Don't pronounce the 'de' with any accent, Lowndes then rhymes with `mounds' as in `great mounds of buffalo s**t spread accross the plain' (i.e. where was it all in Dances with Wolves etc.).

Lowndes is a Norman name. Apparently William de Lownde and family came over with William 1 (the Conqueror, or, as he was known at the time, William the Bastard. Because he was that as well.) and whipped the Anglo's into shape in Cheshire, on the border with Wales. We are all scions of that line. The greatest Lowndes was a Chancellor of the Exchequer during Disraeli's government in the late 1800's. The least great Lowndes was a journalist in the US film Manhunter, the predesessor to The Silence of the Lambs. This Lowndes was tied to a wheelchair, his nose bitten off, and then covered with petrol and set alight. Ho hum.

My own branch of the family must have crossed the border and mixed with the Celts because I come from a line of Clywdian miners.

Pedant Warning!!!
Link Warning! I cannot guarantee the functionality of these links. They are provided 'as seen'...
There's a Lowndes Street, a Lowndes Hyatt Hotel and a Lowndes Square in London.
Another Lowndes St. in Bolton, Lancs.
Other lownzies on the Web- Thanks to Digital's Alta Vista Search engine
A big company, Lowndes Lambert Group
Butler, Macon, Williams, Pantele & Lowndes, P.C, solicitors.
There are TWO Counties in the US called Lowndes County(!): in Alabama State, and one in Georgia.
There is a Lake Lowndes in Columbus, Mississippi.
This information leads me to beleive that several Lowndeses were among the pioneering British that colonised parts of the US. It would not suprise me if I was related to these people, given the humble background of my own family.

A nice letter

Dear Mike:

Just a quick note to inform you of the Lowndes Arms pub in central London. Its is located at 37 Chesham Street London SW1. It is run by Vittorio and Loraine Berti. It is a lovely place, if you ever have the chance to travel to London then I suggest that you drop in for a pint or two. (I worked there for a couple of years and enjoyed "lowndes" immensely). Best wishes.

John Murphy
I suggest all us Lownzies do just that the next time we are in the Smoke!

There is also a Lowndes Arms just outside Milton Keynes in a small village called Whaddon
Charly Lowndes writer, London.
Liel Lowndes writer, US. Not much here though!
Nobby Lowndes, at the Open Uni, where I used to work.
Brenda Lowndes at Liverpool University.
Colin Lowndes, Canada
Noel Lowndes - Imperial Cancer Research Fund.
Prof. Herb Lowndes, New Jersey, the States.
Jason Lowndes, a student at Syracuse, NY has email but no webpage as yet.
Chris Lowndes, Canada - lowndesc@mail.cadvision.com
Lowndes and Sons - Brazil!
Prof Robert Lowndes, Dean of Northeastern University, USA
A quilt memorial to Peter Lowndes, Canada, who died of AIDS is here
Emma Lowndes-Stone, a lesser asristocrat in Oxfordshire
A Lowndes family in Achiltibuie, Scotland.
Craig Lowndes- an Aussie Sports Car driver.
Peter Lowndes- east Perth Australia.
Myles McGregor-Lowndes - another aussie
In fact there seem to be more Lowndes's in Aussie than back here. Which may say something about our character 8^). My sister, Helen recently emigrated to Perth also...

Robert Lowndes, a science fiction writer (for kids) is mentioned here.
Nathan Lowndes, football player (soccer to you yanks), Watford United
Kenneth Lowndes, a politicojournlist in New Jersey, USA.
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Please send corrections and any other Lowndes-related material to mike.lowndes@human -anatomy.ox.ac.uk