Richard Towneley 1629-1707

Richard TOWNELEY 1629-1707

Biographical Note

Of Towneley Hall, Burnley, a member of a long-established Roman Catholic gentry family there. He was a contemporary and associate of scientists of the time including John Flamsteed, Robert Hooke and John Kersey the elder.

Books

The library at Towneley Hall began to be developed by Richard's great grandfather John Towneley (c.1528-1608); it was enlarged by Richard's grandfather, also called Richard, who used an armorial stamp, and by the elder Richard's sons, Charles and Christopher. Their collections were inherited by Charles' sons, Charles and his brother, the Richard Towneley of this entry. Manuscript catalogues of the collection made ca.1702-07 (one in Chetham’s Library, one in Manchester University Library) show that the library then contained over 2000 books. Books and manuscripts from the Towneley family were sold at Sotheby’s in 2 sales in June 1883.

Characteristic Markings

Richard Towneley used an armorial bookplate dated 1702. At least one book from his library has been identified in the Foyle Special Collections Library at King’s College London: FCO2 DC73.6 UBA, La vita di Carlo Magno Imperadore scritta in lingua jtaliana da Petrvccio Vbaldino cittadin fiorentino (1581).

Sources

• British Armorial Bindings.
• The Towneley family, Wikipedia.
• Tracing the Towneleys.
• Transcripts of catalogues relating to the Townley family library.
• Gambier Howe, E. R. J. Franks bequest: catalogue of British and American book plates bequeathed to the ... British Museum. London, 1903. 29653/*207.
• Kitto, T. The Towneley family library, The Book Collector 59 (2010) 399-416.
• Maggs Bros: 1272 (1999)/44.
• Willmoth, Frances. "Towneley, Christopher (1604–1674), antiquary." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Information from King’s College London, Foyle Special Collections Library.