Thomas Coke (19 February 1674 – 11 May 1727) 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 the ...

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 courtier and 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. ...

between 1698 and 1715. Although a Tory on paper, he was prepared to support the Whigs in order to keep hold of his public offices.

Early life

Coke was the son of

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 an ...

and his wife Mary Leventhorpe, daughter of Sir Thomas Leventhorpe, 4th Baronet. He was born at

where he was baptised on 19 February 1675. His father was MP for

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 ...

. Coke lost his parents when under age and was educated abroad under Monsieur Chauvais of Rotterdam in 1688. He matriculated at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

in 1693 and travelled abroad in the Netherlands in 1696 and 1697. Around June 1698 he married Lady Mary Stanhope daughter of Philip

Earl of Chesterfield Earl of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also i ...

(with £8,000) at Repton.

Career

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 ...

at the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' sup ...

and sat until January 1701. He was re-elected MP for Derbyshire in December 1701. In March 1702 he was appointed Commissioner of Public Accounts. At the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...

he was returned unopposed as MP for Derbyshire. He anxiously seeking public office and was eventually appointed

Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer The Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer was an office in the English Exchequer. The Tellers of the Exchequer received any money to be paid into the Exchequer, noted the amount in a book, and sent a copy of the entry, called a Teller's Bill, to t ...

in May 1704. He was returned unopposed again at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

and supported the Court candidate for Speaker. In December 1706, he exchanged offices with Peregrine Bertie to obtain a court place as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, a position he held for the rest of his life. He was returned again for Derbyshire at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

and was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in 1708. By the end of the parliament, his voting record in support of the Whigs, in particular his vote for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell, alienated his Tory constituents. At the

1710 general election Year 171 ( CLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Herennianus (or, less frequently, year 924 ''Ab urbe con ...

, he declined to face a contest at Derbyshire and was returned instead as MP for

Grampound Grampound ( kw, Ponsmeur) is a village in Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and today is on the A390 road west of St Austell and east of Truro.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth'' ...

. He was more comfortable in maintaining a Tory stance in this Parliament and was listed as one of the ‘worthy patriots’ who detected the mismanagements of the late ministry. He was returned again at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...

, but did not stand at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

or thereafter. He managed to retain his post in spite of misgivings among the Whigs. He was one of the original backers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

Bononcini Bononcini is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Antonio Maria Bononcini (1677–1726), Italian cellist and composer *Giovanni Bononcini (1670–1747), Italian Baroque composer, cellist, singer, and teacher *Giovanni Maria Bononcin ...

and others.Thomas McGeary. ''The Politics of Opera in Handel's Britain''. Cambridge University Press, 2013. p.253

Later life and legacy

When Coke came into possession of

he altered and extended the house. He is credited with creating the gardens at Melbourne. Nevertheless, this created a financial strain. On 15 October 1709, he married as his second wife Elizabeth Hales, daughter of Richard Hales of King's Walden, Hertfordshire, one of the Maids of Honour to Queen Anne. Coke died suddenly on 16 or 17 May 1727 after a few days illness at the age of 52 and was buried at Melbourne. He had two daughters by his first wife and a daughter and son by his second wife. He left most of the estate to his son

George Lewis Coke George Lewis Coke (1715–1751) of Melbourne Hall, Melbourne, Derbyshire was an English gentleman and landowner. Biography George Lewis Coke was born in 1715 to Thomas Coke and his wife Mary (née Hale). His father had been Vice-Chamberlain of ...

, with provision for his daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, Thomas 1674 births 1727 deaths Members of the Privy Council of England Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Derbyshire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Grampound English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 Members of the Parliament of England for Derbyshire