author
Mark Antony Lower
1813–1876
Best known as a Sussex historian and pioneer of surname studies, this 19th-century antiquary mixed schoolmastering with a deep curiosity about local history, genealogy, and old records. His books helped preserve regional stories and family-name lore for later generations.
1 Audiobook
The Curiosities of Heraldry
by Mark Antony Lower
About the author
Born in Sussex in 1813, Mark Antony Lower became a schoolmaster, antiquary, and one of the county’s most active local historians. He is especially associated with Lewes and with the founding of the Sussex Archaeological Society, and he spent many years collecting material on genealogy, heraldry, and the history of Sussex.
Lower wrote widely on names and history, and he is still remembered for works such as English Surnames, Patronymica Britannica, and The Worthies of Sussex. His writing reflects the broad curiosity of a Victorian antiquary: part scholar, part collector, and part storyteller, always looking for traces of the past in documents, places, and family traditions.
He died in 1876. While some aspects of his outlook belong very much to his own time, his books remain useful to readers interested in British surnames, county history, and the early study of local heritage.