News & Grants - College of Arms
A grant of Arms was made to Dame Esther Louise RANTZEN, DBE, of the London Borough of Camden, by Letters Patent of Garter and Clarenceux Kings of Arms dated 31 May 2018. In the same Patent Arms and Crest were granted in memory of her late husband Desmond John WILCOX, late of the same Borough, and to be borne and used by his descendants. College reference: Grants 181/161. The blazons are as follows:
Arms (illustrated left): Azure on a Pile Argent the point surmounted by the Flame proper of a Candle Or a Trumpet palewise the Bell upwards Gules between two Roses also Gules barbed seeded slipped and leaved proper.
Arms for Wilcox (illustrated right): Argent a Pile reversed bendwise Gules the point surmounted in dexter chief by a Sun in Splendour overall a three-masted Schooner in full sail Or the hull charged with a Barrulet Azure fracted with Portholes Or.
Crest for Wilcox: Upon a Helm with a Wreath Argent and Azure Within a Circlet of Oak Leaves erect Vert a Horse rampant Or. Mantled Azure doubled Or.
Following the announcement of the birth of a third child to Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, special instructions have been received that Union Flags should be flown from all buildings of Her Majesty's Government tomorrow 24 April 2018 from 0800 hours to 2000 hours.
Local authorities are not bound by this request but may wish to follow it for guidance. Local authorities and other organisations may follow suit. Devolved administrations are responsible for issuing instructions for the flying of the Union Flag on buildings in their estate and others as necessary.
Any questions regarding the flying of flags should be addressed to the Officer in Waiting at the College of Arms.
A grant of Arms, Crest and Badge (illustrated right) was made to ST EDWARD’S SCHOOL, in Oxford, by Letters Patent of Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms dated 5 December 2017. The Patent recites in brief the history of the foundation, from its establishment in 1863. The blazon is as follows:
Arms: Azure a Cross flory between four Ancient Crowns impaling Per fess Sable and Or a Pale counterchanged in the Or an Ermine Spot Sable and in the Sable a Trefoil slipped Or the whole within a Bordure also Or.
Crest: Upon a Helm with a Wreath Argent and Azure Issuant from a Cup Or a Dagger erect point downwards Argent hilt and pommel Or.
Badge (not illustrated): Issuant from a Cup Or a Dagger erect downwards Argent hilt and pommel Or.
College reference: Grants 181/40.
College of Arms Ms A17 is believed to have been created by Thomas Benolt, Clarenceux King of Arms, who died in 1534. He bequeathed it and other manuscripts to his successors as Clarenceux; and it was probably part of the library of the College of Arms by 1618. As well as fascinating early material relating to London, the volume includes a number of pages of painted standards and shields of Arms of noblemen, knights and gentlemen, dating from circa 1513.
The page illustrated shows standards and Arms for Ingelfelde (perhaps for Sir Thomas Ingelfelde or Englefield of Berkshire); Sir Richard Chaundlay; and Master Appellyarde (Sir Nicholas Appleyard was knighted at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513). In each case the standard bears the Cross of St George next to the hoist, with the fly bearing Crests and Badges.
Shakespeare Documents
19 January 2018
Shakespeare Documentary Heritage recognised by UNESCO’s International Memory of the World Programme
The UNESCO International Memory of the World programme has recognised the immense significance to world culture of the ‘Shakespeare Documents’ – the key archival sources for William Shakespeare’s biography. This material now has equivalent status in the documentary sphere as the pyramids have for the world’s built heritage.
The successful nomination was led by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in partnership with The National Archives, Worcestershire Archives and Archaeology Service, the College of Arms, the British Library and London Metropolitan Archives in the UK, and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C, USA. Together these specialist archive and library repositories care for the precious ‘Shakespeare Documents’.
Their inclusion on the International Memory of the World register recognises the universal cultural and historical value of 90 documents relating to Shakespeare’s baptism, burial, family matters, property records, legal actions and business dealings.
Dr Lynsey Darby of the College of Arms said, “Our archives have for centuries preserved official records of grants and confirmations of coats of arms, as well as records of genealogy and state ceremonial. Among the treasures of this archive are records of the grant of arms made to William Shakespeare’s father John of Stratford upon Avon in 1596. This application for a coat of arms on his father’s behalf shows the value the playwright placed on a visible symbol of his family’s gentry status, and the importance of having this status confirmed by the heralds of the College of Arms. We are delighted that these and other vital Shakespeare documents have been granted this special recognition of their significance.”
