The Seaxe. Newsletter of the Middlesex Heraldry Society

Transcription

1 The Seaxe Newsletter of the Middlesex Heraldry Society Joint Editors - Don & Marjorie Kirby, 2 Jamnagar Close, Staines, Middlesex TW18 2JT ( ) No.2l (Founded 1976) February 1998 The Swan In an article on the Swan Sanctuary at Egham by the founder Dorothy Beeson BEM she writes that it is the largest and only self-contained swan hospital in the United Kingdom - handling around three thousand swans a year needing anything from bankside treatment to hospitalisation and major surgery. They work closely with many agencies including the RSPCA and are also Crown Agents for the treatment and welfare of swans wherever Her Majesty's interests lie. Mrs Beeson's aims are to provide the finest welfare treatment, care and rehabilitation for any injured or ill swan brought to the attention of The Sanctuary and goes on to say that in order to achieve this goal we must look to expand our current facilities and once we can establish a new site it is hoped that there will be employment opportunities, both full and part time, for those seeking work in veterinary and conservation fields. Under the heading The Swan as part of our Heritage Mrs Beeson writes The Mute Swan (Cygnus Olor) is quite often referred to as a legend with wings. The history of this most majestic of birds is both mystical and miraculous. The swan is one of the Windsor beasts, the famous swan of Bohun, which has a history going back to the legendary Swan Knight 1. King Swan Window in Westminster Abbey Henry IV used it in the right of his wife, Mary, 2 and afterwards the swan was used on Royal Armorial Bearings and Badges like King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt in In 1496, the Secretary of the Venetian Ambassador to London, writing to his master said "it is a very beautiful to behold one or two thousand swans upon the River Thames". The swan was widely adopted by Royalty possibly because it could never be fully domesticated and is valiant in defending its young - even to the death. In Greek mythology Apollo, the Sun god, travelled the land of the North wind in a chariot drawn by swans. The constellation Cygnus which can be seen in the Autumn sky celebrates the event. Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Ugly Duckling with a sympathetic leading role for the swan. More recently Richard Nixon in 1972 when President of the United States decreed that that this regal bird should become the International Symbol of World Peace and gave a statue of a swan to the Chinese people which can still be seen in the Great Hall in Beijing. As you can see the regal swan has made a significant contribution to our culture and that of the whole civilised world. Donations may be sent to:- Dorothy Beeson BEM, The Swan Sanctuary, Field View, Pooley Green, Egham, Surrey TW20 8AT. Tel In the opera Parzival, Lohengrin, The Swan Knight, arrives at Antwerp in a skiff drawn by a swan and champions Elsa, Princess of Brabant, becoming her husband on the sole condition that she shall not ask him his name or lineage. However on the marriage night, she does so and he, by his vows to the Grail, is obliged to divulge his identity but at the same time he disappears. The swan returns for him and he goes but not before re-transforming the swan into Elsa's brother, Gottfried, who had been forced to become a swan by Ortrud, a scheming sorceress. 2 The white swan of Bohun badge was adopted by Henry IV in the right of his wife who was a daughter of one of the heiresses of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. The Worshipful Company of Musicians - the Guild began as a fellowship of minstrels c.l350 but was officially granted arms on 15th October Azure a swan with wings expanded Argent within a double tressure flory counter-flory Or, on a chief Gules a pale between two lions passant guardant Or thereon a rose Gules barbed & seeded Vert. According to Boutell the swan probably alludes to the legend which has many variations but tells how the soul of Apollo, the god of music, passed at death into a swan; swans are therefore said to sing at the approach of death because they are inspired by Apollo. Nearer home, the arms of Staines include two swans - the complete blazon is Gules a fess barry wavy of four pieces Argent and Azure and thereon a representation of Staines Bridge in Gold; in chief two swans proper facing one another and in base a representation of London Stone Gold between two seaxes erect their blades

2 Silver and their pommels and hilts Gold. The motto may be translated as At the bridges we look forward - as Ad Pontes was the Roman name for Staines Scott-Giles believed that the symbolism conveyed is that from our ancient past we look forward to the future and Egham, on the other side of the river, has for its crest, a swan swimming in front of a weeping willow tree all proper. Nor must we forget the ancient ceremony of Swan-upping which takes place annually on the Thames with Egham Crest luncheon taken at Staines at the Swan Hotel! All swans are owned either by the Crown or jointly by the Dyers and Vintners Companies and the ceremony involves the swans belonging to the Crown being marked with five nicks (two lengthwise and three across the bill) and the Companies' swans with two nicks. In recent years the numbers of swans on the Thames has increased no doubt in part because of the prohibition of the use of lead shot by anglers and certainly in part by Dot Beeson and company at the Swan Sanctuary. The Secretary to the Venetian Ambassador was right! the NATO community. The birth of Agrippa has been welcomed by the Commander Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe. Admiral Angeli wrote to Agrippa's new commanding officer, congratulating him on his appointment. He wrote I am delighted that the Royal Navy has decided to commission its Naval Element which makes such an important contribution to NATO's Southern Region, and I am honoured that it should be sited in my headquarters I think that the choice of name and ship's badge design for your new establishment are excellent and reflect a keen sense of history, association and location. I could not be more pleased by this development, and wish you and the crew the very best for the future. [The above are extracts from an article in Navy News kindly loaned to your editors by Ron Brown.] [From the illustration it is difficult to blazon the badge but it appears to be;- Argent three bars wavy Vert overall a Roman helmet proper and as your editors were unable to obtain a clear print, they hope that readers will accept the cartoon type helmeted head which shows what the main charge on the badge is meant to represent.] A Tale of a Tally in Italy A lack of common cap tallies has resulted in the commissioning of a new overseas Royal Navy establishment in Italy. As final preparations were being made for the handover of Hong Kong, and with bases in Bermuda and Malta now a distant memory, Navy men and women in Naples were proudly bucking the closure trend by introducing the name Agrippa to RN records. The need for a new identity became apparent with the decommissioning of the RN pay centre, HMS Centurion, in Ratings continued to wear the cap tallies of previous establishments; alternatives were not appropriate or deemed unsuitable - anything connected with Nelson, for example, would upset local feelings, as he was instrumental in the execution of Neapolitan "rebels" in At the commissioning ceremony Vice Admiral Sir Michael Moore said the name was appropriate for two reasons. The Roman general Agrippa defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the battle of Actium in 31BC, perhaps the greatest sea battle of ancient times. Agrippa's fleet base was in the Naples area. The cost of commissioning Agrippa was the cost of the cap tallies and artwork for the new crest - a few hundred pounds. And the benefits? Agrippa public relations officer said it provides a corporate spirit and unit identity, and also gives us visibility and profile amongst Melchior - King of Arabia and Nubia We are indebted to old friend and new member of "our" Society - Sedge Smith for the story of the eldest of the Three Kings and who brought gold to the infant Jesus - one King honouring another. The story was told on a delightful home produced Christmas card as follows:- Melchior, whose name means King of Light in Hebrew was one of the Magi, the first Gentiles to believe in Christ In mediaeval times they were known as the Three Kings of Cologne as it was claimed that their bones were laid in the Cathedral of that city. The arms ascribed to Melchior Azure within the Horns of an Increscent a Molet all Or echo the story of the Sages who came out of the East following the mysterious star. In welcoming Sedge and Hazel as members of "the Middlesex" we hope that we will be forgiven for making free with the results of Sedge's research. Did You Know? Horseshoes are also known as ferrs and are usually depicted pointing downwards - they are, however, sometimes blazoned reversed as in the case of the arms of Iain Swinnerton - Argent a cross formy flory between two ferrs reversed in chief Sable. Page 2

3 My Home Town - No 6 by Frances (Fay) Robson The quiet little market town that I remember has given way to busy streets crowded with people and with vehicles and many buildings have been demolished to make way for car-parks. But enough remains of Tiverton to induce mild nostalgia, a reminder of the innocent optimist who walked to school each day for three years, and believed that people were good and that the countryside would always be beautiful. Boarding School at the age of eight proved a harsh awakening and suddenly life was devoid of any kind of beauty. The name Tiverton derives from Twy-ford-town - the place of the two fords across the Rivers Exe and Lowman and it still boasts historic buildings whilst the area around the castle and St. Peter's Church has not lost its picturesque appeal. The handsome houses fronting St. Peter's Street, with their back gardens sloping down towards the River Exe, testify to the prosperity of the town which Daniel Defoe described in the 18th century as the greatest manufacturing centre in Devon. A series of disastrous fires between 1598 and 1721 led in time to the passing of an Act enforcing safer building regulations. The decline of the cloth industry hit many west St Peter's Church country towns, but the blow was softened in Tiverton by John Heathcoat's introduction of lace-making. In Loughborough in Leicestershire he had suffered from the violent activities of the Luddite machine-breakers so he moved his manufacturing base to Tiverton, taking over in 1816 one of the last woollen mills Heathcoat Amory employing an ever increasing number of local people. Knightshayes Court, the house built after 1869 for the Heathcoat- Amorys now belongs to the National Trust and is noted for its beautiful gardens, Tiverton was a Saxon settlement founded in the seventh century and was a Royal estate from the beginning. In 1106 Henry I granted the large and valuable manor to Richard de Redvers whose son, Baldwin, was created Earl Of Devon. The castle was built by Richard de Redvers to guard a fording point of the Exe and it became the principal residence until 1539 of his descendants - the Courtenays. During the Civil War the castle was held for the King but was captured by General Fairfax who immediately posted guards at the entrance to St. Peter's Church, next door, to prevent looting and damage. A beautiful carving of the Assumption in the south porch would have been a prime protection. target for pot-shots had it not been for this Though many of the castle buildings were dismantled the impressive 14th century gateway survives leading into a delightful courtyard with a fine residence to the north-east. The present owner is an expert on the 17th century and, if you can persuade him to talk about it you are in for an illuminating twenty minutes. At the time of my last visit he was on duty in the Armoury. But St. Peter's Church must be the glory of Tiverton even if the interior has suffered from over-zealous Victorian restoration. Much of it dates from the 15th century and the exterior was lavishly decorated by John Greenway, a wealthy wool merchant, who rebuilt the south aisle and added the Greenway Chapel. On the frieze outside his chapel are twenty-four armed merchant ships and twenty-one scenes from the life of Christ, in addition to animals, merchants' marks and coats of arms including those of the Drapers Company and of Lady Catherine Courtenay, daughter of Edward IV. Not much accessible heraldry adorns the church interior but colourful representations of the lion and the unicorn surmount the Mayor's pew commemorating the granting of a charter by James I in But heraldic hunger is partially satisfied by a painted board in the north aisle featuring the arms of the chief patrons and benefactors of the town. As well as Redvers and Courtenay there are the arms of the Drapers Company, Heathcoat-Amory, Carew, Newte and many more. The Newtes provided Rectors for the Church in the 17th and 18th centuries. I was particularly interested in their distinctive coat of arms since Newte's Hill, long and arduous, lay between the Tiverton and my father's farm and seemed to get longer each time I pushed my bicycle up its steep incline. Tiverton has had many distinguished sons including Richard Cosway, the Page 3

4 artist, but the man who brought it enduring fame was Peter Blundell, founder in 1604 of the renowned Blundell's School. R. D. Blackmore was a pupil here and in Lorna Doone he sends John Ridd to Tiverton's noted academy. The original school building survives on a low lying site dangerously close to the River Lowman. I remember that just inside the gateway the initials PB were picked out in white pebbles and tradition said that when the flood-water reached this point a holiday for the boys was declared. The pebbles are there no longer but I imagine they are preserved at the present Blundell's School - about half a mile away on a much more elevated site where no flood-water is likely to disrupt the time table! As far as I know Tiverton* has never petitioned for a grant of arms and uses on its boundary signs a representation of the old Borough seal. This is circular and shows St. Peter's Church, the castle and the old school. Beneath them is a view of the town, houses crowded closely together, with the two bridges spanning the Exe and the Lowman rivers. A woolpack recalls the old cloth industry. Perhaps one day a new benefactor will arrive to enshrine in authorised heraldic form some features from this ancient and engagingly pictorial seal. A pity I don't do the Lottery! The arms illustrated are:- Devonshire County Council - Argent a lion rampant Gules with a Golden crown a chief wavy parted fesswise Azure and barry wavy Silver and Azure and thereon an ancient ship also Silver. The motto translates as By divine aid. *Tiverton Borough Council - Scott-Giles agrees entirely with Fay's comments - but not, of course, about the potential benefactor or the Lottery! Blundell's School - Paly of six Argent and Gules - the motto Pro Patria Populoque translates as For country and people. Worshipful Company of Drapers - Azure three clouds with sunbeams issuing proper crowned with imperial crowns Or. (Arms shown are grant of 1438.) Courtenay - Or three torteaux in chief a label of three points Azure. The motto Ubi Lapsus Quid Feci translates as Whither fallen? What have I done? Redvers - Or a lion rampant Azure armed and langued Gules. Heath coat - Vert three piles Or one reversed in base between the others issuant from the chief each charged with a pomme thereon a cross of the second. Amory - Argent two bars Gules on a bend engrailed with plain cottises Sable two annulets of the field. Carew - Or three lioncells passant in pale Sable armed and langued Gules. (See Seaxe No.20 - December 1997) Newte - Gules a chevron between three human hearts Argent each pierced through with a sword in bend sinister proper hilt and pommel in chief Or. An Unique Hatchment - The Full Story by Joss & Peach Froggatt A new hatchment was placed in the Fitzalan Chapel Arundel Castle on 10th December 1997 All black background - 6' x 6' On a lozenge. Within the Garter. Quarterly, 1st Gules on a bend between six cross crosslets fitchy Argent the Augmentation of Flodden (Howard) 2nd Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure in chief a label of three points Argent (Brotherton) 3rd Chequy Or and Azure (Warren) 4th Gules a lion rampant Or armed and langued Azure (Fitzalan) impaling Per pale Sable and Azure two chevrons engrailed between three cross crosslets fitchy Or (Strutt) A Duchess's coronet and cape (the cape powdered with four rows of ermine tails). Supporters - Dexter - a lion Argent armed and langued Gules. Sinister - a horse Argent holding in his mouth a slip of oak Vert fructed proper. Under the lozenge the George suspended from the collar. All on a mantle gules lined and edged Ermine and fastened with cords arranged in four Stafford knots tasselled Or trimmed Gules for Lavinia Mary, Duchess of Norfolk, LG, CBE. Daughter of AlgernonHenryStrutt,3rdBaron Belper and of....eva (DBE.) daughter of Lord Aberdare and later Countess of Roseberry She married in 1937 Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard, KG, GCVO, GBE, TD, PC. 16th Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal She died 10th December He died in and now the story from JOSS The daughters of Lavinia, late Duchess of Norfolk, expressed a wish that a permanent memorial to their mother should be installed near to the brass monument to their father, the 16th Duke. Dr John M. Robinson, (Maltravers Herald) suggested that the finest way to display her unique coat of arms would be on a hatchment. A mass was held in the Fitzalan Chapel at Arundel Castle on 10th December 1997, the second anniversary of her death. The hatchment which had been made for this special occasion was blessed and dedicated by Canon Whale at the ceremony. The hatchment was made exclusively by Mrs M. R. (Peach) Froggatt who was personally responsible for the design, painting, finishing and framing. It is unique as it is the only non-royal hatchment showing the impaled arms of husband and wife on the same lozenge within the Garter. Moreover the Duchess, Lavinia, was the first female commoner to become a Companion of the order in accordance with the Statute of 1st October Page 4

5 Until his death in 1975 the 16th Duke, as Earl Marshal, had the responsibility for organising the state funerals of both George V and George VI and also the coronations of George VI and the present Queen. Other responsibilities were the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill and the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarvon Castle in The Duke was an excellent organiser and was keenly interested in the preservation of rural England. As a sportsman he was well known for his interest in horse racing in general and in the Turf Board and the Jockey Club in particular. He was also the Queen's representative at Ascot. His love of cricket was demonstrated when he acted as manager of the English cricket team on their tour of Australia in The Duke and Duchess had four daughters and, on the death of the Duke in 1975, he was succeeded by his cousin, Miles Francis Stapleton Fitzalan-Howard, KG, GCVO, CB, CBE, MC, 4th Baron Howard of Glossop. After the death of her husband the Dowager Duchess acted as Lord Lieutenant for West Sussex meeting foreign dignitaries arriving at Gatwick Airport. She was also involved in a number of charities. Her appointment as the first Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter came in 1990 but, unfortunately, she was unable to enjoy her unique status owing to failing health. [The illustration is of her Garter Banner - Eds] Joss goes on to give very precise technical details of the construction and painting of the hatchment for the more practical minded among us The frame, six feet square, was made to Peach's specification and was of Sapele Mahogany - a durable hardwood 5" x 1½" - moulded and rebated for gilding, - mortised and tenoned at the corners. After stretching the canvas was sized with conventional rabbit skin glue followed by two coats of pure white lead priming made by Peach as were all other paints used on the hatchment. Traditional linseed oil based paints were used - the colours selected for their permanence. The gilding using the Bule method was by 23½ carat Italian gold leaf. The canvas was finally fixed to the frame by Canadian Maple slats using brass screws: at the same time two heavy duty non-rusting marine carriage screws were fitted for hanging. The frame was polished black to an ebony finish. After the paint was dry a protective coat of ketone varnish was applied. This type of varnish is "water white" and non-yellowing. [The Middlesex Heraldry Society extend their heartiest congratulations to Peach (ably assisted by JOSS) and know that many members of their and other societies will be hurrying down to see this magnificent effort we reckon that "you know who" will be in the lead! - Eds] Page 5 Militaria No The Royal Leicestershire Regiment The Royal Leicestershire Regiment was another of the regiments raised in 1688 and was first known as Colonel Solomon Richard's Regiment of Foot Like most other infantry regiments it changed its name with each change of Colonel but in 1751 it became the 17th Regiment of Foot; later changes altering this to the 17th (or the Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot in 1782 and to the Leicestershire Regiment in In 1946 it became a "royal" regiment but sadly the honour was short lived as in 1964 it became the 4th (Leicestershire) Battalion The East Anglian Regiment. In 1968 worse was to befall when "Leicestershire"was removed from the title but the final insult came when the 4th Battalion was disbanded in 1970 and the affiliation with the county was transferred to the 2nd Battalion. The colours are laid up in St. Martin's Church, Leicester. The regiment served at the defence of Ladysmith in the Boer War and among its many battle honours are Aisne, Armentieres, Neuve Chapelle, Somme, Ypres, Cambrai, from the Great War and Norway, Tobruk, Sidi Barani, North Africa, Crete, Italy, and Chindits (Burma) World War II. The regiment also served in Korea. The regimental badge was described as - on a from ground the Royal Tiger superscribed HINDOOSTAN. The badge of the Royal Anglian Regiment was described and illustrated in Seaxe No. 11 of June The Victoria Cross has been won by four members of the regiment - one in the Crimean War and three in the Great War. The first award was to Lance-Sergeant P. Smith at Sevastopol on 18th June Another VC was won by Lieutenant J.C. Barrett of the l/5th Bn. during the attack on Pontruet on 24th September Owing to darkness and the smoke barrage many troops lost direction and this officer found himself advancing towards a trench of great containing numerous machine guns. strength Without hesitation Lt Barrett collected all available men and charged the nearest group of machine guns being wounded on the way. In spite of this he took the trench and vigorously attacked the garrison, personally disposing of two machine guns and inflicting many casualties. He was again severely wounded but climbed out of the trench to fix his position and to locate the enemy. Although

6 exhausted by his wounds he gave detailed orders to his men to cut their way back to the battalion - refusing help himself he was again so badly wounded that he could not move and had to be carried out. It was due to his coolness and grasp of the situation that any of his party were able to get out alive. The rather uninspired nicknames of The Royal Leicestershire Regiment were The Tigers, The Bengal Tigers, The Green Tigers and The Lily Whites. The first three resulted from the granting of a badge of the royal tiger to honour the regiment's outstanding services in India ( ) - the last was in reference to the period after 1881 when white were used on the uniforms. The motto of the regiment was - Veni et Vici facings (I came and I conquered) - used only between 1841 and [Our researches have failed to find a reason for this - and BT have no current telephone number for the Regimental Museum - can any of our readers help? Eds] The Regimental Headquarters is The Keep, Gibraltar Barracks, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and recruiting now covers a wide area of East Anglia and the East Midlands as detailed in Seaxe No.11 of June More About Nicknames from Peter Bentley Peter served with the Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regiment in India and tells us that they were known over there as the Beds and Charpoys. The reason is obvious to anyone who has spent time in the forces in India but whether apposite or not well? Remember, Remember Plot No - not the Gunpowder But a delightful set of five stamps depicting The Queen's Beasts will be issued on Tuesday, 24th February 1998 The Chiltern Heraldry Group Insignia of Office by Steven Slater on Saturday, 14th March, 1998 in the Long Room, Wallingford Community Centre. Beauty from Bath Roland Symons who hides his light under a bushel and yet is a quite brilliant heraldic artist has asked if we would make known to our readers the current availability of colouring-in sheets which he produces to raise funds for The Bath Heraldry Society. They are produced in both A3 and A4 sizes (although Roland suggests that A4 shields may be rather small for colouring) and cost 1 for a single sheet or 50p each for two or more. The cost includes post and packing and, as two of the many owners of these splendid sheets, your editors can thoroughly recommend them as "musts" for your collection. The full list is:- 1. BATTLES - Bannockburn 1314 Crecy 1346 Agincourt 1415 Bosworth 1485 Lansdown 1643 DDay 1944 Arnhem THE HERALDS Garter King of Arms Clarenceux King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms Lord Lyon King of Arms 3. KNIGHTS - G.C.V.O.s - a selection Of The Garter Of The Thistle ECCLESIASTICAL - Dioceses of England Archbishops of York & (2 sheets) Bishops of Bath & Wells Bath Abbey Vault & Stuart Arms (2 sheets) Bath Abbey Vault: The Kemble Restoration (2 sheets) 5. PRIME MINISTERS of GREAT BRITAIN Orders and remittances should be sent to - Roland Symons, 20, Southdown Bath, BA2 1HY Avenue, Stop Press! Chairman Kay has asked Roland to produce "Bishops of London" - these should soon be available but one or two of the charges are causing him Next Meetings The Powder Treason by Don & Marjorie Kirby trouble! on Thursday, 19th March 1998 A Dip into Rolls of Arms by Marian Miles, MBE on Thursday, 16th April 1998 Meetings begin at 2.30pm and are followed by a light tea provided by members. Visitors welcome. All meetings are held in the Library, Ruislip Manor at 8.00pm Page 6