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Street
heraldry is defined as that which can be seen from any public road and
may be
on public buildings, private
houses, towns and village signs, in fact almost anywhere and sometimes
in
surprising places. It is changing and disappearing rapidly, so the
Society has decided to record
as much
as possible in the County
for the benefit of historians of the future.
The
division of Suffolk into Hundreds has been used as the basis for the
survey and
the nine booklets are
now complete and on sale at relevant Tourist Information offices or
direct from
the Society. A distinction
is made between traditional heraldry and ‘quasi-heraldry’,
the latter being
based upon heraldry but
not strictly heraldic.
Booklet
No. 1, 2nd edition covers the town in much greater detail with over 40 examples of heraldry that can be seen from the street, together with
descriptions and historical facts, plus a map of central Bury to assist in your searches.
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Street Heraldry in Bury
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Town sign |
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| Suffolk
County Council Offices |
Town Council offices
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Booklet
No. 2 covers the Hundreds of Babergh, Cosford and Samford and
stretches
from
Cavendish in the west to Shotley in the east and includes such towns as
Long
Melford, Lavenham and Hadleigh where much heraldry is still visible.
There are
over 60 examples in this area.
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Village
sign - Monks Eleigh
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Private
house - Hadleigh
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Gate
House - Freston
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Inn
sign - Nayland (Quasi-heraldry)
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No.
3
booklet covers the Hundreds of Bosmere, Carlford and Colneis which is
a substantially rural strip of Suffolk countryside extending along the north shore of the Orwell river and further northwestwards to Needham Market. Felixstowe was found to have the highest density of arms,
despite being a relatively new, albeit a prosperous town. Of the stately houses in the area only Helmingham Hall, Orwell Park at Nacton and Seckford Hall at Gt Bealings display arms granted to their one time
owners. |
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| Felixstowe Town Council |
Needham Market
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Ipswich Borough
Council
(at
Rushmere St Andrew) |
Levington |
Booklet No. 4 covers the
Hundreds of Lackford, Thingoe & Risbridge which includes the
medieval town of Clare, the horseracing town of Newmarket, and
Mildenhall with connections to the RAF and USAF. There are over
60 photographs and much heraldic and historical details of individual
coats of arms. |
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| pswich BoMildenhall - town sign |
Clare - sign outside
the Ancient House
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| Newmarket
- The Rutland Arms hotel |
Gazeley
- the Chequers Pub |
Booklet No. 5 records various aspects of heraldry in the five
Hundreds lying north east of Bury
St Edmunds. Any visible armorials are recorded from the 102 parishes
visited including
Stowmarket, Walsham le Willows, Eye and Debenham.
There are 54 colour photographs in the 48 page booklet. |
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| Stowmarket - town sign |
Eye - town sign |
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| Finningham - village sign |
Brewers Arms, Rattlesden |
Booklet
No. 6 covers Wilford, Loes and Hoxne Hundreds which extend from
the banks of
the tranquil Waveney River southward to the spectacular coastline and
the Deben River. The
ancient bustling market towns of Woodbridge and Framlingham, with its
castle, are well
endowed with heraldry relating to historical events, even back to the
Vikings. Many of the 50
small villages and inns have armorial arms included in their signs and
these are also depicted
within their churches. |
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| Brandeston, Framlingham, College |
Framlingham Town sign |
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| Wingfield, De La Pole Arms |
Woodbridge, Shire Hall |
Booklet
No. 7 In
this 58 page booklet on the ancient rural and ever-changing coastline
of Blything and Plomesgate, 72 towns and villages were searched for
heraldry. There are 70 coloured illustrations, featuring arms,
badges and
crests, especially those found on municipal buildings, town and village
signs,
and on the dwindling number of pub shingles. |
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| Southwold |
Aldeburgh |
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| Blythburgh |
Wangford |
Booklet No. 8. Forty-six communities have been visited in the northern reaches
of Suffolk County boundary prior to 1976. These three Hundreds of Wangford,
Mutford and Lothingland are bordered by the Waveney river valley and the
North Sea coast. With the exception of the area near Lowestoft, it is an
agricultural district with the two ancient market towns of Beccles and Bungay
amidst small villages. |
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| Lowestoft |
Beccles Museum |
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| Corton |
Kessingland |
Booklet
No. 9 covers
the heraldry on view in the county town of Ipswich which cannot readily
be compared with that in other towns and villages in Suffolk. Not only
is the population three times that of St Edmundsbury but recent
expansion into green fields, together with re-modelling of the town
centre, must have substantially reduced heraldic displays of Tudor and
Victorian prosperity. Some armorial bearings from wealthy families can
be seen but they are largely in the churches whilst pub signs are much
reduced and once lively images have been replaced by the written word.
Civic heraldry has flourished with recent buildings and sports centres
having the Ipswich achievement in one form or another. It is as though
the long period of heavy industrial and maritime prosperity, but sparse
heraldry, has been compensated for by placing the undoubtedly pleasing
civic arms on all street name plates in the town.
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| Ipswich coat of arms |
The Ancient House |
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| Tooley's Almshouses |
Ipswich School |
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Each
booklet has a location map and is well illustrated with photographs of
every item,
blazoning of arms and references given where relevant. They are A5
size, handy
to keep in a pocket, and reasonably priced at £3.50 each
,
plus postage costs. (See Publications
page).
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