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{{Short description|One of the official symbols of the Washington family}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox Coat of arms|image=COA George Washington.svg|crest=From a crest coronet a raven rising wings elevated and addorsed proper.|shield=Argent two bars Gules, in chief three mullets of the second.<ref>Bolton's American Armory. Boston: F. W. Faxon Co, 1927</ref>|motto=Exitus acta probat (The outcome is the test of the act)|color=red|image2=File:Coat of Arms of George Washington.svg|caption=[[Escutcheon (heraldry)|Shield]]|lesser_caption=|image2_caption=Full [[Achievement (heraldry)|achievement]]|image2_width=200|armiger=[[Washington, D.C.|Washington ]]}}
[[File:Flag of the District of Columbia.svg|thumb|[[Flag of Washington, D.C.|Flag of the District of Columbia]].]]
[[Image:Washington coat of arms.jpg|thumb|[[Selby Abbey]], [[England]]]]
[[File:P1080619 Washington coat of arms - Lumix67.jpg|thumb|[[Sulgrave Manor]], [[England]]]]
[[File:George Washington’s bookplate. Sotheby's.jpg|thumb|George Washington bookplate]]
[[Image:John Washington plaque.JPG|thumb|[[Durham Cathedral]] cloisters, [[England]]]]
[[Image:Washington Memorial 1619 All Saints Maidstone.jpg|thumb|[[Maidstone]], [[England]]]]
[[File:Washington monument - geograph.org.uk - 1087384.jpg|thumb|Godfrey Washington's monument in [[Little St Mary's, Cambridge]]]]
[[File:Washington University bookplate.png|thumb|[[Washington University in St. Louis|Washington University]] Seal]]
The first '''coat of arms of a member of the Washington family''' is first documented in the 14th century, borne by one of the male [[Washington family|Washington]] family members of [[Washington Old Hall]] in [[County Durham]], [[England]].

The design (three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field) has been used since 1938 as the basis for the [[coat of arms]] and [[Flag of Washington, D.C.|flag]] of the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]. It is also found on the [[Purple Heart]].

These elements have also been said to have inspired the "stars and stripes" design of the [[Flag of the United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.selbyabbey.org.uk/washington_link.htm|title=Washington Window|access-date=25 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204220959/http://www.selbyabbey.org.uk/washington_link.htm|archive-date=4 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, despite some visual similarity, there is "little evidence"<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUFvDwAAQBAJ&q=five+acts&pg=PA342|title=The American Flag: An Encyclopedia of the Stars and Stripes in U.S. History, Culture, and Law|last=Vile|first=John R.|date=2018-10-31|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-4408-5789-8|pages=342|language=en|access-date=9 November 2020|archive-date=2 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502143557/https://books.google.com/books?id=WUFvDwAAQBAJ&q=five+acts&pg=PA342|url-status=live}}</ref> or "no evidence whatsoever"<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WeUCGbaOgKQC&q=flag+coat+of+arms+Washington%3A+A+Drama+in+Five+Acts&pg=PT147|title=Flag: An American Biography|last=Leepson|first=Marc|date=2007-04-01|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4299-0647-0|language=en|chapter=Chapter Ten: The Hundredth Anniversary|access-date=9 November 2020|archive-date=2 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502143559/https://books.google.com/books?id=WeUCGbaOgKQC&q=flag+coat+of+arms+Washington%3A+A+Drama+in+Five+Acts&pg=PT147#v=snippet&q=flag%20coat%20of%20arms%20Washington%3A%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> to support the claimed connection. The ''Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington'', published by the [[Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington]] at [[Mount Vernon]], calls it an "enduring myth" backed by "no discernible evidence."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/coat-of-arms/|title=Coat of Arms|last=Capps|first=Alan|website=The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington|publisher=[[Mount Vernon Ladies' Association]]|language=en|access-date=2020-01-08|archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829154048/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/coat-of-arms/|url-status=live}}</ref> Instead, the story seems to have originated in the 1876 play ''Washington: A Drama in Five Acts'', by the English poet [[Martin Farquhar Tupper]], and was further popularized through repetition in the children's magazine ''[[St. Nicholas Magazine|St. Nicholas]]''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

==History==
The [[Washington family]] traces its roots to Sir William de Hertburn who was granted the lordship of Wessyngton in northeast England and adopted the name of the estate. The early arms showed a lion rampant in 1203. In 1346, a new design with two horizontal bars below three mullets, though with the [[tincture (heraldry)|tinctures]] reversed from the later arms, is recorded for Sir William de Hertburn/de Wessyngton's great-grandson. At the end of the 14th century, the current design is recorded. The family scattered in various parts of the country over the next century. One branch of the family would move to the Colony of Virginia settled in [[Northamptonshire]], England. In 1592, Robert Cook, Clarenceux King of Arms confirms upon Lawrence Washington of Sulgrave Manor the current coat of arms.
<ref name=MountVernon>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/coat-of-arms/ |title=Mount Vernon - Coat of arms |access-date=1 May 2019 |archive-date=29 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829154048/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/coat-of-arms/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a letter dated 7 December 1791, [[George Washington]] received the confirmation from [[Isaac Heard | Sir Isaac Heard]], Garter Principal King of Arms of the College of Arms in London. He responds that "the arms are the same that are held here by certain ancestral family member." The President used the coat of arms in many places around his home at Mount Vernon including on several personal items as well as on the livery uniforms of his servants, as this was a common practice prior to the [[American Revolution]] among wealthy plantation owners. 

It was the first coat of arms recorded in the [[Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society]]'s ''Roll of Arms.''

==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, Cambridgeshire|Grafham]] in [[Huntingdonshire]] in the reign of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]]. Their arms was: "Argent, two bars [[Sable (heraldry)|Sable]], in chief three mullets of the second", with only the colour of the mullets and bars being different.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66147|title=Grafham with East Perry - A History of the County of Huntingdon|website=british-history.ac.uk|access-date=4 February 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223232532/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66147|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Washington University in St. Louis]] seal, developed in 1896, uses elements from George Washington's coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wustl.edu/about/history-traditions/|title=History and Traditions|website=Washington University in St. Louis|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-19|archive-date=8 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408184414/https://wustl.edu/about/history-traditions/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Other uses==
Washington coat of arms served as inspiration for the [[Flag of Washington, D.C.]] The coat of arms is also on the [[Purple Heart]] decoration awarded by the [[United States Armed Forces]].

==Architectural occurrences==
*The oldest surviving occurrence may be a stained glass window in the Old Library of [[Trinity College, Oxford]]. The window is believed to have been moved from what was the chapel of Durham College, Oxford. Durham College was created for the training of Benedictine monks from [[Durham Cathedral|Durham Abbey]]. Durham College was disestablished by Henry VIII. Sir Thomas Pope purchased the site in 1555 and used it for the creation of Trinity College. Henry the VIII tainted the Washington family by guilt of association from two associates that committed violation against the King. 
*The Washington Window in [[Selby Abbey]], in the [[United Kingdom|British]] market town of [[Selby]], contains a variant of the Washington coat of arms in the original 14th-century [[stained glass]]. It is thought to be a benefaction to the abbey to commemorate [[John Wessington]], [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|Prior]] of Durham (1416&ndash;1446). The arms are distinguished from the usual Washington arms by having pierced [[star (heraldry)|mullets]].
*The Washington coat of arms can also be seen at the parish church in [[Garsdon]], near [[Malmesbury]], [[Wiltshire]], where a branch of the family moved in Tudor times. A Washington memorial accompanies it.<ref>{{cite book|last1=New-York Life Insurance Co|title=The Garsdon Branch of the Washington Family|date=1884|publisher=Theo. L. De Vinne & Co|url=http://www.forgottenbooks.com/books/The_Garsdon_Branch_of_the_Washington_Family_1000886694|access-date=22 February 2015|archive-date=22 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222125329/http://www.forgottenbooks.com/books/The_Garsdon_Branch_of_the_Washington_Family_1000886694|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=All Saints, Garsdon|url=http://garsdonchurch.co.uk/|website=Woodbridge Group of Churches|access-date=22 February 2015|archive-date=22 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222140500/http://garsdonchurch.co.uk/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Washington coat of arms is engraved in stone in the porch of an ancient church in the tiny [[Dorset]] hamlet of [[Steeple, Dorset|Steeple]], a church that incidentally lacks a [[steeple (architecture)|steeple]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Steeple, Dorset, England|url=http://www.thedorsetpage.com/locations/place/S220.htm|publisher=The Dorset Page|access-date=2 January 2014|archive-date=2 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802142214/http://www.thedorsetpage.com/locations/Place/S220.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 engraved in stone inside a side room in the [[St Oswald's Church, Warton|church]] in the small [[Lancashire]] village of [[Warton, Lancaster|Warton]] (near [[Carnforth]]), near a pub named the George Washington. The flag of the US capital hangs prominently in the church, presented on 25 July 1977 by [[Walter Washington|Walter E. Washington]] (no relation), mayor of Washington, D.C., from 2 January 1975 – 2 January 1979<ref>{{cite web|title=St Oswald's Church Warton - The George Washington Connection|url=http://www.wartonstoswald.co.uk/Pages/History/George%20Washington/index.html|publisher=(official website)|access-date=1 January 2014|archive-date=2 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192622/http://www.wartonstoswald.co.uk/Pages/History/George%20Washington/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The Washington coat of arms can be seen (with the colours reversed) on a memorial to [[John Wessington]] in the cloisters of [[Durham Cathedral]], where he was Prior.
*The Washington coat of arms is engraved in stone in the parish church of [[Thrapston]] in [[Northamptonshire]]. George Washington's ancestor, Sir John Washington, was mayor of the town in the seventeenth century.<ref>{{cite web|title=St James's Church, Thrapston|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-424202-church-of-st-james-thrapston-northampton|publisher=British Listed Buildings|access-date=3 January 2014|archive-date=3 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103203541/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-424202-church-of-st-james-thrapston-northampton|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The Washington coat of arms can be seen with many coat of arms in a stained glass window in St Laurence Church in [[Chorley]], the same place where it is said to be the birthplace of [[Myles Standish]].
*The Washington coat of arms can be seen in stone in the parish church of St John in [[Wickhamford]], [[Worcestershire]], on the grave of Penelope Washington, whose father, Colonel Henry Washington, was the first cousin of George Washington's grandfather Lawrence. The coat of arms is lozenge-shaped, [[Women in heraldry|as is the custom]] for women in England.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Church of St John The Baptist, Wickhamford|url=http://www.badsey.net/wickhamford/stjohn.pdf|website=badsey.net|access-date=2 January 2014|archive-date=3 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103055951/http://www.badsey.net/wickhamford/stjohn.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The Washington coat of arms can be seen in stone on the outside of [[Hylton Castle]], [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]], an 11th-century fortified [[manor house]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/hylton-castle/history-and-research/|title=History and Research - Hylton Castle|publisher=[[English Heritage]]|access-date=2 January 2014|archive-date=1 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101044211/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/hylton-castle/history-and-research|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The Washington coat of arms appears in a memorial to Lawrence Washington (died 1619), great-uncle of [[Lawrence Washington (1602–1653)|Lawrence Washington]], great-great-grandfather of George Washington, in [[All Saints Church, Maidstone|All Saints Church]], [[Maidstone]].<ref name="Harris">Harris, Brian (2006)''Harris's Guide to Churches and Cathedrals'' {{ISBN|978-0-09-191251-2}}</ref>
*The Washington coat of arms can be seen in a memorial window in All Saints' Church in [[Maldon, Essex]], where [[Lawrence Washington (1602-1653)|Lawrence Washington]] was buried in the graveyard.<ref>{{cite web|title=All Saint's With St Peter, Maldon - The Washington Window|url=http://www.allsaintsmaldon.com/a-guide-to-our-church-2/the-washington-window-9588.php|publisher=(official website)|access-date=1 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192126/http://www.allsaintsmaldon.com/a-guide-to-our-church-2/the-washington-window-9588.php|archive-date=2 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*The Washington coat of arms is engraved in stone on the tomb of the first Lawrence Washington (died 1619) in the [[chancel]] of [[Great Brington]]'s parish church of St Mary.<ref>{{cite web|title=St Mary's Great Brington|url=http://www.greatbringtonparishchurch.co.uk/|publisher=(official website)|access-date=2 January 2014|archive-date=2 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192716/http://www.greatbringtonparishchurch.co.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The Washington coat of arms is placed prominently above the entrance door at [[Sulgrave Manor]] in Northamptonshire, the home built in 1560 by Lawrence Washington (d. 1584) George Washington's direct ancestor. The family coat of arms can also be seen in stained glass panels in the Great Hall which show marriage arms of several families that married into the Washington family. These are copies of the original stained glass windows, which were moved into the [[Church of St Mary the Virgin, Fawsley]].
*The Washington coat of arms, quartered with that of Kitson, whose family married into that of Washington, can be seen in a stained glass window in [[Hengrave Hall]] in Suffolk.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourfamilysearch.com/html/nti06523.htm|title=John Washington - Our Family Search|publisher=Our Family Search|access-date=25 December 2013|archive-date=26 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226055855/http://www.ourfamilysearch.com/html/nti06523.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The Washington coat of arms appears with many other coats of arms in the main east stained glass window of [[St Martin's Church, Bowness-on-Windermere]] ([[Cumbria]]), in the fifth light from the left, on the top row.<ref>{{cite web|title=St Martin's Church Bowness-on-Windermere - Our Building|url=http://www.stmartin.org.uk/|publisher=(official website)|access-date=1 January 2014|archive-date=18 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118200720/http://stmartin.org.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The Washington coat of arms appears in stone on the grave of a James Washington (d. 1580) in the north chapel of the parish church of Saint Laurence in [[Adwick-le-Street]], [[South Yorkshire]], where he was lord of the manor.<ref>{{cite web|title=St Laurence's Church, Adwick, History - The North Chapel|url=http://www.adwick-st-laurence.co.uk/history_chapel.html|publisher=(official website)|access-date=5 January 2014|archive-date=6 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106032059/http://www.adwick-st-laurence.co.uk/history_chapel.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, there is no proven ancestral link between him and George Washington.<ref>{{cite web|title=St Laurence's Church, Adwick, History - The Washingtons|url=http://www.adwick-st-laurence.co.uk/history_washington.html|publisher=(official website)|access-date=5 January 2014|archive-date=6 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106031801/http://www.adwick-st-laurence.co.uk/history_washington.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Reverend Godfrey Washington, the great uncle of George Washington, who died on 28 September 1729 is buried in [[Little St Mary's, Cambridge|Little St Mary's Church]], [[Cambridge]]. His memorial is on the north wall close to the main door.

==See also==
*[[Flag of Washington, D.C.]], the [[banner of arms]] of this coat
*[[United States heraldry|United States Heraldry]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* ''Flag: An American Biography'': Marc Leepson: [[Thomas Dunne Books]]: 2005: {{ISBN|978-0-31232-309-7}}
* ''Dorset Pioneers'': Jack Dwyer: [[The History Press]]: 2009: {{ISBN|978-0-7524-5346-0}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Washington arms|Coat of arms of Washington}}
*[http://www.washingtonhistorysociety.org/ Washington History Society]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130204220959/http://www.selbyabbey.org.uk/washington_link.htm The Washington Window in Selby Abbey]
*[http://www.sulgravemanor.org.uk/ Sulgrave Manor]
*[https://www.americanheraldry.org/heraldry-in-the-usa/arms-of-famous-americans/presidents-of-the-united-states/george-washington-1st-president-of-the-united-states The Arms of George Washington]

{{George Washington}}
{{Washington family}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coat of Arms of George Washington}}
[[Category:George Washington]]
[[Category:Coats of arms|Washington, George]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with stars|Washington]]
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