Holt is a village and civil parish in the
Malvern Hills District
Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Malvern, and its area covers most of the western half of the county, including the outlying towns of Tenbury Wells and Upton-upon-Sever ...
of the county of
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
, England. The church is dedicated to St. Martin, and dates from about the 12th century.
Holt Bridge, over the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
, was designed by
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scot ...
, and opened in 1830.
History
Early history
Holt saw
archaeological dig
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
s during the 1970s, in advance of gravel extraction. The oldest
artefacts recovered were late
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
s and pottery, possibly dating to about 2000 BC.
Sherds of burial pottery from the
Beaker period (c. 2000–1900 BC) were also found.
The bulk of the archaeological evidence related to the early
British Bronze Age (c. 1700–1450 BC) in the form of traces of low barrows and enclosures with associated cremations. No dwellings were identified. In 1844 a bronze axe was found during dredging operations in the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
below the site of Holt Lock.
British Iron Age (1500 BC – 40 AD) finds have been scarce, although
crop marks indicated farming activity and a rectangular enclosure was partly uncovered. A few pottery sherds from that period have been recovered at other times, along with an iron pin also from the area of Holt Lock.
There is some evidence of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
occupation in neighbouring
Little Witley
Little Witley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England.
History
Pre-history
There has been little if any evidence of early human activity in Little Witley, however Neolithic, Bron ...
,
Shrawley
Shrawley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. The village is situated on the western bank of the River Severn. The northern and southern boundaries of the parish are two small trib ...
and
Grimley.
Saxon period
Worcestershire has one of the most complete and ancient collections of
Anglo-Saxon charters that detail the grants of estates by the church and crown. Wick Episcopi was an area to the north-west of
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, roughly bounded by the rivers Severn and
Teme
The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of ...
and a line through
Broadwas,
Martley
Martley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the English county of Worcestershire. It is approximately nine miles north-west of Worcester. The population of the village is approximately 1,200 people. The mixed farming of ...
,
Wichenford
Wichenford is a village and civil parish (with Kenswick) in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It lies 7 miles (11km) to the north-west of the city of Worcester and has a population of c 400 for around 250 hou ...
,
Little Witley
Little Witley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England.
History
Pre-history
There has been little if any evidence of early human activity in Little Witley, however Neolithic, Bron ...
and
Shrawley Brook, and thus included present-day Holt. The
manors (later parishes) within Wick Episcopi where defined during that period. Beonot league (Bentley in today's Holt parish) was first recognised at that time. Other locations in Holt named in the Wick Episcopi grant of 775 include Heafuchrycg (
Ockeridge), Doferic (Shrawley Brook), Saeferne (the Severn) and Baele Broc (Babbling Brook =
Grimley Brook).
Hallow
To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate". The adjective form ''hallowed'', as used in ''The Lord's Prayer'', means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered. The noun form ''hallow'', as used in ''Hallowtide'', ...
, in 816, was one of the first single manors to be granted to a tenant lord by the
Bishopric of Worcester. Prior to that it had been part of a larger estate, Worgorena league (the clearing of the people of Worcester), which also included Holt. The clearing concerned would have been in the southern portion of the still extensive but retreating
Wyre Forest
__NOTOC__
Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural (partially unmanaged) woodland and forest measuring which straddles the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England. Knowles Mill, a former corn mill owned by the National Trust, lies wi ...
.
One of
Alfred the Great's client kings,
Burgred, granted
Alhun (or Alhwine),
Bishop of Worcester various favours in return for two gold armlets weighing 45 'mancuses'. The grant, in 855, included exempting three 'manentes' in Beonetlege (
Bentley in Holt) from pasturing rights by the king's
swine in an area called Fern Pasture.
In 962, with the consent of the king,
Edgar, Bishop
Oswald of Worcester
Oswald of Worcester (died 29 February 992) was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a number of ye ...
let two 'mansae' at Beonetlaege (Bentley in Holt) to his thegn and minister Eadmaer. The grant described and defined the boundaries of the manors in terms of natural and man-made landscape features. Bentley's included references to Saeferne (the Severn), Baele (Babbling) Brook today known as Grimley Brook, Heafuc hrycge (Hawks Ridge/Ockeridge) and 'Dic in Doferic' (a boundary dike running to Shrawley Brook). Ball Mill on the Holt-Grimley parish boundary preserves a derivation of the name of Baele.
Bentley manor became known as Holte (Holt) by the time of
Domesday, the original name is preserved in the form of Bentley Farm. Holt(e) means a
copse
Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...
in an otherwise cleared area. Possibly when Bentley manor was granted in two parts the eastern portion was separately identified by the name Holte, which later came to represent the whole manor or parish. Eadmaer received a further grant in 969 when he took on an additional four 'mansi', or
hides, at Witleah (Little Witley). The boundaries included all of Witley and the remaining portion of Bentley, probably in the area of Ockeridge Wood. This association of the two manors was repeated on subsequent grants.
In 1017 Archbishop
Wulfstan of Worcester
Wulfstan ( – 20 January 1095) was Bishop of Worcester from 1062 to 1095. He was the last surviving pre-Conquest bishop. Wulfstan is a saint in the Western Christian churches.
Denomination
His denomination as Wulfstan II is to indicate t ...
granted the six hide Beonetleah (Bentley in Holt) with Witley manor to his brother, Aelfwige.
Norman period
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/St._Martin%E2%80%99s_Church_Holt_by_Henry_Harris_Lines.jpg)
The
manor of Holt is listed in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
of 1086 when it was held by
Urse d'Abetot
Urse d'Abetot ( - 1108) was a Norman who followed King William I to England, and became Sheriff of Worcestershire and a royal official under him and Kings William II and Henry I. He was a native of Normandy and moved to England shortly after the ...
(
c.1040-1108), first
feudal baron of
Salwarpe
Salwarpe is a small village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England, less than two miles south west of Droitwich, but in open country. The name is also spelled Salwarp, and in the time of John Leland was recorded as S ...
in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
,
Sheriff of Worcestershire
This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire.
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the ...
in about 1069. His estate there consisted of 5 hides (about 600 acres) with two ploughs (probably 8 oxen per team). There were 12 villagers and 24 smallholders with an additional 10 ploughs. A meadow and a woodland half a league square (c. 1440 acres) were also in the manor. A hedged enclosure was noted; this would have been for the capture of game such as deer and
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
. A fishery (on the Severn presumably) was worth 5
shillings and a salt house in
Droitwich
Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester.
The ...
13
pence. The total value was £6.
After the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...
the new manorial lords quickly went about putting their physical mark on the landscape. This generally took the form of rebuilding the parish churches in the
Norman architecture
The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used f ...
style. In Holt church the earliest architectural feature, an opening in the bell tower wall, was possibly constructed within ten years of the conquest. It bears
Saxon characteristics and probably reflects the use of native
stonemasons by the Norman lord. The
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
was constructed about 1100 to 1110, and the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
arch in 1120. The same mason appears to have carved the
font and the arch. The rest of the structure of the building dates from periods in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as do some of the memorials and leaded windows. In 1113 Holt was still a chapelry of St Helen's in Worcester.
A
medieval deer park situated immediately to the south of Holt church may have pre-dated the Norman Conquest.
Medieval period
![Arms Beauchamp OfHolt Billets](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Arms_Beauchamp_OfHolt_Billets.svg)
Holt manor passed to the Beauchamp family when Emeline d'Abetot, the daughter and eventual heiress of Urse, married Walter de Beauchamp of
Elmley Castle, 12 miles south-east of
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
. Holt was then held by successive Beauchamps, who in 1268 inherited the title
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick.
Overview
The first creation ...
with
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...
, one of the most powerful earldoms in the country. Holt became the seat of John de Beauchamp (d.1297), a younger brother of the first Beauchamp Earl of Warwick. John's great-grandson was
John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp (1319–1388) "of Kidderminster", seated at Holt Castle, who obtained a royal grant to hold a fair at 'Le Rode' in his manor of Holt, to be held annually on the Feast of
St. Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and
resurre ...
(22 July). The 1st Baron was impeached by the
Merciless Parliament
The Merciless Parliament was an English parliamentary session lasting from 3 February to 4 June 1388, at which many members of King Richard II's court were convicted of treason. The session was preceded by a period in which Richard's power was r ...
on 12 March 1388 and was executed on
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
, London, on 12 May the same year.
At the time of his death he held manors, estates and properties throughout the Midland shires and beyond, but Holt remained his principal seat. It is thought he was the builder of Holt Castle. The only surviving original part of his building is the square tower which dominates the west (entrance) front, with fifteenth and sixteenth century additions behind.
On the execution of the 1st Baron, Parliament expropriated all his lands and possessions and leased them out to various parties. Holt was obtained by his distant cousin
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
. In 1398
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
reversed its earlier decision and returned all his father's lands and title to Thomas's son John de Beauchamp (1378–1420), who died without male heir. At that time his estates included the manors of Holt and Hanley, near
Tenbury
Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a market town and civil parish in the northwestern extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Its northern border adjoins Shropshire, and at the 2011 census it had a population of 3,777. ...
, four more in
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
, fish-weirs and fisheries in
Ombersley
Ombersley is a village and civil parish in Wychavon district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Holt Fleet, where Telford's 1828 Holt Fleet Bridge crosses the River Severn. The 2011 census recorded a ...
and several properties in the city of Worcester. In the absence of a male heir the barony became extinct. His heir was Margaret de Beauchamp, his twenty-year-old daughter, but the manor of Holt was split into three parts, each following a different female line of descent. Margaret de Beauchamp married firstly John Pauncefoot and secondly John Wyshaw, who in 1428 was holding the manor in her right.
The
deer park was enclosed following the death of the 1st Baron.
Following the division of the manor of Holt in 1420, over 150 years passed before the manor was recombined following a series of complex transactions between Sir John Bourne, Anthony Bourne, Thomas Fortescue, John and Martin Crofts and Sir
Thomas Bromley
Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicitor General and Lord Chan ...
.
Early modern
Sir Thomas' eldest son,
Sir Henry Bromley was born in Holt Castle. Sir Henry inherited all his father's lands except the family seat at Holt Castle, which was held by his widowed mother for her life.
In 1596 an adult African servant of Henry Bromley was baptised at St Martin's Church and given the name
Henry Jetto. He is known to have worked as a gardener at Holt Castle, where the gardens now comprise two terraces overlooking the river Severn.
In February 1601 Sir Henry was implicated for his involvement with the
Essex Rebellion, and his lands, including Holt Castle, were forfeited and he was briefly imprisoned. Upon the accession of
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
in 1603 these lands were returned to him, and he proceeded to show King James his full loyalty. Nine years later Sir Henry reunited the final portion of Holt manor. As a magistrate Henry Bromley had rounded up the
Jesuit priests
Henry Garnet
Henry Garnet (July 1555 – 3 May 1606), sometimes Henry Garnett, was an English Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Heanor, Derbyshire, he was educated in Nottingham and later at Winchester Colle ...
and
Edward Oldcorne
Edward Oldcorne alias ''Hall'' (1561 – 7 April 1606) was an English Jesuit priest. He was known to people who knew of the Gunpowder Plot to destroy the Parliament of England and kill King James I; and although his involvement is unclear, ...
, the last wanted men in the
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sough ...
, at Hindlip on the outskirts of Worcester in 1606. Garnet and Oldcorne were held for a time in Holt Castle.
Modern
Sir Henry Bromley married four times, lastly to Anne Beswicke who erected a monument in the chancel of Holt Church to her husband who died 1615. In 1750 Sir Henry's descendants sold Holt manor to
Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley of
Witley Court
Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcestershire, England is a ruined Italianate mansion. Built for the Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the early nineteenth century by the archit ...
, Great Witley. In 1837 the Foleys sold off the Witley & Holt estates to realise capital which was needed to pay off heavy debts incurred by the 2nd Baron, a reckless gambler. The purchasers were the trustees of
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley (27 March 1817 – 7 May 1885), known as The Lord Ward from 1835 to 1860, was a British landowner and benefactor.
Background and education
Ward was born on 27 March 1817 at Edwardstone, Boxford, Suffolk, Engl ...
(1817–1885). The estate was finally broken up in 1920 when the 2nd Earl moved on after his first wife's death.
Notable people
* Edmunds Pytts M.P. and his wife,
the Dowager Countess of Coventry were buried St Martin's Church, Holt.
[Matthew Kilburn, 'Coventry , Anne, countess of Coventry (1691–1788)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200]
accessed 28 Nov 2014
/ref>
See also
*Holt Heath, Worcestershire
Holt Heath, in the parish of Holt, is a village near the west bank of the River Severn in Worcestershire.
The nearest towns are all about 6 miles away: to the north Stourport-on-Severn, to the east Droitwich Spa and to the south Worcester.
...
References
External links
St. Martin and its architectural features
photos of Holt, Worcestershire and surrounding area on geograph
The Holt Fleet – a historic restaurant adjacent to the Holt Fleet Bridge
*
{{authority control
Villages in Worcestershire
Civil parishes in Worcestershire
Malvern Hills District