Lady Mary Coke

Mary Coke
Lady Mary Coke, by Allan Ramsay.
Born	6 February 1727 either at Ham, Surrey or at 27 Bruton Street, London, England
Died	30 September 1811 Morton House, Chiswick, England, UK
Occupation	Author, letter writer, journal writer
Spouse(s)	Edward Coke, Viscount Coke, from 1741 to 1753
Children	None
Parent(s)	John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll (1680–1743) and Jane Campbell

Lady Mary Coke (6 February 1727, either at Sudbrook, Ham, Surrey, or at 27 Bruton Street, London – 30 September 1811, Morton House, Chiswick) was an English noblewoman known for her letters and private journal. She made pointed observations of people in her circle and political figures. Although not intended for publication, an edition of her letters and journal, including entries from 1766 to 1774, was published in 1889 by a distant great-nephew.

She was the fifth and youngest daughter of the soldier and politician John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll (1680–1743), and his second wife, Jane (c.1683–1767), a maid of honour to Queen Anne and Caroline, Princess of Wales. Mary grew up in Sudbrook or in London, visiting her father's ancestral estate at Inveraray in Argyll at least once and possibly more often.

She married on 1 April 1747, Edward Coke, Viscount Coke (1719–1753); son of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. Their courtship had been strained, and in retaliation Edward left her alone on their wedding night and from then on virtually imprisoned her at his family estate at Holkham Hall, Norfolk. She reacted by refusing him his marital rights. She never used the title Viscountess.

Their families went to litigation, and eventually produced a settlement in 1750 whereby Lady Mary could live with her mother at Sudbrook but had to remain married to Edward until his death, which came in 1753, when Mary was 26. Already having received a handsome legacy from her father, she set out on her life of independence (she never remarried), that became (as her entry in the Dictionary of National Biography puts it) "marked by gossip, travel, devotion to royalty, and self-imposed misadventure".

Mary occupied Aubrey House, in the Campden Hill area of Holland Park from 1767 to 1788. A London County Council blue plaque commemorates her and other residents of the house.