Robert Howlett was the second son born to his namesake reverend father and mother Harriet Harsant in rural Suffolk. Nearly three months later he was baptized in the medieval St Peter's church in the village of Theberton where two infant brothers were interred (one later). He grew up with his younger brother Thomas in Suffolk and then in Longham, Norfolk from about 1840 to 1852.
His mother's father Thomas Harsant was a surgeon and gentleman land owner of mechanical repute. He exposed his grandson Robert to telescopes, microscopes, and electrical implements and left him and his brother a bequest when they turned 21 which Thomas apparently used to pursue photography in London while his brother pursued farming. Already in his boyhood Robert experimented with a telegraph line and built a microscope, harbingers of his adulthood distinguished by innovative photography during the medium's nascence.
As if in anticipation of a life cut mercilessly short, in his too brief career Robert Howlet produced a legacy of historic photographs ranging from innovative portraiture to a moon shot, indelibly capturing industrial views on location that remain in demand today even while his portrait of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel rivals modern design. Friend and inspiration to fellow Victorian photography pioneer Thomas Frederick Hardwich, he partnered with Joseph Cundall to produce iconic portraits of British troops under a commission by Queen Victoria.
The usually ambitious and enthusiastic 27 year old photographic artist succumbed to a fever barely three weeks after perhaps a typhus infection. Robert's family returned him in death close to them and their Norfolk country home. At the ancient Wendling parish site of the nearly two centuries old church where his father was the Rector he lies beneath a coffin shaped stone that begged restoration to reveal its inscription. A crowd-funding project by his biographer, Rose Teanby, led to his newly-restored grave being re-dedicated on 14th October 2017.
His mother's father Thomas Harsant was a surgeon and gentleman land owner of mechanical repute. He exposed his grandson Robert to telescopes, microscopes, and electrical implements and left him and his brother a bequest when they turned 21 which Thomas apparently used to pursue photography in London while his brother pursued farming. Already in his boyhood Robert experimented with a telegraph line and built a microscope, harbingers of his adulthood distinguished by innovative photography during the medium's nascence.
As if in anticipation of a life cut mercilessly short, in his too brief career Robert Howlet produced a legacy of historic photographs ranging from innovative portraiture to a moon shot, indelibly capturing industrial views on location that remain in demand today even while his portrait of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel rivals modern design. Friend and inspiration to fellow Victorian photography pioneer Thomas Frederick Hardwich, he partnered with Joseph Cundall to produce iconic portraits of British troops under a commission by Queen Victoria.
The usually ambitious and enthusiastic 27 year old photographic artist succumbed to a fever barely three weeks after perhaps a typhus infection. Robert's family returned him in death close to them and their Norfolk country home. At the ancient Wendling parish site of the nearly two centuries old church where his father was the Rector he lies beneath a coffin shaped stone that begged restoration to reveal its inscription. A crowd-funding project by his biographer, Rose Teanby, led to his newly-restored grave being re-dedicated on 14th October 2017.
Robert Howlett was the second son born to his namesake reverend father and mother Harriet Harsant in rural Suffolk. Nearly three months later he was baptized in the medieval St Peter's church in the village of Theberton where two infant brothers were interred (one later). He grew up with his younger brother Thomas in Suffolk and then in Longham, Norfolk from about 1840 to 1852.
His mother's father Thomas Harsant was a surgeon and gentleman land owner of mechanical repute. He exposed his grandson Robert to telescopes, microscopes, and electrical implements and left him and his brother a bequest when they turned 21 which Thomas apparently used to pursue photography in London while his brother pursued farming. Already in his boyhood Robert experimented with a telegraph line and built a microscope, harbingers of his adulthood distinguished by innovative photography during the medium's nascence.
As if in anticipation of a life cut mercilessly short, in his too brief career Robert Howlet produced a legacy of historic photographs ranging from innovative portraiture to a moon shot, indelibly capturing industrial views on location that remain in demand today even while his portrait of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel rivals modern design. Friend and inspiration to fellow Victorian photography pioneer Thomas Frederick Hardwich, he partnered with Joseph Cundall to produce iconic portraits of British troops under a commission by Queen Victoria.
The usually ambitious and enthusiastic 27 year old photographic artist succumbed to a fever barely three weeks after perhaps a typhus infection. Robert's family returned him in death close to them and their Norfolk country home. At the ancient Wendling parish site of the nearly two centuries old church where his father was the Rector he lies beneath a coffin shaped stone that begged restoration to reveal its inscription. A crowd-funding project by his biographer, Rose Teanby, led to his newly-restored grave being re-dedicated on 14th October 2017.
His mother's father Thomas Harsant was a surgeon and gentleman land owner of mechanical repute. He exposed his grandson Robert to telescopes, microscopes, and electrical implements and left him and his brother a bequest when they turned 21 which Thomas apparently used to pursue photography in London while his brother pursued farming. Already in his boyhood Robert experimented with a telegraph line and built a microscope, harbingers of his adulthood distinguished by innovative photography during the medium's nascence.
As if in anticipation of a life cut mercilessly short, in his too brief career Robert Howlet produced a legacy of historic photographs ranging from innovative portraiture to a moon shot, indelibly capturing industrial views on location that remain in demand today even while his portrait of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel rivals modern design. Friend and inspiration to fellow Victorian photography pioneer Thomas Frederick Hardwich, he partnered with Joseph Cundall to produce iconic portraits of British troops under a commission by Queen Victoria.
The usually ambitious and enthusiastic 27 year old photographic artist succumbed to a fever barely three weeks after perhaps a typhus infection. Robert's family returned him in death close to them and their Norfolk country home. At the ancient Wendling parish site of the nearly two centuries old church where his father was the Rector he lies beneath a coffin shaped stone that begged restoration to reveal its inscription. A crowd-funding project by his biographer, Rose Teanby, led to his newly-restored grave being re-dedicated on 14th October 2017.
Gravesite Details
He is buried immediately outside the east end of the church.
