Thomas William Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (6 May 175430 June 1842),The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760. 16 May 1754. known as Coke of Norfolk or Coke of Holkham,BBC – History – British History in depth: Agricultural Revolution in England 1500 – 1850 Accessed 17 July 2013. 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. He returned to Britain and married. When his father died he inherited 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 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 was 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".

Early life and education Coke was born on 6 May 1754 in London, to Wenman Coke (originally Wenman Roberts) and Elizabeth Chamberlayne. 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".Martins (2009) p. 10. The family's prospects improved significantly in 1759 when Coke was five, when his great-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 inherited a 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.Martins (2009) p. 11. In the event she died in 1775, one year before Wenman, who thereby inherited.

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 settlers. 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 avoided being punished for shooting a pheasant in Windsor Great 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.Martins (2009) p. 13. 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).Martins (2009) p. 14. 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.Martins (2009) p. 22.

Career By the time Coke returned to Britain, plans were already under way for him to enter Parliament. When an election was called in 1774, Weman stood for the seat of Norfolk, with his son asked to stand in his place for Derby. Coke was not particularly enthusiastic about this, and withdrew when his opponent discovered he was under 21, the requisite age to stand for Parliament. With his father elected, Coke travelled with him to London, meeting members of the British high society. His sister Elizabeth and her husband James Dutton were also visiting, with Dutton's sister Jane, and Coke fell in love with her. Wenman was not impressed when Coke asked him to let them be married, as he had picked out the daughter of a baronet for his son, but with the intercession of Wenman's friend Harbord Harbord, he finally consented to their marriage, which was solemnized on 5 October 1775.Martins (2009) pp. 24–25.

The new couple lived in Godwick Manor, their peace disturbed in 1776 when Wenman's health began to fail. He finally died on 10 April after "a constipation which medicine could not remove", leaving Coke in charge of a 30,000-acre estate at the age of 22. Soon after his father's death, Harbord and other senior Whigs visited Coke and asked him to stand for Norfolk in his father's stead. Coke was not enthusiastic, not seeing himself as a politician and hoping to enjoy his new estates and wealth, but after his visitors pointed out a Tory might otherwise replace him "my blood chilled all over me from my head to my foot, and I came forward". On 12 April he issued a manifesto to the Norfolk electorate, soon returning to campaign, and after being unanimously nominated on 27 April he was elected in May.Martins (2009) pp. 29–31.

Entry to Parliament

Little is known of Coke's early career in Parliament; he spoke relatively infrequently, and the parliamentary session was dissolved soon after his election. During that summer, however, he struck up a relationship with Charles James Fox, a soon-to-be famous Whig politician noted for his outspoken and flamboyant lifestyle. Coke later recounted that "When I first went into Parliament I attached myself to Fox and clung to him through life. I lived in the closest bond of friendship with him." The period was one of economic stability and political calm under Lord North, which ended due to the American Revolution and resulting American Revolutionary War. Coke was noted for his support of the American colonists; as a strong supporter of the 1688 Glorious Revolution and the resulting Bill of Rights 1689, he felt that the support of the espoused principles of justice and tolerance in Britain and overseas was his duty as a British subject, and saw no conflict between his position as a supporter of the colonists and his patriotism. Following the Battles of Saratoga, it became clear that any victory in America would be long and expensive, and in an attempt to raise funds King George III asked subjects to donate. In Norwich, a meeting was held in January 1778 for this purpose; it raised £4,500 in less than an hour. Windham and Coke attended this meeting, Windham making an impassioned speech pointing out that the campaign had so far resulted only in "disappointment, shame and dishonour", and that "peace and reconciliation with America" was the only option.Martins (2009) p. 35. Windham, Coke and their supporters then withdrew to a nearby pub, where they drafted a petition to the king from "the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy, Freeholders and Inhabitants of the County of Norfolk". This was presented to Parliament by Coke on 17 February 1778, signed by 5,400 people from Norfolk. George III took this as a personal insult, and as a result, disliked Coke until his death.Martins (2009) p. 36.

Coke also brought up the issue of the hunting game. During the late 18th century a series of laws were passed protecting a landowner's right to hunt, and giving severe penalties to poachers. On 27 February Coke, an enthusiastic hunter, suggested in Parliament that these laws be relaxed; "Combinations had been formed in the Country against the execution of these laws and some lives had been lost". Before any motion could be brought (it was not until 1827 that the laws were revised), the situation in America came up again. On 22 February, Henry Seymour Conway brought a motion asking the King to "listen to the humble prayer and advice of his faithful Commons, that the war on the continent of North America may no longer be pursued for the impractical purpose of reducing the inhabitants of that country to obedience by force". While the motion failed, it was again brought on 27 February, and passed. With this, Conway moved that "An humble address be presented to His Majesty"; George III replied that he would see them on 3 March at St James's Palace. It was then that "the most important and symbolic act of Coke's political career" occurred.Martins (2009) p. 38. As a Knight of the Shire, Coke had the right to appear in court dressed "in his boots" as opposed to in formal court dress; this he did, appearing in front of George III dressed in leather breeches, boots and spurs.Martins (2009) p. 39.

Eventually, the king began negotiations with the American colonies and accepted the resignation of Lord North – an action which would, eventually, lead to Coke leaving Parliament. A new government was formed in April 1782, with Lord Rockingham as Prime Minister and Fox and Lord Shelburne as Secretaries of State. Rockingham and Shelburne disagreed constantly, particularly over the situation in North America, and with Rockingham's death on 1 July Shelburne was made Prime Minister. At this the rest of the government resigned, and after a period of political chaos, the short-lived Fox-North Coalition was formed in April 1783. Coke was disgusted by this arrangement, describing it as a "revolting compact". An East India Bill, which created 7 commissioners to oversee India, brought chaos to the coalition. Controversially, the commissioners would be appointed by the government, not by the crown, which challenged what the King saw as his constitutional right. Defeated in the House of Lords, the bill was used by George III to overturn Fox's government and install a government led by William Pitt the Younger.Martins (2009) p. 41. Parliament was eventually dissolved on 25 March 1784, and thanks to Coke's long-standing support of Fox and his actions, the ensuing general election led to Coke losing his seat.Martins (2009) p. 42.

Norfolk work

In between his Parliamentary work, Coke and his wife had been maintaining and improving his estates since they took possession of it in April 1776. The cornerstone was Holkham House, a "temple to the arts" built by Coke's great uncle. Knowing that he did not have the same understanding of classical architecture and art, Coke mainly left it alone, instead focusing on the park and gardens.Martins (2009) p. 45.