Thomas Browne (officer of arms)

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Thomas Browne

Nathaniel Dance-Holland - Thomas "Sense" Browne - Google Art Project.jpg

Thomas 'Sense' Browne by Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1775
Born 19 November 1708 [1]
Ashbourne
Died 1780
Great James Street, London
Occupation Officer of arms
Parent(s) John Browne
The coat of arms of Garter Principal King of Arms. Arms of the Garter King of Arms.svg
The coat of arms of Garter Principal King of Arms.

Thomas Browne (1708–1780), Garter Principal King of Arms, the second son of John Browne of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, became Bluemantle Pursuivant in 1737, Lancaster Herald in 1743, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms in 1761, and Garter in 1774 until his death.

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, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The position has existed since 1415.

Ashbourne, Derbyshire town and civil parish in Derbyshire Dales district, Derbyshire, England

Ashbourne is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 7,112. It contains many historical buildings and many independent shops and is famous for its historic annual Shrovetide football match.

Bluemantle Pursuivant subclass of an officer of arms in Britain

Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms in London. The office is reputed to have been created by King Henry V to serve the Order of the Garter, but there is no documentary evidence of this. There is, however, mention of an officer styled Blewmantle going to France in 1448. The first Bluemantle to be mentioned by name is found in a record from around 1484. The badge of office, probably derived from the original blue material of the Order of the Garter, is blazoned as A Blue Mantle lined Ermine cords and tassels Or.

Biography

Browne was the most eminent land surveyor in the kingdom, and was called Sense Browne, to distinguish him from his contemporary, Lancelot Brown, who was usually called Capability Brown. [1] At first he resided at his seat of Little Wimley near Stevenage, Hertfordshire, which "he received with his wife." He later moved to Camville Place, Essendon. Browne died at his town house in St. James's Street (now called Great James Street), Bedford Row, on 22 February 1780. His portrait was engraved by W. Dickinson, from a painting by Nathaniel Dance-Holland. [1]

Capability Brown landscape architect from England

Lancelot Brown, more commonly known with the byname Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English 18th century artists to be accorded his due" and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure. He was nicknamed "Capability" because he would tell his clients that their property had "capability" for improvement. His influence was so great that the contributions to the English garden made by his predecessors Charles Bridgeman and William Kent are often overlooked; even Kent's apologist Horace Walpole allowed that Kent had followed "a very able master".

Stevenage Town and borough in England

Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 28 miles (44 km) north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage was designated the United Kingdom's first New Town under the New Towns Act.

Essendon, Hertfordshire village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England

Essendon is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire 6 miles (10 km), south-west of Hertford.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Wikisource-logo.svg "Browne, Thomas (1708?-1780)". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.