Sir Richard St George ( 1550 – 1635) was a long-serving

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 ...

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 ...

during the seventeenth century.

Life

He was the second son of Francis St George (d. 1584) of

Hatley, Cambridgeshire Hatley is a civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies between the villages of Gamlingay and Croydon, 12 miles south-west of the city of Cambridge and eight miles south-east of the town of St Neots. In 2001, the population of Hatley ...

. In 1575 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas St John of

Lydiard Tregoze Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish on the western edge of Swindon in the county of Wiltshire, in the south-west of England. Its name has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze. The parish includes the small village of Hoo ...

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. Elizabeth was a descendant of Margaret Beauchamp, grandmother to Henry VII. He was a collector of manuscripts and keen antiquary, associated with the Elizabethan Society of Antiquaries. He joined the College of Arms in 1602. During this year, he was unsuccessful in his bid to be appointed

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 ...

, but he later became Berwick Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary and then Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary. In 1604, St George was finally able to secure an appointment as Norroy and was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed in 1616. In 1623, he attained the position 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 ...

, the second-highest heraldic appointment in England. He was active in all of the posts to which he was appointed until his death. He carried out numerous visitations during his tenure and was a noted scholar and antiquarian. Richard St George died in 1635 and is buried in St Andrew's church, Holborn. The family bore a coat of arms

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed ''Argent a Chief Azure overall a Lion rampant Gules crowned Or''.

Issue

Richard St George was the head of a noted heraldic family. His son

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

became

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 ...

in 1645 and the latter’s two sons,

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and

became Garters in 1686 and 1703 respectively. Richard St George's second son, Sir George St George of

Carrickdrumrusk Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. A smaller part of the town located on the west bank of the River Shannon lies in County Roscommon and is home to the town's main train s ...

had three sons (

Oliver Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

and Charles) and was an ancestor of the Barons St George. Another son, Richard, was an ancestor of the St Georges of Woodsgift in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

. John Burke and

John Bernard Burke Sir John Bernard Burke, (5 January 1814 – 12 December 1892) was a British genealogist and Ulster King of Arms, who helped publish ''Burke's Peerage''. Personal life Burke, of Irish descent, was born at London and was educated in London and ...

, ''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England'', London 1838, p. 461.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George, Richard 1550s births 1635 deaths English officers of arms English genealogists

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

16th-century English writers 16th-century English male writers 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers