Luke Pinhoe is a former member of the Pinhoe clan. Banished from his family for refusing to become Gaffer, and crippled by magic, he makes his way with the help of his old gray horse to the big city, where he eventually is able to undo the spells that kept him from being able to walk, and later, to make his fortune. His descendants become wealthy, and eventually his distant descendant Irene Yeldham inherits all the money when her father dies.
Luke's significance to the Pinhoe Egg also lies in the fact that he prefigures the decisions of both Joe Pinhoe and Uncle Charles Pinhoe to pursue their own interests and talents by being 'disappointments' to their families. Not only that, but the spells that had been used to cripple Luke's legs generations back were likewise used to punish Elijah Pinhoe.