George Lewis Coke (1715–1751) of

Melbourne Hall Melbourne Hall is a Georgian style country house in Melbourne, Derbyshire, previously owned by the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, British Prime Minister from 1835 to 1841. The house is now owned by the 14th Marquess of Lothian and is open to the pu ...

Melbourne, Derbyshire Melbourne () is a market town and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. It was home to Thomas Cook, founder of Thomas Cook & Son, the eponymous travel agency, and has a street named after him. It is south of Derby and from the River Trent ...

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 the Household The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The officeholder is usually a senior government whip in the British House of Commons ranking third or fourth after the Chief Whip and ...

to Queen Mary and

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

and briefly (in 1704)

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 ...

His father died when he was twelve and he was taken care of by his uncle, John Coke, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

in 1732, and property at

Kings Newton Kings Newton is a village in South Derbyshire. The population of the village is included in Melbourne. The Holy well (pictured) was constructed around 1660, but has been refurbished at the end of the twentieth century. History Unlike many vill ...

was purchased for him by his uncle.Coke of Trusley He also inherited his father's property at

. When Coke was nineteen he embarked on the traditional Grand Tour of Europe, despite being appointed Surveyor-General of His Majesty's Customs two years before when he was just 17.The History of Melbourne Hall In the first year he visited Paris and ?? after staying over the winter in Montpelier, he visited

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. Whilst in Italy he had his portrait painted by the Italian painter,

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous Allegory, allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign vis ...

– who made a good living from young English aristocrats. Like other Grand Tour portraits, Coke appears amongst antiquities. In this case the Coliseum is in the background of Batoni's composition. When Coke returned from abroad he was accompanied by a "companion and tutor" known as John Lewis Pasteur. Between 1742 and 1745, Coke hired William Smith to remodel the gardens of Melbourne Hall which, together with rebuilding the front and east wing, completed the plans of his father who had died prematurely. In 1745 a key event happened in British History when

Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

travelled with Scottish supporters south towards London to claim the throne of England. The troops made it as far as

Swarkestone Bridge Swarkestone Bridge is a medieval bridge crossing the River Trent between the villages of Swarkestone and Stanton by Bridge, about 6 miles south of Derby. It is currently Grade I Listed and a scheduled monument. History The bridge was built i ...

which takes the road between

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

over the

River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...

. A source says, the Deputy Lieutenant and the monarch's representative in the county in 1745 was George Lewis Coke."The Owners of Melbourne Hall, Howard Usher, 1993 On his death in 1751, his property went to his sister, Charlotte, who had married the family lawyer,

Sir Matthew Lamb, 1st Baronet Sir Matthew Lamb, 1st Baronet (1705 – 6 November 1768) was a British barrister and politician. He was the grandfather of Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Lamb was the son of Matthew Lamb, of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, an ...

, and was to become grandmother to

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 177924 November 1848) was a British Whig (political faction), Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His first premiership end ...

, the Victorian Prime Minister. Coke's companion, Pasteur, lived until the year 1793 after marrying and having three children in England and paying the Hearth Tax on the hall in 1777, over twenty years after Coke's death.

Afterwards and alternatively

In 1860, the fabric of Melbourne church was restored and this involved the removal of "hundreds of skulls"; the first coffin to be removed was that of George Lewis Coke which was unusual in shape. This was recorded by the local historian

John Joseph Briggs John Joseph Briggs (6 March 1819 – 23 March 1876), naturalist and topographer, was born in the village of Kings Newton (or King's Newton), Derbyshire on 6 March 1819. His father, John Briggs, who married his cousin, Mary Briggs, was born and r ...

who also noted the story about his valet, John Lewis Pasteur. According to Briggs, Coke had returned from abroad in the coffin, 109 years before, with Pasteur as valet. It was Pasteur who went on to be a shepherd in

Bredon Bredon is a village and civil parish in Wychavon district at the southern edge of Worcestershire in England. It lies on the banks of the River Avon on the lower slopes of Bredon Hill. Location and geography Bredon is located northwest of the ...

.. The History of Melbourne in the county of Derby, including Biographical Notices of the Coke, Melbourne and Hardinge Families", by John Joseph Briggs, Bemrose, 1852./ref> Briggs indicates that Coke never returned alive from his foreign tour and that his coffin was of "foreign" construction. Others agree with Briggs and say that "J.L.Pasteur" set out on the journey with him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, George Lewis 1715 births 1751 deaths People from Melbourne, Derbyshire People from King's Newton Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford