Coat of arms of the Washington family

Arms of the head of the Washington Family
Greater coat of arms of the family
George Washington bookplate

The coat of arms of the Washington family was first used to identify the family in the twelfth century, when the Washington family took possession of Washington Old Hall in County Durham, England. This coat of arms is the one that was used by George Washington, President of the United States of America from 1789 to 1797. John Wessington (also Washington) (died 1451) was an English Benedictine who became prior of Durham Abbey.

The design (three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field) is often said to have inspired the Stars and Stripes flag, and has been used since 1938 as the coat of arms and flag of the District of Columbia. It is also found on the Purple Heart.

The notion that it inspired the design of the American flag dates to the celebratory and patriotic climate of the year 1876, which saw the publication of Washington: A Drama in Five Acts, a drama in verse by the popular English poet Martin Farquhar Tupper. In it, Benjamin Franklin proclaims that the design of the Stars and Stripes was based on the coat of arms of George Washington. "We, and not he—it was unknown to him," Franklin says, "took up his coat of arms, and multiplied and magnified it every way to this, our glorious national banner." The play was widely performed, and its message resonated with the American public. The story was repeated many times, including regularly in the popular children's magazine St. Nicholas. Undeniably the coat of arms does consist of two elements, the stars and the stripes, and a red and white coloration, but it lacks any blue coloration.

Description

The simple blazon is:

"Argent two bars Gules, in chief three mullets of the second."[1]

Variations and similar arms

Some authorities in the twelfth century displayed the arms with the colours reversed (gules two bars argent, in chief three mullets of the second). An almost identical coat of arms was used by the Le Moyne family, who were described as landowners at Grafham in Huntingdonshire in the reign of Henry II. Their arms was: "Argent, two bars Sable, in chief three mullets of the second", with only the colour of the mullets and bars being different.[2]

Architectural occurrences

References

  1. The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Comprising a Registry of Armorial Bearings from the Earliest to the Present Time, Sir Bernard BURKE, Harrison, London, 1884, P 1080
  2. "Grafham with East Perry - A History of the County of Huntingdon". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  3. New-York Life Insurance Co (1884). The Garsdon Branch of the Washington Family. Theo. L. De Vinne & Co. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  4. "All Saints, Garsdon". Woodbridge Group of Churches. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  5. "Steeple, Dorset, England". The Dorset Page. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  6. "St Oswald's Church Warton - The George Washington Connection". (official website). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  7. "St James's Church, Thrapston". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  8. "The Church of St John The Baptist, Wickhamford" (PDF). badsey.net. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  9. "History and Research - Hylton Castle". English Heritage. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  10. Harris, Brian (2006)Harris's Guide to Churches and Cathedrals ISBN 978-0-09-191251-2
  11. "All Saint's With St Peter, Maldon - The Washington Window". (official website). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  12. "St Mary's Great Brington". (official website). Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  13. "John Washington - Our Family Search". Our Family Search. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  14. "St Martin's Church Bowness-on-Windermere - Our Building". (official website). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  15. "St Laurence's Church, Adwick, History - The North Chapel". (official website). Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  16. "St Laurence's Church, Adwick, History - The Washingtons". (official website). Retrieved 5 January 2014.
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