Holt Ancestry – History 1600

1600–1649

This section brings together the recorded appearances of the Holt family in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1906). Each entry is drawn from contemporary legal, manorial, and ecclesiastical documents, tracing the family’s landholding, obligations, disputes, and social roles across the centuries. These chronological notes provide a documentary framework for understanding the Holts’ presence and influence within the evolving landscape of Lancashire.

1600	A minor Holt family was in occupation of Naden (p. 207).
1601	John Holt (see 1592) made a settlement of the manors of Naden and Chesham (p. 223). From 1601–1614 lands in Butterworth were held of John Holt (p. 219). A pedigree of J. Holt was recorded in 1613.
	JAMES I 1603–1625
1603	Thomas Holt settlement regarding the manor of Gristlehurst for his own use, passing eventually to Katherine Holt, wife of the younger Francis, with remainder to heirs male (p. 175).
1604	Will of Francis Holt approved — heir Thomas Holt of Gristlehurst (p. 175).
1605	GUNPOWDER PLOT
1605	John Holt had lands in Butterworth (p. 232).
1606	William Holt born, son of Robert Holt’s second wife Dorothy. His first wife was Mary (p. 178).
1608/9	Robert Holt died (p. 178).
1609	Thomas Holt died — heir his son Francis, aged 24, of Gristlehurst (p. 175). A settlement mentions James, William and Theophilus Holt, sons of Francis, who himself died in 1617 (p. 175). Catherine Holt, widow of Francis Holt, was granted lands in Failsworth, Manchester (p. 273). A survey shows John Holt with farmland at Deadwenclough (Vol. 6 p. 436).
1610	John Holt of Stubley, with others, was a plaintiff regarding the manor of Blackley (p. 255).
1611	AUTHORISED TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE INTO ENGLISH
1611	A further case concerning Blackley (p. 255).
1613	Thomas Holt of Gristlehurst, in the inquisition taken after the death of Henry Byrom, held lands in Abram (p. 112).
1617	Francis Holt died — heir his son James, aged 17.
1618	Thomas Holt of York reputed to be the architect of the schools at Oxford and of Merton and Wadham Colleges. “He was the first to introduce the classical orders in series above each other” (Gwilt, Encyclopaedia of Architecture, p. 214). Robert Holt, John Greenhaigh and Robert Heyward were patrons of A. Assheton (p. 158). Mary, wife of Richard Holt of Ashworth, buried at Middleton (p. 178). Richard Holt of Ashworth came of age; he married in 1614 and again in 1618 (p. 178).
1619	Richard’s son Richard born. Land in Spotland held under John Holt of Stubley and Sir John Byron the younger (p. 209).
1620	John Holt of Stubley served as High Sheriff of Lancashire. Richard Holt the father died (p. 178).
1621	Oliver, a grandson of Robert Holt, held Stubley/Chadwick lands of John Holt and James Holt (p. 208). Adam Holt of Stubley died (p. 205).
1622	Death of John Holt of Stubley, holding the manors of Naden and Chesham (p. 131). He had contributed to the subsidy for his lands (p. 147). His son by his second marriage, Robert, aged 20, inherited the estates and was in possession in 1626 (p. 223).
1623	James Holt died without issue; his brother William had died earlier. The heir was Theophilus, aged 14 (Gristlehurst) (p. 175). Robert Holt of Stubley had lands in Brandwood (p. 212). Balderston Hall named as the residence of Charles Holt, who died in 1628. It passed to John Holt in 1628. Mary Holt, widow of Samuel Holt, had for some years received the rents from this and other land.
1624	Robert Holt died. First wife Agnes Gartside — see 1566; second wife Clemence in 1609 (p. 178). He was patron of churches/chapels at Radcliffe and Middleton (p. 66).
	CHARLES I 1625–1649
1625	There was a grant of tenure of ploughlands to Edward Holt and three others, all of whom were trustees of Sir Edward Molyneux (vol. 3).
1626	LAND SURVEY
1626	Robert Holt, grandson of Charles Holt of Stubley, held 121 acres in Spotland, a messuage and a manor house (p. 207), Castleton house and moor, Gorehill and Deeplish (p. 203), and Balderstone (p. 204). Balderstone Lower Place was held by Robert Holt as a gift from his great‑grandfather Thomas Holt. He was the son of Adam Holt (p. 205). Charles Holt, son of John Holt who had the hall at Balderstone, held lands in Castleton (p. 204). Theophilus Holt had 197 acres in Spotland (p. 207). In Worstenholme, some lands were held by the Gristlehursts and some by the Stubleys. Theophilus held 149 acres; Richard, son and heir of Robert Holt of Ashworth, held 142 acres of the Ashtons of Middleton (p. 210). Robert Holt had St Mary’s Croft in Falings (p. 210) and Ugshot (p. 211). Theophilus Holt had 154 acres in Falings, land in Whitworth and Rossendale/Brandwood (p. 211). Robert Holt had 109 acres in Clegg inherited from John Holt of Stubley (p. 221). Lord Strange married Charlotte de la Tremouille, granddaughter of William of Nassau, Prince of Orange. They lived at Latham and Knowsley. He supported the King in the Civil War (vol. 3).
1626	Around this time Robert Holt abandoned Stubley for Castleton and acquired the manor of Marland (p. 223).
1628	Death of Charles Holt of Balderstone (p. 204). Death of Theophilus Holt. Gristlehurst remained in his mother’s hands until Thomas Posthumus was born six weeks after his father’s death (p. 175).
1631	George Holt of Chamber in Rossendale, in the Wolfenden part of Higher Booths, paid £10 as composition for declining a knighthood (vol. 6).
1635	Francis Holt held land in Townley (vol. 8, p. 108).
1638	“The Holt” at Milnrow still occupied (p. 218).
1639	Under the shrievalty of Robert Holt of Castleton, High Sheriff, the levy of “ship money” (taxes for King James I) resulted in many Head Constables of the hundreds excusing themselves from bringing an assessment. James I stood midway between Puritans and Catholics; his wife was Roman Catholic. Her influence may have contributed to the protection afforded to Lancashire recusants from unjust fines.
1640	Robert Holt of Castleton was still High Sheriff of Lancashire. Lord Derby was summoned to raise an army against the rebel Scots. Royalist Robert Holt and others were dismissed from the commission (Com. Journ., 24 Oct 1641). Robert Holt baptised, son of Richard Holt of Deepelish Hill, Rochdale (HR p. 251). Another of this family was John Holt of Deepelish Hill, proved 1660.
1642	CIVIL WAR
1642	Most people in Puritan districts supported Parliament. Richard Holt of Stubley and Castleton and other gentry joined the King’s side but made peace with Parliament early. Robert Holt of Stubley joined the King’s forces under the influence of the Earl of Derby and served in North Wales (p. 224). More than one Robert Holt fought for the King, making identification difficult (HR p. 307). A Peter Holt (probably Captain Holt of Bury) defended Bolton against Lord Derby (p. 137).
1643	Peter Holt married Elizabeth, widow of Henry Kelly of Manchester (p. 137).
1644	Roger, son of Peter Holt, married (p. 137).
1645	Richard Holt of Ashworth returned ill after the second defence of Latham for the King. His estates were sequestered and he was fined. He then took the National Covenant and Negative Oath and took no further part (p. 179). Robert Holt of Stubley surrendered, took the National Covenant and Negative Oath, and compounded — his fine being £1150 (p. 224).
1644	CHARLES I EXECUTED OLIVER CROMWELL LEADS PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL UNTIL 1660