Education
Fowle was educated at the University of Cambridge, where he matriculated from Street John"s in 1547, graduated Bachelor in 1549/50 and proceeded Master of Arts in 1553.
Fowle was educated at the University of Cambridge, where he matriculated from Street John"s in 1547, graduated Bachelor in 1549/50 and proceeded Master of Arts in 1553.
He was briefly tutor to Edward de Vere, the future Earl of Oxford, and was later chaplain to Sir Nicholas Bacon. He was elected a Fellow of Street John"s, but under Queen Mary I was ejected. On 4 May 1558 Fowle began to receive a salary of ten pounds a year as tutor to the young Edward de Vere, then aged eight.
In November of the same year de Vere matriculated as a fellow-commoner of Queens" College, Cambridge.
Soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558, Fowle was restored to his fellowship at Street John"son On 4 November 1562 he was collated as Rector of Aldham, Essex, but had resigned before 19 November 1563.
On 22 July 1563, he was installed as second prebendary of Norwich Cathedral, when it was noted that he lived at Redgrave in Suffolk, where he was both rector of the parish and chaplain to Lord Keeper Sir Nicholas Bacon. From 1561 to 1566, he was also Rector of Hinderclay in Suffolk.
On 4 January 1569/70, Fowle became a senior fellow of Street John"s College.
In 1570, he was part of a group of prebendaries of Norwich who "disaffected to the established order as regards matters ecclesiastical, entered into the choir of that cathedral, forcibly broke down the organs and committed certain other disorders of the like outrageous character". lieutenant was also said of him that he never went to Norwich except to collect the stipend due to him. Soon afterwards, such exercises were forbidden on the authority of Queen Elizabeth.
He held his prebend at Norwich until 1581, when he resigned.
He continued as rector of Redgrave until 1597. Fowle"s will mentions sons named Nicholas and Thomas.
In 1586, a Thomas Fowle was Master of the school at Botesdale in Suffolk.
In 1572, he was a member of a commission against Roman Catholic recusants in Norfolk, and in 1573 with John Handson and John Grundye he was appointed by John Parkhurst, the Bishop of Norwich, to take charge of "religious exercises termed prophesyings" at Bury Street Edmunds.