The Arms of an Archbishop?

Walter de Gray was the Archbishop of York 1215-1255, and Lord Chancellor 1205-1214. He has his own page on Wikipedia which outlines his life and work at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_de_Gray

He was buried on 15 May 1255 at York Minster, His tomb is constructed of purbeck marble, and is thought to be the first canopied tomb in England.

The kneelers along each side of his tomb bear embroidered coats of arms within a decorative frame:

These arms appear to be Barry of six or and azure a bend gules.

I tried to discover whether these were the Archbishop's arms, and found the following that were similar, but not exact matches, in Burke's General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales:

Gray (William Gray, Esq., of York). Barry of six argent and azure on a bend gules three roses argent. Crest—On a chapeau a wyvern gules.

Gray (county Essex). Barry of six argent and azure a bend gules.

Grey (Lord Grey of Rotherfield; summoned to Parliament 1297; John, second lord, was one of the Founder Knights of the Garter, title passed to the Viscounts Lovel, attainted 1487; descended from [Lord Grey of] Codnor. Barry of six argent and azure in chief three torteaux, a bend gules.

Not having found any Gray/Grey arms that were Barry of six or and azure, I'm going to make make a wild guess, that the gold stripes on the arms on the kneelers should be white.

So certainly the arms here match a pattern of Gray arms, even from very early, of barry and a bend. But I never did find a confirmation that these arms are actually those of Archbishop Walter de Gray.

Still, it's heraldry, and its use here is likely appropriate.

All I have to do now is to find someone willing to embroider/crossstitch me a couple of kneelers with my arms on them. Not that I'd know what to do with kneelers here. (If I were a member of a small parish church in England, maybe, but here in Texas? Not so much.)

An Heraldic Memorial to a Rear-Admiral

This next memorial dates to the early days of World War I.

Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Craddock (1862-1914) lost his life on November 1, 1914, in the Battle of Coronel, off the coast of Chile, a naval engagement between the Royal Navy and the German East Asia Squadron under Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee. There is a Wikipedia article which gives the story of the events leading up to, the course of, and the aftermath of the Battle of Coronel. It can be found on-line at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Coronel, and is well worth the read.

The inscription on the monument can say far better than I why Rear-Admiral Craddock is memorialized here (you can, of course, click on the image below to see a larger, and more readable, photograph of the insccription):

 At the top of the monument are the Rear-Admiral's arms:

His arms ar blazoned: Argent on a chevron sable three garbs or, a bordure wavy sable. His crest is A bear’s head sable muzzled gules charged with a bend sinister wavy or. And his motto is: Nec temere nec timide (Neither rashly nor timidly).*

The monument, sculpted by F. W. Pomeroy, was placed in York Minster on June 16, 1916.

* Although some of the Royal Navy sailors who died in the Battle of Coronel might not agree with the first half of his motto. Still, it was war, and I'm not going to play "armchair admiral" here and try to second-guess what the Rear-Admiral could've/should've done differently.

A Coat of Arms We Have (Partly) Seen Before

In today's post, we come to the arms of one of the Deans of York Minster, whose pronomial arms we have seen before on our way to visit the Cathedral. I am speaking, of course, of the arms of Arthur Perceval Purey-Cust.

You can refer back to my post of December 21, 2023 (http://blog.appletonstudios.com/2023/12/we-e-e-e-ere-off-to-see-minster.html) for the rendition of his pronomial arms impaled by those of the See of York (modern). (I didn't remark on it in that post, but that is a huge martlet "for difference" on those carved and painted arms!)

Anyway, here in the interior of the Minster is a large, carved, and brightly painted memorial to Dean Purey-Cust, set in the midst of a memorial to the "boys" of the Minster Choir who lost their lives in World War I and World War II.

Arthur Perceval Purey-Cust (born Cust) (1828-1916), was Dean of the Cathedral 1880-1916. He has his own entry on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Purey-Cust where you can learn more about the man and his life.

This close-up of his memorial shows his quartered arms impaling those of his wife, Lady Emma Bliss Bligh.

The entire achievement would be blazoned: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Ermine on a chevron sable three fountains proper (Cust); 2, Or an escutcheon between eight martlets sable (Brownlow); and 3, Argent on a fess between three martlets sable three mullets argent (Pury/Purey), overall in chief a martlet sable for difference; impaling Azure a griffin segreant or armed and langued gules between three crescents argent (Bligh). Crest: A lion's head erased sable langued gules collared compony argent and sable (should be "compony argent and azure). The motto is: Esse quam videri (To be, rather than to seem).

The addition of the "martlet for difference" is, of course, the cadency difference for a fourth son.

Anyway, I found myself more than a bit overwhelmed by this memorial; the photographs here do not really do it justice. It really needs to be seen in person to get the full effect there in the cathedral.

But I hope that you can get a least a feel for how truly gorgeous this memorial is.

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, Part Two

By way of introduction to these impressive shields in York Minster, here's a shot that includes a number of them which will give you an idea of what an impact they make in the cathedral.

Please feel free to click on the image above to see a larger, and thus more detailed photograph of these shields that will give you a better "feel" for them than you can get from just the picture here.

These coats of arm are,* from left to right:

William de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick: Gules a fess between six crosses crosslet or;

Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex: Azure, a bend argent cotised or between six lions rampant or;

Aymer de Valence (1270-1324) or William de Valence (d. 1296), Earl of Pembroke: Barry argent and azure an orle of martlets gules;

Henry de Bolton, Lord Mayor of York 1335-1337): Or on a chevron gules three lions passant guardant or;

Ulf (a Danish thegn, or thane): attributed arms, Vert six lions rampant or); and 

Margaret of France, the second wife of King Edward I: France ancient (Azure semy-de-lis or).

* Most of the sources that I have to help identify these shields give only the surname. I have tried to be more specific in the identifications in this (and following) posts, using primarily Aspilogia III: The Rolls of Arms of Edward I by Gerard J. Brault. Even then, though, in several cases, the arms could represent more than one individual; a father or his son, or one of two (or more) brothers. I have tried in these instances to make my best guess, or to include the individuals who are the likeliest candidates.

Some Even Less Heraldic Heraldry-Adjacent Logos

Plus, the dreaded "empty cartouche"!

Following on our last post containing some "heraldry-adjacent" business logos, today we're going to visit some even less heraldic, but vaguely heraldry-adjacent" business signs.

First up is the roughly shield-shaped logo of The Star Inn:

The shield itself is shaped rather like a turret on a city wall, complete with embattlements on top. This makes some sense, really, since it's not that far from the old city walls of York.

And the design is really nearly blazonable in heraldic terms, discounting the angle and embattlement of the tope of the shield: Or a pale sable overall a mullet of six points argent, or perhaps, gyronny argent and sable.

Next, we have the "well, if you put it on a shield it might be heraldry" shop sign of the Mali Unisex Hair Salon on Colliergate in York:

Again, it's an arrangement that could be blazoned if it were placed on a shield: An open pair of scissors points downward surmounted in base by a straight razor chevronwise inverted [or, reversed] all proper.

In any event, it is a shop sign in the classic tradition, a visual means of advertising the services offered quickly and understandably, without the need for words or explanatory text. I mean, I knew what the shop offered just from the sign, without even knowing its name or having to look in the window to see.

And isn't that the underlying premise of all good heraldry?

And finally, we come to the frequently seen, but to a heraldry enthusiast, highly annoying, motif: the dreaded "empty cartouche".

This one is on the façade of the Grand Hotel, part of which we have looked at before because of its very colorful North Eastern Railway heraldry.

But higher up, we find this:

An empty cartouche. Complete with a carved frame and flanked by palm fronds.

A blank canvas, really, just waiting for someone to come along and put some heraldry into it.

It's a shame, really, but I've complained about such empty shields and cartouches here often enough in the past. And the temptation remains, to get a tall ladder and some paint and draw a coat of arms into the frame.

But, alas, my wife will not let me climb up on tall ladders anymore, and the civic authorities look upon such improvements as a form of "vandalism", so all I can do is stand and ground level and think about what might have been, or what could be with a little daring willingness.

So much potential for a wonderful display of heraldry, only to be let down by what is effectively a blank wall.

Some Heraldry-Adjacent Business Logos/Signs

Of course, the Cross Keys (which we saw last time) is not the only business, or even the only type of business, to be identified in York, England, with a sign which is more or less heraldic.

Here are three examples:

First up, Barclays Bank.

Barclays logo, now a modern, highly-stylized eagle displayed azure, has always included the eagle, but it has changed over the years. You can find an historical review of how their logo has changed over the years on-line at https://twitter.com/Barclays/status/1405524076232278022?lang=en

Next, we come to the Blue Bell Pub and their (if it were heraldic, obviously canting*) logo:

I really can't add anything to the photographs above; they pretty much say it all.

And then we come to the Westgate Hair Lounge (or as their sign notes, "Hair and City Spa"):

Westgate's logo is clearly meant to invoke heraldry, consisting as it does of a large letter W in place of a shield, supported by two lions rampant, and surmounted in chief by a Marquess' coronet.

I find myself troubled the most by this display of sort-of heraldry. The lack of a shield means it really isn't heraldry, but with the lion supporters and, more especially, the marquess' coronet, we are clearly meant to take it as heraldic. But we cannot do so, because it is so clearly not heraldry. It seems they are trying to get the cachet of heraldry without making something truly heraldic.

* Franklyn and Tanner's An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Heraldry informs us that canting arms are "an achievement in which the description of the figures is homophonous with the name; a rebus, or pictorial pun, also described as 'armes parlantes', and, er[roneously], as 'allusive arms'."

Or, as another old saw has it: "Heralds don't pun, they cant." (Not the lack of an apostrophe in the last word; it is deliberate.)

The Cross Keys: Wards Upward or Wards Downward?

The Cross Keys pub gets a brief mention in the "Public House Signs" section of the book Heraldry and the Buildings of York, noting that the original, which had opened in the first quarter of the 19th century, was demolished and the present one constructed in 1904, which date is commemorated in the panel set into the brickwork over the main entrance.

What the book does not mention, but which certainly caught my attention, is that the sign over the door and the sign in the guise of a coat of arms in the brickwork higher up, differ as to the orientation of the crossed keys: the latter has them with their wards upwards (the most frequent orientation for keys), while the former has them with their wards downwards. Not entirely unlike the line from the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz: “Of course, some people do go both ways.”

As a consequence, though, you can see both orientations on the building there.

First, a couple of photographs of the building from two different angles:

And now for the close-ups. First, the sign, of the keys with their wards patently downwards:

And now, the same logo placed on a shield higher up on the façade of the building, of the keys with their wards just as patently upwards:

Which of these two orientations is the correct one?

I personally do not know, but if it came up for a vote, mine would go to the (presumably older) depiction in the brickwork just below the 1904 date.

Just sayin'.

Some Railway Heraldry in York

I'll just say it right here: The heraldry used by some of the British railway companies is both amazing and a bit appalling.

Amazing, because they both very heraldic and very colorful.

A bit appalling because they are often just collections of other heraldry mashed together onto a single, or as here, three, shields.

The North Eastern Railway, whose very heraldic logo? trademark? (certainly not really "arms") used the combined "arms" of the Leeds Northern, York & North Midland, and York, Newcastle & Berwick Railways, themselves comprised of the arms of different places or otherwise "meaningful" charges.

And I found them on display in a couple of different places in York.

The first (though the photograph here, taken with my old iPhone, is a bit out of focus) was seen, naturally enough, in the iron supports for the roof of the railway station in York.

The other, shown in several photographs from different angles below, was found on the façade of The Grand hotel, located just inside the old city wall and directly across from the railway station just outside the city wall.

Now here's a head-on view, which gives you a much better idea of what a conglomeration this particular arrangement of shields is. (Please click on the image below, or any of the ones above, to go to the full-size picture.)

The "arms" of the North Eastern Railway, consist of three shields conjoined:

1, Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or (York);

2, (to dexter base) for the Leeds Northern Railway: Quarterly: i, Azure a fleece or on a chief sable three mullets argent (Leeds); ii, Azure on a sea vert a ship in full sail proper (West Hartlepool Harbour and Railway); iii, Azure three (should be two) bales (argent) resting on a floor or (should be sable); and iv, Sable (should be Gules) three garbs or. These last two quarters represent the line’s carriage of wool and corn; and

3, (to sinister base) for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway: Quarterly: i and iv, Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or (York); ii, Gules three towers (of three turrets) argent (Newcastle); and iii, Argent on a grassy mount vert a bear collared and chained or standing in front of a wych-elm proper in fess two escutcheons of France and England quarterly, on a chief azure a king seated on a throne crowned and habited and holding an orb and scepter all proper (Berwick-upon-Tweed).

A detail that the eagle-eyed among you may notice is that in the Berwick arms, the Royal arms of England (Quarterly France modern and England) are here reversed, with the English (red) quarters in 1 and 4 and the French (blue) quarters in 2 and 3.

All in all, it's an amazing agglomeration of heraldry (and some simplified landscapes), but it's not something that really fulfills one of the underlying principles of heraldry, which is, or at least should be, quick and easy identification.

Still, it is colorful, isn't it?

The _Other_ Side of Micklegate Bar, York

In comparison to the interior (City-side) of Micklegate Bar in York, England, the exterior (outward-facing) side of the Bar is much more highly-decorated with heraldry, in addition to the dramatic turrets and battlements and narrow windows and arrow slits.

Most noticeable, of course, are the Royal Arms of England as used from the time of King Edward III until King Henry IV reduced the number of fleurs-de-lis in the French quarters from many to three. Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure semy-de-lis or; 2 and 3, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or.

The Royal Arms, shown here hanging from the shield's guige, or strap, painted gold, are surmounted by a great helm atop which, issuant from a cap of maintenance, is a lion statant affronty.

The Royal Arms are flanked by two representations of the arms of the City of York: Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or. Here, too, the shields are shown hanging by their golden guiges.

You may wish to click on the image above to see a larger, more detailed image of these shields.

And finally, immediately above the central arch of the Bar, is another shield, this one couched (displayed at an angle instead of upright), but also hanging from its guige:

The arms are those of Sir John Lister-Kaye, 1st Baronet (1772-1827), a noted English amateur cricketer in the late 18th century. An illegitimate son of a baronet, he was created a baronet in his own right in December 1812 when he inherited the Lister estates by will. Sir John's acquisition of the landed estates devised on him was the cause for entitlement for a baronetcy, when George III created a new title by patent on 28 December 1812. His land included the Manors of Burton (or Kirkburton), Woodsham, Shelley and other lands in Yorkshire.

Sir John's arms are blazoned: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent two bendlets sable (Kaye); 2 and 3, Ermine on a fess sable three mullets or (Lister); overall on an escutcheon, Argent a sinister hand couped appaumy gules. (The small escutcheon on the shield is, of course, the armorial insignia of a baronet.)

The date inscribed below the shield is incorrect; it should have another "C" in it. Micklegate Bar was renovated in 1827, not 1727.

Sir John's arms have been placed on the face of the Bar because before his death in 1827 he was Lord Mayor of York.

All in all, the arms on Micklegate Bar, the main gate into the City of York, make an impressive display for anyone riding up to the city, whatever their intentions (peaceful or otherwise) might have been.

The English Royal Arms in York

We've seen a number of places so far that display the arms of the City of York, and others that show the arms of the City as well as the badge of the York Civic Trust, and even others that display the badge of the Trust, sometimes alone, sometimes with other insignia.

But, of course, York has a long history, and a place in both the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War.

Today's entry is the main of four "bars", or gates, to the old City, Micklegate Bar, whose lower portions date to the 12th Century. The stone facade on the upper stories, as is evident in the photo below, replaced a lath and plaster facing in the early 19th Century.

On it interior (toward the City) side, his bar bears the Royal arms of England, used from the time of King Henry IV through Queen Elizabeth I.

But of course it is the coat of arms that first caught my eye:

It was King Henry IV who, in imitation of King Charles V of France, reduced the number of fleurs-de-lis in the first and fourth quarters of the Royal arms to three. (Those quarters had been strewn with fleurs-de-lis from the time that King Edward III made his claim to the French throne.)*

The blazon for these arms is: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure three fleurs-de-lis or; 2 and 3, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or.

Nothing says "This belongs to England!" like placing the arms of the King or Queen prominently upon it, am I right?

* This strewing of a field with an unnumbered set of charges, e.g., semy-de-lis/semy of fleurs-de-lis, has led over the years to the old joke that heralds can only count so high; specifically, "one, two, three, four, five, six, many/semy."

Historic Plaques With the Badge of the York Civic Trust

There were other historic markers in the City of York which did not display the arms of the City along with the badge of the York Civic Trust.

Some, like this one found on St. Sampson's Church, display only the badge of the Trust (Azure a fleur-de-lis or dimidiating Gules a crowned leopard's face or):

Still others displayed some other emblem along with the badge of the Trust.

For example, this marker for George Hudson street has, in addition to the Trust's badge, a roundel showing an early locomotive (you may click on the image below to go to a larger version where the locomotive can be seen more clearly):

And the plaque for St. Margaret's School for Girls displays the vesica seal of the School, which contains a standing cross and the legend "Saint Margaret's School" around the border.

Heraldry and visual emblems used for identification; they may not all be heraldic, but as used here, don't they help to fulfill the purpose of heraldry?*

* One (brief) definition of heraldry is: “designs painted on shields and used to identify the owner.” (Kevin Greaves, A Canadian Heraldic Primer)

Arms, and a Badge

All through the old city of York you will find plaques noting especially historic places. Some of these places are large and therefore especially notable, while others are less obvious without the assistance of a nearby plaque giving some of the history of the site.

One thing that all of the plaques have in common, though, is that they bear both the arms of the City of York (Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or), and the badge of the York Civic Trust (Azure a fleur-de-lis or dimidiating Gules a crowned leopard’s face or).

The badge of the Trust is clearly based on the older Royal arms of England, Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure three fleurs-de-lis or; 2 and 3, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or.

Here are some of the historic plaques displaying the arms of the City and the badge of the Trust which I found in my wanderings about the old city of York:

The original Roman fortress was completely rebuilt later, as the gate that stands there now is clearly not built in the Roman style:

And for those who are really interested in what historical plaques may be seen in York, the York Civic Trust website has an entire page listing all of the plaques that may be found there, along with an enlargeable map showing their locations, at https://yorkcivictrust.co.uk/heritage/civic-trust-plaques/

With coats of arms and badges: what a great way to mark many of the historic places and people of York.

Those Words Must Mean Something Different in English Than They Do In Texan

Our next two bits of heraldry are coats of arms that we have seen before (along with another, new one that we'll be seeing more of later), but I'm giving them their own post because they are located on the "shortest street in York", the one with the unusual name.

Back in 1505, it was called "Whitnourwhatnourgate", meaning "What a street!"

Sometime later, it was changed to Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate. As being easier to pronounce, I suspect. (And just in case you think I might be making this up, here's one of the helpful location and direction signs posted there.)

Still, as I stated in the title to this post, I think those words, or at least those syllables, don't mean the same thing in York as they might here in Texas, where they could be taken to mean one should whip, or whop, or both, one's "Ma", or mother, at a gate.

But of course, we're here not to talk about the morality, or immorality, of whipping one's mother at a gate. We're here for the heraldry, which can be found on two other signs at the street.

The first, which we have seen before, is the arms used by the City of York Council, here placed on a sign near a bicycle stand explaining the best ways to lock up your bike to prevent its theft.

The other, on an historical marker, contains both the arms of the City of York (Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or) with the cap, sword, and mace on the upper right, and on the upper left, a new bit of heraldry for us, the badge of the York Civic Trust, Azure a fleur-de-lis or dimidiating Gules a crowned leopard's face or.

Please feel free to click on any of the images above to see a larger, more detailed photograph of these signs.

The badge of the York Civic Trust (the Trust says its vision is "promoting heritage, shaping tomorrow") is based on the pre-Stuart Royal Arms of England, Quarterly: 1 and 4, France modern (Azure three fleurs-de-lis or); 2 and 3, England (Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or).

I think you might be hard-pressed to say "historic York, England" more concisely than with these last two pieces of armory.

I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

Non-Governmental Uses of the Arms of the City of York

While the coat of arms of the City of York, England can be found on public buildings and used by the City and the City Council, I also noticed a couple of instances of the use of the City's arms by entities not directly affiliated with the local government.

This first, though, is directly licensed by the City of York Council through their Taxi Licensing Team, which involves fees and charges in addition to requirements for vehicles to meet certain specific standards, not to mention that only a limited number of hackney carriage licenses are available to be allocated.

Be that as it may, I found one of those hackney carriages bearing the arms of the City:

Additionally, one of the local public houses (or, pubs) was also using the City's coat of arms. Welcome to The York Arms:

Later on in another post, we will see different one of these pub signs which are fairly common in England, of "X Arms" or "The X Arms" where "X" is a specific individual or, as above here, city.

The City of York is obviously very proud of its coat of arms, and it was a pleasure to see them in so many different places, and even used by non-civic entities like taxicabs and public houses.