Sir Robert Bowes (c. 1492 – 28 February 1555) was an English lawyer and military commander.

Family

Robert Bowes was the son of Sir Ralph Bowes of Streatlam in Durham, fourth son of Sir William Bowes (d. 28 July 1466) and Maud FitzHugh, daughter of

William FitzHugh, 4th Baron FitzHugh William FitzHugh, 4th Baron FitzHugh ( 1399 – 22 October 1452) was an English nobleman and Member of Parliament. Born at Ravensworth, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was the son of Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh and Elizabeth Gre ...

(d. 22 October 1452), by Margery Willoughby, daughter of

William Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby de Eresby William Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby de Eresby KG (c.1370 – 4 December 1409) was an English baron. Origins William Willoughby was the son of Robert Willoughby, 4th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, by his first wife, Alice de Skipwith, d ...

. His mother was Margery Conyers (died c.1524), daughter of Sir Richard Conyers of South Cowton, Yorkshire by Alice, daughter of John Wycliffe, esquire, of Wycliffe. He had four brothers, William, Robert, Thomas and Henry, and six sisters: Margery, who married Sir William Hilton; Joan, who married Sir Ralph Bulmer; Katherine, who married Sir Richard Conyers; Margaret, who married Sir Humphrey Lisle; Isabel who married John Swynnow; and Anne, who married Ralph Wycliffe.

Career

He studied law in his early years, but his ancestral connection with the

Border country The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to as "the Borderlands". The ...

marked him out for employment in border affairs, where he did active service. In 1536 he was in the royal army against the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

, and carried to the king the petition of the rebels. In 1541 he was specially summoned to London to advise the privy council about Scottish business. In 1542 he accompanied

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (1473 – 25 August 1554) was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheade ...

on his plundering raid into Scotland, and was sent with 3,000 men to harry

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in su ...

. He was attacked on his way at the

Battle of Haddon Rig The Battle of Hadden Rig was a battle fought about three miles east of Kelso, Scottish Borders, Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, between Scotland and England on 24 August 1542, during the reigns of King James V of Scotland and Henry VIII of Eng ...

, and was made prisoner, but soon released. Lord Hertford reported that on 16 September 1545 he had "sent forth a good band to the number of 1500 light horsemen in the leading of me ndSir Robert Bowes, which from 5 a.m. till 3 p.m., forayed along the waters of Tyvyote and Rowle, 6 or 7 miles beyond Jedburgh, and burnt 14 or 15 towns and a great quantity of all kinds of corn". In 1550 Bowes was made warden of the east and middle marches. In June 1551 he was one of the commissioners appointed to make a convention with Scotland. In the following September he was made a member of the privy council, and was appointed

Master of the Savoy The Savoy Palace, considered the grandest nobleman's townhouse of medieval London, was the residence of prince John of Gaunt until it was destroyed during rioting in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The palace was on the site of an estate given t ...

in November 1551 and

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

in June 1552. Edward VI granting the Royal Charter to Bridewell Hospital

His signature is affixed as one of the witnesses of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

's will, and he was a member of the short-lived council of the

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

. The council soon found its position to be impossible. On 19 July 1553 Bowes signed a letter to

Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He was ...

on Jane's behalf. On 20 July he signed an order to

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Ja ...

bidding him disarm. On the accession of Queen Mary Bowes was not disgraced. He held office as

for two months, and then resigned of his own accord. In 1554 he was ordered by the privy council to repair to Berwick and assist

John Conyers, 3rd Baron Conyers John Conyers, 3rd Baron Conyers (c. 1524 – 13 June 1557) was a British peer and military administrator. Biography Conyers was born the son of Christopher Conyers, 2nd Baron Conyers circa 1524. He was knighted in 1544. In 1551 he was made Wa ...

in organising the defences of the border. Soon after his return from this duty he died. He married Alice, daughter of Sir James Metcalfe of

Nappa Hall Nappa Hall is a fortified manor house in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England, described by English Heritage as "probably the finest and least-spoilt fortified manor house in the north of England". It stands east of Askrigg, overlooking past ...

, Yorkshire, but left no surviving children.

Works

In his office of Warden he left a record of his administrative capacity. At the request of the warden general,

Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (17 January 151723 February 1554), was an Kingdom of England, English courtier and nobleman of the Tudor period. He was the father of Lady Jane Grey, known as "the Nine Days' Queen". Orig ...

, he drew up ''A Book of the State of the Frontiers and Marches betwixt England and Scotland.'' This record is the chief authority for the state of the border country in the sixteenth century. It describes the nature of the land, its military organisation, the condition of the fortresses, the number of the garrisons, and information about the character of the borderers. A lawyer as well as a soldier, he added to his survey of the country a legal treatise on the administration of the complicated system of international law by which disputes between the borderers of England and Scotland were settled. His treatise of ''The Forme and Order of a Day of Truce'' explains the formalities to be used in the execution of justice in the combined court of the wardens of England and Scotland. Bowes's ''Survey of the Border'' is printed in John Crawford Hodgson's ''History of Northumberland'', where, besides the survey of 1551, there is given in the note an earlier one of 1542 made by Bowes and Sir Ralph Elleker, which is more detailed. It was also printed in ''Reprints of Rare Tracts'', vol. iv. (Newcastle, 1849), and in a private issue of the Border Club, 1838. The ''Form of Holding a Day of Truce'' is partially printed in the same issue of the Border Club, and extracts are given in

James Raine James Raine (1791–1858) was an English antiquarian and topographer. A Church of England clergyman from the 1810s, he held a variety of positions, including librarian to the dean and chapter of Durham and rector of Meldon in Northumberlan ...

's ''History of North Durham''. A manuscript copy of both the Survey and Forme may be still found in the bodleian library, having been reprinted in M. A. Richardsons 'reprints of rare tracts'

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowes, Robert 1490s births 1555 deaths English lawyers Masters of the Rolls Masters of the Savoy 15th-century English people People from Barnard Castle 16th-century English lawyers