Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holand

Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holand (c. 1283 – 1328) was an English nobleman, born in Lancashire.

He was a son of Sir Robert de Holland of Upholland, Lancashire and Elizabeth, daughter of William de Samlesbury.

He was a favorite official of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and had been knighted by 1305. His favoured treatment by the powerful earl caused his rival knights in the area, led by Sir Adam Banastre, Sir Henry de Lea, and Sir William de Bradshagh (Bradshaw), to start a campaign of violence towards him and the earl's other supporters known as the Banastre Rebellion. The rebels protested against the earl's actions and authority by attacking the homes of his supporters and several castles, including Liverpool Castle. Sir Robert later assisted in the hunt for fugitives after the rebels had been routed in Preston by a force under the command of the Sheriff.

The manors of Thornton and Bagworth was acquired by him in 1313. From 1314 to 1321 he was called to Parliament as a member of the House of Lords. In 1322 his part in the Battle of Boroughbridge, when he defected from Lancaster to the King, was deemed treacherous and cowardly and led to his disfavor. Although King Edward III of England would later pardon him, the partisans of the Earl of Lancaster considered him a traitor and had him executed.[1] The execution occurred in 1328 by beheading in Essex; his head was sent to the new earl and his body to Lancashire to be buried.

Marriage and issue

About 1308 he married Maud la Zouche, daughter of Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby and Eleanor de Segrave. Robert and Maud had thirteen children:

• Joane Holland (c. 1305 – 1340). Married John Radcliffe.
• Margery Holland (born c. 1308, date of death unknown).
• Robert Holland (c. 1312 – 16 March 1372/1373).
• Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent (c. 1314 – 26 December 1360).
• Sir Otho Holland, KG (c. 1316 – 3 September 1359). One of the founders and 22nd Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348.
• John Holland (born c. 1318, date of death unknown).
• Maud Holland (born c. 1319, date of death unknown). Married Thomas Swinnerton.
• Alan Holland (c. 1320 – 1339).
• Elizabeth Holland (born c. 1320, date of death unknown).
• Margaret Holland (c. 1322 – 1349).
• Jane Holland (born c. 1326, date of death unknown).
• Eleanor Holland (c. 1327 – 1341).
• Elizabeth Holland (born c. 1328, date of death unknown). Married Henry FitzRoger

Later descendants

The family line of Robert de Holland can be traced through the Washington lineage right up to today, where several generation of Hollands live in the village of Washington, Tyne & Wear.

References

• The Royal Ancestry Bible Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families by Michel L. Call (chart 27) ISBN 1-933194-22-
• Plantagenet Ancestry by Douglas Richardson, et al., 2004 ISBN 9780806317502

Footnotes