Edward Paston 1550-1630

Edward PASTON 1550-1630

Biographical Note

Of Appleton Hall, Norfolk, son of Sir Thomas Paston (c.1517-1550), a gentleman of the privy chamber. Nothing is known of his education. A Roman Catholic country gentleman, he married twice: first Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Lambert, sheriff of London, and then Margaret (d.1640) after Elizabeth’s death, with whom he had nine children.

Books

His will demonstrates that he had an extensive library, particularly noteworthy for its holdings of printed and manuscript music; his collection is a significant source of compositions by William Byrd. Many of Paston's music manuscripts survive today in the British Library, Royal College of Music, and elsewhere.

Sources

• Brett, Philip. "Paston, Edward (bap. 1550, d. 1630), music collector." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Brett, P. Edward Paston … and his musical collection, Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society 4 (1964), 51-69.
• Hoare, P. (gen.ed.), The Cambridge history of libraries in Britain and Ireland. 3 vols. Cambridge, 2006. I 505.