Norroy and Ulster King of Arms

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincial King of Arms at the College of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is the older office, there being a reference as early as 1276 to a "King of Heralds beyond the Trent in the North". The name Norroy is derived from the Old French nor(t) meaning "north" and roy which means "king", a "North King". The office of Ulster Principal King of Arms for All-Ireland was established in 1552 by King Edward VI to replace the older post of Ireland King of Arms, which had lapsed in 1487.

Ulster King of Arms was not part of the College of Arms and did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Earl Marshal, being the heraldic authority for the Kingdom of Ireland (the jurisdiction of the College of Arms being the Kingdom of England and Lord Lyon's Office that of the Kingdom of Scotland).

Ulster was Registrar and King of Arms of the Order of St Patrick. Norroy and Ulster King of Arms now holds this position, though no new knights of that Order have been created since 1936, and the last surviving knight died in 1974. Heraldic matters in the Republic of Ireland are now handled by the office of the Chief Herald of Ireland (a part of the Genealogical Office in the National Library).

The arms of the new office of Norroy and Ulster King of Arms were devised in 1980 based on elements from the arms of the two former offices. They are blazoned: Quarterly Argent and Or a Cross Gules on a Chief per pale Azure and Gules a Lion passant guardant Or crowned with an open Crown between a Fleur-de-lis and a Harp Or.

The current Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is Clive Cheesman who was appointed to the office on 14 November 2024.

Norroy Kings of Arms until 1943

Arms NameDates of officeNotes RefPeter de Horbury(1276) Andrew(1338) John Othelake1386–1399Office holders referred to as Lancaster King of Arms.This title was used for the King of Arms of the northern province in the reigns of Henry IV, V and VI, instead of Norroy.Richard Bruges1399–1426John Ashwell1426–1436William Boys1436–1447William Tyndale1447–1464The title reverted to Norroy King of Arms.Thomas Holme1464–1477John Writhe1477–1478John Moore1478–1493Roger Machado1493-1493Christopher Carlill1493–1510Thomas Benolt1510-1510John Yonge1510–1516Thomas Wall1516–1522John Joyner1522-1522Thomas Tonge1522–1534Thomas Hawley1534–1536Sir Christopher Barker1536William Fellows1536–1546Gilbert Dethick1546–1550William Harvey1550–1557Lawrence Dalton1557–1562William Flower1562–1588Edmund Knight1592–1593William Segar1593–1603Morgan Coleman had also applied for the position.Sir Richard St George1603–1623Sir John Burroughs1623–1634Sir William le Neve1634–1635Sir Henry St George1635–1644Sir Edward Walker1644–1645William Ryley1646–1658George Owen1658–1660Sir William Dugdale1660–1677Sir Henry St George, the younger1677–1680Sir Thomas St George1680–1686Sir John Dugdale1686–1700Robert Devenish1700–1704Peter Le Neve1704–1729Stephen Leake1729–1741John Cheale1741–1751Sir Charles Townley1751–1756William Oldys1756–1761Thomas Brown1761–1773Ralph Bigland1773–1774Sir Isaac Heard1774–1780Peter Dore1780–1781Thomas Lock1781–1784George Harrison1784–1803Ralph Bigland1803–1822Edmund Lodge1822–1838Joseph Hawker1838–1839Francis Martin1839–1846James Pulman1846–1858Edward Howard-Gibbon1848–1849Robert Laurie1849–1859Walter Blount1859–1882George Cokayne1882–1894Sir William Weldon1894–1911Sir Henry Burke1911–1919Charles Athill1919William Lindsay1919–1922Gordon Lee1922–1926Sir Arthur Cochrane1926–1928Sir Gerald Wollaston1928–1930Sir Algar Howard1931–1943Title combined with Ulster King of Arms

Ulster Kings of Arms until 1943

Arms NameDates of officeNotes RefTitle formerly Ireland King of ArmsBartholomew W. Butler1552–1566Nicholas Narbon1566–1588 Christopher Ussher1566–1588 Daniel Molyneux1597–1629 Daniel Molyneux and Adam Ussher1629–1633 Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara1633–1655Sir Richard Carney1655–1660Sir Richard St George1660–1683Sir Richard Carney and George Wallis1683–1698William Hawkins1698–1722William Hawkins and John Hawkins1722–1759James McCulloch1759–1765William Hawkins1765–1787Knighted 17 March 1783Gerald Fortescue1787–1788Rear Admiral Sir Chichester Fortescue1788–1820Sir William Betham1820–1853Sir Bernard Burke1853–1892Sir Arthur Vicars1893–1908Sir Nevile Wilkinson1908–1940 Vacant, duties performed by Thomas Sadleir (Deputy Ulster) Duties in the Republic of Ireland taken up by the Chief Herald of Ireland

Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms from 1943

Arms Name Dates of office Notes RefSir Algar Howard1943–1944 Howard was descended from the Dukes of Norfolk; he was born in Thornbury Castle, where he lived for many years."Sir Algar Howard", The Times, 16 February 1970, p. 10 Educated at King's College London, he was later admitted to the Inner Temple as a barrister. His first appointment at the College was in May 1911 as Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary and he attended the Investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales that year. He was promoted to Rouge Dragon Pursuivant that October, followed by Windsor Herald in 1919 and Norroy King of Arms in 1931, to which was added Ulster King of Arms in 1943. After he resigned as Garter, he served as Extra Gentleman Usher to Queen Elizabeth II from 1952 till his death, aged 89, in 1970."Howard, Sir Algar (Henry Stafford)", Who Was Who [online edition April 2014] (Oxford University Press)Godfrey and Wagner 1963, pp. 72–73Sir Gerald Wollaston1944–1957A grandson of Sir Albert William Woods,Godfrey and Wagner 1963, p. 69 Wollaston was educated at Harrow School and then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1893 with a law degree."Sir Gerald Woods Wollaston", The Times, 5 March 1957, p. 10 He was called to the Bar in 1899, but joined the College three years later as Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary for the coronation of Edward VII. Appointments as Bluemantle Pursuivant (1906), Richmond Herald (1919), and Norroy King of Arms (1928) followed. Having served as Henry Farnham Burke's deputy for a year, he succeeded him as Garter and oversaw the coronation of George VI; his experience and knowledge of ceremonial proved useful in assisting the young Earl Marshal. Earlier in his career, he was often called on to counsel in peerage cases. A "most painstaking and skilled herald with special bent to ceremonial", he published The Court of Claims in 1902, 1910 and 1936. After his Gartership, he served as Norroy and Ulster until his death in 1957.Godfrey and Wagner 1963, pp. 71-72Aubrey Toppin1957–1966Richard Graham-Vivian1966–1971Sir Walter Verco1971–1980 John Brooke-Little1980–1995Brooke-Little was educated at Clayesmore School and New College, Oxford, where his interest in heraldry grew and his friends included the future Garter, Colin Cole. He joined the Earl Marshal's staff in 1952 and was a Gold Stick Officer at the coronation in 1953. Appointed Bluemantle Pursuivant in 1956 and Richmond Herald in 1967, Brooke-Little also served as Registrar at the College (1974–82), Norroy and Ulster King of Arms and Registrar of the Order of St Patrick (1980–85) and director of the Heralds' Museum from 1991 until his retirement. He founded the Heraldry Society in 1947 and was its Chairman for fifty years, after which he was its President; he edited its journal, The Coat of Arms, until 2004. His published work included updated editions of Boutell's Heraldry and Fox-Davies's Complete Guide to Heraldry. According to The Daily Telegraph, he was the "brightest and ablest herald of his generation", but did not attain Gartership partly due to his "chaotic working practices". He died in 2006.London Gazette, 27 June 1995 (issue 54085), p. 8847"John Brooke-Little", The Telegraph, 16 February 2006"Brooke-Little, John Philip Brooke", Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014Hubert Chesshyre1995–1997After attending Trinity College, Cambridge, and Christ Church, Oxford, and graduating from both universities, Chesshyre became Rouge Croix Pursuivant in 1970, before serving as Chester Herald between 1978 and 1995 and Honorary Genealogist to the Royal Victorian Order from 1987 to 2010. He has been a member of the Westminster Abbey Architectural Advisory Panel and the Heraldry Society's Council. Along with Thomas Woodcock, he co-authored the Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Armorial, volume 1.Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 May 1997 (issue 54755), p. 5289"Chesshyre, (David) Hubert (Boothby)", Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, Nov 2014Thomas Woodcock1997–2010Woodcock was educated at Durham University and Darwin College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1975, but started work as a research assistant to Sir Anthony Wagner that year. He was appointed Rouge Croix in 1978, Somerset in 1982 and Norroy and Ulster in 1997. He has co-authored a number of works on heraldry, including The Oxford Guide to Heraldry (1988) and all four volumes of Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary (1992–2014)."Woodcock, Thomas", Who's Who, 2015 [online edition October 2014] (Oxford University Press)Thomas Woodcock, "St George, Sir Henry (1581–1644)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008Godfrey and Wagner, pp. 55-56, 90Patric Dickinson2010Dickinson was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, and was President of the Oxford Union in 1972. A research assistant at the College of Arms since 1968, his first heraldic appointment was ten years later, when he became Rouge Dragon Pursuivant. Promotions to Richmond Herald (1989) and Norroy and Ulster King of Arms (2010) followed, before he became Clarenceux. Having served as the College's Treasurer since 1995, Dickinson was also the Earl Marshal's Secretary from 1996 to 2012 and has been President of the Society of Genealogists since 2005."Dickinson, Patric Laurence", Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, Nov 2014Sir Henry Paston-Bedingfeld2010–2014 Timothy Duke 2014–2021Robert Noel2021–2024Clive Cheesman2024–present

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms

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