Heraldic visitation


Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the coats of arms of nobility, gentry and boroughs, and to record pedigrees. They took place from 1530 to 1688, and their records provide important source material for historians and genealogists.

Visitations in England

Process of visitations

By the fifteenth century, the use and abuse of coats of arms was becoming widespread in England. One of the duties conferred on William Bruges, the first Garter Principal King of Arms, was to survey and record the armorial bearings and pedigrees of those using coats of arms and correct irregularities. Officers of arms had made occasional tours of various parts of the kingdom to enquire about armorial matters during the fifteenth century. However, it was not until the sixteenth century that the process began in earnest.
The first provincial visitations were carried out under warrant granted by Henry VIII to Thomas Benolt, Clarenceux King of Arms dated 6 April 1530. He was commissioned to travel throughout his province with authority to enter all homes and churches. Upon entering these premises, he was authorized to "put down or otherwise deface at his discretion... those arms unlawfully used". He was also required to enquire into all those using the titles of knight, esquire, or gentleman and decided if they were being lawfully used.
By this writ, Henry VIII also compelled the sheriffs and mayors of each county or city visited by the officers of arms to give aid and assistance in gathering the needed information. When a King of Arms, or Herald, visited a county, his presence was proclaimed by presenting the King's royal commission to the local gentry and nobility, which required them to provide evidence of their right to use a coat of arms. The Sheriff would collect from the bailiff of each hundred within his county a list of all people using titles or arms.
In the early days, the visiting herald would tour the homes of the gentry and nobility, but from the late 1560s these persons were summoned to attend a central "place of sitting" – usually an inn – at a particular time. They were to bring their arms, and proof of their right to use them, most often by way of detailing their ancestral right to them, which would also be recorded. Where an official grant of arms had been made, this was also recorded. Other ancient arms, many of which predated the establishment of the College of Arms, were confirmed. The officer would record the information clearly and make detailed notes that could be entered into the records of the College of Arms when the party returned to London.
These volumes now make up the collection of Visitation Books at the College, which contain a wealth of information about all armigerous people from the period. If the officers of arms were not presented with sufficient proof of the right to use a coat of arms, they were also empowered to deface monuments which bore these arms and to force persons bearing such arms to sign a disclaimer that they would cease using them. The visitations were not always popular with members of the landed gentry, who were required to present proof of their gentility.
Following the accession of William III in 1689, no further commissions to carry out visitations were commanded. The reasons behind this cessation of the programme have been a matter of debate among historians. Philip Styles, for example, related it to a declining willingness of members of the gentry to attend visitations, which he traced to a growing proportion of "newly risen" families, who lacked long pedigrees and were therefore apathetic about registering them. However, Janet Verasano has challenged this interpretation, finding that gentry enthusiasm for coats of arms as an enhancement to social standing persisted to the end of the 17th century. The end of the visitations did not have much effect on those counties far removed from London, some of which had only been rarely visited over the entire period of the visitations.
There was never a systematic visitation of Wales. There were four visitations in the principality, and on 9 June 1551, Fulk ap Hywel, Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary, was given a commission to visit all of Wales. This was not carried out, however, as he was degraded and executed for counterfeiting the seal of Clarenceux King of Arms. This is regrettable, since no visitation of all Wales was ever made by the officers of arms.

Records

The principal records to emerge from the visitations were pedigrees, initially recorded on loose sheets of paper, and afterwards bound together as notebooks. In some cases, the sheets would include blank shields which had been drawn in advance, to simplify the process of recording coats of arms. The persons whose pedigrees were recorded were required to certify them by signature, and where these original draft pedigrees have survived they are known as "originals with signatures". The signed copies were taken back to the College of Arms, where fair copies were made to a higher standard and preserved as the "office copies". Sometimes the signed copies were also retained at the College, but in other cases, no longer considered of official interest, they might pass into private hands: once in general circulation, further copies were often made, which might in turn be revised or augmented. As a result, a number of variant manuscript copies of any one visitation record may now survive, possessing varying degrees of accuracy and authority. The Harleian Collection of the British Library is particularly rich in such records. Many visitation records have been published over the years, by the Harleian Society, by county record societies, and a few privately. However, because until relatively recently the College of Arms restricted access to its records, many of the older published editions were necessarily based on the unofficial second- or third-generation copies in other collections, and may therefore not always be reliable.
From as early as the 1530s, officers of arms on visitation frequently also compiled what were known as "church notes". These were fieldnotes of coats of arms observed on church monuments, in stained glass windows, or on display in private houses. Sometimes, drawings were also made of non-heraldic antiquities, such as medieval architectural features, views of towns, Roman inscriptions and even Stonehenge.
The 17th-century visitations generated a growing number of supplementary papers, including warrants, lists of persons who disclaimed any pretence to arms, lists of persons summoned to appear before the heralds, records of fees paid, and miscellaneous correspondence.

Lists of visitations

Visitations were conducted by or in the name of the two provincial Kings of Arms, Clarenceux and Norroy, within their respective provinces. In the following lists, the Deputies are the officers of arms who actually carried out the visitations. Where no Deputy is named, the visitation can be assumed to have been conducted by the King of Arms in person.

Southern Province

The Southern Province, the jurisdiction of Clarenceux King of Arms, comprised that part of England south of the River Trent, i.e. the counties of Bedford, Berks, Buckingham, Cambridge, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Essex, Gloucester, Hereford, Hertford, Huntingdon, Kent, Leicester, Lincoln, Middlesex, Monmouth, Norfolk, Northampton, Oxford, Rutland, Salop, Somerset, Southampton, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Warwick, Wilton, Worcester, and the City of London; and South Wales.
YearCounty or area visitedClarenceux King of ArmsDeputy or DeputiesNotes
1530Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and StaffordshireThomas Benolt
1530London churchesThomas BenoltThomas Hawley, Carlisle Herald
1531Somerset, Dorset, Devon and CornwallThomas Benolt
early 1530sSussex, Surrey, Kent, Hampshire, Somerset, Isle of Wight, and London CompaniesThomas Benolt
early 1530sDevon and CornwallThomas Benolt
early 1530sSouth Wales and HerefordshireThomas BenoltWilliam Fellow, Lancaster Herald
1558EssexWilliam HarveyOf uncertain status: perhaps not completed, or possibly not even begun.
1561SuffolkWilliam Harvey
1563NorfolkWilliam Harvey
1563WarwickshireWilliam HarveyRobert Cooke, Chester Herald
1563–4LeicestershireWilliam HarveyRobert Cooke, Chester Herald
1563–4LincolnshireWilliam Harvey
1564NorthamptonshireWilliam Harvey
1564HuntingdonshireWilliam Harvey
1564DevonWilliam Harvey
1565WiltshireWilliam Harvey
1565DorsetWilliam Harvey
1566BedfordshireWilliam Harvey
1566BuckinghamshireWilliam Harvey
1566OxfordshireWilliam HarveyRobert Cooke, Chester Herald
1566BerkshireWilliam HarveyRobert Cooke, Chester Herald
1568LondonRobert Cooke
1569WorcestershireRobert Cooke
1569HerefordshireRobert Cooke
1569GloucestershireRobert Cooke
1569ShropshireRobert Cooke
1570EssexRobert Cooke
1570SussexRobert Cooke
1571–3HertfordshireRobert Cooke
1571–3MiddlesexRobert Cooke
1572–3SurreyRobert Cooke
1573CornwallRobert Cooke
1573SomersetRobert Cooke
1574KentRobert Cooke
1574–5OxfordshireRobert CookeRichard Lee, Portcullis Pursuivant
1574–5BuckinghamshireRobert CookeRichard Lee, Portcullis Pursuivant
1574Oxford UniversityRobert CookeRichard Lee, Portcullis Pursuivant
1575CambridgeshireRobert Cooke
1575–6HampshireRobert Cooke
1577SuffolkRobert Cooke
1584ShropshireRobert CookeRichard Lee, Portcullis Pursuivant
1589NorfolkRobert Cooke
1591SomersetRobert CookeRalph Brooke, Rouge Croix Pursuivant
1591–2KentRobert Cooke
1592LincolnshireRobert CookeRichard Lee, Richmond Herald
1612SuffolkWilliam CamdenJohn Raven, Richmond Herald
1613NorfolkWilliam CamdenJohn Raven, Richmond Herald
1613HuntingdonshireWilliam CamdenNicholas Charles, Lancaster Herald
1614EssexWilliam CamdenJohn Raven, Richmond Herald
1618–19Northamptonshire and RutlandWilliam CamdenAugustine Vincent, Rouge Rose Pursuivant Extraordinary
1619WarwickshireWilliam CamdenSampson Lennard, Bluemantle Pursuivant, and Augustine Vincent, Rouge Rose Pursuivant Extraordinary
1619LeicestershireWilliam CamdenSampson Lennard, Bluemantle Pursuivant, and Augustine Vincent, Rouge Rose Pursuivant Extraordinary
1619CambridgeshireWilliam CamdenHenry St George, Richmond Herald
1619KentWilliam CamdenJohn Philipot, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1620DevonWilliam CamdenHenry St George, Richmond Herald, and Sampson Lennard, Bluemantle Pursuivant
1620CornwallWilliam CamdenHenry St George, Richmond Herald, and Sampson Lennard, Bluemantle Pursuivant
1622–3HampshireWilliam CamdenJohn Philipot, Somerset Herald
1623SurreyWilliam CamdenSamuel Thompson, Windsor Herald, and Augustine Vincent, Rouge Croix Pursuivant
1623GloucestershireWilliam CamdenHenry Chitting, Chester Herald, and John Philipot, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1623BerkshireWilliam CamdenHenry Chitting, Chester Herald, and John Philipot, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1623ShropshireWilliam CamdenRobert Treswell, Somerset Herald, and Augustine Vincent, Rouge Croix Pursuivant
1623WiltshireWilliam CamdenHenry St George, Richmond Herald, and Sampson Lennard, Bluemantle Pursuivant
1623DorsetWilliam CamdenHenry St George, Richmond Herald, and Sampson Lennard, Bluemantle Pursuivant
1623SomersetWilliam CamdenHenry St George, Richmond Herald, and Sampson Lennard, Bluemantle Pursuivant
1634HampshireSir Richard St GeorgeJohn Philipot, Somerset Herald
1634EssexSir Richard St GeorgeGeorge Owen, York Herald, and Henry Lilly, Rouge Rose Pursuivant Extraordinary
1634LincolnshireSir Richard St GeorgeHenry Chitting, Chester Herald, and Thomas Thompson, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1633–5LondonSir Richard St GeorgeSir Henry St George, Richmond Herald
1634London CompaniesSir Richard St George
1634HerefordshireSir Richard St George
1634BuckinghamshireSir Richard St GeorgeJohn Philipot, Somerset Herald, and William Ryley, Bluemantle Pursuivant
1633–4SussexSir Richard St GeorgeJohn Philipot, Somerset Herald, and George Owen, York Herald
1634HertfordshireSir Richard St George
1634MiddlesexSir Richard St George
1634OxfordshireSir Richard St GeorgeJohn Philipot, Somerset Herald, and William Ryley, Bluemantle Pursuivant
1634WorcestershireSir Richard St GeorgeGeorge Owen, York Herald, and Henry Lilly, Rouge Rose Pursuivant Extraordinary
1634BedfordshireSir Richard St GeorgeGeorge Owen, York Herald, and Henry Lilly, Rouge Rose Pursuivant Extraordinary
1662–4ShropshireSir Edward ByssheWilliam Dugdale, Norroy King of Arms
1662–8SurreySir Edward Bysshe
1662-8SussexSir Edward Bysshe
1663MiddlesexSir Edward ByssheWilliam Ryley, Lancaster Herald, and Henry Dethick, Rouge Croix Pursuivant
1663KentSir Edward Bysshe
1664LondonSir Edward ByssheFrancis Sandford, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant, and Thomas Holford, Portcullis Pursuivant
1664–6BerkshireSir Edward ByssheElias Ashmole, Windsor Herald
1664–8NorfolkSir Edward Bysshe
1664–8EssexSir Edward Bysshe
1664–8SuffolkSir Edward Bysshe
1666LincolnshireSir Edward Bysshe
1669BedfordshireSir Edward Bysshe
1669HertfordshireSir Edward Bysshe
1669–75BuckinghamshireSir Edward Bysshe
1668–75OxfordshireSir Edward Bysshe
1672SomersetSir Edward Bysshe
1677WiltshireSir Edward Bysshe
1677DorsetSir Edward Bysshe
1681–2NorthamptonshireSir Henry St GeorgeFrancis Burghill, Somerset Herald, Thomas May, Chester Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1681–2RutlandSir Henry St GeorgeFrancis Burghill, Somerset Herald, Thomas May, Chester Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1681–3LeicestershireSir Henry St GeorgeThomas May, Chester Herald, Henry Dethick, Richmond Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1683WarwickshireSir Henry St GeorgeThomas May, Chester Herald, Henry Dethick, Richmond Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1682–3WorcestershireSir Henry St GeorgeThomas May, Chester Herald, Henry Dethick, Richmond Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1682–3GloucestershireSir Henry St GeorgeThomas May, Chester Herald, Henry Dethick, Richmond Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1683HerefordshireSir Henry St GeorgeHenry Dethick, Richmond Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1683MonmouthshireSir Henry St GeorgeHenry Dethick, Richmond Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
1684CambridgeshireSir Henry St George
1684HuntingdonshireSir Henry St George
1686HampshireSir Henry St George
1687–1700LondonSir Henry St George

Northern Province

The Northern Province, the jurisdiction of Norroy King of Arms, comprised that part of England north of the River Trent, i.e. the counties of Chester, Cumberland, Derby, Durham, Lancaster, Northumberland, Nottingham, Stafford, Westmorland and York; and North Wales. The Trent ran through Staffordshire, and the county was therefore technically divided between the two provinces; but for the purposes of visitation it was generally treated as falling under the jurisdiction of Norroy.
YearCounty or area visitedNorroy King of ArmsDeputy or DeputiesNotes
1530Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, and LancashireThomas Tonge
1532Lancashire and part of CheshireThomas TongeWilliam Fellow, Lancaster Herald
1552Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland and CumberlandWilliam Harvey
1558Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumberland and CheshireLawrence DaltonConducted by Dalton in person, accompanied by William Colbarne, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant, probably his nephew. Of uncertain authority, as Dalton had not yet been formally created Norroy
1563YorkshireWilliam Flower
1566StaffordshireWilliam Flower
1566CheshireWilliam Flower
1567LancashireWilliam Flower
1569DerbyshireWilliam FlowerRobert Glover, Somerset HeraldEither conducted by Flower in person accompanied by Glover, or by Glover as Flower's deputy
1569NottinghamshireWilliam FlowerRobert Glover, Somerset HeraldEither conducted by Flower in person accompanied by Glover, or by Glover as Flower's deputy
1575County DurhamWilliam FlowerRobert Glover, Somerset HeraldEither conducted by Flower in person accompanied by Glover, or by Glover as Flower's deputy
1575Yorkshire and NorthumberlandWilliam FlowerRobert Glover, Somerset HeraldEither conducted by Flower in person accompanied by Glover, or by Glover as Flower's deputy
1580CheshireWilliam FlowerRobert Glover, Somerset HeraldEither conducted by Flower in person accompanied by Glover, or by Glover as Flower's deputy
1583StaffordshireWilliam FlowerRobert Glover, Somerset HeraldEither conducted by Flower in person accompanied by Glover, or by Glover as Flower's deputy
1584–5YorkshireWilliam FlowerRobert Glover, Somerset HeraldEither conducted by Flower in person accompanied by Glover, or by Glover as Flower's deputy
1611DerbyshireSir Richard St GeorgeConducted by St George in person, accompanied by Nicholas Charles, Lancaster Herald, and Henry St George, Rouge Rose Pursuivant-Extraordinary
1612YorkshireSir Richard St George
1613LancashireSir Richard St George
1614CheshireSir Richard St GeorgeConducted by St George in person, accompanied by Henry St George, Bluemantle Pursuivant, his son
1614NottinghamshireSir Richard St George
1614StaffordshireSir Richard St George
1615County DurhamSir Richard St George
1615NorthumberlandSir Richard St GeorgeConducted by St George in person, accompanied by Henry St George, Bluemantle Pursuivant, his son
1634DerbyshireHenry Chitting, Chester Herald, and Thomas Thompson, Rouge Dragon PursuivantAlthough undertaken during le Neve's kingship, this visitation was conducted under a joint commission granted in 1633 to Sir John Borough, Norroy 1623–33 and Garter King of Arms 1633–43, and Sir Richard St George, Clarenceux King of Arms 1623–35
1662–4DerbyshireWilliam Dugdale
1662–4NottinghamshireWilliam Dugdale
1662–4William DugdaleConducted by Dugdale as deputy to Sir Edward Bysshe, Clarenceux, as the county lay within the Southern Province.
1663–4StaffordshireWilliam Dugdale
1663–4CheshireWilliam Dugdale
1664–5WestmorlandWilliam Dugdale
1664–5CumberlandWilliam Dugdale
1664–5LancashireWilliam Dugdale
1665–6YorkshireWilliam Dugdale
1666County DurhamWilliam Dugdale
1666NorthumberlandWilliam Dugdale
1670FlintshireWilliam DugdaleRobert Chaloner, Lancaster Herald, and Francis Sandford, Rouge Dragon PursuivantConducted under a deputation to visit North Wales, granted in 1670

Visitations in Ireland

Since the practices of Ulster King of Arms so closely followed those of the English College of Arms, it is hardly surprising that the Irish officers of arms undertook heraldic visitations in their province. The purpose behind these visitations was twofold: to prevent the assumption of arms by unqualified people, and to record the arms of the gentry that were unknown to Ulster office. The first visitation was held by Nicholas Narbon, the second Ulster King of Arms, in 1569. He was authorized to reform practices which were contrary to good armorial practice. He conducted six visitations. One of his successors, Daniel Molyneux had the commission renewed, and mounted several visitations. Although Molyneux's last visitation – of Wexford – was the last proper visitation, two other expeditions occurred after 1618 by subsequent Ulster Kings of Arms. The visitations were not very extensive. The officers would not often be found in the disturbed countryside. Thus the visitations are confined to areas under firm control of the Dublin administration.
Today, the original visitation and related manuscripts are in the custody of the Chief Herald of Ireland. Copies are also deposited at the College of Arms in London.

Published editions

England

;Bedfordshire
;Berkshire
;Buckinghamshire
;Cambridgeshire
;Cheshire
;Cornwall
;Cumberland
;Derbyshire
;Devon
;Dorset
;County Durham
;Essex
;Gloucestershire
;Hampshire
;Herefordshire
;Hertfordshire
;Huntingdonshire
;Kent
;Lancashire
;Leicestershire
;Lincolnshire
;London
;Middlesex
;Norfolk
;Northamptonshire
;Northumberland
;Nottinghamshire
;Oxfordshire
;Rutland
;Shropshire
;Somerset
;Staffordshire
;Suffolk
;Surrey
;Sussex
;Warwickshire
;Westmorland
;Wiltshire
;Worcestershire
;Yorkshire

Wales