The arms of Thomas Tesdale
Argent a chevron vert between three teasels proper
Pembroke College, Oxford was founded in 1624 for the benefit of boys who had been educated at Abingdon, on the initiative of Thomas Godwyn, then headmaster of the School. Godwyn mobilised a £5,000 bequest left by Thomas Tesdale OA, and Richard Wightwick, vicar of East Tilsley. The teasel in his coat of arms is a punning reference both to the pronunciation of his name and to his trade as a clothier. In addition, Tesdale endowed the post of assistant master at the School, a position known for centuries as that of the Tesdale Usher.
The image shows the arms of Thomas Tesdale from a window in the Roysse Room the old schoolroom in the Guildhall, Abingdon.
