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.

Some Unusually Marshaled Arms on Bishop Redman's Memorial

A sign by the tomb of Bishop Richard Redman notes that he was originally Abbott of Shap Abbey, and later Bishop of both St. Asaph and Exeter, before coming to Ely. He worked for both King Richard III and King Henry VII, and it was probably as a result of this service that he was awarded the See of Ely. He was Bishop here from 1501-1505.

His tomb is one of the very few in Ely Cathedral that has never been moved or deliberately damaged, possibly, at least in part, because of Bishop Redman's well-known hospitality.

The three shields on the side of his tomb are, from left to right:

See of Exeter: Gules a sword in bend proper between two keys in bend sinister addorsed and conjoined in the bows interlaced the upper or and the lower argent.

Quarterly: 1 and 4, Gules a lion rampant argent charged on the shoulder with a fleur-de-lis sable (Daldeburgh); 2 and 3, Gules three cushions ermine (Redman).

See of Ely: Gules three crowns or.

These same three shields appear in the same order above his effigy's head:

But it is the two shields at the foot of his tomb that are somewhat anomalous:

On the left we see a shield of Daldeburgh quartering Redman impaling the See of Exeter, Gules a sword in bend proper between two keys in bend sinister addorsed and conjoined in the bows interlaced the upper or and the lower argent.

And on the right, we have Daldeburgh quartering Redman impaling the See of Ely, Gules three crowns or.

It is unusual, to say the least, to have the personal arms of the Bishop to dexter and the arms of the diocese, or as here, his two dioceses, to sinister. The usual manner of display places the arms of the see to dexter, the reverse of what we see here. I have not found any explanation which might explain this unusual form of marshaling.

Two Coats of Arms Today, of a Bishop and of a Dean

Today we're going to look at the heraldic memorials of two of Ely Cathedral's churchmen.

The first is that of James Russell Woodford, Bishop of Ely 1873-1885.

Bishop Woodford was born in 1820, the only son of James Russell Woodford, a hop-merchant of Southwark, Surrey, and Frances, the daughter of Robert Appleton (no relation, alas) of Henley-on-Thames. John Woodford was educated at the Merchant Taylors School and Pembroke College, Cambridge.

He has his own entry on Wikipedia, at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Woodford_(bishop)

On the side of his memorial there are three shields. From left to right in the image above, they are:

On a shield supported by an angel, is the arms of the See of Ely: Gules three crowns or.

The second is the arms of the See of Ely impaling the arms of Woodford:

And the third is the arms of Woodford, Sable three leopard’s faces inverted jessant-de-lys argent.

Our next, far less ornate, memorial is that of Robert Moss, Dean of Ely 1713-1739.

The memorial notes, in Latin, that he was Dean of Ely, and that he died 26 March 1729, aged 63.

What the memorial does not note, is that he died that date "after suffering much from gout." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moss_(priest)). More of his biography can also be found at that Wikipedia link.

Dean Moss' remarkably simple arms arms are blazoned: Ermine on a cross paty sable a bezant.

And there we have photographs of two armorial memorials taken in Ely Cathedral by my own "heraldry helper" Jo Appleton, who was always on the lookout for coats of arms that I might have missed seeing, my attention being drawn elsewhere.

Heraldry on the Façade of Bishop's Old Ely Palace

Continuing to look at some of the pictures of heraldry that my late wife Jo took for me, today we look at the façade of Bishop's Old Ely Palace, next door to Ely Cathedral in, naturally enough, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.

The palace was built in the 15th century by Bishop John Alcock and was one of the official residences of the Bishop of Ely until 1941. During the Second World War the palace was used as a base for the British Red Cross, and then as a home for disabled children until its closure in the 1980s. Following this the palace was purchased on a 99-year lease by the Sue Ryder Care organization, although the palace went up for sale again in 2010. Later that year King's Ely (renamed from "The King's School" in March 2012), a cathedral school, took over the lease and had the palace refurbished to be used as the school's Sixth Form Centre.

With that historical information, you should be able to guess what two coats of arms are found on the exterior of the Palace.

Can you?

The first is, unsurprisingly, the arms of the Diocese of Ely, Gules three crowns or, which we have seen many times over in the pictures taken of heraldry in both the exterior and interior of Ely Cathedral.

The other is, of course, the arms of the man who had the Palace built: John Alcock, Bishop of Ely, Argent on a fess between three cock’s heads erased sable crested and jelloped gules a mitre or. Jesus College, Cambridge, whose arms we have also seen before, uses a modified version of Bishop Alcock’s arms, adding a charged bordure, as he was a founder of the College.

The Palace has had a long and involved history, which you can read more about at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop%27s_Palace,_Ely, but the heraldry which was placed there at its beginning remains identifiable to this day, some 600 years later.

How cool is that?