Heydon Monument
An elegant monument at the east end of the south aisle, with the figures of Sir William Heydon in full armour, spurred but without helmet or sword, and behind him, his wife with head-dress and large ruff; they are kneeling on decorated cushions coloured pink above and green below. The arches of pink marble are finely carved. An inscription above the figure tell us that Sir William died on 19 March 1593, aged 54 and four months, He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk and High Sheriff, a JP and admiral of the admiralty court. His wife Anna was the daughter of Sir William Woodhouse of Hickling.
Monument to Sir William and Lady Heydon
There are two shields. The first, above the figures, is raised and coloured: Quarterly of seven: 1, Quarterly Argent and Gules a Cross engrailed counterchanged – HEYDON, 2, Argent a four Windmill sails conjoined Sable – LOVERD, 3, Azure a Garb Or – UNIDENTIFIED, 4, Quarterly Gules and Vert over all a Lion rampant Argent – OULTON, 5, Chequy Or and Azure on a Canton Gules a Lion rampant Argent – WARREN of Lincolnshire, 6, Or on a Chevron Gules three Swans – UNIDENTIFIED, 7 Azure semy of Cross-crosslets three Lozenges Or – WARREN of Stockport17. The crests are now missing, but were: 1, a talbot statant ermine, Heydon; 2, A griffin segreant Or – Woodhouse of Waxham, 3, Heydon.
Heydon shield
Ashill
This small village has a remarkable piece of history, dating back to Henry I’s coronation on the 6August, 1100, when William Hastyngs held the manor by grand serjeanty, as Steward to the King. The Oxford English Dictionary quotes Sir H. Finch in 1636: “Every grand Serjeanty is a tenure in chiefe, being of none but the King, to doe unto him a more special service whatsoever by the person of a man, as to bear his Banner or Lance, to lead his horse, to carry the sword before him at his coronation, [etc].”
William’s task was to be responsible for the napery – the table linen, etc., – at Henry’s coronation; and as a perk of the post he was entitled to all the linen for himself after the ceremony. These posts became hereditary. Other grand serjeants led the army as marshal, or found men or knights to serve, or performed duties pertaining to the defence of the realm.
Petite serjeantry, on the other hand, was a lesser form of service such as carrying to the king a bag, or brooch, an arrow, or a bow without string”, again as a sort of rent for the tenure of land from the king. The much commoner tenure was by Knight’s fee, the obligation to provide a knight and supporting esquires, archers, men-at-arms, and their horses, for service in times of conflict.
The office passed to William’s grandson Henry, being tied to the manor of Uphall at Ashill. Henry marriedAda, daughter of David, Earl of Huntington, and this led in Edward II’s time to his descendant’s claim to the throne ofEngland. This Henry died in 1249, and his son held the office as the King’s pantler. He married Joan, the daughter and heir of William de Cantilupe and in her right became Lord Abergavenny. Sir John de Hastyngs was his heir, and exercised the office at the coronation of Edward II; and it was Sir John who married first Isabel, the sister and co-heir of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and then another Isabel, daughter of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester, by whom the Hastings of Elsing descended.
The estate was subsequently sold, and when Sir Henry Bedingfeld in 1685 claimed the office as the current lord of the manor, it was judged that the grand serjeantry had ceased when the land was granted to Sir Henry’s ancestors.
ST NICHOLAS’ CHURCH
 Royal Arms, Ashill |
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Royal Arms 1801-1816 |
On the north wall of the nave is an interesting carved, restored and coloured ROYAL ARMS OF GEORGE III, be- tween 1801 &1816; below, a Tudor Rose, a Shamrock leaf, and a thistle all arising from the same stem, and on scrolls, the inscription, which Canon Stuart Nairn of Narburgh has kindly translated for me:
TOLLEMALOS TE IPSUM
SACRANE 1683
EXTOLLE PIOS COGNOSCELEGEM CONSULE
DISCE MORI
Bear your ills well, deport yourself holily, know the pious, recognise the law, learn how to die.
The significance of the date is unknown.
Quarterly 1& 4, Gules three Lions passant Guardant Or – ENGLAND; 2, Or a Lion rampant within a double tressure flo- ry counterflory Gules – SCOTLAND; 3, Azure a Harp Or stringed Argent – WALES; in pretence Tierced in pale reversed – HANOVER: i, Gules two Lions passant guardant in pale Or – BRUNSWICK; ii, Or semy of hearts Gules a Lion rampant Azure – LUNEBERG; iii, Gules a Horse courant Argent – WEST- PHALIA; overall an inescutcheon Gules charged with the golden Crown of CHARLEMAGNE, ensigned with the Electoral Bonnet of HANOVER.
Castle Acre
CASTLE ACRE PRIORY
This was founded by William de Warenne, the first Earl of Surrey, to whom William the Conqueror gave the Lordship of this town, along with some 141 other lordships inNorfolk. It was a cell of the St Cluniac monastery ofLewes,Sussex, which was also founded by Earl Warenne. Castle Acre Priory was dedicated to God, St Mary, and the Apostles St Peter andSt Paul, and was richly endowed by Earl Warenne, his descendants, and by many others. It was eventually surrendered, with the manor, to Henry VIII in November 1533, and it was granted to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk in c.1548. Some 12 years later it passed to Thomas Gresham, who had earlier bought the Earl’s manor of Castle Acre from Henry Earl of Arundel.
Greshamconveyed both lordships to Thomas Cecil, later the Earl of Exeter; and his son sold them to Sir Edward Coke, whose descendant, Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester, held these, the lordship of Fox’s Manor, and the patronage of the vicarage.
On the large, free-standing Tudor gatehouse, which was erected about 1500 by Prior Winchelsea, there are five carved stone panels of arms, four in an upper row, and one below. Centrally, WARENNE, dexter, HENRY V, and FITZALAN/WARENNE, sinister, MALTRAVERS; below, the arms of the PRIORY OF CASTLE ACRE.
INSIDE CASTLE ACRE PRIORY
The Prior's Chamber
Within the ruins, up a narrow winding staircase to the Priors’ Chapel, there are two coats of arms on corbels with traces of colouring on both, possibly original. The corbel on the right appears to disrupt the lower column and the decorated arch of a sedilia; perhaps the part-roof was added later.
On the right is Chequy (Or and Azure). – WARENNE. This shield is finely
Warenne
diapered, or decorated with incised patterns. Traces of colour, almost certainly original, are to be seen on the darker squares, probably Azure which has darkened with age.
John of Gaunt
Supporting the other end of the roof beam is Quarterly: 1 and 4, (Azure) semé of Fleur-de-lis Or – FRANCE ANCIENT; 2 and 3, Gules three Lions passant (Or) – ENGLAND; with a label of five points Ermine; for JOHN OF GAUNT. The second point of the label from the left has a definite decoration. The dark blue, almost black, lines suggesting a fretty charge in the fourth quarter indicate the field; the interstices show definite fleurs-de-lis in between. This is an unusual way of depicting a field semé of fleur-de-lis.
Henry IV reduced the number of fleurs-de-lis from semé to three by 1406. John of Gaunt, fourth son of Edward III, KG and Duke of Lancaster, King of Castile and Leon, bore a label of three points (sometimes five) ermine with three spots of ermine on each point in pale; they derive from the ermine canton borne by John de Dreux, Count of Brittany and Earl of Richmond, on whose death in 1342 the Earldom of Richmond was conferred by Edward III on his son Prince John. John died in 1399, suggesting that these shields date from before that date. Gaunt was a considerable landowner inNorfolkat the time.
Breckles
ST MARGARET’S CHURCH
By the Priest’s door in the chancel is a ledger for John Webb, Esq., lord of the manor, who died 25 October 1658, aged 70; and Mary his wife, daughter of Sir Thomas Richardson, Lord Chief Justice of England, who died 10 March 1656, aged 56. (Gules) a Fess Ermine between three Owls (Or). – WEBB; impaling (Or) on a Chief (Sable) three Lions’ heads erased (Or).-RICHARDSON. A smaller almost round stone lies alongside the head of the ledger, and a buckle and strap is incised, half on each stone, joining the two ledgers together, with the words of the motto: STAT UT VIXIT ERECTA – Stand and live upright. This was for John Webb’s daughter, Ursula Hewytt, who asked in her will to be buried upright ; and so she was, when she died the same year as her father.
PUBLICATIONS
So far, five deaneries, each with about 45 churches, have been recorded and the results published. Each coat of arms has been drawn in colour in the first four volumes, but the advent of colour photography has seemed to make this task superfluous. Two more volumes await publication, and at least two more are in the process of being prepared for printing.
Previous volumes are held by Poppyland Publishing of4 Alfred Road,Cromer,NR27 9AN, or at http://www.poppyland.co.uk, and by the author of this blog.
The most recent volume, “Heraldry in Norfolk Churches, Volume 5, Breckland Deanery“, in addition to the churches, also contains over fifty pages recording the heraldry in Oxburgh Hall, now a National Trust property (to whom, thanks) and the residence of the Norfolk Heraldry Society’s founder and President, Sir Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, Norroy 
and Ulster King of Arms. In its 248 pages, almost A4 size, there are nearly 800 illustrations, almost all in colour, as well as details of the monuments and other artefacts and minor essays on heraldic matters. It is only available from the author, at ken.mourin@googlemail.com, at a price of £25.00, p. & p. £4.00. This material is also available on CD as a .pdf file, at a cost of £10.00, p. & p. £1.50.
Heraldry in Norfolk Churches, volume 1, Brisley and Elmham
- Vol 1, Brisley & Elmham Deanery
Deanery” by Ken Mourin, is out of print, but a full-colour photocopy, A4 size, 64 pages with 200 computer-drawn colour shields of all the coats of arms found in the book, on seven plates. A bibliography of sources, an Index of Arms, and a list of heraldic terms, are included. The volume is priced at £10.50, with postage and packing £2.50 extra.
“Heraldry in Norfolk Churches, volume 2, Burnham and
Vol 2, Burnham & Walsingham Deanery
Walsingham Deanery“, by Ken Mourin, has 94 pages including 10 colour plates of shields, with grey-scale illustrations of many of the heraldic artefacts and more extended descriptions of the locations and the families. a map, and the same index and heraldic terms. Priced at £10.50, p. & p. £2.50.
“Heraldry in Norfolk Churches, volume 3, West Norfolk between the Rivers Nene and Ouse” is by Robert Meeds, and follows the same format. Five colour plates of arms, index, terms, as before; this volume has several illustrations but mostly hand-drawn, and only a few photogr
aphs in its 84 pages. Priced at £12.00, p. & p. 2.50.
“Heraldry in Norfolk Churches, volume 4, Sparham Deanery“, by
Vol 4, Sparham Deanery
Ken Mourin, was the first volume to make full use of the digital camera, though printing costs meant that the illustrations of the heraldry are in grey-scale; however, many more are pictures. Nine colour plates of arms, the Index of Arms having blazons attached to each name; a General Index, and Bibliography. 128 pages, costs £14.00 with £3.00 postage and packing.
Past publications of interest, which will also be sampled in future posts, are:
Heraldic Monographs No.1 by John Dent, Hon, FHS, and published
Page from The Heraldry of Howard
posthumously after many years of study. “The Heraldry of Howard” was published in 2001, its 28 pages discuss the early branches of the Howard genealogy, with the arms in colour of each member within the text. There are six genealogical tables again with attached coloured shields. An Appendix lists the arms with blazons. Photocopied to special order, A4, card and laminate covers; comb binding; price £7.50 plus p. and p. £2.00.
Heraldic Monographs No.2 is “The Erpingham Window of The Austin
Page from The Erpingham Window
Friary Church at St Michael at Conisford“, reporting research by Ken Mourin. It reconstructs the window erected by Sir Thomas Erpingham to commemorate “all the Lords, barons, Bannerets, and Knights, that have died without male issue in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, since the coronation of the noble King Edward IIId”. The names were given in Blomefield’s History of Norfolk of 1806, though with little indication of the blason or layout. The arms have been researched and almost all identified; a layout suggested and drawn in full colour, with light-by-light descriptions of each departed warrior. 12 A4 pages, card and lamination covered and comb-bound. Priced at £7.50, p. and P. £2.00.
“The Hastings Brass at Elsing, Norfolk” by Ken Mourin, Heraldic
The Hastings Brass
Monographs No. 3, published in 2001. Its 64 pages describes the brass, with illustrations from an on-site rubbing for the purposes of this research, and comparing previous drawings by Cotman and Martin, with correction of past mistakes. The history of Sir Hugh Hastings and his family, and the famous Court of Chivalry proceedings held over the tomb in 1408, including a new translation of the Norman-French account in theCollege ofArms MS “Processus in Curia Marescalli”, are described; another appendix gives definitions of the terms used in describing armour. Priced at £10-50, with p. and p. £2.50.
To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty’s reign, the Norfolk
- Heraldry at Sandringham
Heraldry Society researched the heraldry to be found at Sandringham, on the gates and outside, and within the house itself. With permission, this has been published as Heraldic Monograph No. 4, “Heraldry at Sandringham“. An excerpt from the booklet is shown alongside. This is A4 size, comb-bound, in full colour; the arms on the gates, the heraldic shields around the saloon and the full achievement of Princess Alexandra, and their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in the windows above are shown. Furniture and firebacks are also photographed. Priced at £7.50, p. & p. £2.00.
The page illustrated here comes from a report of “A Display of
Page from "Heraldic Miscellanea"
Heraldry”, an exhibition in Norwich on the occasion of the Norwich-Rouen Twinning Weekend in 1978. The beginnings of Heraldry, the arms of the Dukes of Normandy and the Earls of Norfolk formed the subject matter of a highly successful display. John Dent* wrote the catalogue and had a major part in the exhibition’s production.The Norfolk Heraldry Society produces “The Norfolk Standard” three times a year with reports of meetings and papers on heraldic subjects. The archives from the Society’s founding contained many investigations into heraldry, and it was decided to collect these papers in two volumes and re-publish them, as “Heraldic Miscellanea“. Edited by Ken Mourin, Volume 1 covers the period from February 1976 to November 1978, and Volume 2, from February 1979 to November 1981. 290 by 190 mm, card bound, with many black and white illustrations and a wealth of information on diverse subjects, these are fascinating archives showing the variety of heraldry in many fields. Volume 1, with 130 pages, is priced at £14.00, and Volume 2, with 100 pages, is £12.00, both with p. and p. of £2.50.
In 1996, the Society mounted a full-day Symposium, titled “Nestroque”, in Norwich Cathedral on Sir Thomas Erpingham, who commanded the archers at Agincourt. The title derived from Erpingham’s command, recorded by the French Heralds, and mystifying them and everyone since – till one of our speakers, fresh to Norfolk, heard Norfolk spoken, and immediately translated the word as “Now Strike”!
Penelope Knee* made a banner bearing Erpingham’s arms, and this was proudly presented to the cathedral where it now hangs to mark the site of the warrior’s tomb.
The presentations, by Matthew Bennett, Anne Curry, Matthew Strickland, and Robert Hardy, together with papers on The Bowman by Paul Hitchin; Norwich, Norfolk and Sir Thomas Erpingham, by Ken Mourin*; The Erpingham gate, by Tony Sims*, The Erpingham Chasuble, by Gilly Wraight; The Heraldry of Agincourt, by Elizabeth Armstrong*; and The Heralds at the time of Agincourt by Henry Paston-Bedingfeld*, at the time York Herald of Arms, now Norroy and Ulster King of Arms (* indicates members of the Society) were edited by Anne Curry and published by Tempus in 2000. ISBN 0 7524 1780 0.The Norfolk Heraldry Society’s new coat of arms was presented to York Herald on the same occasion.
1996 was also the year of the 900th anniversary of the founding of Norwich Cathedral, which was marked by the issue of a large volume about the Cathedral, City and Diocese, in which Tony Sims* presented an excellent article on “Aspects of Heraldry and Patronage”, with a major review of the early heraldry to be found in the cathedral. Published by The Hambledon Press, ISBN 1 85285 134 1.
Norfolk hosted the Heraldry Society’s Conference inNorwich, when one of founder-members. the late John Dent*, was presented with an Honorary Fellowship of the Heraldry Society.
Ken Mourin* (2004) and Ron Fiske* (2011) have been awarded full Fellowship by that Society, of which Tony Sims* is currently Chairman of Council.
Details of membership of The Norfolk Heraldry Society can be found on their website, http://www.norfolkheraldry.org.uk . (* indicates members of the Society).
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We have about 650 medieval churches in Norfolk, most of them adorned with heraldry. On tomb chests and wall tablets, ancient brasses and modern memorials, ledger slabs on the floor, carved bench ends and pulpits, glorious stained glass windows, funeral hatchments, shields decorating the roof remembering past donors, bosses and spandrels, buttresses and porches – heraldry can be found in colour and plain, giving a key to the local people and their lives, the honours and the aspirations of the estate-owners, incumbents, merchants and warriors, and many others.
These have been recorded twice in the last 300 years. Frances Blomefield began publishing his eleven-volume Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk in 1805, and it was continued after his death by Charles Parkin, rector of Oxburgh. Another clergyman, the Rev. Edmund Farrer, compiled The Church Heraldry of Norfolk, which was confined to “all Coats of Arms on brasses monuments, slabs, hatchments, etc., to be found in the County”, published in three volumes beginning in 1887.
Visiting each of the churches, grouped by Deanery, has been a labour of love for the last twenty or so years. Records have been checked, losses, moved locations, and many new additions to the array have been carefully noted; and the coming of digital photography has enabled the capture in colour of each of the displays for the last few years (colour slides taken in the early years have been inadequate and are deteriorating fast – thank God for digital!).
Heraldry in Norfolk 