Sir Thomas Holcroft was a sixteenth-century English courtier and politician.

He was born at Vale Royal, Cheshire, the son of John Holcroft and Margaret Massey. He married Juliane Jennings, and had a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Isabel, who married Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland

Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland

Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland, 15th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG was the son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, whose titles he inherited in 1563....

.

He was bailiff for the Duchy of Lancaster (1536–45), receiver for Lancashire and Cheshire (most of the period between 1538–58), Knight Marshal

Knight Marshal

The Knight Marshal is a former office in the British Royal Household established by King Henry III in 1236. The position later became a Deputy to the Earl Marshal from the reign of Henry VIII until the office was abolished in 1846 ....

 (1556–1558) and was knighted by Lord Hertford at Leith in May 1544

Burning of Edinburgh (1544)

The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English sea-borne army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. A Scottish army observed the landing on 3 May 1544 but did not engage with the English force. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack Leith and...

. He was elected knight of the shire (MP) for Lancashire

Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)

Lancashire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

 in 1545 and for Cheshire

Cheshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Cheshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentiary constituency for the county of Cheshire. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832.As a county...

 in 1553 and MP for Arundel

Arundel (UK Parliament constituency)

Arundel was twice a parliamentary constituency in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The first incarnation strictly comprised the town centre of Arundel and was a borough constituency first enfranchised in 1332 and disfranchised in 1868 under the Reform...

 in 1554. He was appointed
High Sheriff of Lancashire

High Sheriff of Lancashire

The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales...

 in 1546 and the Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire

Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire

This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire.* Richard Sampson, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield bef. 1544–1547* Sir Thomas Holcroft 1548–1558* Richard Harpour 1558–?* William Gerard bef. 1564 – bef. 1573...

 between 1548 and 1558.

Holcroft was an ally of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....

, chief regent of the young Edward VI, and after Somerset's downfall in 1551 spent a year in the Tower and lost his public offices. He was nevertheless able to be elected MP for Cheshire in March and October 1553 and for Arundel the following year.