St Philip Howard, Cambridge

The The Catholic church on the Cherry Hinton Road in Cambridge, which is dedicated to St Philip Howard, was reconsecrated on 26 April 2026 by the Bishop of East Anglia, the Rt Rev Peter Collins. See: St Philip Howard website.

St Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, was imprisoned for his faith (and perceived threat to the Crown) in the Tower of London for ten years where in 1595 he died of dysentery, at the age of 38. He was buried under the floor of St Peter ad Vincula, alongside St Thomas More, St John Fisher, Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey. Although Howard’s bones were subsequently moved in the 1620s, the others reside there still. See: St Peter ad Vincula.

His dog, his constant companion in prison, smuggled messages between Howard and the Jesuit priest Father Robert Southwell, a prisoner in a nearby cell (also later canonised). Although the two men never met, Howard's dog helped them to deepen their friendship and exchange encouragement in each other's plight. The dog is remembered in a statue at Arundel Cathedral as well as in a new stained-glass window at this parish church.

Howard, who is considered one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, was canonised by Pope Paul VI on 25 October 1970.

This church building was originally built for a new Catholic parish in 1978. From the new millennium, people from all over the world (especially Asia – India, Sri Lanka & Philippines) and Africa, started to join the growing parish and now there are parishioners from almost 50 nationalities, under the leadership of Father Philip John.

The refurbishment building was led by architect Sarah Wells, from Cowper Griffith and now is equipped with a full complement of Charterhouse stacking pews.

Incidentally, the chapel dedicated to St Philip Howard in Arundel Cathedral in Sussex is furnished with 'Assembly' chairs, also by Luke Hughes.