A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



A figure, probably of Cupid, dating from Roman 

 times was found here. 5 



A fair, for pigs only, is held on Easter Mon- 

 day. There was formerly a market on Wednesday. 6 

 There were several crosses which have now disap- 

 peared. 7 



In 1066 the manor of HOLLAND or 

 MANOR Upholland was held by Stein ulf; it was 

 assessed as two plough-lands and worth 

 64</.* Nothing further is known of its tenure until 

 1212, when it together with Melling was held in 

 thegnage by Henry de Melling ; of him Matthew 

 and Alan held the two plough-lands in Upholland by 

 a rent of \2s. a year. 9 Ten years earlier Matthew 

 de Holland or Holand, as the name was usually 

 spelt held fourteen oxgangs here, to which Uctred 

 de Church quitclaimed all his right. 10 Nothing 

 further seems to be known of Alan, the joint tenant 

 with Matthew. The latter was a benefactor of 

 Cockersand Abbey. 11 



In 1224 Simon de Halsall quitclaimed to Robert 

 de Holland all his right in the two plough-lands in 

 Upholland. 11 The relationship of this Robert to his 

 predecessor Matthew does not appear in the records. 

 He was the ancestor of the great Holand family. 

 His last appearance was to answer a charge of setting 

 fire to one of the rector's houses in Wigan in 1241 ; 

 he and his son Thurstan were lodged in prison, but 

 released till the trial. 13 



Thurstan is said to have married a daughter of 

 Adam de Kellet ; eventually the lordship of Nether 

 Kellet descended to his heirs by this wife. 14 He also 

 acquired lands in Hale, and large grants in Maker- 

 field. 14 Sir Robert de Holland, the son of Thur- 

 stan, who succeeded about 1276, married Elizabeth 

 daughter and co-heir of Sir William de Samles- 

 bury. 16 



Robert's son and namesake, Sir Robert de Holland, 

 became one of the leading men in the county, being 

 a favourite official of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, from 

 whom he secured an alteration in the tenure of Up- 

 holland, which does not seem to have been perma- 

 nent. 17 He extended his possessions by a marriage 

 with Maud, daughter and co-heir of Alan de la Zouch, 18 

 and had many grants from his patron the earl ; l9 

 some of these were held to be invalid. He was sum- 

 moned to Parliament as Lord Holland from 1314 to 

 1321. He took part in the earl's rebellion, and all 

 his lands were forfeited ; * he himself was murdered 

 in October 1328, it is said by followers of the earl 

 who regarded him either as a coward or a traitor. 21 

 Among his other acts was the foundation of the 

 priory at Upholland in 1310 to 1317." This was 

 practically the conclusion of the family's active interest 

 in the manor. 



The forfeiture of the estates was in 1328 reversed 

 by Edward III, 23 and Holland descended regularly to 

 Sir Robert's son, Robert, who distinguished himself 



8 Watkin, Roman Lanes. 230. 



* It had long been discontinued in 

 1836 ; Baines, Lanes, (ist ed.), iii, 561. 

 7 Lanes, and Ches. Anti<j. Soc. xix, 237. 

 V.C.H. Lanes. I, 284*. 



9 Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 1 5. 



10 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 14. The two oxgangs not 

 accounted for may have been Alan's 

 portion. 



11 Cockersand Chart. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 610. 

 The boundaries of his donation began at 

 the head of the Ridge on the division be- 

 tween Holland and Dalton, followed this 

 division as far as Black lache, and by Black 

 lache, Rutand Clough, Green lache, Pool 

 lache, to the syke between St. Mary's 

 land and the assart of Outi ; then by the 

 carr beyond the Ridge to the starting 

 point. He added an assart called Lithe- 

 hurst, lying between Philip's boundary 

 and Hawk's Nest Clough. The ease- 

 ments included oak mast and shealings 

 (scalingis). The ' St. Mary's land ' men- 

 tioned was perhaps the abbey's land in 

 Dalton. 



12 Final Cone, i, 47. 



18 Cur. Reg. R. 121, m. 25 d., 26 d., 32. 

 The result is not given. Robert de Hol- 

 land granted to Cockersand Abbey all the 

 land which Hugh and Wronow held of 

 him in Bothams, on the boundary of 

 Dalton, and apparently adjoining that 

 granted by Matthew de Holland ; Chart. 

 ii, 611. 



14 See Final Cone, ii, 118. Thurstan 

 de Holland was one of the jurors as to 

 those liable to contribute to the Gascon 

 scutage in 1242-3 ; Lanes. Inq. and 

 Extents, i, 146. 



In 1246 Thurstan de Holland was ac- 

 quitted of having disseised Amice, wife of 

 Thomas de Pendlebury, of 16 acres in 

 Upholland ; Assize R. 404, m. i. 



In 1268 Thurstan de Holland, his 

 brothers Matthew, Richard, Robert, and 



William, and his son Robert, were sum- 

 moned to answer a charge of trespass ; 

 Cur. Reg. R. 186, m. 23d.; 190, m. 

 i6d. 



As Sir Thurstan de Holland he wit- 

 nessed a charter to Stanlaw in 1272 ; 

 Whalley Coucher (Chet. Soc.), ii, 585. 



There were other families bearing the 

 local surname ; thus in 1258 Christiana, 

 daughter of Adam de Holland, claimed 

 6 oxgangs of land in Holland from 

 Roger, Henry, and William, sons of Adam 

 de Holland ; Cur. Reg. R. 160, m. 5, 32. 



15 See the accounts of Hale, Pemberton, 

 Haydock, Golborne, and Lowton. 



16 Robert de Holland and Elizabeth his 

 wife occur in 1276 ; Assize R. 405, m. 2. 

 By his marriage he acquired part of the 

 manor of Harwood and other lands ; 

 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 313 ; Final 

 Cone, i, 173 ; ii, 193. He is supposed 

 to have died about 1304. 



17 In 1295 Upholland seems still to 

 have been dependent upon Melling, for 

 the heirs of Jordan de Hulton were respon- 

 sible for the 1 2s. rent ; Lanes. Inq. and 

 Extents, i, 288. 



Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, by his 

 charter granted to Robert de Holland and 

 Maud his wife the manors of Upholland, 

 Hale, &c., to hold of the chief lords by 

 the services due, and further by the ser- 

 vice of distributing each year for the earl's 

 soul on St. Thomas the Martyr's Day, and 

 on Christmas Day, to the poor folk coming 

 to the manor house of Upholland, 20 

 heaped-up measures of wheaten flour, and 

 ox, swine, and calf flesh to the value of 

 10 ; and of providing a repast of two 

 courses for 240 poor persons in the hall 

 of Upholland, on the same feast, to be 

 served on dishes after the manner of 

 gentlefolk, and a repast of one course 

 the following day, a pair of shoes, or 4</., 

 being given to each of the guests on de- 

 parting ; Duchy of Lane. Misc. vol. cxxx, 

 fol. 14 d. 



92 



The endowment of the priory may have 

 been a commutation. 



" Robert son of Robert de Holland had 

 lands in Pemberton and Orrell settled upon 

 him by his father in 1292 ; Final Cone, i, 

 173. In 1304 a grant of free warren in 

 Upholland, Hale, Orrell, and Markland 

 was made to Robert de Holland ; Chart. 

 R- 97 (3 2 Edw. I), m. 3, no. 48. 



In 1307 Sir Robert de Holland desired 

 to assign two messuages and two plough- 

 lands in Holland, and land in Orrell to 

 two chaplains in his chapel at Holland to 

 celebrate for his soul and the souls of his 

 ancestors for ever. It was found upon 

 inquiry that the manor was held of Adam 

 de Pennington who was perhaps a trus- 

 tee or a representative of the Melling 

 family ; he does not occur again Adam 

 holding of the Earl of Lancaster, and the 

 earl of the king ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents, 

 i, 322. 



In 1308 Robert de Holland had licence 

 to crenellate his manor house at Uphol- 

 land ; Cal. Pat. 1307-13, p. 57. 



The account of the family is mainly 

 taken from G.E.C.'s Complete Peerage, iv, 

 236. 



19 See the account of West Derby ; 

 Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 851. 

 There are numerous details in the Calen- 

 dars of Close and Patent Rolls. 



20 In 1325 the forfeited manor wa 

 held by Amota, widow of Simon de Hol- 

 land ; Cal. Close, 1323-7, p. 391. 



In an account of Sir Robert's lands 

 made about 1326 the manor of Holland 

 with garden and castle-stead is recorded ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Misc. x, fol. 15. 



31 For some account of his proceedings 

 in Lancashire see Coram Rege R. 254, 

 fol. 60. 



22 Dugdale, Man. iv, 409-12. 



28 Parl. R. i, 400 ; ii, 1 8 ; Cal. Close, 

 1327-30, p. 286. Ct. R. of 1326 are 

 printed in Lanes. Ct. R. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 73. 



