Top: 1590 map of Holkham with Neales and Wheatley manor houses circled. Above left Sir Edward Coke.Above right: This inscription, in a book recording his children’s marriage settlements, expressed Sir Edward Coke’s determination to establish his family line.

The Earls of Leicester have lived in Holkham Hall since the middle of the 18th century. Thomas Coke,

who built the hall and created the park, is the starting point for this exhibition, which illustrates succeeding generations as far as the 7th and present Earl of Leicester. Their story would not exist, however, without the century of family ambition that paved the way for Thomas Coke’s achievements.

Afortune made in the law. Sir Edward Coke, Attorney General and Chief Justice under Queen Elizabeth

and James I, used his wealth to endow all his sons with property. He bought one of three manors at Holkham in 1609 in order to bequeath it to his fourth son, John.

A good marriage. John married Meriel, a young girl who had inherited one of the other manors, gaining both

her land and also the Wheatley manor house which remained the Coke family home from 1612 to 1756.

Fate took a hand. John’s elder brothers died unmarried or without sons, leaving him to inherit most of his father’s lands

and wealth.

A shrewd eye for opportunities came into play. John bought more Holkham land, drained marshes and enlarged his

house. By the time of his death in 1661, he had firmly established the Coke family in the ranks of the local gentry. His estate survived a roller coaster of mixed fortunes during the next fifty years and passed safely to Thomas Coke when he came of age in 1718.

SO MANY LEICESTERS!

The earldom of Leicester was first created in 1107, but whenever an

earl dies without a son to inherit the title it lapses and can then be granted to an entirely unrelated family. Over the centuries this happened three times before Thomas was created earl in 1744. Previous Earls of Leicester had included Simon de Montfort, champion of the barons against the crown in the 13th century, and Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite, Robert Dudley.

The Coke family has no connection with any of these earlier Earls of Leicester.

Thomas Coke’s only son died before him so the peerage once again fell

into abeyance when he died in 1759. The hall and estate passed to his great-nephew, a commoner, who was always known as ‘Coke of Norfolk’. In 1837, when he was 83, the title was re-created for him. In the meantime, however, it had been granted to a rival local family, the Townshends of Raynham, an estate only a few miles away. T. W. Coke’s official title was therefore ‘Earl of Leicester of Holkham’ and until the Townshend line died out in 1855, there were two Earls of Leicester living near to each other.

In each creation, the numbering of the earls started afresh. In Holkham history,

Thomas Coke is known as the 1st Earl, T. W. Coke became the 1st Earl of the 2nd creation and his descendants are the 2nd to 7th Earls. This numbering is helpful as five of the earls were named Thomas William Coke.

Looking back at the Leicesters

The 1st Earl.

Holkham Hall was the creation of Thomas Coke (1697-1759). He had often spent time at the old manor house

at Holkham before he was orphaned at the age of ten. The need to channel his intelligence and energy, and limit his favourite distractions of cock fighting and shooting, prompted his guardians to send him on an unusually long Grand Tour. From the age of 15 to 21, he visited much of Europe, gaining a taste for books, sculpture, architecture and art. He fell in love with Italy, with all its classical associations and, in particular, the architectural style of Andrea Palladio.

After his return, quickly followed by his marriage to Lady Margaret Tufton, Coke spent much of the 1720s planning Holkham Hall, his own temple to the arts, worthy of the

treasures he had collected on his travels. Building started in 1734 and the project was to take 30 long years, a period that would see his creation as Earl of Leicester in 1744, the death of the couple’s only son, Edward, in 1753, and Thomas’ own death in 1759. His household had moved into the new hall only three years earlier and it was his widow who ensured that it was finally completed and furnished exactly as Thomas had envisaged.

The 1st Earl of the 1st creation

The 1st Earl and builder of Holkham Hall.

Right: Draft proposal by William Kent for the Marble Hall.Coke’s vision was to create a Palladian hall in the heart of the Norfolk countryside. This design for the Marble Hall was drastically altered by Coke before it was built.

Bill from Francesco Zuccarelli, 1758. Bill for painting the designs for the tapestries in the Green State Bedroom. He also painted the Four Seasons, above the doors in the same room, and portraits of the earl and countess. He did much of his work while staying at Holkham with his family.

The Cockpit, Engraving by Hogarth.

Despite the efforts of his guardians, Thomas Coke’s love of cockfighting lasted all his life. It seems that Hogarth, who is said not to have liked the earl, shows him here as the corpulent, bespectacled gambler in the midst of the jostling throng at a fight at the Royal Cockpit in Birdcage Walk. The earl is distinguishable by the badge of the Order of the Bath which he is also wearing in this miniature.

Left: Lady Margaret. She completed the Hall after her husband’s death.

The 1st Earl of the 2nd creationThomas William Coke succeeded to Holkham in

1776 when he was not quite 22 and his attention soon turned to farming. He championed new crops and methods and promoted improved livestock breeding. Agricultural improvement was fashionable and profitable and Coke was charismatic, energetic and hospitable. Holkham soon became famous for his annual three-day Sheep Shearings which drew hundreds of enthusiastic visitors from far and wide.

Coke converted two rooms to form the Manuscript and Classical Libraries we see today, but his greatest imprint on Holkham was outdoors. He expanded the park, swept away outdated formal garden features in favour of more natural landscaping, built the Great Barn and new walled kitchen gardens and planted two million trees.

Coke was MP for Norfolk for fifty years. He made Holkham one of the great Whig houses, frequently entertaining national figures for weeks on end in the shooting season. ‘Coke of Norfolk’ was proud of being the ‘greatest commoner in England’ but accepted a peerage after the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837, five years before his death at the age of 88.

‘Coke of Norfolk’, the 1st Earl Painting by Reinagle

The 1778 map shows Holkham at beginning of Thomas William Coke’s time.

Coke took the remaining tenanted farms ‘in hand’ to become part of the hall farm, demolished the remnants of the old village near the south end of the lake, removed the formal basin south of the Hall, added curved extensions to each end of the lake, expanded the park to its present size and encircled it with a wall nine miles long.

The earl inspecting Southdown sheep with his shepherdsPainting by Weaver.

Coke’s Sheep Shearings were the forerunners of todays county shows. At the Great Barn, designed by Samuel Wyatt, vistors admired his Devon cattle.

Left: ‘Tom Coke’s first letter’. Written to his mother in January 1829 when he was just six years old.

Right: Four generations in 1908 The earl, aged 85, with his eldest son, Viscount Coke (1848 - 1941), his grandson (1880 - 1949) and great grandson (1908-76). They were all named Thomas William Coke and each in turn became Earl of Leicester.

The 2nd Earl of Leicester, ‘the Victorian earl’, was born in December 1822, ten months after his

father’s unexpected second marriage at the age of 68. He inherited the Holkham Estate in July 1842, when not yet 20.

His lifelong passions were shooting, forestry and outdoors practical work. He was responsible for building the extensive range of stables, brew house, artesian well and laundry to the east of the hall, and the terraces, fountain and conservatory on the south. He had 18 children by two marriages, the youngest born 49 years after the eldest. The 2nd Earl died in 1909 at the age of 86 after 66 years in charge of Holkham.

King Edward VII visits the Earl of Leicester in 1908. Towards the end of his life, stone deaf and nearly blind, the earl had his bed wheeled into the saloon every day. During a visit by his old friends, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, the queen said to Lady Leicester, “He looks so pink and white, I should like to kiss him”. The countess wrote this on his slate whereupon he shouted, “For God’s sake tell her not to!”Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester,

by George Richmond.

The 2nd Earl of Leicester

Right: Note concerning the appointment of a new headmaster to Holkham school.In his old age, when the 2nd Earl’s deafness and poor eyesight had become a problem, his land agent would keep him in touch with what was happening by means of large scribbled notes. This one refers to applications for the post of headmaster at Holkham village school in 1904.‘We have seen a man who is good in all ways but appearance. He is rather fat and 44. Lord Coke thinks 44 too old. He & Lady Leicester would like a cricketer.’

Right: The earl in the uniform of the Scots Guards.The future earl was commissioned into the Scots Guards in 1868, aged 20. He served in the Egyptian campaign in 1882 and the Suakim expedition in 1885 and retired as colonel in 1894. He then commanded The Prince of Wales Own Norfolk Artillery and served with them in the Boer War in 1901-2.

Unlike his predecessors who all inherited Holkham when aged only

20 or 21, the 3rd Earl of Leicester had a long military career before succeeding to the title and estate in 1909 at the age of 61.

Despite falling rents and income between the wars, he continued to live in 19th century style. ‘White tie’ dress was required even for family dinner in the north dining room, the old kitchen continued in use, and large shooting parties dominated winter social life. His greatest contribution to the hall was the installation of electricity. He died in 1941 at the age of 93.

The countess, the former Alice White, daughter of Lord Annaly, is seen here in about 1896 with her children Tom, Arthur, Roger, Marjory and Bridget. During the 1914-18 War, Alice helped to run a soldiers’ convalescent hospital at Model Farm at Holkham, a Red Cross motor ambulance and an appeal for Norfolk Regiment prisoners of war. She was renowned in her family for her love of dancing the foxtrot and charleston in the statue gallery after dinner. Members of the family provided the music on piano, banjo and drums. In later life, Parkinson’s disease confined her to a wheelchair. She died in 1936.

The 3rd Earl of Leicester

Left: Cricket has been an important feature of the Holkham summer since at least 1841. Viscount Coke is seen here in 1908, the year before he became Earl of Leicester.

Right: The earl in 1938 with his great-grandson, Eddy, who became the 7th and present Earl of Leicester.

Left: The 3rd Earl, Honorary Colonel of the 4th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment. Seen here at the Presentation of the Colours in 1909. This uniform is here in our display.

Below: The earl at home in later years.Here we see a far less formal earl, out shooting on the estate in what is clearly a much-worn and much-loved jacket!

The 4th Earl of LeicesterThe 4th Earl of Leicester, born in 1880, joined his father’s old

regiment, the Scots Guards, in 1900. He served in the Boer War at the same time as his father, who expected that he would ‘have a real nice campaign…it is a splendid life in every way.’ In 1910 he was commissioned into the Norfolk (The King’s Own Royal Regiment) Yeomanry and served in France and Italy in the 1914-18 War.

He succeeded to Holkham on the death of his father in November 1941 but was in charge for only eight years before his death in 1949. His time at Holkham was dominated by precarious finances and he considered passing Holkham to the National Trust; as one obituary observed, he had ‘inherited at least as much anxiety as privilege’.

Left: the 4th Earl at camp in 1911.

Right: The 4th Earl with his son, Tommy, in 1914.

The 4th Earl in Scots Guards dress uniform.

A newspaper cutting describing a concert at Holkham in which the earl took part in the summer of 1946 .The earl’s great love was music. He was an accomplished violinist. He organised concerts at Holkham and Norwich, often including a well-known quartet of Lionel Tertis (viola), Albert Sammons (violin), Cedric Sharpe (cello) and William Murdoch (piano), sometimes playing 2nd violin with them. He was president of the Norfolk and Norwich Triennial Festival.

Letter to the 4th Earl concerning the possibility of transferring ownership of Holkham to the National Trust.Lees-Milne was Historic Buildings Secretary at the National Trust (1936–51) and helped save many English country houses for the nation at a time when huge death duties were being incurred by their owners who were consequently in financial difficulties. This letter reveals how close Holkham came to being given up in this way.

Marion at the beach.An informal snapshot of a young Lady Coke, presumably taken on Holkham beach by another member of the bathing party one summer in the 1900s.

The Norfolk Yeomanry 1911 summer camp held at Holkham.The future 4th Earl had been commissioned into the regiment the previous year.

Elizabeth, Countess of Leicester, founded Holkham Pottery in 1951 in the redundant laundry and bowling alley buildings at the east of the hall. At its height the pottery employed nearly 100 people and was the biggest light industry in North Norfolk. It ceased production in 2007.

The earl opened Holkham Hall to the public for the first time in 1950, on Thursdays in July and August. Occasionally the countess sold fruit and vegetables from the walled kitchen gardens, helped by her two elder daughters, Lady Anne and Lady Carey, and her sister-in-law, Lady Mary Harvey.

The 5th Earl of LeicesterThe 5th Earl was born in 1908, when

his great-grandfather, the 2nd Earl, was still alive. He was invariably known as Tommy, to distinguish him from his father, Tom. He served in the Scots Guards from 1928 to 1948 and succeeded to Holkham in 1949.

Right: The earl in his official robes. On his death in 1976, as he had three daughters but no sons, the title passed to his cousin, who had made a life for himself in South Africa. For the third time in its history, as in 1671 and 1775, the estate passed to a junior branch of the family.

Left: Tommy with his sister, Silvia, and brother David, on the hall terrace balustrade. David was killed on active service in Libya in 1941. His sister, later Lady Silvia Combe, took on the role of family historian and preserved many family papers. She died in 2004.

The future 5th Earl out with a shooting party in the 1930s. The earl’s other great passion was golf. In 1936 he won the Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes Tournament with the famous lady player, Joyce Wethered.

Joyce Wethered, widely regarded as the greatest lady golfer ever, seen here in action in an earlier Mixed Foursome at Worplesdon.

Above: The 5th Earl in the uniform of the Scots Guards

THE SPORTSMAN HOLKHAM POTTERY

Tommy at 8 months of age (above) and at 2 years and 2 months

(below).

The 6th Earl of Leicester

Tony, back in Africa after the war, with a pet ground hornbill. At the end of the war Tony showed no interest in returning to live in England and went back to Africa where he spent the rest of his life. He died there in 1994 at the age of 85.

Anthony, 6th Earl of Leicester, Portrait by Lang.

Anthony with his wife Moyra and a friend in 1936 at Ruby Ranch, Southern Rhodesia, with a sable antelope.

Returning from successful hunting trip with a fine male kudu slung along the side of the car.

Anthony Louis Lovel Coke, the 6th Earl of Leicester, inherited the earldom in

1976 on the death of his cousin, the 5th Earl, who had no son to take the title and estate.

Born in 1909, Anthony gained such a reputation in his teens for being idle and a rebel that he was dismissed from Gresham’s School and in 1925, at the age of 17, was banished to Bechuanaland (Botswana). He fell in love with Africa. His first job was to go out each day to shoot an antelope, which he then skinned, jointed and put into a huge pot to simmer, to feed the 100 African workers on the ranch. He eventually became manager of Mayo Ranch, about 150 miles east of Salisbury (Harare).

He spent the rest of his life in Africa, except for the war years, when he

served with the Rhodesian Air Force and was posted to England, serving in Bomber Command at RAF Coningsby. In the 1940s he refused to agree to proposals to pass Holkham to the National Trust. As a result, it was his son who returned to England and took over the running of Holkham in the 1970s.

Tony at Holkham around 1916 with his aunt, Lady Coke, Pickles the dog and cousins, Silvia and Tommy (the future 5th Earl). Silvia recorded that he invariably wore a sailor suit as a child.

Edward Coke, 7th Earl of Leicester CBE DL, was born in 1936 in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He

came to England in 1962, living in Norfolk since 1965.When he took over the administration of the Holkham Estate in 1973, it was severely run down. Of the 400 houses on the estate, perhaps only 30 had bathrooms. The hall needed not only heating but fire and intruder detection equipment and none of the farms was making a profit. All this was no-one’s fault, but a legacy of the huge problems inherited from the difficulties of the war years. However, with the improved economic climate of the 70’s, he was able to ensure that

all the houses were modernised and the hall and farms brought into good order. In October 2005 Lord Leicester retired from active management of the estate and handed over control to his son, Tom. In 2006 he and his wife, Sarah, moved to another property on the estate.

The 7th Earl of Leicester

The 7th Earl and Countess of Leicester. Painting by Festing.

Right: Gold Medal. Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex, President of the Royal Agricultural Society, presents Lord Leicester with the Bledisloe Gold Medal in 2007. The medal is awarded annually for outstanding agricultural estate management and development.

Eddy with his great-grandfather, the 3rd Earl, during a visit to Holkham in 1938.

Lord Leicester spent his boyhood on a remote farm in South Africa. Several cats

were kept to kill the snakes which sometimes came into the house. There were occasions when he and his brother Johnny were woken in the night by the sound of fights between the cats and a snake. The boys would leap out of bed, grab torches (there was no electric light) and sticks (always kept by the bed), then help the cats despatch the snake and go back to bed. A far cry from the grandeur of Holkham.

Eddy, Johnny and Almary.Johnny left South Africa in 1988 coming to Holkham to farm at Peterstone on the estate. Almary still lives in South Africa and is retired from running a trout farming business.

AN AFRICAN CHILDHOOD

Above: With Swazi.Right: The Golden Jubilee celebrations.In 2002 Holkham made merry on the Queen’s jubilee. Everyone took the day off and a great fancy dress party was held. Lady Leicester wore a sari and Lord Leicester appeared in the guise of Ali G!

Lord Leicester has always taken an active part in public life. Amongst the positions and offices held, he was

Leader of the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk (1980-1985); Chairman of the Planning Committee (1987-1991); Chairman of the Founder Members of Radio Broadland; Founder Trustee and Chairman of the De Montfort University Global Education Trust; President of

the Association of Drainage Authorities and President of the Historic Houses Association from 1998 to 2003, in which capacity he was awarded a CBE for services to heritage. He is an English Heritage Commissioner and a Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk, President of Ancient Monument Society (2010), Trustee of North Norfolk Historic Buildings Trust and President of Wells RNLI.

Left: The Historic Houses Association.Lord Leicester addressing an AGM of the Historic Houses Association.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PUBLIC LIFE

Eddy and sister Almary in 1940.

Eddy and Johnny, snake hunters.

Arthur Coke, born in 1882, was originally destined for the Royal Navy but he left the service around 1905 because of his severe stammer.

In 1914, on the outbreak of the 1st World War, he joined the Royal Horse Guards and fought in the trenches in Flanders in the first battle of Ypres. He wrote, “What I am really very anxious to do is to get into Commander Samson’s Armoured Cars... They get a lot of exciting fighting,

which is better than sitting in these infernal trenches”. He transferred to the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve Armoured Cars in December 1914 and went with them to Gallipoli. Manning machine guns on the S.S. River Clyde, he helped to cover the landing of troops at Sedd el Bahr on 25th April 1915. He was killed in action seven days later.

He left a widow, Hermione, and their children, Anthony and Diana. Arthur was the younger brother of the 4th Earl and so was not in the direct line of succession at Holkham. However, many years after his death his son became the 6th Earl and his grandson is the 7th and present Earl of Leicester.

Killed in Action

The grave of Arthur Coke at Gallipoli. He was later commemorated with 27,000 comrades on the Helles Memorial.

Portrait of Arthur Coke,by Sir William Llewellyn.

Arthur, son of the 3rd Earl

A faithful companion.Arthur took his Airedale Terrier, Jack, to war with him. Following Arthur’s death Jack was returned to Holkham by Arthur’s fellow officers. Jack died here in 1918 and is buried by the west side of the orangery.

The 4th Earl’s younger son David was killed in action in December 1941, aged 26. He was a Flight Lieutenant and acting leader of 80 Squadron. He had just been awarded the D.F.C. when his Hurricane was shot down over Libya, North Africa.

His death came shortly after his father succeeded to Holkham. His mother, whose journey to Holkham had been

delayed by flu, had felt a premonition on the day he died that all was not well. On her arrival at Holkham she learned that he had been posted missing. David’s death was confirmed in the New Year.

Killed in ActionDavid, son of the 4th Earl

Above: Letter of condolence from Roald Dahl. Right: A contemporary typed transcript.This letter to Lord and Lady Leicester from his friend and comrade in arms, the author Roald Dahl, reveals David as a fearless man of action, well-liked and respected by those who fought beside him.

Born in 1965, Thomas Edward, Viscount Coke was educated at Eton and graduated from the University of

Manchester with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the History of Art. He was Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II between 1979 and 1981 and Equerry to the Duke of Kent from 1991 to 1993. He married his wife Polly in 1996 and they have four children. The family moved into the hall in April 2007.

Lord Coke has been actively involved in managing the estate since leaving the Scots Guards in 1993. He assumed responsibility for Holkham operations in October 2005 when his father, the 7th Earl of Leicester retired.

The Heir to Holkham

Lord Coke with his father, the 7th Earl on handover

day in 2005.

Page of Honour.Tom, seen in this photograph behind the Queen and Prince Philip, as a page at the Ceremony of the Garter at Windsor Castle in 1980. Lord Coke was 14 years old.

Stars at Holkham HallHolkham’s fine architecture and timeless landscapes have made the estate a favourite location for film-makers and many memorable scenes have been shot here – it was upon Holkham beach that Gwyneth Paltrow was cast for the panoramic concluding scene of Shakespeare in Love. Here we see Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes with Lord and Lady Coke in a relaxed moment during the filming of The Duchess in 2008.

Right: Lord and Lady Coke with their children, Edward, Hermione, Juno and Elizabeth.

Left: Holkham 2008 Lord Coke and his family enjoy camping and caravan holidays. He was made President of the Caravan Club in 2006 and invited the club to hold its annual rally at Holkham in 2008.

THE CARAVANNER

Right: Aluminium dream. As a 40th birthday present, Lady Coke bought her husband an original 1965 American Airstream, which, when not in use, is on display in the Bygones Museum.

THE MODERN APPROACH

Viscount Coke has overseen the diversification of Holkham, moving it away from its historical dependence on agriculture and steering the estate

towards leisure and tourism. Today Holkham operates a very successful holiday park and two thriving hotels. He set up Holkham Linseed Paints which sells a range of environmentally-friendly and long-lasting paints and formed the property development business, Hector’s Housing Limited, naming it after “Hector”, his Irish terrier.

Pinewoods Holiday Park, The Globe at Wells, The Victoria Hotel and Holkham Linseed Paints are all Holkham businesses.

Maintaining a tradition.Like the 3rd, 4th and 5th Earls, Lord Coke also served in the Scots Guards.

ROBES AND COSTUMESThe robes and costumes in this display were all worn by Earls of Leicester – two by more than one!

1. Frock coat worn by Viscount Coke at the Garter ceremony.Viscount Coke was Page of Honour to Her Majesty the Queen from 1979 to 1981. The photograph here shows Viscount Coke, in the dress of a page, behind the Queen and Prince Philip at the Investiture of the Knights of the Garter at Windsor Castle in 1980 when Lord Coke was 14 years old.

2. Jacket and boots worn by the 2nd Earl as

page to HRH the Duke of Sussex at the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. The Duke of Sussex was Prince Augustus Frederick, sixth son of George III and Queen Charlotte. A favourite uncle of Queen Victoria, he gave her away on her wedding day.

3. The 3rd Earl’s military uniform. The photograph shows the 3rd Earl in the uniform of Honorary Colonel of the 4th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment.

The 3rd, 4th and 5th Earls all served in the Scots Guards for a combined period of about 63 years. This period of service does not include time spent in the Yeomanry, Reserve or Home Guard.

This tradition was taken up by the present earl’s son Lord Coke who also served in the Scots Guards.

4. The 2nd Earl’s ceremonial robe. The robes are made from scarlet superfine faced cloth, a durable tightly woven wool fabric. They are finely trimmed with three-inch wide ermine bars and two-inch wide gold oak leaf lace. The number of bars of ermine and gold reveal the wearer’s rank. An earl has three bars.

The same robes were also worn by the present earl before hereditary peers were excluded from the House of Lords. From Thomas William Coke to the 5th Earl there was a total of 139 years unbroken service in the Lords.

Together the 2nd and 3rd Earls also served as Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk for an unbroken period of 83 years. This office was taken up by the 4th Earl from 1944 until his death in 1949.