Lecture by Secretary to the Thistle

 Elizabeth Roads, Secretary to the Thistle and lately Snawdoun Herald, gave a fascinating talk by Zoom to a huge audience this evening for The Heraldry Society on the Order of the Thistle.

Stories from the Register - John Stewart Birrell

 Today, February 22nd marks the centenary of the Arms granted to John Stewart Birrell, eponymous proprietor of one of Glasgow's best-loved institutions. The cocoa-tree crest and the three "chequy roundels" like  foil-wrapped sweets give the clue to the nature of the business.

One of Birrell's glorious Art Deco shopfronts

courtesy of Glasgow City Heritage Trust

Arma Scotica - Call for Subscribers

  Eilean and John Malden are among the most distinguished scholars of Scottish heraldry in the world, and are preparing another of their fine volumes from historical sources and now calling for advance subscribers. This is a major work of scholarship and highly recommended.

To Celebrate the 350th Anniversary of the Register of all Armorial bearings in Scotland

The Arma Scotica

A Survey of pre 1707 Armorial Manuscripts containing Scottish material

By John and Eilean Malden

It is proposed to publish this book and we ask for those people who are interested in purchasing a copy to indicate their interest by contacting us at ArmaScotica@outlook.com

The proposed publication contains 130 separate references to mss. These take the form of a data sheet on each ms, accompanied by a sample illustration of a folio from it. The data sheet will include present title, exact location and reference numbers, size, binding, number of coats, whether painted, tricked or written, water marks, etc and an exact breakdown of the numbers of coats for nobles, gentlemen and others. No other publication has attempted this level of detail. The water marks have been examined, where possible.

Stories from the Register - Sir Hugh Reid of Springburn Bt.

 

Sir Hugh Reid of Springburn Bt. matriculated arms on February 16th 1922. 

Reid was chairman and managing director of the North British Locomotive Company and Brigadier of the Royal Company of Archers. He was Lord Dean of Guild of Glasgow 1916-1918, an office also held by his father, James Reid, from 1893-1894. Sir Hugh also held the office of President of the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts between 1925 and 1929.

Reid's company provided 18,000 locomotives to all parts of the British Empire. Even today many of the locomotives, with their distinctive diamond-shaped work plates, are still in use in South Africa and India as well as Argentina and Peru - one of them rescued Tintin in "The Broken Ear" in 1935.

His eldest son, James, was killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915. Sir Hugh was a noted philanthropist, and especially generous to his home area of Springburn where his factory was located. Among his many gifts to the area was the Springburn Winter Garden, now happily being restored under the auspices of an energetic Trust. 

A postcard from around 1922 showing the Winter Gardens at Springburn Park.

The Public Register of All Armorial Bearings of Scotland

1672-2022

From our Files 150 years ago

 From our files 150 years ago: the arms of Henry Campbell-Bannerman, son of a Glasgow Lord Provost and later himself Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

His father, Sir James Campbell of Stracathro, had matriculated twice. First of all in 1859:

He found the arms too fussy and re-matriculated 10 years later:

350th Anniversary Lectures - March 2022

 The first three of our free 350th Anniversary Lectures, celebrating the Public Register of All Armorial Bearings in Scotland, will take place in March. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.

Lecture 1: GLASGOW

Date:            Thursday, 3 March 2022

Venue:          Glasgow City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow G2 1DU

Time:            6:30 pm Registration, 7 pm Start, 8 pm to 9 pm Civic Reception 

People Make Heraldry: Stories from the Lyon Register

Speaker: Rothesay Herald, Liam Devlin

From its creation by the Scottish Parliament 350 years ago in the reign of Charles II, the Lyon Register has contained all the coats of arms in legal use in Scotland. We might think of it as a national memorial cairn, each individual stone telling the history of a person or a place. The opening talk of our year-long series will tell some of these personal stories from the Register, some moving, some shocking, some almost farcical as people have tried over the centuries to mark their place in the national memory.

Book here via Eventbrite.

Lecture 2: INVERNESS

Date:            Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Venue:          The Highland Council, Inverness Town House, High Street, Inverness,   IV1 1JJ

Heraldry – How and Why the Flowering?

Speaker: Gordon Casely, Heraldist and Journalist

When it comes to heraldry, Gordon Casely is an unashamed modernist who pushes forward with the present and the future. His lecture examines both the present, and some of the context that’s created this present. He reflects on both the rise in grants of arms across 21st-century Scotland, as well as the growing interest in heraldry.

He asks how and why this has occurred, and how arms have been put to use – and raises the dual questions of how we ensure that more people take up heraldry and gain arms. Or gain arms and then take up heraldry.

Book here via Eventbrite.

Lecture 3: ABERDEEN

Date:            Wednesday, 16 March 2022

Venue:          Council Chamber, Town House, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1LP

Time:            6:30 pm Registration, 7 pm Start, 8 pm to 9 pm Civic Reception

The Pride of Lyons

Speaker: Mark Dennis, Advocate and Armorist

For at least seven hundred years Scotland has always had two kings:  our Sovereigns, of course, but also their ‘familiar daylie servitour’, their Lord Lyon, King of Arms.  Still one of the great officers of state, our Lyons have managed royal and national ceremony, acted as ambassadors and headed the heraldic executive through the rise and fall of dynasties, interregna, and both foreign and civil wars.  Their stories are as varied and volatile as the times in which they served. This talk may be seen as a genial ‘photo safari’ of our Lyons across the broad savannah of Scots history from the, relative, safety of the 21st century.

Book here via Eventbrite.

Queen's Green Canopy

 The Lord Lyon has planted a plum tree in the garden of New Register House on behalf of the Lyon Court and the National Records of Scotland, as part of the Queen's Green Canopy, marking the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty's accession to the throne.

 

Lyon Office Re-Opening Arrangements

 The Lyon Office has continued its work throughout the pandemic.  In light of the First Minister’s recent statement and changes to the Scottish Government’s guidance the Lyon Office is operating hybrid working arrangements with staff working from the Lyon Office and from home. 

From Monday 7 February 2022 the Lyon Office will be pleased to receive enquiries by telephone on 0131 556 7255 (+ 44 (0)131 556 7255) and will continue to receive enquiries by email to lyonoffice@gov.scot and by post to The Court of the Lord Lyon, H.M. New Register House, Edinburgh, EH1 3YT.

The Lyon Office will welcome members of the public by appointment between 10.30 am and 2.30 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Parties will be limited to two people.  To arrange an appointment please contact the Lyon Office by email, by telephone or by post.

 These working arrangements will be monitored and will reviewed in the middle of March 2022.  Notice of changes to these working arrangements will be given on the website. 

Vivat Regina!

 The Lord Lyon and Officers of Arms sent The Queen an illuminated vellum scroll in honour of the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty's accession to the throne. Here it is prior to receiving signatures.

  

Happy Candlemas Day

 Today is the Feast of the Presentation, the day when Mary, in accordance with Jewsh custom, presented her son at the Temple and was purified forty days after the birth. Commonly known as Candlemas, here are two good candle-related examples from the Register.

First of all Madam Leask of Leask:

And now the Incorporation of Candlemakers of Edinburgh:

 

350th Anniversary Events

  The Lyon Office  announces the first half of its year-long events marking the 350th anniversary of the Public Register of All Armorial Bearings in Scotland. There will be events from Dumfries to Shetland.

Lecture One:           GLASGOW,  Thursday 3^rd March 2022, 6.30 for 7 p.m.

                                 Liam Devlin, Rothesay Herald

                                 Eventbrite link.

Lecture Two:            INVERNESS,  Tuesday 8^th March 2022, 6.30 for 7 p.m.

                                 Gordon Casely FHSS

                                 Eventbrite link.

Lecture Three:          ABERDEEN,  Wednesday 16^th March 2022, 6.30 for 7 p.m. 

                                   Mark Dennis FHSS, former Ross Herald Extraordinary

                                 Eventbrite link      

Lecture Four:            EDINBURGH, Thursday 28^th April 20 22, 6.30 for 7 p.m.

                                  Professor Gillian Black, Linlithgow Pursuivant Extraordinary

                                  Eventbrite link.

Lecture Five:             DUMFRIES, Thursday 12^th May 2022, 6.30 for 7 p.m.

                                  Philip Tibbetts, March Pursuivant Extraordinary

                                  Eventbrite link.

Lecture Six:               PERTH, Tuesday 14^th June 2022, 6.30 for 7 p.m.

                                  Roderick Macpherson, Unicorn Pursuivant

                                  Eventbrite link.

Full details of all the talks can be found HERE.

Do sign up with Eventbrite if you wish to join us at any of the talks.

The second half of the year's events will be announced at a later date.