Sir Christopher Barker (died 4 January 1550) was an

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve ...

at the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

who rose to the highest position of

Garter Principal King of Arms Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior king of arms and officer of arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The position has ...

Early years

Christopher was the son of William Barker of

Stokesley Stokesley is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, on the River Leven, North Yorkshire, River Leven. An Wards and ...

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

(now

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

) and his wife, Joan, the daughter of William Carhill and sister of Sir Christopher Carhill, Norrey King of Arms. In adulthood, he lived in Newbury in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

Heraldic career

Barker started his

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

career as Charles Brandon's

private officer of arms A private officer of arms is one of the heralds and pursuivants appointed by great noble houses to handle all heraldic and genealogical questions. History Since the development of heraldry in the Middle Ages and the rise of officers of arms, n ...

. Barker was made Lisle pursuivant in 1513 and Suffolk Herald in 1517. He is known to have accompanied his employer on journeys to France in 1514 and 1515. On 1 November 1522, Barker was made a royal officer of arms as

Richmond herald Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms of the College of Arms in England. From 1421 to 1485, Richmond was a herald to John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, and Henry, Earl of Richmond, ...

. In June 1536, he was promoted to

Norroy King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincial King of Arms at the College of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of the River Trent, Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of ...

and was quickly promoted to

on 15 July. As Garter King of Arms, Barker helped to organize ceremonies such as the christening of Prince Edward in 1537, the funeral of Queen

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

in the same year, the proclamation of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

as King of Ireland in 1541, and the funeral of Henry and the coronation of Edward in 1547. When Henry invaded France in person in 1544, Barker had a prominent place before the King's banner. Before Henry's death, Barker's evidence was crucial when

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, KG (1516/1517–19 January 1547) was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person to have been executed at the insistence of King ...

, was condemned to death for including the arms of Edward the Confessor among the many quarters in his coat of arms.

Personal life

Barker married three times. His first wife was Margaret, the widow of John Longe and previously of John Garret. His second wife, Ellen, was Henry Rigby's widow and daughter of Richard Dalton of Croston, Lancashire. With Ellen, Barker had two sons who predeceased him. One of these sons, Justinian, died in Spain in 1543 as

Rouge Croix Pursuivant Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms. He is said to be the oldest of the four pursuivants in ordinary. The office is named after St George's Cross which has been a symbol of England since th ...

. Barton's nephew, Laurence Dalton, also joined the College of Arms and became

. Barker's third wife was Edith, widow of Robert Legge. In 1521, he joined the Vintners' Company. He was master of the company from 1540 to 1543. Barker was recorded as lying sick at Christmas 1549 and died at Paternoster Row in London on 4 January 1550. He was buried in St Faith's under St Paul's. His widow survived him by only about six months. Many of his heraldic collections and manuscripts compiled by him survive at the College of Arms.

Arms

External links

The College of Arms

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *L. Campbell and Francis Steer. ''A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the College of Arms Collections''. (London, 1988). *

John Anstis John Anstis (29 August 1669 – 4 March 1744) was an English officer of arms, antiquarian and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1702 and 1722. He rose to the highest heraldic office in England and became Garter King of Arms in ...

. ''The Register of the Most Noble Order of the Garter''. (London, 1724), 376–379. *Andrew Crawford. ''A History of the Vintners' Company''. (London, 1977). *''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Barker, Sir Christopher (d 1549), Garter king of arms, by Sidney Lee. Published 1885. *Walter H. Godfrey and Sir Anthony Wagner, ''The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street: being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee''. (London, 1963). *Sir Anthony Wagner. ''Heralds of England: a History of the Office and College of Arms''. (London, 1967). *Sir Anthony Wagner. ''Heralds and Heraldry in the Middle Ages''. (London, 1956). *

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of Premier League club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. A fan of the c ...