George Owen (1499–1558), from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and Godstow, Oxfordshire, was an English royal physician and politician. Owen was born in the Diocese of Worcester and educated at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

. In 1520 he became a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the college. George Owen was the royal physician to several members of the

Tudor dynasty The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

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 ...

, and

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. She ...

. He served alongside Thomas Wendy and Edmund Harman. He was also a Member 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 t ...

for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

in 1558. Owen owned

Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. History The Domesday B ...

Manor and Mill, north of

. In 1552, he petitioned the King to prevent the

Mayor of Oxford The earliest recorded Mayor of Oxford in England was Laurence Kepeharm (1205–1207?). On 23 October 1962 the city was granted the honour of electing a Lord Mayor. Notable figures who have been Lord Mayor of Oxford include J. N. L. Baker (196 ...

from enclosing

Wolvercote Common Wolvercote Common is an area of grassed common land north of Port Meadow in Oxford, England. Overview Wolvercote is a village in the City of Oxford on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common. Wolvercote villagers have traditionally had rights on ...

where the villagers of Wolvercote traditionally had grazing rights. Following the dissolution of

Rewley Abbey The Cistercian Abbey of Rewley was an abbey in Oxford, England. It was founded in the 13th century by Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall. Edmund's father, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, founder of Hailes Abbey, had intended to establish a college o ...

, he also acquired the manor of

Yarnton Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,545. Archaeology Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the pa ...

.'Grants in May 1539', in J. Gairdner and R.H. Brodie (eds), ''Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII'', Vol. 14 Part 1: January–July 1539 (HMSO, London 1894)
no. 9
(British History Online). Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, St Alban Hall, Oxford, became the property of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, and Henry VIII granted it to Owen, who conveyed it to Sir John Williams and Sir John Gresham. In 1547 they transferred the hall to John Pollard and Robert Perrot, who sold it to the Warden and Fellows of Merton College."The historical register of the University of Oxford: being a supplement to the Oxford University calendar, with an alphabetical record of University honours and distinctions completed to the end of Trinity term 1888", pp. 214–215

References

16th-century English medical doctors 1499 births 1558 deaths Medical doctors from Worcestershire Medical doctors from Oxfordshire Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford English MPs 1558 Politics of Oxfordshire {{16thC-England-MP-stub