Lawrence (Towneley) Townley Esq. (bef. 1510 - bef. 1566)

Born before 1510 in Lancashire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Helen (Hesketh) Towneley — married about 1535 in England

Descendants

Died before 12 Jun 1566 at about age 56 in Lancashire, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Lawrence Towneley, Esq., of Barnside, Lancashire, was the son and heir of Henry Towneley^[1] and his wife (name unknown).^[2][3][4] His date and place of birth are unknown and are estimated, but he was born before 1511/2 when his name appears in a bond and award of John, abbot of Whalley and Thomas, abbot of Salley.^[3]

In 1535 he was listed as bailiff of Barnside in the return of rents of the abbey of the priory of Pontefract.^[1] In 1541 he brought suit against Thomas Towneley, son-in-law of George Houghton, in the Duchy Court for wrongfully occupying the Towneley choir, requesting that the court grant the Barnside family the right to occupancy that was due to them as his grandfather, also Lawrence, had built the chapel at great cost. Houghton had been granted the right to kneel there by the abbot of Whalley years before, but the Towneleys of Barnside prevailed in this suit.^[1]

His grandfather was the first of the Towneleys to lease Barnside from the priory of St John of Pontefract. His father, Henry, took over and the lease transferred to Lawrence, who leased it until 1544, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. The manor was sold by the crown to John Bradyll of Whalley and, in 1545, Lawrence and his son Henry bought the manor from Bradyll.^[1][5]

Lawrence was Deputy Steward of the Manor of Colne,^[2] being referred to as such on 23 May 1565.^[1]

He married Helen Hesketh,^[3][4] illegitimate daughter of Thomas Hesketh, Esq., and Alice Haworthe (or Haward).^[1][2] The date and place of their marriage are unknown. They had five sons and six daughters:

• Henry,^[2] married Anne Catterall and had issue^[3][4]
• Robert^[2][3][4]
• Lawrence,^[3] Gent., married Margaret/Mary Hartley^[4] and had issue; Lawrence died before 19 January 1597/8.^[2] He was the founder of the Stone Edge branch of the Towneley family.^[1]
• Charles^[2][3][4]
• Richard^[2][3][4]
• Lucy, wife of Thomas Towneley,^[2][3][4] who was sued by her father in 1541; Lucy died in 1621^[1]
• Elizabeth, wife of John Talbot and _____ Standish,^[2] of Standish, Esq.^[3][4]
• Margaret, married John Parker^[2] of Extwistle^[4] and had issue; Margaret died in September 1633^[6]
• Alice, wife of Richard Lacy, Esq.,^[2] of Cromwellbotham^[3][4]
• Anne, wife of Robert Rishworth^[2] of Riddlesden, Esq.^[3][4]
• Helen, wife of Henry Thompson^[2] of Esholt^[3][4]

Lawrence died shortly before 12 June 1566,^[2] when his son Henry was named as his heir.^[1] Barnside passed from Henry, who died in 1616, to his son Lawrence, who died in 1623, to Lawrence's son Richard.^[5]

27 April 1569: Bond "between Thomas Towneley of Greenfield, Lancs., yeoman, and Richard Smythie of Cowegill, of the one part, and Nicholas Michell of Wakefield, mercer, of the other part; that Ellen Towneley, widow of Lawrence Towneley late of Barneside, will leave her messuage where she now lives."^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} Mary Burton Derrickson McCurdy. "The Townleys and Warners of Virginia and Their English Connections." in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 81, no. 3 (1973): 319-67. Accessed March 26, 2021 at JSTOR.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013), vol. V, page 180, TOWNELEY 17.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12} Thomas Dunham Whitaker. An History of the Original Parish of Whalley and Honor of Clitheroe, 4th ed, vol. 2, pub. George Routledge and Sons. 1876. Online at Archive.org, pages 255-256.
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12} William Dugdale. The Visitation of the County Palatine of Lancaster, made in the Year 1664-5, volume 3, Chetham Society, 1873, pp. 308-309: Towneley of Barnside; page 314: Towneley of Stonehedge.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} 'Townships: Foulridge', in A History of the County of Lancaster. Volume 6, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1911), pp. 544-548. British History Online, accessed 28 March 2021.
6. ↑ Whitaker, An History of the Original Parish of Whalley. 4th ed., vol. 2, page 226.
7. ↑ The National Archives. Catalogue description: Bond. Reference: SpSt/5/1/21. Date: 27 Apr 1569. Held by: West Yorkshire Archive Service, Bradford.

See also:

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011), vol. IV, page 206, TOWNELEY 13.
• Roberts, Gary Boyd. The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004). Online at Ancestry.com [$], pages 416-421.
• Lewis, Marlyn Lawrence Towneley entry in Our Royal Titled Noble and Commoner Ancestors website.
• Tracing the Towneleys 2004, published online by the Towneley Hall Society, Burnley, Lancashire. (Original manuscript written by Christopher Towneley (1604-1674).
• 'Townships: Barrowford Booth', in A History of the County of Lancaster. Volume 6, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1911), pp. 541-544. British History Online: Rishton Thornes, accessed 28 March 2021.
• Good, William. Children of Lawrence Towneley - pdf dated 2015.

Acknowledgements

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Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Thiessen-117 on 27 March 2021 and reviewed/approved for the Project by Michael Cayley on 31 March 2021.

Lawrence (Towneley) Townley Esq. is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry (vol. IV, pages 204-207 TOWNELEY) in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestors Mary Towneley and her nephews, Lawrence Townley and Edward Hoyle, to Magna Carta Surety Baron Robert de Ros. These trails were badged in March 2021 and are outlined in the Magna Carta Trails sections of the profiles of Mary Towneley and Edward Hoyle.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".