STOW, JOHN (1525?–1605), chronicler and antiquary, was born about 1525 in the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, London, of which his father and grandfather were parishioners (cf. Aubrey, Lives, ii. 541). Thomas Cromwell deprived his father by force of a part of the garden of his house in Throgmorton Street (cf. Survey, ed. Thoms, p. 67). He describes himself in his youth as fetching milk ‘hot from the kine’ from a farm in the Minories. In early life he followed the trade of a tailor, which was doubtless his father's occupation. In 1544 a false charge, which is not defined, was brought against him by a priest, and he had the satisfaction of convicting his accuser of perjury in the Star-chamber (Strype). On 25 Nov. 1547 he was admitted to the freedom of the Merchant Taylors' Company, but was never called into the livery nor held any office (Clode, Hist. of Merchant Taylors' Company, p. 183). In 1549 he was living near the well in Aldgate, between Leadenhall Street and Fenchurch Street, and there witnessed the execution in front of his house of the bailiff of Romford, who seems to have been judicially murdered as a reputed rebel. Soon afterwards Stow removed to Lime Street ward, where he resided till his death.
Stow does not seem to have abandoned his trade altogether till near the close of his career, and he was until his death an honoured member of the Merchant Taylors' Company. But he left in middle life ‘his own peculiar gains,’ and consecrated himself ‘to the search of our famous antiquities.’ From 1560 onwards his time was mainly spent in the collection of printed books, legal and literary documents, and charters, in the transcription of ancient manuscripts, inscriptions, and the like, all dealing with English history, archæology, and literature. His zeal as a collector increased with his years, and he ultimately spent as much as 200l. annually on his library. Some time after the death, in 1573, of Reginald or Reyner Wolfe [q. v.], the projector of Holinshed's ‘Chronicles,’ Stow purchased Wolfe's collections. He came to know all the leading antiquaries of his day, including William Lambarde, Camden, and Fleetwood. He supplied manuscripts of mediæval chronicles to Archbishop Parker, who proved a stimulating patron, and he edited some of them for publication under the archbishop's direction. He joined the Society of Antiquaries formed by the archbishop, but of his contributions to the society's proceedings only a fragment on the origin of ‘sterling money’ is known to survive (Hearne, Curious Discourses, ii. 318).
Stow's first publication was an edition of ‘The woorkes of Geffrey Chaucer, newly printed, with divers addicions whiche were never in printe before’ (London, 1561, fol.). Lydgate's ‘Siege of Thebes’ was appended. Stow worked on William Thynne's edition of 1532, but ‘corrected’ and ‘increased’ it. For many years subsequently he ‘beautified’ Chaucer's text with notes ‘collected out of divers records and monuments.’ These he made over to his friend Thomas Speght [q. v.], who printed them in his edition of 1598 (cf. Survey, 1603, p. 465). Speght included a valuable list of Lydgate's works, which he owed to Stow. Francis Thynne [q. v.] censured Speght's work, and in 1602 Speght brought out a corrected edition.
In 1562 Stow acquired a manuscript of the ‘Tree of the Commonwealth,’ by Edmund Dudley [q. v.], grandfather of Robert Dudley (afterwards Earl of Leicester), the queen's favourite. He made a copy with his own hands, and presented it to the author's grandson. The latter, in acknowledging the gift, suggested that Stow ought to undertake original historical writing. Stow took the advice, and planned a chronicle on a generous scale, but before he had gone far with it he turned aside to produce a chronological epitome of English history, with lists of the officers of the corporation of London. Such works were not uncommon at the time, and an undated reissue, assigned to 1561, of ‘A breviat Chronicle contaynynge all the Kynges [of England],’ which was originally published many years before by J. Mychell of Canterbury, was long regarded in error as the first edition of Stow's ‘Epitome.’ It was not until 1565 that Stow produced his ‘Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles conteynyng the true accompt of yeres, wherein every Kyng of this Realme … began theyr reigne, howe long they reigned: and what notable thynges hath bene doone durynge theyr Reygnes. Wyth also the names and yeares of all the Bylyffes, custos, maiors, and sheriffes of the Citie of London sens the Conqueste, dyligentely collected by J. Stow. In ædibus T. Marshi’ (London, 1565, 8vo). The work was well received, and was frequently reissued until the year preceding Stow's death, with successive additions bringing the information up to date. An account of the universities of England was added to the issue of 1567. Others bear the dates 1570, 1573*, 1575, 1579, 1584, 1587, 1590*, 1598*, and 1604* (those marked with an asterisk are in the British Museum). The work was dedicated to successive lord mayors with the aldermen and commonalty of London. From the first Stow's accuracy
