Fun With Brewery Heraldry

York Brewery, not surprisingly based in York, England, displays in places around the city a couple of different heraldic logos that I quite frankly found to be of interest.

One of them is a beautifully simply, yet meaningful design, which we found just across the street from our hotel in York:

It's blazon is remarkably simple: Argent a pall gules. The colors are patently based on the arms of the city, with its white shield and red cross, and the design, as anyone looking at it can see, places a bright and bold red "Y" for York on the shield.

Clear, easy to identify, using just two colors (white and red), and consisting of a field and a single charge. It doesn't get much better than that for heraldry.

The other is a little more complex, but also clearly points to the brewery's ties to the City of York:

You can see the same arms from the first location used here on the base of the sign over the entrance and another just to the left of the door of The Three-Legged Mare, above.

But it was also the other coat of arms on the face of the building that caught my eye.

Here, the emblem is clearly based on the arms of the City of York, but here they have changed the charges on the cross, five lions passant guardant or, to five tuns [or casks] or. The full blazon would thus be: Argent on a cross gules five tuns or.

Again, beautifully simple (albeit a little more complex than the first) arms, with clear references both to their location in the City of York and to their business of brewing beer.

It isn't often that you can find heraldry that says so much so clearly and simply. Would that more heraldry could be like this!

Can You Figure Out the (Singular) Blazon from These (Multiple) Emblazons?

Today's conundrum: How are the attributed arms of St. Wilfrid blazoned? And can you get to that blazon from five (well, really four, because two of them are the same) emblazons of those arms?

Because, frankly, those varying emblazons are all (except for the two matching ones) significantly different.

First, the three found wandering the streets of York, England; the one, and then the two matching ones:

Then, this one, found on the exterior of York Minster:

And this one (on the right) from the interior the Minster:

So, knowing that these different depictions are all supposedly those of the attributed arms of St. Wilfrid, how would you blazon his arms?

Take and minute and think about it.

Feel free to click on any of the images above to go to a larger photo to look at them more closely.

How are these arms blazoned?

Just from looking at them, I would blazon the first one as: Azure three mullets of six points argent.

The next two (the matching ones), and assuming the same tinctures, I would blazon as: Azure three mullets of eight points argent.

The third, from the exterior of York Minster, and the fourth, from the interior, are blazoned by Hugh Murray in Heraldry and the Buildings of York, and by Y.E. Weir in A Guide to the Heraldry of York Minster, as Azure three estoiles or.

The difficulties, in my own mind, are:

1. Mullets (of however many points) are not the same heraldically as mullets;

2. Estoiles are generally of six rays, while those here pretty clearly have seven; and

3. Estoiles do not have, as they seem to in the last image, circular centers.

Going out onto the internet and looking up other images of the attributed arms of St. Wilfrid, the majority tend to follow the pattern of Azure three estoiles of seven rays or.

But I have to wonder, should they really be suns? (Yes, I am well aware that suns are generally depicted with alternating straight and wavy rays. Still, that seems a little more likely than seven-rayed estoiles. But what do I know?)

Anyway, it's a bit of a puzzle, one that leaves us all a little something to think about.

Enjoy!

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round (Part 2)

To finish our review of the arms/logos of the remaining six of the nine (out of 11) colleges of the University of York appearing on the buses following their routes in the City of York, I was better placed to catch this one on camera as it drove by:

You will note, if you compare this bus to the one in my last post, that the arms of the University of York do not appear here.

For the rest, we will visit the arms/logos of the remaining six college that I was able to capture in more detail.

(It did gratify my OCD sensibilities somewhat that they placed the arms/logos of the College from left to right in alphabetical order.)

As before, the tinctures in my blazons of these emblems come from the web pages of the individual colleges.

First up, Constantine College and Derwent College:

Constantine College: On a scutum purpure a billet pierced winged with four wings, the lower two reversed/inverted in chief the overlapping letters C C, surmounting the shield in base a straight scroll gray charged with the Roman numerals MMXIV argent.

Derwent College: Azure (really, it’s Navy Blue, very dark!] in chief the interlaced letters D C and in base a double rose all argent.

Then Halifax College and James College:

Halifax College: Argent four bendlets azure a double-rose argent barbed and seeded proper all within a bordure argent, the shield supported by two lions rampant or, the supporters overlapping more than usual the shield on each side.

James College: Argent a swan naiant to sinister atop waves of water sable both debruised by the letter J argent in chief a rose argent extending beyond the chief edge of the shield.

And finally, Vanbrugh College and Wentworth College:

Vanbrugh College: An entirely unheraldic logo, consisting of a V marked like piano keys to dexter and like steps to sinister, the lower part barry wavy, and in chief a bird volant affronty? aversant?. The “shield” on their page on the University website (https://www.york.ac.uk/colleges/vanbrugh/) is only marginally more heraldic.

Wentworth College: Quarterly of six: 1, Sable a chevron between three leopard’s faces or; 2, Argent a cross couped grady of three sable; 3, Argent a cross couped formy sable; 4, Argent on a pale sable an eel’s head or; 5, Gules a saltire argent; and 6, Gules a fess of five fusils conjoined or. The quarterings are taken from the even-more-quartered arms of the College’s namesake, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Stafford.

I feel pretty good about catching on camera as many of these shields/logos as I did, considering that the bus driver wasn't going to stop for me to catch all of them.

On the other hand, I was left feeling a bit sad that no one with any real familiarity with heraldry seems to have been involved in the creation of these designs, and that even the most truly heraldic ones contain some pretty conspicuous errors.

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round (Part 1)

The City of York has a fairly extensive public transportation system, one part of which is city buses, painted mostly purple (lilac? pinkish?) and advertised as "In Partnership with the University of York".

As the buses were moving every time I saw one, it was a bit tricky to get pictures of all of the heraldry, and logos, painted on their sides. Still, I managed to get the majority of them, and will discuss them in this post and the next one.

To give you an idea of what I was seeing there, here's one of the buses, with nine shields/logos along its side, as well as two shields, one at the far end of the upper row, and another down between the front and rear wheels. (You'll probably want to click on the image below to go to the full-size version, where you can see the details better.)

It turns out, the nine shields/logos along the side are nine of the eleven colleges that make up the University of York. The other two shields, upper and lower, are the arms of the University itself. Though you couldn't tell it from the colors they are painted here, the arms are blazoned: Azure on a chevron ermine three closed books fesswise proper each with two clasps downward or.

The three shields/logos which I was not quite fast enough to catch on my camera are, from left to right:

On the far left: Alcuin College, Gules on a chevron sable between in chief an open book and an oak tree and in base eleven [mullets? roundels?] in the form of a broadhead, the letters ALCUIN all argent.

Fourth from the left: Goodricke College, Vert on a fess between two lions passant argent a fleur-de-lis between two crescents vert. Clearly, one of the more heraldic college shields!

And seventh from the left: Langwith College, Argent to dexter a tree with drooping leaves and to sinister in pale a rose all outlined and the interlaced letters L C sable.

I obtained the tinctures of these from the University of York website and the pages of the respective colleges.

Next time, another bus, and close-ups of the other six designs, both heraldic and not.

A Baron Banker's Achievement of Arms

On the corner of New Street and Coney Street in York sits the National Westminster Bank building (now home to a Starbucks with its own semi-heraldic logo of a crowned melusine). On the corner of that bank building is a full achievement of arms: Arms, two crests, motto, and supporters.

The history of this bank, and those arms, goes back to the very early 1800s, when Raper Swann Clough Swann Bland & Raper (Swann & Clough's Bank) moved to this location in 1810. They were taken over by Beckett & Co., an old Leeds family banking firm, in 1879. (Beckett & Co. was amalgamated with the Westminster Bank in 1920.)

In 1816, Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet, assumed the name and arms of Denison on succeeding to the baronetcy. He resumed the family name of Beckett in 1872.

Sir Edmund Beckett-Denison, 5th Baronet, was created Baron Grimthorpe in 1886. On his death in 1905, he was succeeded by his nephew, Ernest William Beckett-Denison, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe, and the senior partner in Beckett & Co.

So with all that as background, let us take a closer look at this achievement of arms (as always, you can click on the image below to see a larger, more detailed copy of this photograph), the arms of Ernest, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe:

The arms of Beckett, shown here, are blazoned: Gules a fess between three boar’s heads couped* erminois. There are two crests: 1, A sinister cubit arms in bend vested vert cuffed ermine charged on the sleeve with a cross crosslet or the hand proper with the forefinger pointing to an estoile radiated or (Denison); and 2, A boar's head couped or pierced by a cross paty fitchy erect gules (Beckett). The supporters on each side are: A boar erminois gorged with a collar gules pendant therefrom an escutcheon gules charged with a cross pay fitchy or. Below on a scroll is the motto: Prodesse civibus (To benefit my fellow citizens).

I cannot speak for everyone, not even other heraldry enthusiasts, but I personally find researching some of the stories behind these displays of armory to be fascinating. I had no idea when I first photographed this achievement of arms how involved the story of its origins and its placement on the corner of this building in York would turn out.

* I cannot resist adding this little ditty about heraldic boar's heads from C.W. Scott-Giles' Motley Heraldry here:

    The boar's head couped in English fashion

    Includes the neck--a generous ration;

    In Scotland, when this charge appears

    It's cut off close behind the ears;

    But with the herald's wonted tact

    I draw no moral from this fact.

Personal Arms and a Civic Trust Badge

Yet another historical marker in York, England bears, in addition to the badge of the York Civic Trust (Azure a fleur-de-lys dimidiating Gules a crowned leopard's face or), a personal coat of arms.

The arms (on the upper left on the plaque. Feel free to click on the image above to go to a larger version which shows the arms, and badge, much more clearly) are those of Miles Coverdale (c1488-1569), Bishop of Exeter, a native of York, and are blazoned: Quarterly per fess indented gules and or three fleurs-de-lis two and one and three roses one and two all counterchanged. (An equally accurate, though longer, blazon would be: Quarterly per fess indented gules and or in chief a rose between two fleurs-de-lis and in base a fleur-de-lis between two roses all counterchanged.)

The booklet Heraldry and the Buildings of York, p. 81, notes the propriety of the placement of this historical plaque on the part of York Minster which housed its library from about 1420 until 1810.

Bishop Coverdale has his own entry in Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_Coverdale. Additionally, more information on Bishop Coverdale can be found on the website of the York Civic Trust at https://yorkcivictrust.co.uk/heritage/civic-trust-plaques/miles-coverdale-1488-1569/

So much information that can be found based on this one little heraldic marker in historic York!

And what an interesting coat of arms, as well!

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?

Speaking of the White Rose of York

In my last post, we looked at the heraldry on Lendal Bridge over the River Ouse in York.

One of those bits of heraldry was the badge of York, a white rose.

This badge can be found in use in a few other places around the city. For example:

This lovely little piece of heraldic ironwork consists of A double rose argent barbed and seeded proper, surrounded by a ring that says "City of York" and bearing a scroll with the words "C. Dearlove / Fetter Lane York" (the firm that cast this roundel).

Fetter Lane, where Dearlove was located, is in the old medieval city, south of Micklegate Bar, and joins Skeldergate, which runs parallel to the River Ouse. The Dearlove firm is not that old, having been established in the 19th Century.

This particular roundel is affixed to a metal gate on the steps of York's old city walls at Micklegate Bar. (We've looked at the heraldry on Micklegate Bar recently.)

Like an (Armorial) Bridge Over (Historically) Troubled Waters

The Lendal Bridge in York, England, is a Victorian cast iron bridge of a single (175 foot long) span over the River Ouse, which runs through the City. It opened on January 8, 1863, and replaced the Lendal Ferry there.

Being Victorian, and being of cast iron, there is a fair amount of heraldic decoration on the bridge.

In addition to the arms of the See of York (the red shield on the right spandrel of the bridge in the photograph above) and the arms of the City of York, there is also a lot of heraldry on the bridge itself:

Running the length of the bridge are repetitions of two shields and a badge, facing both the interior and the exterior of the bridge.

The first is the arms of England, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or:

The second is the arms of the See of York, Gules two keys in saltire wards upwards argent in chief a Royal crown or:

And the badge is the white rose of York, A rose argent barbed and seeded proper:

In the center of the span, just above the arms of St. George (Argent a cross gules) that you can see in the first picture if you click on it to go to a larger copy), are two lamp standards, each of which consists of two lamps, a cypher in gold of the letters V and A (for Victoria and Albert), and surmounted by an angel holding the arms of St. George:

Here is a close-up of the angel (in white, with a blue robe and golden wings) holding the shield of St. George (Argent a cross gules), the patron saint of England.

All in all, a great display of heraldry on what is really just a utilitarian object: a bridge over a river. But it still looks good, doesn't it?*

* For some reason, I am reminded of the line that Yoda says to Luke in Star Wars, Episode 5, here slightly modified: "Look so good in 160 years you will not, hmm?"

Heraldic Commemoration of the End of a Civil War Siege

In today's post, we look at one of the historical markers in York, England that commemorates the end of the siege of the City of York, where the Royalists surrendered the city on July 16, 1644 to the Parliamentary forces under generous terms that spared much destruction.

Like many of the commemorative markers in the city, this one bears 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 dimidiating Gules a crowned leopard's face or) with arms of Fairfax: Or three bars gemel gules overall a lion rampant sable.

The arms are those of Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1584-1648), who was knighted in 1608, and served as General of the Parliamentary forces in the north during the Civil War. He was Governor of York 1644-48. He has a full page entry in the Dictionary of National Biography, as well as his own page in Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_Fairfax,_2nd_Lord_Fairfax_of_Cameron.

Ferdinando's sone, Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1612-1671) served under his father in the Parliamentary army, and was very likely involved in this siege, but he later supported the Restoration in 1660. Thomas has a 7½ page entry in the Dictionary of National Biography, so I’m clearly not going to repeat all of that information about him here. If you want something a little shorter, he, too, has his own Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fairfax

It seems to be pretty rare to find the arms of an individual on one of these memorial plaques, in addition to the arms of the City and the badge of the Civic Trust. Still, as the plaque itself notes, in 1994 (on the 350th anniversary of the surrender) it was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of York and Nicholas Cameron, 14th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, so these arms may be here as much because of the 14th Lord as they are because of the 2nd.

Either way, I always find it gratifying to see the use of a coat of arms by members of a family, years or even centuries (here, 3½ centuries) apart, don't you?