advocate nonconformist minister
The eldest son of Thomas Holland, he was born at Wem, Shropshire. His father, Thomas Holland, a pupil of James Coningham, was ordained in August 1714 as presbyterian minister at Kingsley, Cheshire, and moved to Wem, Shropshire, in 1717. His mother was Mary Savage, granddaughter of Philip Henry.
Philip Holland entered Philip Doddridge"s dissenting academy at Northampton in 1739. Philip first preached at Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. He then became his father"s successor at Wem.
In the autumn of 1755 he became minister of Bank Street Chapel, Bolton, Lancashire, in succession to Thomas Dixon.
He kept a boarding-school also. In theology Holland was of the Arian school, influenced by John Seddon of Warrington, who introduced him to the philosophy of Francis Hutcheson.
He assisted Seddon in setting up (1757) Warrington Academy, and wrote the third service in a collection of forms of prayer (1763) edited by Seddon, and generally known as the Liverpool Liturgy. He took an active part in the movement for the repeal (1779) of the doctrinal subscription required by the Toleration Acting.
After this date his views became somewhat more heterodox.
In politics he was an advocate of the independence of the American colonies. He died at Bolton on 2 January 1789, aged 67. There was a mural monument to his memory in Bank Street Chapel.
