Members of the Friends and guests were recently enlightened to the mysteries of the ancient history of heraldry in the atmospheric setting of the equally ancient church of St. Mary’s.
Hosted by Friend Debra Melsom, a devoted and knowledgeable heraldry student, we welcomed Stephen Slater, a Council Member of The Heraldry Society of England, who gave a hugely informative and entertaining talk followed by a tour of the church monuments.
The system of heraldry dates back to the middle of the 12th century on mainland Europe. What began as a means of identification on the battlefield evolved into an elaborate system of family history representation, of which there are numerous examples in the church.
The Friends were privileged to view the seldom opened multipaneled St. John polyptych monument, which displays more heraldic symbols on it then you could shake a stick at. The St. John family royal connections were revealed including the Beaufort and Boleyn links. Stephen explained the symbolism on the Nicholas and Elizabeth St. John memorial and the Blount family connections. (The Friends visited the Blount family home at Mapledurham House in July 2024.)
The well attended talk was followed by tea and scrumptious cake in the Lydiard Park Hotel and Conference Centre.
The Lydiard Archives features a Special Collection on Heraldry, which can be viewed here.