Martin P-L writes:

1617 born June 29, the first child of THOMAS of SNITTON, by Elizabeth, his second wife.
1634 Matriculated (gained entry) at Balliol College, Oxford.
1638 Admitted to Lincoln's Inn, where his father had been before, and where his two eldest sons and other descendants followed..
1646 Called to the bar.
Married Anne, whose father was a celebrated lawyer, Sir Adam Littleton.  She bore all his children: Littleton, THOMAS, Edward, John, Elizabeth, Ann, and died two days after the birth of her last born.

1650-52  Moves from Snitton to Henley (on which an article was enclosed with the previous edition).

1655 Thomas Powys esq. buys Closes called Upper & Lower Heathy Furlong, the new Tynings, Dawbles Pleck, the Sheildfield and the Doggehouse meadow, being part of the demesne lands of the manor place or court of the lordship of Bitterley; and all that part of the lane leading from Hillupencote unto a gate which hangeth at the end of the lane leading to Bitterley church, from Thomas Littleton esq. (lately known as Sir Thos. Littleton bart.), Timothy Littleton, sergeant at law, and Thomas Walcot. (Calendar of Deeds & Charters, vol.vii, no.8557 in Shrewsbury Records Office, where also may be found Thomas's two estate books covering the years 1661-1670, filed under Henley Hall.)

1657 Reader of Davis Inn (a reader being a lecturer).

1658 & 1661 a witness in two suits (Town Depositions 836L & 839B.  I have consulted neither.)

1659 Married Mary Cotes, daughter of John Cotes and Mary Bagot.  She died in 1668, aged 36, after bearing him six more children: William, Robert, Richard, Mary, Henry, George.  Thomas had a tablet put up in Bitterley church in her memory.  (It is now behind the organ pipes.)  In flowery Latin, it proclaims her bastardy, fertility and kindness to neighbours.

1663 Promoted to Bencher (senior member of the Inn) saving his antiquity of his ancients.  This odd phrase seems (particularly in view of what follows) to mean, "depending on the verification of his claimed ancestry".  Visited by the herald Dugdale (whose record I have not seen; it is in the College of Arms).

1664 Visited by the herald Lee.

1666 Arms confirmed by Sir Bysshe.  Copies of the last two items are in the British Museum, MS 6172.  (TFPL, Jan 2005: In Foster's Grants of Arms, the reference, as well as to the College of Arms, Bysshe's grants fo. 24, is to Harl. MS 1105, fo 21b. I have yet to see either of these.)  To Lee, Thomas gave the family descent back only to the alleged William and Emma around 1300.  For Sir Bysshe, to justify the claim to the arms of the princes of Powys, he gives the descent from Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, and includes Humfry, the bachelor aged 22.  William and Emma are not mentioned in this version, the only William being Thomas's grandfather, William of Ludlow.

The full genealogy, in his spelling, is as follows:-

                               Blethyn ap Cynfyn
                                     Meredyth
Griffith                   Madoc               Iorwerth
  |                                     |                          ______|_____
  |                                     |                         |                           |
Owen Ceveilioc     Griffith Madoc      Sir Griffith      Iorwerth
  |                               Lord of                 Kt (ancstr      Vauchan
  |                               Bromfield             of Kynastons)    |
  |                               (& descendants)                             |
Gwenwynwyn                                                              Meredith
(ancstr of Ls of Powys)                                                    |
                                                                     Llewellyn or Leoline
     ____________________________|
    |
Ewan
  |
Meredyth Lloyd
  |
Leoline
  |
Griffith
  |
Leoline
  |
Meredyth
  |
Evan
  |
Medoc
  |________________
  |                |
John              Owen
  |                |
James            Lewys
  |                |
William          Owen
  |                |
Thomas of      Griffith
Snitton,           |
armiger            |
                 Humfry,
                 aged 22

D  contd.

The shield shown exhibits the six quarterings claimed by Thomas, none of which - except for the lion's gamb - do we still display.  They include some charming owls, and must indicate to the cognoscenti the families into which the Powyses had married.

Although Thomas claims that his father was armigerous, there is no evidence that any of the Anglo Powyses before Thomas of Henley had born arms.  Whether he convinced the heralds or corrupted them I must leave to your own judgement.

1667 Autumn Reader at Lincoln's Inn

1669 Sergeant at Law (one of senior barristers, from whom judges were chosen).  His appointment is recorded in the P.R.O. Petty Bag, C 202/53.  His portrait (that we have) shows him in the dress of a Sgt. at Law.

He was a royalist, but was re-instated as a J.P. before 1670.

1671 died. His will is in the P.R.O. (1672 fo.141) and a transliteration of it is in the Powys box at the Genealogists' Library.  He left land in Henley, Upper Bitterley, Rock, Stanton Lacey, Cainham (now in Hollins), Thursley, Clun, Hardwick, and bequeathed £2000 here, £1000 there, £500 elsewhere (to each of the children of his second wife).  One Joseph Powys was tenant of some of his land.  In wondering how he accumulated such wealth, I remember Shakespeare's lines in the Seven Ages of Man (A.Y.L.I.)  ...and then the justice, his fair round belly with good capon lined (capon being a standard bribe).  I should, however, in fairness also mention that Mary Creaser, who has read his estate books, judges him a kind-hearted chap, though she would not claim the same for his father.  She wrote; he struck me as a very genuine, thoughtful, hard-working and generous man, who understood and appreciated what was involved in earning a living from the soil.  She quotes from an estate book, in connection with his agreement to let a stone quarry in Ludlow: I must lend them my iron bar.  She also refers to a court case from which it is evident that he took a strong interest in the welfare of his nephews after the death of their father, his brother Peter.  So, perhaps all the money came from his wife.
______________________________________________

TFPL: The descent from William and Emma, in the "Book of Visitations of Shropshire 1564, 1584 and 1620" (as transcribed in a note in the Powys box in SoG) is:

William Powys = Emma
  ___________|
  |
Thomas Powys =
  ___________|
  |
Richard Powys =
  ___________|
  |
John Powys =
of Myvot Esq
  ___________|_________________________
  |                                    |
  |                                   John
William Powys  = Margaret dr
of Ludlow born    of Rowbery
10:H7          |
    ___________|
   |
Thomas Powys
of Snitton
born 1 Eliz
__________________________________________________________

TFPL, Feb 2021: Various entries on Lincoln’s Inns record books:

Admission in Admissions, vol 1, p. 235:
“Folio 134.  1637-8, Jan 11  Thomas Powis, son and heir app of Thos. P. of Snitton, gen.”
[The above is evidence to contradict Oswald Barron’s suspicion in the Northants VCH Genealogy volume that there was a generation missing between Thomas of Snitton and Thomas of Henley.]

In The Black Book of Lincoln’s Inn, Vol II,
On p. 368, in 1646 and in a complex pronouncement about room seizure, he was ‘Mr Thomas Powis’.

Black Book, vol 2, p. 370:  Folio 531.  On Jun 16th, 1646:
“Call to the Bar : Mr Thomas Powes.”

__________________

TFPL, Sep 2004, from Ancestry.com:

Shropshire: Stanton Lacy, Bitterley - Parish Registers, Hereford Diocese
Marriages 1800-1812.  
  Bitterley Parish Register.  
   Volume 1.  
County: Shropshire  
Country: England  
23 Apr 1671 Thomas Powys, servjens ad Legem sep.

Aug 2017, TFPL: Just found that FindMyPast has included an image of the burial register which clearly says he was buried on the 23rd April 1671 - “Vicesimo tertio Aprilis 1671”
_________________________________________________________________

TFPL, Mar 2006: I have just obtained a transcript of the 1663 visitaion from the College of Arms which he certified.

In 1663 he said:

He was aged 43 and a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inne

His first wife was “Anne daugh: of Sr Adam Littleton of Stoke-Milburgh in co: Salop: knt and Bart.

His second wife was “Mary daughter to John Cotes of Woodcote in com: Salopiae Armigeri.

His children by his first marriage were Ann, Littleton aged 15, Thomas, Edward and John.

His children by his second marriage were (so far?) Robert and Richard.
_______________________________________________

TFPL, Feb 2021: From Alumni Oxoniensis, 1500-1714, vol 3, p. 1197:

Powys, Thomas (Powis), s. Thomas, of Snitton, pleb.  BALLIOL COLL, matric 14 Nov 1634, aged 15; bencher of Lincoln’s Inn 1663, Serjeant-at-law 30 Oct., 1669, father of Sir Thomas Powys.
______________________

Will of Thomas Powys of Henley, Shropshire 26 November 1672 PROB 11/340/403

Shropshire Archives have a transcript of the inscription in the church at Bitterley.
________________

TFPL, Aug 2005: He was granted arms by Edward Bysshe who was Garter from 1643-1660 and Clarenceucx from 1650-1655 and 1661-1679.  The entry on page 204 of “Grantees of arms to the end of the XVII Century” by Joseph Foster reads:

“POWYS, Thomas, of Henley, Salop, sergt.-at-law, ... by Sir E Bysshe, Clar. Harl MS 1105, fo 21b; Bysshe’s Grants fo. 24, Her. Coll.”

I have yet to find what the arms granted actually were but doubtless time will tell.

TFPL, Sept 2018: The catalogue of the Harleian MS has in Vol I, fo. 21b In fact has nothing explicit for this entry but says:

“3. Arms or Crests granted in several years after the Restoration; viz to A.D. 1670. [fo] 16 b.”
__________________________________________________________

Mar 2006, Peter O’Donoghue, Bluemantle Pursuivant, reported:

An entry in a manuscript recording grants of Arms by Bysshe includes a brief entry as follows: “The Armes and Crest of Thomas Powys of Henley in the Countie of Salop Serieant at Lawe”. This is accompanied by a trick of the Arms and crest in question, which may be blazoned Or a Lion’s Gamb bendwise between two Cross crosslets fitchy Gules. The Crest being On a Wreath A Lion’s Gamb erased erect Gules holding a ?staff ensigned with a Fleur de Lis Or. [Coll Arm Ms Byssheís Grants 24]. A marginal note here refers to [Coll Arm Ms] C35/84. This is a pedigree showing the ancestry of Thomas Powys of Lincoln’s Inn, aged 43 in 1663, which was recorded at the Visitation of Shropshire in 1663-4.
_______________________________________________________

He is in the Shropshire 1663 visitation and I have obtained a transcript of this from the College of Arms; their ref no is ‘C35/84v.-85; The Visitation of Shropshire 1663’.
_______________________________________________________

In the Dictionary of British Arms - Medieval Ordinary, Volume FOUR, p. 194, there is this entry under Leg:

OWEN, POWES, POWYS, Ld: Or lion’s gamb erased bendwise Gu.

The references are:

OWEN: L2 which is “Coll. Arm. MS, c. 1520 (HDB)”

POWES: L9 which is “Coll. Arm. MS, c. 1510 (BRKM HSL)”

POWYS: M3 which is “Coll. Arm. MS M 3 (includes Ballard’ Book)

which indicates that, if only because the name was the same, Bysshe took the core of Thomas Powys’ arms from these instances of around 150 years previously.

We might also find a connection to some much earlier Powyses who bore:

Or lion Gu.

See the Dictionary, Volume ONE, p, 136.  These arms are to be found in documents referenced as of 1340, temp Edw III, temp H VI, c. 1435, 1480, temp Rich 2 (c. 1385).

In sum: Thomas Powys’ new arms were undoubtedly a differenced version of some Powys arms of 1510-20 and these latter arms may well be a differenced version of arms in use by a Powys around 1350 (full lion instead of lion’s gamb).
_________________

Aug 2017, TFPL: At the baptism of Robert, the second son of his second marriage, the Bitterley register has: “6 Oct 1661 Robertus, f. Thomae Powys, Armig. de Henly p. Mariam bap” which suggests that his arms grant had been before 6 Oct 1661.
He was also noted to be an armiger for the baptism of his third son of this marriage in December 1662.
Finally I rediscovered the birth of his and Mary’s first son William in Sept 1660 and for this christening also he was stated to be Armiger, though the register entry is ambiguous as it could also be seen as one entry that was made on William’s death in Feb 1860/1.

The monarchy had been restored on 29th May 1660 so it is conceivable that Bysshe was retired from Garter, reinstated as Clarenceux and then regranted all desired arms between June and September.  I doubt we can get much closer than that to the date of the finally legal grant of arms to Thomas Powys.
_________________

Feb 2019, TFPL: In some discussions on the status of the pedigree that is in the Visitation documents and which has been transcribed for me, it became apparent that I had not thought of these questions before and ceretainly did not know the answers:

1. What was the format of the original pedigree, was it texttual or was it, as given to me, in tablular form?

2. In either case, is the handwriting recognisable?  Was it Dugdale’s handwriting?  Or was it similar to any other hand used in the visitation documents?  (In other words who was involved in producing such an unsatisfactory document?)

perahps sometime in the future someone can pay a researcher to find the answers to these questions.
___________________

Or a Lionís Gamb bendwise between two Cross crosslets fitchy Gules.

Bysshe’s record book in the College of Arms.

Hal Bradley has found this marriage on some records in St Margaret’s Westminster and it is indeed in the publsihed transcript of the memorials and registers of that church on page 357.

The transcription reads:

  June 29: Mr Thomas Poyes to Mrs Ann Litleton

The notes at the foot of that page for Thomas say:

  El. s. of Thomas Powys of Snitton, co. Salop, by Elizabeth, dau. of Richard Smyth, of Credenhill, co. Hereford; b. 1619; matric. Oxford (Balliol Coll.), 1634; bencher of Lincoln’s Inn 1663; serjeant-at-law, 1669; m. 2ndly, Mary, dau. of John Cotes, of Woodcote, co. Salop; his el. s. by his 1st marriage, Sir Littleton Powys, became a baron of the exchequer, 1695, and a justice of the King’s bench, 1701; his 2nd s. Sir Thomas Powys, knt., became attorney-general, 1687 and a justice of the queen’s bench 1713.

The notes for Ann are:

  Dau. of Sir Adam Littleton, of Stgoke Milburgh, 1st bart., by Ethelred, el. dau. and co-h. of Thomas Poyntz, of North Ockendon, co Essex.

Both these notes are remarkably accurate.
________________