THE ENGLISH COLLEGE OF ARMS

The College of Arms in London, England

Origins of Heraldry

Heraldry existed before there was a College of Arms.  Heralds are first mentioned in the historical accounts about the time of the first crusade (ca. 1100).  By the late 12^th century their importance had grown, coinciding with the development of sophisticated armor for knights.  At that time, distinctive markings easily distinguishable from a distance were essential for recognizing combatants whose faces were fully covered by helmets.  These markings were placed on surcoats worn over the armor (the derivation of the term coat of arms) and were passed down from father to son, with families becoming identified by the markings.  It was the responsibility of the heralds, who also served as military staff officers, diplomats and messengers (they were often the only members of a household who could read), and masters of ceremony at pageants and tournaments (where they were allowed to keep any broken armor), to keep track of which family used which emblems and ensure that the emblems were distinct from one another.  Because the coats of arms were hereditary, the herald's expertise has long covered lines of descent.

Establishment of the College of Arms

In 1484, King Richard III institutionalized the already centuries-old tradition of heraldry by incorporating the College of Arms in London.  It is the oldest existing and one of the few remaining heraldic authorities in the world.   Today, as they were then, the members of the College are part of the Royal Household and are headed by the hereditary Earl Marshal of England, the Duke of Norfolk.  The heralds are responsible for ceremonial, armorial and genealogical matters, including organizing coronations, openings of Parliament, state funerals, and the granting of new arms in all countries where the Queen is head of state, with the exceptions of Scotland and Canada, each of which has its own heraldic authority.  They are also entitled to conduct a private heraldic and genealogical practice.

As a result of the heralds' work over the centuries, the College of Arms has accumulated - and continues to add to - an extensive and unique archive of official records and documents relating to family histories and arms.  As a corollary, the College has its own conservation and bookbinding department, which is now widely used by other repositories of valuable manuscripts and books.  And because grants of arms are in perpetuity, and therefore must be issued in durable form, the College has on staff scriveners and artists, as well as secretaries and researchers, to produce illuminated letters patent on vellum (sheepskin).  These objects are virtually works of art in themselves.

The College of Arms has occupied the same site since 1555 - the original building (but not its contents, which were saved) was destroyed during the Great Fire of 1666 and was rebuilt in the 1670s.

The College is not a school.  It has neither faculty nor students and does not offer courses.

The Officers of Arms

The College is composed of thirteen Officers of Arms, whose names conjure up the romantic days of chivalry:

Kings of Arms  Dating from  Present Holder
Garter    1415   Peter Gwynn-Jones, CVO 
Clarenceux   c.1334   Hubert Chesshyre, LVO
Norroy & Ulster  c. 1276, 1943  Thomas Woodcock, LVO

Only the Kings of Arms are actually authorized to grant arms.

Heralds of Arms
Richmond  c. 1421   Patric Dickinson
York   c. 1484   Henry Bedingfeld
Chester  c. 1396   Timothy Duke
Lancaster  c. 1347   R.J.B. Noel
Windsor  c. 1338   W.G. Hunt, TD
Somerset  c. 1448   D.V. White

Pursuivants of Arms
Rouge Croix  c. 1418   Vacant
Bluemantle  c. 1448   M.P. O'Donoghue
Portcullis  c. 1490   Vacant
Rouge Dragon  1485   C.E.A. Cheesman

Except for Garter King of Arms, who is named after England's most prestigious earned title, all heralds are named after Royal Duchies or have titles that reflect royal or Christian symbols.

The Heralds and Pursuivants have a rota for the duty of Officer in Waiting.  Each in turn serves for one week at a time and deals with all enquiries from the public.  In this capacity they provide the services of heraldic identification, genealogy and the designing of new arms.

The College of Arms is located at:

Queen Victoria Street
London EC4V 4BT England
United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 20 7248 2762

http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk



David White appointed Somerset Herald

It was announced by the College of Arms recently that David Vines White, Rouge Croix Pursuivant since 1995, was appointed Somerset Herald, a position that had been vacant since 1997.

Mr. White was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 27 December 1961 and educated at Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow; Marlborough College; Pembroke College, Cambridge (where he was President of the Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society in 1982-1983); and the Courtauld Institute of Art. He began his career at the College of Arms in 1988 as a research assistant to Theobald Matthew, then Windsor Herald.

Mr. White has a particular interest in Australia, where he has lectured several times. In March 2004 he appeared, with Terry Jones, in the television program series Medieval Lives. Two months later he was elected a Deputy Chairman of the Heraldry Society.

Previous Somerset heralds include Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, now York Herald; Thomas Woodcock, now Norroy & Ulster King of Arms; and David H.B. Chesshyre, who became Clarenceux King of Arms.



The College of Arms has recently posted the arms granted to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev'd Rowan Williams:

The Arms of The Most Reverend Father in God
Doctor Rowan Williams
Lord Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England



Granted 6 June 2003

Arms: Per pale Gules and Azure a Chevron Ermine between three Bezants each charged with a Lion passant guardant that in dexter chief Azure that in sinister chief Gules and that in base per pale Azure and Gules.

JOHN PHILIP BROOKE-LITTLE, CVO

Prolific Officer Popularized Heraldry
and Founded The Heraldry Society



John Brooke-Little, who enjoyed a long career as a herald, author and speaker and who rose to become Clarenceux King of Arms, died on 13 February while in a hospital in England. He was 78.

In 1947 he founded The Heraldry Society (originally named the Society of Heraldic Antiquaries) and served as its chairman for 50 years, retiring in 1997 to become its President.

From his childhood John Brooke-Little was fascinated by heraldry. He was born on 6 April 1927 at Blackheath, the son of Raymond Brooke-Little, an electrical engineer, and his second wife Constance Egan, later editor of Home Chat and author of many children's stories including the Epaminondas books and the adventures of Jummy the baby elephant. Constance Egan was to play an important editorial and secretarial role in the early years of the Heraldry Society.

Mr. Brooke-Little's paternal ancestors, the Littles, came from Wiltshire and may be traced in the parish registers of Biddestone back to the late 17th century. A pedigree of his family appears in the 1972 edition of Burke's Landed Gentry under the heading 'Brooke-Little of Heyford House'.

John Brooke-Little was educated at Clayesmore, a progressive co-educational public school founded in 1896 by Alexander Devine. It remained an important part of his life. He later sent his children there and, while serving as chairman of its board of governors from 1971 to 1983, he oversaw a grant of arms to the school. He later went on to New College, Oxford in 1949 where he studied history.

Mr. Brooke-Little's first contact with the College of Arms came when as a schoolboy he went to see Sir Algar Howard, then Garter King of Arms, who encouraged his interest in heraldry. At Clayesmore School he founded a heraldry society.

In 1952 he secured a position on the staff the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, had assembled to plan the 1953 coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and was a Gold Staff Officer on the actual day. Mr. Brooke-Little had many anecdotes from this period of his life including that of finding on coronation morning a cleaning lady ensconced in the lavatory specially installed for the Queen. He also relished the story of the elderly marquess who, on being told that if he wanted to sit close to a lavatory during the long service he must sit with the viscounts, replied "that will be fine, my dear chap; I am not a bit class-conscious."

In 1956 Mr. Brooke-Little was appointed Bluemantle Pursuivant, a junior officer of arms at the College, and began his career as a herald which would endure for more than forty years. He was promoted to Richmond Herald in 1967. During his years as an officer of arms in ordinary he was the agent for a large number of grants of arms. He particularly liked the combination of gules Red) and or (gold/yellow) and this is a theme which appears in many of his designs. His own arms, granted to his father in 1952, were Argent gutty de sang three Unicorn's Heads erased Sable armed and crined Or langued Azure, and the crest a demi Unicorn erased Sable armed crined and unguled Or and langued as in the Arms gorged with a collar compony Gold and Gules attached thereto a Chain reflexed over the back also Gold. The unicorn supporters granted to the Heraldry Society in 1957 are a quotation from the Brooke-Little arms.

Mr. Brooke-Little built up a substantial practice in heraldry and genealogy at the College of Arms, where he was assisted for many years by his loyal lieutenant Miss Mary Rose Rogers, MBE. He also lectured widely, conveying his enthusiasm for heraldry and for the pageantry to a wide audience. His lecture tours took him to Australia and to North America.

John Brooke-Little served in the vital offices at the College of Arms of Librarian, Registrar, and Treasurer. Among the many positions and offices he held outside the College he was adviser on heraldry to the National Trust and to the Shrievalty Association, a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists, and Master of the Scriveners' Company (1985-86).

He wrote frequently on heraldry. In particular he was co-editor, and then editor, of editions of the standard work of reference on English heraldry by Boutell from 1963 to 1983. In 1973 he produced An Heraldic Alphabet, an standard guide to heraldic terminology that is still in print.

A convivial companion and amusing story teller, "J B-L," as he was widely-known, had a wide circle of friends. For many years he was a regular patron of El Vino's, a popular wine bar in London's Fleet Street.

In 1980 he was appointed Norroy and Ulster King of Arms where he continued until the death of Sir Anthony Wagner in1995 on which the office of Clarenceux King of Arms became vacant. From 1995 to 1997 John Brooke-Little was Clarenceux, retiring on reaching his 70th birthday, as required by a new policy. He was honoured by The Queen with an appointment as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1969 and again in 1984 with a promotion to the rank of Commander (CVO).

Mr. Brooke-Little is survived by his wife, Mary Pierce, whom he married in 1960, and their children: Philip, Leo, Merlin and Clare.

BACK to top