FLHIG

Family and Local History
Indexing Group

Selected articles from the Newsletter

This article first appeared in SIGGNL 8  (February 1995)

The Indexes in the College of Arms
by Jane Nickels
Assistant Librarian, The College of Arms
 

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College is a corporation of thirteen members, three Kings of Arms, six Heralds and four Pursuivants under the Earl Marshal of England, the Duke of Norfolk.  They are members of the Royal Household being appointed by the Queen with Letters Patent under the Great Seal.  Heralds have been part of the Royal Household since the thirteenth century but were not constituted into a corporation until Richard III gave them their first Charter in 1484.  The present incorporation dates from the Charter of Philip and Mary of 1555.

The manuscripts in the College of Arms therefore reflect the long history of the heraldic office and the many and various records generated by the study of heraldry and genealogy.  The manuscript holdings are split into two types, Records and Collections.  The Records are the official registers of the work of the College, i.e. the granting of Arms and recording of pedigrees, while the Collections mainly comprise the personal libraries and research of past Heralds.  They are described by Sir Anthony Wagner in his booklet The records and collections of the College of Arms.  Some of the older Collections have been described and listed in A catalogue of manuscripts in the College of Arms Collections, Volume I by Campbell and Steer.

The indexes in the College of Arms are a working tool and comprise many alphabetical sequences to the various manuscripts in the College.  Many are still being added to as the College still generates new coats of arms and pedigrees, while other, older, indexes are being revised and updated on a regular basis.  There are two types of index in the College, banks of card indexes and indexes in book form.  The card indexes cover the Records and other older manuscripts as well as many miscellaneous Collections.  These are arranged alphabetically by surname and christian name, which are sometimes qualified by a date.  The indexes in book form are to individual Collections and to the grants of Arms and Visitations.  There is also a card index to the extensive printed book libraries in the College which complement the manuscript holdings.

All these indexes are not open to the public and are used by the Heralds and their staff in the day-to-day business of the College.  The only index to be published so far is that to the Bigland Pedigrees by the Harleian Society.  Any enquiries of an heraldic or genealogical nature should be addressed to the Officer in Waiting, The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4BT.  Tel: 0171-248-2762.

CAMPBELL, Louise & STEER, Francis, A catalogue of manuscripts in the College of Arms collections, v. 1.  London: College of Arms, 1988.

GWYNN-JONES, P. Ll. & TOVEY, S. (Eds.) The Bigland Pedigree Index: an index to the pedigrees in the genealogical manuscripts of Sir Ralph Bigland, Garter King of Arms, from a manuscript index in the College of Arms, London: [Harleian Society], 1990.  (Publications of the Harleian Society.  New ser., v.9)

WAGNER, Anthony Richard, The records and collections of the College of Arms.  London: Burke’s Peerage, 1952.

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