Today we're going to look at the arms of two Lords Lieutenant of Middlesex, who also happened to be Dukes. Their coats of arms can be found in several places on and in the Supreme Court Building, formerly the Middlesex Guildhall.
First we have the arms of Herbrand Arthur Russell, the 11th Duke of Bedford:
On the exterior of the building:
Here in stained glass in the left-hand panel. For the arms in the right-hand panel, see below:
And again in stained glass, in its own window:
And like some of the others we have seen before, carved in wood and held by an angel:
The Duke of Bedford's arms are blazoned: Argent a lion rampant gules on a chief sable three escallops argent. His crest is: A goat statant argent armed or. His supporters: Dexter, A lion gules; Sinister, An antelope gules ducally gorged and chained, armed and unguled or. His motto: Che sara sara (“What will be will be”). (Like the well-known Doris Day song, Que sera sera, written in 1955 and sung by Day in the 1956 movie The Man Who Knew Too Much.)
In 1912, the Duke of Bedford, as Lord Lieutenant, laid the foundation stone for this building, the new Middlesex Guildhall. In December 1913 he was at the opening of the Guildhall, accompanying Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Connaught (whose arms we will see in another post).
The other coat of arms we will see today are those of Sir William Henry Cavendish Scott Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, here in stained glass (in the right-hand panel):
And again in its own window:
The Duke of Portland's arms are blazoned: Quarterly 1st and 4th a cross moliné argent (Bentinck); 2nd and 3rd sable three stags’ heads caboshed argent attired or, a crescent for difference (Cavendish). He has two crests, one fior Bentinck and one for Cavendish: 1st, Issuant from a ducal coronet or two arms counter-embowed vested gules gloved or each holding an ostrich feather argent; 2nd, A serpent nowed proper (that is to say, vert). His supporters are: Two lions double-queued, the dexter or, the sinister sable. And his motto: Craignez la honte (“Fear disgrace”).
Born 1768, he was the second son of the 3rd Duke of Portland. In 1794 he became Lord-Lieutenant of Middlesex. He was to hold that office for a remarkable 47 years.
Apart from the Lieutenancy, the 4th Duke of Portland did not attempt to follow in his father’s high ambitions. He became a junior Lord of the Treasury in 1807. When his brother in law, George Canning, became Prime Minister for four months in 1827, Portland served as Lord Privy Seal, then became Lord President of the Council until January 1828. Otherwise he was content to manage the family’s extensive estates in the growing West End of London and to enjoy the life of a country gentleman.
During Portland’s time as Lord-Lieutenant, the Middlesex militia he headed saw great changes.
Portland resigned as Lord-Lieutenant of Middlesex in 1841 at the age of 73, after nearly half a century. He was appointed early in the French Revolutionary War, and this and the Napoleonic Wars were to last another 21 years. He continued in service through the peace when the army and militia were scaled down and then rebuilt to serve the growing British Empire. Portland lived to be 85 – having lived through one of the most turbulent times for the country.
And there you have today's post: two ducal coats of arms in various media, in an historical building, and with a touch of musical and movie history.
