Records and Collections - College of Arms

<!DOCTYPE html> <html prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns#" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0" /> <base href="https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/about-us/records-and-collections" /> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="rights" content="All images are the copyright of the College of Arms" /> <title>Records and Collections - College of Arms</title> <link href="/templates/coa/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" /> <link href="https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/component/search/?Itemid=125&format=opensearch" rel="search" title="Search College of Arms" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" /> <link href="/plugins/system/jce/css/content.css?badb4208be409b1335b815dde676300e" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/templates/coa/css/template.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/templates/coa/css/coa.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <style type="text/css"> div.mod_search95 input[type="search"]{ width:auto; } </style> <script src="/media/jui/js/jquery.min.js?a8ed4a9dee83d7678d0922c2d0036382" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/jui/js/jquery-noconflict.js?a8ed4a9dee83d7678d0922c2d0036382" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/jui/js/jquery-migrate.min.js?a8ed4a9dee83d7678d0922c2d0036382" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/k2/assets/js/k2.frontend.js?v=2.10.3&b=20200429&sitepath=/" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/system/js/caption.js?a8ed4a9dee83d7678d0922c2d0036382" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/jui/js/bootstrap.min.js?a8ed4a9dee83d7678d0922c2d0036382" type="text/javascript"></script>  <script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(window).on('load', function() { new JCaption('img.caption'); }); </script> <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Asul' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /> <style type="text/css"> h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,.site-title{ font-family: 'Asul', Georgia, serif; } </style>  <style> div#cookieMessageContainer { font: normal 12px/16px Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; position:fixed; z-index:9999; top:0px; right:0px; margin:0px auto; color: #fff; padding: 5px; opacity: 0.8; } table, tr, td {border:0px !important} #cookieMessageText p,.accept{font:normal 12px/16px Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0;padding:0 0 6px;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle} #cookieMessageContainer table,#cookieMessageContainer td{margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:middle} #cookieMessageText, .accept {font-family:arial,verdana; font-size:12px;} #cookieMessageContainer .cookie_button{background: url(https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/plugins/system/EUCookieDirectiveLite/EUCookieDirectiveLite/images/continue_button.png);text-shadow: #fff 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em; color: #000; padding: 5px 12px;height: 14px;float: left;} #cookieMessageAgreementForm {margin-left:10px;} #cookieMessageInformationIcon {margin-right:10px;height:29px;} #continue_button{vertical-align:middle;cursor:pointer;margin:0 0 0 10px} #info_icon {vertical-align:middle;margin-top:5px;} #buttonbarContainer {height:29px;margin-bottom:-10px;} #cookietable {border:none;cellpadding:0px;} #cookietable td {border:none;} #outer table, #outer tr, #outer td {border:none;} #outer{padding:2px;} .accept {float: left;padding: 5px 6px 4px 15px; color: #fff;} a#cookieMessageDetailsLink {color:#fff!important; text-decoration: underline;} </style></head> <body class="site com_content view-article layout- task- itemid-125 ">  <div class="body"> <div class="container">  <div class="header"> <div class="header-inner"> <a class="brand pull-left" href="/"> <img src="https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/images/logo.png" alt="College of Arms" /> <div class="custom title" > <h1>College of Arms</h1></div> </a> <div class="header-search pull-right"> </div> <div class="clearfix"></div> </div>  <a class="btn btn-navbar" data-toggle="collapse" data-target=".nav-collapse"> <span>Menu</span> </a> <div class="navigation nav-collapse"> <ul class="nav menu nav-dropdown mod-list" id=" nav-menu"> <li class="item-101 default"><a href="/" >Home</a></li><li class="item-113 active deeper parent"><a href="/about-us" >About Us</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-121"><a href="/about-us/heralds-officers" >The Officers of Arms</a></li><li class="item-120"><a href="/about-us/history" >History</a></li><li class="item-125 current active"><a href="/about-us/records-and-collections" >Records and Collections</a></li><li class="item-181"><a href="/about-us/some-past-heralds" >Some past Heralds</a></li><li class="item-182"><a href="/about-us/archive-and-conservation-departments" >Archive and Conservation Departments</a></li><li class="item-183"><a href="/about-us/sword-and-dagger" >Artefacts associated with Flodden</a></li><li class="item-277"><a href="/about-us/data-protection-policy" >Data Protection Policy</a></li><li class="item-310"><a href="/about-us/online-exhibitions" >Online Exhibitions</a></li><li class="item-391"><a href="/about-us/white-lion-society" >White Lion Society</a></li><li class="item-392"><a href="/about-us/college-of-arms-foundation" >College of Arms Foundation</a></li></ul></li><li class="item-114 deeper parent"><a href="/services" >Services</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-127"><a href="/services/granting-arms" >Granting of Arms</a></li><li class="item-180"><a href="/services/genealogical-research" >Genealogical Research</a></li><li class="item-128"><a href="/services/register-pedigree" >Registering a Pedigree</a></li><li class="item-126"><a href="/services/artwork-scrivening" >Artwork and Scrivening</a></li><li class="item-119"><a href="/services/proving-a-right-to-arms" >Proving a right to arms</a></li><li class="item-132"><a href="/services/name-change" >Changes of Name</a></li><li class="item-133"><a href="/services/naval-military-raf" >Naval, Military and R.A.F. Insignia</a></li><li class="item-118"><a href="/services/identifying-a-coat-of-arms-or-crest" >Identifying a Coat of Arms or Crest</a></li><li class="item-394"><a href="/services/evening-tours" >Evening Tours</a></li></ul></li><li class="item-129 deeper parent"><a href="/resources" >Resources</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-155"><a href="/resources/architecture" >Architecture of the College</a></li><li class="item-138"><a href="/resources/bibliography-of-present-officers" >Bibliography of Present Officers</a></li><li class="item-184"><a href="/resources/court-of-chivalry" >Court of Chivalry</a></li><li class="item-205"><a href="/resources/crests-of-knights-of-the-garter" >Crests of Knights of the Garter</a></li><li class="item-358"><a href="/resources/ecclesiastical-hats" >Ecclesiastical Hats: Anglican Communion</a></li><li class="item-359"><a href="/resources/ecclesiastical-hats-roman-catholic-church" >Ecclesiastical Hats: Roman Catholic Church</a></li><li class="item-136"><a href="/resources/faqs" >FAQs: heraldry</a></li><li class="item-208"><a href="/resources/flag-flying-days-2024" >Flag Flying Days 2024</a></li><li class="item-343"><a href="/resources/flag-flying-news-by-email" >Flag-Flying News by Email</a></li><li class="item-130"><a href="/resources/the-law-of-arms" >The Law of Arms</a></li><li class="item-272 deeper parent"><a href="/resources/peerages-and-baronetcies" >Peerages and Baronetcies</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-273"><a href="/resources/peerages-and-baronetcies/proving-succession-to-a-baronetcy" >Proving succession to a Baronetcy</a></li><li class="item-274"><a href="/resources/peerages-and-baronetcies/roll-of-the-baronetage" >Roll of the Baronetage</a></li><li class="item-275"><a href="/resources/peerages-and-baronetcies/proving-succession-to-a-peerage" >Proving succession to a Peerage</a></li><li class="item-276"><a href="/resources/peerages-and-baronetcies/what-is-recorded-in-the-roll-of-the-peerage" >What is recorded in the Roll of the Peerage</a></li></ul></li><li class="item-137"><a href="/resources/roll-of-the-peerage" >Roll of the Peerage</a></li><li class="item-216"><a href="/resources/same-sex-marriages" >Same-sex marriages</a></li><li class="item-204"><a href="/resources/duke-and-duchess-of-cambridge" >Duke and Duchess of Cambridge</a></li><li class="item-360"><a href="/resources/union-flag-approved-designs" >Union Flag: approved designs</a></li><li class="item-160"><a href="/resources/union-flag-faqs" >Union Flag: FAQs</a></li><li class="item-382"><a href="/resources/flags-on-churches" >Flags on churches</a></li><li class="item-389"><a href="/resources/impaling-arms-of-office" >Impaling Arms of Office</a></li><li class="item-390"><a href="/resources/arms-of-her-majesty-queen-camilla" >Arms of Her Majesty Queen Camilla</a></li><li class="item-393"><a href="/resources/royal-cyphers" >Royal Cyphers</a></li></ul></li><li class="item-115 deeper parent"><a href="/news-grants" >News & Grants</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-124 deeper parent"><a href="/news-grants/grants" >Grants</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-156"><a href="/news-grants/grants/personal-arms" >Personal Arms</a></li><li class="item-157"><a href="/news-grants/grants/corporate-arms" >Corporate Arms</a></li><li class="item-198"><a href="/news-grants/grants/honorary" >Honorary</a></li><li class="item-197"><a href="/news-grants/grants/supporters" >Supporters</a></li></ul></li><li class="item-123"><a href="/news-grants/news" >News</a></li><li class="item-117 deeper parent"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter" >Newsletter</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-158"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2012" >2012</a></li><li class="item-191"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2011" >2011</a></li><li class="item-192"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2010" >2010</a></li><li class="item-193"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2009" >2009</a></li><li class="item-194"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2008" >2008</a></li><li class="item-195"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2007" >2007</a></li><li class="item-196"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2006" >2006</a></li><li class="item-190"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2005" >2005</a></li><li class="item-189"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2004" >2004</a></li><li class="item-207"><a href="/news-grants/newsletter/2014" >2014</a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li class="item-159 deeper parent"><a href="/contact-us" >Contact Us</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-116"><a href="/contact-us/directory" >Directory</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div> </div> <div class="row-fluid"> <div id="content" class="span9">  <div id="system-message-container"> </div> <div class="item-page"> <div class="page-header"> <h1> Records and Collections </h1> </div> <p class="lead" style="text-align: justify;">The official records of the College include registers of grants of arms, funeral certificates, the records of the heraldic visitations of the English and Welsh counties of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, registers of changes of name and arms by Royal Licence and deed poll, and the pedigree registers, as well as records of state ceremonials such as coronations and state funerals, and official enrolments of flags.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">In addition to the official records created by the College, the archive also holds some seven thousand other manuscript volumes, and a similar number of unbound manuscripts, which have been deposited at the College or acquired by it over the centuries. These collections include working papers derived from the heraldic and genealogical practices of past heralds. Other significant holdings include the Arundel Manuscripts, primarily medieval chronicles and histories, and a large collection of manuscript pedigrees in roll form, dating from the medieval period onwards. <a href="http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/about-us/archive-and-conservation-departments">Online exhibitions</a> on this website give a useful overview of some of the College's holdings. The College maintains a large library of printed books.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><em>The Records and Collections of the College of Arms</em>, by Sir Anthony Richard Wagner (1952), gives an excellent account of the history and extent of the College archives.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><em>A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the College of Arms Catalogue Collections</em> volume 1 (1988), is a detailed catalogue of a small but significant part of the records and collections, including the 260 volume manuscript collection of Augustine Vincent (d.1626), Windsor Herald, and the Tudor manuscripts with the pressmarks L and M.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><em>A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the College of Arms Catalogue Records</em> volume 1:  <em>Record Manuscripts of the Tudor Visitations </em>(2023), is a detailed catalogue and index to this key series of official record manuscripts, created by the heralds in the sixteenth century. More information about the volume can be <a href="https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/news/item/219-record-manuscripts-of-the-tudor-visitations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seen here</a>. The preparation and publication of this work was kindly supported by the Marc Fitch Fund, the College of Arms Foundation, and the College of Arms Trust.</p> </div>  </div> <div id="aside" class="span3">  <div class="well "> <div class="custom" > <p>To find out more about Arms & Badges, read <strong><a href="https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&catid=8&Itemid=127">The Granting of Arms</a></strong></p></div> </div><div class="well "><div class="page-header"><strong>More about us</strong></div><ul class="category-module mod-list"> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/history">History</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/heralds-officers">The Officers of Arms</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title active" href="/about-us/records-and-collections">Records and Collections</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/records-and-collections/2-coa/21-contact-us">Contact Us</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/some-past-heralds">Some past Heralds</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/archive-and-conservation-departments">Archive and Conservation Departments</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/sword-and-dagger">Artefacts associated with the Battle of Flodden</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/data-protection-policy">Data Protection Policy</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/online-exhibitions">Online Exhibitions</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/records-and-collections/2-coa/75-proclamation">The Proclamation</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/records-and-collections/2-coa/78-the-accession-proclamation">The Accession Proclamation</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/white-lion-society">White Lion Society</a> </li> <li> <a class="mod-articles-category-title " href="/about-us/college-of-arms-foundation">College of Arms Foundation</a> </li> </ul> </div>  </div> <div aria-label="Breadcrumbs" role="navigation"> <ul itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/BreadcrumbList" class="breadcrumb"> <li> You are here:   </li> <li itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ListItem"> <a itemprop="item" href="/" class="pathway"><span itemprop="name">Home</span></a> <span class="divider"> <img src="/media/system/images/arrow.png" alt="" /> </span> <meta itemprop="position" content="1"> </li> <li itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ListItem"> <a itemprop="item" href="/about-us" class="pathway"><span itemprop="name">About Us</span></a> <span class="divider"> <img src="/media/system/images/arrow.png" alt="" /> </span> <meta itemprop="position" content="2"> </li> <li itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ListItem" class="active"> <span itemprop="name"> Records and Collections </span> <meta itemprop="position" content="3"> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="footer"> <div class="container"> <div class="search mod_search95"> <form action="/about-us/records-and-collections" method="post" class="form-inline" role="search"> <label for="mod-search-searchword95" class="element-invisible">Search ...</label> <input name="searchword" id="mod-search-searchword95" maxlength="200" class="inputbox search-query input-medium" type="search" size="10" placeholder="Search ..." /> <input type="hidden" name="task" value="search" /> <input type="hidden" name="option" value="com_search" /> <input type="hidden" name="Itemid" value="125" /> </form> </div> <ul class="nav menu mod-list"> <li class="item-186"><a href="/privacy-policy" >Privacy Policy</a></li></ul> <p class="pull-right"><a href="#top" id="back-top">Back to Top</a></p> <p>© College of Arms 2024</p> <p class="pull-right credit">Website by <a href="https://reaper.com" target="_blank" title="Reaper Enterprises">Reaper Enterprises Ltd</a></p> </div> </div> <div id="outer" style="width:100%"><div id="cookieMessageContainer" style="margin-top:-10px;width:100%;background-color:#1D1D1D;"><table width="100%"><tr><td><div id="cookieMessageText" style="padding:15px 10px 0 15px;"><p style="color:#fff;">We use session cookies to improve your experience with our website. If you continue using our website without changing your settings, or accept, we'll assume you are happy to receive the cookies set. To find out more about how we use cookies, please read our privacy policy. <br/>To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, see our <a id="cookieMessageDetailsLink" title="View our privacy policy page" href="/privacy-policy">privacy policy</a>.</p></div></td><td align="right"><span class="accept"><span class="cookieMessageText">I accept cookies from this site.</span></span> <div border="0" class="cookie_button" id="continue_button" onclick="SetCookie('cookieAcceptanceCookie','accepted',9999);">Agree</div></td></tr></table></div></div><script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/plugins/system/EUCookieDirectiveLite/EUCookieDirectiveLite/EUCookieDirective.js"></script> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Records and Collections - College of Arms