Ancestral Trails 2016 » Thomas William COKE (1754-1842)

Personal data Thomas William COKE 

• He was born on May 6, 1754 in London, Middlesex.

  Attention: Was older than 65 years (68) when child (Thomas William COKE) was born (December 26, 1822).

  Attention: Was older than 65 years (77) when child (Margaret Sophia COKE) was born (March 7, 1832).

  Attention: Was older than 65 years (70) when child (Edward Keppel Wentworth COKE) was born (August 20, 1824).

  Attention: Was older than 65 years (74) when child (Wenman Clarence Walpole COKE) was born (July 13, 1828).

• He was baptized on May 16, 1754 in St James, Westminster, Middlesex.Source 1
• Title: 1st Earl of Leicester
• He died on June 30, 1842 in Titteshall, Swaffham, Norfolk, he was 88 years old.Sources 2, 3
• He is buried on July 11, 1842 in Titteshall, Swaffham, Norfolk.

Household of Thomas William COKE

(1) He is married to Jane Dutton.

They got married in the year 1775 at Holkham, Norfolk, he was 20 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Jane Elizabeth COKE  1777-1863 

(2) He is married to Anna Amelia KEPPEL.

They got married on February 27, 1822 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, Middlesex, he was 67 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Edward Keppel Wentworth COKE  1824-1889
2. Thomas William COKE  1822-1909 
3. Margaret Sophia COKE  1832-1868
4. Wenman Clarence Walpole COKE  1828-1907

Notes about Thomas William COKE

Thomas William Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (6 May 1754 - 30 June 1842), known as Coke of Norfolk or Coke of Holkham, was a British politician and agricultural reformer. Born to Wenman Coke, Member of Parliament (MP) for Derby, and his wife Elizabeth, Coke was educated at several schools, including Eton College, before undertaking a Grand Tour of Europe. After returning to Britain and being married, Coke's father died, leaving him the owner of a 30,000 acre Norfolk estate. Returned to Parliament in 1776 for Norfolk, Coke became a close friend of Charles James Fox, and joined his Eton schoolmate William Windham in his support of the American colonists during the American Revolutionary War. As a supporter of Fox, Coke was one of the MPs who lost their seats in the 1784 general election, and he returned to Norfolk to work on farming, hunting, and the maintenance and expansion of Holkham Hall, his ancestral home.

Coke was again returned to Parliament in 1790, sitting continuously until 1832, and he primarily spoke on matters of local interest, such as the Corn Laws. His second focus was on civil liberties, and he spoke out against the government's response to the Peterloo Massacre and similar events. Described as the "greatest commoner in England", he chose the passage of the Great Reform Act 1832 as the moment to retire, later being made the Earl of Leicester in July 1837. After a short illness, Coke died on 30 June 1842, and was succeeded as Earl by his son Thomas. Coke's main legacy is as an agricultural reformer, not as a politician; he has historically been credited with sparking the British Agricultural Revolution through the reforms he made to farming on his estates. Later historians have questioned this, however, noting that the developments credited to him are most likely the work of other individuals; nevertheless, he has still been described as "the real hero of Norfolk agriculture".

Coke was born on 6 May 1754 in London, to Wenman and Elizabeth Coke. The Cokes were a landowning family of Derbyshire, originally from Norfolk, Wenman representing Derby as one of its two Members of Parliament, and as such Coke was born into a wealthy, estate-owning family; one of his first memories was "being held up to a window to watch a fox being cornered and killed by hounds". Little is known of Coke's father; Wenman is described as a shy person who "saw little company and lived much out of the world; his habits were those of a country gentleman, bending his mind to agriculture, moderately addicted to field sports and more than either, to reading in which he passed many hours; firm in his principles which were those of the old Whig; amiable in his disposition mild in his manners, he was beloved of his friends". The family's prospects improved significantly when Coke was five, when his uncle, Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, died. The cause of Thomas's death is not certain, although there are chances it was a duel, but the result was that upon the death of Thomas's wife Margaret, Wenman would inherit substantial Norfolk estate, including Holkham Hall, a "Palladian masterpiece". Margaret studiously avoided the rest of the family, vowing to outlive Wenman simply to ensure that he did not inherit the estate.

Few records exist of Thomas Coke's early years, although it is known that he was educated in Longford, Derbyshire, before going to a school in Wandsworth run by French refugees. In 1765 he was sent to Eton College, where he was joined by William Windham, a close friend in his later life. Coke was apparently happy at Eton, and was excellent at field sports; on one occasion 70 snipes he had killed were found in his room, and on another he narrowly avoiding being punished for shooting a pheasant in Windsor Park. He was not particularly interested in his academic studies, but by the time he left Eton in 1771 Coke had developed a close circle of friends and connections from the landowning class, and practical skills to deal with his future estates. After leaving school he undertook a Grand Tour of Europe, financed by his father and his great-aunt (who offered him £500 not to go to a university, regarding them as dens of vice). Coke visited France and Italy, where he witnessed the marriage of the Young Pretender to Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern; Louise apparently fell in love with Coke, preferring the similarly-aged Englishman to her 52-year-old alcoholic husband.

In 1822, at the age of 68 and after 21 years as a widower, he married Anne Keppel, the daughter of Lord Albemarle, and Coke's 18-year-old godchild. Anne had initially been brought to Holkham to partner with his nephew William, who due to Coke's lack of sons would inherit the estate, but they failed to get on. Anne and Coke's marriage was met with bemusement, and described as "absurd", but despite opposition took place on 26 February. Soon after the wedding Anne became pregnant, and their son Thomas was born on 22 December.

In 1831, Coke's personal friend Earl Grey became Prime Minister; as a result, Coke's appearances in Parliament became more regular. He expressed delight at the Great Reform Act 1832, although he only spoke on the subject once, and chose its passage on 4 June 1832 as the appropriate moment to retire as an MP. As the "greatest commoner in England", Coke finally accepted a peerage in July 1837 (having been offered one six times before), becoming the Earl of Leicester. He took no pleasure in attending the House of Lords, however, describing it as "the hospital for incurables".

Coke remained in the prime of life after his retirement; records show him killing 24 deer with 25 shots at the age of 79, and having another child three years later. A portrait painted of him which appears to be of a man 20 years younger, is according to Stirling "no flattering likeness", but instead completely accurate. After a short and painful illness while visiting his estate (and childhood home) at Longford Hall, Derbyshire, Coke died in the early hours of 30 June 1842 at the age of 88; his last words were reported to be "well, perhaps I have talked too much". The body lay in state for two days, with the funeral procession finally setting out on 7 July. It travelled through King's Lynn, where black flags of mourning were flown and thousands came to pay their respects. On the final leg of the journey, with a funeral procession two miles in length led by 150 Holkham tenants on horseback and followed by several hundreds of private carriages, 200 gentlemen on horseback, riding two abreast, and lastly, a long train of neighbours, tenants and yeomen, Coke was eventually buried at the family mausoleum in Tittleshall on 11 July. Immediately after Coke's death, a committee formed to create a monument to him; over a thousand subscribers contributed £5,000. The eventual Coke Monument, found in the grounds of Holkham Hall, was designed by William Donthorne and finally completed in 1851.

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