HOWARD, Sir William, Lord Howard of Effingham (1577-1615), of Bletchingley, Surr.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

1601

Family and Education

b. 1577, 1st s. of Charles Howard I by his 1st w., and bro. of Charles Howard II. educ. G. Inn 1598. m. 7 Feb. 1597, Anne, da. and h. of John, 2nd Baron St. John, 1da. Kntd. 1596; summ. to Lords in his fa.’s barony as Lord Howard of Effingham 31 Jan. 1604.

Offices Held

J.p. Surr. 1597, q. 1598, dep. lt. 1600.2

Biography

Howard’s father’s standing obtained him a county seat at the age of 20 through an arrangement between the lord admiral and (Sir) William More I of Loseley. He did not, however, take his seat on this occasion, his father, made an earl on 22 Oct., mistakenly thinking him disabled by his assumption of the courtesy title of Lord Howard of Effingham, and two days later nominating his younger brother in his place. By 1601 the mistake had been realised and Howard was again elected for the county. He was named to the committee dealing with the penal laws, and, the next day, to the large committee dealing with the order of business. As knight for Surrey in 1601 he was also appointed to committees concerning cloth-workers (18 Nov.), monopolies (23 Nov.), and felt makers (26 Nov.). His subsequent parliamentary career was in the House of Lords.3

Howard had a town house in the Strand. He participated in court activities, being a persistent, if undistinguished, runner at the tilts. In 1604 he and his father were granted the right to license wine retailers, and they subsequently became involved with Lionel Cranfield, the financier, and were obliged to mortgage or sell much property. Howard died v.p. 28 Nov. 1615.4

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603

Author: H.G.O.

Notes

  • 1. Did not serve for the full duration of the Parliament.
  • 2. Surr. Arch. Colls. ix. 413; PRO Index 4208, pp. 56, 196.
  • 3. Neale, Commons, 46-7; D’Ewes, 623, 624, 642, 649, 654.
  • 4. Chamberlain Letters ed. McClure, i. 205, 219; HMC Hatfield, xvii. 594; HMC Sackville, i. 152, 178, 214, 216, 229, 262, 338-9; R. H. Tawney, Cranfield, 119-20; Surr. Arch. Colls. v. 209.