Thomas Coke (19 February 1674 – 11 May 1727) of Melbourne Hall, Melbourne, Derbyshire was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons 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.
Coke was the son of John Coke and his wife Mary Leventhorpe, daughter of Sir Thomas Leventhorpe, 4th Baronet. He was born at Melbourne, Derbyshire where he was baptised on 19 February 1675. His father was MP for Derby. Coke lost his parents when under age and was educated abroad under Monsieur Chauvais of Rotterdam in 1688. [1] He matriculated at New College, Oxford 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 (with £8,000) at Repton. [2]
Coke was elected Member of Parliament for Derbyshire at the 1698 English general election 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 he was returned unopposed as MP for Derbyshire. He anxiously seeking public office and was eventually appointed Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer in May 1704. He was returned unopposed again at the 1705 English general election 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 and was appointed a Privy Counsellor 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, he declined to face a contest at Derbyshire and was returned instead as MP for Grampound. 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, but did not stand at the 1715 British general election or thereafter. He managed to retain his post in spite of misgivings among the Whigs. [2]
He was one of the original backers of the Royal Academy of Music, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from Handel, Bononcini and others. [3]
When Coke came into possession of Melbourne Hall he altered and extended the house. He is credited with creating the gardens at Melbourne. [1] 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. [2]
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, with provision for his daughters. [2]
Sir William Withers of Fulham, Middlesex, was an English linen draper and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1701 and 1715. He was Lord Mayor of London from 1707 to 1708.
Richard Hampden of Great Hampden, near Wendover, Buckinghamshire was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons almost continuously from 1701 to 1728.
Lord James Cavendish FRS of Staveley Hall, Derbyshire was a British Whig politician who sat in the English House of Commons and the British House of Commons. He was a son of the 1st Duke of Devonshire and a member of the Cavendish family.
Lieutenant-General Harry Mordaunt was an English Army officer and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1692 and 1720.
James Vernon was an English Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1679 and 1710. He was Secretary of State for both the Northern and the Southern Departments during the reign of William III.
Sir John Curzon, 3rd Baronet of Kedleston, Derbyshire was an English Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons for 27 years, between 1701 and 1727.
Thomas Bliss was an English Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1698 and 1708.
Thomas Conyers of Elemore Hall, County Durham was an English Tory politician who sat in the English House of Commons between 1695 and 1708 and in the British House of Commons from 1708 to 1727.
Sir Richard Sandford, 3rd Baronet was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the English House of Commons between 1695 and 1707, and in the British House of Commons from 1708 to 1723.
William Monson, of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, was an English Whig politician who sat in the English House of Commons between 1695 and 1707 and in the British House of Commons between 1708 and 1722.
Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Baronet was an English landowner and Tory politician, who sat in the House of Commons almost continuously from 1685 until his death in 1730. He was the longest serving member, later termed Father of the House, from 1729 to 1730.
Charles Coxe, of Lincoln's Inn and Rodmarton and Lower Lypiatt, Gloucestershire, was an English lawyer and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1698 and 1722.
Sir Edward Ernle, 3rd Baronet of Charborough in Dorset, of Brimslade Park and Etchilhampton, both in Wiltshire, was an English Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1729. He had mixed fortunes in finding or holding a seat and often depended on his father-in-law to bring him into his own seat at Wareham when a vacancy arose.
Ralph Freman (1666–1742), of Aspenden Hall and Hamels, Hertfordshire, was an English politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons for 30 years from 1697 to 1727.
Thomas Cartwright (1671–1748), of Aynho Park, Northamptonshire was an English landowner and Tory politician, who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1748. As the longest serving Member he eventually became Father of the House.
Sir John Walter, 3rd Baronet of Sarsden House, Oxfordshire was a British politician who sat in the English House of Commons between 1694 and 1717 and in the British House of Commons from 1708 to 1722.
Sir Arthur Owen, 3rd Baronet, of Orielton, Pembrokeshire, was a Welsh Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1727.
Sir James Worsley, 5th Baronet (1672–1756), of Pylewell Park, Hampshire, was a British landowner and politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1696 and 1741. He tended to support whichever administration was in power.
John Birch of Garnstone manor, Herefordshire, was an English lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1701 and 1735.
George Pitt, of Strathfield Saye, Hampshire, was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1694 and 1727.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
