Chester Herald

Chester Herald

The heraldic badge of Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary
Tradition	Gallo-British
Jurisdiction	England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Governance	College of Arms

Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The office of Chester Herald dates from the 14th century, and it is reputed that the holder was herald to Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince. In the reign of King Richard II the officer was attached to the Principality of Chester, which was a perquisite of the then Prince of Wales. In the reign of King Henry VIII the title lapsed for a time but, since 1525, the office of Chester has been one of unbroken succession, as a herald in ordinary. The badge of office is taken from the arms of the Earl of Chester and in blazoned as A Garb ensigned of the Royal Crown Or.

The current Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary is Timothy Hugh Stewart Duke, MA (Cambridge).

Holders of the office

Brackets indicate a date or approximate date for which there is evidence that the named person was holder of this office. The reigning monarch is given if the date is not known more precisely.

• (1393) John (surname unknown)
• 1398-1413 William Bruges
• (Hen VI) James Billett
• 1443-1447 William Tyndale or Tendale
• (1447) John Tyndale
• (Hen VI) William Whiting
• (1455) John Water or Walter
• (Hen VI/Edw IV) Richard Stanton
• (Edw IV) Roger Stamford
• (1483) Roger Bromley, Esq.
• (1493) Thomas Whiting, Esq.
• 1533-1540 Randolph Jackson, Esq.
• 1540-1561 William Flower, Esq.
• 1562-1566 Robert Cooke, Esq.
• 1566-1574 John Hart, Esq.
• 1574-1592 Edmund Knight, Esq.
• 1592-1603 James Thomas, Esq.
• 1603-1617 William Penson, Esq.
• 1617-1618 Thomas Knight, Esq.
• 1618-1637 Henry Chitting, Esq.
• 1638-1644 Edward Walker Esq.
• 1644-1660 William Dugdale, Esq.
• 1660-1667 Thomas Lee, Esq.
• 1677-1689 Thomas May Esq.
• 1689-1721 Charles Mawson, Esq.
• 1721-1739 Edward Stibbs, Esq.
• 1739-1752 Francis Hutchenson, Esq.
• 1752-1790 John Martin Leake, Esq.
• 1791-1834 George Martin Leake , Esq.
• 1834-1859 Walter Aston Blount, Esq., FSA
• 1859-1864 Edward Stephen Dendy, Esq.
• 1864-1913 Henry Murray Lane, Esq.
• 1913-1915 Thomas Morgan Joseph-Watkin, Esq.
• 1915-1926 Sir Arthur William Stuart Cochrane, KCVO
• 1926-1956 Sir John Dunamace Heaton-Armstrong, MVO
• 1956-1960 James Arnold Frere, Esq., FSA
• 1960-1971 Sir Walter John George Verco, KCVO
• 1978-1995 David Hubert Boothby Chesshyre, Esq., CVO, FSA
• 1995-Present Timothy Hugh Stewart Duke, Esq.

See also

• Heraldry
• Officer of Arms

References

• 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)
• A History of the College of Arms &c, Mark Noble, (London, 1804)

External links

• The College of Arms
• CUHGS Officer of Arms Index
• Their armorial shields