Bluemantle Pursuivant
Encyclopedia
Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms
of the College of Arms
in London
. The office is reputed to have been created by King Henry V to serve the Order of the Garter
, but there is no documentary evidence of this. There is, however, mention of an officer styled Blewmantle going to France
in 1448. The first Bluemantle to be mentioned by name is found in a record from around 1484. The badge of office
, probably derived from the original blue material of the Order of the Garter, is blazoned as A Blue Mantle lined Ermine cords and tassels Or
.
The current Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms
in Ordinary is Michael Peter Desmond O'Donoghue
, MA
(Cambridge
).
Officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...
of the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The office is reputed to have been created by King Henry V to serve the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, but there is no documentary evidence of this. There is, however, mention of an officer styled Blewmantle going to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1448. The first Bluemantle to be mentioned by name is found in a record from around 1484. The badge of office
Heraldic badge
A heraldic badge is an emblem or personal device worn as a badge to indicate allegiance to or the property of an individual or family. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance...
, probably derived from the original blue material of the Order of the Garter, is blazoned as A Blue Mantle lined Ermine cords and tassels Or
Or (heraldry)
In heraldry, Or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent , belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it may be represented using a field of evenly spaced dots...
.
The current Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
in Ordinary is Michael Peter Desmond O'Donoghue
Peter O'Donoghue
Michael Peter Desmond O'Donoghue is the current Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary at the College of Arms in London.He was appointed to the office on 17 January 2005, on successful completion of a period of probation...
, MA
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
(Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
).
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.- (Hen VHenry V of EnglandHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
) John Ashwell or Haswell - (Hen V) John Ashwell
- (1419) Thomas More
- (Hen V) Thomas Collyer
- (Hen VIHenry VI of EnglandHenry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
) William Hawkeslowe - (Hen VI) John Horsley
- (Hen VI) Richard Stanton
- (Hen VI) James Collyer or Collier
- (Hen VI) John Ferrant
- (Hen VI) Roger Mallett
- (Edw IVEdward IV of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
) Henry French or Franke - (Edw IV) Richard Champneys
- (Edw IV) Thomas Hollingsworth
- (Edw IV) Roger Bromley
- (Edw IV) John Brice
- (Edw IV) Thomas French or Franke
- (Edw IV?) Rowland Playnford
- (1484) Laurence Alford
- 1503-1507 ...Banalee
- 1508-1510 Francis Dyes
- 1510-1522 Ralph Lago
- 1522-1528 Thomas Bysley
- 1528-1528 John Hutton
- 1528-1536 John Narboone
- 1536-1543 Richard Ratcliffe
- 1543-1545 William Harvey
- 1545-1550 Edmund Atkynson
- 1550-1557 Nicholas Narboone
- 1557-1559 John Hollingworth
- 1559-1565 Richard Turpin
- 1565-1583 Nicholas Dethick
- 1583-1587 Humphry Hales
- 1587-1589 James Thomas
- 1589-1597 Robert Creswell
- 1597-1611 Mercury Patten
- 1611-1616 Henry St George
- 1616-1633 Sampson Lennard
- 1633-1641 William Ryley
- 1641-1646 Robert Browne
- 1646-1660 John WatsonJohn Watson (officer of arms)John Watson was a lawyer, Notary Public and the first Commonwealth Register at the Court of Chivalry and officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He served as commissary and treasurer to Major Legge and Colonel Washington in the Royalist Army during the English Civil War...
- 1660-1665 Robert Chaloner
- 1665-1667 R Hornerbrock
- 1667?-1668 Thomas Segar
- 1668-1719 John Gibbon
- 1719-1737 James Greene
- 1737-1743 Thomas Browne
- 1743-1747 John Pine
- 1747-1752 Ralph BiglandRalph BiglandRalph Bigland was an English officer of arms and cheesemaker. He was born at Stepney, Middlesex, and was the only son of Richard Bigland and his wife, Mary. His father was a native of Westmorland, descended from the Bigland family of Bigland, Lancashire.-Early career:In 1728 Bigland was...
- 1752-1761 John Ward
- 1761-1762 Isaac HeardIsaac HeardSir Isaac Heard was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He began his heraldic career as Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary. He would go on to hold the posts of Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary, Norroy King of Arms and Brunswick King of Arms. In 1784, he was...
- 1762-1763 Henry Pugolas
- 1763-1764 Peter Dore
- 1764-1767 George Browne
- 1767-1774 George Harrison
- 1774-1781 Sir Charles TownleyCharles Townley (officer of arms)Sir Charles Townley was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Early and private life:Charles Townley was born on Tower Hill in 1713, the son of Charles Townley, of Clapham, Surrey and Sarah Wilde, daughter of William Wilde of Long-Whatton in Leicestershire. His mother...
- 1781-1793 Edmund LodgeEdmund LodgeSir Edmund Lodge, KH , herald, was a long-serving English officer of arms, a writer on heraldic subjects, and a painstaking supplier of short, accurate biographies.-Life and career:...
, EsqEsquireEsquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...
., FSASociety of Antiquaries of LondonThe Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is... - 1793-1794 George NaylerGeorge NaylerSir George Nayler, KH was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London....
- 1794-1797 John Havers
- 1797-1819 Francis Martin, Jun
- 1819-1831 William Woods
- 1831-1849 George Harrison Rogers-Harrison
- 1849-1864 Henry Murray LaneHenry Lane (officer of arms)Henry Murray Lane was an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Personal life:He was born in Leamington, Warwickshire, the sixth son of Rev. Charles Lane and Frances Catherine Sandford Lane...
- 1864-1873 Henry Harrington Molyneux-Seel
- 1873-1882 Edward Bellasis, Esq.
- 1882-1889 Charles Harold AthillCharles AthillCharles Harold Athill, MVO, FSA was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He began his heraldic career by joining the College of Arms in 1882 as Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary. The position lasted until 1889, when he was appointed Richmond Herald of Arms in...
, Esq., MVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, FSASociety of Antiquaries of LondonThe Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is... - 1889-1905 Gordon Ambrose de Lisle LeeGordon Lee (officer of arms)Gordon Ambrose de Lisle Lee, CB, CVO was a British officer of arms.Born in Aberdeen, the son of the Reverend F. G. Lee, vicar of All Saints, Lambeth, he was educated at St Mary's College, Harlow and Westminster School and became an artist and designer. In 1889 he joined the College of Arms as...
, Esq., CBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys... - 1906-1919 Sir Gerald Woods WollastonGerald WollastonSir Gerald Woods Wollaston, KCB, KCVO was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Wollaston's family had a firm tradition at the College of Arms. Wollaston's great-grandfather was Sir William Woods, Garter Principal King of Arms from 1838 until his death in 1842...
, KCBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, KCVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys... - 1919-1923 Hon. Philip Cary, FSA
- 1923-1923 Edmund Clarence Richard Armstrong, Esq., FSA
- 1923-1932 Aubrey John ToppinAubrey ToppinAubrey John Toppin, CVO, FSA was a long-serving English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.Toppin was born in Twickenham in 1881. His first job was at the Science and Art Museum, Dublin from 1901 to 1906, until he gained the post of First Assistant to the Keeper of Irish Antiqities...
, Esq., CVO, FSA - 1933-1947 Richard Preston Graham-VivianRichard Graham-VivianRichard Preston Graham-Vivian, MVO, MC was a long-serving English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He was the younger son of Sir Richard James Graham, 4th Baronet, and Lady Mabel Cynthia Duncombe. During the First World War he served as an officer in the King's Royal Rifle Corps...
, Esq., MVO, MCMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.... - 1948-1956 James Arnold FrereJames FrereJames Arnold Frere, FSA was an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Biography:He was the only son of John Geoffrey Frere of Hartley and Violet Ivy Sparks. Following military service in the Intelligence Corps, he began his heraldic career on 24 February 1948 when he was appointed...
, Esq., FSA - 1956-1967 John Philip Brooke Brooke-LittleJohn Brooke-LittleJohn Philip Rudolph Dominic Derek Aloysius Mary Brooke-Little, CVO, KStJ, FSA, FSG, FHS, FHG , FRHSC , FHSNZ, KM, GCGCO was an influential and popular British writer on heraldic subjects and a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London...
, Esq., CVO, FSA - 1970-1972 Francis Sedley AndrusSedley AndrusFrancis Sedley Andrus, LVO was a long-serving English officer of arms who was Beaumont Herald of Arms Extraordinary. As such, he was a Royal officer of arms, though not a member of the College of Arms in London....
, Esq., LVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys... - 1973-1983 Peter Llewllyn Gwynn-JonesPeter Gwynn-JonesSir Peter Llewellyn Gwynn-Jones, KCVO was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He was Garter Principal King of Arms, the senior English officer of arms, from 1995 to 2010.-Life and career:...
, Esq., CVO, FSA - 1983-1991 Terence David McCarthy, Esq.
- 1992-1999 Robert John Baptist NoelRobert NoelRobert John Baptist Noel is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.Robert Noel is the son of Hon. Gerard Eyre Wriothesley Noel, of Westington Mill, Chipping Campden, and grandson of the fourth Earl of Gainsborough...
, Esq. - 2005-Present Michael Peter Desmond O'DonoghuePeter O'DonoghueMichael Peter Desmond O'Donoghue is the current Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary at the College of Arms in London.He was appointed to the office on 17 January 2005, on successful completion of a period of probation...
, Esq.