The Howards of Corby Castle

Church Information Leaflet number 4

The Howards of Corby
The Howards of Cumberland trace their ancestry to the Duke of Norfolk, a Roman Catholic who supported the claim of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the English throne during the failed Northern Rising.
 
Lord William Howard (1563-1640), known as ‘Belted Will’, inherited Naworth Castle, about seven miles from Great Corby. He also purchased Corby Castle in 1611  from the Salkeld family, who had occupied it almost 300 years (Leaflet Number 3). The Howard family up to Sir John and Lady Howard-Lawson lived at Corby Castle until 1994.
 
Henry Howard
Henry was the son of Philip Howard who wrote ‘The Scriptural History of the Earth and Mankind’, an exploration of geology, philosophy and religions in 1797.
 
Henry Howard had been educated abroad and he spent some time in Austria. He was an accomplished poet and scholar and became a loved and respected figure in Great Corby and Wetheral.
 
In 1788 Henry married Maria Archer of Umberslade in Warwickshire. Just over a year after their wedding Maria died giving birth to a stillborn daughter.
 
The Howard Chapel was built alongside the parish church at Wetheral above the mausoleum of the Howard family.  In memory of his brief but happy marriage, Henry commissioned one of the leading sculptors of the day, Joseph Nollekens RA, to create a memorial monument. Known as ‘Faith’ it shows the figure of Faith pointing upwards with one hand while the other supports the head of the dying mother with the baby across her lap. There is a separate leaflet for the statue. Leaflet Number 2.
 Link to the Nollekens Faith statue webpage

It remained the private chapel of the Howards until it was given to the church by deed of transfer in 1983, making it possible for the first time for the general public to view the statue.
 
Henry took an active part in the campaign for Roman Catholic Emancipation, the granting of civil and political rights for Roman Catholics, which finally succeeded in 1829. His son by his second marriage, Philip Henry Howard, became the Member of Parliament for Carlisle, the second Roman Catholic to enter the House of Commons.

The Chapel Appeal
In 1985, on the initiative of the Rector of Wetheral, and John and Veronica Howard, the Howard Memorial Chapel Restoration Appeal was launched. A committee, consisting of local residents raised the funds needed to restore the chapel. Events were held locally and donations received including from the children at a local school and Earl of Plymouth, who was related by marriage to Maria Howard. The chapel was officially opened in 1988 by the Earl of Carlisle, owner of Naworth Castle.
 
Eliza Maria Howard
The chapel also houses the lesser known statue of Elzia Howard.