Wenman Coke (ca. 1717 – 11 April 1776), known as Wenman Roberts until 1750, was a British landowner 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 1753 and 1776.

Background

Born Wenman Roberts, he was the son of Major Philip Roberts (a grandson of

Sir Francis Wenman, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Wenman, 1st Baronet (c. 1630 – 2 September 1680) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1664 to 1679. Background Wenman was the second son of Sir Francis Wenman of Caswell, Oxfordshire and his wife Ann ...

) and Anne Coke, daughter of Edward Coke and Carey Newton. He assumed the surname of Coke (pronounced "Cook") in lieu of his

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

in 1750. In 1759 he succeeded to the substantial estates of his uncle, Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, including the Coke

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...

Holkham Hall Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century English country house, country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation), 1st Earl of Leicester ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. Wenman's great-great grandfather, Sir Lewes Roberts (1596–1641), was a British merchant with the Levant and East India companies and an economist/writer on foreign commerce topics. Wenman's mother, Anne Coke, descended from

Sir Edward Coke ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

and from

Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, (20 February 1632 – 26 July 1712), was a prominent English politician. Under King Charles II (and known at the time as Lord Danby), he was the leading figure in the government for around five years i ...

on her father, Edward Coke's side. Anne Coke descended from Mary Boleyn Carey and Sir John Newton on her mother, Carey Newton's side. Anne Coke's grandfather, Sir John Newton, 3rd Baronet, was a third cousin of

Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the great ...

Political career

Coke was returned to Parliament 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 ...

in 1772. At the 1774 general election he was returned for both Derby and

, and chose to sit for the latter. He continued to represent this constituency until his death two years later.

Family

Wenman Coke died in 1776. He had married Elizabeth Chamberlayne, daughter of George Chamberlayne and had several children, including Thomas William Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (6 May 1754 – 30 June 1842) and Edward Coke (b. 28 June 1758).''The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760''. 11 July 1758. His wife survived him by over 30 years and died in 1810. His son Thomas succeeded him to Holkham Hall and, as Member of Parliament for Norfolk, he became an influential agricultural reformer. In 1837 the

Earldom of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

was revived in his favour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, Wenman 1710s births 1776 deaths Year of birth uncertain British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Harwich Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Okehampton Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Norfolk Wenman Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Derby