George Coke

George Lewis Coke

High above the arch leading to the Lady Chapel is the Funerary Hatchment* for George Lewis Coke.

George was born in 1715 to Thomas and Mary Coke of Melbourne Hall. His father was Vice-Chamberlain to both Queen Anne and George the First, so an important and rich man. He also created the wonderful gardens at Melbourne Hall. However he died early at 52 when George was only 12 so George was brought up by his uncle, John Coke, in London. 

When he was 17 he was appointed Surveyor General of his Majesty’s Customs, a title held by his father. At 18 he graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford and when he was 19 he set off on a Grand Tour of Europe returning twenty months later with a "tutor and companion," John Lewis Pasteur. (see John & Anna Pasteur)

George in Rome on his Grand Tour

George continued with his father’s plans for Melbourne Hall and Gardens, living the life of a country squire. In 1745 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire so would have been involved in meeting Bonnie Prince Charlie when he marched to Derby. He died in 1751 at the age of 36 and was buried in Melbourne Church.

George's Funerary Hatchment would have hung over the main entrance to Melbourne Hall for a year before it was hung in the church. The motto "In Coelo Quies" means, In Heaven there is Rest, or Rest in Heaven.

*A Funerary Hatchment is a large, diamond shaped, wooden or canvas frame, edged in black, showing the heraldic achievement of an important person. (The word hatchment is a corruption of word achievement.) On the frame will be the heraldic shield of the deceased, showing all their family connections and their motto. These became popular from the 16th to 19th centuries and would first be hung over the main door of the person’s hall or house, and then, after 12 months, moved to the church of burial.