Duty comes in many forms, and aristocratic men and women have responded to this call in various ways: military, political, religious, and social. Members of these families have recognised that with their wealth and status come responsibilities of public service.
The Howard family, whose numerous branches are descended from the Tudor
Dukes of Norfolk, is no exception, frequently serving country, monarch, parliament, church, or local community. In some instances their actions were disastrous or misguided, in others they behaved with courage, wisdom and conviction, and at personal cost.
A fascinating timeline in the exhibition traces Castle Howard’s involvement in battles and wars at home and abroad, from the Wars of the Roses and the Battle of Bosworth Moor in 1485 to the present day.
Generations of Howard sons went to fight overseas, but the impact of war was often more powerfully felt at home: bereavement and loss were shared by the Howard family, staff and tenants, many commemorated on war memorials in estate villages.
The Duty Calls exhibition at Castle Howard focuses on the First and Second World Wars, from Rosalind, Countess of Carlisle’s refusal in1914 to let the house be requisitioned by the military, but active support of the war effort by helping with Belgian relief, to grievous family losses: Michael Howard, missing in action, presumed killed at Passchendaele in 1917; Mark Howard, son and heir, killed by a shell in July 1944; and his pilot brother, Christopher, killed just 2 months later on a bombing mission.
Duty Calls opens on Saturday 25 May, and will run until the end of 2014, and is included in the Castle Howard house tour.
Further information on Duty Calls: www.ychp.org.uk