HOWELL, THOMAS (1588-1646), bishop;
brother of James Howell, author of the Epistolae (q.v.), uncle of the James Howell who was in turn a Puritan minister and an Anglican pluralist, and who was godfather also to James Owen (q.v.), the famous Nonconformist. As far as Wales is concerned the interest of the bishop arises solely from this family concatenation. Some indeed accused him of being somewhat of a Puritan, but the impression left by his many promotions at the hands of Charles I, especially his appointment to the see of Bristol in 1644 at a critical juncture in the royal fortunes, and by the tributes paid him by David Lloyd and Thomas Fuller, is that he was the most loyal of Anglicans (he was the last bishop to be consecrated in England for sixteen years).
Bibliography:
- D.N.B.;
- Hist. Carms., ii, 139, 143, 159.
Author:
Thomas Richards, D.Litt., (1878-1962), Bangor
