Happy days - welcome Nicola.

As a pure personal indulgence and without apology for the fact that there is nought but a tenuous heraldic link, I bring to my reader the joyous news that on Saturday last we welcomed into our family Tom's new bride Nicola. The wedding took place in Newstead Abbey and without a doubt it was a wonderful day.




  

Marvelous!

Haiti

Posted on rec.heraldry yesterday:

In response to the calamitous earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday
evening, the College of Arms has decided that all proceeds arising
from future sales of The Armorial of Haiti: Symbols of Nobility in the
Reign of Henry Christophe (ISBN 978-09506980-2-1) will be donated to
the relief effort.
The book is an edition, with commentary, of an extraordinary heraldic
manuscript created in Haiti in the second decade of the nineteenth
century and now held in the College of Arms. It was published by the
College in 2007 and is available on-line for 45 pounds sterling (plus
despatch costs) at http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Haiti.htm and
through amazon.co.uk. Production costs for the book have been met, and
all sums received by the College over and above normal packing and
postage costs will be held for the benefit of a recognised charity
working towards the international relief effort, the charity to be
selected on the basis of official advice.
I would urge those who have not yet acquired a copy of this book to
consider doing so, and to mention it to others who may be interested
either in New World heraldry, in Caribbean history or specifically in
the politics and culture of Haiti. Doing so will raise money directly
for the relief of the nation that produced this unusual and
fascinating artefact.
If you have already purchased a copy of the book, or as an alternative
to doing so now, please consider donating directly to the effort to
the relief campaign through a charity of your choice.
Clive Cheesman
Rouge Dragon
College of Arms
Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4BT

Changing Names and Changing Arms

This Saturday sees John E. Titterton FSA present the first Cheshire Heraldry Society lecture of 2010.

Changing Names and Changing Arms.

Details of the Society's lecture programme and venue can be found on the web page:

http://cheshire-heraldry.org.uk/society

All are welcome whether member of the society or not.

As seen on T.V.

Mrs G. is rather fond of the BBC's property programme Escape to the Country and whilst we were both putting our feet up during the post Christmas wind down I caught sight of an interesting and rather beautiful Cheshire property with a definite Cheshire heraldic interest.



Located in the village of Buerton and featured on the programme in April 2008 the cottage's dining room had the benefit of a fireplace moved from another, much older (but undisclosed), property and installed in its new home in the 1980's.



 From left to right (with apologies for the poor quality screen shots):



England dimidiating the Earls of Cheshire



Leigh



The arms of the City of Chester. The arms Azure, a sword erect Argent hilted Or between three garbs Or. are those known to have been used as the city arms of Chester in 1560 and which can be seen on the bridge at Eastgate Chester. These arms were also used occasionally from 1779 as the Chester Assay Office hallmark.
 
The arms of the County Council were designed by County Architect F. Anstead Brown, as a commemoration of the Coronation year and the Council's Jubilee. Anstead Brown used the ancient shield of the City of Chester as the base upon which to build his design and, apart from a change in tincture for the sword, the shields are practically the same. Of course the arms of the County Council have the additional supporters, helm and crest etc which the ancient arms do not have.

Most probably from a Leigh house, this is a very fine addition to any home, it just leaves me wondering from whence it came?

"Die Groot Afrikaanse Familienaamboek"

My friend and fellow Board Member of the IAAH, Ton de Witte, has been kind enough to send me a note following on from the post I made earlier this week about the armorial bearings of Family Associations in South Africa. I post below the image he sent which has been scanned from the book "Die Groot Afrikaanse Familienaamboek" by C. Pama, 1983, Human & Rousseau Uitgewers, ISBN 0 7981 1561 0.





If you click on the image it will open another page with a larger version.

Many thanks Ton.

What is a Clan?

I have a feeling, it’s nothing more than that, that Scotland’s new Lord Lyon King of Arms might be reviewing the “Innes of Learney school” of clan recognition and formation. The relevant page on the web site of the Court of the Lord Lyon states that it (the page) is “under review”. The Clan system is seen by many to be of extreme importance to Scotland’s tourist trade if nothing else as witnessed by the success of the July Great Gathering this year.

I know of at least two chief-less Clan Societies who are a very long way down the road towards petitioning Lyon for recognition of a new Chief; I hope that the draw bridge will not be pulled up before they achieve their aim.

Whatever the Scottish review may bring, it has come to my attention this week that within explanatory literature from the South African Chief Herald’s office there is reference to something called “family association coats of arms”:

Quote:
Apart from personal coats of arms, the Bureau of Heraldry also design and register family association coats of arms. In such cases the coat of arms consists of a shield only (no helmet, crest and mantling) which is subdivided horizontally into two sections. The lower two thirds of the shield is reserved for elements which is chosen by the members of the family association. The upper one third of the shield remains empty and the shield is registered for the family association as is. Individual members of the association may then use this shield as a starting point and must place elements in the empty upper part of the shield as well as choose elements for the crest in order to create a new unique full coat of arms. Such a person’s coat of arms remains unique although one can clearly see that the person is a member of a specific family association. Prior to approaching the Bureau for such a registration the association must be established. It must be named, its aims must be set out and it must set up a constitution. END QUOTE

This is an interesting, and possibly innovative, development somewhat akin to the similarities in Scottish arms which help to identify names but I can't help wondering where it leaves existing armigers who may have liked to have indicated that they are a part of the "association".

Congress 2010 Stuttgart, 12th - 17th September 2010

http://www.congress2010.info/english/