Sir Christopher Barker (died 4 January 1550) was an

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

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 is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

who rose to the highest position of

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

Early years

Christopher was the son of William Barker of

Stokesley Stokesley is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, formerly a part of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire. It lies on the River Leven. An electoral ward, of the same name, stretches north to ...

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

(now

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

) 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 ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

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 the private officer of arms of Charles Brandon. 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, Duke of Bedford, George, Duke of Clarence, and Henry, Earl of Richmond, all of whom held the Honour ( ...

. 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 Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is t ...

, 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 (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

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 best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

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 in front of the King's banner. Shortly before Henry's death Barker's evidence was crucial when

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

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

Personal life

Barker married three times. His first wife was Margaret was the widow of John Longe and previously of John Garret. His second wife, Ellen was the widow of Henry Rigby 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 t ...

. 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 The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the oldest Livery Companies of the City of London, England, thought to date back to the 12th century. It is one of the "Great Twelve" livery companies of London, and its motto is ''Vinum Exhilarat A ...

. He was master of the company from 1540 to 1543. Barker was recorded as lying sick at Christmas 1549 and he died at Paternoster Row in London on 4 January 1550 and 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. ''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 Sir Anthony Richard Wagner (6 September 1908 – 5 May 1995) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He served as Garter Principal King of Arms before retiring to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms. He was one of ...

, ''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 footballer who played as a central midfielder and is well remembered for his time at English club West Ham United, spending eighteen years with the club. Apart from two sh ...