So last time we looked at some "almost" heraldry in All Saints Church, namely, an anchor, two pelicans in their piety, and a Lamb of God (Agnus Dei).
Well, today we get to find one of those "almost heraldry" charges on a real coat of arms. (Please click on the image below to go to the full-size photograph, where you can see these arms in greater clarity and detail.)
This plaque lists the Rectors of Kirk Deighton from the 13th Century.
And at the top, we see a coat of arms: Argent on a saltire gules two keys in saltire wards upwards or on a chief gules a Holy Lamb (Agnus Dei) proper. The arms are surmounted by a bishop's mitre and fibulae, all in gold.
These are the arms of the Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014), a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire (which would include the village of Kirk Deighton), as well as the south Teesdale area administered by County Durham which is traditionally part of Yorkshire.
The arms were granted 3 November 1836.
So, going back to my previous post, in this case we don't even have to go so far afield as the Middle Temple, London, to find a coat of arms with an Agnus Dei as a charge. We can simply look at the arms of the diocese of which All Saints Church, Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, is a part!
