 Thearms of office of the Norroy and Ulster King of Arms | |
| Heraldic tradition | British |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | England north of theriver Trent andNorthern Ireland |
| Governing body | College of Arms |
Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincialKing of Arms at theCollege of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of theTrent andNorthern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is the older office, there being a reference as early as 1276 to a "King ofHeralds beyond the Trent in the North". The nameNorroy is derived from theOld Frenchnort roy meaning 'north king'.[1][2] The office ofUlster Principal King of Arms for All-Ireland was established in 1552 by KingEdward VI to replace the older post ofIreland King of Arms, which had lapsed in 1487.
Ulster King of Arms was not part of the College of Arms and did not fall under the jurisdiction of theEarl Marshal, being the heraldic authority for theKingdom of Ireland (the jurisdiction of the College of Arms being theKingdom of England andLord Lyon's Office that of theKingdom of Scotland).
Ulster was Registrar and King of Arms of theOrder of St Patrick. Norroy and Ulster King of Arms now holds this position,[citation needed] though no newknights of that Order have been created since 1936, and the last surviving knight died in 1974. Heraldic matters in theRepublic of Ireland are now handled by the office of the Chief Herald of Ireland (a part of theGenealogical Office in theNational Library).
Thearms of the new office of Norroy and Ulster King of Arms were devised in 1980 based on elements from the arms of the two former offices. They are blazoned:Quarterly Argent and Or a Cross Gules on a Chief per pale Azure and Gules a Lion passant guardant Or crowned with an open Crown between a Fleur-de-lis and a Harp Or.
The current Norroy and Ulster King of Arms isClive Cheesman who was appointed to the office on 14 November 2024.[3]
| Arms | Name | Dates of office | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Peter de Horbury | (1276) | ||
| Andrew | (1338) | |||
| John Othelake | 1386–1399 | |||
| Office holders referred to asLancaster King of Arms. This title was used for the King of Arms of the northern province in the reigns ofHenry IV,V andVI, instead of Norroy. | ||||
 | Richard Bruges | 1399–1426 | ||
 | John Ashwell | 1426–1436 | ||
 | William Boys | 1436–1447 | ||
 | William Tyndale | 1447–1464 | ||
| The title reverted toNorroy King of Arms. | ||||
 | Thomas Holme | 1464–1477 | ||
 | John Writhe | 1477–1478 | ||
 | John Moore | 1478–1493 | ||
 | Roger Machado | 1493-1493 | ||
 | Christopher Carlill | 1493–1510 | ||
 | Thomas Benolt | 1510-1510 | ||
 | John Yonge | 1510–1516 | ||
.svg) | Thomas Wall | 1516–1522 | ||
 | John Joyner | 1522-1522 | ||
 | Thomas Tonge | 1522–1534 | ||
 | Thomas Hawley | 1534–1536 | ||
 | Sir Christopher Barker | 1536 | ||
 | William Fellows | 1536–1546 | ||
 | Gilbert Dethick | 1546–1550 | ||
 | William Harvey | 1550–1557 | ||
 | Lawrence Dalton | 1557–1562 | ||
 | William Flower | 1562–1588 | ||
 | Edmund Knight | 1592–1593 | ||
 | William Segar | 1593–1603 | Morgan Coleman had also applied for the position.[4] | |
 | SirRichard St George | 1603–1623 | ||
 | SirJohn Burroughs | 1623–1634 | ||
 | SirWilliam le Neve | 1634–1635 | ||
 | SirHenry St George | 1635–1644 | ||
 | SirEdward Walker | 1644–1645 | ||
 | William Ryley | 1646–1658 | ||
 | George Owen | 1658–1660 | ||
 | SirWilliam Dugdale | 1660–1677 | ||
| SirHenry St George, the younger | 1677–1680 | ||
| SirThomas St George | 1680–1686 | ||
| SirJohn Dugdale | 1686–1700 | ||
 | Robert Devenish | 1700–1704 | ||
 | Peter Le Neve | 1704–1729 | ||
 | Stephen Leake | 1729–1741 | ||
 | John Cheale | 1741–1751 | ||
 | SirCharles Townley | 1751–1756 | ||
 | William Oldys | 1756–1761 | ||
 | Thomas Brown | 1761–1773 | ||
 | Ralph Bigland | 1773–1774 | ||
 | SirIsaac Heard | 1774–1780 | ||
 | Peter Dore | 1780–1781 | ||
 | Thomas Lock | 1781–1784 | ||
.svg) | George Harrison | 1784–1803 | ||
 | Ralph Bigland | 1803–1822 | ||
 | Edmund Lodge | 1822–1838 | ||
 | Joseph Hawker | 1838–1839 | ||
 | Francis Martin | 1839–1846 | ||
 | James Pulman | 1846–1858 | ||
 | Edward Howard-Gibbon | 1848–1849 | ||
 | Robert Laurie | 1849–1859 | ||
 | Walter Blount | 1859–1882 | ||
 | George Cokayne | 1882–1894 | ||
 | SirWilliam Weldon | 1894–1911 | ||
 | SirHenry Burke | 1911–1919 | ||
 | Charles Athill | 1919 | ||
 | William Lindsay | 1919–1922 | ||
 | Gordon Lee | 1922–1926 | ||
 | SirArthur Cochrane | 1926–1928 | ||
 | SirGerald Wollaston | 1928–1930 | ||
 | SirAlgar Howard | 1931–1943 | ||
| Title combined with Ulster King of Arms | ||||
| Arms | Name | Dates of office | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title formerlyIreland King of Arms | ||||
 | Bartholomew W. Butler | 1552–1566 | ||
 | Nicholas Narbon | 1566–1588 | ||
 | Christopher Ussher | 1566–1588 | ||
 | Daniel Molyneux | 1597–1629 | ||
 | Daniel Molyneux and Adam Ussher | 1629–1633 | ||
 | Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara | 1633–1655 | ||
 | Sir Richard Carney | 1655–1660 | ||
| SirRichard St George | 1660–1683 | ||
 | Sir Richard Carney and George Wallis | 1683–1698 | ||
 | William Hawkins | 1698–1722 | ||
| William Hawkins and John Hawkins | 1722–1759 | ||
 | James McCulloch | 1759–1765 | ||
| William Hawkins | 1765–1787 | Knighted 17 March 1783 | |
 | Gerald Fortescue | 1787–1788 | ||
| Rear Admiral SirChichester Fortescue | 1788–1820 | ||
 | Sir William Betham | 1820–1853 | ||
| SirBernard Burke | 1853–1892 | ||
 | SirArthur Vicars | 1893–1908 | ||
 | SirNevile Wilkinson | 1908–1940 | ||
| Vacant, duties performed byThomas Sadleir (Deputy Ulster) | ||||
| Duties in theRepublic of Ireland taken up by theChief Herald of Ireland | ||||
| Arms | Name | Dates of office | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Algar Howard | 1943–1944 | Howard was descended from theDukes of Norfolk; he was born inThornbury Castle, where he lived for many years.[5] Educated atKing's College London,[6] he was later admitted to the Inner Temple as a barrister. His first appointment at the College was in May 1911 asFitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary and he attended theInvestiture of Edward, Prince of Wales that year.[6] He was promoted toRouge Dragon Pursuivant that October, followed byWindsor Herald in 1919 and Norroy King of Arms in 1931, to which was added Ulster King of Arms in 1943.[6] After he resigned as Garter, he served as Extra Gentleman Usher to QueenElizabeth II from 1952 till his death, aged 89, in 1970.[5][7] | [6] |
| SirGerald Wollaston | 1944–1957 | A grandson of Sir Albert William Woods,[8] Wollaston was educated atHarrow School and thenTrinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1893 with a law degree.[9][10] He was called to the Bar in 1899, but joined the College three years later as Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary for the coronation of Edward VII. Appointments asBluemantle Pursuivant (1906),Richmond Herald (1919), and Norroy King of Arms (1928) followed.[9] Having served as Henry Farnham Burke's deputy for a year,[9] he succeeded him as Garter and oversaw the coronation of George VI; his experience and knowledge of ceremonial proved useful in assisting the young Earl Marshal. Earlier in his career, he was often called on to counsel in peerage cases.[10] A "most painstaking and skilled herald with special bent to ceremonial", he publishedThe Court of Claims in 1902, 1910 and 1936.[9] After his Gartership, he served as Norroy and Ulster until his death in 1957.[10] | [9] |
 | Aubrey Toppin | 1957–1966 | ||
 | Richard Graham-Vivian | 1966–1971 | ||
 | SirWalter Verco | 1971–1980 | ||
 | John Brooke-Little | 1980–1995 | Brooke-Little was educated atClayesmore School andNew College, Oxford, where his interest in heraldry grew and his friends included the future Garter, Colin Cole. He joined the Earl Marshal's staff in 1952 and was aGold Stick Officer at the coronation in 1953. Appointed Bluemantle Pursuivant in 1956 and Richmond Herald in 1967, Brooke-Little also served as Registrar at the College (1974–82), Norroy and Ulster King of Arms and Registrar of the Order of St Patrick (1980–85) and director of the Heralds' Museum from 1991 until his retirement. He foundedthe Heraldry Society in 1947 and was its Chairman for fifty years, after which he was its President; he edited its journal,The Coat of Arms, until 2004. His published work included updated editions ofBoutell's Heraldry and Fox-Davies'sComplete Guide to Heraldry. According toThe Daily Telegraph, he was the "brightest and ablest herald of his generation", but did not attain Gartership partly due to his "chaotic working practices". He died in 2006. | [11][12][13] |
 | Hubert Chesshyre | 1995–1997 | After attending Trinity College, Cambridge, andChrist Church, Oxford, and graduating from both universities, Chesshyre became Rouge Croix Pursuivant in 1970, before serving asChester Herald between 1978 and 1995 and Honorary Genealogist to theRoyal Victorian Order from 1987 to 2010. He has been a member of theWestminster Abbey Architectural Advisory Panel and the Heraldry Society's Council. Along with Thomas Woodcock, he co-authored theDictionary of British Arms: Medieval Armorial, volume 1. | [14][15] |
 | Thomas Woodcock | 1997–2010 | Woodcock was educated atDurham University andDarwin College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1975, but started work as a research assistant to Sir Anthony Wagner that year. He was appointed Rouge Croix in 1978, Somerset in 1982 and Norroy and Ulster in 1997. He has co-authored a number of works on heraldry, includingThe Oxford Guide to Heraldry (1988) and all four volumes ofDictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary (1992–2014).[16] | [17][18] |
 | Patric Dickinson | 2010 | Dickinson was educated atExeter College, Oxford, and was President of theOxford Union in 1972. A research assistant at the College of Arms since 1968, his first heraldic appointment was ten years later, when he became Rouge Dragon Pursuivant. Promotions to Richmond Herald (1989) and Norroy and Ulster King of Arms (2010) followed, before he became Clarenceux. Having served as the College's Treasurer since 1995, Dickinson was also the Earl Marshal's Secretary from 1996 to 2012 and has been President of the Society of Genealogists since 2005. | [19][20] |
 | SirHenry Paston-Bedingfeld | 2010–2014 | ||
 | Timothy Duke | 2014–2021 | ||
 | Robert Noel | 2021–2024 | ||
 | Clive Cheesman | 2024–present | [21] |
Citations
Word origin C15: Old Frenchnor north +roy king
"Norroy King of Arms", the most ancient of the heraldic sovereigns in England possesses as his province, England north of the Trent. He is the North King — "Norroy." The English Heralds bear the designation of "Windsor", "Chester", "Somerset", "Lancaster", "York" and "Richmond" the Pursuivants, are known by the names of "Rouge Dragon", "Rouge Croix", "Bluemantle" and "Portcullis." The date of the creation of the historic and dignified office of Garter King of Arms may be fixed with certainty to have been between May and September, 1417. The first Garter was William Bruges, originally styled "Guyenne King of Arms" and subsequently "Garteir Roy d'Armes des Anglois." By the constitution of King Henry VIII., it was provided that Garter should be Sovereign within the College of Arms above all the other officers...
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