John Holt (died 1418) was an English judge of the common pleas who was a native and landowner of Northamptonshire. His name occurs in the year-books from 1366, the fortieth year of Edward III, onwards.

Life

In 1377, the last year of the reign of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

, he became a King's Serjeant. He was appointed a judge of the

common pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

in 1383 (Cal. Rot. Parl. p. 208), and at Christmas 1384 he was made a

Knight banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight ("a commoner of rank") who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the penn ...

. On 25 Aug. 1387 he was summoned to attend the king at Nottingham and concurred with his colleagues in pronouncing illegal the proceedings of the last parliament, which had appointed a permanent council. For this expression of opinion he was on 3 February 1388 arrested while sitting in court, and on 2 March was put on his trial. He pleaded that he had been compelled to give that opinion by the threats of the Archbishop of York and of the Earl of Suffolk, but he was found guilty by parliament. Upon the intercession of the prelates, his life was spared, and his sentence commuted to banishment for life to Ireland, an allowance of forty marks being made him for his residence at

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. In 1391 his manors were granted to his son John, but in January 1397 parliament remitted his banishment, and in the following year his sentence was reversed and his land was restored. The deposition of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

prevented him from recovering the lands. In the second year of the following reign he presented a petition for their restoration, which was granted, but many of them having been granted away in the interim he was compelled to allow the grantees such compensation as the council should think reasonable, and on these terms his lands were restored to him, and passed to his son Hugh on his death in 1418.''Cal. Inq. p.m.'' iv. 37, 52 Holt's dealings with the manor of Whilton in Northamptonshire is discussed by Robert Palmer in his book 'The Whilton Dispute, 1264-1380: A Social-Legal Study of Dispute Settlement in Medieval England'.

Notes

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, John 14th-century births 1418 deaths People from Northamptonshire 15th-century English judges Knights banneret of England 14th-century English judges