Towneley, Richard (1566 -1628)

Richard Towneley Esq., of Towneley Hall near Burnley in Lancashire, was the eldest son of John Towneley and Mary Towneley, the daughter and heiress of John's cousin, Sir Richard Towneley of Towneley. He succeeded his father in 1607. He married Jane, daughter of Ralph Asheton Esq. of Lever. The Richard Towneley of the bookplate is his grandson (1629 1707). No books with the stamp have been found that were published after 1612. The Towneley Library, i.e. the printed books, the property of John Towneley was sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge over eight days on the 18th to 26th June 1883. The Towneley Manuscripts, partly the property of Christopher Towneley were sold by the same firm on 27 & 28 June 1883. Few of the books above are listed in the sale catalogues, only the 1478 Bible (lot 310); Nadal’s Evangelicæ historiæ imagines (lot 1757); and the St. Anselm manuscript (lot 56).