| Description | Estate, family, legal and personal papers
This collection is classed as unlisted because it has never been satisfactorily catalogued. There is, however, an interim list describing the collection, which can be used with caution - although it is known to be flawed. The interim list is attached to this catalogue entry.
The collection includes papers of Sir William Coke, Chief Justice of Ceylon c1809-1921; Australian diary of Lieut. W S Coke, 1827; letters from army barracks abroad, 1824-1828; South African journal including farm accounts,1831-1834; log books of two ships, 1828, 1835; title deeds Derby, Pinxton, Yeaveley and elsewhere; estate coal, family and personal papers including planting and landscaping details for Pinxton estate, 1771-1786; correspondence, chiefly 18th-20th centuries
The collection also includes the legal case books of Daniel Parker Coke (1784-1831), which contain much that may interest the social as well as legal historian. The following examples may all be found in D1881/Box A:
Case Book III, 1787-1790:
Contains many cases re. settlement of paupers
On the penalties of excommunication, pages 327-328
On a case of assault [can a man hit a woman in retaliation if she hits him first?], pages 264-266
Case Book VII 1797-1800:
Contains several cases re. settlement of paupers and rights to an apprentice.
On a case of seduction [father suing the purported father of his daughter's illegitimate child for loss of his daughter's service as she acted as a servant], pages 41-44
Case Book X 1807-1813:
On the power of Magistrate over servants [can a servant be sent to the house of correction for neglecting his duties?], pages 221-223
On a dispute between husband and wife [wife locked out of house by intoxicated husband] pages 239-241
Cases relating to not returning a hired stocking frame and altering a stocking frame, pages 250-254
On a promise of marriage [a young man wishing to bring an action for breach of promise on a woman], pages 259-261
On the remedy against the Master of a Stage Coach [payment of doctor's bills for a woman who received a broken leg and injuries when the stage coach overturned due to the driver's negligence], pages 262-264
On the families of militia men [describing what allowance is due to the wives and children in various scenarios], pages 357-360
Also in this collection is a 1765 map of Pinxton, described in the Derbyshire Record Society's "A Catalogue of Local Maps of Derbyshire c.1528–1800" (compiled by Harold Nichols, revised by Mary Wiltshire assisted by Susan Woore, published 2012). The description reads as follows:
Endorsed on back 'Plan of the Range in Pinxton Parish in time of Robert Lilyman by J. [Broadhurst ?] Date 1765'. Surveyor: [J.Broadhurst]. Scale: no scale [1:2000]. Size: 50 x 40 cm. Materials: coloured ink on paper. Centred on: SK461563 Notes: top of sheet north-west. Shows 175 acres in parcels with owner and number of closes in parcel with area, each parcel is stated to be in Pinxton, Nottinghamshire: 'The Range' common: houses in stylised elevation: Brookhill Hall, entrance gates, distinctive elevation: gate and stone quarry noted. Location: DRO, D1881/Bundle 122/5 |