Richard Brownlow 1553-1638

Richard BROWNLOW or BROWNLOWE 1553-1638

Biographical Note

Born in London, son of John Brownlow. He entered the Middle Temple in 1583 (bencher, 1591), and became Chief Protonothary of the Court of Common Pleas in 1590. This lucrative position enabled him to become wealthy, buying property in London and in Lincolnshire at what became the Brownlow family seat at Belton House. A number of his records and observations of the workings of the courts were published posthumously.

Books

The library at Belton House was continuously developed from the time of Richard Brownlow onwards, and contains books associated with many subsequent generations. Its growth largely took place during the 18th century (there were ca.1300 books there by 1730), but there are books at Belton today with can be associated with Richard. His will, which contains extensive monetary and charitable bequests, has no specific references to books; the bulk of his estate was divided between his sons.

Sources

• Will of Richard Brownlow, The National Archives PROB 11/177/486.
• Brooks, Christopher W. "Brownlow, Richard (1553–1638), legal official." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Brundin, A. & D. Roberts, Book-buying and the grand tour: the Italian books at Belton House, The Library 7th ser 16 (2015), 51-79.
• Hoare, P. The perils of provenance, Library History 18 (2002), 225-34.
• Pircell, M., The English country house library, New Haven and London, 2017, 77.