GOWER, Walter (d.1583), of Droitwich, Worcs. and London.

Gower was probably related to Francis Cower, bailiff of Droitwich in 1516, and other Gowers of Droitwich, and through them to a family long settled in Worcestershire. He had lands and salt-pans in Droitwich, and was twice returned to Parliament for the borough. He lived mainly in London, being described as ‘of Lyons Inn, Middlesex’, when he received a pardon in 1559, and he later moved to St. James’s, Clerkenwell, where he made his will in 1579, asking for two sermons to be preached after his death. He left his ‘loving wife’ Margery, the sole executrix, 300 marks, plate and household stuff, and £20 p.a. from his Droitwich estate. After bequests ranging from £50 to £80 to each of his younger children, he left the residue to his eldest son Walter. He died four years later, being buried at St. James’s 3 Sept. 1583.1Worcs. RO, bulk accession 1006, no. 353; Vis. Worcs. (Harl. Soc. xxvii), 59-61; (xc), 40; CPR, 1558-60, p. 184; PCC 37 Brudenell; Reg. St. James Clerkenwell (Harl. Soc. Reg. xvii), 31.