Coates of Arms

[Sisterjane]

Is there some sort of special club you have to be in to apply for a coat of arms or can you just buy the one you want,
Also are there any rules regarding using one.

Ive never thought about it before but having a pint and a chat with a chap in the local we got talking about it and he thought there were certain rules and regulations about them but unsure as to what they are.

So I thought Iwould ask all you knowledgable rootschatters if any of you know anything about it.

Thanks

Joe

[Chorlton]

There is a government web site about this, and one quote is:

"For any person to have a right to a coat of arms they must either have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past"

The web site is http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/

Having said that, there are many companies who will sell you "any old coat of arms".

[stanmapstone]

Go to their FAQs page at http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Faq.htm
Stan

[stanmapstone]

The position is different in Scotland.  The system of heraldry in Scotland is probably the most simple and well governed in the world. Since 1672, the Lord Lyon has had full legal control of all coats of arms. The willful use of a coat of arms not granted by the Lord Lyon can bring a jail sentence or fine today, just as it did 300 years ago. A Lyon Register that now fills some fifty volumes ensures that no person may legally use arms that have not been registered in his own name.
Stan

[Sisterjane]

Wow thanks guys the links make facsinating reading.

I remember about 40 year back at junior school our class had to draw what we thought would be our family coat of arms.
The teacher gave us all a sheet of paper with the "Badge" part already printed and I drew a man (my dad) holding a spade (he was a very keen gardener) and that picture still exsists today amongst his papers we found when he passed away in 1987.

Thanks again guys

Joe

[stanmapstone]

According to the practice if not the theory of the law in recent centuries, any person in England may with impunity take to himself any armorial bearings he pleases, except the arms of Kingston-upon-Hull [The Times 26th October 1954]
However the High Court of Chivalry has had jurisdiction over cases of misuse of arms since the 14th century. It is a civil court, with the Earl Marshal as the sole judge from 1521. The most recent case was Manchester Corporation v Manchester Palace of Varieties (21st Dec.1954), when a theatre was successfully sued for illegal display of the arms belonging to the corporation.
Before this case the last time the Court sat was in 1737.
Stan