Cary Coke
portrait by Michael Dahl
Born9 June 1680 Edit this on Wikidata
Died4 August 1707 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 27)
Spouse(s)Edward Coke Edit this on Wikidata
ChildrenAnne Coke, Edward Coke, Robert Coke, Cary Coke, Thomas Coke Edit this on Wikidata
Parent(s)
  • Sir John Newton, 3rd Bt. Edit this on Wikidata
  • Abigail Heveningham Edit this on Wikidata

Cary Coke (née Newton) (9 June 1680 – 4 August 1707)[1] was a book collector and patron of the British stage. She was the daughter of Sir John Newton of Barrs Court, a member of the House of Commons of England, and mother of Thomas Coke, the 1st Earl of Leicester.

Life

Coke's bookplate from a book in the Bodleian Libraries

Cary Coke was the daughter of Sir John Newton, 3rd baronet, of Barrs Court, Gloucestershire. She was born on 9 June 1680. On 3 June, 1696 she married Edward Coke who had inherited the hall and estate of Holkham in Norfolk. They had three sons and two daughters which survived them. Their son, Thomas (1697- 1759), became the 1st Earl of Leicester.[1]

Both Coke and her husband were patrons and enthusiastic for the stage. Mary Pix dedicated her play Queen Catherine to Coke in 1698.[2]

In April 1707 her husband Edward died, and she followed a few months later on 4 August.[3] Her will is held at the National Archives of the United Kingdom. They died with debts exceeding £22,000, and whilst most of their possessions were sold, books valued at £193 6s were kept for their eldest son, Thomas.[4]

Collections

Both Coke and Edward were book collectors and in 1701 each had a bookplate made. Some of these books are now located at the Holkham library.[2] Some of the Holkham Collection, including 305 English Restoration plays from the Coke collection, was purchased by the Bodleian Library in 1953.[5] The plays in the Coke collection are valuable due to their apparently unaltered condition, with none of the plays having been perfected and no volumes have been disbound to dispose of duplicates.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 James, Clive Warbuton (1929). Chief Justice Coke, His Family & Descendants at Holkham. London: Country Life. pp. 135–159.
  2. 1 2 "Cary Coke 1680/1- 1707 Biographical Note". Archived from the original on 1 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "Coke, Thomas, earl of Leicester (1697–1759), politician, architect, and art collector". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2008. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/68316. Retrieved 8 December 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ↑ James, Clive Warbuton (1929). Chief Justice Coke, His Family & Descendants at Holkham. London: Country Life. p. 164.
  5. ↑ "Rare Books Named Collection Descriptions". Bodleian Libraries. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Kahrl, George M, Anderson, Dorothy (1982). The Garrick Collection of Old English Plays: A Catalogue with an Historical Introduction. London: a British Library. p. 50.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)


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