A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



1 .T'tard son of Elizabeth Elston, othenvise called 

 Robert Holden bastard son of Ralph Holder). " He 

 appears as legitimate in the pedigree recorded in I 567, 

 where other chlJren are ignored"; but Thomas 

 Holdcn, described in I 579 as of Barnard's Inn," laid 

 claim to various parts of the inheritance." An inquiry 

 was made as to the tenure of Holden demesne and 

 Todd Hall in 1584, when it was reported that they 

 were copyhold." Robert Holden, who was still 

 living in 16 19," had a son Ralph, aged thirty-two in 

 16 1 3, when he recorded a pedigree." 



The family adhered to the old religion, for Robert 

 Holden is marked ' Papist ' in the freeholders' list, 

 1600,*' and his son Ralph was a recusant in 1629, 

 about which time he compounded by an annual 

 payment of j^8 for the two-thirds of his e.=t.ite liable 

 to sequestration for his religion." Ralph's son Robert, 

 however, after taking offence at Fr. Arrowsmith's 

 conduct concerning a dispensation for his marriage, 

 became a Protestant. The circumstances of the 

 quarrel, which ultimately led to the zealous mis- 

 sionary's arrest and execution, are thus related by a 

 contemporary : — 



Two in Lancashire had married together ; the woman was 

 not a Catholic, the man wns. There w.is somc^^hat in the 

 marriage for which they stood in ncci of a dispensation, Mr. 

 Arrowsmith was employed in obtaining it. In the meantime 

 the woman became Catholic When the dispensation came 

 Mr. Arrowsmith would not make use of it before the parties 

 had separated for the jpace of fourteen days ; which thing 

 incensed them much against him, ^o that knowing the time 

 when he was to return to their father's house where they li-.rd, 

 they secretly sent word to one Rawstorne, a justice of the peace, 

 to come and apprehend a priest. The justice, nnt willing to 

 bring his neighbour into danger, sent him word that he was to 

 search his house ; that by this me. n? having intelligence he 

 mght cnnvt-y away the priest. Which being done, the searchers 

 according to custom busied themselves in looking, bit could 

 find nobody, so returned home.^^ 



It is stated that Ralph Holden on that account gave 

 the estate of Kelkc to charitable use;, but was unable 



to divert Holden and Duckworth from his son.* 

 Robert recorded a pedigree in 1665," and died in 

 1677. The last m.ile heir was Robert Holden, who 

 died in 1792, but the descendants of his sister Eliza- 

 beth, by Henry Greenwood her husband, assumed 

 the name." 



John Greenwood, the son of Henry and Elizabeth, 

 left three sons, Henry, Ralph and William Holden, 

 who divided the estates in 1853. The eldest had 

 Reedley, while Holden was given to Ralph, who died 

 in Ovampoland in 1 86 1, leaving three daughters, 

 Maria, Mary and \'iolet Mildred, who shared equally. 

 A partition was made in 1899, by which Holden 

 Hall was allotted to the eldest daughter, who married 

 John Duckworth and died in 1905 ; the site of the 

 house and part of the land was purchased by the 

 Haslingden Corporation for the cemetery, and since 

 Mrs. Duckworth's death the rest of her land has been 

 sold. The other sisters or their heirs retain their 

 portion of the estate." 



The above-mentioned Adam son of Gilbert Holden 

 was founder of the line of Holden of Todd Hall." 

 In the king's halmote of his manor of Accrington, 

 Gilbert in 1539 surrendered to trustees, for the use 

 of his son Adam, a messuage called Todd Hall (Tode 

 Hole) and 24 acres of customary land in Haslingden 

 occupied by Alice widow of Christopher Holdcn ; a 

 rent of Ss. was to be paid to the king and another of 

 1 ;/. to Gilbert." The estate descended in the male 

 line" till 1743, when it was sold by order of the 

 Court of Chancery. 



The estate held by Robert dc Holden in 1 3 i i 

 w-is apparently fi^Oy^D HOLDEN, (or in later times 

 this is found to be held with Simonstone, which was 

 in 1311 held by Robert de Holden." It probably 

 originated in a gift by Henry de Lacy Earl of Lincoln 

 to Robert de Holden of all the lands in the vill of 

 Haslingden which had belonged to Robert son of 

 Gilbert de Holden, at 9/. id. rent." It descended 



'^' Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 222, m. 7. 



" yisit. of 1567 (Chct. Soc), 53. 



*' Townelcy MS. DD, no. 823. 



*^ Ducitut Lane, iii, 21, 67, 79, 113, 

 159. Some of these arc used in note 37, 



*^ Duchy of Lane. Special Com. 360. 

 A parcel of bnd callvd Cockham between 

 the demesne of Ewood and Longshaw 

 Brook was frecho'd, but that w,is the 

 only part of Robert Hclden's land acknow- 

 ledged to be free. Other lands called 

 Bridgcholme, Rishton's Place, «S:c., were 

 also * concealed * from the Crown. 



** I^rtci. In^. p.m. (Rcc. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 108. 



<* nsii. of i6n (Chet. Soc), 82. 



*^ Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Chc = .), 



'. -5+- 



*" Trcrs. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xxlv, i 78. 

 Ralph Holdcn in 1631 paid ^10 fine for 

 havmg declined knighthood ; .\I:ic. (Rec. 

 Soc.l.'i, 218. 



'5 Foley, Rcc. S. J. ii, 3+. On their 

 wny back the party arrested Fr. Arrow- 

 smith. From another source the name 

 of the man (Holden) is known and the 

 relationship which required the dispensa- 

 tion, that of first cousins. This suffices 

 for the identification, for while Ralph 

 Holden married Mary daughter of 

 Will, am Chorley of Chor'.ey, his son 

 Robert married Mary daughter of 

 Alexander son of the sa-nc William 

 Chorley; Wilson, Charleys of Chrley, 50, 

 53- 



*^ Pedigree in Wlrtaker, op. cit. ii, 

 304. 



"> Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 1 44. 



** The following i-* an outline of the 

 descent taken from Whitakcr, loc. cit. : 

 Robert Holdcn, d. 1677 -s. Ralph, d. 

 16-4 -s. Robert, d. 1684 -s. Ralph, d. 

 1707 -s. Robert, d. 1 730 -s. Ralph, d. 

 1777 -3. Robert, d. 1792 -sister Eliza- 

 beth (d. 1781% wife of Henry Green- 

 wood -s. John Crcn woo'ij d. 1834 -sons 

 Henry HoHen (d. 1898), Ralph (d. 

 i&'ii) and William, among whom the 

 estates were divided In 1853. 



In a deed of 1 7 1 o the following descent 

 is recited : Robert Holdcn -«. Ralph -8. 

 Robert (who had a brother John who 

 died beyond the seas) -%. Ralph, who 

 left a widow Frances and had a brother 

 Robert -s. Robert, then the owner of 

 Holden i Piccope MSS. (Chct. Lib.), 

 xiv, 20. 



Robert !nn of Ralph Holden of Holdcn 

 entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 

 1673 ; Mayor, Adtr.is-.rjns to St. John's 

 Coll. ii, 44. 



^- Information of Messrs. Woodcock Sc 

 Sons, Haslingden, who added that the 

 second daughter married Mr. John 

 Thomas Norris and was still (1909) 

 living ; while the third married Mr. 

 Benjamin Ellston, and died In 1905, 

 leaving issue. 



^ Pedigree in Whitaker, op. cit. ii, 

 305- 



430 



" Raines D. (Chet. Lib.). The sur- 

 render was made to Charles Gregory, 

 greavc of Haslingden. 



^^ Adam Holden in 1576 gave land in 

 Haslingden to his son Andrew. Margaret 

 Adam's wife had lands in Yorkshire ; 

 Add. MS. 32105, no. 875 (CO, no. 1093). 

 Andrew Holdcn the younger of Todd 

 Hall (Toodhole) is named in the will of 

 James Heap of Grane in Haslingden 

 1648 ; note by Mr. Earwaker. 



The wills of Andrew Holden (1590) 

 and Thomas Holden (1725) are printed 

 in fyHls (Chct. Soc. new ser.), i, 109, 

 177- 



A petition by Mary Chadwick in 

 1711-12, respecting the est. ite of Thomas 

 Holden in Todd Hall in Haslingden and 

 Duckworth Hall in Oswaldtwistle, Is In 

 Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), Iii, 408. 



'* Sec the account of Simonstone. 



'7 Whitaker, op. cit. ii, 301. In 1504 

 Henry de Lacy granted to the same 

 Robert a plat of land In Broadhead ; Ibid. 

 It is possible that Robert was the son of 

 Adam de Holden and passed Simonstone 

 and Broad Holden to a younger son 

 Nicholas ; see Assize R. 1400, m. 234. 



Nicholas de Holden In 1329 had lands 

 in Haslingden ; DD, no. 791. In 1341 

 Nicholas son of Robert le Holden granted 

 lands In Haslln;:rien, except Strindefield, 

 to his son Robert and Katherine his 

 wife, Adam de Holden being a witness ; 

 ibid. no. 767. Robert son of Nicholas lie 



