Andrew Downes and the King James bible
My daughter Kirsten has drawn my attention to the book Power and Glory by Adam Nicolson about
the making of the King James Bible.
Andrew Downes was one of the Translators. He was Professor of Greek at St John’s
College, Cambridge. He is mentioned many times in the book, which also gives a
delightful description of Jacobean England, where the new king played a major
part in trying to heal the rift between the Puritans and the traditional
church.
Leonard Downes, in his Downes
Pedigrees book, claims that this Andrew Downes was a member of our branch
of the family. He says on page 33, ‘A
Bible has been handed down in our family as an heir-loom, which is now in my
possession, that is supposed to have belonged to Andrew Downes, the translator.’ He traces its ownership by our ancestor
Arthur Downes a cousin of Andrew (who died in 1628) to 1640.
Who has it now?
