CityandLivery

Raising the standard of heraldic knowledge among the Livery - aptly by opening with my own heraldic standard! Petitioning for a grant of arms is, without a doubt, among the most unusual things I have done and yet it has been one of the most fascinating experiences, triggering a study of the subject that has proven immensely rewarding. The result of the petitioning process will also outlast me because arms are hereditary in English law and have already passed to my children. I believe that every Liveryman should, if they have the qualification, means and motivation, petition the Crown for a grant of arms to continue the City's centuries old custom of burgesses acquiring armorial bearings. When the Heralds last conducted a systematic survey of armigerous persons in the City of London the late 1700s almost 1 in 3 of the residents of some of the City's wards were armigerous (had a lawful right to armorial bearings). That is a vast concentration of gentry in a tiny area and ref...

This blog article is based on an interview I conducted with Keith Lawrey, winner of the City Livery Club's Root and Branch Award (2017). The Root and Branch Award recognises the Liveryman who has made an outstanding contribution to the wider aims of the Livery, and is usually presented by the Lord Mayor of London at the City Livery Club's annual civic luncheon in the City. Keith achieved his award for decades of pro bono work for the Livery Companies specifically guiding them through the process of obtaining a first Royal Charter, supplemental Royal Charters or making amendments to an existing Royal Charter. In 2020 I conducted a further podcast interview with Charles Hughes, Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. It was during Charles' year as Master that the Company's Royal Charter was presented. This article explores the reasons why a Livery Company would want to petition the Crown for a Royal Charter and the process as it stands to...

This article is the second in a two part series that provides Liverymen with the knowledge required to learn their heraldic ABC (Arms, Badge and Crest). It is not intended to explain the coat of arms of each and every Livery Company, there are two excellent books that do that far better than I can (details at the bottom of this article). This second part explains an Armorial Achievement and its component parts. If you haven't already done so you may wish to read the first part on debunking the myths of heraldry before going further. What's an Armorial Achievement? Early in 2017 my daughter joined the Brownies and quickly made a plan to obtain every badge by Christmas 2018. She is making rapid progress against that plan and my wife and I have already sewn nine badges on her sash. The sash is a visual record of my daughter's achievements and affiliations of which she is rightly proud to display. The badges are arranged in a particular order and only granted when she h...