JUms of Jorchester anb florset. 



By Sir ROBERT EDGCUMBE. 



(Bead Nov. 20th, 1896.) 



I. THE ARMS OF DORCHESTER. 



Arms of the Borough of Dorchester are : 

 Purpure, a castle embattled triple crowned 

 ar. masoned sa. surmounted projecting in base 

 by an escutcheon of France Ancient quarterly 

 (1 and 4) with the Arms of England, certified 

 and confirmed for the borough seal by William 

 Hervey, Clarencieux King-of-Arms, September 

 22nd, 1565. The document in vellum con- 

 firming this blazon is in the possession of the 

 Corporation, and is filed as No. 7, Class B. ; and above the 

 written confirmation the Arms, as above described, are drawn, or, 

 to use the heraldic term, tricked. The only point in which this 

 exemplification by William Hervey is defective is in not indicating 

 the tincture of the field. A letter from Mr. Bellasis, Lancaster 

 Herald, states that, according to the records of the Heraldic 

 College, the field is purpure, and as no user of any variation of the 

 Arms can be sustained, as against the authority of the qualified 



