HOWES , William (Grimwade p.553)

[buckler]

16th May 1732 William Howes enters mark as smallworker at Lambs Conduit Passage, Red Lyon Square which is just north of Holborn and a short distance from Fleet Street

17th Jan 1752. The will of a William Howes Gold & Silver Wire Drawer of St Bride ,City proved at PCC . Part of Fleet Steet is St Brides and may relate to the 1732 man, perhaps the father of the later William Howes. However the will makes no mention of a son, leaving only one third to Jane Howes, his widow and the remainder to his godson, Willliam Davies and a Mrs Elizabeth Davies, Widow, described as a friend . Hum !
Unless, as is not unlikely, he had already settled the business on a son, this will seems unlikely to relate.

Heal records William Howes or Howse as goldsmith and clockmaker between the two Temple Gates, Fleet Street or Temple bar 1730 -1774. This tallies very well with the William Howes who was robbed of buckles in 1760 (see below) and was almost certainly at 13, Fleet Street, but I think it not unlikely that Heal has conflated two separate men.

Like Grimwade, I suggest that there are two entirely different men involved.
The split comes here !

27 Feb 1760. The Proceedings of the Old Bailey Ref: t17600227-20
“the dwelling house of William Howes did break and enter, and steal out from thence thirty pair of silver shoe-buckles, value £16 . six pair of knee buckles, value 24 s. and four silver stock buckles, value 10 s. the goods of the said William,
William Howes . I am a silver-smith, and live in Fleet Street, between the two Temple gates, facing Chancery Lane. About five in the morning, I heard a noise in my house. When I came down, I found the window shutter of my shop was taken down, and I saw a hand picking out my buckles at the end of the window.
I was shewed some silver buckles broke all to pieces, so that it was impossible to know how many pair there were; but I saw by the marks and patterns that they were mine.
Q. Is your shop part of your dwelling house?
Howes. It is.

7 March 1768
William Howes enters a smallworkers mark at Temple Bar (same address) — but from the 1760 case it appears he may have had marks in the lost smallworkers register.

Heal records a William How (sic), goldsmith and jeweller at 13, Fleet Street 1770 -1774, this address is shown on the Horwood map as being opposite to Chancery Lane at Temple Bar so matches the above addresses

PR1773
William Howes appears as smallworker, Temple Bar

[MCB]

It has to be said that several by the name of William Howes appear in the London records for 1730-1750.
One such was William, the son of William Howes, a deceased tailor of St Andrew, Holborn parish, who signed indentures in 1721 to be the apprentice of John Mulford of the Clockmakers Company. He was made free in 1731.
It follows that the 1752 will of the St Bride’s wire drawer mentioned in the previous post does not relate to this William Howes’ father.
William Howes has been identified in Land Tax assessment books for Fleet Street from 1743-1781. The books do not specify the address as Temple Bar, Fleet Street.
The 1768 London Poll Book does however identify William Howes of Temple Bar as a freeman of the Clockmakers Company.
Despite his being trained as a clockmaker this individual seems a strong candidate for the man who went to Court in 1760 having been robbed of buckles. Also the man who entered the small workers mark in 1768 and who was mentioned at Temple Bar in the 1773 Parliamentary Report.
No references have been found to clearly identify the William Howes who entered the small worker’s mark from Lamb’s Conduit Passage in 1732 but the clockmaker's freedom had occurred in 1731 and the two might be one and the same. As has been mentioned in the previous post Lamb's Conduit Passage is not far from Temple Bar.

Mike