Sep-05 Issue - The Heraldry Society

ISSN 0437 2980
THE HERALDRY
GAZETTE
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER
OF THE HERALDRY SOCIETY REGISTERED AT STATIONERS HALL
HRH THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL
NEW SERIES 97
September 2005
reproduced with permission
The Duchess of Cornwall has been granted armorial bearings which reflect her position as
consort to The Prince of Wales. The arms follow ample precedent in marshalling elements from
the achievement of The Prince of Wales to the dexter and those relating to his wife’s family to
the sinister. The shield is ensigned by the single arched coronet and supported by the dexter
supporter of the Heir Apparent.
The arms to the sinister are derived from the arms recorded for Major Bruce Shand, the
Duchess’s father, except that a minor difference appears to have been made in the shield’s
principal charge, the boar’s head depicted as erased rather than couped. Major Shand’s crest
is ‘a boar statant Azure armed and langued Gules his dexter forefoot resting on a mullet Gules’
and the blue boar gorged with a royal coronet and chained appears as the sinister supporter.
See the note ‘Shand Family’ on page 8.
To contact the Membership Secretary, Ingrid Phillips, write to PO Box 772, Guildford, GU3 3ZX
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CRANWELL HERALDRY
PART ONE: THE ROYAL AIR FORCE BADGE
Ceremonial Gates Cranwell Avenue Portico
With the recent painting of the wrought-iron
gates, and the re-gilding of the badges which
adorn them, the Ceremonial Entrance to the
Royal Air Force College has been restored to a
state in which it would have been seen when
College Hall was officially opened in 1934. By
then the College had its own coat of arms but
it was the badge of the Royal Air Force which
was chosen for the gates, and the Cranwell
version is made all the more impressive by the
‘oversized’ eagle that flies out from the circlet
and crown, which together complete the
design.
The Royal Air Force badge came into use in
August 1918, when the circlet took the form of
a garter and buckle. But in heraldry, this
proved to be incorrect and it was replaced by a
plain circlet when the badge was registered at
the College of Arms on 26 January 1923.
During the reigns of George V, Edward VIII
and George VI the Tudor Crown had
surmounted the circlet. But it seems that the
crown, the circlet and the eagle were subject to
a wide range of variations with regard to style,
composition and proportion, and it was not until
1949 that the design was standardised. From
that date, the ‘oversized’ eagles, which
dominate the badges on the gates of the
College, gave way to a smaller version that
dissects the circlet; in the form seen on the
porticos, erected on Cranwell Avenue in 1997.
The description of the Royal Air Force badge
was promulgated in Air Ministry Orders
A.666/49, which were published on 15
September 1949, and it reads: “In front of a
circle inscribed with the motto, ‘Per Ardua Ad
Astra’, and ensigned with the Imperial Crown,
an eagle volant and affronté, the head lowered
and to the sinister”.
By choosing the motto of the Royal Flying
Corps and the emblem of the Royal Naval Air
Service, it seems that the Air Council’s original
intention was to demonstrate a clear lineage
for the Royal Air Force; and yet these
elements of the new badge have long given
rise to conjecture and debate.
The most persistent debate is to do with the
emblem, which is supposed by some to be an
albatross, because of its association with the
Royal Naval Air Service. But it is precisely
because of its association with the Royal
Naval Air Service that the emblem is an eagle.
In his book ‘Airmen or Noahs’, published by
Pitman in 1928, Rear-Admiral Murray Sueter
attributed the choice of the Royal Naval Air
Service emblem to an item of jewellery owned
by his wife. In a footnote he states, “Mr
Winston Churchill wanted an eagle for a
badge to be worn on the sleeve of the coat to
distinguish the naval airmen. An artist was
sent for and he produced a design like a
goose. But Mrs Sueter had a gold eagle
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ooch of French Imperial design that she had
purchased in Paris. I took this eagle brooch to
the Admiralty to show Mr Churchill and Admiral
Prince Louis of Battenberg. They much
preferred it to the goose design of the artist and
adopted it for the badge of the Royal Naval Air
Service.”
The Royal Naval Air Service came into being
on 1 July 1914, and the initial dress regulations
were promulgated in Admiralty Weekly Order
No 2, where there is a first official reference to
the emblem of the navy’s new air arm: “The
badge of an eagle will be worn by members of
the Royal Naval Air Service at the top left
sleeve”. Later, when it was felt that aircrew
should be further differentiated, Admiralty
Weekly Order 756/16, of 21 April 1916, stated
that in addition to the eagle on the left sleeve a
further eagle should be worn on the left
shoulder strap. Then, on 8 June 1917, in
Admiralty Weekly Order 2106/17, aircrew were
required to wear the eagle on both sleeves and
both shoulder straps.
With so many references to the eagle, there
can be no doubt as to its use by the Royal
Naval Air Service, or to its subsequent use by
the newly-formed Royal Air Force, which
adopted the rank badges of the Royal Naval Air
Service and the rank titles of the Royal Flying
Corps. As such, a lieutenant colonel wore
“three rows of distinguishing lace surmounted
by bird (sic) and crown”, the latter being similar
to the badge on an officer’s field service cap of
today. It was not until 27 August 1919 that an
Air Council Order replaced army titles of rank
with Royal Air Force titles of rank, and
consigned the ‘bird and crown’ device from the
sleeve to the shoulder strap.
Having used Admiralty Orders to establish
that the Royal Naval Air Service emblem was
an eagle, and Air Ministry Orders to confirm
that the eagle had been adopted by the Royal
Air Force, it would seem that these same
orders could be used to reveal the genesis of
the albatross debate. From 1 April 1918, the
Royal Air Force undertook all Service flying
training, and detached some of its air and
ground crews for service with the Royal Navy.
In April 1924 these detachments were
designated the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air
Force. Soon afterwards, naval officers began
to train as pilots with the Royal Air Force, and
they then joined its fleet air arm: but the
Admiralty decided to award its own flying
badge. So, when Admiralty Fleet Order No
2793 was issued, on 2 October 1925, it
described the new badge for navy pilots as: “A
silver anchor and cable of silver embroidery
surrounded by a laurel wreath of silver
embroidery superimposed on the wings of an
albatross”.
So, with the albatross attributed to the Royal
Navy of 1925, and the eagle established as the
emblem of the Royal Air Force from 1918,
attention now turns to the motto which is
inscribed on the circlet.
Having been approved by George V, ‘Per
Ardua Ad Astra’ was promulgated as the motto
for the Royal Flying Corps in Army Order No 3,
on 15 March 1913. The motto had been
suggested by Lieutenant J S Yule, of the Royal
Engineers, who discovered the words in Sir
Henry Rider Haggard’s novel ‘The People of
the Mist’. In the first chapter there is a
description of “two stone pillars on whose
summit stood griffins of black marble
embracing coats of arms and banners
inscribed with the device Per Ardua Ad Astra”.
According to Group Captain A H Stradling in
his ‘Customs of the Services’, published by
Gale and Polden in 1966, Rider Haggard’s
source was the Irish family of Mulvany, whose
motto it had been for centuries. But its
meaning was in dispute. According to
Squadron Leader P G Herring, in his ‘Customs
and Traditions of the Royal Air Force’,
published by Gale and Polden in 1961, the
Mulvany family understood the meaning of the
motto to be “Through Difficulties to the Skies”,
whilst Rider Haggard believed it to be “Through
Struggle to the Stars”. Seeking literal meaning
of the motto, the Air Ministry approached the
College of Arms, who declared that no
authoritative translation was possible. So in
the words of a contemporary postscript by the
Air Council Member for Personnel, “Let
everyone translate it as they think fit”.
Group Captain P J Rodgers MBE FRAeS
RAF (Retd)
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3

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THE HIGH SHERIFFS OF OXFORDSHIRE - PART ONE
Martin Davies's recent appeal for information
about court room heraldry made me dig in my
files. He is quite right that photography is a
problem in any court building as it is feared that
photos may fall into the hands of violent
criminals who then use them to plan their gang
members' break out while on trial. Indeed,
even access by the general public is
sometimes difficult for similar reasons. Without
good cause to be there it may be impossible to
gain entry to certain court buildings. Whereas
they were seen as prime targets for IRA
terrorism for 30 years, that fear has now been
supplanted by one of more global origins.
As well as the depictions of current royal
arms, certain courts display the arms of High
Sheriffs or Lords Lieutenant of their county in
an ante room. When I was approached by
John Brooke-Little some years ago to produce
a shield for the upcoming High Sheriff of
Oxfordshire I was given the signal honour of
being allowed to take a camera into the Oxford
Crown Court, albeit carefully chaperoned, to
John Thomson 1957
Ermine an eagle displayed
Sable charged on the breast
and each wing with an
escallop Or on a chief Gold a
rose Gules barbed and
seeded proper between two
bulls' heads cabossed also
Gules.
The first shield in the series.
This was painted many years
later as Spurrier was only a
schoolboy in 1957. It is a
good example of his skill as
an artist with well drawn
charges, nicely balanced and
filling their space. Strangely,
he varnished the eagle and
overlapped the varnish onto
the white of the ermine field, a
technique known as “pencil
varnishing”. This is usually
only done on glass to protect
the artwork. Here the varnish
has yellowed, inevitable over
the years, and now shows up
on the white.
David Wills 1961
Gules three estoiles of twelve
points fesswise between two
griffins passant Or beaked
Azure that in chief charged
with a crescent Gold on a
mullet Gules for difference.
(The stars are composed of
alternating wavy and straight
lines.)
record the existing shields. There are now
some 33 adorning the walls of this large room
where witnesses and appellants sit waiting for
their turn in front of a judge. Most before 1998
were done by that most accomplished heraldic
artist and one time herald Peter Spurrier, who
is no longer with us.
The arms on the wall are not a complete
record of the High Sheriffs. The shields have to
be paid for by the office holder, no public funds
ever being made available. In recent years all
have elected to join in and it can be assumed
that the gaps relate to those who did not. Nonarmigers
can use the badge of office on a blue
hexagon with their name and year below. This
can be blazoned as, ''Two swords in saltire
blades uppermost Argent pommels and hilts Or
that in bend broken.''
In this and the following part is a complete
list of shields displayed up to the present
incumbent of 2005. The post is held for one
year starting in April. The names and dates are
as written below each shield.
Visit the website at www.theheraldrysociety.com
J. Heyworth 1962
Quarterly 1st & 4th: Argent six
lions three two and one Sable;
2nd & 3rd: Argent two
barrulets wavy between three
bats Sable.
Alan Budgett 1965
Azure on a cross invected
between four water bougets
Or an escallop between as
many horseshoes of the field.
Charles Radclyffe 1967
Argent two bendlets engrailed
Sable a label Gules.
Miles Gosling 1970
Gules on a chevron between
three crescents Or a squirrel
affronty cracking a nut
between two like squirrels
also cracking nuts respectant
proper in chief a cinquefoil
Gold. (The cinquefoil is an

oddity as it is in the position of
a cadency mark, has been
finely outlined to contrast
against the boldly outlined
crescents and yet has been
drawn large enough to be a
charge. The impression is that
it should have been the
double quatrefoil of a 9th son.
As a charge it ruins the
symmetry of the shield.
Spurrier repeated this for
Brunner of 1988, yet there is a
correct cadency mark in this
position for Parker of 1989
also drawn quite large. Both
can be viewed in part 2.)
The 3 dainty squirrels of
Gosling. Note the cinquefoil
in chief.
Peter Parker 1973
Gules a chevron between
three lions' heads affronty Or.
W. Birch Reynardson 1974
Quarterly 1st & 4th: Or two
chevronels engrailed and in
chief a rose Gules barbed and
seeded proper on a canton
also Gules a mascle Argent;
2nd & 3rd Azure three fleursde-lis
and a canton Argent.
John Collins 1975
Or on a pale Vert between two
apples slipped and leaved
proper three bezants on a
chief also Vert as many
anchors sans cables Gold.
J. C. L. Fane 1977
Azure three dexter close
gauntlets Or.
(This is the coat of the Earls of
Westmorland who poetically
blazon their charges as three
dexter gauntlets backs
affronty.)
William Bell 1978
Azure a chevron Ermine
between in chief two bells and
in base a fleam Or.
The Hon. Charles Cecil 1979
Barry of ten Argent and Azure
six escutcheons three two and
one Sable each charged with
a lion rampant Argent in
centre chief a crescent Argent
on a like crescent Sable for
difference.
(These are the unquartered
arms of the Marquesses of
Salisbury.)
Robert Fleming 1980
Per chevron Sable and Argent
in chief two goats' heads
erased Argent armed and
holding in the mouth a lily
slipped Or in base a cross
flory Gules.
Thomas Hall 1981
Argent three talbots' heads
erased Sable between five
crosses crosslet Azure on a
chief Sable an eastern crown
Or. (How three charges can
satisfactorily be portrayed
between a different number of
charges is a challenge to
artists. Burke records similar
shields for Halls with nine
crosslets and five, as here,
with no indication of their
layout. It is a rare example of
artistic licence being allowed
to be exercised in heraldry,
with numerous alternatives
suggesting themselves. Here
Spurrier has placed the
crosses and heads evenly on
the field which ends up with
two crosses being obscured
beneath the heads. This
stretches the term 'between'
to the limit.)
The challenging arms of Hall
as explained in the text
Sir Mark Norman Bt 1983
Sable a thunderbolt and in
chief two crosses formy
pierced with the eight symbols
of Fhohe or the Pa-qua and
charged with a roundel
containing the eastern symbol
known as Tae Keigh all Or in
centre chief a baronet's
badge. (I am grateful to
Debrett for this impossible
blazon. The first armiger's
obvious eastern interests may
have been connected to the I-
Ching: the crosses are
charged with trigrams and
pierced with the yin-yang
symbol.)
Baz Manning SHA
. . . to be continued
E-mail the editor at gazette@theheraldrysociety.com 5

ALMANAC OF EVENTS OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 2005
Oct 1 Middlesex Heraldry of Bermuda Marjorie Kirby
1 Manchester Ducal Heraldry Alan Fennely
3 Lancashire Heraldry in East Anglia Gwyneth Hagen
5 Norfolk Military Connections Iain Swinnerton
7 Heraldry Society Visit to the College of Arms William Hunt
15 Chilterns New Thoughts on Old Hatchments Andrew Gray
15 Bath Nelson Heraldry Michael Furlong &
Roland Symons
19 Heraldry Society ‘The Heraldry of Trafalgar’ David White
26 Yorkshire Duxbury Lecture Hugh Murray
The Enamel Painters of York (1589-1792)
26 Somerset Visit to St Cuthbert’s Church, Wells
Nov 2 Norfolk The English Knights of St John Tony Sims
5 Middlesex Cromwell’s Armorial Background Keith Lovell
5 Manchester Welsh Heraldry Dorothy Lee-Fitchett
7 Lancashire Royal Regalia Nigel Griffin
12 Somerset Visit to North Cadbury Church and Court
14 Heraldry Society The Society Dinner
Principal Guest: The Earl Marshal
19 Norfolk St Edmund’s Lunch
19 Chilterns Afternoon with the Pierson Slide Collection John Titterton
19 Bath Conserving the Records of the College Christopher Harvey
of Arms
23 Heraldry Society The Constance Egan Lecture Cecil Humphery-
‘A Japanese Armorial’ Smith
30 Manchester Manchester Town Hall
30 Yorkshire Heraldry on the Right Lines Peter Marshall
Dec 3 Manchester East Anglia Heraldry Gwynneth Hagen
5 Lancashire Seasonal Fun Evening
10 Bath Arcadian Heraldry Michael Messer
13 Heraldry Society Annual General Meeting
14 Yorkshire Mythical Beasts Jim Winstanley
Please check details of meetings with the appropriate contact person shown on page 16 of the
June issue.
Please note that other heraldic events take place. This is not an exhaustive list. If you would like
your events to appear please send details to: gazette@theheraldrysociety.com, including in the
subject line - almanac entry.
6
Visit the website at www.theheraldrysociety.com
AUTUMN DINNER
2005
A reminder that bookings for
the Autumn Dinner must be
received by 31 October. As
announced previously in the
Gazette, our Patron the Duke
of Norfolk is to be the Guest of
Honour, and the splendid
setting will be Painters' Hall. A
booking form is enclosed with
this issue for members with
UK addresses.

THE 2005-2006 LECTURES AND VISITS PROGRAMME
The over-arching theme for the 2005-2006
lecture season is Recording Heraldry. This
takes the Basic Heraldry module of the 2004-
2005 season a stage further and will give
members an insight into British and foreign
recording of heraldry.
The sponsored lectures in the forthcoming
season start with the Mark Elvins Lecture,
traditionally on a religious theme: this will be on
the impact of the Reformation on German
heraldry. For the Constance Egan Lecture
Cecil Humphery-Smith will talk on a Japanese
Armorial. The John Brooke-Little lecture will be
by Patrick Cracroft-Brennan on the stall plates
of the Knights of the Garter. The final
sponsored lecture, that of the Worshipful
Company of Scriveners, will be given by the
retiring Chairman of Council, Dr Malcolm Golin.
This year being the 200th Anniversary of our
greatest naval victory, Somerset Herald has
kindly agreed to lecture in Trafalgar month on
the heraldry of the victors of Trafalgar.
NORFOLK HISTORY QUIZ
Lectures are included in the annual
subscription, but an informal retiring collection
is made to help to defray the hire costs of the
premises.
Windsor Herald is kindly hosting an evening
visit to the College of Arms and the Institute of
Heraldic and Genealogical Studies is hosting a
visit to Canterbury. The visit to St John's Gate
was heavily over-subscribed last season so will
be repeated early in 2006. These visits are
self-financing and tickets are available in
advance from the Programme Secretary.
The Programme Secretary would very much
appreciate help in advertising the lectures to a
wider public and is looking for an Assistant
Programme Secretary to take over this aspect.
If you feel you could spare time and would like
to help the Society in this way, please contact
the Programme Secretary, Colonel Michael
Phillips, either on 01483 237375 or through the
Membership Secretary on 01483 237373 or email
memsec@theheraldrysociety.com.
Can you answer the following questions:- * (see answers at the end of the article)
1. Who is the patron Saint of Russia ?
2. Who succeeded Genghis as the Great Khan ?
3. Who was the British Prime Minister during most of the American War of Independence ?
No? I am not surprised, but it was the ability to answer these and approximately 90 similar
questions, some even more difficult, that enabled the Norfolk Heraldry Society once again to win
the Norfolk History Quiz.
The Quiz takes place every year and teams of not more than three members can take part. The
Norfolk Heraldry Society has won the Quiz 10 times in the last 15 years. A formidable
achievement. This year the team consisted of Chairman Andy Anderson and John Dent,
Hon.FHS, Founder Member and Vice-President of the Society. Although they had one member
less than the permitted number of three per team, they were still able to fend off the considerable
opposition provided by local teams from, among others, the Richard III Society and the
Battlefields Trust.
*1. St Andrew. 2. Ogadai, his third son 3. Lord North.
PLEASE NOTE:
The next deadline for
contributions to the
Gazette is
1st November.
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8
CUHAGS PRESIDENT
On 11th June the Cambridge
University Heraldic and
Genealogical Society installed
its 2005 President, Antti
Matikkala. Previously President
of the Finnish Heraldry Society,
Antti is well know in Heraldry
Society circles since coming to
Cambridge to pursue his postgraduate
studies. The
installation took place at the
customary Accession Banquet
in Clare College. An impressive
guest list included Lord Slynn of
Hadley, H.E. the Ambassador of
Finland, and a number of
Heraldry Society luminaries. It
was also encouraging to meet
Michael Burtscher and Marshal Walker, who are endeavouring
to resurrect the Oxford University society. We stand ready to
give them any help they need in that enterprise. Our warm
congratulations go to Antti, and we wish him every success in
his year of office.
Visit the website at www.theheraldrysociety.com
SHAND FAMILY
The Shands of Craig,
Aberdeenshire became
opulent in the 16th and 17th
centuries. There is a tradition
that the Shands came to
Aberdeenshire in the 14th
century and it is possible that
the boar's head indicates
some feudal or similar
connection with the Gordons
whose ancient arms featured
a single boar's head (current
arms feature three). The
three mullets gules featured
on the chief of the Shand of
Craig arms probably came
from marriage alliances with
families which featured them.
The difference adopted by the
Lord Lyon in Major Shand's
arms is the replacement of the
centre mullet by a cross
crosslet fitchy. MJ

PRINCE OF WALES’ ARMS AT POUNDBURY, DORSET
To enhance the Brownsword Hall at
Poundbury, the Duchy of Cornwall
Development on the edge of Dorchester in
Dorset, HRH Prince Charles asked me to paint
a 3 feet square panel depicting his arms as
Prince of Wales. This, together with excellent
scenic and Duchy Arms wallhangings
executed by Monica Perry, has just been hung
in the hall for permanent exhibition.
The most immediate spin-off from the
commission has been copious requests for
both technical and historical information on
every detail of the Arms, resulting in talks and
necessitating the creation of a leaflet. The
most unexpected question so far has come from
a small boy at my talk to a local primary school:
“Why wasn’t King James I and VI called King
James VII?”
Patrick Grove-White
PERCY VANT Herald with a Difference by Peter Field
The deadline for contributions to the next Gazette is 1st November 9

Crest of Bolton
Alan Buckingham (June
2005 number of the Gazette)
wrote about the connection
between the elephant and
castle devices of Bolton and
Coventry. The first known
depiction of this as Bolton's
crest appears on Baines's
map of the town dated 1824.
There are two versions of its
adoption by the trustees of
Great Bolton ; first that the
'elite of Bolton adopted this
splendid heraldic device in
1799 at the suggestion of Pitt
Hewitt', one of the original
trustees and the other, that it
was the suggeston of Ralph
Boardman solicitor and clerk
of the trustees, who had an
old seal bearing the device.
Bolton was incorporated in
1838 and the borough
continued to use this crest
until 1890 when it was
decided to apply for a grant of
arms. The subscription list
was opened in March and the
letters patent were dated 5th
June - such matters being
effected more speedily than
these days. Major Ottley Lane
Perry, a former councillor was
instrumental in the design and
decided to commemorate
Bolton's distant ecclesiastical
link with Coventry by
incorporating a mitre on the
saddle cloth of the elephant.
Incidentally is there any
explanation of Coventry's
elephant? Following the
reorganisation of local
government in 1974 the
Metropolitan Borough of
Bolton had a new grant of
arms and the tenuous
Coventry connection of the
10
CORRESPONDENCE
mitre was replaced by the
more appropriate Lancaster
rose - see illustration in March
2005 number of the Gazette.
Malcolm Howe Chelsea
(formerly of Bolton)
I refer to Alan Buckingham's
letter in the June 2005 edition
of the Gazette and think he is
right to be suspicious of
Wilfrid Scott-Giles'
explanation for the elephant
and castle in Bolton's arms.
That is also Bolton Council's
official explanation and was
adopted by H Ellis Tomlinson
in 1974, but I believe it was
the rationalisation of an
heraldic enthusiast - excouncillor
Major Otley Perry,
who suggested the design for
the County Borough Council
in 1890 - for an existing use.
Certainly there was already
a connection between Bolton
and the elephant and castle
as early as 1831, when two
coaches on Bolton's first
railway were named
'Elephant' and 'Castle'. A
newspaper advertisement for
a drapery business in 1838
included a shield with two
bends surmounted by an
elephant and castle on a
torse, but when the newlycreated
Municipal Borough
Council obtained its first seal
in 1839, the elephant and
castle, on a mound, were on
the shield. From then until
Please send your letters or articles to the Editor of
the Gazette at the following address: The Head’s
House, Fred Nicholson School, Westfield Road,
Dereham, Norfolk NR19 1JB or by e-mail to
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1890 the Municipal Borough
Council and then the County
Borough Council used the
elephant and castle in many
different forms - on a shield,
on a torse or as a free-floating
object.
In the discussions with the
College of Arms in 1890 on
the Council's application for a
grant, the Council resolved
that new arms should
resemble as much as possible
the device previously used
and so the elephant and
castle became the crest. On
the creation of the
Metropolitan Borough in 1974,
the one feature of the old
arms which council members
insisted should be retained
was the elephant and castle,
so strong was its association
with Bolton. My theory for that
connection is that there was a
representation of the elephant
and castle in the mediaeval
parish church since it was an
important Christian symbol in
view of the beneficent
characteristics ascribed to it in
the bestiaries, and that,
therefore, it appears on the
borough arms because of the
strange sexual habits of
mediaeval elephants.
Incidentally, the elephant
and castle borne on Fred
Dibnah's coffin was borrowed
from Bolton museum and is
one of a pair of 19th century
cast-iron elephants which

stood on the gate pillars of a
bleachworks. It lay on the
route to the Bolton Royal
Infirmary and nervous children
were distracted by being told
that at midnight each New
Year's Eve the elephants
exchanged gateposts so that
they had a slightly different
view for the succeeding year.
That's about as well
evidenced as Perry's and my
explanations.
Mike Cresswell
Seal Enquiry
In reply to Frank Keirl's
query the oldest surviving
grant by an English officer of
arms is that of William Bruges,
Garter, to the Drapers'
Company on 10 March 1439.
The original still belongs to the
Company. Not only is it
signed and sealed by Bruges
but very unusually for a patent
also includes a notarial
certificate of its execution.
The seal is circular and 26mm
in diameter. It displays
Bruges' arms (checky of nine
pieces [argent and sable]
powdered with ermine spots
countercoloured) and a crest
of a woman's head in a hood
or cowl. The legend reads
SIGILLU[M] WILLIMI
BRUGGES. There is nothing
on the seal to denote Bruges'
office as Garter. The seal is
the same as that of his father,
Richard, except that the
legend on Richard's seal
reads LANGCASTR ROY DE
ARMYS. William's oval
counter-seal or signet bears a
crown which might well reflect
his office as a king of arms.
For further details and
pictures see Hugh Stanford
London, The Life of William
Bruges, the first Garter King of
Arms (Harleian Society, cxi
and cxii [in one vol], for 1959
and 1960 (London, 1970)).
The seals of both men are
not the earliest known for an
English officer of arms. That
honour belongs to Peter, King
of the Heralds, whose
jurisdiction, like modern-day
Norroy, extended northwards
beyond the Trent. His seal,
attached to a charter now in
the British Library and dated
1276, bears three crowns,
possibly a sign of his kingly
office. Mr Keirl will find further
details in Sir Anthony
Wagner's Heralds of England
(London, 1967), p.6.
Adrian Ailes
Arms of a Lady
In answer to Bob Jones’s
letter of the Gazette of June
2005 re the arms granted to
my wife Shirley Greenwood.
In Canada a lady’s personal
arms have always been borne
on a shield ever since 4th
June 1988 when H. M. the
Queen transferred the
exercise of her heraldic
prerogative to the Governor-
General of Canada, thus fully
patriating heraldry.
Pure socialism I suppose !?
Alexander Greenwood B.C.
Canada
‘ABEL’ GRANT
We have been approached
by a lady who has the original
grant of arms (1883) to Sir
Frederick Augustus Abel. She
would like to get in touch with
his descendants. If one of
them reads this, perhaps they
would contact the
Hon.Secretary.
CANTERBURY
HERALDRY
WEEKEND
Plans are well advanced for
a Heraldry Weekend at
Canterbury Christ Church
University College in
September next year. The
subject will be "Heraldry and
the Medieval Craftsman". It
will be possible to book
residential or non-residential
places provided your booking
is made early! Enclosed with
this issue is a booking form for
the event. Note that there is a
discount of £10 per person for
bookings received before 31st
December 2005.
IN MEMORIAM
The death of David
Sanctuary Howard was
reported in the June edition of
the "Gazette". There will be a
Service of Thanksgiving for
his life at 2.30 p.m. on
Monday 7th November at the
Guards Chapel, Wellington
Barracks, Birdcage Walk,
London SW1.
Ann Bowen
Calligraphy and
Heraldic
Illuminations
1 DOODS PLACE, DOODS ROAD
REIGATE SURREY RH2 0NS
TELEPHONE/FAX 01737 246171
All opinions expressed in the Heraldry Gazette are those of the authors and not
necessarily those of the Editor or of the Heraldry Society.
E-mail the editor at gazette@theheraldrysociety.com 11

12
THE BOURBON-ANJOU ARMS IN SPANISH HERALDRY
At a ceremony in Paris last December 8th,
Henri d'Orléans, Count of Paris and claimant of
the French throne, stated that he was creating
one of his nephews Duc d'Anjou; and with
great fanfare presented him with a card
bearing the coat of arms historically associated
with that title, a differenced version of France
Modern: azure, three fleurs de lis or, a bordure
gules, shown in figure 1.
figure 1
The heraldic element of the event, at least,
may have annoyed more than one Spanish
peer. One of the most recognisable images in
all of heraldry, the fleur-de-lys arms flourish in
the peerage of the last kingdom ruled by the
dynasty.
Undifferenced, they appear on the arms of
the Dukes of Medinaceli quartering the arms of
Castille and León to denote descent from King
Louis IX, yet this appears to be anachronistic,
for the France Modern arms blazoned above
(versus the azure semy-de-lys or of Saint
Louis' era) were first adopted by King Charles
V in the late 1300s.
The remainder of the arms of Spanish peers
bearing France Modern all denote ultimate
descent from a single individual: Philippe,
Duke of Anjou (1683-1746) who in 1700
became Spain's first Bourbon King as Felipe V.
The bordure gules that he used as Duke of
Anjou to difference his arms from those of his
grandfather King Louis XIV has been
consistently retained by his descendants to
signal their ancestry. This is somewhat ironic
for differencing has never been uniformly used
in Spanish heraldry; an oft-mentioned royal
decree of 1669 introducing it can be found in
every Spanish heraldry primer and has been
resolutely ignored. The result of this is naturally
that in Spain a great many people bear
identical arms, and so any given coat may
identify an ancestor but not a specific bearer's
line of descent. Hence the proliferation of the
Bourbon-Anjou arms in Spanish heraldry
outside the royal family. In addition, there is no
rule concerning heraldic heiresses in Spanish
heraldry and indeed many noble and gentry
families quarter their arms with those of
ancestral lineages more or less at will,
regardless of whether or not those families
have become extinct in the male line.
The widowed Queen Regent María Cristina,
also a descendant of Spain's King Carlos III,
married her second husband, palace guard
Fernando Muñoz on 28 December 1833, just 2
months and 29 days after the death of her
uncle and first husband, King Fernando VII.
The births of children to the morganatic couple
were more or less secret and they held no rank
at court until their half-sister, Queen Isabel II,
was declared of legal age in 1843. Over the
next 5 years she showered her stepfather and
half-siblings with an array of titles. Muñoz was
created Duke of Riansares in 1844, and later
Marquess of San Agustín; the couple's children
eventually received the titles of Countess of
Vista Alegre, Marchioness of Castillejo, Duke
of Tarancón, Viscount of La Alborada, Count of
Casa Muñoz, Viscount of Rostrollano,
Marchioness of La Isabela, Viscountess of La
Dehesilla, Conde del Recuerdo, Viscount of
Villarubio, Count of Gracia and and Viscount of
La Arboleda. Several of the children died
young and their titles were redistributed among
their siblings. Tracing the titles' lines of descent
here would be complicated, but today the
Chronicler of Arms' annual guide to the
Spanish peerage shows that those who bear
the titles use one of two coats of arms. Both
varieties display the Bourbon-Anjou arms
inherited from Queen María Cristina, but the
present Viscount of La Alborada and Marquess
of Castillejo impale them with some ancient
Visit the website at www.theheraldrysociety.com

figure 2
figure 3
figure 4
figure 5
Muñoz arms as shown in figure 2 , while the
Duke of Riansares, Marquess of San Agustín
and Viscount of Rostrollano impale them with
the arms used by Fernando Muñoz as Duke of
Riansares, as shown in figure 3.
In addition, the undifferenced Bourbon-Anjou
arms have been used as the arms of the
Dukes of Seville, Ansola, Dúrcal, Marchena,
Hernani, and Santa Elena; all of these titles
were granted to males of the Spanish line of
the Bourbons between 1823 and 1917. The
Hernani title has reverted to the crown but the
remaining Dukes, though the titles are mostly
in other families through female succession,
use identical undifferenced Bourbon-Anjou
arms with ducal coronets and mantles.
Another title, that of Duke of Cádiz, was first
granted to a male Bourbon dynast in 1822. In a
2002 article Spain's Chronicler of Arms,
Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent, argued that as
the sole heir to this title Luís Alfonso de
Borbón, who is also now the senior
representative of the Bourbon dynasty by male
primogeniture, should use the familiar Borbón-
Anjou arms with an escutcheon of Bourbon
proper. Cadenas illustrated this as shown in
figure 4.
Regardless of their 're-granting' by Henri
d'Orléans it seems likely that the Bourbon-
Anjou blazon will continue to feature
prominently on the arms of armigerous
descendants of Spanish Bourbon monarchs.
Descendants of the King's sister the Infanta
Pilar and her husband, Luís Gómez-Acebo,
Viscount of La Torre, might quarter his arms
with hers. And little Felipe Juan Froilán de
Marichalar y Borbón, son of the Infanta Elena
and eldest grandson of King Juan Carlos, may
someday also pass on the Bourbon-Anjou
arms as a heraldic inheritance, quartering the
familiar French arms with his father Don
Jaime's ancient arms of Marichalar of Navarre,
Or, an oak tree proper on a mount vert, a wolf
passant sable as shown in figure 5.
Matthew Hovius
Visit the website at www.theheraldrysociety.com 13

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addressed to the Advertising Manager at either
advertising@theheraldrysociety.com
or his home address
53 Hitchin Street, Baldock, Hertfordshire, SG7 6AQ.
14
BOOK BROWSER
HERALDRY IN NORFOLK CHURCHES - Vol.4 SPARHAM
DEANERY
Ken Mourin FHS, Norfolk Heraldry Society ISBN 0-
9506624-7-X £14.00
This is the fourth part of the Norfolk Heraldry Society's opus
on the heraldry to be found in the county's churches. In many
ways the volumes get better and better, and this fourth volume
is the best yet. As well as twenty-four churches in the Deanery
it covers three houses, with fuller notes on one family (the
Jodrells) and Peter le Neve. The illustrations are clear and the
information on what is to be found in the individual churches
and houses is supplemented with helpful photographs. There is
an index of names and blazons at the back which will be of
great assistance to researchers seeking a particular coat of
arms. The one fault - and a surprising one - to be found is some
erroneous descriptions of Royal Arms. James I and VI would be
surprised to learn that his innovation of bringing Ireland into the
Arms was seen as adding Wales, and Queen Anne would have
been surprised to see that she became a Hanoverian following
the Act of Union with Scotland. There is also a strange
comment about an inn-sign for a hostelry called The Kings
Arms showing the current Royal Arms, said to date from 1845:
"presumably for King Edward or King George". Perhaps the
date should be 1945?
MANCHESTER HERALDRY STUDY
The Greater Manchester Heraldry Society will be holding
their eleventh heraldry study at Worsley Court House on
October 14th. Speakers will include Peter Marshall, Diarmid
Pattinson, John Titterton and Malcolm Howe - all on a variety
of heraldic subjects "with a northern flavour".
Tickets, inclusive of a light luncheon, are same as last year
at £10 and may be obtained from our Treasurer, Alan Bacon,
17 St Christopher’s Ave, Ashton under Lyne, OL6 9DT
ADVERTISING RATES
Visit the website at www.theheraldrysociety.com
MEMBERSHIP
NEWS
We welcome the following
new members:
S C Allan New York
N Whyberd W Sussex
D Stephens Dublin
Anglia Heraldry
Group Essex
S Cameron Yorkshire
J Crowley USA
G Ingham Gloucester
G Ellis-Hughes Wales
N Griffin Lancashire
J Houston Beds
Lord Norrys Ayrshire
We have heard with regret
of the death of the
following members:
Mr. E. G. B Crundwell
April 2005
Mr. Trevor Daintith
May 2005
Mr. H. W. P. Harrison
June 2005
Mr. W. G. Harris
April 2005
Mr. L. Leonard
2005
Mrs. Margaret Wood
July 2005

THE 2005
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The 2005 Annual General Meeting will be held at the Society
of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1 at 6.30
pm on Tuesday, December 13th. A formal notice is enclosed
with this mailing.
The Council members retiring by rotation this year are Mr
David White (Deputy Chairman) and Mr Geoff Robson. Both
offer themselves for re-election. There is also one vacancy,
which Council recommends should not be filled: a Resolution to
this effect will be put to the Annual General Meeting. This will
result in the Council having eight elected members; the Articles
provide for a minimum of four. Experience has shown that
working with eight elected and three non-elected members (the
President, the Hon. Secretary and the Hon. Treasurer) is
efficient and effective. The present intention is for Council to
remain at that size.
The Articles provide that a member of the Society may
nominate another member for election to the Council provided
the nomination is made not less than six weeks before the AGM
(which this year would be 1st November) and accompanied by
written consent to nomination signed by the person concerned.
If no nominations are received the retiring members will be
declared re-elected.
PHOTOGRAPHIC
COMPETITION
Enclosed with this issue is
the entry form for the Heraldry
Society Photographic
Competition 2005, which was
announced in the two
previous issues of the
"Gazette". Council hopes that
the competition will prove
popular with members, and
generate some striking
photographic images of
heraldic subjects. Please be
sure to note the closing date
for entries, which is 30th
October 2005.
Visit the website at www.theheraldrysociety.com 15

Margaret Wood trained first as a librarian
from 1967 to 1969 and gained her
Associateship of the Library Association, Then
as a professional caIligrapher, illuminator and
heraldic artist, on a full-time three year course
at Reigate School of Art and Design from 1977
to 1980, where she gained a First Class
Honours Diploma. In 1976 she was approved
as a tutor by the Inner London Educational
Authority and elected a Fellow of the Society of
Scribes and Illuminators of London in 1977.
She was a member of the Council of the
Society of Heraldic Arts for ten years and
Chairman of the Blackmore Vale Scribes for
seven years. She retired from both Offices
because of pressure of work.
She worked for the Crown Office in the House
of Lords at the Palace of Westminster, initially
as a librarian and then as one of the five
Queen's Scribes from 1978 to 1987, producing
illuminated Letters Patent creating Notaries
Public, Judges, Life Peers, Heralds and Kings
of Arms. She also painted heraldry for several
of the Officers at the College of Arms, including
John Brooke-Little (Richmond Herald and later
Clarenceux King of Arms), Rodney Dennys
(Somerset Herald), and Sir Colin Cole
(Windsor Herald and later Garter Principal King
of Arms.)
She returned as a tutor and visiting lecturer at
Reigate School of Art and Design, now part of
East Surrey College, from 1979 to 1987. She
moved to Somerset in 1987 and established an
enviable reputation as one of the best tutors of
the Craft in the Country. She was much in
demand at Colleges of Adult Education,
Community Education Centres and
Universities as a resident tutor and lecturer.
Her ability as a teacher was extraordinary. She
was able to encourage and inspire everyone
she taught, and was regarded with enormous
affection by all her students and everyone who
met her. She had endless patience and
understanding not only with her students' work
16
MARGARET JEAN WOOD
ALA, SDAD (Hons), FSSI, SHA
but with their problems as individuals. She was
someone whom all felt able to turn to and
confide in. Her work was sensitive and
imaginative and is much prized by everyone
who owns it.
Her commissioned work included the design
and execution of formal documents on vellum
and paper, calligraphy, manuscript painting,
gilding and heraldic design and painting. She
also undertook commissions for Letters Patent,
illuminated addresses and scrolls for the
Armed Services, County and Municipal
Boroughs and the Church. For private
collectors, commissions included manuscript
books, genealogical and armorial family trees
and armorial library paintings.
Her commercial work involved calligraphic
and heraldic design for reproduction,
publishers' book jackets and titling, greetings
cards, book tokens, logo designs and graphics
for television and advertising. Her death will
create a very great loss both to the craft and to
all who knew her. She was married to Anthony
Wood and had a son by her previous marriage.
The Society sends its condolences to
Margaret’s family.
Published by the Heraldry Society, Charity Reg No 24156, Reg Office, 53 High Street, Burnham, Slough, SL1 7JX.
Printed by Masterprint Ltd, London, SE18 5NQ