What Can I Do With My Coat of Arms? Part 36 - I Thought We Were Done With These!

So, just when we thought the "What Can I Do With My Coat of Arms?" series was all done, finishing up in my post of February 20, 2025 (the series began way back on October 21, 2024), wouldn't you know it? I found some more examples!

So here are some additional ideas for ways to use your coat of arms in your daily life:

A full achievement of arms on an entryway rug. (The dog would, of course, be extra.)

A Scottish clan badge as a pocket watch fob:

Another example of identifying your car with your coat of arms, crest, helm, and mantling, in a nice, somewhat understated way:

Going back to the kitchen, here's a seal-like butter mold that impresses an achievement of arms into a bit of butter:

And finally (yeah, I know I said that before when I ended the series. I can't help it if people keep finding more ways to use their heraldry, can I?), here's a couple of computer mouse pads with different heraldic treatments:

I continue to be impressed, and sometimes surprised, by the inventive ways in which people find to use their coat of arms, even on what might otherwise be somewhat everyday items.

What new ways have you seen people use heraldry?

A New Resource for Heraldry Enthusiasts

If you haven't seen it yet, our good friends over at Heraldry of the World (You do know about the Heraldry of the World ("HotW") website, don't you? And visit it regularly? No? Then stop reading this right now -- it'll still be here when you get back -- and go visit https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/wiki/Heraldry_of_the_world and see what's available for you there! No, really, go!) have recently created a new resource for people like you and me.

You know, people who read about, study, and involve themselves in heraldry in its many forms. Stuff like that.

Well, HotW has created a new site entitled "Bibliography of heraldry: a free overview of international heraldic literature". It's a list, broken down by topic, of books, periodicals, and even newspaper articles on some aspect or another of heraldry.

It is not links to those items, many of which are not available on the world wide web, but clicking on an item will bring up all of the bibliographic information that will tell you what, by whom, when, in what publication, and so on, which will let you track it down precisely if you are interested in reading (or owning) it.

There are two relevant URLs to the Bibliography of heraldry:

The first contains information about what is contained in and how to use the Bibliography. It also informs you that it is a "never ending project" which will be added to, with the aim of helping heraldists find "heraldic publications, old and modern, common or obscure." This page can be found on the HotW website at: https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/bibliography/

The second is to the Bibliography itself, to let you start searching. You can get to it from a link near the top of the HotW page above, or access it directly here: https://www.zotero.org/groups/5854305/bibliography_of_heraldry/library

As one of my alter egos* says, "Check it out!"

* Da'ud Bob ibn Briggs, Historical Drive-In Movie Critic. Our motto: "We watch 'em so you don't have to." Often only heraldry-adjacent, but if you are interested you can learn more at: http://www.appletonstudios.com/movies1.htm

The Worshipful Company of Glaziers

It's always fun to be looking through a set of photographs and find a coat of arms that one recognizes from somewhere else, an "old friend" as it were.

I was going through the last of the pictures that my late wife Jo took of heraldry for me, and ran across this window in York Minster.

It is, of course, as you can easily determine both from the heraldry (Argent, two grozing irons in saltire between four closing nails sable on a chief gules a lion passant guardant or, with the crest A lion's head couped or between a pair of wings azure,  and motto: Lucem tuam da nobis Deus (God, give us Your light) as well as from the legend at the bottom noting that the window was replaced following World War II, that what we have here is the achievement of arms of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers.

But we have also seen these arms, though in a different depiction, in another cathedral, Ely Cathedral, about which I posted on July 3, 2023 (http://blog.appletonstudios.com/2023/07/armorial-stained-glass-in-ely-cathedral.html).

What fun to see this "old friend" appearing in a different cathedral in a different county!

Heraldry (or Is It?) in the Wild

Placing things on, or simply the use of, a shield has long been popular as a symbol of protection. I've seen usage like that for organizations as disparate as police departments, security companies, and even lawyers.

And then, early one morning, driving to the gym, I saw this one with a similar theme of protection, but new to me. (Thank goodness Jo was with me to take the picture; trying to drive down the freeway, maintain my speed and lane, trying to pull out my phone, open the camera app, aim it, frame it, and focus it, all at the same time would probably not have worked out well for me!)

Anyway, what we saw was a truck owned by StormShield Restoration, Residential and Commercial Roofing Contractors, emblazoned with their logo, a shield emblematic of protection against rain and snow.

My attempt at a blazon (likely a fruitless effort, I realize, given that it's probably just a copyrighted design and not heraldry, per se, but you know heralds, we will attempt to blazon just about anything), would be: Per bend sinister [yeah, it’s really closer to “per pale”] vert and azure a lighting flash bendwise sinister [ditto] throughout between three gouttes bendwise sinister [ditto] one and two in chief and a snowflake in base all argent.

So this was a fun bit of quasi-heraldry to spot while driving down the highway early one morning.

But I do find myself somewhat tempted to call them up and offer advice on how to make just a couple of small changes to turn it into a real coat of arms. But then, they're not looking for my advice, are they? And there's that old saw about letting sleeping dogs lie, so I'll just sit here in front of my computer and keep my thoughts about this shield to myself.

Where Was This Picture of Heraldry Taken?

Okay, I'll admit it: I'm at a bit of a loss to know where Jo took this picture of a coat of arms for me. The automatic number that her camera put on this doesn't match up with any of the others that she took while we were on our last big trip together.

All I can say, really, is that it appears to be a pub sign.

Given the name at the bottom, I have to suspect that it comes from The Harlescott, a pub in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, a place we have never visited. And then there's the issue that The Harlescott was closed back in 2006, and was later demolished following an arson attack. (A little more information, along with a couple of photographs of the pub, though neither one including this pub sign, can be found on-line at https://www.closedpubs.co.uk/shropshire/shrewsbury_harlescott.html)

Still, regardless of this sign's provenance, it's got heraldry on it, and so we take an interest.

The arms would be blazoned Sable a chevron argent between three casks (or tuns) fesswise proper hooped sable. The crest is: A ship sails set gules, flagged argent, the mainsail charged with a wheel or. The supporters are Two swans proper, each gorged vert with a bunch of grapes pendant proper. And the motto (in Latin) is a most appropriate: Vinum exhilarat animum (Wine cheers the soul).

It's a lovely sign, with some well-painted heraldry on it. I just have no idea where it came from or where Jo saw it. I am glad, though, that wherever it was, she photographed it for me! And that I can share it with you!

Another Armorial Memorial in Ely Cathedral

Today's armorial memorial in Ely Cathedral was erected by his wife, who survived him by nearly 40 years.

This is the memorial of Charles Fleetwood, a son of William Fleetwood, Bishop of Ely. He was Archdeacon of Cornwall, Canon of Ely and Exeter, and Rector of Cottenham. He married Anne, the eldest daughter of Rt Revd, Stephen Weston, Bishop of Exeter. He died 24 July 1737 aged 44. Anne outlived him by nearly 40 years, dying 11 May 1777, and is buried with him in Ely Cathedral.

But of course, it is the heraldry on this monument that caused my late wife, Jo, to photograph it for me.

The arms are blazoned: Per pale nebuly azure and or six martlets counterchanged (Fleetwood), impaling Argent a cross of Calvary gules on a chief azure five bezants in fess (Weston). Crest: A wolf statant reguardant argent.

It's a very touching memorial commissioned by a wife to her late husband, with beautifully done carving and a nicely painted coat of arms.

Just sayin'.

The Armorial Tomb of a Dean of Ely

Today we come to the armorial tomb of Augustus Duncombe, Dean of Ely 1858-1880.

Augustus was the fifth son of Charles Duncombe, 1st Baron Feversham. The Dean has a short entry on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Duncombe

The two shields at the head of his tomb are, on the left: the Dean of Ely (variant). Usually seen as either Gules two keys in saltire or, or sometimes, Gules two keys in saltire and in chief a capital letter "D" or, this version replaces the D with a crown, impaling Duncombe, Per chevron engrailed gules and argent three talbot’s heads erased counterchanged.

And the shield on the right is Duncombe (as above) impaling Douglas, Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent a human heart gules imperially crowned proper on a chief azure three mullets argent (Douglas); 2 and 3, Azure a bend between six crosses crosslet fitchy or (Mar); all within a bordure or charged with a double tressure flory counter-flory gules.

Augustus Duncombe married, on 13 May 1841, Lady Harriet Christian Douglas, the second child of Charles Douglas, 6th Marquess of Queensberry.