Two More Arms of Middlesex Lords Lieutanant

So here we are, still making our way around the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom building, formerly the Middlesex Guild Hall, looking at some of the heraldry which is seen there.

Today, we find the coats of arms of two more Lords Lieutenant of Middlesex.

The first is the arms of Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, here, in the right-hand panel:

And also, as with some of the others we have seen, in their own window:

He was born Hugh Smithson, in Kirby Wiske, Yorkshire, and gained his fortunes through a series of inheritances from a cousin, and by marrying into the Percy name and the Duke’s title through his union with Elizabeth Seymour. Elizabeth was the great-granddaughter of Hugh Percy, eleventh Earl of Northumberland, who in 1744 became the sole heir to the vast Percy estates.

Smithson was also the Member of Parliament for Middlesex from 1740. The 1745 Jacobite rebellion pushed Smithson from the Tories to the Whigs and thus into Royal favor. The King agreed to pass the ancient Percy title, Earl of Northumberland, to Elizabeth’s father, who in turn arranged for it to fall to Smithson and his heirs by Elizabeth. In February 1750, Smithson became 1st Duke of Northumberland and assumed the name Percy by a private Act of Parliament.

His arms are blazoned: Quarterly: 1 and 4, grand quarterly; i and iv, Or a lion rampant azure, ii and iii, Gules three lucies or pikes hauriant argent; 2 and 3, Azure five fusils conjoined in fess or. The crest is: On a chapeau gules turned up ermine a lion statant tail extended azure. The supporters: Dexter, A lion rampant azure; Sinister, A lion rampant guardant ducally crowned or gorged with a collar compony argent and azure. The motto: Espérance en Dieu (“Hope in God”).

The Earl's political influence grew; he was Lord of the Bedchamber and Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, and in 1756 a Knight of the Garter. He developed the family estates gained control of a number of “rotten boroughs”, giving him control over their members of Parliament.

In 1762, he became Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex, a position he held for the rest of his life.

The second is the arms of James Brownlow William Cecil-Gascoyne, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, here in the left-hand panel of this window:

And again, in its own window:

And again, though of only the first quarter, carved in wood and held by a carved wooden angel:

The full arms are blazoned: Quarterly, 1 and 4, Barry of ten argent and azure six escutcheons sable three two and one each charged with a lion rampant argent langued gules (Cecil), a crescent for difference; 2 and 3, Argent on a pale sable a conger eel’s head erased and erect or charged with an ermine spot sable (Gascoyne). The two crests are: 1, Six arrows in saltire or barbed and flighted argent girt together with a belt gules buckled and garnished or above the arrows a morion helmet proper; 2, A conger eel’s head erased and erect or charged with an ermine spot sable. His supporters are: Two lions ermine. And the motto: Sero sed serio (“Late, but in earnest”)

Born in 1791, James Brownlow William Cecil proved an active, vigorous man, earning himself the nickname “Matador”. He entered the House of Commons in 1813 at the age of 22 (moving to the Lords on his father’s death in 1823). Before the age of thirty-five he had been appointed to the Privy Council.

In 1821 he married Frances, daughter and sole heiress of Bamber Gascoyne, and since Gascoyne had no son to continue his name, he required that Cecil adopt the additional surname “Gascoyne”. He succeeded to the Salisbury title and estates in 1823.

In 1842 Lord Salisbury was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex on the resignation of the long-serving Duke of Portland, whose arms we saw in the post immediatelly before this one. In the same year Salisbury became a Knight of the Garter.

I can't speak for you, but I just love finding well-depicted coats of arms like these in buildings of historical significance like this one. Just sayin'.

Some Other Arms in the Supreme Court of the UK Building, London

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.

The Arms of an Earl in the Supeme Court of the UK Building

Having looked at the arms of the 2nd Duke of Wellington on and in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom building in our last post, today we're going to look at similarly placed arms of an earl.

These are the arms of George Henry Charles Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford, on the exterior of the building:

The reasons for his arms appearing in this building are many:

In 1857, he became a Member of Parliament for Middlesex under the courtesy title Viscount Enfield and served as a junior minister under Gladstone. In 1874, he entered the House of Lords as Baron Strafford of Harmondsworth in the County of Middlesex, and later served as Under-Secretary of State for India (1880-1883) and 1st Commissioner for the Civil Service (1880-1886).

In 1884, as Viscount Enfield, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex. He became Earl of Strafford on his father’s death in 1886.

He also served with the Middlesex Militia. He was Honorary Colonel of the 17th (North) Middlesex to 1885, and of the 2nd Middlesex (The Edmonton Rifles) 1871-1878. In addition he was Honorary Colonel of the Royal Middlesex Rifle Militia and of the 29th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers, and Lieutenant-Colonel of the Middlesex Rifle Corps.

Later on, the Middlesex Guildhall (now the Supreme Court of the UK building) was the site where Edmund Byng, the 6th Earl of Strafford, served as a County Alderman and Deputy Lieutenant in the early 20th century, holding various offices and engaging in local administration within Middlesex County.

Here are some of the other representations of his coat of arms which can be found inside the building. First, once again, on the memorial plaque, here on the bottom right, next to the arms of Middlesex in the center:

In stained glass, on right, alongside the Middlesex coat of arms:

And in a window by itself:

The arms are blazoned: Quarterly sable and argent, in the first quarter a lion rampant argent overall in bend sinister a representation of the colours of the 31st Regiment.

Crests: 1st, Issuant from a mural coronet an arm embowed grasping the colours of the 31st Regiment and pendant from the wrist by a riband the gold cross presented by royal command for Lord Strafford’s gallant achievements and on an escroll the word “Mouguerre”; 2nd, An antelope statant ermine armed maned and unguled or.

Supporters: Dexter, An antelope ermine attired and crined or; Sinister, A lion argent.

Motto: Tuebor (“I will be seen”)

Once again, a wonderful display of the heraldry of a man important to the County of Middlesex.

The Arms of a Duke in the Supreme Court of the UK Building

Continuing our look at the heraldry contained in and on the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom building in London, formerly the Middlesex Guildhall, we find several instances, both inside and outside of the building, of these arms, seen on the exterior of the building next to one of the several renditions of the arms of Middlesex:

And in detail:

These arms are not, as some of the more eagle-eyed among you may have assumed, the arms of Arthur Wellesly, the 1st Duke of Wellington of Napoleonic Wars fame.

No, these are actually the arms of his son, Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington (1807-1884).

Having succeeded his father, the 1st Duke of Wellington, the 2nd Duke also inherited all of his late father's other titles. The best way to list them all is to take them from his obituary, which gives the 2nd Duke's name and titles as:

Arthur Richard Wellesley, KG., Duke and Marquis of Wellington (Somerset), Marquis of Douro, Earl of Wellington (Somerset), Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of Wellington, and Baron Douro of Wellesley, both in the same county, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; Earl of Mornington, Viscount Wellesley of Daugan Castle, and Baron Mornington, of Mornington, county Meath, in the Peerage of Ireland; Prince of Waterloo in the Netherlands, Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, and a Grandee of Spain of the 1st Class, Duke of Vittoria, Marquis of Torres Vedras, and Count Vimiera, in Portugal.

Now, the main reason, I presume, for his arms to appear both inside and outside of the Supreme Court building was that Wellington became Lord-Lieutenant of Middlesex in 1868. He was, in fact, the last Lord Lieutenant to command the Middlesex militia and volunteers; the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871 removed that responsibility from the Lord Lieutenants from 1872, and the volunteers came under the War Ministry.

In addition to his arms appearing on the exterior of the building (the first image, above), we also find the following examples in the interior:

At the bottom left  of this plaque, which we saw in our last post:

In stained glass, here on the right:

And in its own window:

And finally, carved in wood heldby an angel:

The arms are blazoned: Quarterly: 1st and 4th. Gules, a cross argent, in each quarter five plates; 2nd and 3rd, Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure; for augmentation, an inescutcheon of the union badge of the United Kingdom.

Crest: Issuant from a ducal coronet or a demi-lion rampant gules maintaining a swallowtailed pennon argent charged with the cross of St George, the ends gules.

Supporters: Two lions gules gorged with an Eastern crown chained or.

Motto: Virtutes fortuna comes (“Deeds of bravery are the companions to fortune”).

The second Duke of Wellington may not be as well-known as his more militarily (the Peninsular War, and Waterloo) and politically (Prime Minister, 1828-1830) prolific predecessor, yet his heraldic legacy lives on both inside and outside of this building just yards away from the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.

Middlesex Coat of Arms Inside the Supreme Court of the UK Building

Last time, we saw some of the representations of the arms of Middlesex (or more properly, of the former County Council of Middlesex), granted by the College of Arms in 1910, which appear on the exterior of the Supreme Court building (formerly, the Middlesex Guildhall).

The Middlesex arms, as I will refer to them hereafter, features three "seaxes" (notched swords) on a red background, a symbol of the Anglo-Saxons, with a Saxon crown added in the 1910 grant to differentiate it from Essex's arms. The coat of arms was granted to the Middlesex County Council and is based on traditional heraldry associated with the historic Kingdom of the Middle and East Saxons. (That this "traditional heraldry" didn't exist at the time of those kingdoms is a quibble I'm not going to get into. Heraldry as we understand it appeared later; let's just go ahead and say that these are "attributed arms", and move along.)

Having now passed through the main door and into the interior of the building, we find many more representations of the Middlesex arms inside.

Painted:

Cast in bronze on a WWI Memorial:

In stained glass. Most of the building's stained glass windows were produced in 1913 by Abbott and Co of Fleetwood, Lancaster. (We will discuss the arms on the right in a later post.)

Carved in wood:

And carved in stone, in a plaque commemorating the laying of the foundation stone of the building in 1912. The stone also displays the Royal Arms at the top, and two other personal coats of arms at the bottom, flanking the Middlesex arms. Here, too, we will discuss the personal arms in a later post.

All those different media, all displaying the same coat of arms, Gules three seaxes in pale below a Saxon crown or, the arms of Middlesex.

All in all, what a display of civic pride, both inside and outside of the building!

An Heraldic Jewel in Central London, UK

Today we're going to start a short series on the heraldry contained on and in a building in central London,* near the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.

The Middlesex Guildhall was completed in 1913 as a joint home for Middlesex County Council and for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions. It was built as a work of art: “a dainty piece of ornament set among the austere and formal buildings of the neighbourhood”. After the disbanding of the Council in 1965, the Guildhall continued to serve as a court (The Crown Court at the Middlesex Guildhall) and was then refurbished extensively between 2007-2009 to become the home for the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. 

While some county councils have decorated their palaces with representations of the boroughs within their area, there is none of that here; only Middlesex itself is celebrated. The arms of Middlesex (or rather of the former County Council) appear throughout the Guildhall: Gules three seaxes in pale below a Saxon crown or. The arms were granted in 1910 and Middlesex was evidently proud of them, for they appear just about everywhere you look, inside and outside of the building.

Here are just a few examples from the exterior of the building:

And here, over the main entrance, along with a more modern example of the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom:

So, having made our way along the building and to the main entrance, next time we'll look at some of the representations of the arms of Middlesex inside the building!

* Yes, I know that technically this building is situated in Westminster, Central London. Just like I happen to live in Duncanville, a part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It is a distinction that pretty much only the people who actually live here care to make. I tell people I live in Dallas, even though technically speaking, I don't. Here, I'm going to say that the Supreme Court building is located in London, even though technically speaking, it isn't.