HEN. VIII. arms.

Thier applications were so numerous, that it added much to the business of the College. Though the fecs were but inconsiderable, yet it made in the gross a sum at that time deserving notice, because the precious metals were so valuable. We may judge of the situation of society in England from the order made by the Duke of Suffolk, the Earl Marshal, in which he established who should be intitled to receive grants of arms, and what each were to pay, according to his station. "First, he ordained, "that men of the church, who by their virtues and cunning had been "preferred to rooms and degrees of honor and worship, should be favored "with distinctions of arms by the officers of arms; as should such tem

poral men who were honest and of good reputation, and able to main"tain the state of a gentleman. The different crafts and companies of the "noble city of London, and all others within the realm, which had re"ceived royal incorporation, to distinguish their different occupations, so "that they did not presume to have or use any kind of armorial distinction, "but what they were authorized to by Clarenceux king of arms, of all "his province, being the south, east, and west parts of England. If they transgressed, they subjected themselves to imprisonment and fine, at the Sovereign's pleasure; but that king at arms and his marshal were for"bidden to grant arms to any vile or dishonest occupation." The fees were directed to be small. To every Bishop receiving arms, £10; the greater Abbots and Priors the same sum; the lesser ones, as also Deans and Archdeacons, £6. 13s. 4d.; church-men, whose ecclesiastical incomes were no more than about one hundred marcs, £6.; trading incorporations, £10.; temporal men, whose estates were no more than one hundred marcs, £6. 13s. 6d. ; those whose landed or personal property was less than that, £6; such who were worth, in moveable goods, one thousand marcs, or more, £6; and those whose lands and goods were estimated at a thousand marcs, £5.

In the College library are two folio volumes, containing fac-similies of grants, with the arms, and the initial portraits, signatures, and seals of provincial kings, collected and arranged by Camden, Clarenceux, commencing in a grant to Jolin Somers, in 1523, written in French. Some are in the Latin, but most in the English language. Mr. Dallaway has engraved several fac-similies of the hand-writing of kings, heralds, and pur

suivants.

The

The custom of obtaining grants of crests, and augmentations to pa- HEN. VIII. ternal bearings, came now into use. A late most respected herald

shrewdly remarks, that Henry was prodigal of arms to his wives, though he deprived them of their heads. To such of the ladies whom he raised from the situation of subjects to be Queens, he gave such augmentations, and extended the grant also to their families. The house of Seymour still retain their's. Henry loved a full shield; but though it was flattering to a gallant officer to receive an additional mark of distinction, yet it injured heraldry, by making the bearing complex. Before that time, a simplicity characterized the arms of our gentry.

It is singular, that in this reign it was usual to give the pieces of ordinance the same names, as those appropriated to the members of the College : : names, we must presume, dear to the Sovereign, and cherished by the people. I have never seen this circumstance remarked.

When this Monarch went in 1520 to meet Francis I. at their most magnificent interview, he took with him eighteen officers at arms, probably all he had; they were Garter, Clarenceux, and Norroy, kings; Windsor, Richmond, York, Lancaster, Carlisle, Montorgueil, and Somerset heralds ; Rouge-croix, Blue-mantle, Portcullis, Rouge-dragon, Calais, Risebank, Guisnes, and Hampnes pursuivants, being four in ordinary, and four extraordinary. The kings at arms were allowed each three servants and three horses; the heralds each one servant and two horses; the pursuivants only one horse each, but no servant.

At Henry VIII.'s death the council ordered a more magnificent funeral than had ever been solemnized in this kingdom. There attended at it Garter, Clarenceux, and Norroy kings at arms, York, Richmond, Somerset, Carlisle, Windsor, and Chester heralds, with Rouge-croix and other pursuivants. At the interment of his beloved Queen, Jane Seymour, there attended these officers at arms, besides kings and heralds: Portcullis, Blue-mantle, Rouge-dragon, Guisnes, Hampnes, Berwick, and Blanch-lion pursuivants. The latter belonged to the Duke of Norfolk, the name being taken from the arms of the Howards.

HEN. VIJI..

Garter.

GARTER, PRINCIPAL KING AT ARMS.

Hen. VII.-Sir THOMAS WRITHE, or WRIOTHESLEY, Knight.

He was born at Colatford, near Castle-comb, in Wiltshire, second son of the late Garter, and godson of Thomas Holme, Esq., Clarenceux king at arms. He resided some time at Cricklade. He came early into the College, being first Wallingford pursuivant to Arthur Prince of Wales, afterwards to Henry VIII., whilst Prince of Wales. He attended his father into Bretagne, in 1491, who dying, and Machado Clarenceux being a foreigner, he petitioned Henry VII. for, and obtained the office of Garter; but only during pleasure, and conditionally, that he gave Clarenceux £20 a year during life, reserving 40 marcs for himself, which afterwards was raised to £40: the patent passed January 26. At the accession of Henry VIII., he obtained, October 9, 1509, a new patent, in which he is called "Thomas Wriotesley, alias Writh, filius Johannis Wriotesley, "alias Writhe, nuper dicti Gartier." Speaking of his promotion, he said, "I never had any roome of an heralt, and therefore took not my oath of an herald, but only that of a pursevant, and was only Wallyngford pur"seuvant with the Prince, that is to say, Prince Arthur, and also with "Prince Henry, now being the King, our Sovereign Lord, out of whose "service I was preferred to the roome of Garter." He was peculiarly whimsical respecting the orthography of his name; sometimes signing himself Tho. Wr. Crik,. i. e. Thomas Wriothesley, Cricklade; Wrye, Wallingthen, Wryst, Wallingford. This not pleasing him, he made it. Wreseley; and so Queen Catherine Parr wrote the name, in a letter of condolence to a lady of this family, when she had lost her only son. Not satisfied with this name, he made it Writhesley. That was changed forWrotesley, and lastly to Wriothesley, a name long appropriated to a very ancient family in Staffordshire, still resident there, with the title of Baronet, descended from one of the first knights of the Garter, created at the institution of the order by Edward III. This was as weak as calling his father Sir John, when he never had been knighted. Henry VII. sent him to Guido Ubaldo, Duke of Urbino, in Italy, with the insignia of the Garter, and upon the same errand to Philip King of Castile. Henry VIII. sent him to summon Tournay. He accompanied the Princess Mary to France, to be married to Lewis XII. He received for this

service

Garter.

service thirteen shillings a day for his ordinary expenses; was allowed HEN. VIII. four servants and two horses of carriage, one to convey his clothes, the other his bed-furniture, and seven other horses. Richmond, who accom panied him, had eight-pence a day ordinary, and two horses. Clarenceux had previously gone over, probably to Calais, to receive the Princess on her landing. Garter proclaimed the just at Canterbury, August 17, 1523. He took over the order of the Garter to Ferdinand, King of the Romans, afterwards Emperor, who presented him with a cup worth £22, and 100 Rhenish guilders. He was at the splendid interview between Henry VIII. and Francis I. of France, in 1520; at which time he preceded Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, who carried the sword of state bare-headed ; he is also represented uncovered, "wearing his tabard of the order,' mounted on a piebald horse, richly trapped and caparisoned. On his left hand rode "a serjeant at arms, or mace-bearer, mounted on a black horse" When Henry and Francis sent the order of St. George and St. Michael each to the other, in 1527, he took the Garter to the latter, who gave him 250 crowns of the sun. The disputes which arose between him and Clarenceux, Machado's successor, came to such an height, that it obliged the Sovereign to refer the matter to the Duke of Suffolk. He built Garter-house, near the Barbican, at the top of which was a chapel, dedicated to "S. Trinitatis in Alto." He died, November 24, 1534, having lived to see his nephew a great statesman, and who a few years · after became an Earl, Lord-chancellor, and a knight of the Garter. In Mr. Thoresby's collections was the ceremonial of the burial of Elizabeth, consort of Henry VII., written by him. He collected and wrote much himself. Clarenceux pretended in his quarrel, that he kept back the books in the office from him; but he made it very evident, that what he had were such as had belonged to his father, who left them to his family, except perhaps his visitation books whilst he acted as Clarenceux. By his will, dated April 24, preceding his death, he left all his books, relative to the office of arms, to Thomas Hawley, Esq. for his life, directing that they should then go to those who should become Garters for ever. The elder Anstis, Garter, had the original catalogue of these books. It is believed they are the foundation of that valuable library which is now in the College of Arms. Sir Thomas married thrice: his first wife was Johanna, daughter and heir, or co-heir, of William Hall, of Sarum, Esq., buried in the church of St. Giles', Cripplegate, London:

the

Garter.

HEN. VIII. the second was Ann, daughter of William Ingleby, of Ripley in Yorkshire, Esq widow of Richard Goldsborough, in that county, Esq., also widow and relict of Robert Warcup, Esq.; she died before him, July 10, 1515: his third wife was also named Ann. By the first he had nine children; by the second only one; by the last he had no issue. 1. John, 2. Edmund, 3. Charles, and 4. John, all died young. 5. Charles, who became York herald; 6. Michael, born December 21, 1510; 7. Barbara, born July 5, 1500; 8. Dorothy, born December 21, 1506; and 9. Susan, born December 18, 1509. 10. Joan, the only child of the second marriage, died young *. Sir THOMAS WALL, Knight.

Patent, December 9, 1534.--Created on Christmas Day.

He was fifth son of Sir Thomas Wall, a son of Thomas Wall, Norroy, seated at Eryche, in the county of Derby. His patent was during life; the salary £40., the same as his predecessors had enjoyed. He was in Flanders, February 19, 1527; is said to have carried letters from Henry VIII. to Mary, Duchess of Savoy, who resided in Flanders; and it is thought he was in Italy, on Allhallowtide, 1529. On that feast, in 1534, he was waiting the arrival of the admiral ambassador from France. He was sent, in January 1534-5, to James V. of Scotland, with the insignia of the Garter. He received from that Monarch a gown of purple velvet, lined with black bock, and one hundred crowns of the sun; at the same time Hawley, Norroy, had a gown of black sattin, lined with budge, all the sleeves tied with aglettes of gold, to the number of twenty-four, and a reward of one hundred crowns of the sun. He died in January, 1536-7, when he had held this office only a year and a half. It is unknown whether he ever married. Some have doubted whether he was knighted, because he was styled Esquire, so late as April 6, 1536. He bore Azure, a Chevron Ermine; on a Chief embattled Or, three Ogresses.

CHRISTOPHER BARKER, Esq.-See next reign.

Created, at Whitehall, July 9, being Sunday, 1536.-Patent dated 15th following.

PROVINCIAL

* I have an historical genealogy of the Wriothesley family in MS, written by myself, including the life of the chancellor. There is very little published of that great man.