Life

He was the son of William Towerson, and probably was born in London about 1635. He was educated first at St Paul's School. He then went to The Queen's College, Oxford

The Queen's College, Oxford

The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...

, where he was Pauline exhibitioner from 1650 to 1659. He matriculated on 27 February 1651, graduating B.A. on 17 June 1654 and M.A. on 21 April 1657.

In 1657 his father petitioned Richard Cromwell

Richard Cromwell

At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...

, then Chancellor of the University of Oxford, to use his influence with the Warden and Fellows of All Souls' College to admit his son to one of the vacant fellowships. Towerson obtained his fellowship in 1660, and received the college rectory of Welwyn

Welwyn

Welwyn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands. It is sometimes called Old Welwyn to distinguish it from the newer settlement of Welwyn Garden City, about a mile to the south.-History:Situated in the valley of the...

 in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 on the deprivation of Nicholas Greaves by the Act of Uniformity 1662

Act of Uniformity 1662

The Act of Uniformity was an Act of the Parliament of England, 13&14 Ch.2 c. 4 ,The '16 Charles II c. 2' nomenclature is reference to the statute book of the numbered year of the reign of the named King in the stated chapter...

. He was admitted on 31 October 1662, and retained the living until his death. He was created D.D. by Archbishop William Sancroft

William Sancroft

William Sancroft was the 79th Archbishop of Canterbury.- Life :Sancroft was born at Ufford Hall in Fressingfield, Suffolk, son of Francis Sandcroft and Margaret Sandcroft née Butcher...

 on 1 February 1678, and was presented to the rectory of St Andrew Undershaft

St Andrew Undershaft

St Andrew Undershaft is a Church of England church located at St Mary Axe, in Aldgate ward of the City of London, near the Lloyd's Building. It is a rare example of a City church that has managed to escape both the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Second World War bombing during the London...

, London, on 20 April 1692.

He died on 14 October 1697, and was buried at Welwyn. Towerson left his property to be equally divided among his seven children.

Works

Towerson published:

• ‘A brief Account of some Expressions in the Creed of Saint Athanasius’ (anon.), Oxford, 1663.
• ‘Explication of the Decalogue,’ London, 1676, reissued 1680, 1681, 1685.
• ‘Explication of the Apostle's Creed,’ London, 1678, 1685.
• ‘Explication of the Lord's Prayer,’ London, 1680, 1685.
• ‘Of the Sacraments in General,’ London, 1686, 1687, 1688.
• ‘Of the Sacrament of Baptism,’ London, 1687.
• ‘Of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,’ London, 1688.
• ‘A Sermon concerning Vocal and Instrumental Music in the Church,’ London, 1696.
• ‘The Relative Duties of Husbands and Wives,’ and ‘The Relative Duties of Masters and Servants,’ in vol. iv. of ‘Tracts of Anglican Fathers,’ London, 1841–2.

‘An Explication of the Catechism of the Church of England’ (consisting of the above explications and remarks on the sacraments) was published in 1676, and again in 1685, etc. He contributed English verses to Britannia Rediviva, Oxford, 1660, and to Epicedia Academiæ Oxoniensis in Obitum Serenissimæ Mariæ Principis Aurasionensis, Oxford, 1661.