Stoke Poges in 1836
Stoke Poges lies to the right of the road between Colnbrook and Maidenhead. Population in 1831, 1,252. The manor was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth seized by the crown for a debt. It was the residence for a time of ‘the grave Lord Keeper,’ Sir Christopher Hatton ; and subsequently of Sir Edward Coke, who in 1601 entertained Queen Elizabeth here, and presented her with jewels to a considerable amount. Upon the death of Sir Edward Coke, to whom the manor had been granted in fee, it came to his son-in-law Lord Purbeck. The manor-house afterwards came into the possession of the Penn family, by one of whom the old house was pulled down and re-built. The park is adorned by a colossal statue of Sir Edward Coke, and a sarcophagus on a pedestal has been erected in its vicinity to the memory of the poet Gray.
The old manor-house of Stoke Poges is the scene of Gray’s ‘Long Story;’ and the churchyard of his well-known ‘Elegy.’ The poet spent much of his youth in this village ; and his remains lie (without any monumental inscription over them) in the churchyard, under a tomb which he had erected over the remains of his mother and aunt.
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