Sir Thomas Holcroft (1505 – 31 July 1558) was a sixteenth-century English courtier, soldier, politician and landowner.
Holcroft's fortune was made from speculation in former monastic properties, after having distinguished himself during the Anglo-Scottish Wars. He was a close supporter of Lord Protector Somerset and represented three constituencies in the English Parliament.
Background and early life
Thomas Holcroft was born at Holcroft Hall, Culcheth, Lancashire, the son of John Holcroft of Holcroft and Margaret Massey.History of Parliament Online: Members 1509–1558 – HOLCROFT, Sir Thomas (1505/6-58) – Author: R. J.W. Swales
The Holcrofts were minor gentry who had been resident since the Middle Ages at Holcroft Hall, the remains of which lie close to the Glazebrook, to the east of Culcheth.Victoria County History: Lancashire, volume 4 – Chapter 35: Townships – Culcheth, section 1: Culcheth The manor of Holcroft was the product of a division of the manor of Culcheth in the mid-13th century and the Holcrofts may have been descended from the de Culcheth family, the original holders of the manor, although the succession of the estate is not certain before John Holcroft, the lord of the manor in the early 16th century and Thomas's father.Victoria County History: Lancashire, volume 4 – Chapter 35: Townships – Culcheth, section 2: Manors The Holcrofts had made little impression even regionally before Sir Thomas' generation. His mother's family descended from a junior branch of an ancient noble family, but were scarcely more important: Margaret was a daughter of Hamnett or Hamlet Massey of Rixton, south of Holcroft, on the River Mersey. The Masseys also had a scattering of other estates, including holdings at Pennington.Victoria County History: Lancashire, volume 3 – Chapter 87: Townships – Pennington, section 2: Manor
Thomas being a younger son was not first in line to inherit the Holcroft lands. His brother, John Holcroft who was about ten years his senior had children by his wife Anne Standish, but none reached adulthood; thus the Holcroft estates were entailed to Sir Thomas' family. There were also two sisters, who both married into local gentry families: Alice married Sir Thomas Hesketh whilst the elder sister, Margaret, married James Gerard of Ince, also a younger son but whose brother of Sir Gilbert Gerard became a very powerful figure in the Elizabethan legal establishment and political circles; the Gerards were important contacts for the Holcrofts.
Thomas Holcroft married Juliane Jennings. As she was the sole heiress of Nicholas Jennings, who had property at Preston, Lancashire, and in London, the marriage gave Thomas a start in making his fortune. They had a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Isabel, who married Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland.
Holcroft enlarged his fortune through a series of linked routes: serving as a soldier, exploiting contacts at court, obtaining lucrative posts in the administration, buying monastic lands, and serving as a member of parliament.
Soldier, diplomat, courtier
Holcroft seems to have allied himself to Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby, the most powerful magnate in Lancashire, while still young, serving on his council. This brought him to the attention of Thomas Cromwell, and most of his later preferment stems from his able service of Henry VIII and Cromwell over the next few years. He was put on the payroll of Furness Abbey under royal mandate.Victoria County History: Lancashire, volume 2 – Chapter 6: Houses of Cistercian Monks 5, The Abbey of Furness, section 2
In October 1535 he was entrusted with an important mission. Holcroft and William Barlow, Prior of Bisham, were sent to James V of Scotland to pave the way for an alliance between the two countries, hitherto in conflict. The aim was to arrange a meeting between the two kings, and to explain to James, King Henry's unfolding policy of breaking with the Pope and enriching the Crown through dissolution of the monasteries. In 1536 Holcroft was sent to deliver messages to Margaret Tudor, Henry's sister and James's mother. However, this diplomatic effort was futile and the countries drifted towards war. In 1539, Holcroft was appointed to attend the Lord Admiral William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton at the reception of Anne of Cleves.John Gough Nichols, Chronicle of Calais (London: Camden Society, 1846), p. 67.
In preparation for the expected conflict in Scotland, Holcroft was sent north with carts and horses in 1542. Responding to this provocative preparation, Scottish forces advanced in November but were severely defeated at the Battle of Solway Moss. James died shortly afterwards and attempts were made to negotiate an end to the conflict, but these failed after the return to power in Scotland of Cardinal Beaton.
War resumed in December 1543 and led to the prolonged series of campaigns known as The Rough Wooing. Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes, was the main opponent of Beaton within Scotland and was known to favour his assassination. Holcroft was sent to negotiate with Leslie.Margaret Sanderson, Cardinal of Scotland: David Beaton (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1986). The idea was abandoned temporarily, and Holcroft served in the subsequent campaign that led to the Burning of Edinburgh. Holcroft was knighted upon the recommendation of Edward Seymour, at that time the Earl of Hertford, at Leith in May 1544.S. T. Bindhoff, "Thomas Holcroft", The House of Commons, 1509–1558 2 (London, 1982), p. 512.
Holcroft's service was further rewarded with positions in the Royal Household of England: in 1536 he was appointed Sewer of the Chamber and four years later Esquire of the Body. More substantial offices accompanied these: he was Bailiff for the Duchy of Lancaster in the West Derby Hundred from 1536 to 1545 and receiver for Lancashire and Cheshire for most of the period between 1538 and 1558). From 1540 to 1545 he was Master Forester for Quernmore and Wyresdale in Lonsdale Hundred. These were lucrative appointments that gave him a wide range of useful contacts.
Siege of Haddington In the reign of Edward VI, Holcroft was given still more power and responsibility. During 1548–9 he headed the English spy network in Scotland and spent more than £400 of his own money on the work. The English commander Grey de Wilton, wrote to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, "rejoicing in the diligence, good will, and courage of the Lord Warden and Mr. Holcroft."Calendar of the state papers, relating to Scotland, preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office (1858)
Holcroft won great distinction during the Siege of Haddington. The English garrison at Haddington held out against a Scottish and French army. Thomas Fisher, charged with arranging the return of Mary, Queen of Scots, to marry Edward VI, wrote of Haddington in a letter to William Cecil: "I assure you it had been French ere this, but for Master Holcroft, who has served as few men living would and with such liberality as is wonderful".Calendar of State Papers, Scotland: volume 1: 1547–63, pp. 178-182
Edward VI heard about the exploits of Holcroft and Thomas Palmer bringing food to the besieged garrison at Haddington, and recorded their names in his journal.John Gough Nichols, Literary Remains of Edward the Sixth, vol. 2 (London, 1857), p. 22. Holcroft's letters describe the building of a fort at Dunglass, and the "King's Pale" in Scotland, anticipating that Edward VI would receive feudal rents from the occupied area of Southern Scotland, extending from Dunglass to Berwick, and Lauder to Dryburgh. Landowners would be replaced by a Scottish "assured man" or an English landlord who would "answer the king's majesty for the rents of the same".Joseph Stevenson, Selections from unpublished manuscripts illustrating the reign of Mary Queen of Scotland (Glasgow, 1837), p. 46. Holcroft and Francis Leek wrote from Alnwick to Edward Seymour, now Duke of Somerset, in January 1549, about constructing further fortifications at Haddington, Lauder, and Lindisfarne.Joseph Bain, Hamilton Papers, vol. 2 (London, 1894), pp. 628-9
Fall of Somerset Holcroft became close to Somerset and chief regent of the young Edward VI, and to William Paget, Seymour's key administrator. Seymour was closely identified with the partly successful Scottish campaigns and Holcroft was given an annuity of £100 "until better provided for" when the wars ended. Seymour was toppled from power in October 1549 but later released from imprisonment and allowed to resume his place on the council. During this period Holcroft visited Paget's homes a total of nine times. The final downfall of Somerset in October 1551 brought the arrest of both Paget and Holcroft. He was imprisoned in the Tower until June 1552. He was also forced temporarily to surrender his office as receiver of the Duchy of Lancaster. However, he escaped with his head and was able to resume his activities after his release.
In Mary I's reign, Holcroft, like Paget and many other Somerset supporters, was back in favour. He was made Knight Marshal, a senior post in the household he held from 1556 until 1558. When hostilities with Scotland threatened again in Mary's reign, Holcroft was suggested as an adviser to Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, who was appointed commander in the north, as "a man of skill in matters of war". However, as he was knight marshal and had other responsibilities, the unreliable James Croft was despatched in his place.
Parliamentary career Holcroft was first elected to Parliament as knight of the shire (MP) for Lancashire in 1545. By this time he was already wealthy and had earned a knighthood through his military exploits. The Lancashire representatives were formally elected by freeholders but in reality the Duchy of Lancaster was the dominant force in the county, and the Earl of Derby had great sway as the major landowner: all MPs in the period had some sort of connection with him.History of Parliament Online: Constituencies 1509–1558 – Lancashire – Author: N. M. Fuidge. Holcroft was a duchy official and had started his career as a client of Derby. As such, he was a natural choice for member of parliament. The parliament was summoned in December 1544 but did not meet for the first time until almost a year later, on 23 November 1545. It then held only two sessions before its dissolution three days after Henry VIII's death in January 1547. Among its concerns were the war with France and Scotland and the abolition of chantries. Despite his expertise in these areas, there is no record of his contributing to work in committee.
Holcroft was not returned in the parliament of 1547, the first of Edward VI's reign. His appointment as Vice-Admiral of the Coast for both Cheshire and Lancashire in that year was the work of Thomas Seymour, Protector Somerset's brother. The Seymour's were in power, and preferment from Thomas might have seemed likely to lead to greater things. However, there were tensions between the brothers that were to lead to a rupture and it seems that Holcroft had moved into the Protector's camp by the end of the year. It was not until the last year of Edward's reign, after the fall of both Seymours and during the ascendancy of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, that Seymour was elected to parliament again, having been released from prison.