Brokets of North West Engalnd
Very few families and individual Brokets have been recorded in the North West of England. A few more were there in the 20th and 21st centuries. These from Cumbria and Lancashire were perhaps the only Brokets recorded in North West England before the 19th C:
Cumbria
An isolated record of the death of James BROCKHET, 29 Feb 1896 in Fusehill Workhouse, Botchergate Parish, Carlisle, aged 75, General Labourer of Botchergate Carlisle, of cancer of the tongue and throat.1 Born c 1821, there is only one suitable record of a James from Scotland, Yorkshire, Wales or elsewhere in the UK: the eldest son of John and Maria of Bedford. The spelling would have been assumed by the informant, the Workhouse Master.
Lancashire
A nuclear family was recorded c 1610-40. Baptisms in the parish of Harwood, Bolton:2
1612: Humphrey. Parents: John Brooket and Alice Schofield.
1618: Ellis (Alice?). Parents: John and Alice (Schofield).
1622: Alice. Parents: John and Alice.
19-20th C
“Holden L Brockett, BSc, AMICE” was recorded in Addiscombe, Croydon, Surrey Jan 1954.3 See the separate page. This was evidently an error for “L Brockett Holden”. AMICE stands for Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and Laurence Brockett Holden, b 1890, was proposed as a member in 1916.4 He signed the proposal: 
His Will, proved 23 Feb 1962, gave his residence as “3 Harland Ave, Croydon, Admon to Annie Helen Maud Holden widow and Neville Brockett Holden reinsurance official”.5 But why was his middle forename Brockett?
The 1901 census for Chapel En Le Frith, Buxton, Derbyshire, shows that he was the 11 year-old son [i.e. b c 1890], b Buxton, of Arthur Brockett Holden, aged 39, Wine Merchant, b Lancas’, and wife Elise Emily Leone Holden, 34.6 The 1891 census for Buxton, Derbyshire, recorded Arthur B Holden, aged 28 [i.e. b c 1863], Wine Merchant, b Lancaster, and wife Elise E J Holden, 24, b Hainault, Belgium, with son Laurence B Holden, 1, b Buxton.7
The 1871 census for Scotforth, Lancashire [27 m from Blackburn], recorded Arthur B’ett Holden, aged 9 [i.e. b c 1862], Scholar, with parents Lawrence Holden, aged 45 [i.e. b c 1826], Solicitor and County Coroner, and Jane A, 33; and 3 siblings: Laurence, 7, Scholar; Susan C, 3; Francis Job Su, 2.8 The abbreviation in Arthur B’ett Holden’s middle given name would have been ‘Brockett’, since Arthur Brockett Holden, born 4 Dec 1861, was baptised 1 Jan 1862, Lancaster St Mary, Lancashire, son of Lawrence Holden, Solicitor of Scotforth, and his wife Jane Amelia.9
Lawrence HOLDEN, born 11 Sep 1827, son of Lawrence HOLDEN, Weaver, and Jenny [Chambers], was baptised 15 Jan 1828 in Ebenezer Chapel (Independent), Blackburn-Over-Darwen, Lancashire.10 It’s still unclear why Lawrence, born 1827 named his his eldest son Arthur Brockett Holden.
Page Last Updated: January 21, 2021
[1] Death certificate.
[2] IGI.
[3] Surrey phone directory p 90, image accessed 10 Jan 2020 from Ancestry.com's online database 'British Phone Books, 1880-1984', courtesy of BT Archives, London.
[4] Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818–1930. London, UK: Institution of Civil Engineers, image accessed on Ancestry.com 10 Jan 2020.
[5] LPR p 658, image accessed on Ancestry.com 10 Jan 2020.
[6] TNA 1901 England Census; Class: RG13; Piece: 3270; Folio: 92; Page: 8; image accessed on Ancestry.com 10 Jan 2020.
[7] TNA 1891 England Census; Class: RG12; Piece: 2778; Folio: 65; Page: 22; GSU roll: 6097888; image accessed on Ancestry.com 21 Jan 2021.
[8] TNA 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 4232; Folio: 146; Page: 16; GSU roll: 848074.
[9] Parish Register, ref # Pr 3262/1/14 p 78; image accessed on Ancestry.com 21 Jan 2021.
[10] TNA/RG/4/125, image accessed on FMP 21 Jan 2021.