Howarth is a surname of

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

origin, most commonly found among families originating in the English counties of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, especially around the village of Great Howarth near

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, and

Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages inc ...

. It is found in a variety of different interrelated spellings, including Haworth and Howorth, and derives from one of two meanings, ''hoh-worth'', meaning settlement on a small hill, and ''haga-worth'', settlement surrounded by a hawthorn hedge. The first recorded use of the surname in its current spelling is from 1616; earlier varieties are found as far back as Robert de Hawrth in 1200. Other historical spellings of the name include Hearwarthe and Huarth.

Howarth of Great Howarth

The Howarths of Great Howarth were a landed family originally granted land in what became Great Howarth in Honorsfield, three miles north east of Rochdale in the 12th century. The Norroy Kings of Arms recorded their genealogies on their visitations of Lancashire in 1613 and 1664. The original Elizabethan Howarth Hall in Great Howarth was demolished in the early 19th century. The family of Howarth of Great Howarth were an important family in the Rochdale area from the 12th to the 18th century. Their estates were however dispersed in 1768 on the death of the last representative of the main line the Rev. Dr Radclyffe Howarth, D.C.L. A pedigree of the family was set out in summary after the Visitation of Lancashire by Richard St. George, Norroy King of Arms, in 1613 and later in much more detail by Sir William Dugdale, Norroy King of Arms, in 1664/65, following his Lancashire Visitation of 1664. Dugdale detailed the Howarth family's descent from Osbert Howard de Haworth, a Keeper of the King's Buckhounds, in the 12th century until 1665, when Dugdale's friend, Dr Theophilus Howarth, was head of the Howarth family.

The Howard / Howarth of Great Howarth connection

Sir William Dugdale stated that Sir William Howard of Wiggenhall, progenitor of the powerful

Howard family The House of Howard is an English noble house founded by John Howard, who was created Duke of Norfolk (third creation) by King Richard III of England in 1483. However, John was also the eldest grandson (although maternal) of the 1st Duke of the ...

, was descended from Robert, a younger brother of Michael Howarth of Great Howarth. Sir William Howard, who lived in Norfolk during the 13th and early 14th centuries, became a judge and founded the line that later became Barons and Earls (several titles) and Dukes of Norfolk. The early references in the 13th century Charters to Peter Howarth as “Peter the clerk of Haword” may lend credence to this theory.
, An history of the original Parish of Whalley, and honor of Clitheroe, to which is subjoined an account of the Parish of Cartmell. 4th ed. rev. and enl. by Whitaker, Thomas Dunham, 1759-1821 Published 1872: (Page 414 for family tree of Haworths of Thurcroft).

Howarth of Great Howarth Coat of Arms

Arms: Azure, a bend between two stags’ heads, couped, Crest on an Earl's helmet, a wreath Or and Azure, a Stag's head couped and horned Or. The Mantles dependent being gules, doubled, or lined Argent. Motto: Quod Ero Spero (What I hope to accomplish I shall accomplish) Howarth of Great Howarth Coat of Arms

People with the surname Howarth

In politics

Alan Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport Alan Thomas Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport, CBE, PC, (born 11 June 1944) is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1983 until 2005. First elected as a Conservative, he is one of few politicians in rece ...

(born 1944), English politician *

David Howarth David Ross Howarth (born 10 November 1958) is a British academic and politician who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2005–10. He served as an Electoral Commissioner between 2010 and 2018. He is Professor of L ...

(born 1958), English academic and politician *

George Howarth Sir George Edward Howarth (born 29 June 1949) is a British Labour Party politician who serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Knowsley. He also served the seat's predecessors since being elected in a by-election in 1986, firstly as the ...

(born 1949), English politician *

Gerald Howarth Sir James Gerald Douglas Howarth (born 12 September 1947) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aldershot from 1997 until 2017, having been the MP for Cannock and Burntwood from 1983 to 1992. He wa ...

(born 1947), English politician * Harry Howarth (1916–1969), English politician *

Robert Howarth Robert Lever Howarth (31 July 1927 – 2 April 2021) was a British politician from Bolton who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton East from 1964 to 1970. Early life and career Howarth was born in July 1927, the son of James Howarth an ...

(1927–2021), English politician *

Valerie Howarth, Baroness Howarth of Breckland Valerie Georgina Howarth, Baroness Howarth of Breckland, (born 5 September 1940) is a British politician and a member of the House of Lords, sitting as a crossbencher. She was made an OBE in the 1999 Birthday Honours, she was created a life pee ...

(born 1940), English politician *

Luke Howarth Luke Ronald Howarth (born 6 June 1972) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2013 federal election, representing the Division of Petrie. He is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queen ...

(born 1972), Australian Federal Politician

In sport

* Chris Howarth (born 1986), English association footballer *

Geoff Howarth Geoffrey Philip Howarth (born 29 March 1951) is a former New Zealand cricketer and former captain, who remains the only New Zealand captain to have positive win–loss records in both Test cricket and ODI cricket. He was the third most success ...

(born 1951), New Zealand cricketer *

Hedley Howarth Hedley John Howarth (25 December 1943 – 7 November 2008) was an international cricketer who played 30 Tests and nine One Day Internationals for New Zealand. The elder brother of Geoff Howarth, former New Zealand captain, he was born and die ...

(1943–2008), New Zealand cricketer * Jack Howarth (footballer), (born 1945), English association footballer *

Jerry Howarth Jerry Howarth (born March 12, 1946) is an American Canadian former sports commentator, best known as the radio play-by-play voice of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1981 through the 2017 season. Howarth had shared the play-by-play duties with his la ...

(born 1946), American-Canadian sports broadcaster * John Howarth (born 1945), English cricketer *

Russell Howarth Russell Michael Howarth (born 27 March 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Football League for York City, Tranmere Rovers and Bradford City. Howarth started his career in the youth sy ...

(born 1982), English association footballer *

Shane Howarth Shane Paul Howarth (born 8 July 1968) is a former international rugby union player who gained four caps and scored 54 points for the All Blacks before later switching allegiance to Wales national rugby union team, Wales, attaining 19 Welsh caps ...

(born 1968), New Zealand-Welsh rugby union player * Stuart Howarth (born 1990), English rugby league player * Thomas Howarth (born 1845), English cricketer

In music

Elgar Howarth Elgar Howarth (born 4 November 1935), is an English conductor, composer and trumpeter. Biography Howarth was born at Cannock, Staffordshire. He was educated in the 1950s at Manchester University and the Royal Manchester College of Music (the ...

(born 1935), English composer and conductor * Peter Howarth (born 1960), English musician *

Tod Howarth Tod Howarth (born September 24, 1957) is an American rock musician from San Diego, California. He is best known as serving as a keyboardist, a guitarist, and vocalist for the melodic hard rock group Frehley's Comet, led by former Kiss guitarist ...

(born 1957), American musician

Other

Brian Howarth Brian Howarth is a British video game designer and computer programmer. He wrote many interactive fiction computer games in the early 1980s in a series called ''Mysterious Adventures''. He was born in Blackpool in 1953. After leaving school h ...

, computer game programmer * David Howarth (author) (1912–1991), British naval historian and author * F. M. Howarth (1864–1908), American cartoonist * Frank Howarth (born 1951), Australian public servant *

Jack Howarth (actor) John Aubrey Conway Howarth, (19 February 1896 – 31 March 1984) was an English stage, radio and television actor, best remembered for his role as grumpy but likeable elderly war veteran Albert Tatlock in the TV series ''Coronation Street'' be ...

, (1896–1984), English television actor * Glenn Howarth, (1946-2009), Canadian visual artist * Matt Howarth, American comic book author * Robert Guy Howarth (1906-1974), Australian scholar, literary critic and poet *

Roger Howarth Roger Howarth (born September 13, 1968) is an American actor. He played character Todd Manning on the daytime drama ''One Life to Live'' (''OLTL''); the character earned Howarth a Daytime Emmy Award in 1994, and is cited as an icon in the soap ...

(born 1968), American television actor * Stephen Howarth (born 1981), English artist and poet *

William Howarth William Howarth (November 26, 1940 – June 6, 2023) was an American writer and professor emeritus at Princeton University. He published fourteen books and also wrote for such national periodicals as National Geographic, Smithsonian, The Washingt ...

(born 1940), American * Dylan Howarth (born 2001), British * James Howarth (born 2007), Canadian author * Penny Howarth (born 1975), British Ceramic Artist * Virgil Howarth (born 1975), Canadian Actor and producer * Alexander Howarth (born 1992), Canadian * Jaclyn Elizabeth Howarth-Valenti (born 1979), American Post Secondary Educator * Cassie Howarth (born 1986), Australian American actress * Margaret (Howarth) Johnson (born 1959) Australian Forensic Psychologist

References

{{surname English-language surnames English toponymic surnames