In Old

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

, a Bowbearer was an under-officer of the

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

who looked after all manner of trespass on vert or venison, and who attached, or caused to be attached, the offenders, in the feudal Court of Attachment. The bow was a renowned English weapon, made of wood from the yew tree.

Examples of the role

The best-documented example of Bowbearers in England is to be found in the

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...

in north-eastern Lancashire. In the late twelfth century, Oughtred de Bolton, son of Edwin de Bolton ("Edwinus Comes de Boelton" in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086) is described as an early Bowbearer in the royal forests of Bowland and Gilsland, at the time of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

. However, this account is flawed as the possibility of Oughtred being the son of Edwin is fanciful and cannot be substantiated. It would have been impossible for Oughtred to have been Bowbearer of Gilsland before the 1170s when the barony was first brought into the Norman realm. Prior to that, it had formed part of the kingdom of the Scots .

Bowbearers and Master Foresters of Bowland

After the early fourteenth century, it is often difficult to distinguish between Bowbearers and Master Foresters in the Bowland record: Bowbearers of Bowland (1150–1304) * 1157 Uchtred de Bolton * 1212 Elias de Bolton * 1220 Richard de Bolton * 1260 John de Bolton * 1300 Edward de Acre * 1304 Richard de Spaldington Master Foresters and Bowbearers of Bowland (1304–1650) * 1304–1311 John de Bolton * 1311–1322 Thurstan de Norleygh * 1322–1327 Edmund Dacre * 1327–1330 Richard de Spaldyngton * 1331–1353 Adam de Urswyk * 1353–1372 John de Radcliffe * 1372–1403 Sir Walter Urswyk * 1403–1424 Sir Henry Hoghton * 1424–1425 Sir Thomas Hoghton * 1425–1432 Sir Thomas Tunstall * 1432–1437 Sir William Assheton * 1437–1459 Richard, Earl of Salisbury * 1459–1471 Sir Richard Tunstall * 1471–1485 Richard, Duke of Gloucester * 1485–1485 Sir James Harrington * 1485–1519 Sir Edward Stanley, later Lord Monteagle * 1519–1526 Sir Richard Tempest * 1526–1543 Sir Thomas Clifford (Bowbearer Sir Nicholas Tempest, executed 1537) * 1543–1553 Sir Arthur D’Arcy * 1554–1554 Sir Thomas Talbot * 1554–1594 Sir Richard Shireburn of Stonyhurst * 1594–1630 Sir Richard Hoghton * 1631–1642 Sir Gilbert Hoghton * 1645–1650 Sir Richard Hoghton Bowbearers of Bowland after 1660 * 1662–1682 Thomas Parker * 1682–1689 Curwen Rawlinson * 1689–1706 Thomas Lister of Westby * 1689–1721 Edward Parker * 1707–1745 Thomas Lister of Westby, son of above * 1721–1754 John Parker * 1745–1757 John Fenwick of Burrow Hall, Lord of Claughton * 1754–1794 Edward Parker * 1794–1797 John Parker * 1797–1820 Thomas Lister Parker (claimed until 1858) * 1820–1832 Thomas Parker of Alkincoats * 1835–1871 Richard Eastwood * 1871–2010 No Bowbearers appointed * 2010– Robert Redmayne Parker Perhaps the most notorious Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland was Sir Nicholas Tempest, who was executed at

Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

in 1537. Tempest was one of the northern leaders of the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was an English Catholic popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536 before spreading to other parts of Northern England, including Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham and north Lancashire. The protests occurre ...

, the Catholic uprising against

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

and was linked to Sawley Abbey.

Parker family

The Parker family were the Bowbearers of the

from the time of the

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

in 1660. The family likes to claim the office traces back as far as Robert Parker in the early 16th century but this is difficult to substantiate given the available evidence. In reality, while the family did have Bowbearers over many generations between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, the office was always granted to them by their local lord, the Lord of Bowland, the so-called Lord of the Fells. The Parker hereditary claim appears to have been concocted in the early part of the nineteenth century by Thomas Lister Parker, a socially ambitious individual who wished to make a mark in London society. Thomas Lister Parker eventually bankrupted himself due to his various extravagances but not before he had corrupted the historical record. Both Whitaker's and Baines' accounts of the history of Bowland bear witness to that corruption. The last known Bowbearer of the

was Richard Eastwood of Thorneyholme, an acclaimed breeder of racehorses and shorthorn cattle and land agent to John Towneley, 13th Lord of Bowland. Eastwood died in 1871 and is buried at St Hubert's, Dunsop Bridge. Although the Lord of Bowland's courts at Whitewell that appointed the Bowbearers fell into disuse in the first half of the nineteenth century, it was reported in April 2010 that William Bowland, 16th Lord of Bowland had re-asserted his ancient right and appointed Robert Redmayne Parker of

Browsholme Hall Browsholme Hall is a privately owned Tudor house in the parish of Bowland Forest Low in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire (although historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire), England. It is claimed to be the oldest surviving family ...

his Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland, the first Parker to be so appointed in more than 150 years. In 2011, Robert Parker led a party of dignitaries from the Bowland Higher Division Parish Council, the Forest authorities, and local community, to welcome the 16th Lord of Bowland to Dunsop Bridge on his first official visit to the

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

. In October 2012, Robert Parker was formally presented with his Bowbearer's "wand of office" by the 16th Lord of Bowland at a public ceremony in Slaidburn. This ceremony marked the 90th anniversary of the final meeting of the manorial court at the town's Tudor courthouse.

Other English Bowbearers

Other notable examples of Bowbearers in England include those appointed in the Forests of Delamere, Hatfield, and Mashamshire. In 1513, a Richard Done of Utkinton is described as the hereditary Bowbearer of Delamere. In 1605, Sir

Robert Swift Robert Christen Swift (born December 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Spanish club Círculo Gijón Baloncesto y Conocimiento of the LEB Plata league. He played in the National Basketball Associ ...

of Streetthorpe (

Edenthorpe Edenthorpe is a village and civil parish on the eastern edge of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 4,752, increasing slightly to 4,776 at the 2011 Census. The village lies to the north east of Donca ...

) was appointed Bowbearer to the Royal Chase of Hatfield by James I.Historic Trees of the Doncaster Region – Ancient Yew trees in the Doncaster Landscape
/ref> A local tradition in that area states that the many yew trees of the region were planted as a result, to provide wood for bows. The Complete

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Encyclopedia by Carol Enos also states that " Alvanley Hall, the property of William Arden, Baron Alvanley, has been abandoned as the residence of the family for nearly a century and a half, and little of the house remains. Lord Alvanley is hereditary Bowbearer of the Forest of Delamere, and possesses the ancient bugle horn by which his ancestors have held that office almost from the period of the Norman Invasion." In 1632, Sir Francis Armitage of

Kirklees Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The borough comprises the ten towns of Batley, Birstall, West Yorkshire, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite. It ...

, was appointed Bowbearer of the Free Chase of Mashamshire.

Other uses

The bowbearer is not a uniquely English phenomenon. There was an officer to the king, described as a "bowbearer", in

ancient Persia The history of Iran (also known as Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and the Iranian ...

."The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World" by G. Rawlinson, Professor of History, Oxford
title page

The officers in most close attendance on the monarch's person were, in war, his charioteer, his stoolbearer, his bowbearer, and his quiverbearer; in peace, his parasolbearer, and his fanbearer, who was also privileged to carry what has been termed "the royal pocket-handkerchief".

References