Sir Thomas Holte, 1st Baronet (c. 1571 – 14 December 1654) was an English landowner, responsible for building
Aston Hall, in the parish of
Aston in
Warwickshire. The "Holte End" stand of
Villa Park, the stadium of
Aston Villa Football Club, sits on land originally part of the Aston Hall gardens and is named after Thomas Holte. The area also has a
Holte School and Holte Road.
Biography
He was born the son of Edward Holte of the Manor House,
Duddeston,
Warwickshire by his wife Dorothy Ferrars. The Holtes were a wealthy, land-owning family of some importance in
Warwickshire. Their ancestors had owned land in the area for several hundred years and it had been considerably added to with the acquisition of monastic land during the
Reformation. The Holtes served as
High Sheriff of Warwickshire,
Justices of the Peace and
Deputy Lieutenants for the county. They had influential friends and relatives both locally and in
London. His father died when Thomas was only 21, and as his successor, Thomas did much to further the family's fortunes.
In 1599 he himself served as
High Sheriff of Warwickshire. He received a
knighthood in 1603 from
James I as the King made his way from
Scotland to
London to claim his throne. In 1612 Sir Thomas was able to buy the title of
baronet (James I sold these new titles in order to raise money to quell trouble in Ireland), being the first of the
Holte Baronets. Sir Thomas now outranked all the local families and felt a grander home should be built to reflect both his wealth and status. The result of this desire was Aston Hall which he started building in 1618 and moved into in 1631. On 18 October 1642 King
Charles I stayed the night at Aston Hall on his way to London. On his way to London he came across the Parliamentary Forces and the
Battle of Edgehill was fought on 23 October. In December 1643, during the
English Civil War, Sir Thomas requested the Hall be garrisoned by troops from
Dudley Castle. Forty musketeers were sent by Colonel Leveson to protect Aston Hall but shortly after their arrival, they had to defend the hall against a 1200-strong force of Parliamentary soldiers sent from Coventry and local militia from Birmingham.
Marriages and children
He married twice:
Firstly to Grace Bradbourne (died 1627), a daughter and co-heiress of William Bradbourne of Hough,
Derbyshire, by whom he had fifteen children, most of whom died young. His surviving children included:
George Holte (d.1641), eldest son and
heir apparent, who predeceased his father;
Edward Holte (d.1643), second son, who predeceased his father. His father secured for him a position in the household of King Charles I. Whilst in
London Edward met and married Elizabeth King, daughter of
John King,
Bishop of London, by his wife Joan Freeman. Sir Thomas did not give his permission for the marriage, and never forgave his son for proceeding regardless. Edward was entirely cut off from his inheritance, and despite pleas from the king himself, Sir Thomas never allowed reconciliation. After the death of his eldest brother George in 1641, Edward was his father's only surviving son. He died on military service in 1643, having never returned to the family fold despite his several attempts.
Elizabeth Holte (d.1647), unmarried, to whom her father erected an elaborate monument in St Cassian's Church,
Chaddesley Corbett,
Worcestershire.
Secondly he married Anne Littleton, the youngest daughter of
Sir Edward Littleton, 1st Baronet of
Pillaton Hall,
Staffordshire, by his wife Hester Courten. He made great efforts to father another son, so that Edward could be permanently cut out of the estate. It was rumoured that Sir Thomas locked up a daughter because she refused to marry her father's choice of husband. The story goes that she starved to death. Many other stories were told of his violent rages: the best known, but probably untrue story was that he murdered his cook with a meat cleaver (or according to another version, with a roasting spit). Anne Littleton was able to give him another son, but the boy did not survive past childhood, in common with nine of the children from Sir Thomas' first marriage. Anne Littleton survived him and remarried to Charles Leigh, younger son of
Thomas Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh.
Death and burial
During his last days, he was finally persuaded to bequeath Aston Hall and all his estates to his grandson Robert Holte, Edwards's son, who inherited the baronetcy. Sir Thomas was buried in
Aston Church, survived only by his wife Anne Littleton and his daughter Grace.