The Burgh Heraldry

The later, 16^th century Burgh family liked to imagine they were descended from the great Hubert De Burgh, Justicar of Kent but reality puts them firmly in Kendal, Westmoreland, and now Cumbria.  The Burgh’s started off as farmers and made their way into the Kendal minor gentry as merchants, probably of wool.

Where the striking heraldry came from that we now know is a difficult question to answer but it is definitely NOT the ancient De Burgh heraldry, quite simply they were not entitled to use it.

 An answer may be found when we look at the activities of Thomas Burgh esq., father of the future Sir Thomas, and his older brother, John also and esquire, who are recorded as being members of that magnificent army of King Henry V, which, in 1415, destroyed the French army at Agincourt. Both squires were part of the personal retinue of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, brother of the King, who was himself badly wounded during the fighting.

It mat be that the heraldry was granted to the two brave lads for their part in the action around the Duke?  The heraldry of France was well known as three gold (Or) Fleur-d-Llys on a field of Blue (Azure), a simple change of ticture (colour) to Ermine and a great honour is granted and two pensions saved. Thomas Burgh esq., although not the fifth son differenced his heraldry with an Annulet in gold (Or), we do not know if his elder brother John used another for his. 

Thomas and John both married heiresses; Thomas securing an excellent match with Elizabeth Percy, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Henry Percy of Harthill.  Sir Henry was the younger brother of Sir Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy, eldest son of the earl of Northumberland, who was killed in rebellion against Henry IV at Shrewsbury in 1403, he was also uncle to the present earl, very well connected indeed.

Elizabeth’s sister married Sir Henry Grey of Codnor, soon to be Lord Grey.

Not only did Sir Henry Percy eventually pass his manor of Gainsborough to Thomas Burgh but also some excellent heraldry, which, as Elizabeth was an heiress, he could quarter with his own. Sir Henry had married and heiress in her own right from the Scottish Stathbolgi’s; when they married relations with Scotland were much better than in the 15^th century and the Strathbolgi’s were earls of Atholl, major players in the Scottish realm. The Percy Blue lion rampant was quartered with the Black and Yellow vertical stripes of the earls of Atholl;  Sir Thomas Burgh was immensely and quite rightly proud of his Percy connections and displayed the heraldry we have now recreated on all occasions.

The Percy family connections to his ‘cousin’ of Northumberland were not imagination, Sir Thomas undoubtedly used his influence with Edward IV to assist the young earl to be restored to his lands and title, he even acted a an executor when the earl was murdered whilst tax collecting for Henry VII – blood and heraldry are thicker than water!

 Scotland during the 15^th century was England’s worst enemy; the borderlands were constantly subject to the Reivers, and incursions by warlike Scottish Kings, so Sir Thomas and his heirs may not have known that the Starthbolgi earls of Atholl had died out without direct male heirs – Sir Thomas Burgh, Lord Burgh KG, earl of Atholl – has a ring to it!

When Sir Thomas married the widowed Lady Botreaux he did not marry an heiress and thus was only entitled to use Margaret’s Roos heraldry whilst she was alive. He may have placed a small shield in the centre of his own but none of the descriptions of the Burgh heraldry, in various churches, recorded before its utter destruction, mention this, although his son, Sir Edward does use it in some of his along with Cobham – his wife.

 The Retinue have just added a full heraldic banner of Sir Thomas Burgh, all hand painted to its collection and this may now be seen, for the first time in some five hundred years, at our events.

THE MAYNFER BADGE

It is not known when Sir Thomas Burgh adopted the 'Maynfer' as his identifying badge, but he chose it for his Retinue and Household to wear and also to mark his property, such as the manor House at Gainsborough - The Old Hall. He even had a favourite large drinking mazer, known as 'the old maynfer'. The badge features on all of the Standards of his direct descendants.

 The Maynfer is based upon the 'manifer', a piece of armour used in jousting and tourney from about the 1440's.  It was used to protect the left arm of the knight and was usually in heavier gauge steel, designed to absorb blows, ward them off and deflect lance strikes; a small shield was often fastened to it.

See our 'merchandise' page for Burgh Goodies!

We do know that Sir Thomas's eldest son, Edward, was an accomplished jouster, it may be that Sir Thomas was too, in his younger days, as he was getting on a bit when the 1467 Smithfield Tournament took place (to celebrate the Kings sister's marriage to the Duke of Burgundy).

The badge is first illustrated and recorded in the Heralds accounts for the 1475 invasion of France , but it is drawn at rather an odd angle! Later we find it, roughly the same shape on Sir Edward Thomas Burgh II's Standard and it is design, based on the earlier style that was drawn for us by Helen Brown, one of our founder members in 1998.

The badge gives immediate identification to everyone wearing it, as there was a great deal of awareness of Lord's personal badges, even by the common people - they could all recognise the earl of Warwick by his Ragged-Staff badge.  Whether walking down a street, on official business or on the battlefield, knowing your own side badges and livery colours is just as important as knowing your enemies!

The badges we wear on our blue/yellow livery coats and blue tabards are all hand embroidered; many members wear small versions in pewter, bronze or even solid silver.  Metal badges are for sale to the Public so if you would like to support us and wear one with pride please have a look at the merchandise Page.

Ung Roy! Ung Foy! Ung Loy!