Ormond Pursuivant of Arms

It pays to keep an eye on the "official" heraldry websites. It was noticed this morning that the Lyon Court web site made an official announcement that "The Lord Lyon King of Arms has offered Mr. Mark Dennis the office of Ormond Pursuivant of Arms with effect from 1st June 2009 and he has been pleased to accept". One of three pursuivant appointments to the Lyon Court, Mr. Dennis will be joining colleagues Elizabeth Ann Roads MVO (Carrick) and the recently appointed The Hon. Adam Bruce (Unicorn). The vacancy occurred when the present Lord Lyon took office and by doing so demitted the office of Bute pursuivant. The number of pursuivants to the Lyon Court was reduced from six to three in the late 19th century and when Mr. Dennis takes office in June, the titles of Bute, Dingwall and Kintyre will once more remain dormant until one or the other is resurrected next time there is a vacancy.



Mark Dennis, Esq, Ormond Pursuivant of Arms, photographed immediately behind H.R.H. Princess Anne at the St. Andrew's Congress in 2007. Photo framed with some of Mr. Dennis' ad-hoc sketches.

Warm congratulations are offered to Mark Dennis on this splendid appointment which is well deserved.

Holme of Coddington - the updates continue.

Slowly but surely the updates to the first Visitations continue and I am now up to Holme of Coddington.

Although the web site itself is benefiting from the updated images, that is not actually why I'm doing all these alterations. I'm working frantically (when time allows) towards the completion of the first draft for an illustrated companion to the Visitations of Cheshire to be published as a book. I don't think I would dare to publish the original illustrations!



When viewing the web site, please bear in mind that, so far, everything up to Holme of Coddington will be the new images and everything after will be the old and therefore due to be replaced.

And here I was thinking we were in a credit crunch!

I recently made some acerbic comments about the logos adopted by the two new Cheshire councils and I was particularly harsh over the one created for Cheshire West and Chester Council because it was, in my view, pseudo heraldry on the cheap. I am not a fan of pseudo heraldry, especially when there is an obvious route to obtaining the real thing, but I can see that when budgets are tight it might be seen, by some at least, as a popular way to save pennies. Not so for some Quangos who appear to have more money than sense and actually would have saved money by obtaining the real thing. Bring in Historic Scotland:

On the 1st of April Historic Scotland announced on its website that Stirling Castle now has a "striking new brand" by headlining under "Stirling Castle Launches a Brand New Image" that a "new unicorn logo symbolises historic home of Scottish royalty" .



Following a request to Historic Scotland under the Freedom of Information Act it was revealed to a member of the Heraldry Society of Scotland that the bright idea for a new logo cost them £42'384.00!

What an idiotic waste of public funds.

Quote:

" Stirling Castle Launches a Brand New Image
1 April 2009
New unicorn logo symbolises historical home of Scottish royalty.

Stirling Castle now has a striking new brand identity to raise its profile as one of Scotland’s premier visitor attractions and further develop its tourism business.

The creation of the Stirling Castle brand is part of the £12 million Stirling Castle Palace Project which will see the royal lodgings at Stirling Castle returned to the Renaissance magnificence of the mid 16th century.

The stunning stronghold’s unique identity conveys both its character and significance in Scottish history. 

The exclusive, striking logo contains references to Scotland’s coat of arms, the unicorn tapestries and the sculptures on Stirling Castle’s Great Hall roof.  The unicorn, the enigmatic mythological beast, features throughout Stirling Castle.  The new mark also takes its shape from the famous circular wood-carved Stirling heads.  Its references and complex detail are emblematic of pageantry and royal status, and features Stirling Castle sitting high up in its green and leafy setting.

Historic Scotland Marketing and Media Manager Rebecca Hamilton said: “This new logo we have created conveys a sense of depth, experience, royal authority, richness and intimacy.  Marrying the highly decorative with an intimate experience is very apt for Stirling Castle. 

“Our aim was to create a distinctive, memorable and stronger visual identity which embodies the special importance and character of Stirling Castle.  It is a truly outstanding attraction with a range of visitor experiences.  And the completion of the Stirling Castle Palace Project in 2011 will see the visitor experience enhanced further.”

The logo will be phased in at the attraction for a wide variety of uses including signage, vehicle livery, staff uniforms, publications for visitors, and interpretation of the castle’s history, as well as in Historic Scotland’s website details on the site. End Quote

And here I was - thinking we were in a credit crunch!