Still Finding Heraldry Everywhere! - Part 1

I had the opportunity earlier this month to attend the monthly meeting of the Quilters' Guild of Dallas at their new "home", Spring Valley United Methodist Church in northern Dallas, Texas.

I'm not a quilter myself, but my late wife was, and I was hoping to find new homes from some quilts that she had "rescued" from various garage sales and antique malls. She just couldn't stand the thought of quilts that someone had put their heart, soul, and time into creating being sold away from the creator's family, so she "adopted" them. She's gone now, and while I'm keeping three of her rescued quilts, I needed to try to find new homes for the others, and the Quilters' Guild seemed, and was, a likely place to do that.

Anyway, the meeting was in the multipurpose room of the church, Wesley Hall, which has a row of stained glass windows down each side of the room. With shields on them.

There are fourteen of these windows in the hall, but two of them (the ones on the left in the above photo) are plain; one is Gules and the next one is Or. Ah, but the others!

I suspected from the start that the shields in these windows represented the Twelve Apostles from the New Testament of the Bible. And, sure enough, in less than ten minutes research after getting home and looking at the pictures I took, I learned that that hunch was indeed correct!

So today, we're going to look at the first six windows, beginning on this side of the room. 

Saint Paul: A sword, symbolizing his martyrdom (beheading). Also often (as here) depicted with a book or scroll, representing his writings in the New Testament. St. Paul has been here substituted for St. Matthias, whose symbols were an open book surmounted by an axe. The axe refers to his martyrdom. St. Matthias was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot.

Next, we have Saint Peter: Two crossed keys, representing his role as the keeper of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and his authority. Sometimes (as here) depicted with an upside-down cross, signifying his martyrdom. The keys refer to the keys of Heaven, and the inverted cross refers to Peter’s crucifixion.

The next window is Saint James the Greater, with his scallop shells, often associated with pilgrimage, particularly by sea. St. James was the first to go on a missionary journey.

The next window is Saint John. His symbol is a chalice with a snake, referencing a story of a poisoned cup he was offered. (He is sometimes shown as an eagle, symbolizing his gospel's focus on the divinity of Christ.)

Saint John is followed by Saint Philip: Two baskets of loaves of bread and a cross, referencing the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

And finally, rounding out the first six Apostles symbolized in these windows, we have Saint Andrew: An X-shaped cross (also known in heraldry as a saltire), on which he was crucified.

Next time, we'll look at the windows and emblems of the remaining six Apostles.

Marshalled Arms

It's always interesting to see marshalled arms -- where two coats of arms are placed side-by-side on a single shield -- and to then determine whose arms and why they are placed together.

Often, of course, indeed, probably the vast majority of cases, it is the arms of a husband and wife which are so combined. Sometimes, even, over the course of several generations, like this example from the Turberville family of Dorset, England.

But periodically, and not infrequently, we find marshalled arms that are a combination of an office which carries armorial status (e.g., an ecclesiastical office of high rank, an officer of arms, certain civic or corporate entities, etc.) with the personal arms of the incumbent.

And today, we' re going to look at one of those.

This is a stained glass window in Westminster Abbey containing the impaled arms blazoned: Azure a cross patonce between five martlets or, on a chief or a pale quarterly France and England between two roses gules barbed and seeded proper; impaling Argent on a bend azure three stag’s heads cabossed or (Stanley).

The arms on the dexter (left as you look at it) side of the shield are those of, naturally enough, Westminster Abbey.

The arms on the sinister (right) side are those of Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1815-1881), known as Dean Stanley, who held the position of Dean of Westminster from 1864 to 1881.

He was, we are told, a significant figure in the Abbey's history, known for his leadership as a Broad Churchman and author of works on Church History and Westminster Abbey. During his tenure, the Abbey saw a period of reform and expanded its national role. He oversaw the expansion of the Abbey's national role, gave a major impulse to the practice of inviting distinguished preachers to the Abbey pulpit, and worked to preserve and repair its many monuments. He is buried in the Abbey with his wife, Lady Augusta Stanley.

So, a significant figure in the history of the Abbey, and a really nice display of marshalled arms!

An Older Westminster Coat of Arms

We looked at the arms of the City of Westminster, Borough of London, England in our last post. But did you know that Westminster had an earlier, different coat of arms?

It did, and it can still be seen today.

This building is 22, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London.

Its current occupant is Charles Fox, suppliers of professional make-up for Film, Theatre, Television & Fashion. Charles Fox himself was reputed to be a flamboyant character and much of his character also exists in the shop to these times.

But the building is also the former headquarters of the Strand District Board of Works. And the heraldry over the door attests to that. (If you click on the image below, you will be taken to the full-size, and thus more detailed, photograph.)

The legend reads around the central six-petalled rosette reads: The Board of Works for the Strand District 1855

And right smack dab in the center, we find the arms of the old Borough (not City) of Westminster surrounded by six monograms. At that time, in 1855, there were some 55 members of the Board; I don’t know for certain whose monograms these are.

The arms of the Borough are blazoned: Azure a portcullis on a chief or on a pale azure a cross flory between five martlets or (being the arms of King Edward the Confessor) between two Tudor roses proper.

So, similar to the current arms of the City of Westminster, though less complex. The only feature of them remaining the same is the charged chief.

Still and all, it's pleasant to be able to find in graphic form the history and development of a city's coat of arms right there still on its streets and byways.

Don't you agree?

They're Everywhere, They're Everywhere!

And who is this "they" of whom I speak in the title of this post?

Why, the arms of the City of Westminster, Borough of London, England, of course.

What did you think I meant?

Anyway, you can find the arms of the City of Westminster displayed in lots of different places there. For instance, on the facade of the Westminster Archives Center.

The arms are (as you can see) fairly complicated, and have a long blazon: Azure between two wolves' heads erased argent and on a base wavy argent and azure a female figure affronty vested and mantled and on her sinister arm a child also vested around the head of each a halo all or on a chief or on a pale azure a cross flory between five martlets or (being the arms of King Edward the Confessor) between two Tudor roses barbed and seeded proper. (In the above image, the gold seems to have faded out to nearly white. That's what you get for leaving it out in the weather, I guess.)

But there are other, more commonplace, places to see the City's arms. For example, on each post in a line of bollards:

Here's a close-up for greater detail:

And, of course, there is the always ubiquitous* litter bin:

With the close-up of the arms:

It is nice to see a city using its coat of arms, even if they are rather complex.

* Ubiquitous: "present, appearing, or found everywhere". Hence the inspiration for the title of this post.

"This Used to Be Ours, and Don't You Forget It"

Covent Garden Market in London had its beginning in 1835 when a patent was issued to hold a “public fair or mart” in the area of Richmond, Dundas and King Streets. In 1845, the Market found a permanent home when city business owners donated land near Richmond, Dundas and King Street.

The Russell family, as Dukes of Bedford, historically owned and developed much of the Covent Garden area, including the land where the market stands.

The coat of arms prominently displayed on the historic Covent Garden Market in London are those of the Russell family, Dukes of Bedford. The Market building itself was built between 1828 and 1831 for the 6th Duke of Bedford, John Russell, by the architect Charles Fowler.

The Duke of Bedford's coat of arms is blazoned: Argent a lion rampant gules on a chief sable three escallops argent. Here the shield is ensigned with the coronet of a duke. The motto is Che sara sara (What will be, will be).

In essence, the coat of arms serves as a reminder of the Russell family's significant historical connection to Covent Garden and their role in the creation and development of the famous market.

Does Goldsmith = Treasurer?

Well, according to the dictionary definitions, a goldsmith and a treasurer are not the same. However, "both roles may involve some degree of interaction with valuable assets or financial matters," so there's that.

And why did this question even arise? Well, because I walked past the Goldsmith Building in London, and photographed the coat of arms adorning its facade, that's why.

In researching both the building and the heraldry, I found that the Goldsmith Building is legal chambers, built in 1861 to the design of James Piers St Aubyn. (The attic story was added in the early 20th century.) It was built on the site immediately to the north of Temple Church, then known as Church Yard Court. The architect, James Piers St Aubyn (1815-95), who was known primarily as a church architect, was surveyor to the Middle Temple from 1815-95. He designed several buildings in the Temple, and undertook the restoration of Temple Church in 1862. The chambers were named after the author Oliver Goldsmith (1730-44) who was resident of the Temple and is buried in the Temple churchyard.

So, nothing to do with actual goldsmiths, then.  

But it turns out that James Anderson was the Treasurer of the Middle Temple in the mid-1800s, when the Goldsmith Building was constructed. Hence,  I presume, the reason for his coat of arms being placed so prominently there.

I did not find the arms of James Anderson in my researches, though Burke's General Armory gave two which are very close:

Anderson (Dowhill). Argent a saltire engrailed sable between a crescent in chief and three mullets in the flanks and base gules all within a bordure azure.

Anderson (Edinburgh). Argent a saltire engrailed sable between a crescent in chief and three mullets gules pierced of the field two in fess and one in base.

Other Andersons listed in Burke all bear variants (as this one is) of the base coat Argent a saltire engrailed sable between four mullets gules.

All in all, an interesting heraldic find with a bit of a story to tell. I'm glad I ran across it when we were in London.