Lord William Howard (19 December 1563 – 7 October 1640) was an English
nobleman and
antiquary, sometimes known as "Belted or Bauld (bold) Will".
Early life
Howard was born on 19 December 1563 at
Audley End in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. He was the third son of
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, and, his second wife,
Margaret (née Audley) Dudley. His elder brother was
Lord Thomas Howard, later 1st
Earl of Suffolk and his sister was
Lady Margaret Howard (wife of
Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset).
His father, who was executed in 1572, had previously been married to his mother's cousin,
Lady Mary FitzAlan, second daughter and sole heiress, in her issue, of
Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel and Lady Katherine Grey (second daughter of
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset). From that marriage, Lord William had one elder half-brother,
Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel. After his mother's death around 1563, his father married, thirdly,
Elizabeth (née Leyburne) Dacre (widow of
Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre and the eldest daughter of Sir James Leyburne of Cunswick).
His paternal grandparents were
Lord Henry Howard, ''styled''
Earl of Surrey (the eldest son of
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk) and
Lady Frances de Vere (third daughter of
John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford and, his second wife,
Elizabeth Trussell, daughter and heiress of Sir John Trussell).
After his grandfather's execution in , his grandmother married Thomas Staynings of East Soham. His mother, the widow of Lord Henry Dudley (the youngest son of
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland), was the daughter of
Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden and, his second wife, Lady Elizabeth Grey (third daughter of
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset).
Career
After his marriage in 1577, he proceeded to the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
Lord William was a learned and accomplished scholar, praised by
William Camden, to whom he sent inscriptions and drawings from relics collected by him from the Roman wall, as "a singular lover of valuable antiquity and learned withal." Sir
Walter Scott referred to him as "Belted Will" in the ''
Lay of the Last Minstrel''.
Being suspected of treasonable intentions together with his half-brother,
Philip, Earl of Arundel (husband of his sister-in-law Anne Dacre), he was imprisoned in 1583, 1585 and 1589. He joined the
Church of Rome in 1584, both brothers being dispossessed by the queen of a portion of their Dacre estates, which were, however, restored in 1601 for a payment of £10,000.
Howard then took up his residence with his children and grandchildren at
Naworth Castle in
Cumberland, restored the castle, improved the estate and established order in that part of the country. He collected a valuable library, of which most of the printed works remain at Naworth, though the manuscripts have been dispersed, a portion being now among the Arundel manuscripts in the
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sover ...
; he corresponded with
James Ussher
James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his iden ...
and was intimate with Camden, Sir
Henry Spelman, and Sir
Robert Cotton, whose eldest son married his daughter. In 1592, he published an edition of
Florence of Worcester's ''Chronicon ex Chronicis'', dedicated to
Lord Burghley, and drew up a
genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
of his family.
In 1603, on the accession of
James, he had been restored in blood. In 1618 he was made one of the commissioners for the border, and performed great services in upholding the law and suppressing marauders.
Personal life
On 28 October 1577, he married his step-sister Elizabeth Dacre, third daughter of
Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre and the former
Elizabeth Leyburne. She was also the sister and co-heiress of
George Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre. After Elizabeth's father died, her mother married his father in 1566. Together, Elizabeth and William were the parents of:
* Sir Philip Howard (b. 1581), who married Margaret Carryl (–), daughter of Sir John Carryl of Harting.
* Sir Francis Howard (1588–1660) of
Corby Castle who married Margaret Preston, daughter of John Preston of Furness. After her death in 1625, he married Mary Widdrington, a daughter of
Sir Henry Widdrington.
* Sir William Howard
* Sir Charles Howard
* Col. Sir Thomas Howard, who married Elizabeth Eure, eldest daughter of Sir William Eure,
MP for
Scarborough (third son of
William Eure, 2nd Baron Eure), and Catherine Bowes, ''
de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...
suo jure''
Baroness Scrope of Bolton (only child of Sir William Bowes of
Streatlam Castle and, his first wife, Mary Scrope, only child by his first wife of
Henry Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Bolton).
* Margaret Howard (–), who married Sir Thomas Cotton, 2nd Baronet of Conington, in 1617.
* Mary Howard, who married Sir John Wintour.
* Elizabeth Howard, who married, as his first wife,
Sir Henry Bedingfeld of
Oxburgh Hall, son and heir of Thomas Bedingfeld and Frances Jerningham (daughter and co-heiress of
John Jerningham
The Jerningham Baronetcy, of Costessey, Cossey in the County of Norfolk, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 16 August 1621 for Henry Jerningham. The 5th Baronet married Mary Plowden, only daughter of Mary Plowden, sister ...
, of
Somerleyton).
He died on 7 October 1640
at
Greystoke, to which place he had been removed when failing in health, to escape the Scots who were threatening an advance on Naworth. He had a large family of children, of whom Philip, his heir, was the grandfather of
Charles, 1st Earl of Carlisle, and Francis was the ancestor of the Howards of Corby.
Descendants
Through his son Philip, he was a grandfather of Sir William Howard of
Naworth Castle and
Henderskelfe Castle (–), who married Mary Eure (eldest daughter of
William Eure, 4th Baron Eure and Lucy Noel, sister of
Edward Noel, 2nd Viscount Campden); and Alathea Howard (d. 1677), who married
Thomas Fairfax, 2nd Viscount Fairfax of Emley.
Legacy
William Howard School, the secondary school in Brampton, Cumbria, is named after him.
References
External links
*
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Lord William
1563 births
1640 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Younger sons of dukes
English antiquarians
16th-century antiquarians
17th-century antiquarians
16th-century English people
17th-century English people
William Howard