Coat of arms of George Washington
Encyclopedia
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1789 to 1797, were first used to identify the family in the twelfth century, when one of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's ancestors took possession of Washington Old Hall
Washington Old Hall
Washington Old Hall is a manor house located in the Washington area of Tyne and Wear. It lies in the centre of Washington, being surrounded by other villages....
, then in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, in North East
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
England.
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
Flag of Washington, D.C.
The flag of the District of Columbia, USA, consists of three red stars above two red bars on a white background. It is based on the design of the coat of arms of George Washington, first used to identify the family in the twelfth century, when one of George Washington's ancestors took possession of...
of the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. It is also found on the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
.
Description
The simple blazonBlazon
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 the appropriate image...
is:
- "ArgentArgentIn heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
two barFessIn heraldry, a fess or fesse is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by a fess or other ordinary, ranging from one-fifth to one-third...
s GulesGulesIn heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
, in chiefChief (heraldry)In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
three mullets in fessFessIn heraldry, a fess or fesse is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by a fess or other ordinary, ranging from one-fifth to one-third...
of the second."
Architectural occurrences
- The Washington Window in Selby AbbeySelby AbbeySelby Abbey is an Anglican parish church in the town of Selby, North Yorkshire.-Background:It is one of the relatively few surviving abbey churches of the medieval period, and, although not a cathedral, is one of the biggest...
, in the BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
market town of SelbySelbySelby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
, contains a variant of the Washington coat of arms in the original 14th century stained glassStained glassThe term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
. It is thought to be a benefaction to the abbey to commemorate John WessingtonJohn WessingtonJohn Wessington was an English Benedictine who became prior of Durham Abbey.-Life:He may have been named from Washington, County Durham...
, Prior of Durham (1416–1446). The arms are distinguished from the usual Washington arms by having pierced mullets.
- The Washington coat of arms can also be seen at the huge parish church in Garsdon, near Malmesbury, WiltshireWiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, where a branch of the family moved in Tudor times. A Washington memorial accompanies it.[1]
- George Washington's coat of arms is engraved in stone in the porch of an ancient church in the tiny DorsetDorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
hamlet of SteepleSteeple, DorsetSteeple is a hamlet in the Purbeck district of the English county of Dorset. It is situated some eight miles west of Swanage. The village has a population of 94 ....
, a church that incidentally lacks a steeple.
- The Washington coat of arms is also painted in scarlet on the roof interior, quartered with those of the squires of Steeple village, the Lawrence family, who are allied with the Washingtons by the marriage of one of its sons, Edmund Lawrence to Agnes de Wessington in 1390.
- The Washington coat of arms is also engraved in stone inside a side room in the church in the small Lancashire village of WartonWarton, LancasterWarton is a village and civil parish in north Lancashire in the north-west of England, close to the boundary with Cumbria, with a population of around 2,000. It is a village steeped in history; its earliest recording as a settlement is made in Domesday Book written in 1086. The nearest town to...
(near CarnforthCarnforth- References :...
), near a pub named the George Washington. The flag of the US capital hangs proudly inside the church, presented on 25 July 1977 by Walter E. WashingtonWalter WashingtonWalter Edward Washington, was an American politician, the first home-rule mayor of the District of Columbia...
, mayor of Washington DC from 2 January 1975 - 2 January 1979
- The Washington coat of arms can also be seen in stone on the outside of Hylton CastleHylton CastleHylton Castle is a ruined stone castle in the North Hylton area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally built from wood by the Hilton family shortly after the Norman Conquest in 1066, it was later rebuilt in stone in the late 14th to early 15th century...
, Sunderland, an 11th century fortified manor houseManor houseA manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/libraries/Leaflets/Hyltoncastle.pdf.
- The Washington coat of arms appears in a memorial to Lawrence Washington (died 1619), great-uncle of Lawrence Washington, great-great grandfather of George Washington, in All Saints Church, MaidstoneAll Saints Church, MaidstoneAll Saints is a parish church in Maidstone, Kent. It is a Grade I listed building, and is described as the grandest Perpendicular style church in Kent.-Establishment and dissolution:...
.
External links
- The Washington Window in Selby Abbey
- Wiltshire History Centre, records of Washington Memorial, Garsdon.http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/archives/archive_search.php?ref_no_in=PR137/5