Mary Cholmondeley (heiress)

For other people named Mary Cholmondeley, see Mary Cholmondeley.
Lady Mary Cholmondeley
Born Mary Holford
1563
Holford, Great Budworth, Cheshire, England
Died 15 August 1625
Vale Royal, Whitegate, Cheshire, England
Resting place Malpas, Cheshire, England
Nationality British
Known for Litigant
Spouse(s) Sir Randall Brereton
Sir Hugh Cholmondeley
Children 8 children
Parent(s) Christopher Holford
Elizabeth Mainwaring

Lady Mary Cholmondeley (1563–1625) was a British litigant in a 40-year-long dispute over her father's estate. She was the wife of Sir Hugh Cholmondeley, the younger and had eight children with him.

Personal life

Cholmondeley was born as Mary Holford in late 1562 or January 1563 to Christopher Holford and Elizabeth Mainwaring in Holford, Great Budworth, Cheshire, England and christened (baptised) on 20 January 1563.[1] She married Sir Randall Brereton of Malpas but he soon died. Around 1581, she married Sir Hugh Cholmondeley.[2] They had eight children, named Robert, Hatton, Hugh, Thomas, Francis, Mary, Lettice, and Frances,[1] before Sir Cholmondeley's death in 1601.[3] Mary Cholmondeley died on 15 August 1625 at the age of sixty-three in Vale Royal, Whitegate, Cheshire, England and was buried the next day in the church at Malpas, Cheshire, England.[1][4]

The Cholmondeley sisters are said to be Mary's daughters or nieces. c.1600-1610

Cholmondeley came to notice following the legal disputes over Holford Manor and the estates of her father, Christopher Holford, who died on 27 January 1581. His half-brother, George Holford of Newborough, was the next male-heir of the Holfords, but the recently married Mary challenged his legal claim to the land.[2] The lawsuit between them went on for forty years.[1] Finally, around 1620, they came to a settlement, under which Mary Cholmondeley received the Holford manorhouse[2] and George Holford received the manor of Iscoit in Flintshire.[1] The case was not settled but intercession led to Mary agreeing to share the estate with those who disputed her title. However it was Mary that inherited the manor.[4] She renovated and enlarged the Holford manorhouse.[2]

Renovation of Vale Royal Abbey

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Mary Cholmondeley bought Vale Royal Abbey and its surrounding land. She built an Elizabethan house on the site,[5] rebuilt the old hall, and in 1625 added a lath and plaster wing.[3] James I held court at Vale Royal for three days and dubbed Mary Cholmondeley the "bolde lady of Cheshire"[3] because she rebuffed his offer to advance the political careers of her sons. She lived at Vale Royal from 1616 to her death.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mary Holford". Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Cholmondeley, Mary". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Thornber, Craig. "Holford Hall, Plumbley". Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 Susanna Calkins, ‘Cholmondeley , Mary, Lady Cholmondeley (bap. 1563, d. 1625), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 24 Nov 2014
  5. ↑ Thornber, Craig. "Cholmondeley of Vale Royal". Retrieved 3 September 2013.
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