ROWLOND, John

There is nothing to substantiate the theory that this MP was the John Rowlond who, a native of Mechlin in Flanders, was living at Herstmonceux in east Sussex by the spring of 1436, when he obtained a mandate to reside in England,2 CPR, 1429-36, p. 539. even though it would appear that this foreigner was a servant of Sir Roger Fiennes*, the lord of Herstmonceux, who became treasurer of Henry VI’s household before the Parliament of 1442 assembled. While Fiennes may have had good reason to want someone from his affinity to support him in the Commons, he is much more likely to have promoted an Englishman. That the MP was the person who subsequently entered the service of Bishop Aiscough seems more probable, especially as this service involved acting as bailiff of the bishop’s liberties in Sussex, where the borough of Midhurst is situated. Nevertheless, he remains an obscure figure, about whom nothing is known for certain. Even if it was he who made a conveyance of land in Storrington and Thakeham, a few miles from Midhurst, in 1452, this fact does little to explain his election to Parliament.3 Suss. Arch. Collns. xl. 119. HP Biogs. ed. Wedgwood and Holt, 729, identifies him with John Rowlond (d.1464) of Brasted in Kent, but there is nothing in that John’s brief will, in which he describes himself as a tanner, to support this statement: PCC 5 Godyn (PROB11/5, f. 40v).

From the 1440s Midhurst was increasingly represented by outsiders to the county, several of whom were trained lawyers, so there remains a slight possibility that the MP was the John Rowlond who practiced in the central courts at Westminster in that decade and later (from Hilary term 1452 until Michaelmas 1482), held office as a filacer in the King’s bench.4 KB27/763-884. Yet that John Rowlond’s ties were predominantly with clients from the West Country, and when he sat in Parliament (in 1467) it was as a representative for Plymouth.5 J.H. Baker, Men of Ct. (Selden Soc. supp. ser. xviii), ii. 1333; HP Biogs. 729.