Sir Richard St George was a long-serving officer of arms

Officer of arms

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

 at the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 on London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 during the seventeenth century.

The date of birth of Richard St George is unknown. In 1575 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas St John of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire. He joined the College of Arms in 1602. During this year, he was unsuccessful in his bid to be appointed Norroy King of Arms

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is one of the senior Officers of Arms of the College of Arms, and the junior of the two provincial Kings of Arms. The current office is the combination of two former appointments...

, but he later became Berwick Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary

Berwick Pursuivant

Berwick Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary was a British office of arms created around 1460 for English service on the Scottish Marches based at Berwick-upon-Tweed...

 and then Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary

Windsor Herald

Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. It has been suggested that the office was instituted specifically for the Order of the Garter in 1348, or that it predates the Order and was in use as early as 1338...

. In 1604, St George was finally able to secure an appointment as Norroy and was knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ed in 1616. In 1623, he attained the position of Clarenceux King of Arms

Clarenceux King of Arms

Clarenceux King of Arms 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 England south of the River Trent. The office almost certainly existed in 1420, and there is a fair degree of...

–the second highest heraldic appointment in England. He was active in all of the posts to which he was appointed until his death. He carried out numerous visitations during his tenure and was a noted scholar and antiquarian.

Richard St George died in 1635 and is buried in St Andrew’s, Holborn. The family bore a coat of arms blazon

Blazon

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...

ed Argent a Chief Azure overall a Lion rampant Gules crowned Or.

Issue

Richard St George was the head of a noted heraldic family. His son Henry

Henry St George

- Life :He was born in 1581 at Hatley St George, Cambridgeshire. He entered the College of Arms as Rouge Rose pursuivant-extraordinary in 1610 and was promoted to Bluemantle pursuivant the following year, in which capacity accompanied his father in his visitations of Derbyshire and Cheshire...

 became Garter Principal King of Arms

Garter Principal King of Arms

The Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world...

 in 1645 and the latter’s two sons, Thomas and Henry became Garters in 1686 and 1703 respectively.

Richard St George's second son, Sir George St George of Carrickdrumrusk had two sons (Oliver

Sir Oliver St George, 1st Baronet

Sir Oliver St George, 1st Baronet was an Irish Member of Parliament.The son of Sir George St George, of Carrickdrumrusk, and grandson of Richard St George, Clarenceux King of Arms, he was created a Baronet, of Carrickdrumrusk in the county of Leitrim, on 5 September 1660 in the Baronetage of England...

 and George

George St George

Sir George St George of Dunmore was an Irish Member of Parliament.He represented Carrick in the Irish House of Commons from September 1703 to his death, sitting alongside his nephew Oliver St George....

) and was ancestor of the Barons St George

Baron St George

Baron St George was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1715 when Sir George St George, 2nd Baronet, was made Baron St George, of Hatley Saint George in the Counties of Roscommon and Leitrim...

. Another son, Richard, was ancestor of the St Georges of Woodsgift in County Kilkenny

County Kilkenny

County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...

.