Sir John Coke (1607–1650) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

from 1640 to 1650. He supported the Parliamentarian side during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

Coke was the son of

Sir John Coke Sir John Coke (5 March 1563 – 8 September 1644) was an English civil servant and naval administrator, described by one commentator as "the Samuel Pepys of his day". He was MP for various constituencies in the House of Commons between 1621 and ...

Melbourne Hall Melbourne Hall is a Georgian style country house in Melbourne, Derbyshire, previously owned by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, British Prime Minister from 1835 to 1841. The house is now the seat of Lord and Lady Ralph Kerr and is open to the ...

and his wife Mary Powell, daughter of John Powell of

Presteigne Presteigne (; cy, Llanandras: the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales on the south bank of the River Lugg. Formerly the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, the town has, in common with sev ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. His father was an MP and secretary to King Charles I. Coke lived at Melbourne Hall after his father gave it up for him and was knighted during the lifetime of his father.John Talbot Coke ''Coke Family''
/ref> In November 1640, Coke was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

He held the seat until his death in 1650. Coke was a member of the committee of sequestrators appointed for Derbyshire on 31 March 1645 and of another for raising money for the maintenance of Fairfax's army during 1644. In 1646 he was one of the receivers for the money raised for disbanding the forces in Derbyshire. He was then one of the nine commissioners appointed to take charge of King Charles I after he had been captured and handed over by the Scots. The commissioners remained with the king at

Holdenby House Holdenby House is a historic country house in Northamptonshire, traditionally pronounced, and sometimes spelt, Holmby. The house is situated in the parish of Holdenby, six miles (10 km) northwest of Northampton and close to Althorp. It is a G ...

Northamptonshire and went with him to

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

where he escaped. After the execution of the King, Coke went to Paris, where he died at the age of 43. Coke married Elizabeth Willoughby, widow of W Willoughby and daughter of Timothy Pussey on 25 July 1633 and died without issue. His brother Thomas Coke who was his heir was MP for Leicester.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, John 1607 births 1660 deaths Roundheads English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1648–1653