royal corporation founded 2 march 1484 incorporated 1 18 july 1555 reincorporated 2 founder richard iii of england mary i of england & philip ii of spain headquarters queen victoria street london ec4 united kingdom area served england wales northern ireland and in some commonwealth realms key people edward fitzalan howard duke of norfolk earl marshal thomas woodcock garter principal king of arms services recording granting and regulation of heraldry coats of arms and pedigrees parent royal household of the united kingdom 3 website college of arms the college of arms also known as the college of heralds is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms with jurisdiction over england wales northern ireland and some commonwealth realms . the heralds are appointed by the british sovereign and are delegated authority to act on behalf of the crown in all matters of heraldry the granting of new coats of arms genealogical research and the recording of pedigrees . the college is also the official body responsible for matters relating to the flying of flags on land and it maintains the official registers of flags and other national symbols . though a part of the royal household of the united kingdom the college is self financed unsupported by any public funds . founded by royal charter in 1484 by king richard iii the college is one of the few remaining official heraldic authorities in europe . within the united kingdom there are two such authorities the court of the lord lyon in scotland and the college for the rest of the united kingdom . the college has had its home in the city of london since its foundation and has been at its present location on queen victoria street since 1555 . the college of arms also undertakes and consults on the planning of many ceremonial occasions such as coronations state funerals the annual garter service and the state opening of parliament . heralds of the college accompany the sovereign on many of these occasions . the college comprises thirteen officers or heralds three kings of arms six heralds of arms and four pursuivants of arms . there are also seven officers extraordinary who take part in ceremonial occasions but are not part of the college . the entire corporation is overseen by the earl marshal a hereditary office held by the duke of norfolk currently edward fitzalan howard 18th duke of norfolk . contents 1 history 1.1 foundation 1.2 varying fortunes 1.3 reincorporation 1.4 civil war 1.5 survival 1.6 comfortable decay 1.7 reform 1.8 present 2 roles 2.1 ceremonial 2.2 granting and proving descent of arms 2.3 change of names 2.4 change of name and arms 2.5 genealogical records 2.6 roll of the peerage 3 earl marshal 3.1 court of chivalry 4 heralds of the college 4.1 wages 4.2 uniforms 4.3 qualifications 4.4 list of heralds 4.4.1 officers in ordinary 4.4.2 officers extraordinary 5 armorial achievement of the college 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit foundation edit depiction of king richard iii the college of arms founder his wife queen anne neville and their son prince edward prince of wales with their heraldic crests and badges from the rous roll . a roll of arms painted by john rous around 1483 1485 for the earl of warwick . king richard iii s interest in heraldry was indicated by his possession of two important rolls of arms . 4 while still duke of gloucester and constable of england for his brother edward iv from 1469 he in the latter capacity supervised the heralds and made plans for the reform of their organisation . soon after his accession to the throne he created sir john howard as duke of norfolk and earl marshal of england who became the first howard appointed to both positions . 4 in the first year of his reign the royal heralds were incorporated under royal charter dated 2 march 1484 under the latin name le garter regis armorum anglicorum regis armorum partium australium regis armorum partium borealium regis armorum wall et heraldorum prosecutorum sive pursevandorum armorum . 5 6 translated as the garter king of arms of england the king of arms of the southern parts the king of arms of the northern parts the king of arms of wales and all other heralds and pursuivants of arms . 7 the charter then goes on to state that the heralds for the time being shall be in perpetuity a body corporate in fact and name and shall preserve a succession unbroken . 7 this charter titled liter de incorporatione heraldorum is now held in the british museum . 8 there has been some evidence that prior to this charter the royal heralds had already in some ways behaved like a corporation as early as 1420 . 1 9 10 nevertheless the charter is the earliest surviving document to affirm the chapter as a corporate body of heralds . 8 the charter outlines the constitution of the officers their hierarchy the privileges conferred upon them and their jurisdiction over all heraldic matters in the kingdom of england . 11 the king empowered the college to have and use only one common seal of authority and also instructed them to find a chaplain to celebrate mass daily for himself anne neville the queen consort and his heir prince edward . 4 6 the college was also granted a house named coldharbour formerly poulteney s inn on upper thames street in the parish of all hallows the less for storing records and living space for the heralds . 4 12 13 the house built by sir john de pulteney four times lord mayor of london was said to be one of the greatest in the city of london . 14 15 varying fortunes edit prince arthur s book an armorial of arms for arthur prince of wales c. 1520 depicting the proliferation of lions in english heraldry the defeat and death of richard iii at bosworth field was a double blow for the heralds for they lost both their patron the king and their benefactor the earl marshal who was also slain . 16 the victorious henry tudor was crowned king henry vii soon after the battle . henry s first parliament of 1485 passed an act of resumption in which large grants of crown properties made by his two predecessors to their supporters were cancelled . 17 whether this act affected the status of the college s charter is debatable ; however the act did facilitate the de facto recovery of coldharbour to the crown . henry then granted the house to his mother lady margaret beaufort for life . 18 this was because it was supposed that the house was granted personally to john writhe the garter king of arms and not to the heralds as a corporation . as a result the heralds were left destitute and many of their books and records were lost . 1 6 10 despite this ill treatment from the king the heralds position at the royal court remained and they were compelled by the king to attend him at all times albeit in rotation . 19 of the reign of king henry viii it has been said that at no time since its establishment was the college in higher estimation nor in fuller employment than in this reign . 20 henry viii was fond of pomp and magnificence and thus gave the heralds plenty of opportunity to exercise their roles in his court . in addition the members of the college were also expected to be regularly despatched to foreign courts on missions whether to declare war accompany armies summon garrisons or deliver messages to foreign potentates and generals . 20 during his magnificent meeting with francis i of france at the field of the cloth of gold in 1520 henry viii brought with him eighteen officers of arms probably all he had to regulate the many tournaments and ceremonies held there . 21 officers of the college of arms riding in procession to the westminster tournament from a tourney roll made during the reign of king henry viii in 1511 . the pursuivants to the left are identified by their reversed tabards while the figure in the right with the black hat is probably garter king of arms sir thomas wriothesley . nevertheless the college s petitions to the king and to the duke of suffolk in 1524 and 1533 for the return of their chapter house were rejected and the heralds were left to hold chapter in whichever palace the royal court happened to be at the time . they even resorted to meeting at each other s houses at various guildhalls and even a hospital . 22 furthermore henry viii s habit of raising ladies in the situation of subjects to queens and then awarding them many heraldic augmentations which also extended to their respective families was considered harmful to the science of heraldry . 21 the noted antiquarian and heraldist charles boutell commented in 1863 that the arms of queen anne boleyn are the first which exemplify the usage introduced by henry viii of granting to his consorts augmentations to their paternal arms . it is a striking illustration of the degenerate condition of heraldry under the second tudor sovereign . 23 it was also in this reign in 1530 that henry viii conferred on the college one of its most important duties for almost a century the heraldic visitation . 24 the provincial kings of arms were commissioned under a royal warrant to enter all houses and churches and given authority to deface and destroy all arms unlawfully used by any knight esquire or gentleman . around the time of the dissolution of the monasteries this duty became even more necessary as the monasteries were previously repositories of local genealogical records . from then on all genealogical records and the duty of recording them was subsumed by the college . these visitations were serious affairs and many individuals were charged and heavily fined for breaking the law of arms . hundreds of these visitations were carried out well into the 17th century ; the last was in 1686 . 10 25 reincorporation edit roll of grants of arms during the tudor period by sir thomas wriothesley c 1528 the college found a patroness in mary i although it must have been embarrassing for both sides after the heralds initially proclaimed the right of her rival lady jane grey to the throne . when king edward vi died on 6 july 1553 lady jane grey was proclaimed queen four days later first in cheapside then in fleet street by two heralds trumpets blowing before them . however when popular support swung to mary s side the lord mayor of london and his councils accompanied by the garter king of arms two other heralds and four trumpeters returned to cheapside to proclaim mary s ascension as rightful queen instead . 26 the college s excuse was that they were compelled in their earlier act by the duke of northumberland lady jane s father in law who was later executed an excuse that mary accepted . 27 the queen and her husband and co sovereign philip ii of spain then set about granting the college a new house called derby place or derby house under a new charter dated 18 july 1555 at hampton court palace . 10 27 the house was built by thomas stanley 1st earl of derby who married lady margaret beaufort in 1482 and was created the 1st earl of derby in 1485 . 28 the house was built in 1503 and was given to the crown by the 3rd earl in 1552 3 in exchange for some land . 29 the charter stated that the house would enable them the college to assemble together and consult and agree amongst themselves for the good of their faculty and that the