Christopher St Lawrence, 8th Baron Howth (d. 1589)

Christopher St Lawrence, 8th Baron Howth (died 1589) was a member of the Privy Council, and played a leading part in the Irish Government of the 1560s but later went into opposition and was imprisoned as a result. He was nick-named " the blind lord ". He was a man of some culture and may have partly written the historical compilation called The Book of Howth. He was notorious for his domestic cruelty and was imprisoned for ill-treating his wife and causing the death of his daughter.

Early life

He was born after 1509, third son of Christopher St.Lawrence, 5th baron Howth,and Anne Bermingham, and brother of Edward and Richard, the 6th and 7th barons.^[1] Since he was not expected to inherit the title, his early years are poorly recorded. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1544 and was practicing at the English bar ten years later. It is not known when he was afflicted with blindness or whether it was total. By 1556 he had returned to Ireland and was managing one of the family estates.^[2] He succeeded to the barony in 1558.

Politician

The Lord of Howth was always well suited to playing a major part in Irish politics: Howth had the additional advantage of enjoying the trust of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, the Earl of Sussex.He was made a member of the Privy Council immediately after the accession of Elizabeth I and sat in her first Irish Parliament. Sussex sent him to negotiate with Shane O'Neill in 1561 and he persuaded O'Neill go to London and submit to the Queen. Howth himself went to London the following year to discuss Irish affairs with the Queen. By his account the Queen at first treated him with great suspicion as an Irishman,^[3] but he succeeded in winning her trust. He was confirmed as Baron and later knighted. After Sussex's departure he continued to enjoy the confidence of the Lord Justice, Sir Nicholas Arnold, who sent him to treat with the O'Reilly clan.

Opposition

The 1570s were a time of conflict between the Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, and the Anglo-irish nobility over his taxation policy, and especially over cess, the tax for maintaining garrisons. Howth emerged as a leader of the opposition, and gave grave offence to the Queen as a result. Summoned before the Council, he argued that from his knowledge of the law Sidney's proposals were unconstitutional. He was imprisoned for 5 months in Dublin Castle, and then made a full submission, arguing that he had never intended to question the Royal Prerogative or the Queen's power to tax her Irish subjects. After a sharp rebuke he was freed but it is unlikely that he was ever fully trusted again, and it may be that his later prosecution for domestic cruelty had partly political motives.^[4]

Charges of domestic cruelty

In 1579 Nicholas Terrell, a servant of Howth, was convicted of perjury. In the course of the trial much was said about Howth's cruelty to his wife, and the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Sir William Gerard, ordered a further investigation.The evidence showed that Howth had beaten his wife so often and severely that she had fled in fear of her life to her brother's house. Even more grave was the evidence that he had beaten his 13-year-old daughter Jane who died as a result. Howth was briefly imprisoned and fined heavily; he was ordered to pay maintenance to his wife , who was allowed to live apart and given custody of the children. While the Government in imposing these penalties may have been rebuking Howth for his opposition, the verdict also suggests strong sympathy for Lady Howth.^[5]

Last years

In the 1580s Howth briefly resumed his role as leader of the opposition, in blocking further proposals for tax reform by the Lord Deputy, Sir John Perrot. On this occasion he was quickly brought to admit his faults and was reconciled with Perrot, and sent him a present of a goshawk, always a great rarity in Ireland.He died on 24 October 1589 and was buried in Howth Abbey; his tomb has an effigy to himself and his wife. His last will made generous bequests to servants but none of his children except his eldest son are included. The references in the will to his many and grave sins have been called evidence of genuine remorse for his treatment of his wife and daughter.^[6]

The Book of Howth

He owned an interesting manuscript, the Book of Howth, which despite its flaws is considered a valuable historical source. It is partly a celebration of the achievements of the St. Lawrence family and partly a description of historical events such as the Battle of Knockdoe. The last part deals in detail with Howth's own career and may well have been written by him.

Legend of Granuaile

A famous legend, which may have some basis in fact , records that about 1575 Grace O'Malley,or Granuaile the celebrated Pirate Queen of Galway, called at Howth Castle only to find the gates barred. Outraged by the discourtesy, she kidnapped Lord Howth's heir, then a young child ( which would be the 8th baron's grandson, the future 10th baron ) and held him hostage until the St. Lawrence family apologised. To make amends Lord Howth promised that in future his gates would always be open at dinner time and a place set for unexpected guests.

Character

Elrington Ball ^[7] calls Howth the most striking member of his family and the most forceful Irish statesman of the Elizabethan era. He does not defend his treatment of his family, but argues, unconvincingly, that the early years of his marriage were happy. Crawford ^[8] takes a much more severe view, arguing that Jane's death was manslaughter and that her mother fled to avoid a similar fate.

Family

He married firstly , probably before 1540, Elizabeth Plunket,, daughter of Sir John Plunket of Beaulieu. From her testimony at his trial it is clear that they had 14 children, but presumably many died in infancy as only 7 can be certainly identified:

• Nicholas St. Lawrence, 9th Baron Howth (1555–1606)
• Thomas ( died 1600 at the Battle of Moyry Pass)
• Leonard ( died 1608 )
• Richard
• Margaret, who married firstly William Fitzwilliam and secondly Michael Berford
• Mary who married Patrick Barnewall (died 1622)
• Jane, died 1577, victim of her father's ill-treatment.

Howth married secondly after 1579 Cecily Cusack, daughter of Henry Cusack, alderman of Dublin. She outlived him by many years and remarried.

References

1. ^ Dunlop, Robert " Christopher St.Lawrence " Dictionary of National Biography Volume 50
2. ^ Ball F. Elrington History of Dublin 6 Volumes Alexander Thom and Co Dublin 1902-1920
3. ^ Ball History of Dublin
4. ^ DNB
5. ^ Crawford , Jon G. A Star Chamber Court for Ireland -the Court of Castle Chamber 1571-1641 Four Courts Press Dublin 2006
6. ^ Ball History of Dublin
7. ^ History of Dublin
8. ^ A Star Chamber Court for Ireland

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Name	Lawrence, Christopher St, 8th Baron Howth
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Date of death	1589
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