John Holland (abt. 1318)

Born about 1318 in Upholland, Lancashire, England

Descendants

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Disputed Parents

No verifiable sources have been found for son John, and he has been detached from the profiles of Robert Holand and Maud Zouche.

Colby, Harvey and Vivian say John Holland was the son of Robert Holland, Knight and Matilda Zouche, daughter and coheir of Alan Zouche.^[1][2][3]

His name, John Holland of Thorpewater, Esq. is appeared on the Holland of Weare pedigree and is shown on page 475 in The Visitations of the County of Devon of 1531, 1564, and 1620.^[1]

His father, Robert Holland died in Oct during the 2nd year of the regin of Edward III (1329). His mother, Matilda Zouche died during the 23rd year of the reign of Edward III (1350).^[1]

John Holland is possibly an illegitimate son the illustrious Robert Holland. However, The Lancashire Hollands says in the footnote, "John is doubtful. He only appears in the pedigree of Devonshire Hollands."^[4]

The Lancashire Hollands says, "The pedigree of this family, for nine generations down to 1576, is fully set out in the 'Visitations of County Devon,' printed in the Harleian Society publications, vol. vi, p. 345. The information was given to the Heralds by Joseph Holland, who was the representative of this family at that time. He is described by John Prince, in his 'Worthies of Devon,' published in 1697, as 'a gentleman, sometime of the Inner Temple, a laborious antiquary, and excellently skilled in armory,' especially in the arms of Devonshire families. The arms of these Hollands were the 'azure semée of fleurs de lys, a lion rampant of same.' They are stated to have descended from John, a fourth son of Sir Robert de Holland, of Upholland, first Lord Holland. This John does not appear in the Lancashire histories or elsewhere, but may have lived none the less possibly an illegitimate son of the illustrious Robert. He married a South Devon heiress. John Prince says that Margaret, the daughter of Augustine, son and heir of Sir Walter de Bath, brought Bath House at Weare, near Topsham, and other estates in South Devon, to her husband, Sir Andrew Metstead, whose daughter and heiress, Eleanor, brought them 'to her husband, John Holland, of the same noble family with the Duke of Exeter,' and that their 'posterity is yet (1695) in being in this county, though much shorn of the splendour of their ancestors.'"^[4]

Marriage

In 24th year of the reign of Edward III (1350), John Holland of Thorpewater, Esq. married Eleanor, daughter and heir of Andrew Metfield and his wife, daughter and heir of Baa.^[3][5][6] The Visitations of the County of Devon of  of 1531, 1564, and 1620 has put the footnote below on page 475, and it says that Eleanor was the daughter and heir of Andrew Medated by his wife Margaret, daughter and coheir of Augustine de Bath.^[1] The Lancashire Hollands says she was the daughter of Sir Andrew Metstead.^[4]

Children

He had four sons by his wife, Eleanor.^[1]

The Holland of Weare pedigree shows that the name of one of their sons was Thomas Holland of Thorpewater, Esq. who married Lucy, daughter and heir of John Holdesworthy of County Devon.^[1]

Heraldic Achievement

John Holland bore the two arms, as follows:

1. Azure, semée of fleurs-de-lys argent, a lion rampant of the same. [HOLLAND.]

1. Gules, ten bezants or, 4, 3, 2, 1, and canton ermine. [ZOUCHE.]

Overall John Holland's heraldic achievement, his wife, Eleanor Metsted bore two arms, as follows:

1. Quarterly gules and or, four escallops counterchanged. [METSTED.]

1. Ermine, a bend gules. [BATHE also known as BAA.]

The Ancestor: A Quarterly Review of County and Family History, Heraldry, and Antiquities says he bore "azure powdered with fleurs-de-lys of silver, a leopard rampant silver, with a crescent for difference."^[7] This coat of arms is assigned to Sir John Holland of Thorpewater, Northamptonshire. However, it does not mention Zouche's coat of arms.

He had a crescent on his coat of arms, which is a cadency mark showing he was a second son in the family hierarchy.

This information is sourced from Randle Holme's book of arms, which is now part of the Harleian MSS. at the British Museum, identified as number 2169 and titled "Aunciant Coates." It comprises seventy-one leaves out of seventy-six. Based on the contents of the roll, it is from the time of Henry VI's reign. Following the images of English kings on horseback at the beginning of the book, the final verses praise Henry VI. The presence of London heraldic achievements between 1450 and 1483 indicates they can help pinpoint a more specific date.

Harleian MSS #2169 provides a crucial clue to John Holland's heraldic achievement. It shows the coat of arms belonging to John Holland of Thorpewater. The coat of arms he bears includes a shield of azure powdered with fleurs-de-lys of silver, a leopard rampant silver, and a crescent for difference, assigned to Sir John Holland of Thorpewater, Northamptonshire. This is interesting because he did not initially display the Zouche family's coat of arms, but his descendants later incorporated it into the 2nd and 3rd quarters of his Holland coat of arms. Why did they incorporate the Zouche coat of arms if the oldest source says John Holland of Thorpewater only bore the Holland coat of arms with the crescent?

Furthermore, the crescent on his coat of arms symbolizes his position as the second son in the family hierarchy. In contrast, later sources describe him as the fourth son of Richard Holland and Maud Zouche. The original Harleian MSS #2169 clearly contradicts the information found in later sources. It strongly suggests that he was not the fourth son of Richard Holland and Maud Zouche. The lingering question persists: who was John Holland of Thorpewater as the second son in the family?

Current research does not recognize John Holland of Thorpewater as the fourth son of Richard Holland and Maud Zouche, as indicated on Wikipedia and other websites. The mystery deepens around his true identity.

A crucial hint lies in examining his place of origin. He was from Thorpewater, Northamptonshire. Although much distant from the Holland family in Denton, Lancashire, the question persists: how did three generations of the Holland family in Thorpewater acquire the manor in Weare, Devonshire?

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Vivian, J. L. (John Lambrick)., College of Arms (Great Britain). (1895). The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Herald's Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620. Exeter: For the author, by H. S. Eland, p. 475.
2. ↑ Harvey, William. The Visitation of the County of Devon in the Year 1564: With Additions from the Earlier Visitation of 1531. United Kingdom, William Colby, 1881, p. 133.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Saint-George, Henry, William Camden, Frederic T. Colby, and Samson Lennard. The Visitation of the County of Devon in the Year 1620. London: for the Harleian Society, 1872. Print., p. 345.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Holland, Bernard Henry. The Lancashire Hollands. United Kingdom, J. Murray, 1917, pp. 16, 22, 23, 327.
5. ↑ Day, William Ingram Leeson. Holsworthy. United Kingdom, Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, Parochial History Section, 1934, p. 23.
6. ↑ Scrope, Richard Le, and Nicolas, Nicholas Harris. De controversia in curia militari inter Ricardum Le Scrope et Robertum Grosvenor milites: rege Ricardo Secundo, MCCCLXXXV-MCCCXC e recordis in turre Londinensi asservatis. Vol. 2. United Kingdom, Samuel Bentley, 1832, p. 190.
7. ↑ The Ancestor: A Quarterly Review of County and Family History, Heraldry and Antiquities. Vol. V. "A Fifteenth Century Book of Arms." United Kingdom, Archibald Constable & Company, Limited, 1903, p. 178.

• Cox, John Charles. Notes on the Churches of Derbyshire: The Hundreds of Appletree and Repton and Gresley. Vol. III. United Kingdom, Palmer and Edmunds, 1877, p. 108.