HOLLAND
family, of
Berw
,
Anglesey
.
Towards the middle of the
15th cent.
, the
Berw estate
in
Anglesey
was in the hands of
ITHEL AP
, a descendant of
Llywarch ap Bran
,
lord of Menai
at the end of the
12th cent.
Ithel
had a daughter named
ELINOR
and a son called
OWEN
. The
Holland
family first became connected with
Berw
when
JOHN
HOLLAND
, described as one of the household servants of
Henry
VI
, m.
Ithel
's daughter
Elinor
. The marriage is believed to have taken place
between 1470 and 1480
.
John
Holland
was succeeded by his son
OWEN
HOLLAND
, who was appointed
sheriff of Anglesey
for life,
March 1504/5
. He m.
Ethelrede
, daughter of
Richard
Hampdene
of
Kimble, Berks.
Between
1520
and
1522
,
Owen
succeeded in persuading his cousin,
Sir
John
Owen
, to convey to him a large part of the
Berw estate
, which had gone to his uncle, his mother's brother
Owen
(
N.L.W. Carreg-lwyd Deeds, i, 2041, 2160, 2338
). His name appears as a party to a lease of
Berw Mills
18 Dec. 1528
, but he d.
before 15 April 1529
(
Carreglwyd Deeds, i, 2023, 2211
). Little is known of
EDWARD
, the son who succeeded. He m.
Elin
, daughter of
Rowland
Griffith
of
Plas Newydd
,
Anglesey
, and d.
before 1561
. Their son,
OWEN
, the next heir, m.
Elizabeth
, daughter of
Sir
Richard
Bulkeley
, thus establishing a connection with one of the most important families (q.v.) in
Anglesey
. It was this
Owen
, also, who established the
Holland
connection with the coalfields in the township of
Ysgeifiog
. In
Aug. 1596
he obtained from
Sir
Henry
Bagnall
, an assignment of a moiety of the township of ‘
Eskyviog
,’ with coal mining rights therein (
Carreglwyd Deeds, i, 1750, 2109, 2113
). He also took an active part in the public life of the island, being returned as
M.P.
for
Anglesey
in
Nov. 1584
, and serving as
sheriff
in
1591
and
1599
. He d.
1 Feb. 1600/01
. His eldest son
Rowland
having d. without issue, he was succeeded by his second son
THOMAS
. He is probably the ‘
Thomas
Holland
, of
co. Anglesea
, gent.,
S. Edmund Hall
, matric.
3 Nov., 1593
, aged 16,’ mentioned in
Foster
,
Alumni Oxon.
, and who subsequently was admitted to
Lincoln's Inn
,
28 Feb. 1594/5
. He was returned as
M.P.
for
Anglesey
in
Oct. 1601
, and served as
sheriff
in
1609
,
1622
, and
1640
. He is frequently mentioned as
captain of the trained bands
of the hundred of
Dindaethwy
.
There is no positive information about his
knighthood
, but it is believed he was so honoured about
1621-2
. He succeeded in obtaining for the family a lease of the other moiety of the township of
Ysgeifiog
, with the mining rights appertaining thereto. He d.
1643 or 1644
, unmarried, and was succeeded by his nephew
OWEN
, a son of
Owen
(
Sir
Thomas
's brother) and
Mary
, daughter of
Michael
Evans
of
Plas Llandyfrydog
. He had m.
Jane
, daughter of
Pearce
Lloyd
of
Llugwy
, and by a marriage settlement of
13 Feb. 1642/3
, his uncle had settled on them all his property in
Anglesey
. He d.
1668?
, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
THOMAS
, who m. (1) his cousin
Catherine
, daughter of
Pearce
Lloyd
of
Llugwy
, and (2)
Lumley
, daughter of
Thomas
,
lord Bulkeley
. He was
sheriff
of
Anglesey
in
1681
. He had a son called
Thomas
, but both father and son had d. before
1708
. One of them was buried at
Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog
,
12 March 1701/2
. The next heir was the
Rev.
THOMAS
HOLLAND
, son of
John
Holland
(brother of the
Thomas
who had succeeded in
1668?
), of
Caernarvon
, and
Elizabeth
Levitt
. Having
taken holy orders
, he had gone out to the
Bermudas
in
1703
, and served there as a
clergyman
until he returned to this country in
1706
(
Carreglwyd Deeds, i, 1770, 1850
). In
1708
he inherited the
Berw estate
, and in Aug. of the same year was appointed
rector
of
Llangeinwen
,
Anglesey
. He m. (1)
Elizabeth
, daughter of
Robert
Holling
, and (2)
Mary
, daughter of
Mutton
Davies
of
Gwysaney
. He d. towards the end of
1746
; his will was proved
26 Nov. 1746
(
Carreglwyd Deeds, i, 2016
). He was the last of the name to inherit the estate, as two sons had predeceased him. His sister
Jane
had m.
Ellis
Anwyl
,
rector
of
Llaniestyn, Caerns.
, and their daughter
Elizabeth
had m.
Richard
Trygarn
of
Trygarn, Caerns.
It was to
ELIZABETH
TRYGARN
that the estate now came, and after her, to her daughter
MARY
, b.
1727
, who had m.
John
Griffiths
of
Carreglwyd
. [The old family name is perpetuated, near the (ruined)
Plas Berw
, by the inn and later hamlet called ‘
Holland Arms
.’]
Bibliography:
-
J. Williams
,
The History of Berw, 1861
, Llangen,
1915
;
-
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic
Series
, Record Publication
,
1630
;
-
ibid
1639-40
;
-
ibid
1641-3
;
-
Archaeologia Cambrensis
,
1866
,
1867
,
1868
;
-
Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and
County Families of Wales
;
-
Public Record Office, List of Sheriffs for
England and Wales…to A.D. 1831
, 1898
(P.R.O.);
-
W. R. Williams
,
The History of the Parliamentary
Representation of Wales
, 1895
;
-
E. Breese
and
W. W. E. Wynne
,
Kalendars of Gwynedd …
,
1873
;
-
E. G. Jones
in
Transactions of the Anglesey Antiquarian
Society and Field Club
,
1940
;
-
W. O. Williams
in ibid.,
1948
;
-
Carreglwyd Papers at the National Library of
Wales
in N.L.W.;
-
J. E. Griffith
,
Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire
Families
, 1914
, 110, 24;
-
A. Ivor Pryce
,
The Diocese of Bangor in the sixteenth
century being a digest of the registers of the bishops,
A.D. 1512-1646
, 1923
;
-
Heraldic Visitations
of Wales and Part of the Marches
, 1846
;
-
The Records of the Honorable Society of
Lincoln's Inn
, London, 1896
;
-
National Library of Wales
Manuscripts
1511, 1512, 1513, 1518, 1520, 1525, 1526, 1536, 1546, 1588, 3069;
-
The Records of the Diocese of Bangor in the
National Library of Wales.
in N.L.W.;
-
Lists of Members Parliament Pt. 1.
Parliaments of England, 1213-1702; Pt. 2. Parliaments of
Great Britain, 1705-1796. Parliaments of the United
Kingdom, 1801-1874. Parliaments and Conventions of the
Estates of Scotland, 1357-1707. Parliaments of Ireland,
1559-1800
, London, 1878
,
1203-1712
.
Author:
Griffith Milwyn Griffiths, M.A., Aberystwyth
