Sir Robert Coke (1587 – 19 July 1653) of

Caludon Castle Caludon Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed buildings in Coventry, Grade I listed building in Coventry, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. A second moat, moated site to the south is a Scheduled Anci ...

, Coventry, Huntingfield, Suffolk, and Epsom, Surrey, was an English politician.

Life

He was the second son of

Sir Edward Coke Sir Edward Coke ( , formerly ; 1 February 1552 – 3 September 1634) was an English barrister, judge, and politician. He is often considered the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into an upper-class family, Coke was ...

and his wife, Bridget Paston, daughter of John Paston (MP), becoming his father's heir when the eldest son Edward died as an infant. He was knighted in 1607. After marrying Theophila, daughter of Sir Thomas Berkeley, he resided at

, owned by his wife's family the Berkeleys, and was elected to parliament for

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, in the vicinity, in 1614. That year he was the dedicatee of a mathematics book by William Bedwell, based on a work by Lazarus Schöner. In summer 1617, when Frances Coke was defying her father Sir Edward's wishes over a marriage, she was sent to her brother Sir Robert at

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

. This was one step in a complex story mostly played out along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. Coke was heavily in debt in the 1620s. He was elected again to parliament, in 1624, for

Fowey Fowey ( ; , meaning ''beech trees'') is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, ...

, thought to be a nominee for

William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (8 April 158010 April 1630) , of Wilton House in Wiltshire, was an English nobleman, politician and courtier. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford and together with King James I founded ...

. When his father died in 1634 he was deeper in debt; he inherited a family home at

Huntingfield, Suffolk Huntingfield is a village near the B1117 road, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The village is close to the source of the River Blyth and the parish is 12 miles from the seaside town of Southwold. Nearby settlem ...

. He also inherited his father's legal papers; but they had been marked down in advance as of interest to the king, and Sir Edward's study was sealed up on his death. Sir Robert received only what was left after royal officers had been through the documents; and he was still petitioning in 1640 for some of those that had been taken, with a view to publication. In 1634, also, Coke had the monument at Bramfield church completed by

Nicholas Stone Nicholas Stone (1586/87 – 24 August 1647) was an England, English sculpture, sculptor and architect. In 1619 he was appointed master-mason to James I of England, James I, and in 1626 to Charles I of England, Charles I. During his ca ...

, to his late indebted brother Arthur and his wife. Having lived in Suffolk for a period, he then moved to a family house, "Durdans" near

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. There was a performance of the play '' Philaster'' in the early 1640s at Durdans, with the young

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

in the cast. A royalist of the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

, Coke was detained in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. There his wife, Lady Theophila, visited him, but she died in 1643, of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

. Coke was made to pay a fine, and had his lands sequestered until 1647. The royalist cleric John Pearson had to give up his Suffolk living at

Thorington Thorington is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around south-east of the town of Halesworth, immediately south of the village of Wenhaston. The A12 main road runs through ...

, controlled by

Henry Coke Henry Coke (1591–1661) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1624 and 1642. Coke was the son of Sir Edward Coke, the Lord Chief Justice, of Thorington, Suffolk. He was admitted at Queens' College, Cambri ...

, in 1646. He made his way to Surrey and Durdens, acting as chaplain to Sir Robert Coke there in 1650. Coke was pricked

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

for 1652–53 and died at Epsom on 19 July 1653.

Family and legacy

Coke married, in 1613, Theophila, daughter of Sir Thomas Berkeley and

Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley Lady Elizabeth Berkeley (''née'' Carey; later Chamberlain; 24 May 1576 – 23 April 1635), was an English courtier and patron of the arts. Life Elizabeth Carey was the only child of George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, and Elizabeth Spencer. Que ...

; there were songs at the wedding from

Edward Lapworth Edward Lapworth (1574–1636) was an English physician and Latin poet, and the first Sedleian reader at the University of Oxford. Life Lapworth was a native of Warwickshire; his father was physician to Henry Berkeley. He was admitted B.A. at S ...

, They had no children. The main Coke estate around

Holkham Holkham is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is dominated by the stately home and estate, Holkham Hall, and a beach, Holkham Gap, at the centre of Holkham National Nature Reserve. Holkham is loc ...

descended to Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (1697–1759), grandson of Robert Coke (c.1651–1679), grandson of

of Thurrington, Robert Coke's younger brother. Durdans at Epsom had been acquired in 1617 by Lady Berkeley, who gave it to her daughter Lady Theophila. Coke left Durdans to his nephew

George Berkeley, 1st Earl of Berkeley George Berkeley, 1st Earl of Berkeley, PC, FRS ( – 10 October 1698) was an English merchant, politician and peer who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1654 until 1658. Life Berkeley was the son of George Berkeley, 8th Baron Ber ...

. Berkeley also received a significant collection of books, containing Sir Edward Coke's noted London library; a manuscript collection of

Méric Casaubon Meric Casaubon (14 August 1599 – 14 July 1671) was an English classical scholar. He was the first to translate the ''Meditations'' of Marcus Aurelius into English. He was the son of Isaac Casaubon. Although biographical dictionaries (includin ...

was part of it. The books went eventually to

Sion College Sion College, in London, is an institution founded by royal charter in 1630 as a college, guild of parochial clergy and almshouse, under the 1623 will of Thomas White (benefactor), Thomas White, vicar of St Dunstan's in the West. The clergy who ...

, in 1680, from Durdans. Berkeley built up Durdans with materials taken from

Nonsuch Palace Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor architecture, Tudor royal family, royal palace, commissioned by Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII in Surrey, England, and on which work began in 1538. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundary of the ...

, not far away at

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a town in Surrey, England, south of Centre of London, central London and northeast of Epsom. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 34,872. The majority (73%) was in the NRS social grade, ABC1 ...

, in the early 1680s.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, Robert 1587 births 1653 deaths Knights Bachelor English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 High sheriffs of Suffolk Members of Parliament for Coventry

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...