Bourchier knot

Relief sculpture of a Bourchier knot (of thereef knotvariety) on the chest-tomb inBamptonChurch, Devon, supposed to be that of Thomasine Hankford (d.1453),heiress of thefeudal barony of Bampton,wife ofWilliam Bourchier, 9th Baron FitzWarin(1407-1470)

Bourchier knot (ofgranny knotvariety), published in Aveling, S.T., Heraldry Ancient & Modern, New York, 1891

Examples of Bourchier knots visible in Tawstock Church, Devon, parish church of Tawstock Court, seat of the BourchierEarls of Bath.Top left:detail from monument toWilliam Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath(1557-1623);top right:detail from monument toSir Henry Bourchier Toke Wrey, 10th Baronet(1829–1900);bottom left:detail from 16th centuryBourchier Pew;bottom right:detail from 16th century bench-end

TheBourchier knotis a variety ofheraldic knot.It was used as aheraldic badgeby the Bourchier family, whose earliest prominent ancestor in England wasJohn de Bourchier(alias Boucher, Boussier, etc., d. c. 1330), a Judge of theCommon Pleas,seated at Stanstead Hall in the parish ofHalstead,Essex. He was the father ofRobert Bourchier, 1st Baron Bourchier(d.1349),Lord Chancellorof England. The various branches of his descendants held the titlesBaron Bourchier,Count of Eu,Viscount Bourchier,Earl of Essex,Baron Berners,Baron FitzWarinandEarl of Bath.The knot should perhaps have been called the "FitzWarin knot" as according toBoutell(1864) the device was first used by theFitzWarin family,whose heir was the Bourchier family.

Forms

The Bourchier knot is shown in two forms: as areef knotand as agranny knot.

Examples of reef knot form

• Relief sculpture of a Bourchier knot (of the reef knot variety) on the chest-tomb in Bampton Church, Devon, supposed to be that of Thomasine Hankford (d.1453), heiress of thefeudal barony of Bampton,wife ofWilliam Bourchier, 9th Baron FitzWarin(1407-1470), great-grandson of the 1st Baron Bourchier.

Examples of granny knot form

• Bourchier knots on the monument ofWilliam Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath(1557-1623) in St Peter's Church,Tawstock,Devon.

Prominent examples

• Beningbrough Hall,North Yorkshire,owned at one time by a branch of the Bourchier family. A large Bourchier knot is cut into a lawn adjoining the house.
• On the tomb ofThomas Bourchier(c.1404-1486),Archbishop of CanterburyinCanterbury Cathedral
• Sculpted on the Tudor gatehouse ofTawstock Courtin North Devon, seat of the BourchierEarls of Bath.
• TawstockChurch in North Devon, visible on monuments to Bourchiers andWrey baronets.

Sources

• Aveling, S.T. Heraldry: Ancient and Modern, New York, 1891. (Illustration of granny-knot form)
• Mollett, J.W., Illustrated Dictionary of Art and Archeology by J W Mollett, 1883. (Fig.410, Illustration of reef-knot form)[1]
• Arthur Charles Fox-Davies,Complete Guide to Heraldry, 1909, pp.390,469.

External links

Media related toBourchier knotat Wikimedia Commons