Thank you for your letter. I am very much taken with your letterhead, though still unsure of the crossword component. Perhaps it refers to the way in which the spelling of family names changed through time.
I enclose two photocopies of book pages which bear this reference to Richard le Brun. The Holditch family involved in this transaction originated from a place of the same name west of Newcastle under Lyme, Staffs.
I found these books in the William Salt Library, 19 Eastgate St, Stafford. Telephone 57226. My knowledge of this gentlemen is very slight but it seems that he extracted every item referring to that county from many published works. These are from the Patent and liberate Rolls. I, of course, was only looking for mentions of the Holdish name (my spelling)
I fear that you may not find this reference very useful, given that Richard was still living here in 1272, Nevertheless I hope you will find these pages interesting and, should you ever come across a Holdish (any spelling including Hollidge) you will remember me.
Yours truly,
Jim
