William Cecil James Philip John Paul Howard, 8th Earl of Wicklow (30 October 1902 – 8 February 1978), styled Lord Clonmore until 1946, was an Anglo-Irish peer. He was the only child of

Ralph Howard, 7th Earl of Wicklow Ralph Francis Howard, 7th Earl of Wicklow (24 December 1877 – 11 October 1946) was an Irish aristocrat and politician. Biography Howard was the son of Cecil Howard, 6th Earl of Wicklow and Francesca Maria Chamberlayne. He succeeded as Earl ...

and the Countess of Wicklow, formerly Lady Gladys Mary Hamilton. His maternal grandparents were the 2nd Duke of Abercorn and Lady Mary Anna Curzon-Howe. He was known as Lord Clonmore until succeeding to the Earldom in 1946. He was first educated at Wixenford, from where he passed the examination to enter the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

, in May 1916.'Osborne Passing-In List' in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', issue 41129 dated 31 March 1916, p. 5 However, in the event he proceeded to

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, and in 1921 he matriculated at Merton College, Oxford. He was then ordained a deacon and priest of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. Among his Oxford associates were

Glyn Simon William Glyn Hughes Simon (14 April 1903 – 14 June 1972) was a Welsh prelate who served as the Anglican Archbishop of Wales from 1968 to 1971. Early life Simon was born in Swansea, where his father was curate at St Gabriel's church. He was bap ...

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

, and John Betjeman. He was part of the

Hypocrites' Club The Hypocrites' Club was one of the student clubs at Oxford University in England. Its motto in Greek, from an Olympian Ode by Pindar, was ''Water is best''. This led to the members being called ''Hypocrites'', due to the fact that beer, wine an ...

. He worked for the Magdalen Mission at St Mary's Church in Somers Town. Having been a zealous

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1932, and thereafter lived as a layman. He was disinherited by his father and banished from the family seat in Ireland on Sundays because he was thought to be an embarrassment on account of his attending

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

with the servants, who were also Roman Catholics. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he was commissioned into the Royal Fusiliers and rose to the rank of Captain. In 1946 he succeeded his father as Earl of Wicklow. In the 1950s he wrote on religious subjects and was also active as a translator. On 2 September 1959, he married Eleanor Butler, an architect who had been a member of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

between 1948 and 1951. They had no children. When he died in 1978 the titles passed to his first cousin, Cecil Aylmar Howard, the ninth earl. When the ninth earl died in 1983, the titles became extinct.

References

Publications

*Pierre Barbet, ''The corporal passion of Jesus Christ'' tr. the Earl of Wicklow (Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds, 1950, 1954, 1955) *The Earl of Wicklow, ''More about Dom Marmion: a study of his writings together with a chapter from an unpublished work and a biographical sketch'' (Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds; London: Burns, Oates, & Washbourne, 1950) * The thearl of Wicklow .C.J.P.J.P. Howard ‘The monastic revival in the Anglican Communion’, ''Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review'' (Winter 1953), 420–32. *R. P. H. Perroy, ''The mass explained to children'', tr. the Earl of Wicklow (Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds, 1956) *The Earl of Wicklow, ''Fireside Fusilier'' with an introduction by Evelyn Waugh (Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds; London: Hollis & Carter, 1958; Derby: Citadel Press, 1970) *The Earl of Wicklow, ed., ''Rome is home: the experience of converts'' with a preface by Edward Charles Rich (Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds, 1959)

External links

Three photographs of Lord Wicklow in the UK National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wicklow, William Howard, 8th Earl of 1902 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Anglo-Irish people Ordained peers Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism English Roman Catholics Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford People educated at Eton College People educated at Wixenford School

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne 8 Alumni of Merton College, Oxford