Henry St George, the younger (July 1625 – 12 August 1715), was an English

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 ...

. He was a younger son of the herald

Henry St George Sir Henry St George (1581–1644) was an English Officer of arms. He was the third (but eldest surviving) son of the herald Sir Richard St George and his wife Elizabeth St John. Life He was born on 27 January 1581 at Hatley St George, Cambr ...

(1581–1644).

Life

He was born in July 1625 in St Andrew's parish,

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

, the third-born but second-surviving child of Sir Henry St George and Mary Dayrell. He had an older brother named Thomas, and at least one younger brother, Richard, and a at least one younger sister, Frances. Nothing is known of his life prior to 1660. He was appointed

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 (es ...

at the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

by patent dated 18 June 1660. This was some weeks before his elder brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

was appointed a herald, and was consequently senior to him. As deputy to

Sir Edward Walker Sir Edward Walker (1611 – February 1677) was an officer of arms and antiquarian who served as Garter King of Arms. Early life Walker was born in 1611 at Roobers in Nether Stowey, Somerset, and entered the household of the great Earl Marshal ...

, he went on a mission to Stockholm. On 29 July 1669, he invested

Charles XI Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

, king of Sweden, with the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

. He succeeded

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...

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 ...

in 1677 and was knighted. He worked closely with Dugdale, for whom he acted as deputy when the latter was in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. He was promoted to be

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

in 1680, after the death of

Edward Bysshe Sir Edward Bysshe FRS (1615?–1679) was an English barrister, politician and officer of arms. He sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1679 and was Garter King of Arms during the Commonwealth period. Life Bysshe was born at S ...

. St George was displaced as Dugdale's deputy by John Dugdale during the final years of the elder Dugdale's life. This led to a quarrel between the St George brothers and the Dugdale father and son. St George was responsible for the visitation of twelve

Counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in his region between 1681 and 1700. He gave the profits of six as a contribution towards rebuilding 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 ...

, which had been burnt in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

. Following his elder brother's death, he was appointed

Garter 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. ...

in 1703. He married Elizabeth Wingfield (d. 1704), but had no children. He died at the College of Arms on 12 August 1715 and was buried in

St Benet Paul's Wharf The Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf is a Welsh Anglican church in the City of London. Since 1556, it has also been the official church of the College of Arms in which many officers of arms have been buried. In 1666 it was destroyed in the Great F ...

, London, on 18 August. His large collection of books and manuscripts was dispersed after his death, although a portion has since been acquired by the College of Arms.

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 1 ...

, his successor as Garter, described St George as "a timorous animal, governed by every creature, minding only his iron chest and the contents of it".

Arms

References

English officers of arms 1625 births 1715 deaths Garter Principal Kings of Arms {{heraldry-stub