Bow bearer
Encyclopedia
In Old English law
, a Bowbearer was an under-officer of the forest
who looked after all manner of trespass on vert or venison, and who attached, or caused to be attached, the offenders, in the feudal Court of Attachment.
The bow
was a renowned English weapon, made of wood from the yew
tree.
in north-eastern Lancashire.
In the late twelfth century, Oughtred de Bolton, son of Edwin de Bolton ("Edwinus Comes de Boelton" in the Domesday Book
) is described as an early Bowbearer in the royal forests of Bowland and Gilsland
, at the time of Henry II
. However, this account is flawed as the possibility of Oughtred being the son of Edwin is fanciful and cannot be substantiated. It would have been impossible for Oughtred to have been Bowbearer of Gilsland
before the 1170s when the barony was first brought into the Norman realm. Prior to that, it had formed part of the kingdom of the Scots .
Bowbearers of Bowland (1150–1304)
Master Foresters and Bowbearers of Bowland (1304–1650)
Perhaps the most notorious Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland was Sir Nicholas Tempest, who was executed at Tyburn
in 1537. Tempest was one of the northern leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace
, the Catholic uprising against Henry VIII
and was linked to Sawley Abbey
.
from the time of the English Restoration
in 1660. The family likes to claim the office traces back as far as Robert Parker in the early 16th century but this is difficult to substantiate given the available evidence. In reality, while the family did have Bowbearers over many generations between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, the office was always granted to them by their local lord, the Lord of Bowland, the so-called Lord of the Fells
.
The Parker hereditary claim appears to have been concocted in the early part of the nineteenth century by Thomas Lister Parker
, a socially ambitious individual who wished to make a mark in London society. Thomas Lister Parker eventually bankrupted himself due to his various extravagances but not before he had corrupted the historical record. Both Whitaker's and Baines' accounts of the history of Bowland bear witness to that corruption. The last known Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland
was Richard Eastwood of Thorneyholme, an acclaimed breeder of racehorses and shorthorn cattle and land agent to John Towneley, 13th Lord of Bowland. Eastwood died in 1871 and is buried at St Hubert's, Dunsop Bridge
.
Although the Lord of Bowland's courts at Whitewell
that appointed the Bowbearers fell into disuse in the first half of the nineteenth century, it was reported in April 2010 that the 16th Lord of Bowland
had re-asserted his ancient right and appointed Robert Parker of Browsholme Hall
his Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland, the first Parker to be so appointed in more than 150 years.
In 2011, Robert Parker led a party of dignitaries from the Bowland Higher
Division Parish Council, the Forest authorities, and local community, to welcome the 16th Lord of Bowland to Dunsop Bridge
on his first official visit to the Forest
.
Bowbearers of Bowland after 1660
In 1513, a Richard Done of Utkington is described as the hereditary Bowbearer of Delamere
.
In 1605, Sir Robert Swift
of Streetthorpe (Edenthorpe
) was appointed Bowbearer to the Royal Chase of Hatfield
by James I
. A local tradition in that area states that the many yew
trees of the region were planted as a result, to provide wood for bows. The Complete Shakespeare Encyclopedia by Carol Enos also states that "Alvanley Hall, the property of William Arden, Baron Alvanley
, has been abandoned as the residence of the family for nearly a century and a half, and little of the house remains. Lord Alvanley is hereditary Bowbearer of the Forest of Delamere, and possesses the ancient bugle horn by which his ancestors have held that office almost from the period of the Norman Invasion” (Chetham Society,Vol I, 331)."
In 1632, Sir Francis Armitage of Kirklees
, was appointed Bowbearer of the Free Chase of Mashamshire.
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
, a Bowbearer was an under-officer of the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
who looked after all manner of trespass on vert or venison, and who attached, or caused to be attached, the offenders, in the feudal Court of Attachment.
The bow
Bow (weapon)
The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...
was a renowned English weapon, made of wood from the yew
Taxus
Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
tree.
Examples of the role
The best-documented example of Bowbearers in England is to be found in the Forest of BowlandForest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire...
in north-eastern Lancashire.
In the late twelfth century, Oughtred de Bolton, son of Edwin de Bolton ("Edwinus Comes de Boelton" in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
) is described as an early Bowbearer in the royal forests of Bowland and Gilsland
Gilsland
Gilsland is a village in northern England about west of Hexham, and about east of Carlisle, which straddles the border between Cumbria and Northumberland...
, at the time of Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
. However, this account is flawed as the possibility of Oughtred being the son of Edwin is fanciful and cannot be substantiated. It would have been impossible for Oughtred to have been Bowbearer of Gilsland
Gilsland
Gilsland is a village in northern England about west of Hexham, and about east of Carlisle, which straddles the border between Cumbria and Northumberland...
before the 1170s when the barony was first brought into the Norman realm. Prior to that, it had formed part of the kingdom of the Scots .
Bowbearers and Master Foresters of Bowland
After the early fourteenth century, it is often difficult to distinguish between Bowbearers and Master Foresters in the Bowland record:Bowbearers of Bowland (1150–1304)
- 1157 Uchtred de Bolton
- 1212 Elias de Bolton
- 1220 Richard de Bolton
- 1260 John de Bolton
- 1300 Edward de Acre
- 1304 Richard de Spaldington
Master Foresters and Bowbearers of Bowland (1304–1650)
- 1304–1311 John de Bolton
- 1311–1322 Thurstan de Norleygh
- 1322–1327 Edmund Dacre
- 1327–1330 Richard de Spaldyngton
- 1331–1353 Adam de Urswyk
- 1353–1372 John de Radcliffe
- 1372–1403 Sir Walter Urswyk
- 1403–1424 Sir Henry Hoghton
- 1424–1425 Sir Thomas Hoghton
- 1425–1432 Sir Thomas Tunstall
- 1432–1437 Sir William Assheton
- 1437–1459 Richard, Earl of Salisbury
- 1459–1471 Sir Richard Tunstall
- 1471–1485 Richard, Duke of Gloucester
- 1485–1485 Sir James Harrington
- 1485–1519 Sir Edward Stanley, later Lord Monteagle
- 1519–1526 Sir Richard Tempest
- 1526–1543 Sir Thomas Clifford (Bowbearer Sir Nicholas Tempest, executed 1537)
- 1543–1553 Sir Arthur D’Arcy
- 1554–1554 Sir Thomas Talbot
- 1554–1594 Sir Richard Shireburn of Stonyhurst
- 1594–1630 Sir Richard Hoghton
- 1631–1642 Sir Gilbert Hoghton
- 1645–1650 Sir Richard Hoghton
Perhaps the most notorious Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland was Sir Nicholas Tempest, who was executed at Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
in 1537. Tempest was one of the northern leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
, the Catholic uprising against Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and was linked to Sawley Abbey
Sawley Abbey
Sawley Abbey was an abbey of Cistercian monks in the village of Sawley, Lancashire, in England . Created as a daughter-house of Newminster Abbey, it existed from 1147 until its dissolution in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII of all England, Ireland, and France...
.
Parker family
The Parker family were the Bowbearers of the Forest of BowlandForest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire...
from the time of the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
in 1660. The family likes to claim the office traces back as far as Robert Parker in the early 16th century but this is difficult to substantiate given the available evidence. In reality, while the family did have Bowbearers over many generations between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, the office was always granted to them by their local lord, the Lord of Bowland, the so-called Lord of the Fells
Lord of the Fells
Lord of the Fells is a subsidiary title of the Lords of Bowland. The title is thought to have become customary during the high medieval period as a description of the Lords' rugged upland demesne. Bowland Fells, more widely known as the Forest of Bowland, is an area of barren gritstone fells,...
.
The Parker hereditary claim appears to have been concocted in the early part of the nineteenth century by Thomas Lister Parker
Thomas Lister Parker
-Life:Born at Browsholme Hall, Yorkshire , England on 27 September 1779, he was the eldest of the eight sons of John Parker of Browsholme, by his wife Beatrix, daughter of Thomas Lister of Gisburne Park, Yorkshire. He was educated at the Clitheroe Royal Grammar School under the mastership of the Rev...
, a socially ambitious individual who wished to make a mark in London society. Thomas Lister Parker eventually bankrupted himself due to his various extravagances but not before he had corrupted the historical record. Both Whitaker's and Baines' accounts of the history of Bowland bear witness to that corruption. The last known Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland
Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire...
was Richard Eastwood of Thorneyholme, an acclaimed breeder of racehorses and shorthorn cattle and land agent to John Towneley, 13th Lord of Bowland. Eastwood died in 1871 and is buried at St Hubert's, Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge is a village within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England, situated north-west of Clitheroe, south-east of Lancaster and east of Skipton. It is in the civil parish of Bowland Forest High....
.
Although the Lord of Bowland's courts at Whitewell
Whitewell
Whitewell is a hamlet within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England, in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Historically, it lay on the border of the former West Riding of Yorkshire. It stands above a picturesque bend in the River Hodder.The hamlet comprises Upper...
that appointed the Bowbearers fell into disuse in the first half of the nineteenth century, it was reported in April 2010 that the 16th Lord of Bowland
Lordship of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland, an ancient English title connected with the Forest of Bowland in the northwest of England, was once thought lost and was only recently rediscovered. It disappeared from sight in 1885 when the estates of the Towneleys, one of Lancashire’s great aristocratic families, were...
had re-asserted his ancient right and appointed Robert Parker of Browsholme Hall
Browsholme Hall
Browsholme Hall is a privately owned Elizabethan house in the parish of Bowland Forest Low in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire , England. It is claimed to be the oldest surviving family home in Lancashire...
his Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland, the first Parker to be so appointed in more than 150 years.
In 2011, Robert Parker led a party of dignitaries from the Bowland Higher
Bowland Forest High
Bowland Forest High is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, covering some 20,000 acres of the Forest of Bowland. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 163.. The parish includes the settlements of Hareden, Sykes, and Dunsop Bridge. It covers...
Division Parish Council, the Forest authorities, and local community, to welcome the 16th Lord of Bowland to Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge is a village within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England, situated north-west of Clitheroe, south-east of Lancaster and east of Skipton. It is in the civil parish of Bowland Forest High....
on his first official visit to the Forest
Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire...
.
Bowbearers of Bowland after 1660
- 1662–1682 Thomas Parker
- 1682–1689 Curwen Rawlinson
- 1689–1706 Thomas Lister of Westby
- 1689–1721 Edward Parker
- 1707–1745 Thomas Lister of Westby, son of above
- 1721–1754 John Parker
- 1745–1757 John Fenwick of Burrow Hall, Lord of Claughton
- 1754–1794 Edward Parker
- 1794–1797 John Parker
- 1797–1820 Thomas Lister Parker (claimed until 1858)
- 1820–1832 Thomas Parker of Alkincoats
- 1835–1871 Richard Eastwood
- 1871–2010 No Bowbearers appointed
- 2010– Robert Parker
Other English Bowbearers
Other notable examples of Bowbearers in England include those appointed in the Forests of Delamere, Hatfield, and Mashamshire.In 1513, a Richard Done of Utkington is described as the hereditary Bowbearer of Delamere
Delamere
Delamere may mean:*Baron Delamere*Tuariki Delamere*Delamere, Cheshire*Delamere Forest, also in Cheshire*Delamere, Ontario*Delamere, South Australia...
.
In 1605, Sir Robert Swift
Robert Swift
Robert Swift is an American professional basketball player, currently playing for Tokyo Apache...
of Streetthorpe (Edenthorpe
Edenthorpe
Edenthorpe is a village and civil parish in the east of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in the English county of South Yorkshire. It has a population of 4,752.-Geography:...
) was appointed Bowbearer to the Royal Chase of Hatfield
Hatfield Forest
Hatfield Forest in Essex, England lies between the parishes of Little Hallingbury and Takeley, and covers 1,049 acres of woodland, grassland with trees, lake and marsh. It is approximately 40 minutes north east of London by car, just off Junction 8 of the M11 motorway. Bishop's Stortford and...
by James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. A local tradition in that area states that the many yew
Taxus
Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
trees of the region were planted as a result, to provide wood for bows. The Complete Shakespeare Encyclopedia by Carol Enos also states that "Alvanley Hall, the property of William Arden, Baron Alvanley
Alvanley
right|thumb|200px|Map of civil parish of Alvanley within the former borough of [[Vale Royal]].Alvanley is a small rural village and civil parish near the village of Helsby, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England...
, has been abandoned as the residence of the family for nearly a century and a half, and little of the house remains. Lord Alvanley is hereditary Bowbearer of the Forest of Delamere, and possesses the ancient bugle horn by which his ancestors have held that office almost from the period of the Norman Invasion” (Chetham Society,Vol I, 331)."
In 1632, Sir Francis Armitage of Kirklees
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
, was appointed Bowbearer of the Free Chase of Mashamshire.