Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester

The Right Honourable The Earl of Leicester KG DL
Thomas Coke, second Earl of Leicester, by Leslie Ward, 1883.
2nd Earl of Leicester
In office 30 June 1842 – 24 January 1909
Preceded by	Thomas Coke
Succeeded by	Thomas Coke
Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall
In office 1870–1901
Preceded by	Herbert William Fisher
Succeeded by	The Earl Spencer
Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk
In office 1846–1906
Preceded by	The Lord Wodehouse
Succeeded by	Viscount Coke
Father of the House of Lords
In office 1906–1909
Preceded by	The Lord Templemore
Succeeded by	The Earl Nelson
Personal details
Born	26 December 1822
Died	24 January 1909 (aged 86)
Spouse(s)	Juliana Whitbread Georgina Cavendish
Parents	Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (seventh creation) Lady Anne Amelia Keppel

Arms of Coke, Earls of Leicester: Per pale gules and azure, three eagles displayed argent^[1]

Thomas William Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester KG DL (26 December 1822 – 24 January 1909), known as Viscount Coke from 1837 to 1842, was a British peer.

Background

Leicester was the son of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, by his second wife Lady Anne Amelia Keppel. He succeeded in the earldom on his father's death in 1842.

Public life

Lord Leicester served as Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk from 1846 to 1906 and was a member of the Council of the Duchy of Cornwall and Keeper of the Privy Seal. In 1873 he was made a Knight of the Garter.^[2]

Family

Lord Leicester married firstly, Juliana Whitbread (1825–1870), daughter of Samuel Charles Whitbread and Hon. Julia Trevor (d. 1858), on 20 April 1843. They had nine children:

• Lady Julia Coke (1844–1931), married Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt, and had issue; including Mervyn Richard Wingfield, 8th Viscount Powerscourt, the great grandfather of Sarah, Duchess of York.
• Lady Anne Coke (1845–1876), married Maj.-Gen. Edmund Manningham-Buller, son of Sir Edward Manningham-Buller, 1st Baronet, and had issue.
• Lady Gertrude Coke (1847–1943), married Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore, and had issue.
• Thomas William Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester (1848–1941)
• Lady Mary Coke (1849–1929), married William Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth, and had issue.
• Lady Winifred Coke (1851–1940), married Robert Clements, 4th Earl of Leitrim, and had issue.
• Lady Margaret Coke (1852–1922), married Henry Strutt, 2nd Baron Belper, and had issue.
• Lady Mildred Coke (1854–1941), married Thomas Anson, 3rd Earl of Lichfield, and had issue.
• Lt.-Col. Wenman Coke (1855–1931), died unmarried.

Lord Leicester married secondly, the honourable Georgina Cavendish, daughter of William Cavendish, 2nd Baron Chesham, on 26 August 1875. They had six children:

• Major Hon. Richard Coke (1876–1964), married Hon. Doreen O'Brian, daughter of Edward O'Brien, 14th Baron of Inchiquin, and had issue.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. Edward Coke (1879–1944), died unmarried.
• Hon. Sir John Spencer Coke (1880–1957), married Hon. Dorothy Lawson, daughter of Harry Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham, and had issue including;
  • Celia Dorothy Coke (1919-1996), married Capt. Stamp Godfrey Brooksbank (b.1922), brother of Sir (Edward) William Brooksbank, 2nd Baronet (1915–1983) and grandfather of Jack Brooksbank (b.1986) and Thomas Brooksbank (b.1988).^[3]
• Captain Hon. Reginald Coke (1883–1969), married Katherine Ryder, granddaughter of Henry Ryder, 4th Earl of Harrowby, and had issue.
• Commander Hon. Lovel William Coke (1893–1966), died unmarried.
• Mabel Coke (c. 1895–1967), married James Luddington.

Notes

1. Debrett's Peerage, 1967, p.669
2.  Clarke, Ernest (1912). "Coke, Thomas William". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement​. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
3. "Burke's Peerage and Baronetage 107th Edition (2001)". Burke's Peerage. 2001. p. 528. Retrieved 20 September 2016. Brooksbank (Baronetcy - Creation: Bt. (UK) 15 September 1919)

References

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.
• CricketArchive: Earl of Leicester