Cheshire Heraldry Web Journal (Blog)

I picked up these three heraldic items from an antiques fair a couple of weeks ago. After haggling I paid the princely sum of £3.50 for all three. Two small tea plates and a felt backed heraldic (advertising) tile. Not of any great value but nonetheless conversation pieces.

Forfar

Glasgow

Pilkingtons

All of the new images have now been added to the Vale Royal (Kinderton Roll) part of the site.

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

Some time ago the Cheshire Heraldry Society Programme Secretary approached me to ask if I could shed any light on the armorial bearings illustrated on a Chinese porcelain mug. Identified thus in David Sanctuary Howard’s book Chinese Armorial Porcelain:
1st Qtr identified as Kinsey
2nd Qtr attributed to Chardelow (of Spratling Norfolk)
3rd Qtr unknown
4th Qtr attributed to Grosvenor

This attribution is not correct.

I believe that the 2nd and third quarters are Birchels and the 4th quarter is Grosvenor (really Eaton).
I have expanded on this belief and given evidence to back it up in my talk entitled Squirrels and Chevrons.

It is only a matter of weeks since I received my copy of The Heraldry Society’s Heraldry Gazette and I notice that there is already an electronic copy on line for all to see. The latest copy has my article on “Orle vs Escutcheon Voided”.

I have finally got around to resizing the images prepared for the Vale Royal part of the site. This evening I have got as far as Sir Peers Dutton.

The Cheshire Heraldry Society

Courtesy of our Programme Secretary, John Titterton, here is the programme for the whole year 2011/12. 

24 September 2011

Daniel King’s Kinderton Roll (c. 1656).  Martin Goldstraw 

15 October 2011

The Murray Arms; the search for a Grant. Hugh Murray 

19 November 2011

The Heraldry of Bath Abbey. Roland Symons 

21 January 2012

Cheshire Knights and their Ladies. Tony Bostock 

18 February 2012

East Indiamen and Other. Dr Andrew Gray 

17 March 2012

Arms of the Hon. Artillery Company. John Tunesi of Liongam 

21 April 2012

AGM 

Meetings are held at

Townley Street Schoolroom, Townley Street, Macclesfield, starting at 2.30 pm, followed by light refreshments.

(room opens at 2.00 pm).  (Pay & Display car park 100 yds.) 

Visit our web page hosted at www.cheshire-heraldry.org.uk/society

This seal was found in Blackden. The Lombardic script reads, SIGILLVM HAWISE DE GOSTRE DO[MINAE]: The seal of Hawise lady of Goostrey. It has been tentatively dated to the 13th century.

Image and information courtesy of The Blackden Trust.

The Victoria & Albert Museum has an online programme which “lets you design your own coat of arms step by step”. I was tempted to be highly critical and quite possibly it does deserve to be criticised heavily but it’s a simple programme which obviously has its shortfalls and is probably aimed at children (at least I hope it is!) so I’ll go easy on it. It’s easy to use and will no doubt provide an introduction to heraldry to more than one child.

I couldn’t recreate my own arms because for some reason it doesn’t have Argent as a starting tincture for the field and frustratingly it only allows you to place charges on the ordinary without an option to place them directly on the field. Overall not brilliant but if it introduces just one youngster to our hobby then it has to be worth it.

 The programme promised to email me my finished arms so if I ever get them I’ll post them here.

Bookplate of the Right Hon John Warren Baron de Tabley of Tabley Co Chester engraved by C W Sherborn and dated 1888, a photo by CharmaineZoe on Flickr.

John Byrne Leicester Warren, 3rd Baron De Tabley (26 April 1835 - 22 November 1895) was an English poet, numismatist, botanist and an authority on bookplates. He was buried at Little Peover in Cheshire.

I learn from the latest very welcome newsletter of The College of Arms that the University of Dundee is offering a distance learning course in heraldry.

“Heraldry Course at University of Dundee: Clive Cheesman and Peter O’Donoghue, Rouge Dragon and Bluemantle respectively, are the joint authors and tutors of a course covering the history, terminology and practice of heraldry. This course provides a detailed and thorough study of the subject for both beginners, and those with experience of heraldry alike. The heraldry module is a 13-week distance learning module delivered online in a fully supported learning environment. It can be taken on its own, simply as a leisure interest. It can also be taken for continuing professional development, as part of a Postgraduate Certificate in Family and Local History, or as part of the University of Dundee’s Masters degree in Archives and Records Management. More information can be found on the Centre for Archives and Information Studies website www.dundee.ac.uk/cais or by e-mailing armtraining@dundee.ac.uk.”

Courses of this nature can’t be a bad thing however I can’t help but think that once universities get involved we are only one step away from the view often nowadays held by academics that unless one has a recognised qualification in a particular subject one can’t possibly know anything about it.