The family of Robert Holborne of Harwich have, with a few exceptions, been involved in shipbuilding for centuries, continuing up until the 1930s. The earliest chronological reference found for any shipwright bearing the name ‘Holb(o/u)rn(e)’ is that of Robert Holborn who was granted Letters Patent in 1543, along with Peter Pett and others skillful in shipbuilding. The authority for these letters patent was not by the usual Writ of Privy Seal, but Per Ipsum Regent, i.e., by "direct motion of the King," Henry VIII.