Will of Thomas Lownes, tallow-chandler of London, 1622
National Archives PROB 11/139
Tho Lownes C(ivis?) et Tal(low) Chandl(er) London Testamentum fact(um) ut sequitur. 29 die Maii 1622.
My soule I comend into the hands of almightie god hopinge & stedfastly beleiving that through the meritts death and passion of Jesus Christ my Saviour & Redeemer to have Remission & forgivenes of all my sinnes to be saved and to have life ev(er)lasting my bodye I comitt to the earth from whence yt came to be buryed in the p(ar)ish Church of Wynslowe in the Countie of Buck in (Christ)ian like buriall It(em) I give towards the repaire of the p(ar)ish church of Winslow Forty shillings to the poore of the same p(ar)ish five pound to be putt out to their best use at the discrecion of my Ex(ecutor) & the Churchewarden for the tyme being To the poore of the p(ar)ish of St Sep(u)l(chre) ten shillings to the Ringers ten shillings To my mother Eliz(abeth) Wendover five pound to my brother Rob(er)t Lownes younger tenn pound to my bro(ther) Rob(er)t Lownes thelder Forty shillings To my bro(ther) W(illia)m Lownes & his son Rob(er)t Forty shillings To my brother Geo(rge) Lownds all my stills & other howsehould stuffe w((ha)tsoev(er) To Bernard Lownes fyve pound w(hi)ch he oweth me & five pound to him. Five pound more to his daughter Eliz(abeth) To Martha Graunt daughter of my bro(ther) W(illia)m Gr(aunt) of Winslowe three pound To my bro(ther) Walter Graunts children three pound To my Grandmother Hughes Fortye shillings All the rest I give to my bro(ther) Geo(rge) Lowne my Execut(or) To Susan wife of Geo(rge) Olyver tenn shillings To John Shawe twoe shillings six d To R(o)b(er)t Glenyster serving out his app(renticeship) with my exec(utor) at thend of his tyme twentie shillings All to be pad w(i)thin one yeare nexte after my decease.
Thomas Lownes. Subscript(um) et del(iberatum) in p(resen)cia n(ost)ru(m) Witnes hereunto Henry Wendover George Olyver Rich: Gill appn' Tho: Hehm[?] Scr.
[Probate at PCC 14 June 1622 on the oath of George Lownes brother and executor of the deceased]
Thomas was one of the children of Robert Lowndes. Clear (p.81) recorded seeing an altar cloth bearing an inscription that it was the gift of Thomas Lowndes, 1622, being used as a carpet in a cottage in Winslow. It was one of the items in Arthur Clear's sale in 1901.
The following members of the family are recorded in the Winslow parish registers (some of the baptisms are not there, and Thomas' burial is not recorded); those in bold are mentioned in the will:
Robert Lowndes (bur 10 Dec 1602), m1 4 June 1575 Jane/Joan Cocks (bur 9 July 1589):
- Edward, bap Jul 1576, bur 30 Aug 1576
- Ann, bap 12 Jan 1578
- Robert, bap 28 Feb 1580 [d. before 1587]
- Bridget, bap 15 Mar 1582, m Walter Graunt 20 Oct 1606
- William, bap 5 Jan 1586: son Robert
- Robert, bap 23 Sep 1587
m2 Elizabeth Hughes, 27 Nov 1590 (m2 5 Nov 1604 Henry Wendover):
- Richard, bap 23 Apr 1591, bur 28 June 1591
- Elizabeth, [baptism not recorded], m. William Graunt alias Miller 3 July 1615: Martha dau of William Miller bap 9 July 1620
- Thomas, bap 22 Mar 1595
- George, bap 28 June 1597
- Marie, bap 1 Jan 1600, bur 19 Apr 1600
- Robert, bap 27 Feb 1603 (son of Robert deceased)
These could be the children of either marriage:
- Joan, bur 24 May 1623
- Bernard: mentioned in Thomas' and Joan's wills
Robert Lowndes presumably had some connection with the vicars of Swanbourne Geoffrey Lownes (vicar 1565-78, d.1580), Thomas Lownes (vicar 1578-1624) and Robert Lowndes his son (vicar 1626-51).