Thomas Fowle (''c.'' 1530 – after 1597) was a Church of England clergyman, Fellow of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Redgrave and

Hinderclay Hinderclay is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. The village is located around - from Bury St Edmunds in an area of rolling arable land to the south of the Little Ouse river valley. Neighbourin ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and prebendary of Norwich Cathedral. He was briefly tutor to

Edward de Vere Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (; 12 April 155024 June 1604) was an English peer and courtier of the Elizabethan era. Oxford was heir to the second oldest earldom in the kingdom, a court favourite for a time, a sought-after patron of ...

, the future

Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half centuries, until the death of the 20th Earl in 1703. ...

, and was later

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to Sir Nicholas Bacon.

Life

Fowle was educated at the University of Cambridge, where he matriculated from St John's in 1547, graduated BA in 1549/50 and proceeded MA in 1553. He was elected a Fellow of St John's, but under

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

was ejected. He then served in or near the City of London as a minister to a secret congregation of

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. On 4 May 1558, Fowle began to receive a salary of ten pounds a year as tutor to the young

, then aged eight.Alan H. Nelson, ''Monstrous adversary: the life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford''
p. 25
/ref> In November of the same year, de Vere matriculated as a fellow-commoner of

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, Cambridge. Soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558, Fowle was restored to his fellowship at St John's. On 4 November 1562 he was collated as Rector of

Aldham, Essex Aldham is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located west of Colchester. The village is in the borough of Colchester and in the parliamentary constituency of Harwich and North Essex. The village has its own parish council. Th ...

, but had resigned before 19 November 1563.Charles Henry Cooper, Thompson Cooper, George John Gray, ''Athenae Cantabrigienses: 1500-1585'' (1858), pp
382

452
/ref> On 22 July 1563, he was installed as second prebendary of Norwich Cathedral, when it was noted that he lived at Redgrave in Suffolk, where he was both rector of the parish and

to Lord Keeper Sir Nicholas Bacon. Francis Blomefield,

Charles Parkin Charles Parkin (1689–1765) was an English clergyman and antiquarian. He was rector of Oxburgh in Norfolk, and assisted Francis Blomefield on his history of the county, completing it after Blomefield's death. Life The son of William Parkin of L ...

, ''An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: History of Norwich'' (W. Miller, 1806
p. 663
/ref> From 1561 to 1566, he was also Rector of

in Suffolk. On 4 January 1569/70, Fowle became a senior fellow of St John's College. In 1570, he was part of a group of prebendaries of Norwich who "disaffected to the established order as regards matters ecclesiastical, entered into the choir of that cathedral, forcibly broke down the organs and committed certain other disorders of the like outrageous character". It was also said of him that he never went to Norwich except to collect the stipend due to him. In 1572, he was a member of a commission against Roman Catholic recusants in Norfolk, and in 1573 with John Handson and John Grundye he was appointed by John Parkhurst, the Bishop of Norwich, to take charge of "religious exercises termed prophesyings" at

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

. Soon afterwards, such exercises were forbidden on the authority of Queen Elizabeth. He held his prebend at Norwich until 1581, when he resigned. He continued as rector of Redgrave until 1597. Fowle's

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

mentions sons named Nicholas and Thomas. In 1586, a Thomas Fowle was Master of the school at Botesdale in Suffolk.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowle, Thomas Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge 1530s births 16th-century English educators People from Northallerton Year of death unknown People from Redgrave, Suffolk