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Welcome to Holt Ancestry
The history of the Holts of Lancashire.
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The topographic name of HOLT means dweller by a wood or copse, a small area of
undergrowth and small trees grown for periodical cutting. This old
English term Holt, a wood or a grove, was often preceded with de or del. The
Holt name first appeared in 1185 in Kent in the Templars Records with
the name of Hugo de Holte. There are many different spellings of the
name Holte, Hoult, Holtzer, Holts, Hoults .. as church officials recorded and
spelled the name as it sounded.
The surname of Holt is one of the oldest Anglo Saxon surnames on record.
The name Holt, seated in Lancashire, appears there from ancient times
and possibly before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William
at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
The Holt name appears in manuscripts and ancient documents such as
the Doomsday Book, the Ragman Rolls, the Curia Regis rolls, the Pipe
Rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish registers, baptismals and tax records.
The Saxon gave rise to many English surnames not least of
which was the Holt surname. The collaspe of Roman Britian drew
migrants from across the channel and the arrival of Anglo Saxon settlers
caused social and political unrest mainly in the south and east of Britian.
The Saxons gradually relocated to the north and west, and during the next four hundred years
forced the Ancient Britons back into Wales and Cornwall in the west and
Cumberland to the north.
Under Saxon rule England prospered under a series of High Kings, the
last of which was Harold. In 1066, the Norman invasion from France
occurred and their victory at the battle of Hastings. Subsequently, many
of the vanquished Saxon land owners forfeited their land to Duke William
and his invading Norman rule, and many moved northward to the midlands,
Lancashire and Yorkshire
away from the Norman oppression.
This notable English family name, Holt, emerged as an influential
name in the country of Lancashire where the Holts were recorded as a family
of great antiquity seated with manor and estates in that shire. This
ancient Lancastrian name was first recorded about 1190 in Lancashire
when Hugo Holte was lord of the manor and estates. The Holt surname can
be found in many places, but this site is mainly looking
at the distribution
of the name in Lancashire, England.
By the 13th Century the Holts
held many halls and lands, the principal families located at Castleton Hall;
Stubley Hall; Bispham Hall; Shevington
and Ince; and other branches at Ashworth Hall; Grizlehurst Hall; Bridge Hall;
Stubbylee Hall; Little Mitton Hall and Balderstone Hall. The family history and
genealogy is most intriguing. The Holt name in
the parish of Rochdale has been associated with wealth and dignity.
During the middle ages the surname Holt flourished and played an
important role in local affairs and in the political development of
England between the 15th and 18th centuries. England was
ravaged by plagues and religious conflict. Puritanism found
political favour with Cromwellianism and the remnants of the Roman
church rejected all non-believers. The
conflicts between church groups, the crown and political groups all
claimed their followers and their impositions, tithes, and demands on
rich and poor alike broke the spirit of men and many turned away from
religion. Many families were freely "encouraged" to migrate to Ireland,
or to the "colonies". Some were rewarded with grants of land, others
were banished.
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There appears to have been two prominent families with
the name of HOLT in England.
The Holtes of Aston , Warwickshire, whose estates were situated near
Birmingham. Sir Charles Holte, a personal friend of King Charles I,
who built the mansion known as Aston Hall, at which place he entertained
the king after the disasterous battle of Edge Hill. I have been
unable to link the Holtes of Aston and the Holts of Grizzlehurst as yet.
The Holts of Grizzlehurst family, of Lancaster. The most notable person
was Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Sir John Holt
died at his seat at Redgrave (the former residence of Sir Nicholas Bacon,
Lord Keeper of the Seals to Queen Elizabeth) without issue, leaving a
large estate to his heirs. On the 5th March, 1745, the will and codicils
left unadministered by her late majesty's solicitor, administration was
granted to Thomas Thurston, Esq., the lawful attorney of Rowland Holt,
great-grand-nephew and heir-at-law of Sir John Holt. Mr. Thurston died in
1762, and the administration ceased and expired.
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Translated from the inscription on the momument
to Sir John Holt,
Chief Justice of all England, born 1642 died 1710.
"The watchful upholder, the keen defender, the brave guardian of liberty and the law of England."
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Copyright © 2008. Victoria Holt. All rights reserved.
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