Somerset Herald

Somerset Herald

The heraldic badge of Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary
Heraldic tradition	Gallo–British
Jurisdiction	England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Governing body	College of Arms

Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. In the year 1448 Somerset Herald is known to have served Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, but by the time of the coronation of Henry VII in 1485 his successor appears to have been raised to the rank of a royal officer, when he was the only herald to receive coronation liveries.

By 1525 Somerset was again in private service, on the staff of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, although he was appointed by the King and shared the heralds' fees as a herald extraordinary. On the death of that nobleman in 1536 the herald returned to the service of the crown, and all later officers called Somerset have been members of the royal household as heralds in ordinary. The badge of office is A Portcullis Or Royally Crowned. This is a version of the Beaufort badge.

The current Somerset Herald of Arms is Mark Scott.

Holders of the office

Arms	Name	Date of appointment	Ref
Royal Herald of Henry VII
	John Yonge [a]	(1493)
	John Pounde	(1511)
Herald to Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
	John Pounde	(1511)
	William Hastings	(1528)
	Thomas Traheyron or Trahern	(1536)
Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary
	Thomas Traheyron or Trahern [b]	1536–1542
	Richard Radcliffe	1543–1545
	William Harvey	1545–1551
	Edmond Atkinson	1551–1571
	Robert Glover	1571–1588
	William Segar	1589–1597
	Robert Treswell	1597–1624
	John Philipot	1624–1645
	George Owen	1657–1658
	Henry Bysshe	1658–1660
	Sir Thomas St George	1660–1680
	Francis Burghill	1680–1700
	Samuel Stebbing	1700–1720
	John Warburton	1720–1759
	Ralph Bigland	1759–1773	[2]
	Henry Hastings	1773–1777
	John Charles Brooke	1777–1794	[3]
	John Atkinson	1794–1813	[4]
	James Cathrow	1813–1854	[5]
	William Courthope	1854–1866	[6]
	James Planché	1866–1872	[7]
	Stephen Tucker	1880–1887	[8]
	Sir Henry Farnham Burke	1887–1911
	Everard Green	1911–1926	[9]
	Sir George Bellew	1926–1950	[10]
	Michael Trappes-Lomax	1951–1967	[11]
	Rodney Dennys	1967–1982	[12]
	Thomas Woodcock	1982–1997	[13]
	David Vines White	2004–2021	[14]
	Mark John Rosborough Scott	2024–present	[15] [16]

See also

• Heraldry
• Officer of Arms

References

Notes

1. Escorted Margaret Tudor to Edinburgh, 1503.
2. Killed in Scotland, 25 November 1542. ^[1]

Citations

1. Letters & Papers Henry VIII, 1542, no. 1140 (2)
2. "No. 9904". The London Gazette. 12 June 1759. p. 2.
3. "No. 11846". The London Gazette. 3 February 1778. p. 1.
4. "No. 13627". The London Gazette. 25 February 1794. p. 179.
5. "No. 16767". The London Gazette. 24 August 1813. p. 1682.
6. "No. 21517". The London Gazette. 31 January 1854. p. 278.
7. "No. 23152". The London Gazette. 17 August 1866. p. 4593.
8. "No. 24872". The London Gazette. 10 August 1880. p. 4363.
9. "No. 28545". The London Gazette. 27 October 1911. p. 7794.
10. "No. 33185". The London Gazette. 23 July 1926. p. 4868.
11. "No. 39142". The London Gazette. 6 February 1951. p. 667.
12. "No. 44400". The London Gazette. 1 September 1967. p. 9597.
13. "No. 49155". The London Gazette. 1 November 1982. p. 14201.
14. "No. 57419". The London Gazette. 24 September 2004. p. 12075.
15. "Somerset Herald - College of Arms".
16. "No. 64371". The London Gazette. 17 April 2024. p. 7586.

Bibliography

• The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street : being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee, Walter H. Godfrey, assisted by Sir Anthony Wagner, with a complete list of the officers of arms, prepared by H. Stanford London, (London, 1963)
• A History of the College of Arms &c, Mark Noble, (London, 1804)

External links

• The College of Arms
• CUHGS Officer of Arms Index