File:Post-medieval seal martix, Gold seal matrix (FindID 544282).jpg

English: A gold post-medieval seal matrix in almost perfect condition. The matrix has a circular base upon which is engraved the blazon vairy on a chief three lions rampant guardant. The seal matrix is hexagonally faceted above the base and leads into a stem with two raised hexagonal collars. Above these collars is an oval loop flanked by splayed squared leaves; the loop is crowned with a small rounded knop. This style of seal matrix dates to the post-medieval period, probably to the mid to late 17th or even early 18th century. This seal matrix is of the highest quality however it is not perfect; the blazon does not fit precisely into the round matrix border as some of the lower vairy blazon is squashed and misaligned into the bottom corner of the shield.

Clive Cheeseman, Richmond Herald at the College of Arms comments in the heraldic journal 'The Coat of Arms' (Third Series Vol. VIII Part 2: Autumn 2012) "Arms similar to these were granted in AD 1572 to a John Younge of Durnford in Wiltshire, see Burke, GA p1152, (Vair on a chief gules three lions rampant or); c.f. Foster, GA pp 289-90 (the lions reguardant). The family was recorded at Little Durnford in the 1623 Visitation of Wiltshire. A similar design, but with white lions on a red chief, is ascribed to Waryn de Guston in the Carlisle Roll of 1334".

These may be the arms of another John Young (AD 1639-1710), a descendant of the above. Young was educated at Queen's College in Oxford before travelling to France in 1657, and later became MP for Old Sarum in 1679 (for more information see <a href="http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/young-john-1639-1710">http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/young-john-1639-1710</a>). The findspot is close to Wolvercote Common and Port Meadow, a Scheduled Monument and a SSSI. The Common is a large expanse of land that was used for horse racing in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is possible that Young may have attended such events while at College, and that the seal matrix was lost during one such visit but the condition of the matrix suggests that either it wasn't ever used and was lost almost as soon as it was made, or it is a more recent copy.