Melbourne was formerly in the honour of Tutbury, its officers in that honour being the “Steward of Melbourne,” the “Constable of Melbourne Castle,” the “Keeper of Melbourne Park,” and the “Bayliffe of Melbourne.”
The Bishops of Carlisle had formerly a palace and a park at Melbourne, and occasionally resided there, the palace being near the church, tolerably close to the castle, and on the site of what is now Melbourne Hall. After being long held on lease from the see, it ultimately became the property of the Coke family. An arch, in the early English style, conjectured to have belonged to the old nunnery near the church, was taken down about 1821.
The Cokes, to whom Melbourne Castle and Hall belonged, are an old Derbyshire family, whose estates lay principally at Trusley, Marchington, Thurvaston, Pinxton, Egginton, and other places, The head of the family, in the forty-third year of the reign of Edward III., was Hugh Coke, son of Robert Coke. His eldest son, Thomas, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Odingsells. By this lady, who brought the Trusley estates into the family, he had issue a son, William Coke, who, marrying Joan, daughter of John Hilton, by her had issue a son, William Coke, who, by his first wife, Cicely Brentwood, had a son, also William Coke, by whom he was succeeded. This William Coke married a daughter of Sir Ralph Longford, by whom he had issue his son and successor, William Coke, who, marrying Dorothy, daughter of Ralph Fitzherbert, of Tissington, had issue two sons—John and Richard—and six daughters, viz. Elizabeth, Dorothy, Margaret, Anne, Ellen, and Mabel. He was succeeded by his son, Richard Coke, who married Mary, daughter and sole heiress to Thomas Sacheverell, by whom he acquired considerable property. By this marriage Richard Coke had issue six sons—viz. Sir Francis Coke, of Trusley, Knt.; Sir John Coke, Secretary of State; Thomas Coke; Philip Coke; George Coke, Bishop of Hereford and Bristol; and Robert Coke—and four daughters, viz. Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret, and Dorothy.
Arms of Coke.
Sir John Coke, the first of the family who settled at Melbourne, was born in 1563, and greatly distinguished himself by his learning. He was successively Professor of Rhetoric at Cambridge, Secretary of the Navy, Master of the Court of Requests, Secretary of State to King Charles I., and for several years a member of Parliament, where he took an active and dignified part in the debates. Sir John, who died in 1644, was married twice: first, to Mary, daughter of John Powell, of Presteign, by whom he had issue; and, secondly, to Joan, daughter of Alderman Sir John Lee, Knt., and widow of Alderman Gore. He was succeeded by his son (by his first wife), Thomas Coke, whose son (by his wife Mary, daughter of —— Pope, of Wolferston), John Coke, married Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Leventhorpe, by whom, with other issue, he had three sons, one of whom, the Right Hon. Thomas Coke, became Vice-Chamberlain to Queen Anne and King George I., and served in Parliament for many years. This gentleman was so great a favourite with his sovereign, Queen Anne, that she presented to him, among other marks of royal favour, the two splendid vases now placed in the grounds of Melbourne Hall. By his first wife, Mary, daughter of Philip, Earl of Chesterfield, he had issue two daughters—Mary, married to Viscount Southwell, and Elizabeth, married to Bache Thornhill, Esq.; and by his second wife, the Hon. Mary Hale, sister of Bernard Hale, Esq., one of the maids of honour to Queen Anne, he had issue, with others, a daughter, Charlotte, who became his sole heiress on the death of her brother, George Lewis Coke.
This Charlotte Coke married, in 1740, Sir Matthew Lamb, Bart., of Brockett Hall, Hertfordshire, nephew and co-heir of Peniston Lamb, Esq., and was the mother, by him, of Sir Peniston Lamb, Bart., who was created Baron Melbourne, Baron Kilmore, and Viscount Melbourne of Melbourne. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, by whom he had four sons and three daughters—viz. the Hon. Peniston Lamb, who died unmarried; the Hon. William Lamb, who succeeded him; the Hon. Frederick James Lamb, who also succeeded to the titles and estates; the Hon. George Lamb, M.P. (well known for his literary attainments), who married Mdlle. Caroline Rosalie St. Jules; the Hon. Emily Mary Lamb, married, first, to Earl Cowper, and, secondly, to Viscount Palmerston; the Hon. Harriette Lamb; and a daughter who died in infancy. Lord Melbourne, who died in 1828, was succeeded in his titles and estates, as second viscount, by his second son, William, who, after holding many important posts, and taking an active part in the administration of this country, became Prime Minister. He was born in 1779, and educated at Eton, Cambridge, and Glasgow, and in 1804 was called to the bar. In 1805 he entered Parliament, and in the same year married Lady Caroline Ponsonby, daughter of the Earl of Bessborough, a lady who became, as “Lady Caroline Lamb,” distinguished in the literary circles of the day.
