Gervase Holles was an English lawyer, antiquarian and politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

  from 1640 to 1642. He fought in the Royalist army in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

.

Holles was the son of Frecheville Holles of Grimsby

Grimsby

Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

, Lincolnshire and was baptised at Grimsby on 13 March, 1607. He was mayor of Grimsby in 1636 and 1638 and was called to the bar at Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

 in 1639.

In April 1640, Holles was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Grimsby in the Short Parliament

Short Parliament

The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....

. He was re-elected MP for Grimsby for the Long Parliament

Long Parliament

The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

 in November 1640. He supported the King and was disabled in August, 1642. He was awarded MA at Oxford University on 1 November 1642 and served as colonel of foot to Charles I and Louis XIV. He was an antiquery and during his exile in Holland wrote on historical subjects including Parentela Hollesiorum and Lincolnshire Church Notes.

After the Restoration, Holles was re-elected MP for Grimsby in 1661 for the Cavalier Parliament

Cavalier Parliament

The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter century reign of Charles II of England...

 and sat until his death in 1675. In 1663, he was mayor of Grimsby. He was secretary of petitions to Charles II and one of the masters of requests.

Holles died at the age of 67 and was buried at Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

Holles married twice. His second wife was Elizabeth Molesworth and their only son Frescheville Holles

Frescheville Holles

Sir Frescheville Holles was an English Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1666 to 1672. He was killed in action fighting in the Anglo-Dutch war....

was also MP for Grimsby.