Simon Lowe, alias Fyfield (alive by 1522, died 1578), was a rich
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
merchant tailor in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, and also a
landowner in several counties, briefly one of the members of the
House of Commons of England representing two boroughs in other parts of England.
Lowe owned property on
London Bridge from 1536 and lived there in 1576. He was Warden of the
Merchant Taylors' Company
]
The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London.
The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...
for the year 1549-50, and was a
Member of Parliament, Member (MP) of the
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...
for
Stafford in October 1553 and
New Shoreham in November 1554.
He was Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company during the reign of
Queen Mary and one of the jurors who acquitted
Sir Nicholas Throckmorton in 1554: the court had been openly hostile to Throckmorton, and as a result of the unexpected verdict it fined and imprisoned the jury. He was a mourner at the funeral of
Maurice Griffith, Bishop of Rochester and Rector of
St Magnus-the-Martyr
St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge, is a Church of England church and parish within the City of London. The church, which is located in Lower Thames Street near The Monument to the Great Fire of London, is part of the Diocese of London and unde ...
, when Griffith was interred in the church on 30 November 1558 with much solemnity. With
Sir William Petre
Sir William Petre (c. 1505 – 1572) (pronounced ''Peter'') was Secretary of State to three successive Tudor monarchs, namely Kings Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary I. He also deputised for the Secretary of State to Elizabeth I.
Educate ...
and
Sir William Garrard he was an executor of
Maurice Griffith's will
[Thomas F. Mayer and Courtney B. Walters (2008) ''The Correspondence of Reginald Pole, IV: a Biographical Companion. The British Isles'', p.231] and, in consequence of this, played a part as an initial trustee in the founding of
Friars School, Bangor
Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales.
History
1557 Establishment
The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A fria ...
.
Lowe was included in a return of
recusants
Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation.
The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...
in the Diocese of Rochester in 1577, but was still buried at St Magnus-the-Martyr on 6 February 1578. Stow refers to his monument in the church.
Family
Simon Lowe had married Margaret Lacy, a daughter of Christopher Lacy (died 1518) of
Brearley, Yorkshire, by 1550.
* Timothy Lowe, eldest son (died 1617), was educated at
Christ Church, Oxford, and was knighted at the Coronation of
King James on 23 July 1603.
*
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
Sir Thomas Lowe, second son (1550–1623), was Master of the
Haberdashers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient merchant guild of London, England associated with the silk and velvet trades.
History and functions
The Haberdashers' Company follows the ...
on several occasions, Sheriff of London in 1595/96,
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
in 1604/05, and a Member of Parliament for London.
* Blessed
John Lowe John Lowe may refer to:
Sports
* John Lowe (darts player) (born 1945), English darts player.
* John Lowe (footballer) (1912–1995), Scottish football player
* John Lowe (rugby league), English rugby league footballer
* John Lowe (cricketer) (18 ...
, youngest son (1553–1586), having originally been a Protestant minister, converted to Roman Catholicism, studied for the priesthood at Douay and Rome and returned to London as a missionary priest. His absence had already been noted; a list of 1581 of "such persons of the Diocese of London as have any children ... beyond the seas" records "John Low son to Margaret Low of the Bridge, absent without licence four years". Having gained 500 converts to the Church of Rome between 1583 and 1586, he was arrested while walking with his mother near London Bridge, committed to
the Clink
The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Libe ...
, and executed at
Tyburn
Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern O ...
on 8 October 1586.
[Anstruther, G., ''The Seminary Priests: a dictionary of the secular clergy of England and Wales, 1558-1850'', Vol. 1, pp. 214-5. See also ''The Penal Laws: understanding the era of the eighty-five martyrs'', article by Patrick Barry in ''L'Osservatore Romano'' (Weekly Edition in English), 30 November 1987, p. 8, available a]
Penal Laws
/ref> He was beatified in 1987 as one of the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales
The Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales, also known as George Haydock and Eighty-four Companion Martyrs, are a group of men who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1584 and 1679. Of the e ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Simon
Year of birth missing
1578 deaths
English MPs 1553 (Mary I)
English MPs 1554–1555