Thomas Holland

Thomas Holland (1549 – 17 March 1612 Shropshire, in 1549, son of John Holland, younger brother of William Holland (1525 – 1590) of Burwarton, a village located ten miles north east of Ludlow. Often confused with his cousin Thomas (1550- 1612), son of William, having the same name and being very close is age; the two even died the same year but six months apart. Thomas son of William was the heir to the Burwarton estate (as seen in the Shropshire Visitation of 1623) and was buried on 10 September 1612 in Stottesden, Shropshire, whereas Thomas son of John was a minor celebrity of his day and was buried on 26 March 1612 in Oxford.

Oxford and the Netherlands Holland first moved to Oxford in 1569 to start his degree. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Exeter College, Oxford after just a year in 1570, being described as a "prodigy" as his acquisition of knowledge was profound. Anne (b. 1594) Thomas' second youngest daughter, Marie, was baptised on 14 July. Susanna (b. 1601). The case went to the Star Chamber and Thomas was called as an expert witness. He refused to believe that Anne was possessed by the devil and that she could it was claimed read with her eyes closed. It was eventually discovered to be the invention of Anne's father who had a vendetta against a local family.

Works Thomas' works include: 'Oratio habita cum Henricus Episc. Sarisburiensis [i.e. Henry Cotton] Gradum Doctoris susceperit,' Oxford, 1599, 4to. 'Πανηγυρίς D. Elizabethæ Reginæ. "A Sermon preached at Pauls in London the 17 of November, 1599. Whereunto is adioyned an Apologeticall Discourse for observing the 17 of November yeerely in the form of an Holy-Day," Oxford (by Joseph Barnes), 1601