9th December 2009

 

Dear Mr Bradford,

 

Thank you very much for writing to ask for permission to use our Family Knot.   I shall be delighted to give you my permission on your bottled beer label and packaging.

 

In giving my permission I would ask if you could give a small donation to local charity. 

 

I attach a brief history of the Knot and how it came into our family which I thought you might find of interest.

 

Kind Regards

 

The Lord Stafford, DL, FRAgS

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The Stafford Knot

 The origin of the Stafford Knot is shrouded in the mists of antiquity, but it can certainly be said that the somewhat barbaric tale of a certain Sheriff who invented it to hang three criminals with one rope at the same time, may be dismissed as an effort of the imagination.

The earliest authentic appearance of THE STAFFORD KNOT is on a seal in the British Museum.  This was the property of Joan, Lady of Wake.  On this seal is depicted quite clearly and unmistakably a cordon of Stafford Knots.  This lady died childless in 1443, and her personal possessions passed to her nephew, Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, who adopted the Knot of Rope, henceforward to be known as THE STAFFORD KNOT, as his badge, probably just preceding his creation as Duke of Buckingham in 1444.  That he did adopt it from his aunt is undoubted, and she, being a direct descent of Hereward the Wake, may have had it handed down to her from past generations, through many unknown but doubtless romantic circumstances.

The Duke of Buckingham and his descendants (who were also Earls of Stafford – an older title than Duke of Buckingham) used this Stafford Knot as a personal Distinctive Badge.  It did not form part of their armorial bearings, which were personal to themselves, but it was their badge and they gave the Knot of Rope to their retainers and servants as a livery and means of recognition.  They also used it for many generations to decorate their furniture, hangings and buildings; and to this day may be seen at Thornbury Castle, Gloucestershire, the residence of Edward the great Duke of Buckingham, a profusion of Stafford Knots carved in the frieze.

This same Duke Edward appeared on the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520, at the head of the King’s retinue, with a host of his followers, all of whom wore the Stafford Knot.

The Townsmen of Stafford were liegemen of the Stafford family, and as such also used this badge.   As the days of feudalism passed and individual and civic liberties grew, it was gradually adopted by the Citizens, Freeman and Burgesses, and was used by the Old North Stafford Railway.

Strictly speaking, this ornament should never be spoken of as the Staffordshire Knot.  It was a badge of the Stafford family, and as such it is linked definitely to the Ancient Borough of Stafford. Let it then ever be known and honoured all the world over as THE STAFFORD KNOT