Sir George Bowes, MP

MORPETH [1] 1572

From History of Parliament online

Family and Education

• b. 1527, 3rd but 1st surviving son of Richard Bowes, captain of Norham castle, by Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Roger Aske of Aske; brother of Robert I.
• married (1) 1541 (he aged 14, having been contracted at seven), Dorothy, 3rd daughter of Sir William Mallory of Studley, near Ripon, Yorkshire, 4 sons including Robert and Sir William, 3 daughters;
• married (2) 1 July 1558, Jane, daughter of Sir John Talbot of Albrighton and Grafton, Worcestershire, 5 sons, 4 daughters
• Succeeded father 1558.
• Knighted 1560.[2]

Offices Held

• Marshal, Berwick-upon-Tweed 1558-61,
• acting marshal 1579-80;
• provost marshal, Earl of Sussex’s army 1569.
• J.p.q. Durham bishopric and Yorkshire (North Riding) before 1562,
• J.p.q. Yorkshire (East and West Ridings), Cumberland, Northumberland, Westmoreland 1573;
• sheriff, Yorkshire 1562-3,
• sheriff County Durham 1575-6;
• member, council in the north from Apr. 1561.[3]

Biography

The north-country family of Bowes is described by Surtees as a line of knightly rank, connected by marriage with ‘the first nobility of the north, Graystock, Fitzhugh, Conyers, Eure and Clifford, and, what is more singular, ... distinguished by civil or military talent in every successive generation’. Seated at Streatlam since about 1310 or earlier, it had acquired Dalden in 1375, Barnes in the same county by about 1400, South Cowton during the last quarter of the fifteenth century, and subsequently Aske. Apart from its lands and military obligations, the family had numerous and varied interests, ranging from mines, fisheries and salt-pans to a ferry-boat and harbour dues in the developing coal-trade port of Sunderland. Of this family Bowes’s father, the captain of Norham, became head in 1555 when the last of his older brothers, Sir Robert†, master of the rolls under Edward VI and five times a Member of Parliament, died without surviving issue. Three years later, Bowes himself succeeded to his father’s seniority, and in the same year, by his marriage to a Talbot, allied his family to the powerful house of the earls of Shrewsbury. From his cousin Sir George he inherited Streatlam and other property in county Durham, and from his father lands in Yorkshire and Northumberland as well as in Durham.

Throughout his life, Bowes engaged in land transactions and in the exploitation of his mining interests, but he first appears as a soldier, commanding 100 cavalry at Dunglass in 1549. He was a commissioner for strengthening the Scottish border in 1555 and marshal of Berwick in 1558, the year of his appointment as steward and constable of the lordship of Barnard Castle. From 1560 he was steward to the bishop of Durham. He was a commissioner for piracy in the bishopric in 1565 and 1578, for ports and havens in 1565, for ecclesiastical matters in the diocese of York in 1566, and for musters in 1569. In 1568 he escorted Mary Queen of Scots from Carlisle to Bolton. He was described by Sir Francis Knollys in a letter to Cecil in this year as ‘a good protestant, and his brother likewise, which is a rare matter in this country’. A year of ill-health just before his death accounts for his ceasing to be a member of the quorum except in Durham.[4]

His friendly relations with the Earl of Westmorland, lord of the honour of Barnard Castle, did not prevent him from occupying the castle on the outbreak of the 1569 rebellion until forced, by his garrison’s desertion, to compound with the Earl for an evacuation. He was immediately appointed by the Earl of Sussex to be his deputy in Durham and Richmondshire and provost marshal to the army. His harsh treatment of captured rebels gave him an unsavoury reputation, critics noting that Streatlam had been sacked and his possessions at Barnard Castle lost. In reparation he received the household goods of the attainted Earl of Northumberland at Topcliff and Bracenburgh, and some property in Durham and Yorkshire which had been forfeited by other rebels. Shortage of capital, however, forced him to sell land extensively between 1570 and 1571.[5]

Bowes was a personal friend of Francis Slingsby, who could control parliamentary returns at Knaresborough, and acted with him at the time of the 1569 rebellion. The council in the north presumably nominated him outright at Morpeth. He took an active part in the proceedings of the House, serving on committees concerning the subsidy (7 Apr.) and preservation of woods (10 May) in his first Parliament. In 1576 he was appointed to committees for dags and pistols (17 Feb.), tanned leather (18 Feb.), fraudulent conveyances made by the late rebels in the north parts (25 Feb.) and confirmation of letters patent (3 Mar.).[6]

He died at Streatlam 20 Aug. 1580 and was buried at Barnard Castle, the ‘surest pillar the Queen’s Majesty had in these parts’.[7]

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603

Author: M.N.

Notes

• 1. Did not serve for the full duration of the Parliament.
• 2. C142/199/72; Arch. Aeliana (ser. 4), xxii. 49; Durham Vis. Peds. ed. Foster, 38; C. Sharp, Memorials of the Rebellion , pp. 372, 373, 376.
• 3. CPR, 1560-3, pp. 437, 445; Sharp, 389; Lansd. 146, f. 20; 159, ff. 250-1.
• 4. R. Surtees, Hist. Dur. iv. 101; Yorks. Fines (Yorks. Arch. Soc. ii, v), passim; C142/199/72; Surtees Soc. xciii. 55, 94-5; Border Pprs. i. 4-5; Sharp, 4n, 370, 373, 379, 380; CPR, 1555-7, p. 54; 1557-8, pp. 63, 257; 1560-3, p. 170; APC, vii. 284; Lansd. 146, f. 20; CSP Dom. 1547-80, p. 336; Add. 1547-65, p. 572; E351/541, f. 113; SP12/145.
• 5. Sharp, 120, 290, 382, 384, 387, 388; Lansd. 13, f. 127; 115, f. 123; W. Hutchinson, Durham, i. 449; CSP Dom. 1547-80, p. 354; Lansd. 13, f. 48; Fuller, Worthies, iii. 456; Surtees Soc. xxi. 229n; Yorks. Fines (Yorks. Arch. Soc. ii), 369, 371, 377, 379, 383.
• 6. Sharp, 4; CJ, i. 83, 88, 106, 108, 110; D’Ewes, 159, 182, 249, 250, 252.
• 7. CSP Dom. Add. 158-1625, p. 17 ____________________

George Bowes (soldier)

• Sir George Bowes (1527 – 20 August 1580) was an English military commander.
• George Bowes was the third but eldest surviving son of Richard Bowes (d. 10 November 1558) and Elizabeth Aske.[1][2] He had four elder brothers, Ralph, Francis, Christopher and Robert Bowes, and seven sisters: Bridget, who married Thomas Hussey, esquire; Anne, who married Marmaduke Vincent, esquire; Muriel, who married John Jackson; Margery, who married the Scottish reformer John Knox; Elizabeth, who married George Bainbrigge; Margaret, who married firstly Thomas Middleton and secondly Ambrose Birkbeck; and Jane.[3]
• At the age of fourteen he was married to Dorothy, daughter of Sir William Mallory of Studley Royal. He early went to the Scottish war, and in 1549 is mentioned as being in command of one hundred cavalry at Douglas. In 1558 he was made Marshal of Berwick-upon-Tweed. By then a widower, he strengthened his position by an alliance with the powerful house of Shrewsbury, when he married Jane, daughter of Sir John Talbot of Albrighton.
• His opinion was often asked by the government about border affairs, and in 1560 he was knighted at Berwick by the Duke of Norfolk. Soon afterwards he resigned as Marshal of Berwick and retired to his house at Streatlam Castle. In 1568 he was employed to escort Mary, Queen of Scots, from Carlisle to Bolton Castle, a duty he carried out courteously; Mary in later years wrote to him as to a friend.
• In 1569 the Rebellion of the Northern Earls threatened Elizabeth's throne, and he played a major part as a loyalist, remaining at Streatlam and facing down unpopularity. Streatlam was not far from Brancepeth, the seat of Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, who was the centre of the disaffected party. On 7 March, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon wrote, 'The country is in great hatred of Sir George Bowes so as he dare scant remain there'. Bowes kept watch on all that was passing, and sent information to Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, Lord President of the North, who was stationed at York.
• The Earl of Sussex for some time did not believe that the rebellious earls would proceed to any open action. At length their proceedings were so threatening that Bowes on 12 November left Streatlam, and shut himself up in Barnard Castle, which belonged to the crown and of which he was steward, with forces levied for Queen Elizabeth and gentlemen of the neighbourhood. He wished to use this small force for the purpose of cutting off the rebels who were gathering at Brancepeth; but Sussex hesitated to give permission, and things were allowed to take their course. On 14 November the rebel Earls entered Durham, and advanced southwards for the purpose of releasing Queen Mary from her prison at Tutbury; but they did not agree internally, changed their plan suddenly, and retreated northwards. Bowes's house at Streatlam was destroyed, and Barnard Castle was besieged. Bowes held out for eleven days, but fearing treachery within he made a surrender on honourable terms, and marched out with four hundred men. He joined the Earl of Sussex and was appointed provost marshal of the army.
• The royal army had marched northwards, and the rebels retreated and gradually dispersed. Elizabeth gave orders that severe punishment should be inflicted on the ringleaders. The executions were carried out by Bowes, as provost marshal, while the lists of those to be executed were drawn up Sussex, who commended Bowes to the queen. In 1572 he received some minor grants of forfeited lands, which appear to have been of small value. In 1571 he was elected M.P. for Knaresborough, and in 1572 for Morpeth. In 1576 he was made high sheriff of the county palatine of Durham.
• In 1579 he relieved his brother Robert Bowes, who wished for a leave of absence from the post of marshal of Berwick-upon-Tweed. After staying there for nearly a year he begged to be relieved. Soon after his return to Streatlam he died, in 1580. His heir was his eldest son by Dorothy Mallory, William Bowes.
• From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bowes_(soldier) ___________________
• Sir George Bowes, Sheriff of Yorkshire, Burgess of Knaresborough & Morpeth, Constable of Barnard Castle1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
• M, #90146, b. 1527, d. 20 August 1580
• Father Richard Bowes, Esq., Captain of Norham Castle1,10,11 b. c 1481, d. 10 Nov 1558
• Mother Elizabeth Aske1,10,11 b. c 1504
• Sir George Bowes, Sheriff of Yorkshire, Burgess of Knaresborough & Morpeth, Constable of Barnard Castle was born in 1527 at of South Cowton & Aske, Yorkshire, England.1,2,6 He married Dorothy Mallory, daughter of Sir William Mallory and Jane Norton, in 1541; They had 4 sons (Sir William; Robert; George; & Henry) and 2 daughters (Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Preston, & of Christopher Wandeforde; & Agnes, wife of John Conyers).1,2,3,6,7 Sir George Bowes, Sheriff of Yorkshire, Burgess of Knaresborough & Morpeth, Constable of Barnard Castle married Jane Talbot, daughter of Sir John Talbot and Frances Giffard, on 1 July 1558; They had 5 sons (Sir Talbot; Francis; Richard; Thomas, Esq; & John) and 4 daughters (Frances; Anne, wife of Thomas Hilton, & of Sir John Delaval; Jane, wife of Thomas Chatterton, Gent., & of Mr. Peacock; & Elizabeth, wife of Sir Timothy Hutton).1,2,5,6,9 Sir George Bowes, Sheriff of Yorkshire, Burgess of Knaresborough & Morpeth, Constable of Barnard Castle died on 20 August 1580 at Streatlam, Durham, England; Buried at Barnard Castle, Durham.1,2,6
• Family 1 Dorothy Mallory b. c 1523, d. b 1 Jul 1558
• Family 2 Jane Talbot b. c 1537
• Child
  • Elizabeth Bowes+12,2,4,6,8 b. 1 Feb 1570, d. 9 Apr 1625
• Citations
• [S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 410.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. II, p. 447-448.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 122.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 134.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. IV, p. 175.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. III, p. 387.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. IV, p. 21.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. IV, p. 64.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. V, p. 127.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. II, p. 447.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. III, p. 386.
• [S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 411.
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p3001.htm#... _________________________
• Sir George Bowes
• Birth: 1527, England
• Death: Aug. 20, 1580 Streatlam, County Durham, England
• Knight of Streatlam, Durham, of South Cowton and Aske, Yorkshire. Marshal of Berwick, Constable of Barnard Castle, Sheriff of Yorkshire, Member of the Council in the North, Provost Marshall of the Earl's Sussex Army 1569. Burgess of Knaresborough and Morpeth.
• Third but first surviving son of Richard Bowes of Aske and South Cowton and Elizabeth Aske. Grandson of Ralph Bowes and Margery Conyers, Roger Aske and Margery Sedgwick, descendant of King John of England.
• Husband of Dorothy Mallory, daughter of Sir William Mallory and Jane Norton, daughter of John.
• They were married in 1541 and produced four sons and two daughters; William, Robert, George and Henry, Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Preston and Christopher Wandesforde, and Agnes, wife of John Conyers.
• Secondly, her married Jane Talbot, daughter of Sir John Talbot of Albrighton and Grafton, descendant of King Edward I, and Frances Giffard, daughter of Sir John. They married 01 July 1558 and had five sons and four daughters; Sir Talbot, Francis, Richard, Thomas, John, Frances, Anne, wife of Thomas Hilton and Sir John Delaval, Jane, wife of a Mr Clopton and Elizabeth.
• Sir George commanded 100 cavalry at Dunglass in 1549, and escorted Mary, Queen of Scots from Carlisle to Bolton in 1568. He mistreated captive rebels in the 1569 rebellion, which greatly injured his reputation.
• Sir George died at Streatlam, Durham and was buried at Barnard Castle.
• Family links:
• Children:
  • Elizabeth Bowes Hutton (____ - 1625)*
• Burial: Barnard Castle RC Church, Barnard Castle, Durham Unitary Authority, County Durham, England
• Find A Grave Memorial# 103541739
• From: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=bowes&GSfn=ge... ______________________
• Name Sir George Bowes [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]
• Born 1527 of, Streatlam, Durham, England [15]
• Died 20 Aug 1580 [15]
• Buried Barnard Castle, Durham, England [15]
• Father Richard Bowes, Esquire, d. 10 Nov 1558
• Mother Elizabeth Aske
• Family 1 Dorothy Mallory
• Married 1541 [15]
• MARRIAGE: Dorothy was contracted when only seven, to Sir George Bowes, who married her when he was 14 years of age. [16]
• Children
  • 1. Sir William Bowes, b. of, Streatlam, Durham, England
  • 2. Elizabeth Bowes
  • 3. Agnes Bowes, b. of, Streatlam, Durham, England d. 12 Feb 1598, Sockburn, Durham, England
  • 4. George Bowes
  • 5. Robert Bowes
  • 6. Henry Bowes
• Family 2 Jane Talbot
• Married 1 Jul 1558 [14]
• Children
  • 1. Anne Bowes
  • 2. Frances Bowes
  • 3. Francis Bowes
  • 4. Sir Talbot Bowes, Knight, bur. 14 Feb 1638, Barnard Castle, Durham, England
  • 5. Richard Bowes, bur. 31 Aug 1599, Richmond Church, Yorkshire, England
  • 6. Thomas Bowes, Esquire
  • 7. John Bowes, d. Aft 1606
  • 8. Jane Bowes
  • 9. Elizabeth Bowes, c. 1 Feb 1570, St. Dunstan's-in-the West, London, Middlesex, England d. 9 Apr 1625 (Age ~ 55 years)
• Sources
• [S104] Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Richardson, Douglas, (Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, Md. 21202, copyright 2004), p. 707 TALBOT.
• [S63] #739 The Visitation of Yorkshire, Made in the Years 1584-85: to Which Is Added the Subsequent Visitation Made in 1612, by Richard St. George, Norry King of Arms: with Several Additional Pedigrees Edited by Joseph Foster (1875), Glover, Robert, (London: Robert Glover, 1875), FHL microfilm 990,320 item 1., p. 157.
• [S589] #11872 A history of the Mallory family, Smith, S. V. Mallor (Sheila Vera Mallory), (Chichester, England : Phillimore, c1985), 929.242 M297., p. 100.
• "Dorothy was contracted when only seven, to Sir George Bowes, who married her when he was 14 years of age. They founded the ancestral Mallory/Bowes line of the Bowes-Lyon family and of Elizabeth II, Queen of England. Sir George was to become famous for his gentlemanly custody of Mary Queen of Scots on her journey to Bolton. Bowes was Marshal North of the Trent and during the rebellion of the Northern Earls he held Barnard Castle which, ill-equipped, was under siege by his enemies for 11 days in 1569. Queen Elizabeth I. treated him shamefully in later life."
• [S372] Genealogies of Virginia families : from the William and Mary College quarterly historical magazine, Dorman, John Frederick, editor, (5 volumes. Baltimore [Maryland] : Genealogical Publishing Company,1982), FHL book 975.5 D2gvw., vol. 4 p. 257.
• [S64] #3945 The Visitations of Yorkshire in the Years 1563 and 1564, Made by William Flower, Esquire, Norroy King of Arms (1881), Flower, William, (Publications of the Harleian Society: Visitations, volume 16. London: [Harleian Society], 1881), FHL book 942 B4h volume 16; FHL microfilm 162,050 item 2., vol. 16 p. 32, 196.
• [S203] #696 The Surtees Society, 1834-1934: including a catalogue of its publications, with notes on their sources and contents (1939), Thompson, A. Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton), (The Publications of the Surtees Society, volume 150. London: Andrews, 1939), FHL book 942 B4s; FHL microfiche 6073432., vol. 122 p. 131.
• [S23] Magna Carta Ancestry: A study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Richardson, Douglas, (Kimball G. Everingham, editor. 2nd edition, 2011), vol. 2 p. 447.
• [S625] The Collins family, Collins, Margaret Hill, (Ardmore, Pennsylvania : M.H. Collins, c1977-c1980), 929.273 C692a., vol. 3 p. 119.
• [S79] #248 [Reprint, 1977] A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank but Uninvested with Heritable Honours (1834-1838; reprint 1977), Burke, John, (1834-1838. Reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1977), 942 D2bc 1977; FHL microfiche 6035997-035999; FHL microfilm 87,947., vol. 3 p. 305.
• [S516] The correspondence of Dr. Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York, Hutton, Matthew, Archbishop of York, (London : J. B. Nochols, 1343), 942 B4, vol. 17., p. 250.
• [S143] #696 Visitations of the north, or, some early heraldic visitations of, and collections of pedigrees relating to, the north of England, Blair, Charles Henry Hunter, (Durham [England] : Andrews, 1912-1932. Part of the Publications of the Surtees Society.), 942 B4s., vol. 133 pt. 2 p. 146.
• [S64] #3945 The Visitations of Yorkshire in the Years 1563 and 1564, Made by William Flower, Esquire, Norroy King of Arms (1881), Flower, William, (Publications of the Harleian Society: Visitations, volume 16. London: [Harleian Society], 1881), FHL book 942 B4h volume 16; FHL microfilm 162,050 item 2., vol. 16 p. 311.
• [S201] #1840 The Visitation of the County of Worcester Made in the Year 1569: with Other Pedigrees Relating to That County from Richard Mundy's Collection (1888), Phillimore, W. P. W. (William Phillimore Watts), (Publications of the Harleian Society: Visitations, volume 27. London: [Harleian Society], 1888), FHL book 942 B4h volume 27; FHL microfilm 162,055., p. 136.
• [S20] Royal Ancestry: A study in colonial and medieval families, Richardson, Douglas, (Kimball G. Everingham, editor 2013, Salt Lake City, Utah), vol. 3 p. 388.
• [S23] Magna Carta Ancestry: A study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Richardson, Douglas, (Kimball G. Everingham, editor. 2nd edition, 2011), vol. 2 p. 448.
• [S589] #11872 A history of the Mallory family, Smith, S. V. Mallor (Sheila Vera Mallory), (Chichester, England : Phillimore, c1985), 929.242 M297., p. 100.
• From: https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I31544&tre... _______________________

I was Marshal of Berwick and a supporter of Elizabeth 1 at the time of The Rising of the North in 1569.

The manors of Lunedale, about 8 miles west of Barnard Castle, and Mickleton and others were purchased by Sir George Bowes (of Streatlam Castle) in 1560 from the Marquis of Northampton. Wemmergill Hall, now demolished, was on the northern slopes of Lunedale, and was the favourite shooting box of the 12th Earl of Strathmore.

Because of the failure of the elder male line, I succeeded to the family estates. I was knighted in 1558, and was appointed Governor of Barnard Castle. I distinguished myself in the suppression of the Rising of the North, in 1569, and earned an unenviable notoriety for the relentless cruelty with which I pursued the fugitive and defenceless rebels. There was scarcely a village in the north in which there were not executed one or more of the inhabitants for participation in the rising. I was twice married and left a numerous family.

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