Robert Coke 1587-1653
From Book Owners Online
Sir Robert COKE 1587-1653
Biographical Note
Eldest surviving son of Sir Edward Coke, Chief Justice. MP for Coventry 1614, for Fowey 1624; he was knighted in 1607. He inherited estates in Suffolk from his father in 1634, though many of his lands were sequestered during the Civil War.
Books
Book buying was noted as an extravagance that led to the running up of debts by Coke, during his father's lifetime. He left instructions in his will for the establishment of a parish library at Epsom, but this did not materialise. Many of his books passed to his nephew George Berkeley, 1st Earl Berkeley (1628-98), who gave them to Sion College.
Sources
- Will of Sir Robert Coke, The National Archives PROB 11/230/446.
- History of Parliament.
- Pearce, E. Sion College and Library, 1913, 258-60.