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 Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

peer.

Biography

He was the only child of Ralph Howard, 7th Earl of Wicklow 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 Wixenford is an area of the civil parish of Wokingham Without in which Ludgrove School stands. It adjoins Wokingham and is in the English county of Berkshire. Name The area was developed by the former Wixenford School, which closed in 1934. That ...

, 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. However, in the event he proceeded to

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, and in 1921 he matriculated at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. He was then ordained a deacon and priest of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. 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 ''Decli ...

, and

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

. He was part of the

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

. 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 Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

, he converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

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

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was commissioned into the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

and rose to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In 1946 he succeeded his father as

Earl of Wicklow Earl of Wicklow was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1793 for Alice Howard, Dowager Viscountess Wicklow. Born Alice Forward, she was the daughter of William Forward, Member of the Irish House of Commons for the County Donegal, ...

. 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 senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

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 Earl of Wicklow, ed., ''The Glory of Mary (In Honour of the Assumption)'' with a foreword by Wicklow (Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds, 1952) * 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 masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

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