The Arms of Sir Roger Clifford, Bt
Noel Cox
first published (Summer 2001) 77 New Zealand Armorist 14-15
Sir Roger Joseph Clifford, seventh baronet of Flaxbourne, in the Province of Marlborough, in the Colony of New Zealand, in the baronetage of the United Kingdom, born 1936, succeeded to his title in 1982 on the death of his father.
Sir Roger, a property consultant, lives at 135 Totara Street, Riccarton, Christchurch 4. He has two daughters.
The baronetcy was created 1887 for the Honourable Sir Charles Clifford, first Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives 1854-60. Although he retired in 1860 to return to England, his was the first baronetcy conferred specifically for services to New Zealand, in which he continued to take an interest after his return to England.
The Clifford family are descended from the Lords Clifford of Chudleigh, who were made barons in 1672. The Honourable Sir Charles Clifford was the eldest son of George Lambert Clifford, fifth son of the Honourable Thomas Clifford, second son of the third Lord Clifford of Chudleigh. The Clifford family were prominent Roman Catholics, and Sir Charles Clifford's sister had been a nun, and Prioress of the Covent at Atherstone. They are Counts of the Holy Roman Empire.
The fifth baronet, Sir Lewis, was a Jesuit priest, and Rector of Beaumont College, Old Windsor, 1950-56 (having formerly been Bursar). He was the third surviving son of the third son of the first baronet, and succeeded an uncle to the title. He was succeeded by his brother Sir Roger in 1970.
The armorial bearings of the family are of some antiquity. Sir Robert de Clifford bore, at the battle of Falkirk in 1298, at the siege of Carlaverock in 1300, and at the first Dunstable tournament in 1308, the arms, chequy Or and Azure a fess Gules.
The Lords Clifford of Chudleigh are descended from Sir Robert de Clifford, and their seat remains Ugbrooke Park, Chudleigh, Devon, from which they derive their title. They acquired the house by marriage from the Courtenays, who bought it from the Duke of Somerset. Prior to the Reformation it belonged to the Precentor of Exeter Cathedral. The present baron lives also in Victoria, Australia.
The armorial bearings of the barons are chequy Or and Azure a fesse Gules. The Clifford baronets also use chequy Or and Azure a fesse Gules.
The crest of the baronets is out of a ducal coronet Or, a wyvern rising Gules. That of the barons is out of a ducal coronet Or, a demi-wyvern Gules. Though not blazoned as a demi-wyvern, that of the baronets is actually drawn as virtually the same as the wyvern rising.
The motto used by both the baronet and the baron is Semper paratus.
The baronets have no supporters, and those of the barons are two wyverns Purpure.