HOWARD, Philip (1669-by 1711), St. James’s, Mdx.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715, ed. D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, 2002
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

1698 - 1700
Feb. 1701 - 1702

Family and Education

b. 1669, o. s. of Sir Philip Howard† of Leicester Fields, Westminster, Mdx., and Sissinghurst, Kent by Elizabeth, da. and h. of Sir Robert Newton, 1st Bt., of London, wid. of Sir John Baker, 3rd Bt., of Sissinghurst. unmsuc. fa. 1686.1

Offices Held

Lt.-col. 32 Ft. Mar. 1702.2

Biography

Howard inherited only debts from his father, Sissinghurst passing to his mother’s sisters, and when he entered the Commons in 1698 it was upon the interest at Morpeth of his cousin the Earl of Carlisle (Charles Howard*). A comparison of the old and new Commons dating from about September 1698 classed him as a Court supporter, but Howard’s inactivity in the House may explain his being classed as doubtful in an analysis of the House dating from early 1700. At the first 1701 election Howard transferred to Carlisle, again standing upon the interest of his cousin, though shortly before the election he journeyed to France in an attempt to persuade Lord Carlisle’s brother William*, who had been in Europe for nearly three years, to return to England. Despite his absence abroad Howard was elected at a contested Carlisle election. In February 1701 he was listed as a likely supporter of the supply committee’s resolution to continue the ‘Great Mortgage’, but otherwise made no recorded contribution to this Parliament. He was nevertheless re-elected at the second election of the year, being classed in December as a Whig by Robert Harley*, but again left no trace on the records of the House, though a petition against the Carlisle return appears to have occupied his time in early 1702. In March Howard obtained a commission as lieutenant-colonel, travelling with his regiment to the Continent in May, but his military career was to be short-lived as he had resigned his commission by the end of the year. His parliamentary career had also ended by this time. Despite Lord Carlisle’s continuing support Howard was defeated at a contested Carlisle election in the summer of 1702, and he does not appear to have stood for election again. The remainder of Howard’s life is obscure, though his continuing financial difficulties are demonstrated by his will, written in May 1702, which left his estates in Northamptonshire and Kent to two London residents who had provided Howard with mortgages. Howard’s death can be dated no more precisely than 1711, his executors being granted probate on 14 May 1711.3

Ref Volumes: 1690-1715

Author: Eveline Cruickshanks

Notes

  • 1. IGI, London.
  • 2. CSP Dom. 1702–3, p. 382.
  • 3. Hasted, Kent, vii. 100; Cumbria RO (Carlisle), Lonsdale mss D/Lons/W2/2/3, James* to Sir John Lowther, 2nd Bt. I*, 19 Oct. 1700; W2/2/4, same to same, 16, 25 Jan. 1700[–1], 18 Dec. 1701; W2/2/5, same to same, 14 Feb., 3, 14 Mar. 1701[–2], 12 May 1702; Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. and Arch. Soc. ser. 2, lxvi. 301; PCC 108 Young.