The Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society was formed as the result of the merger in 1957 of a previous Heraldic Society (founded 1948) with the Cambridge University Society of Genealogists (founded 1954).
Foundation of the society
The first Cambridge University Heraldic Society was founded in 1948 from the remnants of the late Nineteenth-century monumental brass society. In 1954, a separate Cambridge University Society of Genealogists was formed. Not surprisingly many members of one society were members of the other and on 10 June 1957,sponsored by some Vice Presidents, by agreement between the secretaries, Special General Meetings of both societies were held and resolutions passed abolishing both societies on condition that a new joint society was formed later in the day. Meetings held earlier in the term had led to the formal culmination of a series of discussions for the consolidation and amalgamation.
The structure of the new society was to include a
PatronPatrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
and a number of Honorary
Vice PresidentA vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
s. The committee was to consist of
PresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
,
SecretaryA secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
,
Senior TreasurerA treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
, Junior Treasurer and ordinary
CommitteeA committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
Members.
The society today
Four speaker meetings are held in each of the
MichaelmasMichaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
and
LentIn the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
terms and a ninth at the beginning of the
EasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
term. These are in the general area of
heraldryHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
and
genealogyGenealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
but also include cognate subjects such as ceremonial dress,
tartanTartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
, local history, customs, military
medalA medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s or indeed anything of an
antiquarianAn antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
nature. There are generally two outings each year--one in Michaelmas and one in Lent-–to places of interest of heraldic and genealogical interest. In recent years, the Society has visited the
College of ArmsThe College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, the
Society of GenealogistsThe Society of Genealogists is a UK-based educational charity, founded in 1911 to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge of genealogy". The Society's Library is the largest specialist genealogical library outside North America. Membership is open to any adult who agrees to...
and various
cathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
s and museums. The Society also hosts one large dinner each term with the Annual Dinner (in the Lent term) attracting up to 70 diners. There is also a garden party in the Easter term.
Patrons
Sir Arthur CochraneSir Arthur William Steuart Cochrane, KCVO was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Biography:...
(
Clarenceux King of ArmsClarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial kings of arms and his jurisdiction is that part of England south of the River Trent. The office almost certainly existed in 1420, and there is a fair degree of...
) was Patron of the original Heraldic and Genealogical Societies until his death in 1954. The position was still vacant when the amalgamation took place. The Cambridge University Society of Genealogists had had a President in the person of the late
Earl Mountbatten of BurmaThe title Earl Mountbatten of Burma was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1947 for Rear Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy of India....
, a keen genealogist. Therefore, Lord Mountbatten was invited to be Patron of the new (1957) Society, a post which he held until his assassination in 1979. In honour of his memory and with the permission of his elder daughter, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, the Society inaugurated the Mountbatten Commemorative Lecture. This remains the most important meeting of the year and the lecture has frequently been given by senior members of the
College of ArmsThe College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Lord Mountbatten was succeeded as Patron by H.E. Archbishop Bruno Heim, a leading authority on the
heraldryHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
of the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
who designed armorial bearings for several
PopeThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
s. His Excellency generously donated a copy of a number of his own publications to the Society. After his death he was followed by the Most Noble
Duke of NorfolkThe Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...
,
Earl MarshalEarl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...
and Hereditary Marshal of England.
Publications
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Society transcribed the registers of the
CambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
parishes of
SheprethShepreth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, lying halfway between Cambridge and Royston.-History:The parish of Shepreth is roughly-rectangular and covers 1318 acres...
and
Westley WaterlessWestley Waterless is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England, 5 miles south west of Newmarket.-History:The parish of Westley Waterless is long and thin covering 1150 acres between the ancient Icknield Way at its north west end , to the village of Burrough Green at the south...
and published a small number of copies. Its most ambitious project, however, was to produce The Cambridge Armorial showing the arms of all the corporate
armigerIn heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a coat of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous.-Etymology:The Latin word armiger literally means "armour-bearer". In high and late medieval England, the word referred to an esquire attendant upon a knight, but bearing his own unique...
s in Cambridge (including town, university, colleges, theological colleges and schools) with blazons and brief histories of each. Although begun in 1966, it was to be nineteen years before it was published through the efforts of Wilfrid Scott-Giles, Heather Peak and Cecil Humphery-Smith. In 1995 the Society launched a magazine, called the
Escutcheon, which appears each term. It is edited by Derek Palgrave.
See also
- Cecil Humphery-Smith
Cecil Raymond Julian Humphery-Smith, OBE, FSA is a British genealogist and heraldist. He was educated at Hurstpierpoint College...
- Henry Paston-Bedingfeld
Sir Henry Edgar Paston-Bedingfeld, 10th Baronet is an Officer-at-Arms of the College of Arms in London, EC4.He currently serves as Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, the junior of the two provincial Kings-at-Arms, to which office he was appointed 20 September 2010...
- David Vines White
- The 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...
External links