Denzil Holles (ca. 1538 – 12 April 1590) JP of Irby upon Humber, was a member of parliament for East Retford.
Denzil Holles, the son of William Holles (MP), was given the manor of Irby upon Humber by his father, on the occasion of his marriage to Eleanor, daughter of Edmund Sheffield, 1st Baron Sheffield, in the mid-16th century.[1] Holles was not an absentee landlord, spending much of his time in Irby. He made numerous improvements to the estate and was in the process of constructing a new manor house when he died in 1590.[1] Writing in the 1600s, when the estate was owned by Denzil's son John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare, cousin Gervase Holles described it as:[2]
He married Eleanor Sheffield, daughter of Edmund Sheffield, 1st Baron Sheffield. The baptism of at least five of his children are recorded in the parish registers.[1] They include:
He served as a captain under Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick putting down the Northern Rebellion in 1569.
He was appointed member of parliament for East Retford twice, in 1584, and again in 1586.
He died in April 1590 was buried in the chancel of the church at Irby upon Humber.