TOWSE, William (c.1551-1634), of the Inner Temple, London and Takeley, Essex.

In the printed admission register of the Inner Temple Towse is described as of Hingham, Norfolk.1An earlier transcript says ‘of Henham, Essex, gen., and late of Clifford’s Inn’: ex inf. William Prest. Until 1614 he lived in the Inner Temple. Between 1583 and 1600 he five times audited the steward’s accounts, and five times those of the treasurer, and was employed on a number of committees to investigate various matters concerning the inn. His return for Bramber was probably brought about by Edward Caryll, the steward of the borough. Towse and Caryll had a mutual friend in Ralph Hare, whose brother Hugh had sat in 1572. No record has been found of any activity by Towse in the Commons and his subsequent parliamentary career lies outside the purview of this biography. He died 22 Oct. 1634.2Vis. Essex (Harl. Soc. xiii), 505; E163/114/8; Hatfield ms 278; APC, xxx. 666; xxxi. 244; C/142/525/121(2).