Events
Date of Birth: unknown.
Place of Birth: unknown.
Date of Death: 1549.
Thomas made his will 6 April 1549 and it was proved in 1549.
Relationships
Father: unknown.
Mother: unknown.
Spouse: unknown.
Thomas expresses his desire for his son Bartholomew to marry Annys’s daughter Ellen.
Spouse: Annys.
Thomas mentions his wife in his will.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
William Rowles (buried 13 May 1573 in Haresfield) married Joan Gardner 21 September 1565.
George Rowles (buried 27 August 1579 in Haresfield)
Bartholomew Rowles (buried 25 January 1584 in Haresfield)
Annys Rowles
Evidence
from the Victoria County History (Gloucestershire 10:sub Haresfield):
In the early 13th century Henry de Bohun granted a part of his manor and several customary holdings to Richard de Veyne, who granted the estate soon afterwards to Llanthony Priory. The priory's estate was described as a plough-land in 1291,and its house at Haresfield was mentioned the year before. The estate was included in the grant of the priory's possessions to Arthur Porter c. 1540, but in 1543 another grant of the estate was made to Richard Andrews and Nicholas Temple, who almost immediately sold the site of the manor and the demesne, later known as ROWLES FARM, to Thomas Rowles, the lessee since 1536. On Thomas Rowles's death in 1549, the estate passed to his son William (d. c. 1573), and then to William's son George. George's son William inherited the estate in 1594, and was said to have sold it in 1606 to Richard Carrick of Painswick.
The great tithes of Haresfield, which belonged to Llanthony Priory, were leased in 1535 to Thomas Rowles, whose family continued to farm them until the early 17th century.
Thomas’s will:
In the name god amen: the vj day off aprell in the yere of our lorde god athousand Fyue huderyth xlix and in the thurde yere of the raigne of our sufferen lorde Edurd the vjth by the grace of god of england fraunce & Ireland kyng defendor of the Faythe and in erthe of the chyrche off england & Ireland the Supreme hed: I thomas Rowles off harsfyld in the county off Glossre hole off mynde & memory make my last testamet & wyll in this maner & forme Folowyng. Fyrst I bequeyth my Sowlle to almyty god my body to be beryd in the chyrche yarde of harsfyld Also I bequeith to annys my wyffe to bartylmewe Rowlys my son my howsse that I now dwelle in whith all the appurtynance to it belonging dueryng the wydoode of the said annys my wyffe Also I bequeyth to bartylmeve my son my lese with all my ryghte & interest off the p[ar]sonage of harsfyld with the p[ro]fytts & amotyts thereunto belonging: Willyng mi sayde son bartylmeve to suffer my wyffe annys to occapy with my son the one hauffe off the sayde p[ar]sonage dueryng hur wydood she baryng & payyng hauffe the rent and the hauffe off all other chargis Also I wyll that the sayd annys my wyffe and my son bartelmaue shall haue all my corne & all my cattyll oxson beste yotuge beste shepe lambys stoyne olde & yonge with all my pultry with my plowyt & plow geryt whyt all other Implymetts beyng myne at the daye of deyth equally & indyfferetly betwyene my wyffe & my son bartelmew to be deuydyd Also I wyll that my wyffe have all hur howsold stuffe that she browtte with hur to me And my son bartlmew to have all the residue off my howsold stuffe except vj sylver sponys to be devydyd a mong v off my chylderne only putting my trust in my wyffe and in my son bartilmew whom I ordyn & make myne executryx & executor to p[er]forme this my last testamet & whyll as herafter in manner & Forme Followeth Fyrst I geve and bequeyth to Wyllm rowlys my eldest son all my interest & ryght off his howsse that he nowe dwelythe yn and also I geve and bequeyth to my sayd son Wyllm Forevermore thre acres of medowe lyyng in the p[ar]ishe of morton and one younge cowe also I geve & bequeythe to Gorge my son & to his ayers male his howse with the appt there to belonging the wych he is now at this present day indwellyng and also to the sayde gorge iijli vjs viijd that Jhon Endryge haythe Also I bequeyth to annys my dawter vjli xiijs iiijd in redy mony at the day off hir marygg and iijli vjs viijd to be delyverud to the say annys at the same day in cattyll and howsold stuffe to the value off v marks or els xli for the hole in redy mony Also to the resydue off all my chylderne & annys my wyffs chylderne I geve & bequeyth to everyone off them when they be ad’ to the age off xx yers iiijli Iff anny off the sayde chylderne dept this worlde a fore that my last wylle p[er]formyd to anny off the said chylderne then I wyll the p[or]cyon of anny suche dep[ar]tyd to bedeuvydyd equally a monge the sup[er]ving But yff my son bartolmew donat well & truly p[er]forme hys p[ro]mysse made to me lyyng & abyding the mercy of God and at the sayd present tyme before wytnesses whos namys Folowyth So that the Faute benat in the yo[...] whoman then I whyll my wyff to be sole executryx & mynst to this my last wyll as be fore it expressyd and as hereafter folowith The p[ro]mys of my son bartylmewe is to marry with Ellyn my wyvs dauter Iff he so do this is my last wyll that he shalbe myne exetor with my wyffe and to mydy all thyngs as is expressyd beffore acordyng to this my last wyll Iff the fawtt be in hym and wull take his choyse contrary to hys p[ro]mys made to me Then this is my very wyll that my wyffe annys shall myay holy my howse that I now dwellein with all the commodyts thereto belonying dueryng hur wydood & exceptyt before exceptyt to Wyllm & Gorge my sons also to haue al my corne cattyll & all my other mouabulls For the p[er]forma[n]s off this my last wyll and then I will a yf Willm Rowles the yonger haue my howse with all the appt there to belongyng except before exceptyt and my son bartylmew alone expulsyd From my sayd ma[n]cyon howse with the appt and From all my cattyll corne & From all other implymets and from all my howsold stuffe the yett wyllyng & chargyng my wyff acordyng to this my last will to delyver & pay within the space off thre yers next ensuyng acordyng to the dat hereoff xxxli that is to sai every yere xli tyl the hole xxxli be fully grentyd & payd to my son bartylmew acordyng to this my last wyll Iff it so fortune that annys my wyffe dys[] dy or mariy and my son bartilmew [] executor or [] the yonger do to the age off xxj yer and of [] this my last wylle p[er]formed [] will [] bartilmew [] to have & to hold this my sayd howsse with the appt with the [] hauff off all [] that my [] howsold stuff to be mayntaynid & more[] to the use off my son Wyllm [] and for the p[er]forma[n]s of this my last wyll to the resydew off my chyldern at [] is in the acording to this my last wyll & testament theys baryng wytnes [] [] tanner hene newton [] Colls Wyllm rowlys Gorge Rowls bartylmew Rowls
The will of Thomas’s brother Roger Rowles:
In the name off god amen: in the yere of o’r lorde god a thowsan’ Fyue hunderyth xlix viij the thyrde yere off the Rayne of o’r Suffere’t lorde kyng Ed’rde the vjth by the grace of god kyng off england france & Ireland defender off the Faythe & off the churche off england & Ireland in the erthe supre hed next und’ god: The xxi day off marche I Roger Rowlys of harsfyld in the count’ off glossit’ hole of mynde & memory make my testame’t in man’ & Forme Folowyng: Fyrst I bequeyth my soulle to almyty god my body to be beryd in the chyrche yard off harsfyld Also I bequeyth to alys my wyffe thre oxson callyd tagge beay & brytte & my stard bolokke whyt thre kene & one heoford & my younge gray mare and also xx onys & xx tabys indyffere’tly to be chosyn my son gorge to chuse one & she a nother Also I geue to alys my wyffe hur cha’ber and all hur other howsold stuffe that she broutt wt hur to me at the day off my marygg wt all that she hayth remyd in to the sayd cha’ber the wych is one Flocke bed ij payer off Flaxson shets & one red cou’let Also I bequeyth to Wyllm Rowlys my son & hurse[?] one oxe one cowe & ij shepe to be delyu’d to the sayd Wyllm my son by [?] mother beyng part & p[ar]cell off hur part a Fore rehersed that is one oxe off hur thre one cowe off hur thre & ij shepe off hur xx shepe Also I bequeyth to my vj other chyld’ne [that] is to say to marke iohn annys ione margyt & alys xx yong bolokks & xx shepe by euyn p[or]cyons & indyffere’tly to be deuydyd be twene the sayd ij chyldr’n by the dyscressyon of thomas Rowls my brother harry mery ioyn harys iohn walketey Also I bequeyth to Jane Parker my aunt one eue & a lambe Also to rog’ my s’uant one shepe Also to eln’ tann’ my s’nat one shepe The resydue off all my gudds on bequeyth my detts payd I geve and bequeyth to gorge my son whom I mak and ordyn my sole executor & mynyst’ off this my last wyll in who I put my hole trust truly to dyspose and delyu’ acordyngly [...] & wrytten in the pr’sens off [...] hery kyrk vicar harry mary iohn harrys iohn walketey alys Rowlys hys wyff & alys bowd wydow
References
Haresfield parish register. Digital images on Ancestry.com accessed 18 December 2020.
Morgan, Kathleen and Brian S Smith. “Harefield: Manors and other estates” in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 10, Wesbury and Whitstone Hundreds. (London, 1972).
Will of Bartholomew Rowles. Proved 1585 in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Gloucester. Digital images on Ancestry.com accessed 18 December 2020.
Will of Roger Rowles. Proved 1549 in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Gloucester. Digital images on Ancestry.com accessed 17 October 2021.
Will of Thomas Rowles. Proved 1549 in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Gloucester. Digital images on Ancestry.com accessed 18 December 2020.
Will of William Rowles. Proved 1573 in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Gloucester. Digital images on Ancestry.com accessed 18 December 2020.