Sir William Fowler, Kt., of Foxley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fowler_(MP_for_Wycombe)_

Sir William Fowler (ca. 1400 – before 1467?) was an English justice of the peace and Member of Parliament for Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, in 1431. For the services of his father Thomas to King Edward IV, Fowler was given Preston manor in Buckinghamshire in 1465 (the prior holder was Thomas de Ros, a zealous Lancastrian, who was attainted in 1461).[1] William's wife was Cecily Englefield, a co-heiress of Nicholas Englefield, Comptroller of the Household for Richard II.

In the will of his son, Sir Richard Fowler (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chancellor of the Exchequer for Edward IV, it is stated that William had been interred in St. Dunstan's Chapel in Westminster Abbey. Richard acquired this manor in 1467,[2] so we may presume that William (and possibly Cecily) had died in or before that year.[3]

https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemoratio...

He may have died by 1467 when Richard inherited the manor. Some histories say William died in 1452.

References

• The English Baronets: Being a Genealogical and Historical Account of Their ... By Thomas Wotton. Page 98. GoogleBooks

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http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/ba...

His brother John and their sisters, Margaret and Isabel, were left, in succession for their lives, [John the elder] Barton’s tenements in Buckingham, on condition that they paid a priest ten marks a year for daily prayers, and supported the foundation of a group of almshouses (afterwards known as Barton’s hospital) for six poor persons, each of whom was to receive a groat every week. ... . (These particular properties were to pass after the expiry of the life interests to Barton’s nephew, William Fowler†, and his issue.)

Foxley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxley

From Wikipedia Notable Fowlers[edit]

Notable people who share this surname include:

Born after 800[edit] Though his surname is not "Fowler", Henry I is included here as an example of usage of the term in relation to a name prior to the broad introduction of surnames in EuropeHenry the Fowler, or Henry I of Germany (861–936), Duke of Saxony and King of the Germans

Richard Fowler of Foxley, English commanding officer during the Third Crusade.

The early traces of the name of Fowler date from the time when savage invaders from the northern areas of Europe altered the history and the map of Europe by their invasions and raids of what is now France and England. The name Fowler comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'Fugal", meaning fowl. It is of Anglo-Norman origin, however most of the Fowlers in America are of English descent.

Henry the Fowler became King Henry I of Saxony in 919. He united the Saxons and the Franks into what is now Germany. Some of his descendants were such good warriors that the King of France, impressed with their fighting activities and bravery offered them the area of France known as Normandy today if they would fight his battles. Many of the Fowlers had taken part in the invasion of France under the Norseman, Rolfe, about 927. In 1066 at the Battle of Hastings many Fowlers accompanied the Duke of Normandy, called William The Conqueror, and later William I, of England, when the Normans defeated King Harold. Fowlers helped to put down the powerful earls trying to revolt against the new king. They helped to build castles uniting the new kingdom where a semi-barbaric country existed before. The king demoted the earls, promoted education and set up a form of taxation. It is in these early records of taxation in England that the name Fowler first appears. Agents of the king were sent through the countryside to make land and personal property appraisals of all his subjects. The results of these inquiries were listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. This record has become an invaluable historical source today for the names of early property owners in England, and the property of the Fowlers were among those first listed.

In 1191 in Buckinghamshire, England, Richard Fowler of Foxley, accompanied King Richard the Lion Hearted to Palestine during the Third Crusade. Richard Fowler came into prominence at this time when he took with him and maintained during this crusade a body of British bowmen, all of whom were his won tenants at Buckinghamshire. This crusade was described as a glorious but fruitless effort to recover Palestine from the Saracens, however, Richard Fowler's services were considered so brilliant that the King knighted him and bestowed upon him the crest with the Fowler coat-of-arms, and a grant of land in Abbey-Cwyn-hir in England. The Fowlers of America are considered direct descendants of Sir Richard of Foxley, the hero of the third Crusade.

It was during the Third Crusade that the Fowler coat-of-arms came into existence. Tradition has it that Richard Fowler trained his company of bowmen in the skilled use of bow and spear. At Acre, near Jerusalem, a crucial stage had been reached by the Crusaders in 1191 when the Infidels surprised the camp one night. Richard Fowler and his skilled bowmen were keeping watch and through their gallant fighting, held the Infidels at bay until the rest of the army had been awakened, thus saving the forces of Richard Couer-de-Leon from destruction. In reward for his service Richard Fowler was created nobleman and received with this honor a large grant of land and of course the privilege of a coat-of-arms. The Fowler coat bears a helmet of silver, representing nobility; above the helmet is a wreath—symbol of chivalry, the emblem presented the favorite knight by a lance during a tournament.

The silver flourishings behind the helmet represent the crest of honor, while the blue flourishings represent the mantle flowing from the helmet for protection. The silver ends of the mantle also represent protection. The shield is blue and bears three lions--"Passant and Guardant"—two on the upper part of the shield and one on the lower, also bears silver chevrons upon which are three crosses. The chevrons were devrived from the war saddle and crosses represent military distinction. The motto is "Sapiens Qui Vigilat," meaning "It is the wise one who watches." The Fowler coat-of-arms, Burks periods, and is registered with the Institute of American Genealogy.

Born after 1500[edit] Thomas Fowler (courtier), (d. 1590), steward of the Countess of Lennox, and spy William Fowler (makar) (c. 1560–1612), Scottish poet, writer, courtier, and translator

Born after 1600[edit] Edward Fowler (1632–1714), English churchman, Bishop of Gloucester Eliza Haywood (born "Elizabeth Fowler" 1693–1756), English writer, actress and publisher Constance Aston Fowler (born "Constance Aston"), English author and anthologist

Born after 1700[edit] Charles Fowler (1792–1867), English architect John Fowler (politician) (1755–1840), American national politician Robert Fowler (archbishop) (1724–1801), Archbishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland His son, Robert Fowler (bishop) (1767–1841), Bishop of Ossory in the Church of Ireland

Thomas Fowler (inventor) (1777–1843), English inventor