http://en.rodovid.org/wk/Person:547365
Coke of Trusley on Magna Brittanica
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=r0dBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR65&lpg=PR65&dq=coke+of+trusley&source=bl&ots=ZxQEO_6UWC&sig=NemcxTNulSauD8hQd89VBbMvmro&hl=en&sa=X&ei=e9NcVLezIfGV7AafhIGIDA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAzgU#v=onepage&q=coke%20of%20trusley&f=false
Coke, of Trusley.—This family is of considerable antiquity. Hugh Coke married the heiress of Owen, of Marchington, in Staffordshire, and settled at that place in the reign of Edward III.: Thomas, his grandson, about the middle of the fifteenth century settled in Derbyshire, in consequence of his marriage with one of the coheiresses” of Odingsells, of Trusley. Richard Coke, the fifth in descent from this Thomas, married the heiress of Sacheverell, of Nottinghamshire. William Coke, grandson of Richard, married a coheiress of Beresford, of Alsop. William Coke, great-grandson of the last-mentioned William, dying without male issue in 1716, the elder branch became extinct: his daughters and coheiresses married Edward Wilmot, or the Chaddesden family, and D’Ewes Coke, of Suckley, in Worcestershire, descended from George Coke, Bishop of Hereford, a younger brother of Sir Francis Coke, of Trusley, who died in 1639. The Reyerend Francis Wilmot, Rector of Trusley, and D’Ewes Coke, Esq., of Brookhillhall, in the Nottinghamshire part of the parish of Pinxton, are the repre sentatives of this branch.
Daniel Parker Coke, Esq., of the College in Derby, descended from the Reverend Thomas Coke, Rector of Trusley, a younger brother of Robert Coke, Esq., who died in 1713, is the male representative of the family, being the eleventh in descent from Thomas Coke, who married the heiress of Odingsells. The mother of Mr. Coke was heiress of Goodwin; his grandmother, the heiress of Willet, both of Derby. Sir John Coke, Secretary of State to King Charles I., and younger brother of Sir Francis Coke, of Trusley, settled at Melbourne in this county. George Lewis Coke, Esq., the last heir male of this branch, died in 1750; his sister and sole heir married Sir Matthew Lambe, Bart., father of the present Lord Viscount Melbourne.
Arms of Coke, of Trusley: Gules, three crescents, and a canton, Or.
Crest: The sun in splendor
— Extract from Magna Britannia
Coke of Trusley, in the County of Derby, And Branches Therefrom: a Family HistoryCoke of Trusley, in the County of Derby, And Branches Therefrom: a Family History
Coke of Trusley, in the County of Derby, And Branches Therefrom: a Family HistoryCoke of Trusley, in the County of Derby, And Branches Therefrom: a Family History
http://www.readanybook.com/ebook/coke-of-trusley-in-the-county-of-derby-and-branches-therefrom-a-family-history-273640
Coke family Tree
http://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/cc4aq/coke02.php
Coke of Melbourne, Coke of Trusley
Robert Coke
1. Hugh Coke (a 1373)
m. Agnes Owen (dau of Marchington Woodhouse)
A. ?? Coke
i. Thomas Coke
m. (c1418) Elizabeth de Odingsells (dau of Thomas de Odingsells of Trusley)
a. William Coke of Trusley (d 1504)
m. (1448) Joan Hilton (dau of John Hilton)
(1) William Coke of Trusley (d 1514)
(A) William Coke of Trusley (d 1518)
m. Isabell Longford (dau of Sir Ralph Longford of Longford)
(i) William Coke of Trusley (d 09.1575)
m. Dorothy Fitzherbert (dau of Robert Fitzherbert of Tissington)
(a) Richard Coke of Trusley (d 20.11.1582)
m. Mary Sacheverell (dau of Thomas Sacheverell of Kirby/Snitterton of family of Morley)
((1)) Sir Francis Coke of Trusley (b 11.11.1561, d 16.08.1639) - continued below
m1. Frances Holles (dau of Denzell Holles, son of Sir William)
m2. Elizabeth Curzon (dau of George Curzon of Croxhall)
((2)) Sir John Coke (b 1563, d 08.09.1644, Secretary of State for King Charles I)
m1. Mary Powell (dau of _ Powell of Prestein)
((A)) Sir John Coke 'of Melbourne' (b 1607, dsp 1650)
m. Elizabeth Pewsey (dau of Timothy Pewsey of Selston)
((B)) Thomas Coke of Melbourne (d 1656)
m. Mary Pope (dau of _ Pope of Wosterten)
((i)) John Coke of Melbourne (b c1653, d 1692)
m. (15.06.1672) Mary Leventhorpe (dau of Sir Thomas Leventhorpe) wife of John, apparently mother of ...
((a)) Thomas Coke of Melbourne (b 1674, d 1727)
Identification of Thomas's 2nd wife and allocation of the children between his wives was found in 'Coke of Trusley' by John Talbot Coke (2008).
m1. Mary Stanhope (dau of Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield)
(((1))) Mary Coke (d 17.08.1766)
m. (03.1719) Thomas Southwell, 2nd Lord (b 07.01.1698, d 19.11.1766)
(((2))) Elizabeth Coke
m. Bache Thornhill of Stanton
m2. Mary Hale (sister (sb niece) of Bernard Hale of Gray's Inn)
(((3))) George (not John) Lewis Coke of Melbourne (b 1715, d 1750)
(((4))) Charlotte Coke
m. Sir Matthew Lamb, Bart of Brocket (d 1768)
((b)) Mary Coke (bur 06.1713) probably of this generation
m. (21.11.1695) John Fanshawe of Parsloes (d 1699)
((C)) Mary Coke (d 17.12.1684)
m1. Sir Edward Hartop of Buckminster (b c1608, d 1658)
m2. Charles Fleetwood (d 04.10.1692, General)
((D)) Elizabeth Coke
m1. Arthur Faunt (son of Sir William)
m2. Thomas Stocke (alderman of London)
((E)) Anne Coke
m1. Henry Sacheverell (son/heir of Jacynth of Morley)
m2. Henry Danvers (son of William of Swethland)
m2. Joan Lee (dau of Sir Robert Lee, Lord Mayor of London) apparently 2nd wife
((3)) George Coke, Bishop of Bristol then Hereford (b c1570, d 10/3.12.1646)
m. Jane Heigham (dau of William Heigham, son of Sir Clement of Suffolk)
((4)) Elizabeth Coke
m. William Woodcote of Edall
((5)) Mary Coke
m. Francis Fullwood of Midleton
((6)) Margaret Coke
m. Francis Bushey of Clifton
((7)) Dorothy Coke
m. Valentine Carey, Bishop of Exeter
((8))+ other issue - Thomas (dsp 1621), Philip (dsp), Robert
(b) Margaret Coke probably of this generation
m. Geoffrey/Galfrid Whalley of Bradmore
(c) Isabella Coke possibly of this generation
m. John Danvers of Swithland (a 1563)
(d)+ 12 other children
Sir Francis Coke of Trusley (b 11.11.1561, d 16.08.1639) - continued above
m1. Frances Holles (dau of Denzell Holles, son of Sir William)
1. Eleanor Coke (d unm)
2. Susannah Coke
m. Roger Bates (chaplain to King Charles I)
m2. Elizabeth Curzon (dau of George Curzon of Croxhall)
3. William Coke of Trusley (b 29.03.1594, d 27.03.1641)
m1. Maud Beresford (dau of Henry Beresford of Alsop-in-the-Dale)
A. Richard Coke of Trusley (b 07.12.1617, d 12.03.1664)
m. (26.12.1644) Catherine Charlton (dau of Robert Charlton of Whitton)
i. Robert Coke of Trusley (b 17.11.1646, d 23.01.1713)
m. (26.09.1677) Elizabeth Samwell (dau of Anthony Samwell, son of Sir William)
a. William Coke of Trusley (b 31.03.1679, d 18.01.1718)
m. (15.02.1693) Catherine Ballidon (dau of Paul Ballidon of Derby) @@ below
(1) Catherine Cassandra Isabella Coke
m. (27.12.1718) Edward Wilmot of Spondon
(2) Frances Coke
m. (1720) D'Ewes Coke of Suckley (d 23.10.1751)
ii. Thomas Coke (b 26.09.1655, d 26.05.1699, rector of Pinxton and Trusley)
m. Sarah Willett (dau of William Willett of Derby)
a. ?? Coke
(1) Daniel Parker Coke (d 06.12.1825, MP for Nottingham)
iii. Richard Coke (b 09.11.1664)
m. Elizabeth Robie (dau of Thomas Robie of Donnington)
a.+ issue including John (2nd son, to Virginia)
iv. Anne Coke
m. (11.1662) Paul Ballidon of Derby
a. Catherine Ballidon
m. (15.02.1693) William Coke of Trusley (b 31.03.1679, d 18.01.1718) @@ above
v. Susannah Coke
m. (30.05.1667) Edward Wilmot of Spondon
vi. Elizabeth Coke
m. John Ward (rector of Mickleover)
vii. Matilda Coke (d 1719)
m. Thomas Bull
viii.+ other issue - William (b 20.09.1651), John (b 24.08.1656, dsp 18.11.1720), 2 sons (d young), 4 daughters (d unm)
"Coke of Trusley, in the county of Derby, and branches therefrom: a family history"
Full text of "Coke of Trusley, in the county of Derby, and branches therefrom: a family history" A superb resource: https://archive.org/stream/cu31924029786013/cu31924029786013_djvu.txt cs 42>f <:&? + CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library CS439.C68 C68 + Coke of Truslev, In the county of Derby, 3 1924 029 786 013 I olin Overs Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029786013 gqw 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. V pf,.; 1 !- UN: V. K cs (2 G>$> -f~ ***** u PRINTED BY W. H. AND L. COIXINGRIDGE, CITY PRESS, ALDEBSGATE STREET, LONDON. / " 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.
Great walks at Trusley
http://www.south-derbys.gov.uk/Images/3ChurchesWalkLRes_tcm21-85575.pdf
http://www.activederbyshire.co.uk/walkingmaps
Domesday Map
- Hundred: Appletree
- County: Derbyshire
- Total population: 16 households (medium).
- Total tax assessed: 1.5 geld units (quite small).
See larger image or on original page
- Taxable units: Taxable value 1.5 geld units. Payments of 0.5 rent.
- Value: Value to lord in 1066 £2. Value to lord in 1086 £1.5.
- Households: 4 villagers. 5 smallholders. 2 freemen. 5 tributaries.
- Ploughland: 2 ploughlands (land for). 1 lord's plough teams. 2.5 men's plough teams.
- Other resources: Meadow 33 acres. Woodland 1 league * 4 furlongs mixed measures.
- Lords in 1066: Aefic of Ashe; Ulfkil of Bupton.
- Lord in 1086: Hugh the bowman.
- Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Henry of Ferrers.
- Phillimore reference: 6,38
http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SK2535/trusley/
Trusley on Vision of Britain
In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Trusley like this:
TRUSLEY, a parish in the district of Burton-upon-Trent and county of Derby; 4¾ miles NNE of Tutbury r. station, and 6 W of Derby. Post town, Derby. Acres, 1,078. Real property, £3,234. Pop., 99. Houses, 17. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £129.* Patron, E. Coke, Esq. The church is plain.
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/2386/links
Trusley On Guides for Brides
http://www.guidesforbrides.co.uk/find/church-weddings/derbyshire/trusley-all-saints-trusley/97852
If Trusley: All Saints, Trusley is your local parish church or if you have another legally-recognised connection with it, we'd love to hear from you to discuss your plans for marriage. To find out more about connections that enable you to marry in a particular church, see the Church of England's weddings web site for more details. Couples choose a church wedding for all sorts of reasons. Find out more about how you can too.
Special Day, Special Place
Getting married is one of the biggest decisions you'll take in life. There are some things about marrying in church that make that big moment extra special:
- A church wedding will add a spiritual dimension to your marriage. God's blessing is the main attraction for many couples, whatever their beliefs.
- You can make amazing vows, or promises, in a church. These vows, made in public, will help you to stay together and grow together.
- The Vicar has a very particular role to play in your wedding. They can blend ancient tradition and modern experience to reflect your story. Because of the relationship with the Vicar, your wedding can be made personal, memorable, meaningful and beautiful.
- Church buildings offer outstanding beauty. Old or new, intimate or grand, our 16,000 churches are some of the nation's most stunning wedding venues, with two-thirds being listed buildings.
- Church buildings offer centuries of history. You can feel you're becoming part of history itself by marrying in the same place as your relatives.
- You can be involved in making choices about your ceremony. You can even use an online ceremony planner to get you started. For some people, a church simply seems like the proper place to get married. Churches can be described as 'peaceful', 'serene', or having an atmosphere that makes marrying there a particularly special experience.
You do not need to have been christened and you do not need to be attending regularly to choose a church wedding. A complication might arise if one of you has been married before, or, if one of you is a foreign national, but there may still be a way forward. The Church of England's weddings web site tells you more about this.
Trusley on Claycross.org.uk
http://claycross.org.uk/White_Directory/pdf/244-260.pdf