Elizabeth Bowes (née Aske; 1505 – c. 1572) was an English Protestant exile, and a follower of
John Knox, her son-in-law.
Life
Elizabeth Aske, baptized in August 1505, was the granddaughter of William Aske (d. 23 August 1512) and Felice Strangeways, and the daughter of Roger Aske (d. before 1510/11), esquire, of
Aske, North Yorkshire
Aske is a civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, about two miles north of Richmond.
According to the 2001 census it had a population of 122, falling to less than 100 at the 2011 Census. From this date population ...
, by Margery Sedgwick, the daughter of Humphrey Sedgwick of Walbrun,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
.
While they were still children, she and her sister Anne were coheiresses to their father, mother and grandfather. Their wardships were sold in 1510 to her future husband's father, Sir Ralph Bowes (d. 1482) of
Streatlam
Streatlam Castle was a Baroque stately home located near the town of Barnard Castle in County Durham, England, that was demolished in 1959. Owned by the Bowes-Lyon family, Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, the house was one of the family's thre ...
.
Anne Aske married Ralph Bulmer., and in 1521 Elizabeth Aske was betrothed to her guardian's youngest son, Richard Bowes (c. 1497–1558), to whom the King granted special livery of half the lands of William Aske, to be received at his marriage. Richard Bowes, like the rest of his family, was engaged in
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
business, but seems to have lived chiefly at Aske.
In 1548 Richard Bowes was made captain of
Norham
Norham ( ) is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, It is located south-west of Berwick on the south side of the River Tweed where it is the border with Scotland.
History
Its ancient name was Ubbanford. Ecgred of Lindisfarne ...
. His wife and family followed him northwards and lived in
Berwick. Elizabeth, religious and much affected by the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
, met
John Knox, who was living at Berwick in 1549. Knox wished to marry Elizabeth's daughter, Margery Bowes, but Richard Bowes' family pride was hurt by Knox's offer, and he refused his consent. Nonetheless, Knox, who was about the same age as Elizabeth, contracted himself to Margery, and in July 1553 they were married in spite of opposition from Margery's family. At this time Knox's fortunes were at a low ebb, and
Queen Mary had just ascended the throne. His letters to Elizabeth were intercepted by spies, and in January 1554 he left England.
In June 1556 Elizabeth and Margery joined Knox at
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
, where two sons were born to Margery and her husband. Knox left Geneva for Scotland in 1559, followed shortly afterwards by his wife. After a short stay in England, where
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
was now Queen, Elizabeth Bowes too made her way to her son-in-law, who wrote for the Queen's permission for her journey. In 1560 Margery died, but her mother still stayed near Knox, leaving her own family. She died about 1572, and after her death Knox gave an account of the relationship in the Advertisement to his ''Answer to a Letter of a Jesuit named Tyrie'' (1572), published a letter to Elizabeth, dealing with her troubled conscience.
Marriage and issue
She married Richard Bowes (d. 10 November 1558), esquire, by whom she had five sons and seven daughters:
*Ralph Bowes.
*Francis Bowes.
*
Sir George Bowes (d. 20 August 1580).
*Christopher Bowes.
*
Robert Bowes.
*Bridget Bowes, who married Thomas Hussey, esquire.
*Anne Bowes, who married Marmaduke Vincent, esquire.
*Muriel Bowes, who married John Jackson.
*Marjorie/Margery Bowes, who married the Scottish reformer
John Knox.
*Elizabeth Bowes, who married George Bainbrigge.
*Margaret Bowes, who married firstly Thomas Middleton and secondly Ambrose Birkbeck.
*Jane Bowes.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
;Attribution
*
Further reading
*Cathy Hartley, Susan Leckey (2003), ''A Historical Dictionary of British Women'', article p. 60.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowes, Elizabeth
1502 births
1568 deaths
English Protestants
16th-century Protestants
16th-century English women
People from Richmond, North Yorkshire