He was the 3rd son and eventual heir of Arthur Fowell (born 1552) of Fowelscombe, by his wife Maria Reynell, a daughter of Richard Reynell (d.1585) of East Ogwell[3] in Devon, Sheriff of Devon in 1585.[4]
Anthony Fowell (1636-1636), second son, died in infancy.[5]
Edmond Fowell (1637-1632) of Penquit, 3 miles east of Fowelscombe, 3rd son, who married Bridget Browne, a daughter of Thomas Browne of East Allington, but died leaving no sons.[5]
Thomas Fowell (1638-1639), 4th son, died in infancy.[5]
Elizabeth Fowell (1622-post 1671), wife of Richard Cabell (d.1677) of Brook Hall,[7] in the parish of Buckfastleigh, Devon, known to posterity as "Dirty Dick", and believed to be the inspiration for the wicked Hugo Baskerville, "the first of his family to be hounded to death when he hunted an innocent maiden over the moor by night",[8] one of the central characters in Conan Doyle's novel The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901-2),[9] the tale of a hellish hound and a cursed country squire. Cabell's tomb survives in the village of Buckfastleigh.[10][11] Conan Doyle's Baskerville Hall is believed to be inspired by one of three Devon mansions: Fowelscombe, Brook Hall and Hayford Hall, also in the parish of Buckfastleigh.[9]
Death
Fowell died in 1674 at the age of 81 and was buried in Ugborough Church.[5]