George Edward Cokayne (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving herald 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 ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, who eventually rose to the rank of

Clarenceux King of Arms Clarenceux King of Arms, historically often spelled Clarencieux (both pronounced ), is an Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial King of Arms, kings of arms and his juri ...

. He wrote such authoritative and standard reference works as ''

The Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''); first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition re ...

'' and '' The Complete Baronetage''.

Origins

Cokayne was born on 29 April 1825, with the surname Adams, being the son of William Adams by his wife the Hon. Mary Anne Cokayne, a daughter of Viscount Cullen. He was baptised George Edward Adams. On 15 August 1873, he changed his surname by Royal Licence to Cokayne (such changes were frequently made to meet the terms of bequests from childless relatives, often in the maternal line, who wished to see their name and arms continue).

Career

Education

He matriculated from

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

on 6 June 1844, and graduated BA in 1848 and MA in 1852. He was admitted a student of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

on 16 January 1850, and was called to the bar on 30 April 1853.

College of Arms

He began 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 at the College of Arms in London with an appointment in 1859 to the post of Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary, and was promoted in 1870 to the office of Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary. In 1882 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 ...

, which office he held until his appointment as

in 1894, which he held until his death in 1911.

''The Complete Peerage''

Cokayne wrote ''

'', the first edition of which was published between 1887 and 1898

Marriage and progeny

On 2 December 1856, he married Mary Dorothea Gibbs, daughter of George Henry Gibbs by his wife Caroline Crawley. The couple had eight children, of whom two sons and two daughters survived their father. One of his sons,

Brien Brien is a surname and male given name. Notable people with this name include: Surname * Alan Brien (1925–2008), English journalist * Chris Brien, drummer, percussionist and drum clinician * Don Brien (born 1959), Canadian sprint canoer * Doug ...

, became

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent choosing and mentoring a successor. The governor ...

from 1918 to 1920 and was ennobled in 1920 as Baron Cullen of Ashbourne.

Death

George Edward Cokayne died at

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, sharing its SW15 postcode with neighbouring Putney and Kingston Vale, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large counc ...

on 6 August 1911, aged 86.

Arms

References

External links

The Complete Baronetage
on

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

The College of Arms

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cokayne, George Edward 1825 births 1911 deaths English officers of arms English genealogists Place of birth missing Place of death missing Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire