Nicholas Townley Esq (bef. 1612 - 1687)

Born before 9 Sep 1612 in Littleton, Middlesex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Joane (White) Townley — married 19 Sep 1638 in Northiam, Sussex, England

Descendants

Died 3 Jun 1687 after age 74 in London, England [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Maryann Hurt [send private message]

Caution. This Nicholas Townley, of Littleton, Middlesex (son of Francis) is not the same person as Nicholas Townley of Burnley, Lancashire (son of Robert). They are first cousins, but their details have been confused and conflated in various family trees. Please do not merge these two people.

Biography

Nicholas was born in about 1612, probably in the parish of Littleton, Middlesex, England, where he was baptised on 9 September 1612:^[1]

"9 Dei Septembris [1612] Nicholaus Towneley filius M^r Fransici baptisatus fuit"

which translates to:

"9 September [1612] Nicholas Towneley son of M^r Francis [Towneley] was baptised"

Nicholas was admitted to Gray’s Inn on 7 Aug 1623 Nicholas Townley, son and heir of Francis T., of Littleton, Middlesex, Esq.^[2]

Nicholas Townley, Esq appeared on the Protestations Return list for Littleton, Middlesex in 1642.^[3][4] This was an oath of allegiance to the Protestant Church of England and to King Charles which all adult men over the age of 18 were required to swear.

Nicholas Townley appears in the Visitation of Lancashire by Richard St George, 1613 (noting that the entry in the visitation includes post-1613 information). His entry on the associated family tree on page 99 reads

1. Nicholas Townley of Little-ton, marr. Joane, dau. and coh. of Willm: White of Nordeam in Sussex.^[5]

The marriage of Nicholas Townley and Joan White took place in Northiam, Sussex on 19 September 1638. ^[6]

Nicholas and Joan married in 1638, in which year their marriage settlement is recorded.^[7]

Their children were recorded in the visitation as:

1. Nicholas Townley of ye Inner Temple, barrister, 1666.
2. Francis, a Hamborow merchant.
3. William, a grocer in Westminster.
4. Charles
5. John
6. Thomas

The so-called manor of ASTLAM (Ashlam, Aschlam, Astelam, Astleham, xvii and xviii cents.) appears to have been held in chief. The name first occurs in 1600, when Katharine Ryse, widow, conveyed the manor to Francis Townley.^[8] Eliz. Nicholas Townley, who was probably the heir of Francis, and Joan his wife held it in 1650-1,^[9][10]

Nicholas borrowed a large amount of money, mortgaging farms, messuages and tenements, a windmill, a water mill, and other lands to act as security. He owed at least £6,000, a considerable sum of money in 1655.^[11] Parts of his estate were sold to finance his debts, including in 1662 a Messuage and farm called Constar (160a) in Brede and afarm formerly called Highstreete, now called Broadoake (40a) in Brede (occupiers given)^[12]

Nicholas Towneley of Littleton, Middlesex, esq, Joan Towneley his wife (sole daughter and heir of William and Mary White) were mentioned in documents concerned with the processing of Joan’s father William White’s affairs after his death in 1666.^[13]

Nicholas died on 3 June 1687,^[14] perhaps in London, where at least one of his children was living (the burial record implies he did not die in Littleton parish). He was buried 5 June 1687 in the parish of Littleton, Middlesex:^[15]

Affidavit coram [Jacobi?] Butler milite was brought me y^e 11th of June 1687 that Nicholas Towneley Esqr (formerly of this parish) was buried (accordingly) y^e 5th of June 1687

Research Notes

• This profile was previously attached to spouse Margaret Shuttleworth and son Nicholas Townley. They are actually the wife and child of his first cousin, also named Nicholas Townley. They have therefore been detached from this profile and re-attached to the correct Nicholas Townley. Donnelly-2171 01:10, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ Church of England – Littleton Parish (Middlesex, England), Register 1562-1652, p. 11, Nicholas Towneley (son of Francis) baptised 9 September 1612; "London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2021), Image 6 of 20 (subscription); Reference Number: DRO/128/A/01/001, London Metropolitan Archives.
2. ↑ https://archive.org/details/registerofadmiss00gray/page/170/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Townley
3. ↑ http://west-middlesex-fhs.org.uk/Protlinks/Littleton.pdf#page=1
4. ↑ http://west-middlesex-fhs.org.uk/downloads/Protestations.pdf
5. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0cA4AAAAIAAJ&dq=Catherine+Forster+Townley&pg=PA99&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Catherine%20Forster%20Townley&f=false
6. ↑ Sussex Family History Group CD, marriages for Northiam, Sussex
7. ↑ "Discovery", database, (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/13b74e6e-8ce4-4d66-a3c1-30aa48340774 : accessed 15 May 2021); citing ACC/0928/028/6, "74 - London Metropolitan Archives: City of London ... 74 - London Metropolitan Archives: City of London ... ACC/0928/028 - LANDS OUTSIDE LITTLETON, SHEPPERTON and LALEHAM ... The George Inn, Westminster Marriage Settlement.," London Metropolitan Archives; Description: "1. Nicholas Townley of Littleton, Esq. 2. William White of Northiam, Sussex, Esq. 1. is to marry 2's daughter Joan. 2. to pay £1,000 to 1, and Joan is to have an annuity of £100 p.a. from the rents of the George Inn, King Street, Westminster, held by 1; after the death of 2." Date: 1638.
8. ↑ Feet of F. Midd. Mich. 42-3 Eliz.
9. ↑ Ibid. Hil. 1650-1; Recov. R. East. 1651, rot. 21; Feet of F. Midd. Mich. 1655.
10. ↑ https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol2/pp401-406#fnn64
11. ↑ https://www.thekeep.info/collections/getrecord/GB179_FRE_ACC1751_3_1_29
12. ↑ https://www.thekeep.info/collections/getrecord/GB179_FRE_12_7_2
13. ↑ https://www.thekeep.info/collections/getrecord/GB179_FRE_12_7_4-5
14. ↑ Henry St George, The Visitation of London begun in 1687, 2 parts, The Publications of the Harleian Society, New Series, vols 16 (part 1) & 17(2), edited by T. C. Wales and C. P. Hartley (London: The Harleian Society, 2004), 1:278 Townley (Google snippet view).
15. ↑ Church of England – Littleton Parish (Middlesex, England), Register 1664-1812, p. 167, Nicholas Towneley (Esquire) buried 5 June 1687; "London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2021), Image 34 of 57 (subscription); Reference Number: DRO/128/A/01/003, London Metropolitan Archives.

See also:

• John Littell, Family Records: Or Genealogies of the First Settlers of Passaic Valley... (Feltville, New Jersey: David Felt & Co., 1851) p. 433 John Townley.