Sir William Holles (1471?– 20 October, 1542)
rose from apprenticeship to a mercer to become master warden of his company and Lord Mayor of London

Lord Mayor of London

The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...

.

He was the son of Thomas Holles of Stoke, Coventry.

William invested his fortune in purchasing land mostly in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, but also in Staffordshire, Middlesex and Essex. This property portfolio passed down through several generations of the family and became the basis of the property owned by the Earl of Clare

Earl of Clare

Earl of Clare was a title of English nobility created three times: once each in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and Ireland. The title derives from Clare, Suffolk, where a prominent Anglo-Norman family was seated since the Norman Conquest, and from which their English surname sprang from...

. He left the bulk of the estate to his grandson William (grandfather of John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare

John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare

John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare was an English nobleman.He was the son of Denzel Holles of Irby upon Humber and Eleanor Sheffield...

).

He was a Sheriff of London in 1528 and elected Lord Mayor of London

Lord Mayor of London

The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...

 in 1539.

He left £200 in his will to pay for the Coventry Cross

Coventry Cross (monument)

Coventry Cross is an important landmark in the cathedral city of Coventry, England. Standing between Cuckoo Lane and Holy Trinity Church and in the alley known as Trinity Churchyard, it is a modern version of the historic market cross, such as was common in many medieval market towns.-Early...

 which was built in 1544, and taken down in 1771. A replica was unveiled in 1976.

Family

He married Elizabeth, daughter of George Scopham. Among their children was the second Sir William Holles (1509–91), who purchased Haughton Hall in Haughton, Nottinghamshire

Haughton, Nottinghamshire

Haughton is a hamlet in the English county of Nottinghamshire.Haughton lies on the south bank of the River Maun about one mile south west from Bothamsall...

, and married Anne, daughter of John Denzel

John Denzel

John Denzel SL held large estates in Cornwall and became serjeant-at-law and Attorney-General to the Queen consort, Elizabeth of York. He had at least two daughters, of whom married Sir William Holles who became Lord Mayor of London...

, of Denzel

Denzel

Denzel may refer to:*Denzel , an Austrian automobile manufactured in the 1940s and 1950sPeople with the given name Denzel:*Denzel Washington, an actor*Denzel Whitaker, an actor...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

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