Thomas Holford, the son of a minister,[1] was born in 1541 near Nantwich, Cheshire, at Aston[2] in the parish of Acton.
He moved to Herefordshire to become resident tutor to the children of Sir James Scudamore of Holme Lacy.
[2] Holford, and his mentor Richard Davis, narrowly avoided capture when staying with the Bellamys of Uxenden Hall near Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex.
The bishop left a description of Thomas as a tall, black (haired), fat, strong man, the crown of his head bald, his beard marquessated (shaven except for a moustache).
[5] In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Holford is listed as one of a group of eight martyrs who died in London on 28 August 1588.
The group is completed by Thomas Felton, a Franciscan cleric, and the laymen Henry Webley and Hugh More.