The artwork of Tudor-Radu Tiron

I was first made aware of the artwork of Tudor-Radu Tiron when my friend and colleague John Duncan of Sketraw commissioned him to paint a library picture of his armorial bearings. Tudor has recently finished a commission for another heraldic acquaintance, Richard Globe, and I have to say that I am most impressed.



You can see the full production process on Tudor's weblog:

http://deseneheraldice.blogspot.ro/ 

The American Institute of Heraldry

This link to a video on You tube about the Institute of Heraldry (1969) has recently been posted on the American Heraldry Society Forum.

I thought it worthy of sharing.

http://youtu.be/gK9s9R3x6Fk

Tomlinson's The Heraldry of Cheshire

On Saturday I will be in Macclesfield talking about Knutsford. I'll be giving the same talk I gave to the good people of the town of Knutsford but this time to the members and guests of The Cheshire Heraldry Society. The talk, called Lyon's can't read! The Civic Arms of Knutsford Explained, is based (as you would expect given the title) on the arms designed for Knutsford by H. E. Tomlinson.  

H. Ellis Tomlinson was a one off, a real character. He was born in Cheshire, and moved to the Fylde in 1928 when his father was posted to ICI at Thornton. He attended Baines' as a boy, became Senior Prefect in 1933, and returned as a master in 1940 becoming a legend in his own lifetime affectionately known to generations of boys as 'Toss.'

In his spare time he followed Blackpool FC all over the country starting a love affair with the club when he first arrived in the Fylde up until his last game shortly before his death, a span of 68 years. In 1987 he was asked to write the Centenary History of the club entitled Seasiders: The First 100 Years. At a centenary exhibition at the Grundy Art Gallery he signed copies of his book in his characteristic purple ink and mixed equally well with players and supporters alike.

Outside of teaching and football he was one of the country's leading heraldic experts, having been commissioned to design Coats of Arms for countless local authorities, councils, and a myriad of sporting bodies at home and abroad.

I have a copy of his booklet The Heraldry of Cheshire but if you want to read it it can now be read for free on-line.

Woops! "COMMOM"?

I came across this today and it made me smile (I thought it akin to the Balzup post I made some time ago). I am reliably informed that the mistake has been pointed out to the website owner but, to date, the image remains unaltered.



We all make mistakes of course and I'm sure that this one will be put right quite soon; after all, it pays to give a good impression doesn't it?

This image was found on the website of "The Manorial Counsel of Great Britain" (supporting The Manorial Guild). I wonder if they meant to call it "Council" rather than Counsel? It's a common grammatical error but quite unforgivable if the intention really was to call it Council. Counsel of course means legal adviser (Barrister in the UK) whereas Council (which is what I'm sure they meant) means an assembly of people who serve in an administrative capacity. Given the site's claim to provide legal services, perhaps Counsel is appropriate after all although it might pay to check out their legal qualifications prior to seeking any legal advice and I would advise thinking twice about buying a "title" from the same company who gives you the legal advice (as this site appears to do). My advice to anyone seeking a Manorial Title is to find a good conveyancing lawyer and ask him/her to explain to you the effects of the recent court ruling of  Burton & Bamford v Walker & Others, Land Registry REF/2007/1124 which confirmed that adverse possession, prescription, loss of modern grant, or proprietary estoppel do NOT enable ownership of a Lordship of the Manor title. And further stated that Confirmed ownership requires the presence of all deeds, correctly made up since 1189.  The absence of correct and complete sets of deeds requires Court approval  to confirm ownership. 

Oh, and just in case there is any misunderstanding, the image is probably copyrighted to The Manorial Guild but I freely reproduce it here as being exempt from copyright laws under the Fair Dealing rule. Fair dealing is a term used to describe acts which are permitted to a certain degree without infringing the work. These acts include Criticism and news reporting. 

Heraldic images in the library of Combermere Abbey

I have recently been pleased to assist the archivist at Combermere Abbey, Steven Myatt, in his efforts to identify a number of plaster moldings in the library of the abbey which are  presently undergoing conservation.

Steven stated that he had been examining a number of plaster moldings which show heraldic devices and seemed to relate to local families; “there are the crests of the Cholmondeleys, Grosvenors and Stanleys, but I am unable to identify a couple of other. These a horse's head, reined, with a crescent; and an elephant and castle.There is a third, which is a pigeon or a dove, and which I assume relates to the Bishop of Chester.”

Image taken from http://www.combermere-restoration.co.uk/

I would lay odds on the "horse's head" being the bear's head crest of either Brereton of Ashley Viz: Crest: A bear's head erased Sable, muzzled Gules, a crescent for cadency or the crest of Brereton of Malpass.  The arms of Brereton of Malpas (as recorded in the Visitations of Cheshire) do not have a crescent for cadency on the crest itself however the arms themselves do feature a crescent for the second son. Fox-Davies tells us that the differencing of crests for cadency is very rare but theoretically these should be marked equally with the shield. It seems to me that when the crest is used in isolation, it probably makes sense to use a cadency mark where one is ordinarily used with the shield.  

Brereton of Ashley Crest [Martin Goldstraw]

Image taken from http://www.combermere-restoration.co.uk/

Once it is accepted that there is a Brereton connection, the elephant and castle and the bird can be explained.

Although I have only seen a portion of the shield featuring the bird, (and an image of the full shield might assist here) I can see that it is basically a bird that is black in colour upon a gold shield. The fifth quarter of the arms of Brereton of Brereton are those of Corbet. The arms of Corbet are Or, two ravens Sable (a gold shield upon which are two corbies or ravens black in colour). The basic arms of Corbet are Or, a (single) raven Sable. BUT more importantly, the arms of Corbet bring us the connection with the elephant and castle as the Corbet crest is An elephant Argent, on his back a castle triple towered Or, trappings of the last and Sable. (Visitations of Shropshire 1623)

There is also an image of an impaled shield on the Combermere restoration site (forgive the small image) which confirms the Cotton/Corbet connection.

Image taken from http://www.combermere-restoration.co.uk/

It's nice to be asked to help and it's even nicer when you can!

 

New heraldic beastie hits the ground running ... or is it flying!

A new heraldic beastie has appeared on the horizon. Invented by US Armiger Kathy McClurg as her heraldic badge and affectionately known as Gilbarta, the Dravencoon is an heraldic beast with the body of a Dragon (colour must be specified), the wings and hind legs of a Raven (Proper) and the tail of a Raccoon (Proper). The default aspect of a Dravencoon is Rampant.

Personal Badge of Kathy McClurg: A Dravencoon Azure clutched in the dexter foreclaw an arrow point to chief Or.



[Image emblazoned by Ljubodrag Grujic]

http://www.armorial-register.com/arms-us/mcclurg-ka-arms.html

Artist says farewell to heraldry

I am shocked to learn that Andrew Stewart Jamieson has decided to lay down his heraldic paint brush and will no longer be taking any more commercial commissions to paint armorial bearings. The information has come straight from the horse’s mouth (so to speak) as Andrew has recently made the announcement on his “Queen’s Scribe and Illuminator” Facebook page.

There is no doubt that Andrew is an excellent artist and I’m sure that his work, which is always a joy to see, will be greatly missed however, of late, he appears to have unfortunately been embroiled in a great deal of controversy and seems to have been in disagreement with quite a few people over what can and can’t be regarded as “heraldic art”. It also appears that many have also felt that Andrew’s use of the title “Queen’s Scribe and Illuminator” has been unwarrantably self assumed* when it appears that no Royal Warrant is actually held. It is to be hoped that it was not these continued unfortunate conflicts which caused Andrew to withdraw from heraldic work. No one likes to see petty squabbles taking place in their chosen hobby.



Those who are now in need of a good and reputable heraldic artist to replace the void left by Andrew might like to consider Sally Mangum.

*Sally Mangum has a Royal Warrant and is therefore fully entitled to say that she is Calligrapher to Her Majesty the Queen.

Quote "Calligrapher Sally Mangum has a way with words—she makes them beautiful, and surrounds the letter forms with richly colored designs. And she does this for some of the most prestigious customers in the world, including the British Lord Chamberlain’s office.

As holder of a “royal warrant” for calligraphy, Sally displays the royal coat of arms on her business cards and letterhead. But she doesn’t advertise, as referrals bring her business."