interests were increasingly centred. Cheshire and Chester had not been represented in parliament until an act of 1542 gave them two seats each: the status of the palatine counties was ambiguous and transitional and they were not fully absorbed into the English political and judicial system until the 19th century. The Chamberlain of Chester was head of the palatine administration and the post was held by Sir Rhys Mansel. He apparently did not intervene in elections. Consequently, the knights of the shire were drawn from the overlapping circles of landed gentry who dominated county life. Holcroft would have needed support from within these circles, as well as the acquiescence of the Dudley regime, to emerge smoothly as MP for Cheshire. Holcroft had close links to Sir Richard Cotton, a Cheshire landowner who was Comptroller of the Household, and with Sir Thomas Venables, another local landowner and courtier, who was elected as second member for Cheshire alongside Holcroft. It is likely Cotton, who was a close supporter of Dudley, smoothed Holcroft's way with the government. Holcroft probably also used his good relationship with Cecil to communicate his loyalty. Holcroft was able to transfer his allegiance to Mary without challenge, alongside Cotton, and like many other former Seymour supporters. Consequently, he was returned again for Cheshire in the second parliament of 1553, which was Mary's first. The parliament reversed most of the reforms of Edward VI's reign and restored the Latin Mass. He was not marked as one of those who "stood for the true religion", i.e. Protestantism, on the Crown Office list of the 1553 parliament annotated in Elizabeth's reign. In the next parliament, which assembled in April 1554, Holcroft represented Arundel. The constituency was tightly controlled by Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, another former Seymour supporter who was now a partisan of Mary. He also controlled Steyning, which returned Holcroft's nephew Gerard for this parliament. Holcroft assisted Arundel in the negotiations that led to the marriage between Mary and Philip II of Spain. The seats for himself and Gerard were probably a token of Arundel's gratitude. The parliament lasted for only one month and Holcroft never sat in parliament again. Landowner and official Holcroft seems to have acquired control of a wide range of small properties through his marriage, including a number of valuable business premises in London. It seems that these were used to provide funds when required.