Cheshire Heraldry Web Journal (Blog)

Parliament Logo should be axed says “adviser”!

Martin Goldstraw — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:08:58 +0000

It must be the silly season again. Despite the fact that we are in a financial depression we appear to still be spending money on salaries for people in such public posts as chairman of the Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement. Yesterdays Telegraph newspaper reported that Dr Jonathan Drori, chairman of the Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement has told MPs that the Parliamentary “logo” is “hardly welcoming”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9019327/Parliament-logo-should-be-axed-according-to-adviser.html

A typical display of the usual ignorance. It isn’t (as we here all know) “the parliamentary logo”; it is but one of the many Royal badges used by parliament with the permission of the Crown. Parliament can if it so wishes take yet another step to divorce itself from its historical links with the Crown and spend countless (useless) thousands of pounds commissioning a marketing company to devise for it a rather twee fashionable logo which will doubtless have to be changed again and again to keep it “up to date and politically correct” or, if it chooses to be more rational, it can simply ignore the advice of Dr Jonathan Drori altogether and find other, more productive, ways to spend my hard earned tax pound. We are after all in a recession!

Sold - Medieval Armorial English Manuscript 1634

Martin Goldstraw — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:30:04 +0000

Another recent EBay sale worthy of note is the Medieval Armorial Manuscript described by the seller (in rather broken English) as an original medieval English family tree manuscript with painted and coloured coats of arms dated 1634, this is probably quite an unusual find for the commercial market as it is not often that something of this ilk presents itself for open bidding. It appears that the manuscript, which is an illustrated family tree on velum, is signed by Robert Cook and Robert Segar. The document is described as in a good overall condition with minor paint loss and stains with minor age browning. This vendor guarantees that it is “an Original and no reproduction”! The size is stated to be width417 mm. length 1028 mm.

The vendor notes that the document would require an export licence if sold to an overseas buyer.

There were four bidders placing five bids with the hammer falling at £931.99 with £4.99 quoted for economy delivery; if I’d won this item I think I might have requested recorded delivery!

I hope it has stayed in England; it would be rather nice to think that it has found a home where it could be displayed to the public but I somehow don’t think that would be the case. Still, at least I/we got the chance to see some photographs of it while it was on the market - any heraldic crumb is greatly appreciated.

Heraldry Addicts Have a Sinister Side

Martin Goldstraw — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:07:58 +0000

http://www.cafepress.co.uk/cheshire_heraldry

Cheshire Girl Guide Heraldic Badge

Martin Goldstraw — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:53:37 +0000

Another item of some Cheshire heraldic interest sold on EBay recently is a little Girl Guide Cheshire Border County Badge made by Butler of Birmingham and measuring 23 x 31mm. It was sold on the 19th November for £5.19 plus £1.85 shipping. I confess to having placed a half hearted bid for this one with a starting price only bid but I’m quite pleased that it appears to have gone to a Guiding memorabilia collector who will no doubt cherish it.

It caught my eye because it is similar to (and most likely taken from) the lion and garb in the badge used by Macclesfield and that used as the basis for the Macclesfield armorial bearings; which in turn formed the basis of the unofficial heraldic badge of The Cheshire Heraldry Society.

Marquis of Crewe, 2 x silver plated armorial buttons - 1 large & 1 small

Martin Goldstraw — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:24:00 +0000

Recently sold on Ebay were two livery buttons belonging to the Marquis of Crewe.

Sold for £12.99 plus £1.85 shipping. There was one bidder.

The Ward Collection of Photographs

Martin Goldstraw — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:37:45 +0000

Whenever The Cheshire Heraldry Society embarks on an outing we are always accompanied by a number of guests from neighbouring Societies and one of our regular guests is Chris Ward of The Lancashire Heraldry Group. Chris never goes anywhere without his camera and for some time now I have been persuading him to share some of his photos with us. When I last saw him earlier in October not only did he come up trumps he also gave me permission to share his work with other enthusiasts.

Here are the photographs taken by Chris Ward, Hon Sec Lancashire Heraldry Group for your enjoyment.
https://picasaweb.google.com/111221146831994325802/Ward?authuser=0&feat=directlink#

A well travelled wolf with winning ways.

Martin Goldstraw — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:54:01 +0000

Way back in September 2008 I helped Cheshire born and bred motor cycle racer Rob Dixon to design a Cheshire emblem for his bike and he promised to send me a photo of the emblem being used in anger. I’m pleased to report that today I received a very pleasant email from Rob accompanied by that very photo.

In his email Rob said that “the bike is a 1979 Laverda which is raced in Endurance events in Italy with the Italian Laverda team. It’s a long drive from Cheshire to get to the events but the weather makes it worth the effort. The picture was taken at the Varano circuit, close to Bologna, last weekend. I’m afraid it retired from the race due to technical problems . Last year we won the 500cc championship so some you win , some you lose. The wolf’s head emblem often attracts comments and I’m always proud to say it’s a symbol of Cheshire. Italians like that sort of stuff. I write for Classic Bike magazine and the bike is featured quite prominently in the current issue proudly displaying it’s Cheshire connection.”

Marvellous!

How bizarre!

Martin Goldstraw — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:42:33 +0000

Quite near to where I live is the rather attractive tourist town of Much Wenlock, which, because of its history, is entwined closely with The Olympics; some of my web log readers may be aware that next year the Olympic Games are to be held in London and The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games ( LOCOG) has designed a toy mascot and called it “Wenlock”.

It has today come to my attention that Much Wenlock Town Council, successors to the ancient Borough of Wenlock, in Shropshire has copyrighted it’s seal and intends to licence its use to local organisations who wish to use it.

It seems that the Town Council felt it necessary to ask the LOCOG for permission to copyright the seal because it contained the word “Wenlock”! Surely the LOCOG is the one who should have asked the Town Council for permission? I certainly wouldn’t have asked them for permission to include a word which has been used on the Town Seal since the fifteenth century and is part of the actual name of the town … in fact, I think it should be quite the reverse.

The Town Clerk has also stated that “Use of the Seal is free to not for profit organisations. When the draft charging policy went to Council for approval councillors could not agree on the charges. Some said it should be more and some said we shouldn’t let anyone use the seal.”

I am firmly in the shouldn’t let anyone use the seal camp. I find it quite bizarre that a corporate body should be allowing anyone to use its seal. A seal (which can feature a coat of arms but is not to be confused with a coat of arms) is the legal signature of the corporation and is used as means of authentication. It is a mark or symbol which is attached to a legal document. If I were a resident of Much Wenlock, I would be protesting in the strongest of terms that it is not at all proper for the Town Council to license the use of its seal to anyone. This is an ancient seal - I think that the original users of it would know full well what the purpose of a seal is.

I have suggested most strongly to the Much Wenlock Town Clerk that it is not proper to take this course of action.

Another Jurisdictional Enigma

Martin Goldstraw — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:29:07 +0000

I have commented on the apparent lack of any fail-safe checking mechanism between the Court of the Lord Lyon and The College of Arms before (arms of Massey of Dunham) and today I stumbled upon yet another example where the ancient arms of a Cheshire gentleman have been granted to someone (or in this case an institution) quite unconnected with the ancient arms. I do appreciate of course that heraldically the Scottish jurisdiction is quite separate to the English jurisdiction but, as I said last time, I do remember the English heralds being careful, when my own arms were being devised, to ensure that I was not about to tread on the toes of anyone in Scotland; today’s find has reinforced my opinion that the courtesy checking is not reciprocated!

I was browsing my 1997 copy of Double Tressure, the journal of The Heraldry Society of Scotland, and found a facsimile image of the grant of arms to the Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen (granted 1990).

Compare the shield with the arms of Trowtbeck (Troutbeck).

Now admittedly one shield contains Trouts Argent and the other shield contains Salmon Argent (same family) but you try telling the difference at a distance!

Heraldically it may be two separate jurisdictions but both (so far) remain firmly in the United Kingdom.

Williams-Bulkeley

Martin Goldstraw — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:59:12 +0000

I’ve just returned from a long weekend in Anglesey where the arms of Bulkeley seem to be everywhere. We had a very good meal on Monday evening in the Bulkeley Arms Hotel in Beaumaris where not only are the arms displayed outside on the facia but there is also a very pleasant version made of coloured glass mosaic on the wall inside the reception area. Unfortunately I had left my camera in the car and it was pouring down with rain so I had to content myself with taking a photograph using my mobile phone … and I don’t have the technology to send the picture to my computer!

Earlier in the day however, I did have my camera with me when we passed the entrance gates to Pen-y-Pac, the former home of the Williams-Bulkeley baronets. Long since sold and split up into constituent parts, the owners of the gate house became also the owners of the gates which are heraldically somewhat curious. The arms upon the gates are likely to be those of the 10th baronet, Sir Richard, who changed his name to Bulkeley Williams and later Williams-Bulkeley after inheriting the estates of the last Viscount Bulkeley of Cashels and had for his second wife (m. 1832) Maria Francis Stanley-Massey-Stanley … no shortage of Cheshire connections here!

Why are the arms curious? They appear to have a surfeit of ermine. The blazon is recorded as being: Quarterly, 1st & 4th Sable a chevron between three bull’s heads cabossed Argent, a canton Ermine [for Bulkeley]; 2nd & 3rd, Gules, a chevron Ermine between three Saracen’s heads couped at the shoulders Proper [for Williams]. Take a look at the images below where the arms of Williams-Bulkeley are impaling those of Stanley. The Bulkeley chevron appears to have morphed from Argent to Ermine!