George Coke - Biography

Biography

Coke was the son of Richard and Mary Coke of Trusley, Derbyshire. His mother was the heiress of Thomas Sacheverell of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, and his brother was to become Sir John Coke, Secretary of State.

Coke was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. He took his BA in 1593 and proceeded MA 1596. He then obtained a fellowship at Pembroke College in 1597, became a lecturer in rhetoric in 1602 and in 1605 he was Junior Taxor of the university. He was ordained both deacon and priest on 30 November 1602 by the Bishop of Ely. In 1608 he became the rector of Bygrave in Hertfordshire, which was then described as "a lean village (consisting of but three houses) maketh a fat living", as it provided a considerable income of almost £300 a year. Coke resigned his fellowship in late 1609, and by 9 January 1610 he had married Jane Heigham, and they had five sons: Richard, John and William all entered the church and had associations with Herefordshire. Their fourth son, Thomas, died young, while the last, Robert, was "killed in action in Newport".

Following his brother's elevation to high office in 1625, Coke was collated to the prebend of Finsbury on 19 January 1626, making him one of the canons of St Paul's Cathedral, and he was made a Doctor of Divinity in 1630. On 10 February 1633, Coke was consecrated Bishop of Bristol. In June 1635 he was instituted as rector of Maiden Newton, Dorset, to which he was presented by Martin White and Sir John Windham despite the opposition of Sir John Strangeways who believed the advowson was his. In July 1636 he was translated to Hereford, resigning Bygrave and his prebendary. The appointments to both Bristol and Hereford seem to have had the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, but during Coke's time at Hereford, he was rebuked by Laud after Coke had appointed one of his own son's as Precentor of Hereford Cathedral. The son had been apprenticed but ran away to sea, seeing a severe storm as a sign from God, he then sought ordination from his father. Laud believed the son to have insufficient learning for a cathedral post. Coke replaced his own son with his nephew, Francis, son of Coke's eldest brother, Sir Francis. Coke bought the estate of Lower Moor in Herefordshire from Henry, 5th Earl of Worcester. This house was to remain in the Coke family until the 1930s.