Memorial to the 1st and 2nd Earls of Clare in St Mary's Church, Nottingham

John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare (13 June 1595 – 2 January 1666) was an English nobleman.

Family

Holles was born in Haughton, Nottinghamshire, the eldest son of John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare and Anne Stanhope, and the brother of Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles.[1]

Holles married Elizabeth Vere,[2] daughter of Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury, on 4 September 1626. They had eight children:

Holles is buried in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham.

Life

Styled Lord Haughton from 1624, he was member of parliament for East Retford in three parliaments (1623–1626)[4] before succeeding to the peerage in 1637.[1]

During the Thirty Years’ War, at the siege of Bois-le-Duc in 1629, he served as a volunteer under the command of his father-in-law, Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury.[5]

Although he had quarrelled with Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who had married his sister, Arabella, in 1641 he opposed the Earl of Strafford's impeachment in the House of Lords, and during the trial asked several questions favourable to his defence. After Parliament sentenced Strafford to death by attainder, he pleaded hard with King Charles I for Strafford's life, but without success.

He took some part in the Civil War, but "he was very often of both parties, and never advantaged either".[1] His attitude has been described as one of "dubious neutrality". He was made Recorder of Nottingham in 1642. After the Restoration, he gained a pardon from King Charles II.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Yorke, Philip Chesney (1911). "Holles, Denzil Holles, Baron § John Holles" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 614.
  2. ↑ Lorimer, Joyce (2004). "Harcourt, Robert (1574/5–1631)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/12241. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ↑ Elizabeth Hossain (30 November 2011), 'Grace and Integrity': A Portrait of The Lady Eleanor Holles School, Third Millennium, ISBN 978-1-906507-32-9
  4. ↑ "HOLLES, John (1595-1666), of Haughton, Notts. and Chaloner House, Clerkenwell, Mdx.; later of Clare House, Drury Lane, Westminster". The History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Stephen, Leslie (1922). Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. p. 1063.
  6. ↑ "Charles II - volume 1: May 29-31, 1660 Pages 1-16 Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles II, 1660-1. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1860". British History Online. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
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