
his brother John Coke ("he having one child only and an ample fortune ") ; 
£500 to John Coke's son ; £500 to Mrs. Coke, wife of John Coke ; £1,200 
to Henry Fowler, son of the late Mr. Fowler of Manches ; and, after 
other small legacies, the remainder of his estate to his two sisters Dorothy 
Hatrell and Sarah Hatrell equally (Mrs. Heathcote, the third sister, being 
then dead). 

The real property which by this will passed to the Hatrells was, in 
1833, the cause of a suit in Chancery — Coke v. Garlicke.* The plaintiffs 
urged that Sarah Hatrell was possessed of a considerable estate, and made 
her will 17th April, 1828. She died 30th November, 1828, leaving 
property in trust to Wm. Bennett Garlicke and Thos. Brown, and D'Ewes 
Coke and Susannah Coke, her co-heirs-at-law. On her death the said W. 
B. Garlicke, M.D., and the Rev. Thos. Brown, the trustees, entered into 
possession of the real estates. A decree was given in favour of the 
plaintiffs (at a cost to them of about £1,000), and the heirs-at-law were 
ordered to be advertised for, and Mr. J. E. Dowdeswell was to hold a Court 
and determine this. Such was done 1st May, 1834, when he decreed, 

" I find that Sarah Hatrell formerly Sarah Coke the Testrix was the daughter of Thomas Coke 
who died in November 1776 & Matilda his wife formerly Matilda Goodwin. The said Thomas 

*" In Chancery. Coke v. Garlicke. 22nd July, 1833. D'Ewes Coke, John Coke, Susannah 
Coke, Plaintiffs, v. Wm. Bennett Garlicke, Thomas Brown, Richard Brown, Saml. Richardson 
Radford, George Wharton Marriott, John Buckston, Edward Coke, William Ward Fowler, John 
Coke Fowler, Richard Fowler, Henry Fowler, Sarah Fowler, Elizabeth Fowler, John, Elizabeth, 
George, William, and Eliza Wilson." 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 37 



Coke had three children by his said wife namely Daniel Parker Coke who died without being 
married and two daughters Emma Matilda Coke afterwards the wife of Thomas Heathcote & 
Dorothy afterwards the wife of Thomas Hatrell, which said Emma Matilda Heathcote & Dorothy 
Hatrell died in the lifetime of the said Testrix without leaving any issue." 

The Pedigree of the Heirs-at-Law is then traced thus : — 

" Catherine Cassandra Isabella Coke was baptized on 28th May, 1697, and Francis Coke on 
13th June, 1702 ; the former married Edward Wilmotj who died 1748, leaving, issue Francis 
Ballidon Wilmot (the eldest son), who married Elizabeth Wilmot, and died November, 1791, 
leaving issue, 

( Francis, bap d - 6 Dec, 1760 | Sussanah, who married 
' died April, 1818. 1 John Coke, 

who I find to be one of the heirs-at-law. 

"FRANCES COKE, the other co-heiress, was baptized 13th June, 1702, and married 
D'Ewes Coke of Suckley, and died, leaving issue 1 

r t 1 1 ~i r - ^ 

Frances. D Ewes. Ballidon. George. Catherine. Jane. 

Frances, D'Ewes, and Ballidon Coke all died = 

without having attained the age of 21. I 

1 ' 

■George Coke, married Elizabeth Ellis. 
Died Nov., i754.=t= 

D'Ewes Coke, married Anna Heywood, 
his eldest son, died Nov., 181 1 ; 
leaving I 

D'Ewes Coke, his eldest son, and heir-at-law ; who I find to be the only other heir-at-law." 

The real estate of Daniel Parker Coke thus passed to John Coke 
of Debdale by Susannah his wife, and to D'Ewes Coke of Brookhill. John 
Coke died 14th Sept., 1841, and Susanna his wife on 23rd Jan., 1848, 
having bequeathed in her will of 15th Nov., 1844, the College and other 
property in Derby to the nephew of her late husband, Colonel Edward 
Thomas Coke. On the marriage of his second son, Edward Beresford 
Coke, 20th March, 1877, this property, now valued at ^300 per annum, 
was settled upon him. 



38 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



RICHARD 



Richard Coke's (of Dalbury) Line. 
COKE, 7th son of = ELIZABETH, dau. of Thomas Robie 



Richard Coke of Trusley. Born Nov. 

9th, 1664 (see page 23), of Dalbury, co. 

Derby. Died October, 1730. ^Etat. 66. 

1 ' 2 3 



of Donnington, co. Leicester. 
November, 1730. 



Died 



Richard ; 
Coke. Curate 
ofHicklingjCo. 
Notts. Bom 
23rd July, 
1698. 



'• Anne, 
dau. of 
Thos. 
Walker 
of Dal- 
bury. 



Robert. 
Born 14th 
Septem- 
ber, 1699 ; 
died 
young. 



I ! 

John. Edward. 
Born 6th Bom 3rd 
April, August, 



1704. 
Emigra- 
ted to 
Virginia 
and 

married 
there. 
See 

page 39. 
2 



1708; died 
unmarried. 
An officer 
in H.M.'s 
Service. 



11 



Francis. Thomas. Elizabeth, 
Bom 25th Bom 14th eldest dau. 
May, May, Married 

1713; 1717; of Gros- 

died un- Derby (an venor, co. 
married. officer in Lincoln. 
M tat. the army) ; 

about 75. m. Anne, 

dau. of John Harrison, 
of Derby, and had a 
son, John Coke, who 
also had issue. 
10 89 



Richard Coke of Derby ; Anne, died unmarried 
died unmarried about 1790. about 1812; aged 90. 



1 1 

Isabel. 
Bom 1 8th 
May, 1709 ; 
died unmar- 
ried. 



Mary. 
Bom 15th 
May, 1707 ; 
died unmar- 
ried. 



Catherine. 
Bom 14th 
Feb., 1702 ; 
died young. 
Dorothy. 
Bom 20th 
Feb., 1705 ; 
died young. 
This line can be traced no further. 

Elizabeth, the wife of Richard Coke, appears to have brought him some 
property. A copy of her will, of 20th Nov., 1730, is at Debdale, in which 
she describes her estate at Mussden, or Mussden Grange, as a messuage,, 
garden 40 acres, meadow 60 acres, pasture 500, wood 200, heath and 
furzes 100. Total 900 acres. Her executors sold this property nth 
October, 1739, to Samuel Goodwin for ^1,400, which was equally divided 
between her younger children then alive (excepting John, who was in 
Virginia), namely, Edward Coke, now in his Majestie's Service, Ffrancis. 

Coke, Thomas Coke, and Elizabeth Gravener, of , co. of Lincoln, widow. 

The grandchildren, Richard Coke and Anne Coke, are also named in this 
deed. This sale seems to have been of only part of the property, as on 
15 th January, 1746, the portions of Francis and Thomas Coke (each a 
fourth part) were sold to Ralph Tunnicliffe and John Wheldon for £1,300. 

Richard Coke the elder was " Governour " to Sir John Harpur, Bart., 
of Caulk, co. Derby, who " in gratitude for the good Instructions which in 
my younger yeares I received of my Governour Master Richard Coke of 
Walton upon Trent do give one Annuity of fourty Pounds to be issuing 
out of my lands and tennements in Littleover for ninety nine years if the 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 39 



said Richard Coke should so long live." Dated 28th April, 1701. He 
lived nearly thirty years after this grant. His will is dated 20th April. 
1730, by which he left all to his wife. It was proved 23rd April, 173 1. 
These documents, as well as a bill for his funeral, dated October 30th, 
1730, are at Debdale. His wife died a few days after him, and there is 
a bill also for her funeral, on 23rd November, 1730. 

Thomas Coke, the sixth son, was an officer in the army. There is a 
letter from him to his aunt, Mrs. Isabell Coke, at Stapen Hill, near 
Burton-upon-Trent (the residence of Paul Ballidon, Esq.), dated June 9th, 

1734:— 

" Honoured Madam, 

" I return you thanks for the Favour of your kind letter ; I am thank God much better 
than I was. My Mother is in the Country and I have been down to see her, and stay'd a week. 
I do not at present think to return to Ireland ; I have now sold my Commission and propose 
buying a better on the English Establishment ; but everything is uncertain for I thought to have 
prefer"d my self before now, but I hope I shall soon .... 

" Your nephew, 

Thos. Coke." 

Edward Coke, the fourth son, was also an officer in the army, and was 

serving in 1739, when the Mussden Grange estate was sold. 

John Coke, the third son of Richard Coke of Dalbury, was born 6th 

April, 1704. He seems to have been of an adventurous spirit, and after 

youthful troubles at home sailed for Virginia, almost on his twentieth 

birthday. His brother, Edward, informs their mother of his departure 

in a letter from Manchester, 7th April, 1724. 

" Honored Madam, 

" I hear my Brother Jack is gone to sea, which I was glad to hear, and hope it will be 

the best for him 

" Your dutyfull sone, 

" Edward Coke ' 

He settled at Williamsburg, the oldest city and first capital of Virginia. 
It is within a few miles of James Town, where the first settlers landed ; the 
latter shows no other trace of the original settlement than the remains of 
the first church built on Virginian soil, covered now and for centuries past 
with English ivy, surrounded by a few mutilated tombstones, with inscrip- 
tions almost effaced by the ravages of time and of relic-hunters. It is 
now a plantation, and some thirty-five years ago was owned by this 
branch of the Coke family. 

John Coke, after a few years, married Sarah Hoge, a lady of 



4 o COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

French descent, also living at Williamsburg. Little further is known 
of this emigrant, who established an important line of the family in 
Virginia. Some documents at Debdale Hall trace him for a few years. 
On his mother's death, he came into a small legacy, and he acknowledges 
the receipt of it to the executors, September 27th, 173 1. There is a bill 
of exchange for ^20, drawn by him on Mr. Edward Wilmot of Spondon, 
dated Virginia, 1st April, 1738, and copy of a letter from the latter 
announcing — 

" My Aunt Isabell Coke is dead and in her Will hath bequeathed to you Twenty Pounds; 
but her Estate will not hold out to pay all the legacies she has left, and your proportion will 
be Sixteen Pounds or thereabouts." 

He had but one child, Samuel Coke, who became a physician, married 
Judith Brown, July 17th, 1760, and died February 7th, 1773, leaving 
issue : — 

John Coke, born February 24th, 1762 (of whom hereafter), and Richard, 
born June 7th, 1772, who married Lucy Henley, May 17th, 1804, 
and died September 25th, 1844, leaving one son, Edward R. Coke, born 
January 15th, 1807, and now living at James City, county Virginia, without 
issue. 

John Coke, above named, married Rebecca Shields, and had two 
sons, John and Richard, and three daughters. Richard, the youngest son, 
was a member of Congress ; he was a man of fine talents and an eloquent 
speaker. He lived in Gloucester, county Virginia. On being defeated in 
an election by Henry A. Wise, late Governor of Virginia, and more 
recently Brigadier- General in the Confederate Army, owing to a difficulty 
which arose in the canvass, a duel ensued, resulting in Richard Coke 
being shot in the arm. He married Mary Byrd, and had an only 
daughter, Rebecca, who married Lewis Marshall, a grandson of John 
Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States, and the most learned jurist 
that America has ever produced. 

John Coke, the eldest son of John, was born in 1798. He was a large 
landowner, a very successful farmer, and was for twenty years High Sheriff 
of James City, county Virginia. He died in 1865, leaving eight sons and 
two daughters. The sons were all educated at William and Mary College, 
Williamsburg, their native place. The eldest son died in his twenty- 
second year. The seven now living all became officers in the Confederate 
[. Army at the', commencement of the wa*f and served to its close. Three 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 41 



received wounds in battle. Their parents continued to reside at Williams- 
burg until the second year of the war, when that section of the county 
fell into the hands of the Federal Army, and was, perhaps, devastated 
more than any other part of the State. John Coke died in 1865 at 
Richmond, just at the collapse of the Confederacy ; his wife returned 
to spend the remainder of her days at their old home in Williamsburg. 
The present generation, the seven surviving sons of John Coke, are 
tall, fine men, Richard Coke being six feet three and three-quarter 
inches in height. He has filled the positions of Judge of Supreme 
Court of Texas, Governor of Texas for two terms, and is a Member 
of the United States Senate, in the debates of which he has taken a 
very high position, and is said to be the most popular man in 
public life in the State of Texas. Of the other brothers, four 
have followed the legal profession, and two are physicians, residing 
in Virginia and North Carolina. Three of them, besides Richard 
Coke, the Senator, have at different times represented their counties 
in the State Legislature. John Archer Coke, the youngest, is the 
only one under six feet : he was a Student of Law at William and 
Mary College, when he entered the army, in which he was a Captain 
of Light Artillery, and completed his legal studies at the close of 
the war. The family fully shared the reverses of the disastrous con- 
flict, from which their country emerged with property devastated, 
slavery abolished, and resources expended ; yet with it all. they consider 
they have entered upon a brighter career, and a more enduring 
prosperity. 



The following Pedigree traces in full the descent of the Virginian 
branch of the Coke family : — 



42 



COKE Of thus ley. 



< 

I— I 
S3 

3 



fa 
o 

w 
« 

o 
U 

z 
» 
o 



fa 
o 




COKE OF TRUSLEY. 43 



ROBERT COKE of Trusley, Esq., 
son and heir of Richard Coke. Born 
17th November, 1646.C) Died 23rd 
January, 1713.O iEtat. 67. 



ELIZABETH, only daughter of Anthony, 
son of Sir William Samwell of Upton, 
co. Northampton. Married 26th Sep- 
tember, j677.( 3 ) Died 1 ith May, 1684.O 



( 5 6 ) I William Coke. Born 31st March, 1679 ; his heir. See page 45. 

Extracts from the Trusley Register and Family Chronicle. 

(i) "November 17 th 1646, being Thursday about one of y e clock in y e morning Robert Coke 
was borne at Whitton and baptized there on y c 27 th of y e same month." (Family 
Chron.) 

( a ) " 1713 Robertus Coke Armiger sepultus vicesimo sexto die Januerii Anno q. Dom. 1713." 
(Trusley Register.) 

(, 3 ) " Robert Coke y e first sonne of Richard Coke of Trusley and Katherine his wife married 
at y* Church of S' Giles in ye fields in London suburbs Elizabeth j* onely Daughter of 
Anthony Samuel of Upton & Gfaton in Northamptonshire & Anne y e wife of y e said 
Anthony upon Wednesday y e 26 th of September 1677 Anno regni regis Caroli 2 i 29." 
(Family Chron.) 

(') " Anno domini 1684 on y= Eleventh of May being y« Lords day neare seven aclocke or 
about six of y e clock in ye evening Elizabeth y"» wife of mee Robert Coke of Trusley & 
daughter of Anthony ye youngest son of Sir William Samwell died at her Aunt 
Samwels house in butter Street Westminster & according to her desire was buried by or 
near her mother in S' Margarets Church in Westminster on y e seventeenth day of May 
( 5 ) y e next following. — I have only one sonne by her William Coke borne at Trusley 
March y e 31 st 1679 & baptized there on ye ninth of April Anno Domini Nostri Jesu 
Christi 1679 for whom to Almighty God y e holy trinitie in unity I return my most 
humble thanks & praise — Robert Coke." (Family Chron.) 

( 6 ) " William, Sonne of Robert Coke Esqre & Elizabeth his wife baptized April 7* 1679. " 
(Trusley Reg.) 

Robert Coke was only seventeen years and four months old when 
his father died. He survived him forty-nine years. He was thirty-one 
when he married Elizabeth, the only daughter of Anthony Samwell. 
The settlements are dated nth Oct., i<?77 (a fortnight after the marriage). 
Trusley and Burnaston are the settled estates ; her marriage portion was 
^4,000. John Coke, of Melbourne, was one of the Trustees. 

The ancient family of Samwell was originally of Cornwall, and 

settled at Prestormel Castle. Anthony was the youngest, son of Sir 

- William Samwell, Auditor to Queen Elizabeth, who received the honour 

of knighthood at the coronation of James I. They were made baronets 

28 Charles II., but the male line became extinct in 1789. 

At this period the splendour of the head of the family sensibly 
declined, attributable to the very numerous family of the previous gene- 
ration, and to a division of the property in the time of Sir Francis. 



44 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



His wife lived only six years after their marriage, and died in West- 
minster, nth May, 1684. She was buried in St. Margaret's Church 
there, 17th May. Robert recorded her death in the Family Chronicle, 
and appears to have been truly thankful for the blessing of a son to 
succeed him. 

" I have only one sonne by her, William Coke, borne at Trusley March y e 31st 1679, for 
whom to Almighty God ye holy trinitie in unity I return my most humble thanks and 
praise." 

When this son was not quite fourteen years of age he was married to 
his first cousin (the daughter of Robert's sister, who married Paul Ballidon), 
a woman with a fortune only of ^1,500, and more than double his own 
age, she being twenty-nine. A few years after this event, 3 Anne (1705), 
it was necessary to go to Parliament for ' an Act to subject the estate of 
Robert Coke and William his son and heir apparent to the payment of 
the said Robert Coke's debts, and to make provision for the wife and 
younger children of the said William Coke, In this Act the estates men- 
tioned are — 

The Manor of Trusley, Lands in Dalbury Tees, 

„ „ Pinkeston, Burnaston, 

Kirkbye, Allsopp, 

Brouckhill, Harlington, 

A moiety of South Normanton, Fenney Bentley. 

Robert Coke's name appears at the head of the Grand Jury Address 
from the county, in 1682, to Charles II., expressive of their detestation 
of the Association which had been formed to set aside the succession 
to the Crown from the Duke of York, who was a professed Roman 
Catholic. 

He died at Trusley, January 23rd, 17 13, aged sixty-seven, and is 
buried there. His achievement hangs in Trusley Church. His sisters 
all married except Emma and Isabell ; the former lived at Spondon; 
her will is dated 29th October, 1706, by which she disposes of her estate 
at Sheen, in the county of Stafford, to her nephews. There is no evi- " 
dence how she became possessed of this property. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 45 



WILLIAM COKE of Trusley, Esq, = CATHERINE, daughter and heir to 



•only son of Robert Coke. Born 31st 
March, 1679.C) Died 18th January, 
i7i8.( s ) ^Etat. 39. 

r 



Paul Ballidon, of Derby, Esq. Married 
February 15th, i693.f) Died 23rd 
March, 1719.C) iEtat. 55. 



( 5 10 ) 

(12 11) 

( 6 13 ) 
(') 

( B ) 

(11 16, 

( . 5) 



Robert Coke. Born 15th December, 1694. Died 12th December, 1699. .<Etat. 6. 
Buried at Trusley. 

2. Edward Coke. Born 18th September, 1699. Died 17th January, 1718. iEtat. 

19. Buried at Trusley. 

3. Robert Coke. Born 26th August, 1703. Died 5th March, 1704. Buried at Trusley. 

4. Anne. Born23rd March, 1696. Died 9th January, i 703. jEtat. 7. Buried at Trusley. 

5. Catherine Cassandra Isabella. Bom 28th May, 1697 ; one of the co-heirs. 

See page 53. 

6. Susanna. Bom 24th May, 1698. Died 1718. ^Etat. 18. 

7. Mary. Born 5th April, 1701. Died 23rd March, 1722. iEtat. 20. Buried at Trusley. 

8. Francis. Bom 13th June, 1702. One of the co-heirs. See page 53. 



Extracts from Trusley Register. 

(i) " William, sonne of Robert Coke Esqre & Elizabeth his wife baptized April 7* 1679." 

( 2 ) " M'. William Coke & M™- Katherine Ballidon Matrimonium contraxunt speed Littleover 

Feb* IS, 1693-" 

( 3 ) " January 23 2j? William Coke Esqre was buried." 

( 4 ) "March 26. 1720. Katharine Coke the widow of William Coke Esqre was buried." 

( 5 ) "Robert Alius Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Katherinse uxoris ejus, natus primo die 

Decembris & baptizatus fuit sucundo die ejusdam Mensis a.d. 1694." 
The old Trusley Register, which commences in 1538, ends in 1694. The next Register 
-commences in 1695. Robert Solden, Rector. 

( 6 ) " Anna filia Gulielmi Coke Armiger et Katherinae uxoris ejus nata vicessimo tertio die 

Martii et baptizata vicessimo quinto ejusdam mensis. 1695." 
(') " 1697 Katherine Cassandra Isabella filia Gulielmi Coke Amiger et Katherinaj uxoris ejus 

nata vicesimo octavo die Maii 1697 et baptizata tricesimo ejusdam mensis." 
( 8 ) "1698. Susanna filia Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Katherinse uxoris ejus nata vicessimo 

quarto die Maii et baptizata vicessimo nono ejusdam mensis." 
(S) " 1603. Edwardus filius Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Katherinse uxoris ejus natus decimo 

octavo die Septemb. et baptizatus vicessimo quarto ejusdam mensis." 
( 10 ) 1699. Robertus filius primogenitus Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Katherinas uxoris ejus obiit 

duodecimo die Decemb. et sepultus decimo quarto die ejusdam mensis 1699." 
( u ) " 1 70 1. Maria filia Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Catherinae uxoris ejus nata quinto die Aprilii 

et baptizata sexto die ejusdam mensis." 
f 12 ) " 1703. Robertus filius Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Catherinae uxoris ejus natus vicessimo 

sexto die Augusti et baptizatus vicessimo nono ejusdam mensis. 1703." 
as\ it 1703. Anna filia Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Catherinae uxoris ejus obiit nono die Januarii 

et sepulta duodecimo die ejusdam mensis Anno Dom. 1703." 
< M ) " 1704. Robertus filius Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Catherine uxoris ejus obiit quinto die 

Martii et sepulta sexto die ejusdam mensis Anno Dom. 1704." 
{") " 1702. Frances filia Gulielmi Coke Armigni et Catherinae uxoris ejus nata decimo tertio 

die Junii et baptizata eodem die 1702." 
(16) << !y 2 2. March 26 th Mary Coke daughter of y e late W m -Coke Esqre was buried." 
<") "January 17 th * 7 — Edward the son of Will Coke was buried." 



46 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

William Coke was the last male of the main line of the family. 
He was, as has already been noticed, married when quite a boy to 
his cousin Catherine Ballidon, who was double his age. Tradition speaks 
of him as an easy, good-tempered man, living with the careless hospitality 
of former times, and if not spending more than his income, certainly 
saving none. He kept harriers, and the "Trusley Hunting Song" was 
written by a blacksmith, who was one of his companions in a cele- 
brated day's sport they had with the hounds. In the servants' hall 
at Trusley was a portrait of this man of the anvil, and under it were 
these lines : — 

" This is Tom Handford— Don't you know it ? 
He was both Smith and Poet." 

Lists and pedigrees of the hounds for many years are still preserved. 
THE TRUSLEY HUNTING SONG. 



One Valentine day in the morning, 
Bright Phoebus began to appear ; 
Squire William Coke winded his horn — 
Was a going a hunting the hare. 
" Come, Wheeldon, uncouple the beagles,. 
And let them go questing along j 
Lose or win her, I must be at dinner, 
Or else they will think me long." 



Says Handford, " Pray, master, forbear 
Resolving to leave us so soon ; 
I ha'n't been a. hunting this year ; 
How can you give over by noon ? 
Black Sloven shall warm your bay Robin, 
And make him go smoking along ; 
Bonny Dick shall not gallop so quick, 
If we light on a hare that's strong." 



"Come, Handford, for all thy proud speeches, 
I mean for to shew thee a trick ; 
I value not hedges nor ditches ; 
I'll make thee to know bonny Dick. 
Then hie for the gorse in Ball Field I 
We shall have her a thousand to one. 
Lo, Thunder! lo, hark to old Wonder! 
Away, boys, away ! she's gone." 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 47 



4- 
The morning was pleasant all o'er, 
So calm and serene was the sky ; 
The woods with the echo did roar, 
Which came from that sweet harmony. 
Then over the lands and the meadows 
So merrily they did pursue, 
Young Beauty performing her duty: 
She headed them all in the view. 

5- 
Young Snowball, that jolly fine hound, 
Was second, and scorned for to yield 
Or lose. e'er an inch of her ground — 
She's as good as e'er run in the field. 
And thus for the space of two hours 
They held all our horses to speed ; 
Black Sloven hung hard on bay Robin, 
But he could not do the deed. 

6. 

" Come, Handford," then says the good Squire, 

" How likest thou my bonny Dick ? 

Dost think thou canst make him to tire, 

Or not (or to gallop so quick?" 

"Oh, master, I needs must confess 

I think I was boasting too soon ; 

But now for another stout hare, 

And your Dick shall have dined by noon." 

7- 
It was about nine in the morning 
When we was a winding first knell. 
Squire William Coke put up his horn 
And said, "A fresh hare would do well. 
Then Handford, have at thy black Sloven; 
I'll make thee in purple to ride; 
And if thou dost offer to stay, 
I will certainly flog on thy hide." 

8. 

"You'll serve him but right,'' says Wheeldon, 

" For he has been taunting of me ; 

I never was beat on the field : 

Then for a fresh hare let us see. 

Here are some fine closes of corn ; 

Look well to your beat every one. 

Oh, master, pray pull out your horn, 

For away, boys, away ! she's gone." 



48 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



9- 
Young Bluebell, she caught it before, 
And cry'd it quite through the lane; 
Soon after came twelve couple more, 
And they rat0ed it over the plain; 
Then bonny Dick play'd with:his bridle, 
And went at a desperate rate. 
"Come, Handford, I think you are idle. 
Must I open you that old gate?" 

10. 
" Kind sir, I most humbly thank you, 
But I will not die in your debt, 
You'll see my black Sloven go faster, 
For now he begins for to sweat." 
Hark ! Finder, and Winder, and Dido I 
And Merry Lass briskly runs on, 
There's Younker, and Banter, and Rainbow, 
And Beauty — she leads the van. 

II. 

We headed 'em stoutly and bravely 
Straight up into Sutton Cross Field ; 
Black Sloven began to grow heavy 
And made a fair offer to yield; 
Then Wheeldon went swinging before, 
So well did Bay Robin maintain, 
And Bonny Dick after did scour, 
But Sloven was spurr'd in vain.. 

12. 

But he had the luck and good chance 
For to go now and then by the string, 
And led them a delicate dance 
For life as they came the last ring; 
Up goes a. fresh hare, a pox take her ! 
I ne'er was so vexed before, 
And we could not make 'em forsake her, 
But run her for two miles or more. 

And there we left Honest Squire Coke 
For to ponder upon the old hare. 
Adzooks ! he leapt over the brook, 
A most desperate leap I declare ! 
He had not gone past half a mile 
But this cunning old gipsy he spy'd 
Was creeping into her old file; 
" Then away— where away?" he cry'd. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 49 



14. 

"Away, boys! Away, my brave lads!" 
And so merrily winded his horn ; 
The beagles all flung up their heads, 
And we quickly did make our return; 
Then drawing up close to the point 
Where the cunning old gipsy had gone, 
You never saw better dogs hunt 
For life underneath the sun. 

'5- 
It was about two, afternoon, 
When we was n winding the knell, • 
Then Handford and Wheeldon made moan — 
Said a cup of old hock would do well, , 
" Make haste," said the squire. 'ICome faster 
Before I begin to grow cold, 
For with sweat my clothes are as wet 
As if they'd been dipp'd in some pool." 

16. 

Then coming home by the Ash Hale, 
Close under the Royal Oak Tree, 
There Blood and Old Willot was fall'n, 
Asleep as it happened to be. 
" Come, Handford, and give them a larum, 
My lips are grown sore with the. horn ; " 
And round about they did bestare 'em 
Like boobies that's newly born. 

17 

But as for the praise of these hounds 

And horses that gallop'd so free, 

My pen is not able t' expound, 

If time would allow it to be. 

Were not these two dainty stout pusses ? - 

They held us from seven to one, 

And never gave breath to the horses, 

But merrily they run on. 

— Finis.— 



The Rector of Trusley officiated as William's chaplain and read prayers 
every morning before the squire went out with his hounds. For this 

H 



5 o .COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



service, as he lived within stone's throw of the Hall-, he had frequent 
dinners, if not board. : He read prayers, again in the evening. The 
Rector's name was Robert Seldon, the same who afterwards had the living 
of Pinxton, which was given him in 1714 by William Coke. 

They must have kept early hours in those days, for it was only nine 
o'clock, in the song, when they had killed their first hare, after a chase,, 
of two hours. They had read prayers and breakfasted, and the squire 
winded his horn, when Phoebus began to appear, which was seven o'clock, 
in February. The squire was very impatient to return by noon to dinner, 
but the chase kept him till two. He appears to have had no company 
with him but his own dependants ; however, as every gentleman kept 
harriers in those days, it is not to be wondered at. 

With all his amusements at Trusley, he did not forget Kirkby Hall, 
and if he never lived there he seemed anxious to make it comfortable 
by buying a little cottage and close directly in front of it ; it was bought 
15th July, 1707 (6 Anne) and cost but £7. 

Trusley Church was rebuilt by William Coke, and there is an entry of 
the re-opening in the church register: — 

" Mem. 1713 : The afores d sixth of August was the opening of the new church when we had 
both vocall & instrumental musick the service read as at Cathedrals an Anthem very well performed . 
Mr. Coke being one of the performers. A sermon preached by y e Rector. Severell of the Gentry 
and Clergy auditors of the whole performance." 

This building must have been commenced immediately after the 
death of William's father, which occurred only in January of that year. 
Amongst the Debdale papers is a curious letter on the subject of the 
family pew in the church. 

" Sir, 

" I received y r favours by M r - Bassano, & shall be glad to acknowledge 'em with my 
best and heartiest service. — As being Patron of Trusley, th' ordinary wil take especial care to 
accomodate you & y r Tennants with as many convenient seats as you will reasonably ask. — But 
the only Title you can now claim under, must be founded on a Faculty under their Seal, for the 
taking down the Church wil alter the property & extinguish the Right you had to Those Seats 
when it was standing, Because the Prescription by wch you claim'd and enjoy'd y' seats is entirely 
Broke by your assenting to Rebuild the Church. — Tis very comon in a case of this nature (& 
so I wou'd advise in yrs) for the parishioners to agree upon a Scheme and adjust their several 
Sittings, & to join in a comon purse to get a Confirmation, wch effectually prevents disputes, & 
alleviates Both the Charge and Trouble. If y r neighbours wil com into that, t'wil be wel, but if 
They wil not, do you fix y r ground, & take the Dimensions & Situation of it, & it wil be no 
Difficult matter to obtain a good Title, & by placing y r Seats so as not to interfere wh any Isle, 
Alley, or comon way in the Church, you'l easily avoid any objection. — You need be under no 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 51 



Apprehension of y' neighbours being before you in the choice of yr seats, for you as Patron of the 
Church, wil be first serv'd, and there can be no Faculty granted without' publick notice to all the 
parishioners. 

" Y r obliged & ve.ry humble servt. 

" R. Rider, Jun. 
"Lich. ioiebry 17H." 

The communion cloth used on the re-opening is still preserved at 
Trusley, but from being kept in the old parish chest the moths have, 
since it was removed from the table, considerably damaged it. The arms 
of William Coke, impaled with his wife Ballidon, under the Coke crest, 
are embroidered on the cloth, which is blue in colour, whilst under the 
arms are the letters C. and C. S. M. F. This cloth appears to have 
been worked by Catherine Coke and her four daughters, whose initial 
letters come in the order of their age, Catherine, Susanna, Mary, Frances. 
These letters will also stand for 

Corpus Christi Salvatoris Manducate Fideliter, 

" The Body of Christ your Saviour ; feed on Him by Faith," which for an 
altar cloth, on which the Holy Communion is celebrated, is most appro- 
priate. If this sentence was not in the minds of the pious workers, it is a« 
noteworthy coincidence that their initial letters should make it. The cloth 
was in general use till about i860, when the then Rector removed it from 
conscientious scruples regarding the coat of arms. 

The massive' church spouts, which are well modelled in lead, have also 
the Coke and Ballidon arms on them, with the date 17 13. They are also 
repeated on two of the main beams of the roof. 

Mr. C. C. Cox, writing on the Churches of Derbyshire, 1879, says of 
Trusley : 

" We have not been able to learn anything concerning the old fabric. The present church is a 
dismal affair of brick, with stone facings, of the pagan style that prevailed in Anne's reign. The 
South doorway is said, by local tradition, to have been removed from the old Hall of the Cokes 
of Trusley, which was then undergoing repairs. But we are scarcely inclined to credit this, as the 
doorway is very little, if at all, older in style than the date of the rebuilding of the dhurch." 

There is certainly no truth in this tradition, for Trusley Hall was not 
pulled down till many years after the rebuilding of the church. 

The old church Bible, which was printed by Robert Barker, 1634, bound 
in wooden covers, with brass ornaments, and said to have cost £2, is now 
in the parish chest, which stands under the tower. There is but one bell, 



52 . COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



which is undoubtedly of pre-Reformation date. In the chancel hangs one 
of those interesting relics of an expired custom, a funeral garland of 
white paper. There were originally four of these garlands, which some 
hundred years ago were carried one at each corner of the coffin of a Miss 
Webster, who died in the farmhouse now occupied by Mr. S. Woodward. 
One of the Trusley Rectors considered these as remnants of Popery, and 
actually ordered their destruction, till the Rural Dean begged him by all 
means to treasure them. The Registers begin with the 12th September, 

1538. 

Of William Coke's children, the eldest son, Robert, died soon after his 
fifth birthday. His parents were much grieved at this loss, and they named 
another son (their last child) after him, who also died young, only five 
months old. A monumental stone was placed in Trusley Church, near the 
communion table, to record the virtues of the elder Robert ; the epitaph 
being, no doubt, the Chaplain's composition, and when we find the boy 
was only entering his sixth year it appears almost ridiculous : 

" Hie jacent Exuviae charee Roberti filij Gulielmi Coke Armig & Catherines uxoris ejus Primo- 
geniti brevem viventis vitam Erat vere Nobilis et majori Pietate imbutus quam Anni loquuntur 
JRelativis amant obsequens unicumque blandus Ita flebilis omnibus Nunc Societate Coelitum beatus 
Et Deum in excelsis laudans Obijt I2» die Decemb Sexto jEtatis incurrento Annoq. Dom. 
1699." 

Edward Coke, the second son, reached the age of nineteen, when he 
died. The date of his death is given in family deeds as 17th January, 
1718, though the Church Register states he was buried on that day. 
William Coke died on the following day (18th January, 1718), and it is 
natural to suppose that his end was hastened by great grief at losing his 
last son, who was to have inherited the old family estate of Trusley, which 
had then been the residence of the Cokes for 300 years. 

William .Coke was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Derbyshire by 
Lord Scarsdale on 28th December, 171 1. The commission is now at 
Debdale. 

" The Will of William Coke, dated \i th December, 1717. 

" In the name of God Amen the Seventeenth day of December in the yeare of our Lord God 
one Thousand seven hundred and seventeen I Will m Coke of Trusley in the Co. of Derby Esqr. 
being of sound and perfect mind and memory God be praised doo make and ordaine this my last 
will and testament in manner and forme following (that is to say) First I commend my Soule into 
the hands of Almighty God my mercyfull Creator hopeing and steadfastly believing to obtain ever- 
lasting life through the precious ajid meritorious death and suffering of my Lord and Saviour Jesus 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 53 



Christ and my body to the Earth to be decently buryed at the direction of mine Exortor hereinafter 
named. — Item, I doo hereby make ordaine constitute and appoint my son Edward Coke to be the 
sole and onely executor of this my last Will & Testament." 

Exactly one month after this was written by William Coke his son 
Edward was buried. The will was proved 7th April, 17 19, and adminis- 
tration granted to C. C. T. Wilmot. 

Mural Monument at Trusley. 

" Near this Place lye Interr'd y« Bodies of William Coke late of this Town Esqr and Catharine 
his Wife, Daughter of Paul Ballidon of Derby Gent. He died Jan: the 1 8«. h . I J 18, aged 39. She 
died March y 6 23 d 1719, aged 55- — 

" In Memory of whom, Catherine-Cassandra Isabella their Daugh r caused this to be set 
up.—"— 

The Trusley Co-Heirs. 

All William Coke's daughters died young and unmarried, except two, 
and between these two the property became divided. 

Catherine Cassandra Isabella, the elder co-heiress, married on 
December 27th, 17 18, shortly before her father's death, Edward Wilmot, 
of Spondon, Esq., barrister-at-law, second son to Edward Wilmot, of 
Chaddesden. She was then but twenty-one and her husband was twenty- 
three years older than herself. 

FRANCES, the youngest daughter, married on October 12th, 1720, her 
kinsman D'Ewes Coke of Suckley, county Worcester, descended from 
George Coke, Bishop of Hereford (see page 84). She was then in her 
nineteenth year. Her elder sister, Mary, was at the time living unmarried. 
Both her parents were dead, and at this time all hopes of any part of the 
property remaining with the Coke family were gone. It must have been 
more than chance that brought D'Ewes Coke from Worcestershire to 
marry this co-heiress and continue the succession, by uniting the two 
branches, which had been parted for five generations ; but for this happy 
event all the ancient property would have passed for ever into other 
.hands. 

Mary, the fourth daughter, after the death of her father, by deed dated 
19th March, 1718, named "her uncle Paul Ballidon, of Stapenhill, to be 
guardian of her person and estate until she attain the age of one and 
twenty years," which age she never reached, dying on 23rd March, 1722, 
only thirteen days before it. There was an agreement made 20th April 
6) George I.), 1720, between Paul Ballidon of Stapenhill, and guardian of 



54 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



Mary Coke and ffrances Coke, the daughters and co-heirs of William Coke, 
late of Trusley, being of the age of seventeen and upwards, and Edward 
Wilmot of Spondon, and Catherine Cassandra Isabella his wife, and 

another of the daughters and co-heirs of the said William Coke = 

to sell the trees of oak, ash, elm, mapple, poplar, and crab to Thomas 
Trimmer, carpenter, of Derby, for ^500. 

A division of the estate now took place between Edward Wilmot and 
D'Ewes Coke : 

" Proposals for the Partition of severall Lands and Tenemets between Edward 
Wilmott y D'Ewes Coke. 



£ *. d. 
The Capitall Messuage at Trusley} 

with the Orchards, Gardens, &c.j ° 

Trusley, Dalbury Lees— 594 acres) 

at £13 per acre J 7722 ° ° 

A. P. 

John Salt at Burnaston, 27 . 2 



inclosed meadow at £13 per acre J 
Computed acres in melds 25 at 1 

£8peracre ) 

William Feazand 2 acres inclosed 1 , 

at £13 \ 26 

3 acres in theffields at £8 24 

A.Chiefe Rent at 20 years 1 

Wood worth 200 



357 10 o 



o o 



o o 



8730 16 8 



One Half the Coals. 

One Half the Debts and Incumbrances. 



£ s. d. 
Pinxton, Kirkby, & Normanton at ) . , 
^8 per acre .!.., ) 5°4 6 - ° ° 

A. R. P. 

ff eney Bentley 26 3 24 1 

A. R. P. £ s. d. } 176 13 4 
A moiety 13 1 32 at 13 6 8; 

A. P. 

Alsop le Dale 187 2 at £14. 10s. 1 „ 

per acre ] 2 < IS '5 ° 

A Moiety of the Wood at ffeney ) _ 

Bentley . . J 33 13 ° 

Henry fford at Burmaston a i 

meadow 33 acres at £13 o o ) "" 9 ° ° 
In the Common fields Arable 1 

40 acres by computation at j£8 ) 32 ° ° ° 

A cott house in Cornhton 680 



87309 4 



One Half the Coals. 

One Half the Debts and Incumbrances." 



There is a date on the back of these proposals, 13th Oct., 1726. 
The deed, however, was not signed till 23rd Sept., 173 1. Thus five 
years passed between the first proposals and the final settlement 
Another deed explains the negotiations during this period ; it was 
evidently the wish of D'Ewes Coke to keep Trusley in the family, and 
his wife writes that she " very much wished to live there," while the 
Wilmots had no intention of leaving Spondon. D'Ewes, therefore 
offered £400 for the share which Edward Wilmot and his wife, having 
first choice, had taken in the division. The following agreement was 
drawn up and submitted to counsel. The original case, with counsel's 
opinion on it, is now at Debdale : — 

" Whereas Dewes Coke Esqr & Francis his Wife have made A proposal to his Brother 
Edward Wilmot and Catherine Cassandra Isabella his Wife to give them the sum of four hundred 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 55 



Founds That An Exchange might be made of that Share which they Chose of the Division 
Proposed to them for to take their Choice of By the said D'Ewes Coke & his said Wife Comprised 
in a certain Paper of Proposalls Delivered by the said Dewes Coke into the hands of Paul Ballidon 
Esq for the other Share .thereof which the said Dewes Coke and his Said Wife was to have 
Now in consideration of such Exchange to be majie The said Dewes Coke for himself and his Said 
Wife Doth Promise to Pay to the said Edward Wilmot and his said Wife at or upon Midsummer 
Day now next the Sum of Four Hundred Pounds of Lawfull money of Great Brittain. And All 
things relating to the Partition Coals Debts and incumbrances are to be fairly adjusted and 
settled by Proper Writings and Ways at or before Midsummer Day before mentioned according to 
the true ' intention Thereof. Witness the Hands of the said Dewes Goke and the said Edward 
Wilmot the Two and Twentyeth day of April in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven 
Hundred and Twenty Seven. 

"Signed in the 

Presence of " Isabell Coke " D'Ewes Coke 

" Sam"- Webster. " Edw d Wilmot." 

Had this agreement been carried out, Trtrsley Hall might be standing 
to this day, and still the residence of the family; but within a year 
all was upset — how there / is no evidence to prove, and on the back 
of the deed is the cancelling of it, thus : — 

" Memorand That this Eleventh day of February One Thousand Seven Hundred & Twenty 
Eight it is mutually agreed by & Between the within named D'Ewes Coke & Edward Wilmot 
That the propossall of an Exchange within mentioned be now Void & of none effect. 

" Witness their Hands. 

'* Signed in the presence of 

" Isabell Coke " D'Ewes Coke- 

" Saml 1 - Webster. " Edw d Wilmot." 

The Wilmots continued to reside at Spondon ; Trusley Hall became 
dilapidated, and was soon after pulled down. 

The late D'Ewes Coke, of Brookhill, wrote of Trusley in 18 10: — 

"The pavement thro' the Courtyard remains and a part of a stable. The Kitchen end 
of the house, (which is now a Farm house) a summer house, and a neglected Bowling green. This 
is a very flat and clayey part of the Country, but has a beautiful Rivulet full of Cresses, some swells 
of ground behind and is a retired rural spot. The roads are impassable, but for a cart and horse 
and the most melancholy neglect appears of the whole place. The Church is within stones throw 
of the site of the Hall, and is a neat modern brick building. The present Mr. Wilmot has erected 
a new parsonage, of more flaming brick contiguous to it, and at present it offends the eye. It is a 
desirable sporting property, but it is, even for that purpose, scarcely ever visited by him." 

During the incumbency of the Rev. Charles Evelyn Green (who 
took the name of Cotton in 18 19) the Rectory was occupied as a 
farm-house by the tenant of the glebe. When the Rev. William 
Chandos Pole succeeded in 1859, and desired to live there after his 



5 6 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



marriage, the Rectory was placed in a thorough state of repair by 
Colonel E. T. Coke, the patron. The livings of Trusley and Dalbury 
were commonly held by the same man, and Mr. Cotton, who was 
Rector of Trusley for forty years, lived 'at Dalbury. 

There was no regular road to Trusley beyond Radbourne till near 
1840. J. Woodward, the chief tenant, wrote to Mrs. Wilmot on May 
6th, 1803, relative to her proposed visit to Trusley :— 

" Mr. Roome has put in his roads very well, we should be very glad if you please to let us 
know about a week before, and I think I can get Radboume people to make a little amendment, 
likewise we ourselves, and me and George will meet you Madam at your side Radboume, and 
conduct you safe to Trusley and depend Madam on ye beds and rooms being well air'd." 

The only remains of the old Hall at this time (1880) is the kitchen 
end, into which has been built the farm-house, occupied by Woodward ; 
the summer-house also stands, and is used as a store-house. By the 
inequality of the ground the old gardens may be traced. There is 
an old plan of the estate at Debdale, which distinctly shows the form 
of the Hall, outbuildings, garden, summer-house, bowling-green, &c. 
The Hall occupied three sides of a square, a courtyard in the centre. 
There was a well in the middle of the road in the village, if such the 
seven houses could be called. 

In Trusley church is a mural monument to Edward Wilmot and 
his wife : — 

" Near this place lies interred the Body of Edward Wilmot of Spondon in this county Esqre. 
who married Catherine Cassandra Isabella* the daughter of William Coke late of this town Esq. 
and died Jan* ye i»t 1748, aged 77." 

"The above Catharine Cassandra Isabella Wilmot departed this life August 12th, 1751. 
Aged S4-" 

Part of the Trusley Estate was sold on the death of Mrs. Wilmot. 

"A Particular of the Estate," dated January 22nd, 1754, shows 300A. 
3R. 7P., divided into eight farms, at an average rental of 13s. 4d. per 
acre. 

Trusley passed to her son, Francis Ballidon Wilmot, and on his 
death to Francis Wilmot, Rector of Trusley and Pinxton, who, dying 
2 1 st April, 1 81 8, unmarried, the Trusley and Spondon properties 
devolved on his only sister and heir, Susanna, who had married in 

* She caused this to be set up. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



57 



1806 (see page 100) John Coke, of Debdale Hall. Thus, after a lapse 
of just one hundred years, the old Trusley estate returned again to the 
Cokes. 

The following shows the curious Intermarriages of the Coke and 
Wilmot families : — 



Robert Coke of Trusley. =v= Elizabeth, dau. of 
Died 23 Jan., 1713. Anthony Samwell. 



Susanna Coke. 
Married in 
1667. 



William Coke of Trusley. 1 
Died 20 Jan., 1718. 



= Catharine, dau. of 
Paul Ballidon. 



Edward Wilmot, 
of Spondon. 



D'Ewes Coke, Esq., of = 
Suckley. Married 
1720. 



: Frances Coke, 2nd dau. 
and co-heir of William 
Coke. 



Edward Wilmot, = 
of Spondon and 
Derby. 



George Coke, d. 1759.=!= Elizabeth, dau. of 
Rev. Seth Ellis. 



The Rev. dWes Coke., ■■ 
Rector of Pinxton, &c. 
Died 181 1. 



= Hannah, dau. 
heir to George 
Heywood, of 
Brimington. 



and 



Francis Ballidon' 
Wilmot, of 
Trusley, Spon- 
don, and Derby. 



: Catherine Cassan- 
dra Isabella, eldest 
dau. and co-heir of 
William Coke. 

= Elizabeth, dau. of 
Richard Wilmot. 



D'Ewes Coke, of =j= Harriet, dau. of 



Brdbkhill. 



Thos. Wright. 



Edward Thomas Coke, =j= Diana, dau. of 



3rd son of D'Ewes 
Coke, who succeeded 
to the Trusley and 
Spondon Estates, on the 
death of his uncle, 
John Coke. 



John Talbot, of 
Ardfert Abbey, 
co. Kerry. 



John Coke, of Debdale. =j= Susanna, only dau. of 



Died 14 Sept., 1841, 
bequeathing his estates 
at Trusley, Spondon, 
and Derby, to his 
nephew, Edward 
Thomas Coke. 

Died S.P, 



Francis Ballidon 
Wilmot, who, on the 
death of her brother, 
1818, succeeded to 
the Trusley Estate. 



5 8 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



Sir John Coke's Line. 

JOAN, dau. of Sir = SIR JOHN COKE of Mel- = MARY, dau. of John 
John Lee, Knt., Alder- bourne, co. Derby, Knt, 2nd Powell of Presteign, 
man of London, and son of Richard Coke of Trus- co. Hereford. Married 
relict of Alderman Gore. ley (see page 8). Born 5th 1605. 1st wife. 
DiedS.P. Second wife. March, 1563.O) Died 8th 

September, 1644. ^Etat 82. 

1. Sir John Coke ; born 1607 ; died S.P. 1650. See page 63. 

2. Thomas Coke, his heir. See page 67. . 

3. Elizabeth ; married Arthur Faunt, Esq., of Foston, son and heir to Sir William I aunt. 
He died at Bath, 1633. She married, secondly, Thomas Sacker, of London, whose 
estate was sequestered by the Parliament. 

4. Mary ; married Sir Edward Hartopp, of Buckminster, second baronet of that extinct family. 
Her eldest daughter married the celebrated General Fleetwood, son-in-law to Cromwell. 

5. Anne ; married Henry Sacheverell, son and heir of Jacynth Sacheverell, of Morley, 20th 
November, 1638. ( 2 ) She married, secondly, March 13th, 1664, H. Danvers, Esq., 
son and heir of W. Danvers, of Swithland, co. Leicester. He was a near relative of 
Danvers the Regicide, whose Oxfordshire estates came to the branch at Swithland, in 
the church of which place is a monument to their memory, which records that they 
had issue several children. She was a lady deeply versed in the Greek and Hebrew 
Scriptures. Her first husband was a branch of the same family, of which Richard 
Coke had married an heiress in 1558. He suffered much during the Civil War, his 
house being plundered by the Cromwellians to the amount of £3,000 in money, 
besides "horses and goods." 

Extracts from Registers. 

( ] ) "John Coke, sonne to Ric was borne at London y e V th of March almost a qtr. before iij. 

of y° clock in y e fore none of y« same day Ao R R Eliz 50." (Family Chronicle.) 
( s ) " Henry Sacheverell Esq. & Anne daughter of Sir John Cooke Knt., and principal 

Secretary of State, married Nov. 20 th , 1638." (Tottenham Register.) 

Sir John Coke was born on 5th March, 1563. He was probably 
educated at Westminster School, and on the 22nd of April, 1580, was 
admitted scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge, when, after having taken 
his degree of Bachelor of Arts, he was chosen Fellow of the same 
College, about 7th April, 1584. He continued long in the University, 
and being much noticed for his learning, was chosen Public Professor of 
Rhetoric, in which employment he so distinguished himself by his inge- 
nious and critical lectures that "rhetoric seemed not to be so much 
an art to him as his nature." Then he travelled beyond the seas for 
some time, in company of a person of quality, and returned rich in 
languages, remarks, and experience ; having avoided all the dangers 
incident to him on account of his religion, by his prudent declaration, 
" that he came to learn and not to teach." He then retired into the 
country as a private gentleman, and married his first wife when forty-two. 
When he was more than fifty years of age, on some reputation he had 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 59 



for industry and diligence, he was called to a painful employment in 
the Navy, which he discharged well, and was then made Secretary thereof. 
Afterwards, partly through the interest of Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke, 
to whom he was related, he was made Master of the Requests ; and lastly 
Secretary of State, about the year 1620, in the room of Sir Albert 
Moreton, deceased. He was soon after this knighted. In the first Par- 
liament of King Charles I. he was one of the representatives of the 
University of Cambridge. He declared the state of affairs on the assembly 
of the Lords and Commons in Christ Church Hall, Oxford, on 4th 
August, 1625 ( r Charles I.). The Duke of Buckingham then mentions 
Sir John Coke as one of those worthy persons who fortified with advice 
and counsel the King on entering into the war with Spain. In the third 
Parliament (1627) he took a leading part in moving the supplies for the 
King, and his speeches are fully reported in Rushworth's Historical 
Collections. He states : " My desire is that every one resort to his 
own heart to reunite the King and the State, and to take away the 
scandal from us." It required a man of no ordinary abilities to steer 
a happy course between the contending parties of those" days, and the 
soundest discretion to reconcile oftentimes the King, his master, and 
the factious Parliament, or, in his own words, "Not to stir, but to 
quiet; not to provoke, but to appease." 

On 7th April, 1627, he reported to the House the King's accep- 
tance of the subsidies, and how his Majesty was pleased to ask by how 
many voices they were gained. "I said, but by one. His Majesty 
asked how many were against him. I said, none ; for they were voted 
by one voice, and one general consent." The King was so much affected 
by the generosity of the Commons that he expressed a great love for 
Parliament, and a desire often to meet his people in that way ; but this 
good understanding between them did not continue long. 

Sir John Coke accompanied King Charles in his expedition to Scotland 
against the Covenanters in 1639 ; and he was one of the six named to 
meet the Scottish Deputies and draw up the Articles of Pacification. 

He is said " to have governed himself in the management of his places 
by the following rules : — 

" That no man should let what is unjustifiable or dangerous appear under his hand, to give 
envy a steady aim at his place or person ; nor mingle interests with great men made desperate by 
debts or' Court injuries, whose falls have been ruinous to their wisest followers ; nor pry any farther 



6o COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



into secrecy, than rather to secure than show himself ; nor impart that to a friend which may 
empower him to be an enemy." 

He likewise kept himself strictly to the law of the land. Insomuch, 
that being sent to command Bishop Williams from Westminster, and 
being asked by the stout Bishop by what authority he commanded a man 
out of his house and his freehold, he was so tender of the point that he 
never rested till he had his pardon for it. But, notwithstanding his 
great caution, on the 8th of November, 1641, a messenger of the House 
of Commons was sent to fetch him up out of Derbyshire, to answer some 
complaints made against him about some commitments in the year 
1628. 

In the collection of the Clarendon Papers, a considerable number of 
letters may be met with written by Sir John Coke when Secretary of State. 
A farther specimen of his political abilities may be seen in the " Miscel- 
laneous State Papers," published by the Earl of Hardwicke. We there 
find four letters of Sir John Coke's to Sir Belthazar Gerbier, relative to a 
secret treaty carried on with the Flemings in 1632, which has never 
appeared in our histories, and which, indeed, was totally unknown to the 
public till brought to light by the learned lord mentioned. From these 
letters it appears that Sir John Coke wrote his dispatches with perspicuity, 
and in a style becoming a man of business ; they prove that he was well 
acquainted with the views of Holland, France, and Spain, and reflect 
honour on his sagacity. His contemporaries character him as a grave 
and a prudent man in gait, apparel, and speech ; one that had his intel- 
lectuals very perfect in the despatch of business till he was eighty years old. 
He is also said to have been a very zealous Protestant, and to have done 
all good offices for the advancement of true religion. He had a happy 
mixture of discretion and charity, whereby he could allow to things and 
persons more than men of streighter apprehensions or narrower affections 
were able to do. 

Sir John Coke appears to have ended his public life at the close of 
the year 1639. On the 30th November (of that year) he wrote to the 
respective sheriffs to pay in the arrears of ship money for several years 
past, and this seems his last act as secretary. He was then in his seventy- 
seventh year. He was removed by an intrigue of the Queen's to make 
room for Sir Harry Vane (whose son was beheaded June 14th, 1662). He 
was strongly supported by the Earl of Strafford, and his removal seems to 



COKE OF TRVSLEY. 61 



have been felt by the country as an act of great injustice. He wrote to 
his son on leaving Court thus : — 

" I know you have heard of my resolution taken for my retreate from courte, yet I finde bothe 
a gracious countenance and profession that no offence is taken against mee, and so much expression 
of good opinion and good will towards mee, bothe in courte and citie, that I could never withdraw 

myself under more favourable aspect Assure yourself I shall come home unto you with 

as much quiet, and with as calm a minde, and with as little repining and complaining, or spleene 
against anie one, as anie ever went from courte to a countrie life after so long and so many 
employments, " 

In the spring of 1640 he moved to Melbourne, where he joined his son 
John, and they lived, as he states, with their wives in one house, forming 
"one familie." King Charles visited him at Melbourne, and it is said 
that on a pane in a summer-house window there are some lines written by 
that Prince with a diamond. 

In the troublesome times of the Civil Wars Sir John was much in- 
commoded there by soldiers, who committed excesses and threatened to 
burn his house. He then removed for safety to the house of his son-in- 
law, H. Danvers, Esq., of Swithland, in the county of Leicester. He 
complained of being obliged to leave home in winter, when the ways 
were in such a bad state, and at his advanced age, and wrote to the Earl 
of Essex for protection in 1642*. In this letter he says : " Since I was 
dismissed by his Majestie from the office of his Secretary I have con- 
tinued in my retreat, in my house at Melbourne, almost three years, without 
other employment than those duties whereby a man of near fourscore 
years may prepare himself for a better life." This is dated September 
20th, 1642. In the winter of 1643 he was again obliged to remove, and 
went to Tottenham, where he shortly died, his death being probably 
hastened by fatigue and anxiety of mind. He died the 8th of September, 
1644, aged eighty-one years and six months. In Oldfield's " History of 
Tottenham " there is this description of the " Black House " : 

" There was formerly an house opposite White Hart Lane, so called, built partly of brick and 
partly of stone, with large iron gates before it. It is conjectured that it once belonged to Henry 
VIII. ; there was an inscription thus :— ' In this chamber King Henry VIII. hath often lyen.' In 
this mansion Sir John Coke resided during summer. It was afterwards occupied by Sir Hugh 
Smythson, grandfather to the first Duke of Northumberland." 

Pennant, in his "Environs of London," says it was pulled down fifty 
years since. 



62 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



To his first wife, Marie Powell, Sir John was tenderly attached ; his 
letters to her express great kindness and affection, and her simple and 
natural answers, full of sense and strong religious feeling, written in the 
pretty old English of that time, are highly interesting and amusing. In 
the education of their children, and in country pursuits, they passed 
many of their earlier years at a place called Hale Court, near Ledbury, 
which he bought, near her father's, Mr. Powell, of Presteign, Hereford. 
His friend, and distant relation, Sir Fulke Greville (the friend of the 
celebrated Sir Philip Sydney), afterward procured him employment and 
lucrative places, but his wife did not long survive to enjoy their good 
fortune. There is no record of her death, but her letters cease after 
1623. She then complained of illness, and her husband's last letter to 
her is as full of tenderness as his first. In all the duties of private 
life he seems to have been equally admirable. To his " beloved sonne 
John," as he calls him, his kindness was unbounded, and drew from him 
unceasing terms of thanks and gratitude, and met with ample return in 
his devoted attention, respect, and duty. 

The following letter, which shows how Sir Peter Paul Rubens was 

prevented leaving England, is of considerable interest : — 

• 

"Right honorable 
" I receaved an advertisment that above a dozen young women and boies attended at the ports 
to get passage under the protection of the Spanish Ambassador's sonne-in-Iaw and Mon r - Rubens. 
And because I found it was donne w th out his M tes knowledge, or anie license sought from the State, 
I thowght it my dutie to prevent it, and not to suffer such an affront to bee cast uppon us, that 
Ambassadors or Agents of Foren Princes should assume such a libertie, W* is not permitted in 
those countries from whence they are imploied, nor was indured here in former times. — I did 
therefore give notice thereof by letter to the Lord Warden of the Cinq Ports, whose careful 
ministers in his absence gave order for their stay. — Now this night I receaved a letter from the 
Spanish Ambassador taking knowledge that an English gentlewoman was going over in the com- 
panie of his sonne in law Don Jean de Vasques and Mons. Rubens, w th a maid servant and two 
other gentlewomen that had papers from the Lords of the Councel, to the end that the said gentle- 
woman should bee their married to a chevalier of good accompt, in regward whereof his Lordship 
desired mee to take order for their release and free passage. — I answered that his Lordship wel 
understood that by our lawes none but merchants could pass beyond the seas w'kout licence from his 
M« or his Councel under six of their hands. — If hee pleased to make known the names and 
qualities of theis women, I would move the Lords, who I doubted not would proceed w* due 
respect to his Lordship, if they found no just cause for his Ma tM service to refuse them allowance. 
— But this gave him not content, and hee purposeth (as his messinger tould mee) to send presently 
to his M te for commands. — In regward whereof I thowght fit to give his Ma te this accompt, and 
then to obey what hee shall direct. — The advertisment I receaved was that theis women went over 
w th good portions to bee put into nunneries, w 1 * they call mareage, w ch is the ordinarie stile of al 
their letters, and this is ment by the mareage of this gentelwoman. — The yong boies are sent to the 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 63 

schooles of the Jesuites, and go not emptie handed. — I thowght it a good service to interrupt this 
libertie in regward of the consequence, so I rest 

"Your Lordship's humble servant, 

"John Coke. 
" London 

" 2 March 1629-30. 
" For His M'« Espetial affairs To the right honorable the Lord Viscount Dorchester, 
principal Secretarie of State to his M te , give this at Newmarket, 
hast, hast, • 

hast, post hast, 

" London, 2 March, at seven in the morning." 

The above was called "spiriting away" of gentlewomen and young 
boys. 



SIR JOHN COKE THE YOUNGER. 

Sir John Coke was knighted in his father's lifetime. After his mar- 
riage with Elizabeth, daughter of Timothy Pussey, Esq., of Selston, 
county of Nottingham, and widow of W. Willoughby, Esq., on July 25 th, 
1633, at 'Selston, he lived at Melbourne Hall, which his father gave up 
to him, but when the latter was displaced from office he joined his son 
there. He was one of the representatives of the county in the 16th 
Charles L: also a member of the Committee of Sequestrators appointed 
by Parliament for the county of Derby, 31st March, 1643, and one of 
that for the purpose of raising £516 levied upon the county for the 
maintenance of Fairfax's army from 1st February to 1st December, 
1644. In 1646 he was one of the receivers (Sir John Curzon being 
the other) of £5,000 raised in the county for the disbanding of the 
Derbyshire forces, which money was to be repaid out of the compo- 
sition of delinquents' estates in the said county. 

Sir John Coke the younger was one of those nine Commissioners 
who, when King Charles I. was delivered by the Scots into the hands 
of the English, were appointed to receive and take charge " of his 
Majesty during his custody at Holdenby House, in the county of 
Northampton. In Sir Philip Warwick's Memoirs, we find that the 
Commissioners carried his Majesty to Holdenby rather as their prisoner 



64 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

than their prince, and, though he had from those lords and gentlemen 
that- attended him a respect which exceeded not his present condition, 
yet he passed it by. However, he distinguished the duty of Sir J. 
Holland, Sir John Coke, and Major-General Brown from those who 
less observed him. 

Though, whilst at Holdenby, the King was strictly watched, the 
usual honours of royalty were observed towards him. His household 
was maintained with splendour, the ceremonies of the Court exactly 
adhered to, and, on the part of the resident Commissioners nothing in 
their department was wanting in etiquette and respect, and they lived 
upon very good terms together. Sometimes the King invited them to 
accompany him in his walks ; sometimes he played at chess or bowls 
with them, always treating them with marked attention, and seeking 
their society. The Commissioners, at the King's own request, con- 
tinued their attendance upon him until his escape from Hampton 
Court. 

He sold to Sir William Boothby the manor of Ashbourne, which 
had been granted by King Charles I. to William Scriven and Philip 
Eden, and by them conveyed to his father, Sir John Coke. 

His letters to his father, which are preserved at Melbourne, are 
full of interest, and couched in terms of the highest regard. His 
descriptions of the times are novel and interesting, for there- was 
scarcely a particle of news, either political or military, which he 
did not transmit to Melbourne, and scarcely any man of rank or 
standing in Parliament who, in some way or other, did not come 
within reach of his pen. His letters on business are simple, plain, 
and easy of construction, becoming a man of business, and yet he 
must have been a polished scholar, as his frequent quotations from 
the best Greek and Latin authors, and allusions to them, abundantly 
testify. In a letter of April 17th, 1641, he writes of Lord Strafford's 
trial : — 

"The King is every day present at the trial, but looks pale and dejected.— The Earl of 
Strafford's chief hope is in the lords ; but if the bill pass that house, there will be danger of his 
Majestie's assent.— The Earl of Strafford looks well and chearfuUy.— Mr. Lane declared this day, 
that he had never advised with his council concerning any matter of fact, and that the law he 
had offered was wholly his own— doubtless he hath made a very able defence of himself, and 
his personal worth is very hardlye to be equalled. Hee walks dailye in the Tower, singing of 
psalms, and he concludes his defence in this manner, and be your neighbours judgement for 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 65 



life or deathe, Te Deum laudamus, te Dominum confitemur. The Earie of Northumberland and 
Lord Conway have resigned their commandes. — The Earl of Holland is made General of the 
army, and Colonel, giving his Lieut. -General in the place of the Earl of Strafford." 

Sir John Coke did not vote on Lord Strafford's trial. He describes 
the times as full of danger and alarm, and desires his father not to 
send his letters too often by the same messenger, that suspicion might 
not be excited. The old Sir John alludes with pleasure to his works 
in his garden at Melbourne, and approved of his dividing "his gal- 
lerie." In his house Baxter wrote his " Saints' Rest." He writes : — 

" The second book which I wrote was that called ' Saints' Everlasting Rest.' While I was 
in health I had not the least thoughts of writing books, or in serving God in any more public way 
than that of preaching ; but when I was weakened with bleeding, and left solitary in my chamber 
at Sir John Coke's in Derbyshire, without any acquaintance but my servant about me, and was 
sentenced to death by my physicians, I began to contemplate more seriously the Everlasting Rest 
which I apprehended myself just on the borders of; and, that my thoughts might not be scattered 
too much in my meditation, I began to write something upon that subject, intending but a sermon 
or two ; but being continued long in sickness, where I had no poor or better employment, I 
followed it on till it was enlarged to the bulk in which it is now published." 

Sir John Coke remained at Melbourne Hall after his father had 
left, in consequence of the Civil War. He wrote to him on January 
3.0th, 1642 : — 

" I am very sorry that the cause of your removal from Melbourne continueth still, the troubles 
rather increasing than otherwise, and I am very glad that by your absence you were freed from the 
trouble of those two nights the soldiers quartered in your house, at which time as I hear you were 
exceeding beholding to the care and respects of Sir William Brereton for preserving your house 
from the further disorder of the soldiers. Perhaps some others might have been well contented to 
have seen much more hurt done." 

In another letter, to his brother Thomas Coke, of June 20th, 1642, 
he wrote : — 

" Sir John Beaumont lay at Ashby with 1200 men. — On Monday following, on their way to 
Derby, they pulled up all the rails about Derby Hills with the stumps and destroyed them with 
fire, set fire to the mill at Calke, and digged down part of the mill dam in a very hostile manner. 

' As soon as I heard I took my horse and rode to them, and found that no officers were with them, 

except two of inferior rank, who took no notice to restrain them. — I instantly proclaimed to them 
in the King's name, that they should desist at their peril, and then returned home. — But not know- 
ing where the mischief might end, I fell to arming the house for my defence, and not without cause, 
for as soon as I was departed they threatened to burn the house, and placed their men upon the 
Charnhill as if they were drawing that way. They, however, probably hearing of our preparations, 
enterprized no more against the town." 

On June 26th Colonel Lumford's regiment lay at Ashby, and it 

appears that they threatened Sir John Coke with the loss of his life, 

K. , 



66 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

but "with the assistance of several brave officers he escaped their 
malice." 

Sir John Gell seems to have been the cause of much trouble round 
Melbourne, and the inhabitants addressed a petition to Derby stating 
that " we dare not come to your market to sell our commodities," 
and prayed " to be preserved from those sufferings from which we are 
threatened, if we yield not obedience to their unlawful taxations, and 
the great oppressions of Sir John Gell." 

The following extracts from the Household Books at Melbourne 
show the tastes and expenses of country gentlemen in Sir John Coke's 
time : — 

" A long Perriwig ... .. ... ... ... £27 o o 

A long Perriwig, verie faire ... ... ... ... 30 o o 

A Campaign wig ... .. ... ... ... 11 o o 

Two riding Perukes ... ... ... ... ... 600 

Nine diamonde buckles for a stomacher ... ... ... 207 o o 

Nine Tags ... ... ... ... ... ... 40 o o 

Brilliante ring round the bodye ... ... ... 75 o o 

Masquerading habit ... ... ... ... ... 23 o o 

Embroidering a birthday suite ... ... ... ... 30 o o" 

The Secretary and his son, Sir John, were both fond of hawking, and 
kept several " castes " of falcons. Briggs, in the " History of Melbourne," 
writes : — 

" Pretty indeed must have been the sight, on some fine clear morning, to have watched 
the old Secretary, with his son and daughter, setting out for their pleasant diversion, the two 
former mounted on their favourite steeds, the latter on her snow-white palfry, (bearing, per- 
chance, a merlin on her wrist), whilst behind them lingered, at a convenient distance, some 
sturdy falconer, dressed in his light green dress, and bearing his falcons ready hooded for 
the flight Melbourne Common, from its open character, would afford a fine field for this 
pursuit, for there the eye, uninterrupted by bush or tree, could discern the graceful hobby 
make his arrowy sweep, or the nobler peregrine strike down his feathered quarry." 

Sir John Coke the younger died at Paris in 1650, having, it is sup- 
posed, left the country after the execution of Charles I. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 67 



THOMAS COKE, 2nd son of Sir = MARY, dau. of. Pope, Esq., 



John Coke, of Melbourne and Totten- 
ham High Cross. Buried in Melbourne 
Church, August 23rd, 1656. 

I John Coke, his heir. See page 69. 



of Wosterton or Wolferston, co. Salop. 
Buried March 7th, 1656, in the chancel 
of Melbourne Church. 



Thomas Coke was a man of considerable political ability, of decisive 
character, and one who acted according to the dictates of his own judg- 
ment, fearless of consequences. Living in the unsettled times of the. 
Civil Wars, and when partisanship ran high in his own neighbourhood, 
he seems to have taken rather an active part on behalf of his Sovereign ; a 
line of conduct which caused him many enemies and some disasters, and 
which was undoubtedly a barrier to his political advancement. There is 
much to admire in his bold and vigorous character. He chose to espouse 
the cause of the King," and subject himself to those persecutions which it 
was evident must be the result, rather than adopt the cause of the then 
triumphant Commonwealth, by which he might have secured to himself 
both emolument and advancement. 

In 1640 he was one of the members for the town of Leicester. He 
was soon in trouble with the 'majority in the Commons, and his mother-in- 
law writes, June 12, 1640 — 

" My sonne Thomas had light to have been sent to the Tower this week for speaking for 
Bishops, but when they gave him leave to explain himself, they left him alone." 

His uncle, George Coke, was one of the Bishops whose cause he took 
up. On another occasion, as mentioned in Sir Simon D'Ewes' works, he 
was commanded to withdraw from the House, after citing a precedent 
against the Bill for settling the Militia, having said, " that one Hexey, in 
the Parliament, anno 20 Richard II., brought in a Bill against the King's 
prerogative of far less consequence than this, he was therefore condemned 
as a traitor." 

In 1645 he was expelled the House. This, however, was honourable 
to himself: the cause is thus explained in the Parliamentary History. In 
the list of the House of Commons during the Long Parliament occurs 
this passage : — 

"Leicester: Thomas Coke, Esq., disabled Jan. 22 nd , 1645, for deserting the service of the 
House ; being in the King's quarters, and adhering to that party. Sep. 30, 1645." 

He seems after his dismissal to have incurred the displeasure of the 



68 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



Parliament more deeply, probably by some bold avowal of principles or 

vigorous line of conduct. Sir Arthur Hazlerig reports from the Council 

of State — 

"That Thomas Coke Esq., being apprehended and brought before the Council, and there 
charged with high treason, both upon information received out of Scotland concerning him, and 
also by testimony taken upon oath before the Council ; that he was committed to the custody of 
the Serge»nt!s,man, from whom he made an escape, that the Council hath taken order for the 
present pursuit of him ; and for that_the Council conceives him a very dangerous person^ and one 
principally trusted and employed by the enemies of the Commonwealth ; it is therefore the opinion 
of this Council; that it be offered to the Parliament, that they would publish a proclamation for 
his apprehension, and propose a reward to such as shall bring him, in, and set a penalty upon 
those who shall willingly receive, harbour, or conceal him, and that they will also give some order 
concerning his estate." 

An Act was then passed declaring Thomas Coke, Esq., a traitor, unless 
he surrendered himself to the Sergeaiit-atTArms, in order to take his trial, 
within four days from 20th March, 1650. And £500 reward was offered 
to those who should give him up. 

In 1655 there was an ordinance by the Parliament for the decima- 
tion of the Cavaliers, whereby all who had borne arms for Charles I., or 
declared themselves in his interest, were to pay the tenth part of their 
estates that were left to support the charge of* the Commonwealth, without 
regard to future compositions, or any articles upon which they surrendered. 
Amongst those who submitted to these terms was Thomas Coke, of Mel- 
bourne, Esq,, who paid the sum of ^2,200. In the list of the lords, 
knights, and gentlemen who compounded, comprising the richest and best 
descended men in Derbyshire at that period, and amounting to forty in 
number, there are only two individuals who paid a larger sum than he. It 
is evident then that, whatever might have been his misfortunes, in many, 
respects he still ranked amongst the richest of the country gentlemen of 
the county ; and it is gratifying to reflect that, after a life of political 
storm and tempest, he ended his days in peace and tranquillity. After 
living a short time at Melbourne he retired to Tottenham High Cross, and 
died there, but was buried at Melbourne, August 23rd, 1656. His wife 
was also buried at Melbourne, March 7, 1656-7. 

A letter from Thomas Coke to his brother, Sir John, gives an inter- 
esting account of the brighter days of Charles's Court. It is written from 
Gray's Inn, October 17th, 1633 :—, 

"We want your Companie here this Xmas to doe our societye credit.— No law studied in the 
Inns of Court, all turned dancing schools.— There came a desire from the King about a fortnight 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 69 



ago, to the-lnns of Court by my Lord Keeper, that the gentlemen of the Honourable Inns would 
shewe themselves at Court by the presentation of a maske, which desire was suddenlye announced 
and speedilye concluded upon. — There are four masters of every Inn of Court appointed, and 
twenty five gentlemen of every House, in all one hundred, to attend the maskers to the Court, 
upon eight torses out of the King's stables; all in trappings as gallantlye accoutred as can be 
imagined, with plumes, and with four or six men on each side of their horse, the maskers come 
after in chariots ; this, all the talke of the town, now drowns all other news in the Inns of Court. 
— Hie labor hoc opus est — The emulation that will be between the Inns of Court and the 
courtiers, you may easilie imagine.*— But all my fear is t that we shall give them just cause of 

jeering us by reason of our weake performance Who is the Poet, or who makes her 

Majesty dance, I do not understand— you shall know by the next I thought goode to 

acquaint you with all the news I hear in London,. as I think it may be delightful to you in a solitary 
cold country. — All your friends are well here." 

The "solitary cold country" alluded to was Selston, where Sir John 
Coke was -stopping after his marriage there. It is somewhat of a dreary 
spot, even in these days. 



COLONEL JOHN COKE of Mel- = MARY, daughter and heir to Sir 



bourne, son and heir of Thomas Coke. 
Born, 1653. Died at Geneva, 1692. 
^Etat 39. 



Thomas Leventhorpe, of Hertfordshire. 
Buried at Melbourne, 2nd January, 1681. 



1. Thomas Coke; born February 19th, 1674, his heir. See page 72. 

2. John Coke ; barrister-at-law. Died February, 1736. 

3. Francis Coke ; born June 3rd, and died an infant, June 17th, 1680. 

4. Elizabeth ; bom February 5th, 1676-7. Died 1739, aged 63. 

5. Mary ; married John Fanshaw, of Panslowes, co. Essex, Esq. He died in 1699. There 
is a monument to him in Barking church. 

6. Alice; married on April 12th, 171 1, at Melbourne, Robert Hardinge, Esq., of King's 
Newton Hall. The last of his race who resided at Newton, and had. no issue. 

7. Doroxhy; born March 20th, 1679. Buried at Melbourne, May 4th, same year. 

This John Coke lived at Melbourne, and there are many entries of 
his children in the parish registers. Both his parents died when he was 
only three years old. At twenty he married the heiress of Sir Thomas 
Leventhorpe, and became possessed of considerable property in Hertford- 
shire, and also the representative of that ancient family, which was 
originally of Leventhorpe Hall, in Yorkshire. This branch seated itself 
in Hertfordshire in the reign of Richard II. Two members of it were 
Sheriffs of Hertfordshire and Essex in ist and 17th of King Henry VII. 
Sir John Leventhorpe, who was High Sheriff of the first-named county in 



7 o COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

the nth year of James I., was grandfather of Mary. At Melbourne Hall 
is preserved a beautiful parchment roll, which came into the family when 
Mary Leventhorpe married Colonel Coke. The arms of the different 
members are richly emblazoned, and the alliances properly traced. The 
head of the roll runs thus : 

" The Descent, Matches and Arms of the Family of Leventhorpe of Hertfordshire, since it 
branched from Leventhorpe Hall, Yorkshire, which was in y e 15 th yeare of King Richard II." 

John Coke represented the borough of Derby in several Parliaments, 
and appears to have taken no inconsiderable part in political matters. 
The following spirited anecdote is related of him : — In the year 1685, when 
James II., contrary to the Act of Parliament then extant, required the 
test to be taken by every one possessed of a public office, and told the 
Commons that, instead of the Militia, he should employ a standing army, 
in which it was well known he had appointed a great many Roman 
Catholic officers, the House of Commons voted an address to his Majesty 
remonstrating against the illegality of his purpose. This address was 
very ill received by that despotic prince, and his determination was 
re-asserted in violent expressions. 

" The Commons,'' says Hume, " were so daunted with this reply, that they kept silence a 
long time ; and when Coke, member for Derby, rose up and said, ' I hope we are all Englishmen, 
and not to be frightened with a few hard words,' so little spirit appeared in that assembly, often 
so refractory and mutinous, that they sent him to the Tower for bluntly expressing a free and 
generous sentiment." 

William Allestrey was his colleague at this time, and he was again 
returned as member for the Borough in the 1st of William and Mary, in 
conjunction with the Hon. A. Gray. 

He also displayed considerable skill in military affairs. In the Revolu- 
tion of 1688, which placed William III. on the throne, he was of essential 
assistance to the Duke of Devonshire, raising a troop of horse by his own 
exertions. He was promoted to the rank of colonel, from which circum- 
stance he is usually described in the family documents of the Melbourne 
branch as " Colonel Coke." Mary, his wife, and Francis, his younger son 
died at Melbourne ; but Colonel Coke travelled beyond the seas, in hopes 
to recover his health, and died at Geneva in 1692, aged thirty-nine. His 
wife died eight years after their marriage, and is buried in the chancel 
at Melbourne. 

At Melbourne Hall are two pictures of Colonel Coke, and two of his 



COKE, OF TRUSLEY. 71 



wife, and a large family piece of their seven children ; Francis, who 
died in infancy, being represented as a cherub. There are also four 
pictures of the Leventhorpe family. 

Elizabeth, or as she was usually styled, Mistress Betsy Coke, the 
eldest daughter of Colonel Coke, inherited, perhaps to a greater extent 
than any other, the singular beauty which marked the female members of 
the family, and her two portraits at Melbourne Hall excite general 
admiration. She never married, but was a " second mother " to her 
brother's children (Thomas Coke, the Vice-Chamberlain), after the death 
of his first wife. She was evidently a thoroughly good, amiable, kindly, 
domesticated woman. She looked after her brother's affairs, and was 
very useful to him, being clever in all matters of business, from the 
management of his elections to the brewing of his beer. She died at her 
sister's, Mrs. Fanshawe's, house, 5th September, 1739, aged sixty-three, and 
was buried, by her own wish, in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Hadley, 
Middlesex, where the following inscription was placed on her gravestone, 
under the Coke arms, in alozenge. 

" Underneath this monument lyeth the Body of Elizabeth Coke, second Daughter of John 
Coke, Esq., of Melbourne, in the County of Derby, and Mary his wife only Daughter of 
Sir Thomas Leventhorpe of Shingle Hall in the county 01 Hertford. She died on the 5* day 
of September, 1739, aged 63 years, and was by her own orders intered here." 

Twenty years afterwards her niece, Susanna Fanshawe, was buried 
near the same spot. 



72 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



MARY, daughter of = 
Philip, Earlof Chesterfield. 
Married 1698. Died in 
London, January 10th, 
1703-4. Buried at Mel- 
bourne, January 22nd, 

'7°3-4- 

First wife. 



Right Honourable 
THOMAS COKE, son 
and heir of John Coke of 
Melbourne. Vice-Cham- 
berlain to Queen Anne ; 
also to George I., and a 
Privy Councillor. Born 
February 1 9th, 1 674. Died 
May nth, 1727. Buried 
at Melbourne, May 25th, 
1727. 



: Hon. MARY HALE, 
sister of Bernard Hale, 
Esq., of Gray's Inn. She 
was one of the Maids of 
Honour to Queen Anne, 
and a most admired and 
accomplished woman. 
Second wife. 



Mary ; married in 1709 to Thomas Lord Viscount Southwell . 
Elizabeth ; married Bache Thornhill, Esq., of Stanton, co. Derby. 



George Lewis Coke, of Melbourne and -Gray's Inn, Esq. Born March 28th, 1715. Died, 
unmarried, January 14th, 17SP. Aged 35, The last male of this branch. Seepage 75. 

Charlotte; born January 26th, 1719. Married 29th April, 1740, Matthew Lamb, Esq., 
of Brockett Hall, Hertfordshire ; created Baronet, January 27th, 1755. 



The Right Honourable Thomas Coke was born at Melbourne, and was 
baptized there February 19, 1674-5. Having the misfortune to lose their 
parents whilst under age, he and the rest of the family were committed to 
the charge of Walter Burdett, of Knowle Hills, second son of Sir Robert 
Burdett, of Foremark. He was educated abroad under Monsieur 
Chau'vois, of Rotterdam. In 1698 he married, at Repton, Lady Mary- 
Stanhope, daughter of the Earl of Chesterfield. She died- six years after 
her marriage (1704), and appears to have been a most amiable and 
valuable character. His second wife, Miss Hale, was one of the Maids 
of Honour to Queen Anne ; a woman of most remarkable beauty and 
rare accomplishments. Her portrait is preserved at Melbourne Hall, and 
was apparently taken in the bloom of womanhood. She appears to have 
been a great favourite with the Duchess of Marlborough (wife of the great 
duke), who describes her " as a very pretty young woman, and of a verie 
good family." Swift says in his Journal to Stella, August 9th, 171 1, 
" Mr. Coke, the Vice-Chamberlain, made me a long visit this morning, but 
the 'toast,' his lady, was unfortunately engaged to Lady Sutherland." 
She was also on terms of friendship with the poet Gay, who was much 
about Court, and received instances of Court favour. 

Mr. Coke was Vice-Chamberlain to Queen Anne, and member for 
Derbyshire witfi Lord Hartington in the reign of William III., and again 
with Mr. Curzon three times in Queen Anne's reign. Lord Chesterfield, 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 73 



writing to his daughter, Lady Mary Coke, complains of his own son, 
Wootton Stanhope, and wishes that he was like her husband, Mr. Coke, 
adding, 

"If, in his place, I had a son like .your husband, I should have gone out of the world 
with the satisfaction of beliving that I had left one behind me who would make one of the 
greatest .men in England." 

•Mr. Coke was tall in stature, of a handsome person and address, was 
reckoned extremely agreeable, and had a charm of manner that disarmed 
enmity, however bitterly expressed. His society was much sought by the 
wits and fine gentlemen of the day : with Lord Bolingbroke particularly 
he was on terms of the greatest intimacy, and with the great Duke and 
Duchess of Marlborough he was well acquainted. Pope, who spared no 
one in his satirical poems, is said to have described the Vice-Chamberlain 
as " Sir Plume " in the " Rape of the Lock." , 

" Sir Plume, of amber snuff-box justly vain, 
And the nice conduct of a clouded cane, 
With earnest eyes and round, unthinking face, 
He first the snuff-box opened — then the case." 

Thomas Coke has been well described " as a star of the first magni- 
tude in the family horizon." 

In 1 7 10 he offered himself as representative for Derbyshire, but was 
defeated by Sir Godfrey Clarke. When the election was turning against 
him, it was said that his presence would have decided the contest in his 
favour, but he could not be- persuaded to appear until it was too late ; 
" yet it was wonderful to see how his presence, when he came, could 
engage." To his relations he appears to have been particularly kind and 
affectionate. He died rather suddenly, after a few days' illness, on Sunday, 
May nth, 1727, only making his will' the day before. He was buried at 
Melbourne, in the chancel of the church, but there is no monument to 
mark the spot where his ashes repose. When digging a grave in late 
years, the vault was found, but it was not opened. Being an admirer of 
the Fine Arts, he possessed a valuable collection of paintings, which at his 
death was sold by auction. He also displayed great taste in gardening : 
his friend Dr. Stratford wrote to him : 

"You may now have leisure to finish your fine gardens, and when they are done to sit 
in security under your own vines and fig-trees." 

L 



74 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



It is probable much of the lovely gardens at Melbourne Hall are the 
result of his work and taste. The following interesting description of these 
gardens is taken from " The Stately Homes of England," by Llewellynn 
Jewitt and S. C. Hall, 1877 : 

" The Gardens and Grounds of Melbourne Hall are its chief attractions. They are a. 
curious and elegant relic of the old style of horticulture, which was brought froin Holland by 
William III., consisting of groves, fountains, statues; 4c., and are of the most strikingly 
peculiar character. In one place, on entering, the visitor finds himself in the Lover's Walk, a literal 
tunnel formed of aged yew-trees, arched and netted, and intergrown one with another, only here and 
there pierced by light. In another he finds himself by the side of a basin, in the centre of which a 
fountain is ever playing ; while in its clear waters magnificent carp are lazily swimming or basking 
in the sun. In another place he comes upon a 'cool grot'— a mineral spring, over which 
is erected a charming rustic grotto of spars, shells, stalactites, and other natural objects. The 
lawn in front of the mansion is laid out in ornamental beds, filled with the choicest flowers, and 
dotted over with groups, single figures, vases, &c, of fine sculpture, of which it may be interesting 
to note that the pair of black figures only cost, about the year 1630, £30, and the Perseus and 
Andromeda £4 5- At the opposite side of the grounds from the house is an alcove of elaborate 
design in wrought iron, bearing the arms of Coke. The Scotch firs which form the background of 
the gardens were planted in the time of William III., the trunks being, in many instances, 80 feet 
in height, and 13 or 14 feet in circumference. One of these Scotch firs, which fell in 1875, was 
known to be 176 years old ; and its dimensions were extraordinary. Leading in a south-easterly 
direction from the parterred lawn, the gardens become entirely changed in character, and the visitor 
wanders through sylvan walks, bounded on either side by impenetrable yew hedges, which intersect 
each other in every direction, at every turn coming upon a fine piece of sculpture, or rippling 
stream, or bubbling fountain. One of the walks leads to a gentle eminence at the junction of 
three splendid glades, with gigantic lime hedges, in the centre of which is placed the enormous 
bronzed vase of lead — one of the finest pieces of modelling in existence — called the " Seasons," 
which, with another exquisite, though plainer, vase placed in close continguity, was presented by 
Queen Anne to her Vice- Chamberlain, Thomas Coke. On the pedestal is the monogram, 
'T. C.,' of the Thomas Coke to whom they were given. 

" The Terrace Walk, formed so as to overlook the magnificent lake, is a pleasant and 
favourite promenade for visitors, and commands some charming views of the grounds, the lake, the 
church, and neighbourhood. 

" The Lake, or Pool, as it is commonly called, is nearly twenty-two acres in extent, and is 
beautifully wooded on its banks, and, with its island, the swans which are always sailing on its 
surface, and the pleasure boats frequently gliding about, forms a beautiful picture from whatever 
point it is viewed. The gardens, it may be added, cover an extent of nearly twenty acres of 
ground ; and it is worth noting that on the wall near the Conservatory and the Muniment Room is 
the finest and largest Wistaria in existence — its extent along the wall being no less than two 
hundred and sixty-four feet." 

When Thomas Coke, the Vice- Chamberlain, came into possession of 
Melbourne, he altered and enlarged some parts of the old house, built 
others, and left the hall as it at present stands. The Coke arms are carved 
on many parts of the building. In the hall are two portraits of Thomas 
Coke, some of the Chesterfield family, two of Mary, his first wife, and two 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 75 



of Miss Hall, his second wife. Also two fine portraits of Queen Anne, 
Prince George ; of Denmark, and George I." 

Thomas Coke, on 1st August, 1714, signed the Proclamation calling 
George I. to the Throne, at the death of Queen Anne. 



GEORGE LEWIS COKE, 

the only son of the Right Hon. Thomas Coke, was born 28th March, 1715. 
His father died when he, George Lewis, was but twelve years old, and 
during the minority his uncle had the management of affairs : he 
appears to have done this with great skill, and given the youthful heir an 
excellent education. He bought the property of King's Newton for his 
nephew of Mrs. and Miss Harding, after a long trial in Chancery. George 
Lewis Coke was sent to Oxford in 1732, and in 1734 he set out on his 
travels, accompanied by his tutor, Mr. J. L. Pasteur, full of joy and spirits, 
and in a disposition to make right use of them. He visited Rome, Naples, 
Venice, and returned by Vienna, Flanders, and Paris. " Travelling," says 
his uncle, " agrees with him in all respects, but his curiosity will cost him 
money." He never married, but paid his addresses to a young lady at the 
time ©f his death, which occurred when he was abroad, January 14th, 1750, 
at the age of thirty-five. His body was conveyed to Melbourne and 
buried in the chancel of the church, but without any epitaph. 

With George Lewis Coke died this branch of the family, which had 
had a most distinguished existence of five generations since it parted from 
the main line. His sister, Charlotte, became sole heiress to his wealth and 
estates. She had previously married Matthew Lamb, who was created 
Baronet January 27th, 1755. He died November 6th, 1768, and was 
buried at Hatfield. Their son, Sir Peniston Lamb, was elevated to the 
Peerage of Ireland, June 8th, 1770, and was created Viscount Melbourne, 
of Melbourne, county Derby, January nth, 1781, deriving his title from 
the estate which had been acquired by his father's marriage with the repre- 
sentative of this branch of the Coke family. He died July 22nd, 1828, 
being succeeded by his son William, as second viscount, who, after holding 
many important posts, became Prime Minister in 1834, which place he 
retained (with only one short interruption) until 1841. Being Premier at 



7 6 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



the time of the Queen's accession to the throne, Lord Melbourne became 
the confidential adviser and virtual guardian of his youthful sovereign, and 
how happily, ably, and conscientiously he discharged the duties of his 
position is best, illustrated by the testimony which even his political 
opponents have borne to his success. In his portraits the Coke type of 
features, which he inherited from his grandmother, may be strongly traced, 
he having been very like some of the present generation. His lordship 
died in 1848, when the title passed to his brother, at whose death it became . 
extinct. The Melbourne property then passed to his sister, the Hon. 
Emily Mary, who married, first (in 1805), Earl Cowper, and secondly (in 
1839), to the late Prime Minister, Viscount Palmerston ; she died nth 
September, 1869. The estate is now the property of Earl Cowper. 

" It is a somewhat curious circumstance, and one worth noting, that 
Melbourne Hall became the seat, within twenty years, of two Prime 
Ministers, and the titles of each, Lords Melbourne and Palmerston, have 
become extinct." 



The Line of George Coke, Bishop of Hereford. 



GEORGE COKE, 5th son of Richard 
Coke of Trusley. (See page 8.) Born 
3rd October, 1570. Bishop of Bristol, 
1632, and of Hereford, 1636. Died 10th 
December, 1646. ^Etat. 76. 



: JANE, daughter of William, soa of Sir 
Clement Heigham, of Heigham, co. 
Suffolk. 



r. Richard Coke, B.D., of Suckley, his heir. See page 82. 

2. John Coke, A.M., was Rector of Whitbom and Ross, in the county of Hereford, and 

Prebendary of Moreton Magna. He was deprived of the former of these livings by the 
Committee of Hereford, 24th September, 1646, as related by Walker in his " Sufferings 
of the Clergy;" but so warmly were his flock attached to their pastor that forcible 
means were ultimately resorted to to dispossess him, "because the parish would not 
otherwise part with him." The' alleged crimes were scandal, and being an incendiary 
against the Parliament. At his other living, which was part of Ross, and worth ^250 
per annum, he was succeeded by the famous Mr. Tombs. He lived, however, to be 
restored ; and died at Whitbourn in a good old age, leaving no surviving issue. His 
widow, Eleanor, at her death bequeathed the property to his nephew, Heigham, the son 
of Richard Coke of Suckley. His first wife was Joyce, daughter of William Cliffe of 
Great Whitley, in the county of Worcester. 

3. William Coke, of Quistmoor, ancestor of the Cokes of Lemore. See page no. 

4. Thomas Coke; died unmarried, 1636. 



George Coke was born '3rd October, 1570 ; educated at Pembroke Hall, 
Cambridge, and was Rector of Bygrave, in Hertfordshire. In 1632 he 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 77 



was consecrated Bishop of Bristol, which see he filled for four years, 
when he was translated to that of Hereford, on 18th June, 1636. He 
was one of the twelve- Bishops who signed the petition and protestation 
to Charles I. and the House of Lords against any laws which should 
pass in that House during their forced and violent absence from it ; and, 
upon the accusation by the Commons of high treason, on December 30th, 
164.1, he was, with the other subscribers, committed to the Tower of 
London. He was also, on 26th April, 1641, fined ^3,000, as one of the 
members of the Convocation of the Province of Canterbury, for the 
canons made then, which the House declared to be against the right 
of Parliament. 

He wrote from his confinement, April 9th, 1642: "We preach daily 
in the Tower, whither floweth such concourse of people as the chappel 
is not able to contayne them." He was liberated May 22nd, 1642, but 
he was still held under recognizance of ^5,000 bail to the King to appear 
at any time within three days' warning. This term was afterwards 
extended to twenty days, on account of the Bishop's residence being at 
too great a distance from town for him to reach London within the 
prescribed limit. This indulgence was granted upon the application of 
Sir John Coke (the younger) and Thomas Coke, his nephews, the latter 
of whom was nearly sent to the Tower for his boldness in " speaking for 
Bishops." He expresses himself "much beholden to these gentlemen, 
who both in this my trouble have been such stay and comfort to me, 
as have given me much ease in them. I praie God requite them both." 

Walker, in his " Sufferings of the Clergy," describes George Coke as 
"born at Trusley, in Derbyshire, of a family that continued several 
hundred years on that estate, and that he had his education at Pembroke 
Hall, where he was taxer in the year 1605 ;" and further states, " when 
Colonel Birch took the city of Hereford in 1645, he rifled the good 
bishop's palace, and afterwards rook up his habitation there until the 
Restoration, and, what is more, had great part of the revenues of the 
bishopric to his own use ; and to this day the manor of Whitbourn, by 
the sorry compliance of those who might have prevented it, continues 
in his family. He had a temporal estate also, called Quistmoor, in the 
parish of Eardisley ; this the Committee of Hereford laid their paws on? 
August 1 2th, 1646, and let it out to a tenant upon condition to' pay- 
to the wife and children of the said Dr. Coke such exhibition as by 



73 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



ordinance is allowed them, provided that she nor the said Dr. himself 
do hereafter act, abet, or contrive to procure any act or thing contrary 
to the votes of the Parliament, or aid or assist* the malignant party. 
This hard usage, as I am informed, hastened his death, which happened 
ioth December, 1646; though Lloyd saith that he bore his sufferings 
with admirable calmness and serenity, and adds 'that he was a pious 
and learned man.' He appears also to have been a meek, grave, and 
quiet man, much beloved by those who were subject to his jurisdiction." 
He married Jane, daughter of William, son of Sir Clement Heigham, 
of Heigham, a family which takes its name from a hamlet of Gaseley, 
in Suffolk, where they had for a long time held considerable posses- 
sions. There is, however, no uninterrupted pedigree of the family, 
except from the time of Richard Heigham, who died in 1340. John 
Weever, in "Ancient Funeral Monuments," 163 1, says, at 

"Thomage there is a faire Tombe under which lieth buried Anne Lady and Wife of Sir 
Clement Heigham, Knight, who died .... Starts 84." "Heigham a towne in Suftolke, which 
gives name to this worthy very ancient family of Heigham. Michael, Lord Montaigne, in his 
Essay of Glory, writes that his Ancestors have been surnamed Higham ; I have no name, saith he, 
that is sufficiently mine: of two I have, the one is common to all my race, yea, and also to others. 
There is a family at Paris, and other at Montpellier, called Montaigne, another in Brittany, and one 
in Zantoigne, surnamed de la Montaigne. The removing of one only Sillable may so confound our 
webbe, as I shall have in their glory, and they perhaps a part of my shame. And my Ancestors 
have hertofore been surnamed Higham, or Hyquem a surname which also belongs to a house well 
knowne in England." 

The Parish Register of Eardisley, "beginninge A.D.- 1630," records that 
" George Cooke late Lord Bishopp of Hereford was burryed the ffiveteenth 
day of December A.D. 1646." A brass plate with the following brief 
inscription was placed in this church : — 

" Hie jacet Reverendus in Christo Pater, Dominus, 
Georgius Couceus, Dominus Episcopus Herefordensis 
Obiit Decimo Sepultus Decimo quinto die Decembris 
Anno Sui Jesu 1646 ^Etatis suae 76. 
Jam licet in occiduo cinere Resurgam.'' 

On the Restoration a handsome cenotaph was raised in Hereford 
cathedral to his memory. It was surmounted with three armorial shields, 
containing the arms of Coke, the see of Hereford, and Coke impaled with 
Heigham. Over the Bishop's effigy was a Latin inscription, on two tablets, 
in the verbose and inflated style of the period, and which, as aptly observed 
by a late learned dignitary of the Church, is " indeed composed in the most 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



79 



unchastised spirit of the Restoration ; " yet, after due allowance has been 
made for the times in which it was written, there can be little doubt that 
he was a man of distinguished learning and ability, of great firmness and 
discretion, and of singular piety. The translation given below was written 
by Francis Hodgson, late Provost of Eton. A perusal of the original, to 
the Christian classic, is a matter of considerable interest ; for by him alone 
can the forcible and happy expression of " Sui JESU," and the concluding 
sentence, "verbo unico sed latissimo semper pronuntiasse, Re- 
SURGAM," be fully appreciated. 

" Hear, Traveller, or behold him, who is no longer heard. Learn his singular sense of 
Discipline. The Prototype has impressed upon the statue the Image of his Person. See him 
teaching a more wonderful God, healing by the Shadow of Peter, dividing the waters by the 
wonder-working mantle of Elijah, (but) not a truer God than in this truth-telling Image. If you 
do not believe the teacher, believe him who experienced that ' Godliness hath the promise of this 
life, as well as of that which is to come.' 

" He experienced it who taught it, this Prelate full of (76) years, happy in a pious and fruitful 
Wife, happy in his marriage chain, every day more pleasing, and in the torch brighter every day, 
above the torch of Hymen. In his three Sacerdotal Sons, and four Sons who were Laymen, but 
theologically pious — fuller of God than of hope inasmuch as filled with the assurance of faith, and 
inspired by the Deity, he so lived as possessing life in patience, and death in desire ; wishing to die 
the death which he hardly felt ; and as soon as he was dead feeling himself immortal. 

" Oh day to be extolled above all length of years the tenth day of December after the tenth 
year of his Episcopal Translation. In the year of his Saviour 1646 the most auspicious day of his 
Translation into Eternity on that birthday of his Glory died the Angel of the Church of Hereford, 
endowed on the same with an equality to the Angels." 

The second tablet contains : — 

" Emulous Posterity will be interested as we hope, in knowing that, which, if men were 
silent, the stones would proclaim, that the excellent and venerable old man George Coke, Lord 
Bishop of Bristol first, then of Hereford, ennobled his generous birth with every instance of Virtue 
worthy of his Ancestors, through their series prolonged from afar, and the knightly splendour of his 
Father, and the Family Lineage. And that he was the greatest ornament of those who had been 
anciently well-born. 

" That he examined Divine Subjects and the highest mysteries with a diligent and severe 
scrutiny, nor unravelled them only, but also taught them with a lucid perspicacity, that he 
administered the Sacred Rites suitably to the worship of the Deity, and to the Piety of the 
Worshippers, trembling with most reverential awe. That he gave answers from the Sacred Oracles 
to those who consulted him concerning Religion. That he set forth the fundamental principles of 
the English Reformation as doctrines to be imbibed in the inmost hearts of the Clergy and People. 
That he lived in the most incorrupt, long, and unwearied practice and exemplification of every kind 
of purity. That he rendered and left himself by his severe gravity an object of respect to his 
Fellows in the mysteries (for by that title he loved to distinguish the Clergy) and most acceptable 
to them by his bland conciliating courtesy and meekness. 

" (His health) at length becoming infirm, and failing among our late commotions, intestine 
tumults, and calamities of the Church, among the confessors of the Priestly Order, imprisoned 
together with him, not without the prerogative of persecution and conformity with Christ, that he 



80 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

proved himself the most courageous fellow-sufferer. That as the consolation of all his sorrows, of 
his life, and of his death he constantly pronounced one but most comprehensive word (which 
was appended like a label to his most trustful lips) I shall rise again." 

- About the year 1845 this monument was removed from the conspicuous 
position it occupied in the nave, by the Committee for Restoring and 
Beautifying the Cathedral. The Bishop's effigy was relegated to an 
obscure corner of one of the transepts, the marble, slabs containing the 
inscriptions were placed on his breast, and the bulk of the monument, 
with its columns and heraldic carvings, was cast into a general debris of 
similar memorials of bygone days. In i860 the Reverend George Coke, 
then representative of the Herefordshire branch, wrote to the Dean request- 
ing to have the monument replaced as before. No attention was paid to 
his repeated requests, and the pieces were left in the crypt. 

The effigy was, however, withdrawn from its obscurity in 1875 by 
some of the Bishop's descendants in Derbyshire and Herefordshire, and 
placed on a costly, but chaste and appropriate, base in the Fifteenth 
Century style, considered by some in elegance and simplicity as far 
superior to the old cumbrous monument. Only one of the marble 
inscription slabs was restored to its proper position over the Bishop's 
effigy ; the other, having previously been put up in another part of the 
cathedral, was . not again disturbed. On the top of the canopy are two 
cherubs holding the Bishop's mitre, and heraldic shield with the Hereford 
and Coke arms ; between them lies the cro?ier, resting on the Bible. 
Two other heraldic shields are also introduced : the Bristol see impaled 
with Coke, and the Coke arms, with proper quarterings, impaled with 
those of the Bishop's wife, the Heigham's. 

The following modern inscription was added : — 

" In Memory of George Coke, fifth son of Richard Coke, of Trusley, Derbyshire, and 
brother of Sir John Coke, Secretary of State to Charles I ; Born 3"* October, 1570; Bishop 
of Bristol 1632; translated to Hereford 18 th June, 1636 ; died 10 th December, 1646 ; 

" -A- meek, grave, and learned man, much beloved by those who were subjected to his 
jurisdiction. 

" In defence of the Church privileges, in the stormy period in which he was Bishop 
of this Diocese, he suffered fine and imprisonment at the hands of the Parliament. 

" This monument was restored by some of his descendants A.D. 1875." 

The good Bishop, writing of his wife in 1642, describes her as the 
"stay and support of his familie," and of her character and virtues he 



COKE OF TRVSLEY. 81 



entertained to the last the highest regard. In the same year he said 
"she is sixty-three years old, and ill of the ague;" and he wrote in 
great distress, "lest deathe should overtake her, which would fall a 
heavie addition," to his other troubles and sorrows. 

A singular ring has been handed down at Lower Moor from generation 
to generation as her wedding ring. It is of massive gold with a hand, 
heart, purse, and a death's head embossed upon it, with the following 
couplet on the inner circle : — 

" These three I give to thee 
Till the fourth set me free." 

After Bishop Coke's death, the see of Hereford lay void for fourteen 
years, until the restoration of King Charles II., when Michael Monk, 
Provost of Eton, and brother of the Duke of Albemarle, was consecrated, 
but died in the same year without having even visited his diocese. 

Archbishop Laud writes in his Diary of July 5th, 1644 (the seven- 
teenth day of his trial) — 

" Here Mr. Pryn came in again, and Testified very boldly, that I gave all Preferments, 

only to such men as were for Ceremonies, Popery and Arminianism Tis Known I 

preferred Bishop Hall to Exeter ; Dr. Potter to Carlisle ; Dr. Cook to Bristol first ; and then 
to Hereford and no one of them guilty of this Charge in the least." 

The Archbishop's annual accounts of his province, presented to the 
King at the beginning of every year, has many entries relative to 
George Coke. He says of him in 1634, when at Bristol, 

" I find in my "Visitation that the Bishop there hath taken very good Pains & care since 
his coming thither." 

The year of his translation to Hereford, Laud reports— 

" I find not many things amiss, though the often change of the Bishop which hath of 
late hapned, hath done no good among them. But some pretensions there are to certain 
Customs, which, I conceive, were better broke than kept ; and I shall do my best to reform them, 
as I have opportunity, and humbly beg your Majesty's Assistance, if I want Power." 

The King writes in the margin, " which y 9 shall not want if you need. 
C. R." The following year, 1637, Laud states— 

" The Bishop certifies me that your Majesty's Instructions are in all things carefully observed, 
and he hath used the utmost Diligence he can, in reclaiming Recusants : and such as will not con- 
form themselves, he hath taken a strict course; to have them proceeded withal, and granted * 

Significavis against divers." 

M 



82 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



In 1639 he states — 

" There is notice come to my Lord the Bishop of some Brownists which schismatically preach 
dangerous Errours, and stir up the People to follow them. And when they hear of any Enquiry 
made after them, they slip out into another Diocess. But the Bishop promises to do his 
best to order them." 

The following extracts from the Diary of Archbishop Laud give a 
full account of the Bishop's troubles with the Parliament : — 

" December 30 th Thursday 1641. — The Arch-Bishop of York & eleven Bishops more, sent 
to the Tower for High Treason, for delivering a Petition and a Protestation into the House, that 
this was not a free Parliament, since they could not come to Vote there, as they are bound, without 
danger of their Lives." 

" February 14. — An Order came, that the twelve Bishops might put in Bail, if they would ; 
and that they should have their Hearing upon Friday, Feby. 25. They went out of the Tower on 
Wednesday, Feby- 16, and were sent in again, Feby- 17" 1 , the House of Commons, on Wednesday 
night, protesting against their coming forth, because they were not in a Parliamentary way made 
acquainted with it." 

" Feb. 19. 1641.— The Twelve Bishops were all at the House, and at the Bar Mr. Glin 
pressed the Charge of High Treason against fhem in the name of the House of Commons. The 
Bishops said not much, but their Counsel were very earnest, that they might be presently Heard: 
But they were nbt admitted to speak. And so the Business was put off to Thursday, Feb. 24. 
That night when the Commons were returned into their own House, there was a motion made to 
proceed against the Bishops by Bill, and not in the other Ordinary Way." 

" Mar. 4, 1 64 1. — At the same time the Petition of the other ten Bishops (which were in the 
Tower) was read. After this a Committee was named to draw up a Bill." 

" Sept. i. 1642. — This day, the Bishops were Voted down in the House of Commons: and 
that night there was great Ringing and Bonfires in the City." 

" Sep. 10, 1642.— The Bishops were Voted down in the Upper House. So it seems I 
must live to see my Calling fall before me." 

" October 15, 1642.— It was Resolved that all Rents and Profits of all Arch-Bishops, 
Bishops, Deans and Chapters, and other Delinquents should be sequestred for the Use and 
Service of the Common- Wealth." 



RICHARD COKE of Suckley, in the = MARY, daughter of John Kayse of 
county of Worcester, B.D. ; Vicar of Upleadin, in the county of Gloucester, 
Eastnor, in the county of Hereford ; Esq. 
Prebendary of Bullinghope, and Chan- 
cellor of the Diocese. Son and heir to 
George Coke, Bishop of Hereford. Died 
2nd January, 1681. 



i 1. Heigham Coke, his heir. See page 83. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 83 



This Richard Coke bought the estate of Suckley. He suffered during 
the Civil War, and was deprived of his livings, as were his two brothers. 
He is mentioned by Walker in his *' Sufferings of the Clergy," who says 
that "he lived to be restored." 



ELIZABETH, daughter = HEIGHAM COKE, son = MARY, daughter of Sir 



of Sir Willoughby D'Ewes, 
of Stow Langtoft Hall, in 
the county of Suffolk, Bart. 
She died 5th April, 1705. 
Second wife. 



and heir of Richard Coke Nicholas Lechmere, one 
of Suckley. Died 3rd of the Barons of the Ex- 
November, 1 719. chequer. 

First wife. 



1. D'Ewes Coke, his heir. See page 84. 

2. Heigham Coke. Buried at Suckley, 3rd March, 1734. 

3. Priscilla. 

Heigham Coke, the Bishop's grandson, took his name from his grand- 
mother's family. From his second wife the name of D'Ewes has been 
borrowed instead of a Christian name in every subsequent generation. The 
Lechmere family, to which his first wife belonged, is a family of great 
antiquity, said to have migrated from the Low Countries, and to have 
received a grant of land, called "Lechmere's Field," in Hanley, from 
William the Conqueror. During the Civil Wars the Lechmeres were on 
the side of the Parliament. The D'Ewes family is now extinct. No 
property came to the Cokes by this marriage. An intimacy between one 
of the D'Ewes and one of the Cokes seems to have existed while at the 
Temple together, and Coke lent D'Ewes small sums of money : some 
uncancelled bonds from him were in the possession of the late Mr. Coke, of 
Poole. Elizabeth, the second wife of Heigham Coke, was a descendant of 
Sir Symonds D'Ewes, the great antiquarian, who also made very large 
historical and topographical collections, which are now in the College-at- 
Arms and the Bristol Museum, where there is a very curious life of Sir 
Symonds, written by himself, of which some part was published in 1845. 
He says in this : — 

" I ever accounted it a great outward blessing to be well descended, it being in the gift only 
of God and nature to bestow it ; for though Kings and Princes may advance their basest vassals to 
wealth and honour, and so make them great and fortunate upon a sudden, yet it lies not in their 
power to make them anciently or nobly extracted ; and therefore such men, after their rising, have 



8 4 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



always been obnoxious to the contempt and scom of the truly ancient nobility, and the rather if 

they have been put on by their flatterers to pretend to an adulterated and false extraction In 

the search and researches which I have made of mine own, I never aimed to find out anything but 
the naked and simple truth ; I ever accounted the meanest tree duly deducted of greater value than 
all the spurious and feigned pedigrees that wit or invention could cog and frame." 

His ancestor, Adrian D'Ewes, descended from the ancient stem of Des 
Ewes, Dynasts, or Lords, of the Duchy of Gelderland, had settled in Eng- 
land not many years after the beginning of Henry VI II., when that 
Duchy had been much wasted and depopulated by the intestine wars 
which raged between Charles the Duke thereof, Philip the Archduke, and 
Charles his son. John Weaver, in his "Ancient Funeral Monuments," 
published in 163 1, gives a full, interesting account of the pedigree and 
arms of this family. 



CATHERINE, 
daughter of Francis 
Hurt of Alderwas- 
ley, Esq. 



Second wife. 



= D'EWES COKE, Esq., son and; 
heir of Heigham Coke. Of Suck- 
ley and Stapenhill, and of Burnas- 
ton, Fenny Bentley, Alsop-in-le- 
Dale, Kirkby, and Pinxton, in 
right of Frances, his first wife. 
Died at Mansfield-Woodhouse, 
and buried at Pinxton( 1 ). Octo- 
ber 23rd, 1751. 



FRANCES, 5th daughter 
and co-heir of William 
Coke, Esq., of Trusley. 
Born 13th June, 1702. 
(See page 45.) Married, 
at Marston-on-Dove, Oct. 
1 2th, 1720. 



First wife. 



( 5 ) 
(') ( 6 ) 



( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
( 4 ) 



1. Francis Coke. Born August, 1721 ; died young. 

2. D'Ewes Coke. Bom October, 1723; died young. 

3. Ballidon Coke. Born December, 1724 ; died young. 

4. George Coke, his heir. See page 86. . 



1. Charles Coke. Died in the West Indies, S.P. He left a small estate at Tobago, 

which was sold by his brother D'Ewes to the tenant, to avoid litigation about the 
rents. 

2. Francis Coke. Died young, 1731. 

3. Richard Coke. Died young. 

4. D'Ewes Coke. Born October, 1743. He passed most of his life in Newfoundland, 

where he was for many years Chief Justice. He was shipwrecked off that coast, 
but his life was preserved. He married, late in life, Deborah, a daughter of Mr. 
Stokes of Birmingham, and subsequently settled at Poole, in Dorsetshire, where 
he died, January 17th, 1813. jEtat. 70, S.P. 

5. William Coke. Born November, 1745. Died young, February, 1746. 

6. Bridget. Married Thompson. She had two daughters, who at her death were 

adopted by D'Ewes Coke, and lived with him at Poole. 

7. Catherine. Married March 30th, 1757, the Rev. James Lynam. Chaplain to Lord 

Byron, and had seven children. 

8. Jane. Married .... Beet, of Sheffield. 

9. Elizabeth. Died young, 1741. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 85 



Extracts from Church Registers. 

(') "Burials, Oct. 23, 1751, D'Ewes Coke, Esq." (Pinxton Register.) 

( s ) " 1721 Aug'. 15. Francis son of D'Ewes Coke Esq. was baptized." (Trusley Register.) 

( 3 ) " 1723 Oct. 21. D'Ewes, son of D'Ewes Coke Esq. baptized." ( Longford Register.) 

( 4 ) " 1724 Dec. y e II th Ballydon, son of D'Ewes Coke, baptized." (Trusley Register.) 

( 5 ) "D'Ewes son of D'Ewes Coke Esq. & Catherine his wife was baptized Oct. 28, 1743." 

(Kirkby Register.) 
(°) "Will, son of D'Ewes Coke & M"> Catherine his wife bap. Nov. 8* 1745." (Mansfield- 

Woodhouse.) 
C) " William son of D'Ewes Coke buried Febr. 10 1746." (Ditto.) 
(8) "Married the Rev. Jas. Lynam and M» Catherine Coke, March 30,, I7S7-" (Ditto.) 

D'Ewes Coke, of Suckley, son and heir of Heigham, was at one time 
the maker of the fortunes of this branch, and himself afterwards ruined it. 
He married his kinswoman, Frances Coke, the co-heiress of Trusley, and 
with her obtained Kirkby Hall, Pinxton, Fenny Bentley, Alsop-in-the- 
Dale, part of Burnaston, &c. He possessed Suckley and other property in 
his own right. He was then opulent, but he was careless, indolent, and no 
economist. After the death of his first wife, by whom he had four children, 
he married Miss Hurt, who was extravagant, and who had a second family 
of nine by him. He sold Suckley, and all his property in that part of the 
country, and came to reside on a very reduced scale at Kirkby Old Hall. 
While there he sold all the Pinxton property which it was in his power 
to sell, and destroyed for ever that influence over the parish which the 
family would otherwise have had. His tenants plundered him, and then 
bought their farms at trifling prices. D'Ewes, his only surviving son by 
his second wife, was born in Kirkby Hall, as appears by the parish register. 
No less than seven of his children died young. From Kirkby Hall he 
removed to Mansfield-Woodhouse, where he rented a house, and where his 
youngest son was born, in 1745. He died here, 23rd October, 1751, and 
was buried in the chancel at Pinxton. In 1801 a mural monument was 
put up in the chancel there by his son D'Ewes, with this inscription :— 

" In Memory of D'Ewes Coke Esq. son of Heigham Coke of Suckley in the County of 
Worcester, who departed this life 23 of October, 1751, and lies buried in the Chancel of this Church. 
He married to his first wife Frances, daughter of William Coke of Trusley, and secondly to Catherine 
daughter of Francis Hurt, Esq. of Alderwaslie in this County, by his first wife he had issue three 
sons, Balliden, D'Ewes and George, and two Daughters, Catherine & Jane, and by his second wife 
he had issue three sons, Charles, D'Ewes, & William, and one Daughter Bridget. In pious 
rememberance this monument was erected by his 5 th & only surviving son,— D'Ewes, A.D. 1801. 

His first wife was buried at Trusley, and the achievement still remains 
in that church. The shield contains :— 1, Coke, with a star to denote his 



86 COKE OF TRVSLEY. 

house ; 2, Owen ; 3, Odingsells ; 4, Sacheverell ; 5, Kirkby ; 6, Coke ; 
and his wife's arms upon an escutcheon of pretence as an heiress. On this 
shield the Coke arms contain only two crescents, the third being covered 
by the canton. Where his second wife was buried is not known. She is 
said to have resided at Doncaster after his death ; but her daughter 
Catherine was married at Martsfield-Woodhouse in 1757. George was the 
only child who survived him by his first wife. 

There is an interesting document now at Brookhill Hall showing that 
Frances Coke took the oaths of allegiance to George I., after the discovery 
of the conspiracy to bring in the Pretender : — 

' ' At the General Quarter Sessions held at Chesterfield, on the 8 th day of October, 1 723, before 
John Evory Bart, & Robert Wilmot de Osmaston — 

" These are to certify that ffrances Coke wife of D' Ewes Coke of Longford, in the said county 
Esq', did at the said Quarter Sessions of the Peace, take, repeat, and subscribe the Oaths of 
Allegiance, Supremacy and Abjuration, mentioned in a Statute made in the first year of the Reign 
of his present Majesty King George, entitled, an Act for the further security of his Majesty's 
person and Government, and the Succession of the Crown in the Heirs of the late Princess Sophia, 
being Protestants, and for extinguishing the Hopes of the pretended Prince of Wales, and his open 
and secret Abettors, and that the same is registered according to the Direction of the said Act. 

"Joseph Hayne — CI. of y e Peace." 

From this document it appears that D'Ewes lived at one time at 
Longford. His third son was also baptized in that parish church, and in a 
Deed of Revocation, dated 22nd Sept., 173 1, he is also described as of 
Longford. There is also an interesting deed showing that two days before 
the marriage of D'Ewes with Frances Coke he was bound under a penalty 
of ^20,000 to make a settlement of lands to the yearly value of £400 on 
her, after he had by the marriage got possession of her property. 



GEORGE COKE, 3rd son and heir 



to D'Ewes Coke. Born 1725 
Of Kirkby and Pinxton. An officer in 
the 3rd Dragoon Guards. Died 17th 
November, 1759, and buried at Ken- 
sington. 

^Etat. 34. 

1. Rev. D'Ewes Coke, Rector of Pinxton, &c. His heir. See page 89. 

2. George Coke. Born November 21st, 1750; died in infancy, November 23rd, 1750. 



ELIZABETH, daughter of Rev. Seth 



Ellis, of Brampton, co. Derby. Born 
31st August, 1727; died 1757. Buried 
at Mortlake. 

MlxX. 30. 



(»)(*) 



3. Frances. Born August 6th, 1753 ; died in infancy, August nth, 1753. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 87 



Extracts from Mansfield- Woodhouse Register, 

(') Baptisms—" George son of George Coke Gent. & M rs . Eliz. his wife born Nov. 21=' 

1750, baptiz'd same day." 
( a ) Baptisms — " Frances; daughter of George Coke Gent. & M™. Eliz. his wife born Aug 1 . 

6 th 1753, baptiz'd same day." 

( 3 ) Burials — "George, son of George Coke Gent. Nov. 23, 1750." 

( 4 ) Burials— " Frances, Dau r . of George Coke Gent, Aug*. II, 1753." 

George Coke, of Kirkby and Pinxton, was the only surviving child of 
D'Ewes Coke by his first wife, Frances, the co-heiress of Trusley. He was 
in the army, and there is a large brass dog-collar at Kirkby Hall inscribed, 
" Cornet Coke, 3 rd Dragoon Guards." He sold Dalbury, Burnaston, 
Alsop-in-the-Dale, and Stapenhill (which came from his uncle Ballidon) to 
pay his sisters' fortunes. He had then nothing left but Kirkby Hall, and 
one farm at Pinxton, called " Melbourne " — together not then worth ^200 
a year. He went to Chesterfield to recruit for his regiment, and there fell 
in love, at a race ball, with a fine young woman, the daughter of the Rev. 
Seth Ellis, Rector of Brampton. He married her almost immediately, and 
had only one surviving child by her, the Rev. D'Ewes Coke, of Brookhill 
Hall. She did not bring him any property, and she died at Mortlake ten 
years after their marriage. They appear to have lived for three years at 
Mansfield-Woodhouse, where two children were born, who died in infancy, 
and were buried there. There is a small portrait, or miniature, of her in 
Indian ink at Brookhill. She appears to have been a tall, fine woman, and 
resembled the present family, who are tall, though George Coke and his 
father were known to have been little men. 

After the death of his wife, and having left the army, George Coke 
went to the coast of Africa on a mercantile adventure, and, returning home 
with gold-dust, was captured by the French. He caught fever on his 
arrival in London, and died at the Crown Inn, Kensington, at eight a.m., 
on 7th November, 1759, and was buried in the churchyard at Kensington 
on 9th November. A mural tablet is placed to his memory in Pinxton 
Church : — 

"In Memory of George Coke only surviving son of D'Ewes Coke, Esq., and Frances his 
wife who died at Kensington in the County of Middlesex, on the 7 th of November, 1759, and 
lies buried' there. He married Elizabeth daughter of the Revd. Seth Ellis of Brampton in 
this County by whom he left issue one son D'Ewes." 

He left the guardianship of his then infant child to Mr. Lillyman, of 
Brookhill Hall, who had purchased considerable part of the Coke estates. 



88 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



Mr. Lillyman, dying unmarried, left them to his sister, and she dying also 
unmarried, and her family becoming extinct, she returned them again, with 
all her other property, to this ward by will. This act of liberality restored 
this part of the family to its former consequence. 

Of George Coke's brothers and sisters of the half-blood : — D'Ewes 
passed most of his life in Newfoundland, where he had a place in the 
Customs, and in the Judicature of the island. He married, late in life, 
Deborah Stokes, of Birmingham, a person of no family or fortune, and had 
no issue by her. It is remarkable that he, when only sixty-one years of 
age, was godfather to his own father's great-great-grandson. He settled at 
Poole in Dorsetshire, and died there January 17th, 1813, aged seventy. 

The following letter, written by D'Ewes to John Coke of Debdale, is 
interesting, showing that the latter had samples of clay sent him from. 
Newfoundland at the time when he had the china works at Pinxton : — 

"Bath, 29 July, 1800. 
"Dear Sir, — My last respects to you was from Newfoundland in Dec. 1797 accompany- 
ing several samples of clay from that Country Since that period I have not returned to 

Nfld. My ill state of health prevented me; and has been the means of a number of vicissi- 
tudes taking place in my worldly concerns. However I thank God I am now much recovered 
in my health and hope notwithstanding all my misfortunes, that I shall be able to get on with 
reputation to myself & family. My residence is at Poole in Dorsetshire, but at present I am 
at Bath. My intention is at present that Mrs. Coke and myself will pay you a visit at Brook- 
hill Hall in the course of next month & remain &c. 

"D'Ewes Coke." 

Charles Coke was a surgeon in the West Indies, and died there, S. P. 
He left a small estate in Tobago, which was sold by his brother D'Ewes to 
the tenant to avoid litigation about the rents. 

Mr. Lynam, who married Catherine Coke, was chaplain to Lord Byron, 
and was without preferment. He had eleven children by her, and some 
came to the lowest want ; none were even in easy circumstances: The 
late Mr. D'Ewes Coke, of Brookhill, gave some of his family a house in 
Pinxton, where they remained rent free until 1874. 

Bridget Coke, who married .... Thompson, left two daughters, who 
were adopted by Mr. Coke, of Poole, and lived with him. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 89 



The Rev. D'EWES COKE, Rector = 
of Pinxton and South Normanton, son 
and heir of George Coke. Of Kirkby, 
and of Brimington in right of Hannah 
his wife. Succeeded to Brookhill in 
1780. Born in 1747. Died at Bath 
12th April, 1811. Buried in Pinxton 
Church. 

^Etat 64. 



1 — 



HANNAH, daughter and .heiress of 
George Heywood, Esq., of Brimington 
Hall, co. Derby. 
She died 26th September, 181 8. 



1. D'Ewes Coke. Born 22nd December, 1774. His heir. See page 102. 

2. Sir William Coke, Barrister-at-Law. Chief Justice of the Island of Ceylon. Died at 

Trincomalee, 1st September, 1818. jEtat. 43. See page 95. 

3. John Coke, High Sheriff for the co. of Notts in 1830, and Deputy Lieutenant of the 

same. Married Susanna, only daughter and heiress of Francis Ballidon Wilmot, 
Esq., of Trusley and Spondon. Died 14th September, 1841. .lEtat. 65. See page 98. 

4. Hannah. Married in 1819 to Rev. Ellis Williams, Rector of Pinxton. She died 

1833, S.P. 



The Rev. D'Ewes Coke was left an orphan at the early age of eleven. 
Mr. Lillyman, of Brookhill Hall, was appointed his guardian. John Coke 
wrote thus of this gentleman : — 

" My father's guardian was a most remarkable character. Having been bred to the Law he 
had acquired a degree of confidence and boldness in matters of business, which joined with a strong 
intellect, a stern temper, and an authoritative manner, caused him to be much respected 
among the population of his neighbourhood, he was a good deal employed in the early part 
of his life in jnanaging Estates, but latterly having a competent income, he declined all business 
and became a country Squire. His picture at Brookhill shows him to have been good looking, and 
the account of those who knew him is that he was tall, well made, and had a commanding 
appearance. I have heard my father tell the following anecdote of him : — He kept a small pack of 
Harriers, which were most of them quartered on the farmers in the Village, when he intended to 
hunt the whipper-in went to some high ground behind the house, called the Terrace, and blew his 
horn ; the dogs soon repaired to him, and after hunting were dismissed to their quarters with as 
little trouble. The Possessor at that time of the Carnfield Estate was Edward Revel, who was of 
a warm temper and fond of coursing, it sometimes happened that the greyhounds killed the hare 
that the hounds were following, and on such occasions Mr. Lillyman never failed to reproach Mr. 
Revel with spoiling his sport ; one day Mr. Revel being very much vexed with what Mr. Lillyman 
had said to him on a like occasion put himself in a violent passion and bestowed a great deal of 
abuse on Mr. Lillyman, which he took no further than merely to reply, ' Pay thy debts, 
Ned.' My father from his own account was but harshly treated under the roof of his guardian." 

Mr. Lillyman died when D'Ewes was eighteen. He was buried at 
Pinxton. 

D'Ewes was placed at Repton School, having been first a short time at 
Hatfield Gate, near Alfreton. From Repton he went to Cambridge and 
took orders. He married, at about the age of twenty-five, Hannah, only 

daughter of Mr. Heywood, of Brimington Hall, and by her that property 

N 



9 o COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



came, as did Totley, Dore, and Swaddale, which were devised to her by 
her uncle Mr. Gallimore, of Chesterfield. Mr. Heywood had a son, but he 
died unmarried. He purchased the next presentation of the Rectory of 
South Normanton for his son-in-law, and Pinxton Mr. Coke had in his 
own right. He was inducted into Pinxton in 1771. The Pinxton 
Register has entries of baptisms, &c, made by him in that year. One of 
the five bells in the tower of South Normanton has the inscription, 
" W. B. & Co. 1774 D. Coke, Rector." 

The Rev. D'Ewes Coke lived at South Normanton, in the parsonage, 
about eight or nine years, and on Mrs. Lillyman's death in 1780 (she was 
buried at Pinxton, Nov. 7th), and the bequest to him for life and his 
children, in remainder in fee, of all the Lillyman estates in Derbyshire, 
Notts, and Cheshire, he removed to Brookhill Hall. The estates which he 
then inherited had been left by Mr. Lillyman to his sister, who appears to 
have been a sensible worthy woman, and was so anxious that D'Ewes 
should re-establish the fortunes of the family that, when he married, not 
thinking the match suitable, she broke off all intimacy with him, and 
intended leaving her property elsewhere. After almost giving up the hope 
of reconciling her, she was brought round by the following trifling circum- 
stance : — Having been out shooting one day and killed a brace of phea- 
sants, Mr. Coke, on the proposition of his wife, sent them to Mrs. Lilly- 
man, to see if she would accept them. Luckily she did so, and an invitation 
to dinner succeeding, a reconciliation took place. 

Of Miss Heywood, the wife of D'Ewes Coke, it appears that her 
mother died early, and she became her father's pet, which circumstance 
gave an unfortunate stamp to her future character. 

Brimington Hall was originally the property of the Gill family, to which 
belonged Colonel Gill, one of Cromwell's commanders. It is a picturesque 
old manor house, wainscoted with black oak, and contained some fine old 
carving of Elizabethan date, mostly sold in i 864; but a few pieces, including 
Mary Queen of Scots' chair, from Tutbury Castle, were removed to Debdale 
Hall. In one of the bed-rooms is a singular and beautiful carved group 
over the chimney-piece : a winged figure is holding a pair of scales, into 
which another is putting heavy weights, while a third, without wings, is 
blowing soap bubbles into the opposite scale, which outweighs the other. 
The figure holding the scales extends one hand and says: — 

"Quis levior? Cui plus ponderis addit Amor;" 



COKE OF THUS LEY. 91 



a distich taken from Quarks' "Emblems." The date, 1645, and the initials, 
E. G., are over it. Colonel Gill's sword, with C. R. on it, hung over this 
carving during the time Brimington belonged to Colonel E. T. Coke (the 
property having been given him on his marriage by his father), but the 
sword is now in the hall at Debdale. 

Brimington was sold by Colonel Coke in 1864, after breaking off the 
entail. With the proceeds of the sale Hardley Hill farm, adjoining 
Trusley, was bought. The old Hall was resold in January, 1879, the pur- 
chaser being Mr. Richard George Coke, and it has thus again returned to 
the family. It is now placed in a thorough state of repair. 

Totley and Dore are situated under the Great East Moor, near 
Sheffield, and were desirable sporting properties, but little visited by the 
family. Dore was sold in 1874 by Mr. Coke, of Brookhill. Swaddale is a 
small spot near Chesterfield ; this and Totley are now the property of Mr. 
Coke, of Brookhill. The Sheffield Archaeological Society visited Totley 
Hall in May, 1875, and an interesting paper was afterwards read on the 
subject, from which the following are a few extracts : — 

" Standing on the confines of cultivation, with avast tract of moorland at its back, Totley has 

been long better known for its pure air than for its gaiety In the latter part of the last century 

the Totley estate was held by Andrew Gallimore Esq., who by will dated 14th April, 1791, gave 
to his niece Hannah, wife of the Rev. D'Ewes Coke, of Brqokhill Hall, all his messuages, farm 

lands, &c Totley Hall was for many years the residence of the late D'Ewes Coke, Esq., who 

took some pride in the old place, and stored it with quaint furniture. It stands with its back to 
Totley village, in a charming situation, a short distance from the lane that brandies to the left 
from the turnpike road, and enjoys a pleasant prospect over fields and woods towards Holmesfield. 
As a structure the Hall is one of those rambling old houses that grew rather than were built. 
Without being large it is roomy, and is as irregular as the most erratic genius could desire. We 
should not like to say on how many levels the ground floor lies. Entering by the front door, you 
find yourself mounting by one step into an old squire's hall, hung around with ' pikes and guns and 
bows,' trophies of the chase, and the instruments of the angler. A fine old dining table crosses the 
upper end of the room, and there are oak chairs of as many patterns as could be found in an old 
curiosity shop. A top story has been added in modern times to a well-carved oak cabinet, by the 
ingenious adaptation of old chair-backs, and it is used as a lack for pewter plates, with which it is 
well filled. Against the side of the chimney breast hangs a clock, curiously and wonderfully made, 
and on a nail near the top of the room is suspended an old leather wattle, which our forefathers 
slung round their shoulders when filled with ale... ..Up one or. two steps the explorer proceeds 
to the bottom of a staircase leading to the chamber floor, and right and left lie the drawing room 
and one of the several kitchens the house contains. The drawing room is a charming apartment, 
with old cane chairs and couch, a curiously-constructed table, and a whatnot in oak, at once 
massive and effective. In one corner of the room is a narrow loop-hole window, that suggests 
the time when the Lord of Totley could protect himself from freebooters, or even stand a small 
siege. The bed-rooms are as quaint as the reception rooms, and as full of old furniture, in the 
form of carved beds, dressing glasses, and rare oak chests of different dates and designs. The 
builders of Totley Hall were anything but particular to a staircase more or less. We have 



92 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

explored two, leading to entirely different sets of apartments, and there are probably others, for the 
bed-rooms we have seen certainly fall short of covering the whole area of the house. The ground 
on which the Hall is built slopes towards the east, and the house has been made in steps to fit the 
ground, instead of the ground made to fit the house. The result is a place very picturesque, and 
possibly comfortable ; not at all in the style of the suburban villa residence, nor owning allegiance 
to any particular style of architecture. The furniture, collected so industriously from all the 
neighbourhood by the late Mr. Coke, looks appropriate enough in this rambling mansion. Like 
the house it fills, it is the child of many parents, the creation of many brains and many hands. Not 
often in this changeful world do we see old things kept together as this house and furniture have 
been, or so well and intelligently cared for." 

Werneth, in Cheshire, which was among Mr. Lillyman's bequests, is a 

superb situation, standing on a mountain which overlooks the whole of 

the Vale Royal of England. It was sold by Sir William Coke, second 

son of the Reverend D'Ewes Coke (who had the remainder in fee) when 

he was in Ceylon. In a letter to his father, dated February nth, 1805, he 

says : — 

"I had made up my mind to try the value the public set upon Wernith by setting it up to 
auction. I shall stick at £7,500." 

Pilsley, a farm in Morton parish, also bequeathed by Mrs. Lillyman, 
was sold by John, third son of Reverend D'Ewes Coke, who had the 
remainder in fee, when he bought Debdale Hall, 20th June, 1803. 

Brookhill Hall originally belonged to the Crown, and was part of or 
adjoining to the chase of Fullwood. It was granted by James I. to one 
Lindley ; from Lindley to Middleton ; from M,Mdleton to the Revells ; by 
the Revells was sold to Sir Eardley Wilmot, and by him to Mr. Lillyman, 
who quitted his residence at Werneth and removed to it at the latter part 
of his life. It was then entirely in the old fashion : the small village of 
Brookhill stood in front, from which it was only separated by a court- 
yard and a highway ; parallel with the highway was a long straight green 
alley, and on the other side the alley were some square fish-ponds, with 
leaden statues and urns on their brinks. On this alley Mr. Lillyman, with 
his friends, after drinking strong beer till their faces shone like blazing 
suns, used to run races in their gold-laced waistcoats, without coats or 
wigs, to the great delight of the passengers on the road. The ponds were 
joined together in a serpentine form, and the highway thrown behind the 
house some seventy years ago. The courtyard was destroyed, the stables 
removed and rebuilt, and the lane in front thrown into a fine open lawn. 
A new garden was built farther from the house, and in the house itself 
many alterations and additions were made. The Rev. D'Ewes Coke 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 93 



bought of the Wilmots the moiety of the coal which they reserved on the 
partition of the Trusley .estates, and established the Pinxton Colliery 
about the year 1788. The Wilmot share of the coals had been once 
previously sold after the death of the Trusley co-heiress, it having been 
put up to auction at the sign of the George, in Derby, on 8th April, 
1756, when Mr. F. B. Wilmot was "the only and best bidder," for 
£620. Mr. Coke also added by purchase three small farms in Pinxton 
to the property of his family, one in Totley, and Langton Hall Farm 
in Kirkby. 

On Good Friday, 12th April, 181 1, the Rev. D'Ewes Coke died 
at Bath, aged sixty-four, after a few days' illness. He had been many 
years troubled by an asthmatic affection, and had lost his sight, which 
he first injured by etching on copper, . an occupation of which he was 
extremely fond, and at which he was a very clever artist ; but even under 
this affliction he continued for many years to exercise his sacred calling, 
knowing the service off by heart. The sense of hearing in his left ear was 
dull in consequence of a blow on the head given him by a schoolmaster in 
his infancy : in other respects he enjoyed good health, which was secured 
by a remarkably even and regular life. He imagined to the last moment 
that he had only caught a cold, and expired at last in the act of walking 
to bed at half-past nine at night. His body was brought from Bath and 
was buried in the vault under the pew belonging to Brookhill Hall in" 
Pinxton church, on Tuesday, 23rd April, 181 1. He has been truly 
described as "a talented and, what is better, a very good man." A 
monument is erected to him in the chancel of Pinxton church, with 
the following inscription: — 

" Sacred to the memory of D'Ewes Coke, B.L., only son of George Coke, Esq., an! 
Elizabeth his wife, Rector of this Parish and of South Normanton, who died at Bath, on the 
12th April, 181 1, in the 64 th year of his age : and is buried in the vault in this Church. He 
married Hannah, only dau r - of George Heywood, of Brimington Hall, in this county, by whom 
he had three sons D'Ewes, William, John, and one daughter, Hannah." 

The following lines, " occasioned by seeing his funeral on April 23rd, 
181 1," were written by Thomas Brown, a stocking weaver, of South 
Normanton Woodhouse. The poet died in 1848, aged sixty-seven. A 
memoir of him was published in 1873 by Spencer Hall, concluding with 
the words, " I wish old England had a greater abundance of such men." 



94 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



" Amidst surrounding hosts of sorrowing friends, 
Our long-lov'd pastor to the vault descends ; 
His numerous flock attends the sacred place ; 
Behold what anguish beams in every face ! 
The last sad sight of him they held so dear 
Wrings from each eye affection's tenderest tear. 
Those silent drops speak loudly as they roll 
The fond regard existing in the soul. 
Without restraint, then, let your sorrow flow ; 
He well deserved the tribute you bestow. 
I low oft we've sesn him in that pulpit stand, 
And raise his voice and lift the graceful hand, 
Pour forth, in Virtue's and in Truth's defence, 
Almost unrivall'd strains of eloquence ! 
His mild, persuasive, and pathetic speech, 
His moving accents every heart would reach; 
His lofty thoughts and sentiments refin'd 
At once would ravish and enrich the mind. 
He framed his wise appropriate discourse 
The Gospel's sacred precepts to enforce ; 
Then man's relative duties he defined, 
T' himself, his Maker, and to all mankind ; 
His heart with parental feelings mov'd, 
With pleasure counsel'd, but with pain reprov'd. 
He strove that every blessing might await 
His flock in this and in a future state ; 
And, to accomplish the great ends he sought, 
Show'd by example what his precepts taught. 
He liv'd a life of mildest innocence, 
Adorned with actions of benevolence ; 
Pure charity within his bosom glow'd, 
And thence to every worthy object flow'd ; 
But, most of all, he spent his time and store 
To instruct the children of the helpless poor; 
He every means within his power would use 
The early taste for learning to infuse, 
111 habits from their youthful minds to chase, 
And plant the fairer virtues in their place. 
To whafs selected from his boundless store 
The Muse could add ten thousand virtues more, 
Yet these would fail his greatness to set forth, 
For human language cannot speak his worth. 
Say this : through life his heavenly course he ran, 
The perfect Christian and the useful man, 
By long attachment to our hearts endear'd, 
And long his memory shall be revered. 



'Thomas Brown. 



" Normanton Woodhouse, May 14th, 181 1. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 9S 



Sir William Coke. 
William Coke, the second son of the Rev. D'Ewes Coke, was born 
in the year 1775. He followed his elder brother to Aspley School and 
Westminster. From the College at Westminster he was elected a 
student of Christ Church College, Oxford. He was also admitted of 
Lincoln's Inn, and in a few years after his call to the Bar he was 
appointed Advocate Fiscal of the Island of Ceylon, in 1808. His 
mother gives an account, in a letter to his younger brother, of how, in 
a few months after his arrival there, he became Chief Justice of the 
Island. 

" Brookhill Hall, October 1st, 1809. 

" Dear John, — 

"I have great news to communicate Lord Mansfield has forward ed a large 
packet to ns from your brother William, written in February and 3rd of March, telling us how 
extremely well he was, and how very fine the climate was. Ey a very unexpected and unlooked- 
for circumstance, he was removed from the situation of Advocate Fiscal to Chief Justice of Ceylon; 
salary, ^5,000 per annum. This sudden change took place by Mr. Lushington and the Governor 
disagreeing in opinion about acquitting a prisoner, upon which Lushington gave in his resignation. 
Your brother used every effort, and reasoned with him not to resign, but he was positive, and John- 
stone, the Puisne Judge, was in England ; therefore the guns were ordered to be fired, and the seals 
delivered, and he took his seat as Chief Justice. He says he is on perfect good terms with both the 
Governor and Mr. Lushington, and feels quite satisfied with himself. It remains now to be decided 
in England whether Governor Maitland's appointment is confirmed, and he keeps his seat. If not, 
he shall come to England about this time twelvemonth, as it won't do to descend, according to his 
feelings. 
♦ " Your affct. mother, 

"To John Coke, Esqre. "H. Coke. 

"At the Rev. F. Wilmot's, Spondon." 

The early and sad death of Sir William Coke, after holding his 
high position in the Island of Ceylon for ten years, and just before 
his intended return home, on a pension of £1,200, is fully described in 
several letters now at Debdale, from which the following are selected : — 

From W. Wm. Vanderstraaten, Registrar of the Supreme Court, Colombo. 

" Sir, 

"I am exiremely concerned to convey to you the very afflicting and melancholy 
intelligence of the unexpected and sudden death of our much-beloved Puisne Justice, the Honourable 
Sir William Coke. 

" This grievous event took place on his circuit to the northern part of the island 8 days 
after arrival at Trincomalee. He left Colombo on 12th August, and travelled by land as far as 
Gandeve Bay, about 106 miles distant from Colombo, where he embarked on board the Government 
brig 'Hebe' on the 20th, and landed at Trincomalee on the 23rd August. During the voyage he was 
so sea-sick that he was not able to move from his bed, nor to take a morsel of food, except tea and toast 
water. On his arrival at Trincomalee he was kindly received by his worthy friend His Excellency 



96 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



Admiral Sir Richard King, Bart., and lodged in his own house. The next morning he found him- 
self a little out of order, but was not affected materially until night, when he was attacked by a- 
violent complaint in his bowels, which soon exhibited alarming symptoms of dysentery. Some 
blood was immediately taken from him, and he appeared to be a little better, but not considered out 
of danger. He was closely attended day and night by the Doctor of the Navy, and by Dr. Robson, 
Physician to the Forces. The attention shown by Sir Richard, and his anxious wish for the recovery 
of Sir William, was tender and unremitting, and finding his illness turning to a most alarming 
nature, Sir William was removed, at his own desire, on the evening of the 28th, on board the 
' Minden,' which was then lying in the inner Bay of Trincomalee, where everything was arranged 
for his comfort in the spacious and airy cabin by order of Sir Richard. Here he found himself 
during the two following days somewhat better, but on a sudden on the night of 31st his disease 
increased so much that all aid was in vain, and on the morning of 1st September (1818), about 9 
o'clock, he yielded his soul into the hands of his Maker with manly fortitude. The grief and 
affliction universally felt for the sudden death of this useful as well as ornamental member of our 
society, both private and public, and of so much an esteemed Judge on this island is indescribable. 
His remains were interred on the 2nd September, in the Burial Ground on the Esplanade of 
Trincomalee, in a new vault made for the purpose, with greater solemnity than was ever exhibited 
on such occasions. 

' ' As soon as His Excellency the Governor received the melancholy news of Sir William's death, 
he issued a general order directing that every mark of respect should be shown to the memory of Sir 
William. I am authorized by his Excellency, in my official capacity as Registrar of the Supreme 
Court, to take an inventory of his (Sir William's) effects. 

"I am, &c, &c, 

" W. W. Vanderstraaten." 

Chief Justice Alexander Johnston writes to D'Ewes Coke from 
London, 1st February, 18 19: — 

" Mr. Goulbourn, the Under-Secretary of State, has this moment given me the enclosed 
letters, which he received this morning from Ceylon. By them you will perceive that my poor 
friend Sir William Coke died at Trincomalee on the 1st Sept Nothing, I assure you, could be 
more afflicting to me than this event. The intimate friendship which has invariably subsisted 
between us for many years makes me feel for his loss as I could do for that of my own brother, and 
I can easily imagine what you and all his family will feel upon the melancholy occasion. In the 
very month in which he died he would have completed his seven years' service, and it is but two 
days ago I wrote to him to say that Mr. Goulbourn had authorized me to assure him that he might 
retire upon his pension of ^1,200 a year whenever he liked. 

" How little did I think my poor friend was at the moment I was communicating this pleasant 
intelligence to him, independent of all earthly remuneration ! " 

Mr. Hardinge Giffard, Advocate Fiscal, writes : — 

*f . . . . It can little avail, to mitigate your sense of such a loss, to say that a man more 
loved did not exist in the society of Ceylon. As a judge, his firm and unassailable integrity, his 
patient habits of investigation, and his anxious benevolence acquired the respect and admiration of 
all, and his knowledge of the people to whom he administered justice was such as to give its full 
authority to the court in which he has left a chasm not to be supplied. You will pardon the 
feelings of one who owed to this good man the most disinterested, at the same time important, 
kindnesses, which he should ill requite in his own mind were he not to express how strongly they 
are fixed in his recollection." 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 97 



At Brookhill Hall are two very fine water-colour drawings by 

Stephanoff. The first shows Sir William holding his court with all the 

dignity observed in the East ; the second is his funeral at Trincomalee, 

which Mr. L. Sansoni, his secretary, describes : — 

' ' At six o'clock in the morning the funeral took place with all the solemnity which was 
possible at Trincomalee. The Admiral attended as chief mourner, and I had the honour to 
follow him. Minute guns were fired ; the band of the 73rd Regiment played all the way ; and 
all the English and Dutch gentlemen attended, and few of them without tears in their eyes, Sir 
William being very popular and much beloved . . ." 

A schedule of all goods, credits, and effects of the Honourable Sir 
William Coke was taken by the Supreme Court of the island. They 
amounted to 221,430 rupees ; and it is interesting to note, in these days, 
that the postage charged on the letter containing the inventory, &c. (the 
cover of which is now at Debdale), was £2 9s. The news also of his death, 
which would now be known in a few hours, was exactly five months 
reaching England. 

A mural monument was erected to him in Colombo church, with an 

epitaph engraved upon a fine slab of red granite : — ■ 

"Memoriae positum 

Gulielmi Coke Equitis 

.Edis Christi Oxon: Alumni Studentis 

Qui per annos decern 

In HAc InsulX. 

Rem juridicam administravit 

Juris Consaltus Regius Socius judex Prases 

Literis Humanioribus ornatissimus 

Ingeriio dulcis, Judicio Sincerus 

Suis Benignus omnibus facilis et urbanus 

Justitise et Propositi 

Impavidus, sed placide, vindex 

Bonos omnes sibi conciliavit : 

Concivibus dilectus Indigenis Veneratus 

Quam carus vixit quam flebilis occidit 

Nobis et Posteris 

Hoc Memor 

Testatur 

Natus Anglia in Agro Derviensi Decessit 

Kal : Seplembris 1818 

^Etat. 43." 

The Gentleman's Magazine of 1824 contains a memoir of Sir William, 
which. concludes : — 

" His kind manners and generous hospitality had rendered him highly popular with all classes; 
his strong mind, and sound constitutional principles as a British lawyer, although they threw him 



98 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



(as it too often happens) into collision with the practices of a Military Government, established for 
him the honourable character of a fearless Judge, defending the weak and helpless against the harsh 
•violence of authority." 

One of his letters of July 30th, 18 18, throws some light on his collision 
with the Military Government : — 

" Thank God I have nothing to do with advising the War, nor with the more barbarous procla- 
mation of Martial Law and Military Execution, which is carried on with the most wanton and 
horrible cruelty." 

John Coke, 
The third son of the Reverend D'Ewes Coke, followed his brothers to 
school at Aspley, and from thence he went to Germany, where he passed 
some years under the tuition of various persons of Eisenach, Langensalza, 
Francfort, Freyburg, &c. He then returned home by way of Hungary, 
Poland, and Prussia, and soon after his return went to Edinburgh for one 
session of the College. 

After completing his education, and when not twenty years of age, on 
returning to Brookhill, having acquired a love for porcelain ware at 
Dresden, and having an idea that some native clays found on the family 
estates near Pinxton might be made available for the manufacture of 
china, he entered into correspondence in 1795 with Mr. Duesbury, the 
owner of the Derby China Works, and sent him samples of his clays for 
trial and experiment. It appears that no encouragement was given by 
Mr. Duesbury, but the result of his own convictions and his own trials 
determined him on starting a manufactory. He wrote to William Bil- 
lingsley, of the Derby Works, who had become one of the best, if not the 
best, living flower painters on English porcelain, and received a long reply, 
dated August 22nd, 1795, in which Billingsley agrees to start the work, 
calculates the cost, &c. Another letter from Derby, October, 1795, says : — 

" The quality of the useful ware I shall produce is equal to Mr. Duesbury's, and his porcelain 
is undoubtedly superior to any produced in any other English manufactory ; " 

and then goes on to say how he himself had been " in the habit of finishing 
Mr. Duesbury's most elegant patterns." 

The Account Book of the china works is now at Debdale. It appears 
by this that the foundations of the factory were commenced on October 
26th, 1795, and by the end of the year £1,007 1 is. 7d. was expended. The 
• total cost of the works was £2,842 7s. 9d., which included £1,581 is. 6Jd., 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 99 

paid Mr. D'Ewes Coke for " messuage and materials." On April 23rd, 
1796, the first kiln was fired, there being an entry, " Jacob Spooner, one 
night at kiln, 3s." 

Billingsley occupied part of the factory built by John Coke, and 
succeeded in producing at Pinxton that beautiful granular body which he 
afterwards perfected at Nantgarw and at Swansea; and, stimulated by 
Mr. Coke's good taste, he showed faultless forms in his services, and 
a high style of excellence in decoration. He brought with him several 
experienced workmen and artists from the Derby works, and took into 
the manufactory, and instructed, many young people of Pinxton and its 
neighbourhood. 

The works at Pinxton were built by the side of the Cromford Canal, 
and the workshops formed three sides of a square. These are still in 
existence. They are now converted into cottages, and are occupied by 
colliers and others. The kilns, &c, have entirely disappeared. The place 
and cottages are still called " China Square " or " Factory Square." 

Through some misunderstanding or other, the arrangement made by 
Mr. Coke with Billingsley was not of long duration, and in 1801 Billings- 
ley left Pinxton and removed to Mansfield. A Mr. Banks was then 
admitted into partnership. By a copy of the deed at Debdale, Mr. Banks 
was to pay ^1,000 on joining, a further £500 on a subsequent date, and 
another £500 as soon as the clear profits amounted annually to ^1,000. 
This partnership was also a short one, and in October 1802, after a dispute 
had been referred to arbitration, it was dissolved. John Cutts, who had 
been some time in the works, was then appointed manager, and he after- 
wards became a partner. In 1 805 Mr. Coke retired altogether from the 
china works, and Cutts carried them on alone till .1818, when they were 

closed. 

One peculiarity connected with the Pinxton china works remains to 
be noticed. It is the issue of " chaine" money," t.e., tokens representing 
different values of money, made of china, and payable as money among 
the work-people and others, including shopkeepers. These were issued in 
a time of difficulty; so that they were only temporary conveniences, and 
thus they possess great interest. They were circular in form, thick in the 
middle, and bevelled off to a fine edge; the value of each token was 
written in blue and signed by John Coke. Ten shillings was the highest, 
one shilling the lowest. 



ioo COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



These tokens were used as promissory notes, being issued to the work- 
men in payment of wages, and by them paid away as money. When 
returned to the works, their value in money was given for them, and they 
were broken up and destroyed. Mr. Coke used to crush them to frag- 
ments with his foot after they were redeemed. They were payable in and 
around Pinxton, on one side as far as Sutton, but their payment did not 
extend to Mansfield. 

It is pleasant to see how the memory of the old ehina works at 
Pinxton is cherished by its ^inhabitants of the present day, among whom 
some of the people who worked there are still, at a ripe old age, 
living. 

When Mr. John Coke removed to Debdale Hall he took many of the 
finest specimens of Pinxton china with him, and these are now preserved 
there: amongst the best are mugs and spill stands (in sets of three), painted 
with flowers by Billingsley, landscapes by James Hadfield and others. 
One large mug, beautifully finished, has a view of Brookhill on it. There 
are also two large breakfast sets which have never been completed : they 
have been once fired after being painted, but the gold has not been put on, 
except in the, case of one piece in each set. He bought Debdale 20th 
June, 1803, and lived there over a year before he entirely severed his 
connection with the china works. 

In 1805, when the country was agitated by Napoleon's threatened 
invasion, John Coke was appointed Lieutenant of the " Tibshelf and 
Pinxton Company of Volunteer Infantry ; " his commission, which is now 
at Debdale, is dated 12th March, 1805. He married, on 26th April, 1806, 
Susanna, only daughter and heir to Francis Ballidon Wilmot, of Trusley 
and Spondon, Esq. Thus returned to the Cokes the property which in 
171 8 had passed to the Wilmots by the marriage of the elder Trusley 
co-heiress. She was in her forty-first year when married, and had one 
son, John Coke, born 29th December, 1808, who died August 24th, 1828, 
aged nineteen years and eight months. 

After giving up the china works, Mr. Coke turned his attention to the 
Pinxton Colliery, which he considerably developed. He was Magistrate 
and Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Nottingham, and High Sheriff 
of the county in 1830. 

On the marriage of his nephew, Edward Thomas Coke, 6th August, 
1835, he settled on him the Trusley, Spondon, and Debdale properties. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 101 



He died on 14th September, 1841, aged sixty-six. Susanna, his wife, 
continued to live at Debdale, where she died 23rd January, 1848, aged 
eighty-two; bequeathing, by her will of 15th November, 1844, her 
property in Derby to Edward Thomas Coke. 

In Trusley church are monuments to John Coke, Susanna his wife, 
and their son John. 

" Here lie the remains of 

John only Child of John and Susanna Coke 

of Debdale in the county of Nottingham 

Who died August 24 th 1828 aged 19 years and 8 months 

He was a young man of great worth and 

Integrity, Beloved by his friends and deeply lamented 

By his parents, he departed this life in the 

Humble hope of entering thro' the merits of 

Christ into * The rest prepared for the people of God.' 

Also of John Coke, Father of the above, of Debdale House 

near Mansfield, in the county of Nottingham 

A Deputy Lieutenant and one of her Majesty's Justices 

of the peace, for the counties of Nottingham and 1 Derby, 

and High Sheriff, for the county of Nottingham in 1830, 

.„ Who departed this mortal life on the 14 th September 1841 

In the 66 th year of his age. 

He was of exemplary conduct in the various duties of life 

Kind and considerate to the distressed, he possessed 

a Sincerity of Soul Heightened by Benevolence, 

and enlarged by hospitality : in his public and private 

Character those who knew him best, best can speak. 

The esteem which was borne him testifies his worth. 

After a life spent in benefiting his fellow creatures, 

he resigned his spirit into the hands of him who gave it. 

He derived consolation from the sure but humble hope 

of a happy immortality through faith in his redeemer. 

This record is dedicated as a grateful tribute 

of affectionate regard to his memory by his widow. 

In memory of Susanna relict of John Coke 

of Debdale, in the county of Nottingham, Esq. 

She was the only daughter of 

Francis Ballidon Wilmot, of Spondon 

and grand-daughter of 

Catherine Cassandra Isabella Cqke, of Trusley. 

She died the 2y d of January 1848 

In the 83 rd year of her age 

Devising her estates in this parish, and elsewhere, 

to her nephew, Edward Thomas Coke, who caused this tablet 

to be erected, as a mark of affection and respect." 



io2 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



The achievements of John Coke, and Susanna his wife hang in Truijley 
church. The latter shows the Coke arms with quarterings, and the 
Wilmot arms on an escutcheon of pretence. 

The account of the Pinxton china works is chiefly taken from Mr. 
Llewellynn Jewitt's " Ceramic Art." 



D'EWES COKE, of Brookhill Hall, =HARRIET, daughter of Thomas 



Wright, of Upton Hall, near Newark. 
Esq. Married 2nd November, 1797. 
Died at Brookhill, 22nd October, 1815. 



Esq., son and heir of the Rev. D'Ewes 
Coke. Born 22nd December, 1774. 
Barrister-at-Law, Recorder of Newark, 
and Deputy Recorder of Grantham. 
Died nth March, 1856. 
^Etat. 82. 

, * -1 

1. Francis Lillyman D'Ewes Coke. Bora 4th June, 1804 ; B. A., of Christ Church 

College, Oxford. Died 19th December, 1873. ^Etat. 70, S.P. 
11. William Sacheverell Coke. Born 31st August, 1805. Now of Brookhill Hall. 

See page 105. 
in. Edward Thomas Coke. Born 4th January, 1807. Now of Trusley, Spondon, and 

Debdale Hall. See page 107. 
iv. John Henry Coke. Bom 12th December, 1811 ; B.A., Rector of Ropsley. 

See page 109. 
v. Richard George Coke. Born 12th February, 1813. Now of Brimington Hall. 
See page no. 

6. Harriet Frances. 

7. Elizabeth Anne. 

8. Sarah Sophia. Married, 22nd June, 1827, to George Robertson, Capt. R.N., and 
has issue. 

9. Mary Agnes. Married, 9th March, 1839, to Arthur Burnell, Esq., and has issue, 
io. Emma Isabella. Married, 16th August, 1832, to Colonel James Salmond, late Captain 

2nd Dragoon Guards, and has issue. 

D'Ewes Coke, eldest son of the Rev. D'Ewes Coke, was born at South 
Normanton, 22nd December, 1774. He was sent at six years of age to 
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, at Mansfield, whence he was removed 
at nine to Aspley, in Bedfordshire ; he remained there till twelve, and" then 
went to Westminster School. Before he was thirteen he was elected into 
the College, and stayed at Westminster about three years in all ; leaving it 
for the University of Glasgow, where he was two years, and finishing his 
education by one year at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. In the meantime he 
had been admitted of Lincoln's Inn, and in 1797 was called to the Bar. 
He married, on 2nd November, in the same year, Harriet, daughter of 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 103 



Thomas Wright, Esq. This family have been seated in Nottinghamshire 
since the reign of Charles II., when John Wright, a captain in General 
Whalley's Regiment of Horse, who suffered a long imprisonment for his 
zeal in the Parliamentary cause, settled there on regaining his liberty. 
John Wright, a descendant, was High Sheriff of the county in 181 5 ; his 
brother Thomas served that office in 181 I ; he married Sophia, daughter 
of Charles Chaplin, Esq., of Tathwell, co. Lincoln, and widow of John, 
eldest son of Sir Richard Sutton, Bart. Harriet, who married D'Ewes 
Coke, was, with others, the issue of this marriage, Her brother, Ichabod 
Wright, of Mapperley, had the large family of three sons and ten daughters, 
of whom nine married. The Wrights of Osmaston, who have lately taken 
the name of Osmaston, are a branch of the same family. 

In 1800 D'Ewes Coke bought from his father, with part of his wife's 
fortune, Langton Hall farm in Kirkby. It was originally a residence of 
the Langtons, and came by marriage from them to the Fitzrandolphs, in 
whose possession it was when William, Sir Francis Coke's son, lived at 
Kirkby Hall. When the Fitzrandolphs became extinct the property was 
parcelled and sold. It was called Langton Place in Richard II.'s time. 
The Hall was merely a farmhouse in bad repair, with very ruinous out- 
buildings ; but a great change was soon effected by D'Ewes Coke, who 
made it a desirable residence for a younger branch of the family, and 
settled it on his second son. 

In the year 1805 D'Ewes Coke was appointed by the Duke of Rutland 
Deputy Recorder of Grantham, and in 1806 was elected by the Corpora- 
tion of Newark Recorder of that borough. 

He bought from Mrs. Kirke two fields immediately adjoining to 
Brookhill Hall, which for twenty years had been an eyesore to that place : 
the fences were removed, and they were thrown into the park. He also 
bought of the Duke of Leeds a release of a quit rent payable to the 
Duke out of Langton Hall. 

"Biographical Sketches of Remarkable People," published in 1873, 
by Spencer T. Hall, says : — 

" In one of the early months of 1856, at the age of four-score, died at Brookhill Hall Mr. 
D'Ewes Coke, an English gentleman who wore his faults outwardly and made no parade, or even 
profession, of better qualities, in which he was rich enough, had he cloaked or gilded his 
failings, to have had one of the finest worldly reputations. Though the inheritor of good estates 
(which he did not diminish, but added to by an economy which, however, was never allowed to 
check his generosity), he was brought up to the Bar, was a great friend of Lord Denman, when, as 



io 4 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



young men, they went the circuit together, and might have risen to the highest rank in his pro- 
fession but for his deafness, which compelled him early to retire. Of some of his opinions, and 
his modes of manifesting them, it may not be here out of place to say a passing word. He had a 
peculiar theory of tenure and rental, which was— that the first persons having a right to live on the 
produce of the land are they who cultivate it ; next, the poor who cannot help themselves, the 
landlords coming last, and taking what can be justly spared ; and this I believe he carried out on 
his own domains. Waste of any kind was decidedly painful to him, from waste land to waste 
paper, whether belonging to himself or others. He had much to do in his day with common 
enclosures, yet he never therein forgot the rights of the poor, but arranged in every needful instance 
for leaving them their moiety of recreation ground. His sense of order was marvellous, and were 
he walking along the turnpike road the least stone out of its place would catch his attention and 
cause him to adjust it to its right position with his walking-stick, if he had time. If he saw a 
piece of loose writing paper lying about any of his mansions he would pick it up and turn it with 
quiet dexterity into an envelope, using also a small seal to prevent extravagance in sealing wax ; 
yet, not improbably, that very envelope would in due time enclose a gift to some struggling worthy 
in literary, artistic, or professional life ; or to some poor clergyman's widow, or other decayed 
lady or gentleman whom the world was in danger of passing by in the winter of their age. 
He was a person of tall, open, intelligent, and manly port, and not indifferent, but rather 
the contrary, to his genealogy, connected in some way with the olden Sacheverells, 
and even the Plantagenets ; but there was not a humble cottage on his estate beneath 
his watchful care, or that, if out of repair, wanting drainage, or afflicted with a down- 
ward-smoking chimney, gave less pain to him than to the tenant until it was rectified ; 
and I have good reason for knowing that at one time he paid an annual sum to a doctor for 
attending to poor people far around him when they were out of health. His counsel regarding 
their property was often sought by neighbouring landlords, one of the chief of whom, distressed by 
some complaining tenants, asked him to look over the part of the estate they occupied and 
advise him what to do. He did overlook it, and suggested a lowering of the rents as the 
only just remedy, and it was as readily complied with as if the suggestion had been to raise 
them. He would omit all needless show and parade that he might spend what they would have 
cost in building, endowing, and subscribing to schools and libraries, or in providing for those 
whom some in his sphere would have left to the parish or to chance. He knew the im- 
measurable distance there is between politeness and fuss ; his contempt for flattery was equal 
to his love of good sense; and he had a grateful heart. "While a boy at school, another 
boy lent him money when his pockets had prematurely collapsed. That schoolfellow became 
a banker, and fifty years afterwards failed. The moment Mr. Coke heard of this misfortune 
he hurried off a note, offering his friend the use of his own best mansion while matters 
might be arranged — an offer declined not the less gratefully because another arrangement 
had been already made. That he was not perfect is true, but he certainly never held 
himself up as a model, and the faultless alone may be left to cast stones at him. I speak of him 
according to the side he chiefly presented towards me ; and as he was one of my severest 
critics and sternest of advisers, so through all vicissitudes was he a faithful friend. He was 
in most things cautious, and could on occasion indicate proud reserve ; but would I believe 
have braved the world, and all its possible censure of appearances, rather than go a. round- 
about way to his object or speak falsely. The Duke of Rutland, * in a letter of March 29th, 
1856, says : ' I cannot help thanking you for the eloquent tribute of respect contained in 
your letter to the memory of our mutual friend, poor D'Ewes Coke. We know little of what 
may be the immediate destiny of that which is immortal, ever living in us, when our last 
breath is drawn on earth ; for sin is, I fear, the most certain portion of our worldly inheritance, 

* John Henry, fifth Duke of Rutland and fourteenth Earl. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



!°S 



and no doubt Mr. Coke had his frailties. But he was I firmly think a believer in the doctrines 
and revelations of Sacred Writ; and with so many attributes of Christian benevolence and 
charity towards his fellow mortals, we may envy him the amount which will be on the 
credit side of his great account. His son (Mr. William Coke) informed me that he had great 
pleasure in hearing from me constantly while prostrate in bed during the three last weeks 
of his valuable life, and I believe I did not miss more than two days during that period 
sending him a letter.' " 

A monument in Pixton church bears the inscription :— 

" In Memory of D'Ewes Coke, J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant for Derbyshire, formerly 
Recorder of Newark and Deputy Recorder of Grantham and Harriet his wife,' who died 
respectively in 1815 and 1856 leaving 5 sons and 5 daughters." 



SUSAN ANNIE, daugh- < 
ter of late R. Miller, Esq., 
of Seaton, co. Devon. 
Married September 27th, 
1870. 

Second wife. 



WILLIAM SACHEVE- 
RELL COKE, 2nd son of 
D'Ewes Coke, Esq. Born 
31st August, 1805. Now 
ofBrookhillHall. J.R 



= SARAH KIFT, daugh- 
ter of John Deane, Esq., 
of the Cape of Good Hope. 
Married 21st Nov., 1837. 
She died March 18th, 
1870. 

First wife. 



11. 



in. 

IV. 

v. 

VI. 

7- 
8. 

9- 
10. 
11. 

12. 

13- 
14. 

15. 
16. 

17- 



William Langton Coke. Bom April 3rd, 1843. Hon. Major 1st Derby 

Militia, and late 4th Light Dragoons. Married, April 4th, 1877, Ada 

Caroline, daughter of C. W. Heugh, Esq., of the Cape of Good Hope, and 

has issue : — 

Langton Sacheverell. Born January 25th, 1878. 
Jacinth D'Ewes Fitz Ercald. Born August 13th, 1879. 
Alfred Sacheverell Coke. Born August 27th, 1846. Married Amy, 

daughter of A. Brunton, Esq., November 9th, 1875, and has issue : — 
Phyllis Sacheverell Coke. Bom January 8th, 1878. 
Fbederick D'Ewes. Bom May 4th, 1855 j died April 12th, 1857. 
Walter Owen. Born March 18th, 1857 ; died same day. 
Albert William. Bom February 26th, 1858; died March 20th, 1858* (twins). 
Herbert de Odingsells. Bom November 14th, 1863. 
MARY. Bom October 10th, 1838 ; died October 23rd, 1850. 
Alice. Married Captain G. Charlton, 81st Regiment, 2nd son of Colonel 

Charlton, of Granville Lodge, Somersetshire. 
Lucy Harriet. Married Captain Vere Bayly, son of Sir Hy. Bayly, of Bath. 
Catherine Cassandra,. "Bom January 22nd, 1845 ; died February 2nd, 1845. 
Emily' Maude; Married Captain S. H. Williams, Madras Staff Corps, son of 

Captain Williams, R.N. 
Clementine Rosalie. Married T. Greenaway, Lieutenant Madras Staff Corps, 

son of Colonel Greenaway. 
Hester Marion. 
Henrietta Margaret. 

Amy Constance. Bom February 26th, 1858 ; died March 3rd, 1858* (twins)., 
Fbances Geraldine. . 
Helen Blanche Graham. Bom January 24th, 1862 5 died May 2nd, 1875. 



18. D'Ewes Leventhorpe. Bom January 27th, 1874. 

19. Algernon John Parker. Bom March 10th, 1876. 

20. Ethel Marie Sacheverell. 



io6 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



William Sacheverell Coke was born 31st August, 1805 ; had an early- 
education at Southwell and Risley, from which he went to the Royal 
Military College at Sandhurst ; on leaving he was a year in Germany 
before entering the army. He obtained a commission in the 39th Regi- 
ment on 8th January, 1824, granted at the request of the Duke of Rutland, 
and joined that corps at Limerick in the Whiteboy days. The following 
year the regiment moved to Chatham, where he was ordered to embark at 
Deptford with a guard of 17 men, in charge of 120 mutinous convicts, 
who had attempted to set the hulk on fire and to poison the guard. The 
vessel, " Regalia," was only 360 tons, and far too small for the purpose, 
having only a small roundhouse on deck, and the convicts no doubt 
required close watching by their small guard. They were beating about 
the Channel for four months before a favourable wind started them to Rio 
de Janeiro, and were becalmed for seventeen days on the Line, eventually 
reaching Sydney, after nearly foundering off St. Paul's, a dangerous leak 
being stopped by some hundred jackets stuffed in the vessel, she being laid 
over for the purpose. In the Australian settlement he was much amongst 
the aborigines, Desmond, the chief, being his companion, and he was pre- 
sent at many of his battles with neighbouring tribes. He afterwards, with 
two companies of the 57th Regiment, marched up country from Hobart's 
Town, Van Diemen's Land, to Oatlands, where the last of the natives were 
driven back. Returning home by Cape Horn, they fell in with a disabled 
vessel containing a cargo valued at £20,000. Mr. Coke volunteered to 
board her, and with a few men managed to bring her into Crook Haven 
under jury masts, on reaching which place they had only one piece of salt 
beef left, and had had no water for three days. For rendering this service 
he obtained a share of the salvage money. 

He left the army in 1830, and was for some time at the Cape of Good 
Hope. He went again to that country in 1835, leaving England at the 
end of August in a small yacht of under 50 tons, facing the autumnal 
equinoctial gales without even a chronometer on board. They reached 
the Cape without touching anywhere, having made a good voyage. People 
would not credit at first that the yacht had come from England, and that 
too without a chronometer. It was his^ intention of going on to New 
South Wales, but he liked the Cape so much that he sold the yacht, and 
purchased a considerable extent of land at Elsey's Kraal, a few miles from 
Cape Town. He returned to England in 1838, soon, after his marriage, 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



107 



and took up his residence at Langton, which was settled upon him. On 
the death of his elder brother, D'Ewes, in 1873, he succeeded to the 
Brbokhill, Totley, and" other properties. 



EDWARD THOMAS COKE, 3rd 
son of D'Ewes Coke, Esq. Born 4th 
January, 1807. Of Trusley,_ Spondon, 
and Dcbdale Hall. Late Captain 69th 
Regiment, and Hon. Colonel ist Derby 
Militia. J.P. and D.L. , 



DIANA, 2nd daughter of the late Rev. 
John Talbot, of Ardfert Abbey, co. 
Kerry. Descended from the illustrious 
John Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury. 
Married 6th August, 1835. 



I. John Talbot Coke. Born gth August, 1841. Bt.-Major 25th Regiment. Married, 

14th November, 1867, Charlotte, eldest daughter of Major H. Fitz Gerald, of 
Maperton, co. Somerset, a descendant of the ancient Earls of Desmond, and has 
issue : — 

1. Edward Sacheverell D'Ewes. Born 3rd December, 1872. 
11. John Gilbert de Odingsells. Born 19th October, 1874. 
iiij Francis Desmond Talbot. Bom 5th July, 1879. 

4. Diana Geraldine. 

5, Charlotte Geraldine. 
ft. Isabel Hariot Joan. 

7". Dorothy Frances. 

II. Thomas de Odingsells Coke. Born 18th January, 1849; died same day, 

III. Ed*ard Beresford Coke. Born Sth May, 1850. Lieut. Royal Horse Artillery. 
Married, 2ott March, 1877, to Ada Beatrice, 7th daughter of the late W. H. Dawes, 
Esq., of Kenil worth. * 

4. JAne Susanna. Married 19th April, 1866, to W. Cooper, Esq. He died 13th 

February, 1S71, leaving issue one surviving son. 

5. Diana Talbot. 

6. Isabel Emma. Bom 1st February, 1839 ; " married H. Shore, Esq., and died 1 ith 

November, 1863, leaving issue one daughter. 

7. Gertrude Alice. Married F. Mickelburgh, Esq., 4th December, 1865. 

8. Annie Crosbie. Married, 29th March, i87i,.her cousin, Lindsey Crosbie, Esq., 

late R.N., 2nd son of W. T. Crosbie, Esq., of Ardfert Abbey. 

9. Aimee Pauline. 

10. Kathleen Sophia, Married, 3rd October, 1874, her cousin, David Crosbie, .Esq., 

3rd son of W. T. Crosbie, Esq., of Ardfert Abbey. 

11. Eugenie Diane. Married, 28th August, 1878, James W. Gordon Oswald, Esq., 

eldest son of J. Gordon Oswald, of Aigas,, Inverness-shirej Esq. 



Colonel Edward Thomas Coke was born at Langton, 4th January, 
1807. When only seven years of age he joined his two elder brothers 
at Southwell School, thence to Risley and Repton, finishing his educa- 
tion at Shrewsbury, under the eminent scholar Dr. Samuel Butler, 
afterwards Bishop of Lichfield. In June, 1825, he was appointed to an 



108 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

Ensigncy in the 45 th Regiment. Examinations were then unknown, and 
commissions were granted in a manner which would astonish the com- 
petitors of the present day. The Duke of Rutland applied to the 
Commander-in-Chief for the commission, and an immediate answer 
granting one was received, without any inquiry as to education or 
physical power. The 45 th were then in Rangoon, for the first Burmah 
War, where Ensign Coke joined them as soon as possible. On the 
evacuation by the British of the country in December, 1826, the 45th 
formed part of the force which, under Sir Archibald Campbell, took 
possession of the ceded districts on the Tenasserim coast, and formed, 
under trying circumstances and petty hostilities with the Burmese, 
the settlement of Moulmein. Up to that time the white man was a 
stranger in the land, and a great portion of the people thought the 
English were the fighting caste of India. 

In 1 83 1 he returned to England, having been granted the medal for 
Ava. He proceeded in the following year to the United States, and 
the British Provinces in North America, and in 1833 published, under 
the title of "A Subaltern's Furlough," pen-and-pencil sketches taken 
during his travels. In the same year he was promoted to a company 
in the 69th Regiment, from which he retired on his marriage, in 1835, 
when he went to live at Brimington Hall. In 1843 he joined the 
old Derbyshire Militia as Major. On the death of his aunt, in 1848, 
he succeeded to the Trusley, Spondon, Derby, and Debdale properties, 
and lived at the latter until 1863, from which time until 1875 he 
generally resided on the Continent. Being in France in 1871, he seized 
the opportunity of getting into Paris during the Communist war, and 
witnessed some of the operations during the siege of the city by the 
army under Marshal MacMahon. 

He was promoted to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the 1st Derbyshire 
Militia in 1853, and was embodied with the regiment during the 
Crimean War. On reaching his 70th year, January, 1877, he tendered 
the resignation of his command, and received a letter from the 
Secretary of State for War, expressing " his appreciation of the long 
and useful service rendered to the regiment," and proposing to submit 
to the Queen for Her Majesty's approval that he be appointed 
Honorary Colonel of the regiment. 

In the winter of 1875 he visited Algeria, and in the summer of 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 109 



the following year travelled through Norway to the North Cape, 
seeing the midnight sun from the northernmost point. 

He sold Brimington in 1864, and bought with the proceeds Hardley 
Hill farm, which adjoins Trusley. He has also at different times con- 
siderably added to the Debdale property. 

He is J.P. for the » county of Derby (since January, 1838), and 
J.P. and D.L. for the county of Nottingham. 



The Rev. JOHN HENRY COKE, = ADELAIDE, daughter of John Bussell, 
4th son of D'Ewes Coke, Esq. Born Esq. Married in 1852. 
12th December, 1811. B.A., Rector of 
Ropsley. 

1. Charles Henry Coke. Bora 2nd October, 1854. Lieutenant R.N. 
11. Sidney Coke. Born nth April, 1857. 
in. Ronald Bruce Coke. Bom nth July, i860. . 

4. Blanche. Married, September 6^1877, to C. D. Telfer, Lieutenant 36th Regiment. 

5. Rose Edith. 

6. Isabel Maud. 

The Reverend John Henry Coke was educated at Shrewsbury and 
Pembroke College, Oxford. He was curate of Teddington, near Buxton, 
for some years, the parsonage being built while he was there. He was 
presented with the living of Ropsley, in Lincolnshire, by his godfather, 
the Duke of Rutland, after whom he was named John Henry. 



no COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



RICHARD GEORGE COKE, 5th = ELIZABETH, daughter of J. J. M. 



son of D'Ewes Coke, Esq. Born 12th 
February, 1813. Of Brimington Hall, 
co. Derby. 



Borid, Esq. Married December i5thj 
1847. 



1. George Elmsley Coke. Born 26th February, 1853; late R.N. 
11. Henry Beresford Coke. Born 7th flftovember, 1855. 
in. Edward Hardinge Coke. Born 22nd April, i86r. , Lieut. Royal Marines. 
iv. Ernest Sacheverell Coke. Bom 19th October, 1868. 

5. Adela Mary. Married, October, 1879, Rev. W. H. Milner, Chaplain to the Forces. 

6. Louisa Diana. Married, July 3rd, 1873, Captain A. Ross, who died Feb. 25, 1873 
She married secondly, 5th October, 1876, Colonel G. S. Coxon. 

7. Florence Elizabeth Caroline. Married, 3rd August, 1875, Captain C. Torkington, 
41st Regiment. 

8. Lucy Emma. 

9. May Evelyn. 

I 10. Lillian Margaret. 

Mr. Richard George Coke was educated at a private school at Gresley, 
from which he followed his brothers to Shrewsbury. He was for some 
years in New South Wales and at the Cape. He bought Brimington 
Hall, his present residence, in January, 1879!. 



The Lemore Line. 
WILLIAM COKE, of Quistmoor, co. = ELIZABETH, daughter of Richard 



Hereford, 3rd son of George Coke, 
Bishop of Hereford (see page 76), 
Prebendary of Colwall, Vicar of Bos- 
bury, &c. 

... r 



Hopton, Esq., of Canon Frame, co. 
Hereford. 



1. Francis Coke. Born 1660. His heir. Seepage 1 11. 

2. Elizabeth. Bom 16^3. 

3. Dorothea. Bom 1653. 

4. Jane. Bom 1659 ; died unmarried, and buried in Eardisley Church, March 15th, 1747. 

5. Theodosia. Bom 1661. 

6. Catherine. Bom 1664. 

Extracts from the Bosbury Register. 

(') " Elizabeth Coke daughter of William Coke Minister & Eliz: his wife baptized the day 
after Michaelmas in the year of our Lord God 1653." 

( 2 ) " Dorothea Coke y e dau. of W m Coke Minister bap. three days before the Purification 

A.D. 1653." 

( 3 ) "Jane Coke, dau. of W™ Coke Minister Bap. 29 Sep. 1659." 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



in 



( 4 ) " Francis the Sonne of Will" Coke Minister and Eliz: his wife was baptized 14'h May 

1660." 

( 5 ) " Theodosia ye dau of Will™ Coke Minister of Bosbury and Eliz: his wife was Baptized 

September y B 24 th 1661." 

( 6 ) " Catherine y dau of W"> Coke Minister & Eliz: his wife bap d . 2*A Nov. 1664." 

William Coke, third son of George Coke, Bishop of Hereford, was the 
founder of the Lemore Line. He was of Quistmoor, co. Hereford, Pre- 
bendary of Colwall, Vicar of Bosbury, and Portionist of Bromyard. He 
is mentioned by Walker as one of the suffering clergy in the Civil Wars ; 
but he lived to be restored. His wife was daughter of Richard Hopton, 
of Canon Frome, and Gettertopp, in the county of Hereford, a descendant 
of Walter de Hopton, Baron of the Exchequer in 1268. This family 
removed from Shropshire early in the seventeenth century, on an inter- 
marriage with Sir John Button's family, of the county Herefqrd, and is 
now extinct. The female line is represented by this branch of the Coke 
family. William Coke had one son and five daughters, the baptism of 
Which is recorded in the Bosbury Register, of which parish he was vicar. 
There is a chasm in this Register frqm 1678 to 1684, and it contains no 
record of William Coke's death, although he did not die until after the 
latter year, as in 1685 he gave a deed of assignment to his only son 
Francis of the Quistmoor and Lower Moor Estates, who about this time 
married his first wife. Both these estates were purchased from the 
Earl of Worcester : they are contiguous, but Quistmoor was then the 
largest and had the best mansion, until Francis built the tapestry room 
at Lemore, or Lower Moor, as it was written until late years. 



BARBARA, relict of = FRANCIS COKE, of 

Harper. Married Quistmoor and Lemore, 

1725 ('); died September, only son of William Coke. 
1760 ( B ), S.P. Born 1660; died 10th 

Second wife. June, 1750 ( 9 ). JEt. 90. 



LUCY, daughter of Tho- 
mas Coucher, of Parton, 
co. Hereford. She died 
March, 1 692 ( 5 ). 
First wife. 



( 2 ) 
(') 
( 3 ) 
( 4 ) 

( 6 ) 



1. George Coke. Baptized March, 1668. His heir. Seepage 112. 

2. Lucy. Baptized 1668. 

3. Anne. Baptized 1690 ; died March, 1692. 

4. Elizabeth. Baptized 1691. Married Jeremiah Griffiths, and had a daughter, Jane, 

who married her cousin, Richard Coke. 

5. Anne. Baptized 1692 ; died July, 1693, 



ii2 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

Extracts from the Eardisley Register. 

(!) " Lucia filia Francisci Coke et Luciae uxor ejus bap. 2 die Ap. 1668." 

(") " Georgius filius Francisci Coke gent et Lucise uxor ejus bap. primo die Mar. 1688." 

( 3 ) " Anna filia Francisci Coke & Lucia: ux ejus bap. die Dec. 1690." 

" Sepulta fait tertio die Mar. 1692." 

( 4 ) " Eliz. filia Francisci Coke et Lucise uxor ejus bap. 12 Mar. 1 69 1." 

( 5 ) " Lucise uxor Francisci Coke sepulta fait decimo nono die Mar. 1692." 

( c ) " Altera Anna filia Francisci et Lucia; bap. post matris exsequias vicesimo die Mar. 

1692." 

" Sepulta fait quarto die Jul. 1693." 
(') " Franciscus Coke gent & Barbara Harper Vidua Licentia p»- matrimonis conjunct! faerunt 

vicesimo primo 1 725. " 

( 8 ) " Francis Coke was buryed June 13, 1750." 

(') " Mrs. Barbara Coke was buryed Sep. 22, 1760." 

Francis Coke, of Quistmoor and Lemore, was twice married ; his first 

wife lived only about six years after their marriage. She died after giving 

birth to her fifth child, and was buried at Eardisley, 19th March, 1692. 

Her third child, Anne, was buried on the 3rd of the same month, and the 

child after whose birth she died was called Anne, after the little sister 

just dead. This one was baptized the day after her mother's funeral, 

and she also died in the following year. After these sad events Francis 

remained a widower for thirty-three years, and he was sixty-five years 

old when he married his second wife. He died 10th June, 1750, and 

was buried at Eardisley; his wife only lived till September of that 

year. In the chancel at Eardisley is the following inscription : — 

" In memory of Francis Coke, Esq e late of the Lower Moor in this Parish who departed 
this life the 10 th day of June Anno Dom. 1750, in the 91 st year of his age." 



GEORGE COKE, of Lemore, Esq. = 
Baptized 1st March, 1688. Only son of 
Francis Coke. 



ELIZABETH, daughter of Richard 
Bytheway, of Leintwardine, co. Here- 
ford. Died 1st September, 1781. 
^Etat. 96. 



(') I 1. Francis Cokk. Baptized 10th September, 1716; died young. 
( 2 ) I 2. Richard Coke. Baptized ioth September, 171 7. His heir. 



Seepage 113, 



Extracts from Eardisley Register. 



[}) " Franciscus filius Georgii Coke & Elizabetha uxor ejus bap. Sept 10 1716.' 
( 2 ) " Richardus filius Georgii Coke & Elizabetha bap. Sep. 10 1717." 



COKE OF TRUSLE}. n 3 



George Coke lived after his marriage at Quistmoor, his father being at 
Lemore. His wife belonged to an ancient Herefordshire family, now 
extinct, and a considerable property eventually fell to the Cokes through this 
marriage. George Coke had only two sons, who were baptized at Eardisley. 
The eldest died young. There is no record of his own death. His widow 
lived many years with her son Richard at Lemore, and was buried at 
Eardisley, September ist, 1781, aged 96. 



RICHARD COKE. Baptized Sep- 
tember 10th, 1717. Son and heir to 
George Coke. Vicar of Eardisley. Died 
December 2nd, 1793. ^Etat. 76. 



JANE, daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah 
Griffiths, Rector of Disserth, co. Rad- 
nor. 



1. Richard Coke. Died 1778, aged 17. 
11. Francis Coke. Born 5th July, 1763. His heir. See page 114. 

3. Jane. Bom 1754 ; married the Rev. James Hodgson, M. A., of Humber, co. Hereford. 
She died 15th February, 1790, leaving issue. 

4. Elizabeth. Died young, 1776. 

5. Lucy. Died, aged 19, 1774. 

Richard Coke was the only surviving son of George Coke. He 
succeeded his grandfather, Francis Coke, in the possession of Lemore, 
which he (Francis) had enlarged and made the family residence. 
Richard now sold the estate of Quistmoor. In the year 1750 he 
married his cousin, Jane, daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Griffiths (by 
Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Coke), and by her had two sons and 
three daughters. In the year 1754 he became Vicar of Eardisley, and held 
it forty years, constantly residing in the parish. He was M.A. of Baliol 
College, Cambridge ; a man of good scholarship, and of original wit, 
excelling in the composition of brief allegories and fables in verse. His 
memory, too, was an extraordinary one, such as to enable him, though 
for many years afflicted with blindness, to repeat long passages from the 
classics, amongst which Juvenal was his favourite author. He was an 
active Magistrate for the county of Hereford, and obtained great personal 
influence and respect in his neighbourhood and among his parishioners. 
He died December 2nd, 1793, aged 76, and is buried in the chancel 

Q 



H4 COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

of Eardisley church, where there is an inscription to his memory, placed 
at the foot of the brass which records the burial place of George Coke, 
Bishop of Hereford : — 

"Also here lyeth the body of The Rev">- Richard Coke 
Late Vicar of this Parish who departed this life 
Dec' ye 2 nd In the year of our Lord 1793 
Of hisagey<=76* h ." 



FRANCIS COKE, bom 5th July, 
1763, son and heir to Richard Coke. 
B.A., Rector of Gladestry, co. Radnor. 
Of Lemore. Died 30th April, 1831. 
SteA.. 67. 



ANNE, daughter of Robert Whitcombe, 
Esq., of Kington, co. Hereford. Died 
April 6th, 1826. MteX.. 58. 



I. Richard Coke. Born 1793 ; died 1800. jEtat. 7. 
11. Francis Coke. Born 1795 ; died in infancy, 
in. George Coke. Born 8th January, 1797. His heir. See page 116. 
IV. Robert Coke. Born 2nd September, 1801 ; married, December, 1832, Isabella, only 
daughter of Walter Hill, Esq., of Rocklands, co. Hereford. Died at Lemore, 28th 
December, 1876. ^Etat. 76. 
V. Francis Coke. Born 1802 ; died in infancy, 
vi. William Coke. Born 2nd November, 1803. B.A., Perpetual Curate of Marstow 

and Pencoyd, co. Hereford. Seepage 117. 
vil. John Coke. Born 17th November, 1806. Major-General, C.B. See page 118. 

8. Elizabeth. Born 1794; died in infancy. 

9. Anne. Born 9th March, 1798 ; married, 15th October, 1823, Sir William Sarsfield- 
Rossiter Cockbum, 8th Bart, of Cockburn and Ryslaw, Berwickshire. She died 
12th April, 1879, aged 82. 

10. Jane. Born 25th June, 1799 ; died 5th October, 1859. 

11. Lucy. Born 28th July, 1800; died 22nd October, 1841. 

12. Elizabeth. Born 1805 ; died in infancy. 

13. Sarah. Bom 1809; died in infancy. 

The Rev. Francis Coke, the only surviving issue of the Rev. Richard 
Coke, was born 5th July, 1763. He was B.A. of Baliol College, Oxford, 
and admitted ad eundem at Cambridge, where he took his Master's degree. 
He took Holy Orders in 1786; was presented to Gladestry, co. Radnor, 
in 1 8 10, by the Prince of Wales; and to Sellack, co. Hereford, in 1821, 
by the Dean and Chapter of Hereford ; Magistrate for the county, and 
Prebendary of Piona Parva in the cathedral church of Hereford. In 1791 
he married Anne, youngest daughter of Robert Whitcombe, Esq. (of the 
ancient family of Whitcombe, of Eastham, in the county of Worcester), by 



COKE OF TRVSLEY. II5 



Winifred, eldest daughter of Richard Hooper, Esq., of the Whittem, Here- 
fordshire, descended from Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, who suffered at 
the stake in Queen Mary's reign. 

The Rev. Francis Coke was constantly resident at Lemore from the 
time of his marriage, in 1791, up to that of his death. He died at Bath 
30th April, 1 83 1, but was buried at Eardisley. His wife died April 6th, 
1826; she had the large family of fifteen children, seven only of whom 
survived ; these in 1835 erected a monument to their parents in Eardisley 
church, bearing the inscription : — 

" Deposited in this Chancel with his ancestors are the earthly remains of the Rev d Francis 
Coke of Lower Moor, son of the late Rev d Richard Coke, Vicar of this Parish. The Rev d Francis 
Coke was Rector of Gladestry in the county of Radnor, Vicar of Sellack in this county, and 
Prebendary of the Cathedral Church of Hereford. After a severe illness he was removed from his 
afflicted family in the 67 th year of his age, on the 30 th day of April 1831. Unavailing are the 
tributes of affection to departed worth, But if sorrow ever claimed a record on the monument of a 
Father it is here asked for him, who to a rare firmness and steadiness of principle united a kindness 
of heart peculiarly his own ; who as the promoter of peace and charity among his neighbours 
diffused that happiness which was centred in his home, and who living and dying, manifested his 
grateful acknowledgement of a Superintending Providence, and his humble reliance on the mercies 
of a Redeemer. 

"This tomb is sacred also to the memory of Anne the revered and beloved wife of the Rev. 
Francis Coke. She was the daughter of the late Robert Whitcombe Esq. of Kington in this 
county ; Born May 3 rd 1767 ; deceased April 6 th 1826. As a Wife a Mother and a Christian, 
her conduct was alike exemplary and unostentatious, Presenting to all who knew her Virtue in its 
most lovely character ; Grateful to her Lord and Saviour for all His mercies, humbly dependent on 
His aid for support, and cheered by piety in the discharge of every social duty. 

" ' Many daughters have done Virtuously, 
but thou excellest them all.' 
" In this Church are buried six of their children : — 
Richard born 1793 died 1800, Elizabeth born 1794, 
Francis born 1795, Francis born 1802, 
Elizabeth born 1805, Sarah born 1809, 
Who all died in their infancy. 

" This monument is raised to their beloved memory by their seven surviving children." 



" Lucy Coke born 28th July 1800, died 22nd October 1841. 

Jane Coke born 25th June 1799, died 5th October 1859. 

The Rev. George Coke M.A. Rector of Piddle Hinton Dorsetshire, Born 8th January 1797. 

died 20th April 1863. 
Isabella wife of Robert Coke Esq., and daughter of Walter Hill Esq. of Rocklands, Born 28th 

May 1793, died 12th September 1870. 
Robert Coke Esq. born 2nd September 1801, died 28 December 1876." 



u6 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



GEORGE COKE, of Lemore, born 
8th January, 1797, son and heir of 
the Rev. Francis Coke. Rector of Piddle 
Hinton, co. Dorset Died 20th April, 
1863. JEtai. 67. 



ANNE ELIZABETH, only daughter of 
the Rev. James Hodgson, Rector of 
Barwick, Yorkshire. Died 28th March, 
1 83 1. ^Etat. 28. 



i; George Francis Coke. Born 15th January, 1830. His heir. See page 122. 

2. Anne Elizabeth. 

3. Lucy Elizabeth Hodgson. 



The Rev. George Coke, son and heir of the Rev. Francis Coke, was 
born 8th January, 1797, and succeeded, on his father's death in 1831, to 
the family estate of Lemore. He was of St. John's College, Cambridge, 
ordained in 1821, and afterwards appointed to the Rectory of Aylton, in 
the county of Hereford. In 1844 became Rector of Piddle Hinton, in 
the county of Dorset ; Magistrate for the county of Hereford. He married, 
in 1825, Anne Elizabeth, only daughter of the Rev. James Hodgson, 
Rector of Barwick, co. York (by his second wife Winifred, eldest daughter 
of R. Whitcombe, Esq., of Kington). She died 28th March, 1831. In 1845 
he pulled down the old house at Lemore, it being in a most dilapidated 
state, and built the present handsome mansion of cut stone, excavated 
from two quarries near the house, very beautiful in colour and of excellent 
quality. The arrangements of the new house and buildings are all that 
could be desired. The change was effected at a great outlay, which he could 
ill afford ; but, as the head of the Herefordshire Cokes, he considered it 
his duty to undertake it. He died on 20th April, 1863, aged 6j. In 
Eardisley Church is a monument bearing the inscription following : 

" To the dear Memory of Anne Elizabeth, the pious and virtuous, the fond and faithful wife 
of the Rev* George Coke of Lower Moor in this Parish, to whom she left by her example a 
strengthened reliance in the consoling faith of a Christian through which he holds a steadfast hope 
that he shaE join her in heaven, as his lasting comfort under the affliction of her early death. She 
was the only daughter of the late Rev* James Hodgson M. A. Rector of Barwick in the County of 
York. 

" She died 28th March 1831 on the eleventh day after child-birth, aged 28 years, leaving 

three children to their widowed father as a Solace and Anxious Care ; 
As a Mother she was tender and judicious 
As the Mistress of a family kind and considerate 

But for her now bereaved husband the love she bore to all was heightened into the firmest and 
tenderest attachment of her pure heart, to him she was ever faithful, loving, and amiable. 
Alas 1 for him they meet no more in this world. 
His grief at her loss can only be equalled by his pride at having called her his own, and his 
hope through the infinite mercy of God and Saviour to be restored to her in heaven. 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. n 7 



" ' For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.' 

1 Calm on the bosom of thy God Dust to its narrow house beneath, 

Fair spirit rest thee now, Soul to its place on high, 

E'en while with us thy footsteps trod They who have seen thy look in death 

His seal was on thy brow. No more may fear to die." 



" In this Church near her kindred are deposited the remains of Lucy third daughter of the 
Rev*. Francis Coke of Lower Moor & Anne his Wife. Born 24 th July a.d. 1800 Died 22 nd 
October A.D. 1841. Adorned with many excellent gifts she employed the energies of a well 
judging mind and a Christian spirit in the service of God and her fellow creatures. Beloved by 
rich and poor, she died deeply lamented ; in her family greatly esteemed and beloved, her life was 
indeed precious. She devotedly watched over and instructed the children of a widowed brother 
& ' was as one that comforteth the mourner.' Through faith she stood superior to the difficulties 
of this life and in 6rm reliance on her Saviour's merits she looked from earth to heaven, in 
humble hope of life eternal." 



" On the 20th April 1863 the Rev d George Coke of Lower Moor after long suffering from 
loss of sight was reunited in death with his wife and sister. A faithful widower for many 
years and tender parent to his three children He proved the depth of his affection for the living 
and his pious memory of the dead." 

" 'The Lord shall be thy everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 
Isaiah 60 — 20.'" 



The Rev. William Coke, sixth son of the Rev. Francis Coke, was 
born 2nd November 1803 ; B.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, Per- 
petual Curate of the parishes of Marstow and Pencoyd, in the county of 
Hereford. During his incumbency, both these churches being in a most 
dilapidated state, resembling old barns, he after the year 1840 pulled 
down the old church at Marstow, standing on a bad site close to the river 
Garron, which when in flood covered the churchyard, and built on a 
most appropriate spot the present handsome church. In 1 877 he renewed 
the church at Pencoyd, and built the present structure; in May, 1878, it 
was consecrated by Dr. Atlay, the Bishop of Hereford, when he aptly 
remarked that he considered it the best designed and most appropriate 
village church he had ever seen. 



n8 COKE OF THUS LEY. 

Major-General John Coke, C.B., 

Seventh son of the Rev. Francis Coke, was. born 17th November, 1806. 
He received his commission as Ensign in the 10th Regiment Bengal 
Native Infantry 3rd December, 1827, and sailed for India on the 27th 
of the same month. He was promoted Lieutenant August 29th, 1835, and 
that year appointed Adjutant of his regiment, which post he held for nine 
years. He also passed the College of Fort William as interpreter in three 
languages. 

Like many of the distinguished Indian officers, he was unlucky in 
promotion, and was over twenty years a subaltern, obtaining his company 
28th March, 1848 ; he had long before this seen his first active service. 
In 1843 the 10th Regiment was sent to Scinde to reinforce Sir Charles 
Napier : it started with a strength of fourteen European officers and one 
thousand native officers and sepoys. After about a year and a half in 
Scinde the corps marched back to Hindustan, through the desert, with 
only two officers and about three hundred men remaining out of the fine 
body that a short eighteen months previously had left the country. 

He obtained his furlough to Europe in 1845, and returned to India 
in 1848. The second Sikh war had just broken out, and Captain Coke 
joined Lord Gough's army at Ramnuggur as a volunteer in 1849, doing 
duty with Colonel Tait's 2nd Irregular Cavalry. At the action of Chili- 
anwallah his horse was shot when taking Major Dewes' Battery to 
the front. He was also present at the final victory of Goojerat, and 
at the pursuit of the Sikhs and Afghans to Peshawur under General 
Sir W. R. Gilbert. 

On the annexation of the Punjaub by Lord Dalhousie in 1849, 
John Coke was appointed to raise a regiment for frontier service, and 
commenced raising the 1st Punjaub Infantry on 6th April, 1849 ; on 23rd 
February following, the regiment, generally known as Coke's Rifles, was 
reviewed by the Commander-iri-Chief, Sir C. Napier, G.C.B., when he 
reported to Colonel Lawrence, Deputy Commissioner of Peshawur : — 

"As to Coke's regiment, I have seen nothing superior to it in drill — it is admirable ; 

both you and I saw how this brave corps fought under its excellent leader in our five 

days' campaign in the Kohat Pass. I am more pleased with this young commander than I 
can express." 

He received also the thanks of the Honourable Court of Directors and 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. n 9 



the Governor of India for dispatch in raising the regiment and its services 
in the Kohat Pass. 

Having been only serving as a volunteer with the force in the Sikh 
campaign he was refused the medal, but on the recommendation of His 
Excellency the Commander-in-Chief it was granted. The latter wrote from 
Simla, 3rd June, 1850 : — 

" My dear Coke, 

" I am very glad you have a chance of the medal you have so well earned : you 
earned it in the defile of Kohat alone, had you no other claim. I shall not easily forget you 
or your regiment on those five days. I never saw hard work better or more spiritedly done, for 
it was hard work while it lasted. Pray remember me to your admirable regiment, both officers and 
men. " Yours sincerely, 

" Charles Napier." 

The Chief Commissioner of the Punjaub, Sir Henry Montgomery 
Lawrence, G.C.B., the noble statesman and soldier who fell in the 
glorious defence of Lucknow in 1857, also wrote : — 

" My dear Coke, 

" We have written to you officially, but I cannot refrain from sending you a line 
myself, thanking you for the honor you have brought on the Punjaub Irregular Force. Every 
one speaks of the gallantry of yourself and men. I only regret their loss was so severe. I feel 
proud to be connected with such fine fellows. 

" Yours sincerely, 

" H. M. Lawrence." 

He received the thanks of the Governor-General in Council and the 
Punjaub Board of Administration for the conduct of the regiment in 
the campaign under Sir Colin Campbell, K.C.B., in the Ranagie Valley, 
in May, 1852. Two marches made by his regiment to join the force 
attracted much admiration. The first letter despatched by Col. Mackeson, 
Commissioner of Peshawur, directing the corps to march at once for 
Peshawur, being sent by messenger, had been purposely withheld. His 
second letter arrived by post on May 7th. At two o'clock the following 
morning the regiment marched, and arrived that day at Peshawur, a distance 
of forty miles, with a range of hills to cross and the Kohat defile to pass 
through. On the 9th, arriving at the Cabul river, he found the bridge 
of boats swept away. They repaired the bridge, and got over on the 
evening of the 10th, then marched another forty miles, and found the 
force as it was going into action on nth May. 

In 1850 he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Kohat, with 
civil and military charge of the district on the frontier of Afghanistan, 



i2o COKE OF TRUSLEY. 

then in a very critical and disturbed state, the Hill Tribes making 
constant raids on the villages. Kohat at this time was the most law- 
less district in the Punjaub. During the five years it was under his 
charge it became distinguished for its loyalty and good government, 
and has remained so ever since. When Lord Napier of Magdala, as 
Commander-in-Chief in India, lately visited the district in his tour 
of inspection, he assured Major-General Coke that he was by no 
means forgotten by the inhabitants, whom he had endeavoured to 
rule to their own benefit and the advantage of the State. 

Colonel G. B. Malleson, C.S.I., in his " History of the Indian 
Mutiny," writes — 

" Colonel Coke was one of the best known and most distinguished officers of the Punjaub 
Frontier Force. To a thorough knowledge of his profession he added an acquaintance with the 
natives of India not to be surpassed, and a rare power of bending them to his will. He had seen 
much service. He had been with Sir Charles Napier in Upper Sind, with Gough at Chilianwala 
and Gujrat, with Gilbert in pursuit of the Sikhs. After the conclusion of the second Sikh War, he 
served continuously, up to the outbreak of the Mutiny, on the frontier. There his name became a 
household word. Scarcely an expedition was undertaken against the wild border tribes but Coke 
bore a part in it. Twice was he wounded ; but his unflinching demeanour, his power of leadership, 
whilst it gained the supreme confidence of his men, extorted respect and admiration from his 
enemies. Wherever he might, be his presence was a power." 

He was first wounded in the Kohat Pass in 1853. I n September, 
1855, he received the thanks of the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, 
for the conduct of his regiment at the capture of the intrenchments 
on the Summana Mountains, 5,000 feet high. The regiment com- 
menced the ascent at ten o'clock on the night of the 1st September, 
and did not get back until about the same hour on the 2nd, being 
twenty-four hours at work. Lord Dalhousie wrote : — 

" Brigadier Chamberlain has remarked that any man might be proud to command such troops. 
He has ample ground for the remark, and the Government may be both proud and happy in the 
knowledge that it possesses troops able and willing to perform so gallant a service, and an officer 
capable of planning, leading, and executing such attacks as are described in the papers under 
notice." 

In February, 1857, he was, with his regiment, employed in the most 

successful campaign in the Bogdar Hills, when he was again wounded, and 

received the Frontier medal. In May of the same year, on the breaking 

out of the Indian Mutiny, he marched for Delhi. Colonel Malleson 

writes : — 

" Summoned to Delhi early in August, Coke brought to the part assigned him in the siege all 
the qualities which had made his name on the frontier. He was always prominent in the fight, 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 121 



always daring and self-reliant. I may be pardoned if I relate here one special act, amongst many, 
which illustrated his conduct at this period. On the 12th August Coke received instructions from 
Brigadier-General Showers to turn out the European picket at the Metcalfe stables, and taking the 
men composing it with him, to proceed through the Metcalfe gardens and attack the guns which 
had been firing on the picket the preceding day. No information was given him as to the locality 
of the guns, but having been quartered at Delhi before the outbreak, Coke imagined that he would 
find them in the vicinity of Ludlow Castle. He directed, then, the officer commanding the picket 
to extend the men on his right, and to follow the direction he should take. At the same time he 
ordered Lieutenant Lumsden, commanding his own regiment, to skirmish through the gardens 
on the left — the direction in which he expected to find the enemy in force. He then rode through 
the gardens towards Ludlow Castle. On reaching the boundary wall of the gardens, on the main 
road leading to the city, he found that an embrasure had been made in the wall of the garden. 
At the same moment he saw the enemy's guns — two nine-pounder brass guns — in the road, with 
horses attached, but no one with them, the enemy having apparently taken refuge in Ludlow 
Castle when driven out of the Metcalfe gardens by Lumsden. The horses' heads were turned 
towards' the city. An alarm — a stray bullet, a discharge close to them— might start them off at 
any moment. Quick as lightning the idea flashed into Coke's brain that if he could but turn the 
horses' heads towards the camp, it would little signify how soon the horses might be alarmed : they 
would of themselves capture the guns for the British. On the instant he alighted from his horse. 
got down through the embrasure into the road, ran to the horses of the leading gun, and turned 
them up the road towards cantonments. Whilst doing this he was shot in the thigh by the enemy 
in Ludlow Castle ; but the guns were captured. He had done his self-allotted task, and reaped his 
only reward in the admiration of all who witnessed his splendid audacity.'' 

He was in February, 1858, given the command of a brigade to operate 
in Rohilcund. On reaching Roorkee he had great difficulty in procuring 
transport. Malleson writes : — 

"The country, in fact, had been so thoroughly exhausted that but little carriage was pro- 
curable. In this dilemma Coke's practical knowledge and fertility of resource came into play. He 
had read how, in the olden days of Indian warfare, the Brinjaris— dealers who carry their grain on 
pack cattle— had made themselves eminently serviceable. Calling to mind, then, that at the actual 
season these men were accustomed to pasture their cattle in the Terai, he sent thither, found them, 
and made such arrangements with their head men as enabled him to conquer a difficulty which 
many another man would have found insurmountable." 

Colonel Malleson gives a full account of Brigadier Coke's services in 
Rohilcund, which space alone, in a work of this nature, prevents noticing. 
The following extract will make a fitting conclusion :— 

" Inglis informed Brigadier Coke that many prominent leaders of the revolt were at the 
moment in hiding in the city of Moradabad, and that it would not be impossible, by the exercise 
of daring and prudence, to seize them. These two qualities shone conspicuously in the character 
of Coke. He at once made arrangements to effect the capture of these men. Placing the 
Multani cavalry to guard the outlets of the city, he entered with his infantry, and proceeded to the 
houses indicated to him. The task was difficult and dangerous, but it resulted in success. Twenty- 
one notorious ringleaders of the revolt were actually taken. Others were slain defending 
themselves." 

Lord Lawrence, writing to The Times in November, 1878, on the 

R 



122 



COKE OF TRUSLEY. 



Afghan war, names Major-General John Coke as one of the "models of 

frontier officers, good administrators, and able soldiers — men who devoted 

their health, and even their lives, to their duty." He adds : — 

' ' The frontier officers in the Punjab at all times were vigilant and careful as to what was going 
on along the border. They received the leading men, and even the lowest members of these tribes, 
with courtesy and kindness ; they afforded them the hospitality which custom and good feeling 
suggested, and on every occasion of service of the smallest value gave them suitable presents." 

Major-General Coke received the Delhi medal and clasp, and was made 
Companion of the Order of the Bath. The dates of his later commissions 
are — Brevet Major, 1854; Brevet Lieut-Colonel, 1858; Colonel, 1858; 
and Major-General on retirement. He is J. P. and D.L. for the county of 
Hereford, and was High Sheriff in 1879. 



The Bev. GEORGE FRANCIS = FRAN C ES, 4th daughter of Henry 



COKE, of Lemore House, co. Hereford, 
M.A., Vicar of Titley, in that county. 
Born 15th January, 1830. 



Hide Seymour, Esq., of Wells, Somerset. 
Married 3rd June, 1856. , 



1. Francis Sacheverell Coke. 

2. Lucy Theodora. 



Bom 28th April, 1862. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



Acard, Thomas de, 4. 
Agard, Charles, 27. 
Allestry, Family, 35. 
Argall, Anna, 30. 

Ballidon, Catherine, 45. 

Paul, 23, 28, 45, 53. 
,, William, 31. 

Bate, Nathaniel, 27. 
Bates, Roger, 13. 
Baxter, Richard, 65. 
Bayly, Vere, 105. 
Beet, — , 84. 
Beresford, Maud, 18. 
,, Family, 20. 
Birch, Joseph, 34. 
Bird, John, 6. 

„ Family, 7. 
Bond, Elizabeth, no. 
Boothby, Sir William, 64. 
Brentwood, Cicely, 4. 
Brereton, Sir William, 65. 
Brown, Judith, 40, 42. 
Brunton, Amy, 105. 
Bull, Thomas, 23. 
Bullock, Col. William, 27. 
Bumell, Arthur, 102. 
Bussell, Adelaide, 109. 
Bussy, Francis, 8. 
Byrd, Addeson, L. 42. 

„ Mary, 40, 42. 
Bytheway, Elizabeth, 112. 

Carey, Valentine, 8. 
Charlton, Catherine, 23, 28, 29. 

,, G., 105. 

,, Family, 26. 
Chesterfield, Earl, 72. 
Cliffe, Joyce, 76. 
Cockburn, Sir William, 114. 
Coke, Addie Chambers, 42. 
„ Adela Mary, no. 



Coke, Aimee Pauline, 107. 
Albert William, 105. 
Alexander, 42. 
Alexander S. W., 42. 

Alfred Sacheverell, 105. 

Algernon John, 105. 

Alice, 18, 69, 105. 

Alice Rebecca, 42. 

Amy Constance, 105. 

Ann, 6; 13, 17. 

Anne, 23, 38, 45, 58, III, 114. 

Anne Elizabeth, 116. 

Annie Crosbie, 107. 

Anthony, 6. 

Arthur, 6. 

Ballidon, 84. 

Blanche, 109. 

Bridget, 84. 

Caroline, 42. 

Catherine, 17, 23, 38, 84, 1 10. 

Catherine Cassandra, 45, 53, 101, 105. 

Charles, 17, 84. 

Charles Henry, 109. 

Charlotte, 72, 75. 

Charlotte Geraldine, 107. 

Clementine Rosalie, 105. 

Daniel Parker, 31, 32. 

D'Ewes, 37, 53, 83, 84, 86, 89, 102. 
D'Ewes Leventhorpe, I05. 

Diana Geraldine, 107. 
Diana Talbot, 107. 
Dorothea, no. 

Dorothy, 6, 7, 8, 17, 31, 38, 69. 
Dorothy Frances, 107. 
Edmond, 6. 
Edward, 6, 38, 42, 45. 
Edward Beresford, 107. 
Edward Hardinge, no. 
Edward R., 42. 
Edward Sacheverell, 107. 
Edward Thomas, 100, 102, 107. 
Eleanor, 13. 



124 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



Coke, Elena, 6. 

,, Elise, 42. 

„ Eliza, 42. 

„ Elizabeth, 6, 8, 13, 17, 18, 23, 38, 58, 

69. 71. 72> 84, no, in, 113, 114. 

,, Elizabeth Anne, 102. 

„ Emily Maude, loj. 

,, Emma, 23. 

„ Emma Isabella, 102. 

,, Emma Matilda, 31. 

,, Ernest Sacheverell, no. 

,, Ethel Marie, 105. 

,, Eugenie Diane, 107. 

,, Florence Elizabeth, no. 

„ Frances, 17, 23, 37, 45, 53, 84, 86. 

,, Frances Geraldine, 105. 

„ Francis, 6, 8, 13, 17, 18, 23, 28, 38, 69, 

84, no, in, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117. 

,, Francis Desmond, 107. 

,, Francis Lillyman, 102. 

,, Francis Sacheverell, 122. 

,, Frederick D'Ewes, 105. 

„ George, 8, 76, 84, 86, in, 112, 113, 

114, 116. 

,, George Elmsley, no. 

„ George Francis, 116, 122. 

„ George Haukins, 42. 

,, George Lewis, 72, 75. 

„ Gertrude Alice, 107. 

,, Gilbert, 13, 17, 23. 

,, Hannah, 89. 

, , Harriet Frances, 102. 

„ Harriet Timson, 42. 

,, Heigham, 82, 83. 

,, Helen Blanche, 105. 

,, Henrietta Margaret, 105. 

,, Henry, 18. 

,, HenryBeresford.no. 

,, Henry C., 42. 

,, Herbert de Odingsells, 105. 

„ Hester Marion, 105. 

» Hugh, I. 

„ Isabel, 18, 23, 38. 

,, Isabel Emma, 107. 

,, Isabel Hariot, 107. 

,, Isabel Maud, 109. 

,, Isabell, 6. 

,, Jacinth D'Ewes, 105. 

,, jane, 6, 84,110, 113, 114. 

,, Jane Susanna, 107. 



Coke, John, 1, 5, 6, 8, 13, 23, 38, 39, 40, 42, 
58, 63, 69, 76, 89, 98, 114, 118. 

,, John A., 42. 

, , John Archer, 41, 42. 

„ John Gilbert, 107. 

,, John Henry, 102, 109. 

,, John Talbot, 107. 

,, Kathleen Sophia, 107. 

,, Langton Sacheverell, 105. 

„ Lillian Margaret, 1 10. 

,, Louisa Diana, no. 

„ Lucius Cary, 42. 

„ Lucy, in, 113, 114. 

,, Lucy Elizabeth, 116. 

,, Lucy Emma, no. 

,, Lucy Harriet, 105. 

„ Lucy Theodora, 122. 

,, Margaret, 6, 8. 

„ Mary, 8, 13, 17, 18, 38, 42, 45, 58, 69, 

72, 105. 

,, Mary Agnes, 102. 

,, Mary Emily, 42. 

„ Matilda, 23. 

,, May Evelyn, no. 

„ Octavius, 42. 

„ Philip, 8. 

„ Phyllis Sacheverell, 105. 

,, Priscilla, 83. 

,, Rebecca, 40, 42. 

„ Richard, 6, 8, 17, 18, 23, 26, 27, 38, 42, 

76, 82, 84, 112, 113, 114. 

,, Richard George, 91, 102, no. 

„ Robert, 1, 2, 4, 8, 23, 38, 43, 45, 114. 

,, Ronald Bruce, 109. 

,, Rose, 6. 

,, Rose Edith, 109. 

,, Sadie, 42. 

, , Samuel, 40, 42, 

,, Sarah, 31, 114. 

„ Sarah Sophia, 102. 

,, Sidney^ 109. 

,, Susan, 42. 

,, Susan C, 42. 

„ Susanna, 13, 23, 45. 

,, Theodosia, no. 

,, Thomas, 2, 8, 23, 30, 31, 38, 58, 67, 

69. 72, 73. 7°- 

,, Thomas de Odingsells, 107. 

„ Timothy, 18. 

„ Walter Owen, 105. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



"5 



Coke, William, i, 4, 5, 6, 13, 17, 18, 23, 30, 
45, 76, 84, 89, 95, 97, no, 114, 117. 
„ William Langton, 105. 
„ William Sacheverell, 102, 105. 
„ William Walter, 42. 
Cooper, William, 107. 

„ Family, 7. 
Comick, Lucy, 42. 
Coton, Ralph, 17. 
Cotton, Charles K, 55. 

„ Thomas, 2. 
Coucher, Lucy, in. 
Cowper, Earl, 76. 
Coxon, G. S., no. 
Crosbie, David, 107. 

,, Lindsey, 107. 
Curzon, Elizabeth, 13. 
„ Family, 16, 63, 72. 

Danvers, H., 58, 61. 

„ John, 6. 
Dawes, Ada, 107. 
Deane, Sarah Kift, 105. 
Degge, Simon, 27. 
Derby, Captain, 26. 
D'Ewes, Elizabeth, 83. 

„ Family, 83. 
Dodsworth, Mathew, 20. 
Dorset, Earl, 16. 

Eaton, — , 27. 
Eden, Philip, 64. 
Ellis, Elizabeth, 86. 
Evans, Margaret, 17. 
„ Family, 18. 

Fanshaw, John, 69. 

,, Susanna, 71. 

Faunt, Arthur, 58. 
Ferrers, — , 27. 
Fisher, Kate, 42. 
FitzErcald, Family, 12. 
Fitz Gerald, Charlotte, 107. 
Fitzherbert, Dorothy, 6. 
John, 18. 

„ Robert, 6. 

(> William, 27. 

„ Family, 6, 20, 27. 

Fitzrandolfe Family, 20. 



Fleetwood, General, 58. 
Fowler, Elizabeth, 23. 

„ Family, 36. 
Fulwood, Francis, 8. 

Garlicke, William, 36. 
Gell, Sir John, 26, 27, 66. 
Gilbert, Elizabeth, 17. 

„ John, 7. 

,, William, 6. 

„ Family, 7, 17. 
Gisborne, John, 32. 
Goodwin, Matilda, 31. 
„ Samuel, 38. 
Greenaway, T., 105. 
Greville, Sir Fulke, 62. 
Griffiths, Jane, 113. 

„ Jeremiah, ill, 113 
Grosvenor, — , 38. 

Hale, Mary, 72. 
Hallowes, — , 27. 
Hardinge, Robert, 69. 
Harper, Barbara, in. 
Harpur, J"ohn, 12, 38. 

,, Sir Richard, 16. 

„ William, 18. 
Harrison, Anne, 38. 
Hartopp, Sir Edward, 58. 
Hatrell, Henry, 31. 

„ Thomas, 31. 
Haukins, Eliz., 42. 
Heathcot, ThornhiU, 31. 
Heigham, Jane, 76. 

„ Family, 78. 
Henley, Leonard, 42. 

„ Lucy, 40, 42. 
Heugh, Ada Caroline, 105. 
Heye, Captain, ,26. 
Heywood, Hanpah, 89. 
Hill, Isabella, 114. 
,, Walter, 114. 
Hilton, Joan, 4. 

„ John, 4. 

„ Family, 4- 
Hodgson, Anne, 116. 

„ James, 113, 116. 
Hoge, Sarah, 39, 42. 
Holies, Frances, 13. 
Family, 14- 



126 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



Hopton, Elizabeth, no. 

,, Family, in. 
Home, Mary E., 42. 
Horton, — , 27. 
Howgton, Lord, 13. 
Hurt, Catherine, 84. 

Jones, Pattie, 42. 

Kayse, Mary, 82. 
Keys, Robert, 6. 
King, Sir Richard, 96. 
Kirkby Family, 9. 
Kniveton, Sir Gilbert, 16. 

Lamb, Mathew, 72, 75. 
Leake, Sir Francis, 11. 
Lechmere, Mary, 83. 

„ Family, 26, 83, 
Lee, Joan, 58. 
Leigh, Thomas, 12, 15. 
Leventhorpe, Mary, 69. 

„ Family, 69. 

Lillyman Family, 87, 89) 9,2, 
Lister, Thomas, 17. 
Longford, Isabell, 5* 

Family, 5, II, 
Longforth, Sir Richard, 5. 
Lowe Family, J. 
Lynam, James, 84, 88. 

Manlove, Thomas, 32. 
Mann, Thomas, 17. 
Manners, Dorothy, 12. 

„ John, 12. 
Marshall, Lewis, 40, 42.. 

„ Rebecca, 42. 
Melbourne, Viscount, 75. 
Mickleburgh, Frank, 107. 
Miller, Susan, 105. 
Milner, W. H., no. 
Motley, John, 42, 
Mundy, John, 13, 28. 
,, William, 17. 

Odingsells, Elizabeth, 2. 

,, Thomas, 2. 

„ Family, 3. 

Oswald, J. Gordon, 107. 
Overbey, Emma, 42. 



Owen, Agnes, 1. 
,, Family, 2. 

Palmerstqn, Viscount, 76. 

Pitt, William, 33. 

Pole, William Chandos, 55. 

Pope, Mary, 67. 

Powell, Francis, 21. 

„ Mary, 58, 62. 
Pussey, Elizabeth, 63. 

Revel, Edward, 89. 
Robertson, George, 102. 
Robie, Elizabeth, 38. 
Ross, A., no. 
Rubens, Peter Paul, 62. 

Sacheverell, Henry, 58, 

„ Mary, 8. 

,, Family, 9, $S. 

Sacker, Thomas, 58. 
Salmond, James, 102. 
Sam well, Elizabeth, 43. 

„ Family, 43. 
. Sarsfield-Rossiter, Sir William, 114. 
Saunders, Dorothy, 18. 
Scott, R. B., 42. 
Scriven, William, 64. 
Seldon, Robert, 50. 
Seymour, Frances, 122. 
Sherman, Thomas, 18. 
Shields, Rebecca, 40, 42. 
Shore, Harrington, 107. 
Skinner, Caroline, 42. 
Southwell, Lord, 72. 
Spurr, Henry, 28. 
Squire, William, 17. 
Stanhope, Lady Mary, 72. 
Stathum Family, n. 
Stokes, Deborah, 84. 
Strafford, Earl of, 64. 
Streethay, Philip, 6. 
Sulney, Sir John, 5. 
Swetnam, Captain, 27. 

Talbot, Diana, 107. 
Telfer, C. D., 109. 
Thacker, Christopher, 6. 

„ Gilbert, 7. 

„ Family, 7. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



127 



Thompson, — , 84. 
Thornhill, Bache, 72. 
Torkington, Charles, no. 
Tunnicliffe, Ralph, 38. 

Vane, Sir Harry, 60. 

Vernon, Sir George, 11. 

,, Henry, 12. 

Walker, Anne, 38. 
Ward, John, 23. 
Watson, Captain, 26. 
Whalley, Jeffrey, 6. 
Wheldon, John, 38. 
Whitcombe, Anne, 114. 

,, Robert, 114. 

,, Family, 114. 

White, Jane, 30. 



Whyte, Captain, 27. 
Willett, Sarah, 31. 
Williams, Ellis, 89. 

S. H., 105. 
Williamson, — , 17. 
Willoughby, Percival, 13. 
Wilmot, Edward, 23, 31, 40, 53, 54, 55, 56. 

,, Francis, 56. 

,, Francis Ballidon, 100. 

,, Susanna, 89, 100. 

„ Family, 56, 57. 93. 
Wilson, Dr. Samuel, 42. 
Witherden, Martha, 30. 
Wood, Bettie, 42. 
Woodcock, William, 8. 
Wright, Harriet, 102. 

,, Thomas, 102, 103. 

,, Family, 103.