Sir Frescheville Holles (MP Grimsby, Lincs.)

6 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Sir Frescheville Holles (MP Grimsby, Lincs.) (1642-72)

Per L&M:

A gentleman-captain: son of Gervase Holles, the antiquary. He held several commissions in foot regiments before being commissioned in the navy during the Second Dutch War. He lost an arm in the Four Days Fight. As an M.P (for Grimsby from 1667) he was a follower of Buckingham and usually therefore a violent critic of Coventry and the Navy Board. He carried the articles of Penn's impeachment up to the Lords, but out of friendship defended Brouncker in the debates on pay-tickets. He was killed in action at Sole Bay.

Second Reading

Bill  •  Link

Sir Fretcheville Holles possessed, in a high degree, that courage for which his family was distinguished. He behaved with his usual intrepidity in the famous engagement with the Dutch, that continued four days, in which he unfortunately lost an arm. He was rear-admiral under Sir Robert Holmes, when he attacked the Smyrna fleet, which was the first act of hostility in the last Dutch war. He was killed, with several other brave officers, in the battle of Southwold Bay, on the 28th of May, 1672.
---A Biographical History of England. J. Granger, 1779.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

L&M: Sir Frescheville Holles was elected to Parliament on 24 October, 1667 in place of Sir Henry Belasyse, who was killed in a quarrel reported by Pepys: (http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… ) and thus became fellow M.P. for Grimsby with his father, Gervase Holles, who had sat for the town in three parliaments since 1640.
That was the extent of the family's parliamentary service for Grimsby.
The first Holles to be an M.P. was William, member for Nottinghamshire in 1553.
Sir Frescheville Holles was perhaps enlarging on that fact; or he may have been misled by his family's residence in or near Grimsby since 1558.
His father was an antiquary and in the 1650s Gervase Holles MP wrote “Memorials of the Holles Family 1493-1656” and dedicated it to Frescheville

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Highlights from Holles' Parliamentary bio., covering the Diary years:

In Nov./Dec,, 1662 Frescheville Holles married Jane Lewis Crome (with £5,000), but found her to be an ‘old, foul wife’ whom he soon discarded, but keeping her money.

Frescheville Holles inherited the martial spirit of his family:
Capt. of militia foot, Westminster 1663,
maj. of foot 1664-1667;
capt. RN 1665-7, 1672;

Before going on active service in the Anglo-Dutch war, Capt. Frescheville Holles wrote his epitaph, declaring he required no other monument ‘than what my sword should raise for me of honor and of fortune’.

Capt. Holles lost an arm in the Four Days’ battle of 1666, after which he was knighted.

According to Henry Savile MP, Holles and Sir John Harman ‘got immortal fame, and are extremely in the favor of their generals and our sovereign’.
But Adm. Penn called Holles ‘a conceited, idle, prating, lying fellow’, and Pepys, always hostile to “gentlemen captains,” complained of his profanity and the indiscipline of his men.

At the end of the war Capt. Sir Frescheville Holles received a bounty of £300, and was commissioned as a major in the guards.

Major Holles stood for Grimsby at the Oct. 1667 by-election. His father held the other seat, and Holles bragged to Pepys that his family had represented the borough for 140 years. [NOT TRUE.] Major Holles was defeated by Sir Philip Tyrwhitt, but that was reversed on petition.

A moderately active Member of the Cavalier Parliament, Sir Frescheville Holles MP was appointed to 45 committees and made 20 speeches.
On taking his seat, Holles was added to the Committee of Inquiry into the Miscarriages of the War.
He was among those ordered to bring in a proviso to the Public Accounts bill on 17 Dec. 1667, and to take the accounts of the Loyal and Indigent Officers Fund over Christmas recess.

When the House resumed in Feb. 1668, Holles took a lead in attacking the Navy Board, to which his empty sleeve entitled him.

A follower of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, Holles was particularly severe on Sir William Coventry MP, whom he blamed for the division of the fleet in 1666.
Together with Sir Richard Temple MP, Holles was rumored to be sponsoring a petition for the repayment of fees exacted by Coventry for naval commissions.

On 20 Feb. 1668 Holles told the House ‘the defect of provisions of victualling is as great a miscarriage as any’, but defended Lord Brouncker over the discharge of seamen by ticket.

In the debates on the Miscarriages of War, Holles wanted Adm. Harman to have an opportunity to clear himself of the charge of failure to press home the success off Lowestoft in 1665,

Holles attacked Adm. Penn over the disposal of prize goods. He was one ordered to attend the Lords with the articles of Penn’s impeachment.

Holles urged the Public Accounts Commission be ordered to prove their charges against Sir George Carteret MP.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

PART 2

On 26 Nov. 1669 Holles compared the condition of the Dutch and English fleets, to the disadvantage of the latter.

Holles’ continued hostility to the Court was noted, and his troop was reassigned.

Holles offered his services to Louis XIV, and, perhaps to ingratiating himself, spoke against the proposed prohibition of brandy, all in vain.

During the recess, Holles went to Ireland, presumably to escape his creditors.

Sir Frescheville Holles MP paid two visits to the French Embassy in Dec. 1670, offering to ensure the Grant of Supply would not be made dependent on the maintenance of the Triple Alliance, and to engage some Members in the interests of France at £100 a head.

@@@
Lady Jane Lewis Crome Holles got off lightly.

https://www.historyofparliamenton…

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References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1667

1668

1669