Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The office is named after the Portcullis chained Or badge of the Beauforts, which was a favourite device of King Henry VII. King Henry's mother was Lady Margaret Beaufort. The office was instituted around 1485, probably at the time of Henry's coronation. The badge of office is very similar to that of Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary, the latter being ensigned with the Royal Crown. The earliest recorded Portcullis Pursuivant was James or Jacques Videt, who was the plaintiff in a Common Pleas case in 1498[1] and again in 1500.[2]

Portcullis Pursuivant
The heraldic badge of Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary
 
Heraldic traditionGallo-British
JurisdictionEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Governing bodyCollege of Arms
Dominic Ingram at the 2022 State Opening of Parliament

The current Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is Dominic Ingram. He took part in the Royal Procession at the 2023 Coronation.[3]


Holders of the office

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Arms Name Date of appointment Ref
James Videt (Henry VII)
Ralph Lagysse (Henry VII)
  Robert Fayery or Fairy 1516–1549
  Richard Withers 1550–1553
  John Cocke 1553–1559
  Edward Merlin 1559–1559
  Ralph Langman 1559–1567
  Robert Glover 1567–1571
  Richard Lee 1571–1585
  William Segar 1585–1588
  Thomas Lant 1588–1597
  Samuel Thompson 1597–1619
  Philip Holland 1619–1625
  Thomas Preston 1625–1633
  John Beauchamp 1633–1660
  John Wingfield 1660–1663
  Thomas Holford From 1663
  Thomas Holford, junior (James II)
Laurence Cromp From 1689
  John Hesketh (William III)
  Thomas Wightwick 1713–1718
  Richard Mawson 1718–1745
  Thomas Thornberry 1745
  Peter Toms 1746–1780
John-Doddington Forth 1780–1817
  George Frederick Beltz 1817–1822
  James Pulman, Esq. 1822–1838 [4]
  Sir Albert William Woods, GCVO, KCB, KCMG, KGStJ, FSA 1838–1841 [5]
George William Collen, Esq. 1841–1878 [6]
  Arthur Staunton Larken, Esq. 1878–1882 [7]
  William Alexander Lindsay, Esq., CVO, FSA 1883–1894 [8]
  Thomas Morgan Joseph-Watkin, Esq. 7 April 1894 – 1913 [9]
Keith William Murray, Esq., FSA 1913–1922 [10]
  Hon. Sir George Rothe Bellew, KCB, KCVO, FSA 1922–1926 [11]
  Alfred Butler, Esq., MVO, MC, FSA 1926–1931 [12]
  Sir Anthony Richard Wagner, KCB, KCVO, DLitt, FSA 1931–1943 [13]
  Charles Murray Kennedy St Clair, 17th Lord Sinclair, CVO 1949–1957 [14]
  Sir Alexander Colin Cole, KCB, KCVO, TD, FSA 1957–1966 [15]
  Michael Maclagan, Esq., CVO, FSA, FRHistS 1970–1980 [16]
  Peter Brotherton Spurrier, Esq. 1981–1992 [17]
  William George Hunt, Esq., TD 1992–1999 [18]
  The Hon. Christopher John Fletcher-Vane 2012–2017 [19]
Dominic Charles Davenport Ingram, Esq. 2022–present [20]

See also

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References

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Citations

  1. ^ "AALT Page". aalt.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  2. ^ "AALT Page". aalt.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  3. ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  4. ^ "No. 15895". The London Gazette. 1 June 1822. p. 278.
  5. ^ "No. 19639". The London Gazette. 24 July 1838. p. 1667.
  6. ^ "No. 20036". The London Gazette. 9 November 1841. p. 2757.
  7. ^ "No. 24554". The London Gazette. 22 February 1878. p. 880.
  8. ^ "No. 25183". The London Gazette. 29 December 1882. p. 6649.
  9. ^ "No. 26502". The London Gazette. 10 April 1894. p. 2019.
  10. ^ "No. 12583". The Edinburgh Gazette. 22 July 1913. p. 777.
  11. ^ "No. 32628". The London Gazette. 3 March 1922. p. 1818.
  12. ^ "No. 33185". The London Gazette. 23 July 1926. p. 4868.
  13. ^ "No. 33725". The London Gazette. 12 June 1931. p. 3837.
  14. ^ "No. 38658". The London Gazette. 5 July 1949. p. 3299.
  15. ^ "No. 41136". The London Gazette. 26 July 1957. p. 4428.
  16. ^ "No. 45066". The London Gazette. 24 March 1970. p. 3415.
  17. ^ "No. 48499". The London Gazette. 20 January 1981. p. 831.
  18. ^ "No. 53094". The London Gazette. 2 November 1992. p. 18353.
  19. ^ "No. 60243". The London Gazette. 20 August 2012. p. 15985.
  20. ^ "No. 63626". The London Gazette. 25 February 2022. p. 3498.

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)
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