Arms of Percy ancient: Azure, five fusils conjoined in fesse or[1] These arms are still quartered by the Dukes of Northumberland, but were superseded c. 1300 by the adoption by Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy (d.1314) of the arms Or, a lion rampant azure, the source for which is variously given as the "Lion of Brabant",[2] the extinct arms of Redvers, Earls of Devon,[3] or the Lion of Arundel combined with the tinctures of Warenne
The Percy family is an English noble family. They were among the most powerful noble families in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages. The noble family is known for its long rivalry with the House of Neville, another family powerful in northern England during the 15th century. The Percy-Neville feud led into the Wars of the Roses, at the time known as the Civil Wars, in England.
The Percy surname twice died out in the male line only to be re-adopted later by the husband or son of a Percy heiress. In the 12th century, the original Percy line was represented by Agnes de Percy, whose son by her husband Joscelin of Louvain adopted the surname. Again in the 18th century, the heiress Elizabeth Seymour married Sir Hugh Smithson, who adopted the surname Percy and was created Duke of Northumberland.[6]
In 1309, Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy purchased Alnwick Castle from Antony Bek, Bishop of Durham. The castle had been founded in the late 11th century by Ivo de Vesci, a nobleman from Vassy or Vichy. A descendant of Ivo de Vesci, John de Vesci, succeeded to his father's titles and estates upon his father's death in Gascony in 1253. These included the barony of Alnwick and a large property in Northumberland and considerable estates in Yorkshire, including Malton. Due to being under age, King Henry III of England conferred the wardship of John's estates to a foreign kinsman, which caused great offence to the de Vesci family. The family's property and estates had been put into the guardianship of Bek, who sold them to the Percys. From this time, the fortunes of the Percys, although they still held their Yorkshire lands and titles, were linked permanently with Alnwick and its castle.[citation needed]
The fourth Earl was involved in the political manoeuvrings of the last Yorkist kings Edward IV and Richard III. Through either indecision or treachery he did not respond in a timely manner at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and thus helped cause his ally Richard III's defeat at the hands of Henry Tudor (who became Henry VII). In 1489, he was pulled from his horse and murdered by some of his tenants.[citation needed]
The fifth Earl displayed magnificence in his tastes, and being one of the richest magnates of his day, kept a very large household establishment.[citation needed]
Thereafter, a succession of plots and counterplots—the Rising of the North, the plots to liberate Mary Queen of Scots, and the Gunpowder Plot – each claimed a Percy among their adherents. On this account the eighth and ninth Earls spent many years in the Tower, but the tenth Earl, Algernon, fought against King Charles in the Civil War, the male line of the Percy-Louvain house ending with Josceline, the eleventh Earl. The heiress to the vast Percy estates married the Duke of Somerset; and her granddaughter married a Yorkshire knight, Sir Hugh Smithson, who in 1766 was created the first Duke of Northumberland and Earl Percy, and it is their descendants who now represent the famous old house.[7]
The title was created for the third time in 1766 for Hugh Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (formerly Sir Hugh Smithson, 4th Baronet), who had assumed by Act of Parliament in 1750 for himself and his descendants the surname Percy, due to his having married in 1740 the daughter of Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (1684–1750), whose mother
Lady Elizabeth Percy (1667–1722) was the last of the senior blood line of the ancient House of Percy, being the only surviving child of Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland (1644–1670). In 1749 King George II created Algernon (who had inherited the Dukedom of Somerset in 1748) Earl of Northumberland and Baron Warkworth, of Warkworth Castle in the County of Northumberland, with special remainder to his son-in-law Sir Hugh Smithson, 4th Baronet.[8][9]
The above steps formed a deliberate move to allow ancient names and titles of the Percys to be revived in the male-heir exhausted senior branch of the Dukedom of Somerset, which at that time was about to see its largest removal – to another noble but very cadet branch (a fourth cousin) on Algernon's death. Algernon was also created Earl of Egremont at the same time, with a different remainder.[10]
In 1784 the 1st Duke was also granted the substantive title Lord Lovaine, Baron of Alnwick in the County of Northumberland, in the Peerage of Great Britain, with remainder to his second son Lord Algernon Percy,[11] who succeeded and who was created Earl of Beverley in 1790, and thus it too became a courtesy title.[12]
The 1st Duke was succeeded in the dukedom and associated titles by his eldest son, Hugh, the 2nd Duke, a lieutenant-general in the British Army. The 2nd Duke was in his turn succeeded by his eldest son, Hugh, the 3rd Duke, who in 1812, five years before he succeeded in the dukedom, had been summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Percy.[13] The 3rd Duke later held office as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland from 1829 to 1830. He was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, Algernon, 1st Baron Prudhoe, the 4th Duke, who in 1814 had been created Baron Prudhoe, of Prudhoe Castle in the County of Northumberland, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[14] The 4th Duke was an admiral in the Royal Navy and notably served as First Lord of the Admiralty in 1852. He was also childless and on his death in 1865 the barony of Prudhoe became extinct while the barony of Percy (which could be passed on through the female line) was inherited by his great-nephew, John Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl. The Admiral was succeeded in the dukedom and remaining titles by his first cousin, George, the 2nd Earl of Beverley, eldest son of the second son of the 1st Duke. The barony of Lovaine and earldom of Beverley have since been merged in the dukedom as courtesy titles.
The 5th Duke was succeeded by his eldest son, Algernon, the 6th Duke, who notably served as Lord Privy Seal between 1879 and 1880 under Lord Beaconsfield. The 6th Duke's eldest son, Henry, the 7th Duke, was summoned to the House of lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Lord Lovaine in 1887.[15] The 7th Duke's eldest son, Henry Percy, Earl Percy, predeceased him. He was succeeded by his fourth but eldest surviving son, Alan, the 8th Duke, whose eldest son, Henry, the 9th Duke, was killed during the retreat to Dunkirk during the Second World War. Henry was succeeded by his younger brother, Hugh, the 10th Duke. In 1957, on the death of his fourth cousin once removed, James Stewart-Murray, 9th Duke of Atholl, Hugh succeeded as 9th Baron Percy, the title thus re-merging with the Dukedom. As of 2012 the titles are held by his second son, Ralph, the 12th Duke, who succeeded on the death of his elder brother in 1995.
Northumberland Estates manages 100,000 acres (400 km2): directly managing 4,000 acres (16 km2) of forestry and 20,000 acres (81 km2) of farmland, with approximately 100 tenant farmers managing the remaining bulk of the land.[16][17][18]
The seat of the Dukes of Northumberland is Alnwick Castle, which is located in Alnwick, Northumberland.[19] The family's London residence is Syon House in Brentford, which replaced, as their London residence, the demolished Northumberland House in the Strand.[20]Warkworth and Prudhoe castles were the residences of the Earls of Northumberland in the Middle Ages, and ownership was retained by the later Dukes. Both are now in the custody of English Heritage. Albury Park is a former residence which has been converted into apartments, while the surrounding estate is still directly owned by the Duke.[21] The traditional burial place of the Dukes is the Northumberland Vault in Westminster Abbey in London, the Percys thus being the last family to maintain such a privilege. Their family vault is however nearly full, and a new private graveyard has been created in Hulne Park near Alnwick.
Recurring names
Recurring names in the Percy genealogy include:
Henry (first borne by the 7th feudal baron of Topcliffe and his 10 immediate successors, including the 1st Earl and Harry Hotspur)
Richard de Percy (d. 1244),[22] 5th feudal baron of Topcliffe, signatory to Magna Carta. Died childless. Succeeded his elder brother Henry de Percy (d.1198), the 4th Baron Topcliffe, whose son William III de Percy (1197-1245) became Richard's heir.[22]
William de Percy, (1197–1245), 6th feudal baron of Topcliffe
Henry de Percy, 7th feudal baron of Topcliffe (1228–1272)
Henry Percy (1364/1366–1403), also called Harry Hotspur, helped Henry IV seize the throne but later rebelled against him, killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury
Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (see below)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Percy arms.
Paternal arms of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy (1273–1314): Azure, five fusils in fess or,[23]("Percy ancient") which he abandoned in favour of right: Or, a lion rampant azure ("Percy modern"/Brabant)[24] Both arms were quartered by the Percy Earls of Northumberland and remain quartered by the present Duke of Northumberland
Arms of original de Perci family
Arms of the Percy family descended from Joscelin de Louvain
Sir Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, KG
Coat of arms of Percy and Lucy families quartered, arms of the Earls and Dukes of Northumberland.
Henry Percy, "Hotspur"
Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy, KG.png
Sir Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, KG
Sir Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, KG
Sir Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG
Sir Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, KG
Sir Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, KG
Sir Algernon Percy, 10 Earl of Northumberland, KG
Arms of Smithson of Stanwick, Yorkshire (ancient): Argent, a chevron engrailed sable between three oak leaves erect slipped vert[25]
Topcliffe Castle, Yorkshire, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as held by William I de Percy (d.1096), whom it served as the caput of the feudal barony of Topcliffe. The Percy family's most ancient English seat.
Petworth, Sussex, acquired by Joscelin of Louvain (d.1180), husband of Agnes de Percy, one of the two daughters and co-heiresses of William II de Percy (d.1174–5), feudal baron of Topcliffe in Yorkshire (grandson of William I de Percy (d.1096)). Jocelin's younger son Richard "de Percy" (d.1244) adopted the surname "de Percy" and inherited his father's estate of Petworth and a moiety of his maternal barony of Topcliffe. Richard died without progeny when his estates descended to his nephew William III "de Percy" (1197-1245), grandson of Jocelin de Louvain, who had inherited the other moiety of Topcliffe from his great-aunt Maud de Percy.[28]
Canting arms of Lucy of Cockermouth Castle: Gules, three lucies hauriant argent
^Smith-Ellis, W., Antiquities of Heraldry, Vol. 1, pp.204-5, who suggests that a Roll of Arms c.1308-14 temp. Edward II lists the arms of Redvers as abatue or extinct and states in the same roll that they were borne by Sir Henry de Percy, whose father was heir of his 2nd brother Ingelram, who married Adeline, daughter and heiress of William de Fors by Isabel, daughter and heiress of Baldwin de Rivers, Earl of Devon. The Courtenays were also heirs of Isabel de Fors, and also quarter the Redvers lion
^ abcSanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.148
^"Farming". The Northumberland Estates. The Northumberland Estates. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
^"Sawmill and Forestry". The Northumberland Estates. The Northumberland Estates. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
^Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.849, Duke of Northumberland
^Howard de Walden, Lord, Some Feudal Lords and their Seals 1301, published 1904, p.43
^Collins' Baronetage of England; The old arms can be seen carved in wood impaling the arms of Fairfax (A lion rampant) on the staircase of Moulton Hall, Richmond, York, made following the 1653 marriage of George Smithson. See image in: Smithson, George R., Genealogical notes memoirs of the Smithson family, London, 1906, plate between pp.24&25 [1]
^Collins, Arthur, The English Baronetage, vol.3, part 1; Victoria County History, Stanwick St John
^Further reading: The Smithson Monuments at Stanwick, North Yorkshire by Bulter, L., published in Journal of the Church Monument Society Volume XV, 2000. 6pp, 4 b/w pls
^Sanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.148, Topcliffe, Yorkshire
^Sanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.103, Alnwick, Northumberland
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![Arms of Smithson of Stanwick, Yorkshire (ancient): Argent, a chevron engrailed sable between three oak leaves erect slipped vert[25]](/en/File:SmithsonAncient.JPG)
![Monument of Sir Hugh Smithson, 1st Baronet (d.1670), St John the Baptist's Church, Stanwick, Yorks.[27]](/en/File:Smithson_tomb_chest,_St_John_the_Baptist_church,_Stanwick_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2018824.jpg)
