Coat of Arms
Ken, a good friend of mine, and one of the most talented artists I know, has painted a wonderful watercolour of the Goskar coat of arms. The description came from Burke’s General Armoury (available in most larger libraries in the UK), where thousands of family coats of arms are described in heraldic terminology.
I’m not sure why my family were awarded a coat of arms, but I intend to find out.
The birds depicted on the shield and on the crest are Cornish choughs. More about them later.
Books about heraldry on Amazon…
Christina Tait, 
Jon O'Brien and 3 others are discussing. 
Howard Durdle 9:57 am on 25 May, 2005 Permalink
That’s fantastic! I wonder if there’s a coat of arms for Durdle? And how does one find out if a family was awarded a coat of arms?
Tom 8:20 am on 26 May, 2005 Permalink
You’ll need to go to a reference library and look up your surname in Burke’s General Armoury, or if you’re lucky, Burke’s Peerage (or Landed Gentry). If your surname is listed, you’ll need to prove that you are descended from the person originally granted the arms. A coat of arms is not tied to a surname. The best place for more info is the College of Arms…
Graham Tait 11:09 pm on 29 May, 2005 Permalink
Well, after stumbling on your marvellous ‘blog (I think that word should have an apostrophe before it – but maybe I’m old fashioned!), it’s got me wondering if there is a Tait coat of arms. Off to get a copy of Burke’s Peerage then!
Jon O'Brien 5:21 pm on 15 June, 2005 Permalink
Sorry to (potentially) disillusion you, Tom, but a coat of arms isn’t awarded. Anyone that reached a sufficiently elevated social position, as well as having the cash to pay for it, could, and still can, buy one!
Still, at least you know that, somewhere in your ancestry, someone rose above the level of a serfdom. ;-)
Jon O'Brien 5:26 pm on 15 June, 2005 Permalink
You’ve already got a whopping great chalk arch named after your family, Howard!
Tom 5:46 pm on 15 June, 2005 Permalink
Jon:
‘Tis true! One of my ancestors could indeed have bought a coat of arms to gentrify himself, and the family thereafter…
I prefer to think it was for some noble deed, like dragon slaying ;)
Jon O'Brien 2:46 am on 18 June, 2005 Permalink
Tom:
In Kernow, it probably had more to do with selling flagons than slaying dragons!