HOLMES, Henry (d.1738), of Thorley, Yarmouth, I.o.W.

Of an Irish family, Sir Robert Holmes was appointed governor of the Isle of Wight by Charles II in 1667 and was granted lands by the Crown near Yarmouth, where he built a magnificent house.Sir R. Worsley, Isle of Wight (1781), p. 140. He represented Newport 1678-9 and 1685-7 and Yarmouth 1689-90, while his brother, Sir John Holmes, sat for Newtown 1677-81. On his death in 1692 he left the Isle of Wight property to his nephew, Henry Holmes, on condition that he should marry Sir Robert’s illegitimate daughter, Mary.PCC 203 Fane. From 1695 Henry Holmes represented Yarmouth, where he had an electoral interest for one seat. Re-elected as a Tory in 1715, he voted against the septennial bill in 1716, but in 1717 the House of Commons awarded the seat to his opponent. His name was sent to the Pretender in 1721 as a probable supporter in the event of a rising.Stuart mss 65/16. He did not stand again, dying 23 June 1738.