Sir John Wolstenholme, 1st Baronet

Who is Sir John Wolstenholme, 1st Baronet?

Sir John Wolstenholme, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War.

Wolstenholme was the son of Sir John Wolstenholme and his wife Catherine Fanshaw. He became a farmer of customs with his father and was knighted by King Charles I.

In April 1640, Wolstenholme was elected Member of Parliament for Queenborough in the Short Parliament. He supported the king in the Civil War, selling property and incurring debts to provide finance for the Royalist cause. As a result he was then fined by parliament. He and his father's partners in the customs farming business were required to pay £150,000 which led to the sale of his estates. His son Henry and brother in law Sir Thomas Dallison were both killed in the Civil War.

After the Restoration, he became a farmer of customs again and was given a patent for collecting taxes on outbound goods in the Port of London. He was created a baronet, of London, by King Charles II in 1664.

Wolstenholme died in 1670 and was buried on 15 July at Stanmore in the church which had been built by his father.

Wolstenholme married Ann Dallison of Laughton, Lincolnshire.