John Coke (c. 1653–1692) of

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 th ...

Melbourne, Derbyshire Melbourne () is a market town and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. It was home to Thomas Cook, and has a street named after him. It is south of Derby and from the River Trent. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was ...

was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in between 1685 and 1689. Melbourne Hall

Coke was the son of Thomas Coke of Melbourne, and his wife Mary Pope, daughter of Richard Pope of Woolstaston, Shropshire. He entered

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

and

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1669. He was a commissioner for assessment for Derbyshire from 1673 to 1680. Coke stood unsuccessfully for parliament at

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

in a by-election in April 1679 and at

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

in 1681. One of his opponents George Vernon was said to have uttered dangerous words which Coke forwarded to the government after the Rye House plot. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Derbyshire and Leicestershire from 1680 to 1686. In 1685 he received a place at court as

Gentleman usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders. Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fou ...

to Queen

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...

and became a captain in Princess Anne's Foot. 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 Derby in 1685 He was sent briefly to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

after opposing King James legislation requiring Catholics in the army. He was deprived of his commission, but at the Glorious Revolution raised a troop of horse for Prince William and was placed second in command of Lord Cavendish's regiment. In 1689 he was re-elected MP for Derby in the Convention Parliament of 1689. Coke went abroad for health reasons and died at Geneva at the age of 39. Coke married Mary Leventhorpe, daughter of Sir Thomas Leventhorpe, 4th Baronet in 1672. He had seven children and his son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

was also MP for Derbyshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, John 1653 births 1692 deaths People of the Rye House Plot English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 Deputy Lieutenants of Derbyshire Deputy Lieutenants of Leicestershire Prisoners in the Tower of London