Title:

Gentleman

Military Rank:

Colonel

First Name:

Thomas

Last Name:

Howard

Memorial Type:

Memorial - Funerary

Does the monument still exist?

Yes

Installation Date:

unknown

Inscription:

Sacred to the memory of Colonel Thomas Howard, son of Lord William Howard, who died valiantly fighting in the cause of his king and country at Piercebridge, December 2nd, 1642

Also inscription to Thomas Howard, KIA at Adwalton Moor 1643.

Allegiance:

Royalist

Condition:

Poor

Memorial Notes:

Badly weathered memorial in the churchyard, lettering wearing away. Observed 22 May 2022.

Memorial stone for Colonel Thomas Howard, died 1642 at the Battle of Piercebridge (1 December 1642). Dressed sandstone plinth supports chest capped by shaped slab of yellow sandstone, inscribed to various members of the Howard family of nearby Corby Castle, headed by the name of Colonel Howard who died at the battle of Atherton (Adwalton) Moor. Probably an upright stone which was moved to this location from another part of the graveyard, on the construction of the Howard memorial chapel (immediately west) in 1791.

One of those killed at the Battle of Piercebridge, “…with several other Gentlemen…” (Rushworth) was Colonel Sir Thomas Howard, youngest son of Lord William Howard, described as, “…the first man of note slain on either side, since this storm begun”. (Johnson)

Howard (1596-1642) was a Catholic who married into the Eure family of the North East and held lands at Tursdale, County Durham. He raised a regiment of dragoons for the king and commanded the advance guard at Piercebridge, alongside a Regiment of Foot, Commanded by Sir William Lambton. We are told that, “…they performed with so much Courage, that they routed the Enemy, and put them to flight, although the said Col. Howard in that Charge lost his life by an unfortunate shot.” (Cavendish; Newman 1978, Vol.2, p.507-8)

During this period, it was usual for regimental field officers to set an example for their soldiers by leading them into battle at the head of the unit, so exposing themselves as easy targets to enemy fire and combat. Despite this, many officers survived, possibly through a combination of luck, military skill, protective armour and the ability to escape the field if mounted on a horse. (Newman 1978, vol.1, p.39)

Howard was buried in the churchyard at High Coniscliffe, a parish where his family held lands, and this is recorded in the parish register:
Sir Thomas Howard collenoll buried aet (aged) 36 the 2nd of December 1642 ( Proc. Soc. Antiq. Newc. 3 Ser.I.; Reid 1998, p.70; Longstaffe 1854, p.134)

There are no extant memorials to Howard at High Coniscliffe. The Battlefields Trust presented framed prints of Paul Hitchin's depiction of the death of Howard for display in High Coniscliffe Church, Piercebridge Church and The George, Cliffe, c.2018.


See: Philo, Philo 2023 The Battle of Piercebridge. Cleveland History, The Bulletin of the Cleveland and Teesside Local History Society, Issue 124 – 2023, pp.23-46 & Arquebusier (The Journal of the Pike & Shot Society, Vol. XXXVIII/V, pp.2-38