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| Sir John Howard-Lawson. |
Sir John Philip Howard-Lawson, 6th Baronet, died 17 October, 2026. He was 92.
His home was Hunter Hall, Great Salkeld, Penrith.
He was born John Philip Lawson, 6 June, 1934, the eldest son of Sir William Howard Lawson, 5th Baronet (1907-1990), of Corby Castle, by his wife the former Joan Eleanor Stamer (1909-1989).
A descendant of the 4th Duke of Norfolk, he assumed the surname and arms of Howard, 1962, and the surname of Howard-Lawson in 1992.
He succeeded his father, 3 June, 1990, as the 6th Baronet, of Brough Hall, Catterick [created UK, 1841].
He married 17 September, 1960, Jean Veronica Marsh (who died 2001), daughter of Colonel John Evelyn Marsh, OBE, DSO, by whom he had issue, two sons, Philip and Thomas, and a daughter, Julia.
His elder son, Philip (born 28 June, 1961), succeeds to the baronetcy.
In 2012 Sir John won a legal battle with his own son over the sale of their £2.5million 13th century ancestral home. Philip Howard, had claimed he was entitled to £1.5million from the sale of Corby Castle, which had been in the family since 1611. Mr Howard's father Sir John Howard-Lawson, Bt, sold the Cumbrian castle in 1994 for £2.5million, along with its contents and a thousand acres of land. Mr Howard claimed his father had no right to sell the property, originally built as a peel tower in the 13th century, as he had failed to comply with the terms of a will made in 1934. Philip Canning Howard, his great-great-grandfather, had dictated that in order to inherit Corby Castle, his heirs must change their surname to Howard and take up the family coat of arms within 12 months. Mr Howard claimed Sir John had failed to do this, so never validly inherited Corby Castle and should not have benefited from its sale.
Lady Justice Proudman ruled in the High Court that Sir John had validly inherited the property. Her decision was upheld by Lady Justice Arden, Lord Justice Richards and Lord Justice Patten sitting in the Court of Appeal, who awarded Sir John £22,000 costs. Mr Howard, a business consultant, claimed his father, whose original surname was Lawson, had 'forfeited' his right to inherit the castle in 1961 by neglecting the terms of the will. But Sir John, who represented himself, insisted he had begun to use the name before the end of January 1962. The baronet also claimed the family was forced to sell Corby Castle when Philip Howard got into financial difficulties after taking on a major part of the estate. However, the case is not over as Mr Howard has applied to take it to the Supreme Court.
Lady Justice Arden said as she handed down her judgment that it was a 'very sad case' as the father and son had fallen out in a 'very bitter dispute'. The three judges agreed Mr Howard was trying to recover what he thought was his 'rightful inheritance' but that Sir John had 'sufficiently complied' with the terms of the will. They awarded £22,858 costs against Mr Howard.
The Howard family have previously been embroiled in a royal scandal, when, in 1572, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was beheaded for treason after scheming to marry Mary Queen of Scots.
His third son, William, bought Corby Castle in Cumbria, in 1611, and for nearly four centuries it passed down through ten generations, reaching Sir John in 1961.
The Howard and Lawson families were combined when Corby Castle passed to Philip Canning Howard's sole heir, his daughter Ursula. She married Sir John's grandfather, Sir Henry, the third baronet in 1899.
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