 Coke was born on 6 May 1754 in London , to Wenman and Elizabeth Coke . The Cokes were a landowning family of Derbyshire , originally from Norfolk , Wenman representing Derby as one of its two Members of Parliament , and as such Coke was born into a wealthy , estate @-@ owning family ; one of his first memories was " being held up to a window to watch a fox being cornered and killed by hounds " . Little is known of Coke 's father ; Wenman is described as a shy person who " saw little company and lived much out of the world ; his habits were those of a country gentleman , bending his mind to agriculture , moderately addicted to field sports and more than either , to reading in which he passed many hours ; firm in his principles which were those of the old Whig ; amiable in his disposition mild in his manners , he was beloved of his friends " . The family 's prospects improved significantly when Coke was five , when his uncle , Thomas Coke , 1st Earl of Leicester , died . The cause of Thomas 's death is not certain , although there are chances it was a duel , but the result was that upon the death of Thomas 's wife Margaret , Wenman would inherit substantial Norfolk estate , including Holkham Hall , a " Palladian masterpiece " . Margaret studiously avoided the rest of the family , vowing to outlive Wenman simply to ensure that he did not inherit the estate . 
