Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle

Contents

Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, PC (c. 1669 – 1 May 1738), styled Viscount Morpeth from 1685 to 1692, was a British nobleman, peer, and Whig statesman. He served two brief terms as First Lord of the Treasury and commissioned the construction of Castle Howard.

Early life

Charles Howard was the eldest son of Edward Howard, 2nd Earl of Carlisle and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Uvedale.[1] He was educated at Morpeth Grammar School. Howard inherited the family estates and title Earl of Carlisle on the death of his father in 1692.[2] In 1697 he inherited the rump of the estates of his uncle, Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, following his execution.

Political career

He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Morpeth in the Convention Parliament in 1689, while still underage, with a London home in Soho Square.[3] He was re-elected unopposed in the 1690 English general election and in a subsequent list of the Commons compiled by Thomas Osborne, Howard was classed as a Whig. In August 1690 he was granted a leave of absence to undertake the Grand Tour. Upon succeeded to his father's title in 1692, he assumed his seat in the House of Lords.[1]

As Earl of Carlisle, he was appointed Governor of Carlisle from 1693 to 1728 and Lord-Lieutenant of Cumberland and of Westmorland from 1694 to 1714. William III made him a Gentleman of the Bedchamber between 1700 and 1702, First Lord of the Treasury from 1701 to 1702 and Privy Counsellor in 1701. He acted as Earl Marshal between 1701 and 1706 because his cousin, the Duke of Norfolk, was a minor. He exercised considerable influence in parliamentary affairs and became the political patron of many Whig candidates.[1] He voted consistently with Whigs in the Lords, a notable exception being his opposition to the attainder of his uncle, Sir John Fenwick, in 1696.[1]

On Anne, Queen of Great Britain's death on 1 August 1714 he was appointed Lord Justice of the Realm until the arrival of King George I of Great Britain on 18 September 1714. The new king reappointed him as First Lord of the Treasury from 23 May 1715 to 10 October 1715 and made him Constable of the Tower of London between 1715 and 1722. John Macky described Carlisle as a "gentleman of great interest in the country... [who] hath a very good understanding".[1]

Business dealings

From 1699 to 1709 Carlisle was involved with the fraudulent schemes of pirate John Breholt. First Carlisle backed a plan to dive on and salvage a supposed wreck off Havana – Breholt even named his ship Carlisle – which came to naught, after which Breholt let slip that he intended to sail for Cape Verde and then to Madagascar to engage in outright piracy. A few years later Carlisle backed Breholt's plan (presented directly to Queen Anne) to pardon the pirates of Madagascar and have them return to England with their collected wealth. This scheme fell apart when Breholt's pirate past was exposed.[4]

Personal life

In 1699 he commissioned a new Baroque mansion, Castle Howard, in Yorkshire, England to the design of Sir John Vanbrugh which is still occupied by his descendants.[2]

He married in 1683 Lady Anne de Vere Capell, daughter of Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex.[1][2] They had six children:

  • Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle (1693–1758)
  • General Sir Charles Howard (c. 1696–1765)
  • Lady Harriet Howard, died young
  • Lady Elizabeth Anne Howard, married Nicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere, then Sir Thomas Robinson, 1st Baronet
  • Lady Anne Howard, married Rich Ingram, 5th Viscount of Irvine, then Brig-Gen. William Douglas of Kirkness (d. 1747)
  • Lady Mary Howard, unmarried

He died in Bath in 1738 and is buried in The Mausoleum, Castle Howard.[1]

References

  1. 1.[1.2][1.3][1.4][1.5][1.6][1.7]Cruickshanks, Eveline (2002). "HOWARD, Charles, Visct. Morpeth (c.1669–1738).". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  2. 2.[2.2][2.3]Goodwin, Gordon (1891). "Howard, Charles (1674-1738)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 28. pp. 7–8.
  3. 3."Soho Square Area: Portland Estate, No. 21 Soho Square Pages 72-73 Survey of London: Volumes 33 and 34, St Anne Soho". British History Online. LCC 1966. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  4. 4.Bialuschewski, Arne (15 December 2008). "Greed, Fraud, and Popular Culture: John Breholt's Madagascar Schemes of the Early Eighteenth Century". In McGrath, Charles Ivar; Fauske, Chris (eds.). Money, Power, and Print: Interdisciplinary Studies on the Financial Revolution in the British Isles. University of Delaware Press. pp. 104–113. ISBN 9780874130270. Retrieved 21 February 2018.