the King’s disposal of the manors of Ash and Holiwell and of the
advowson. All three were granted to Sir Martin Bowes, a Yorkshireman by
birth who had sought and achieved advancement in more southerly climes. Bowes
was master of the Mint for more than a decade, and in 1540 was Sheriff of
London. In 1545, about a year after he became lord of Ash, he was Lord
Mayor. Subsequently, he was a member for London in several Parliaments and
for three years was Prime Warden of the Goldsmith’s Company.2
In so busy a life, he may not have found time to reflect that his
possessions in Ash had. stemmed from his sovereign’s unhappy passion for
one lady or distaste for another.
Although Bowes became a Kentishman by adoption, there is no
reason to suppose that he ever made his home in the parish of Ash, even
if, which may be doubted, suitable accommodation existed for him there. He
already owned Suffolk Place Farm at Plumstead, |
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which he had bought from the Duke of Suffolk, and he
received from the King at the same time as Ash the manor of Ruxley. Two
years later, he added to Ruxley by purchasing the adjoining manor of North
Cray. All those were nearer than Ash to the place where his principal
interests lay. Certainly in his later years he was living in or near
Woolwich, where he built in 1560 five spacious almshouses,
traditionally as a thank-offering for the rescue of his son from drowning.
He died in 1566 and was buried, as were also his three wives, in the
church of St Mary Woolnoth.3
From Bowes time forth, the manor of Ash passed by
descent, partition, marriage or gift, but never by sale. So, too, has
passed the advowson, which still remains in private patronage. From the
same time, or a little earlier, dates another, but more usual, continuity,
the keeping of the parish registers. For |