In Search of the Crest of Sir Francis Bernard

In Search of the Official Crest of Sir Francis Bernard, the Royal Governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts.

The towns of Bernards Township and Bernardsville, New Jersey, are named in honor of Sir Francis Bernard, the Royal Governor of New Jersey from 1758 to 1760. Who was this man? Where did he come from? The Mr. Local History Project researchers are on a mission to locate Francis Bernard’s official family crest.. We’re happy to say that we returned to England and found some notable scholars and Bernard family members, which has us very close to the answer. Let’s dig in.

Bernard was approved as the Royal Governor of New Jersey on January 27, 1758. His journey started in April 1758, when he left his role as a provincial lawyer in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, in the East Midlands, boarded a ship, and arrived in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, with his wife and 4 of his children on June 14, 1758. They had 10 children: six sons and four daughters. He was 45 years old. So right in the middle of his prime as a father, he leaves his wife, family, and everything to be governor of New Jersey. But what was he giving up? Take a look.

Back Home in England

To locate Francis Bernard’s crest, our most logical place was to return to England, where Bernard resided. Bernard had quite the estate, called The Nether Winchendon House, built on the site of an Augustinian priory, a daughter house of Notley Abbey in Long Crendon. Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford. It was bought and largely remodeled in the 16th century. The estate is a unique Strawberry Hill Gothic medieval manor house situated in a beautiful valley at the foot of the Chilterns, northwest of London, near Oxford. It has been passed down by family descent for over 450 years and remains a family home to this day, under the supervision of Robert Spencer and Georgianna Bernard.

While Bernard didn’t have the estate when he left for the colonies, he did get it when he returned. In late 1771, three years after leaving Massachusetts, the manor was bequeathed to Sir Francis Bernard on the death of Bernard’s cousin. Bernard had served as governor of the provinces of New Jersey (1758-1760) and Massachusetts Bay (1760-1768), where his uncompromising policies were instrumental in the events leading to the American Revolution.

Seven acres of gardens include fine and rare trees and hedges, herbaceous borders, and bulbs. Inside the estate, fine furniture and family portraits exist throughout the home. With a 12th-century Great Hall and a 16th-century dining room with fine carved oak frieze and oak linenfold paneling

The picturesque village and fine church, Church of St. Nicholas, Nether Winchendon, is nearby. The house and gardens are open to the public, and the house is noted for its interior and is a Grade I listed building on the UK/ listed building’s registry of listed buildings.

Sir Francis Bernard Family Crest(s)

Researchers located two family crests for Sir Francis Bernard with the help of Dr. Colin Nicolson F.R.Hist.S., a known expert of the Bernard Papers and part of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, History, Heritage and Politics at the University of Stirling in Scotland. Our first crest belongs to Sir Francis Bernard, on a canvas painting at Nether Winchendon. The second is a number of family crests enshrined at Nether Winchendon House when he married his wife, Amelia Offley, and combined family crests recognized in stained glass at Nether Winchendon. MLH continues looking for proof of the crest Bernard used while Governor of New Jersey.

Research Support Thank You

A special thanks to Dr. Colin Nicolson for his research. F.R.Hist.S., subject matter expert of the Bernard Papers at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, History, Heritage and Politics at the University of Stirling in England. Nicolson wrote The “Infamas Govener” Francis Bernard and the Origins of the American Revolution and The Papers of Francis Bernard – 1759-1763.

Thanks also to Regina Fitzpatrick at the New Jersey State Library for her research support. Finally, a special thanks to Robert Spencer Bernard, the great-great-great-great-grandson of Sir Francis Bernard, who assisted in our research and photographed the actual crest for our story.

MLHP Bernard Series

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