X-Nico

3 unusual facts about College of Arms


City and County of Swansea Council

The official coat of arms used by the council today were granted by the College of Arms in 1922.

Coat of arms of the Isle of Wight

Under the terms of the grant by the College of Arms, they can not be used by other organisations associated with the Isle of Wight, even with the council's permission.

Walter of Coventry

A complete text of the Barnwell chronicle is preserved in the College of Arms' (Heralds' College, manuscript 10) but has never yet been printed, though it was collated by Bishop Stubbs for his edition of the Memoriale.


George Nayler

Sir George Nayler, KH (bapt. 29 June 1764, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire – 28 October 1831, Hanover Square, Mayfair) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.

Heraldic badge

Heraldic badges were revived in 1906 by the College of Arms under Alfred Scott-Gatty, and have since then often been included in new grants of arms, in addition to the traditional grant of the coat of arms.

Inspector of Regimental Colours

The Inspector of Regimental Colours is an officer of arms responsible for the design of standards, colours and badges of the British Army and of those Commonwealth states where the College of Arms has heraldic jurisdiction.

Roll of the Peerage

It was created by Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II dated 1 June 2004, is maintained by the Crown Office within the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice, and is published by the College of Arms.

Vivian Ridler

Among Ridler's productions were Stanley Morison's book on the Fell types, facsimiles of Eliot's Waste Land and the Constable Sketchbooks and The Great Tournament Roll for the British College of Arms.

Walter of Guisborough

There are several manuscripts of the history extant, the best perhaps being that presented to the College of Arms by the Earl of Arundel.


see also

Colleges of the University of Oxford

Under King Henry VIII Oxford colleges were granted exemption from having their arms granted by the College of Arms; and some, like Lady Margaret Hall, have chosen to take advantage of this exemption, whilst others, such as Oriel, despite having used the arms for many centuries, have recently elected to have the arms granted officially.

Edward Dendy

Edward Stephen Dendy (1812-1864), long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms during the 19th Century

Liver bird

The College of Arms refers to the bird as a cormorant, adding that the sprig in the mouth is of laver, a type of seaweed, thus implying that the bird's appellation comes from the sprig.

Ralph Bigland

Along with his friend and colleague Sir Isaac Heard, he helped to reestablish the College of Arms as the center of genealogical study in England.

Robin de La Lanne-Mirrlees

In the story, James Bond's cover as genealogist Sir Hilary Bray was based on the Count's current position as heraldic researcher at the College of Arms in London.

Rouge Dragon Pursuivant

The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street : being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee, Walter H. Godfrey, assisted by Sir Anthony Wagner, with a complete list of the officers of arms, prepared by H. Stanford London, (London, 1963)

White Lion Society

Brooke-Little explained that the late Charles Wilfrid Scott-Giles, Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary, had previously suggested the same idea, giving it the notional name of The White Lion Society after the heraldic supporters of the College of Arms being two white lions taken from the Earl Marshal's Mowbray Supporters.