104 THE ARMS OF DORCHESTER AND DORSET. 



Burke's Armorial, and the erroneous description of the Borough 

 Arms in Burke's Armorial was evidently taken from the faulty 

 description of them in the old edition of Hutchins. Had Mr. 

 Fox-Davies turned up the modern edition of Hutchins he would 

 have been put upon the true scent, for this would have made him 

 acquainted with the confirmation of William Hervey, Clarencieux 

 King-of-Arms a confirmation of which he is evidently ignorant. 

 In Dorchester itself inaccurate representations of the Borough 

 Arms are rampant. The Council have had the Arms blazoned on 

 the blank wall of the Corn Exchange in a painting of magnificent 

 proportions, but, sad to say, v/ith all the five errors I have pointed 

 out. The Mayor issues his invitations adorned with these 

 adulterated Arms. The Town Clerk heads his correspondence 

 with these spurious Arms, On the doorway to the Corn Exchange 

 in the High Street the same mistakes are carved. On the 

 topmost gable of the County Museum these spurious Arms appear. 

 On the bookplate of the Museum these inaccuracies are so' perpe- 

 trated. On the Arms stamped on the books presented to the 

 prize winners of the Grammar School the same mistakes appear. 

 Last, but perhaps not least, on the pretty china ornaments now 

 sold at Mr. Godwin's shop, which many buy as mementoes of 

 Dorchester, the same Arms with all their imperfections are blazoned 

 in colours. I sincerely trust that the Town Council will lose 

 no time in directing that their true Arms are blazoned afresh 

 on the wall of the Corn Exchange. The true Arms of the town 

 are so full of interest and of such exceptional antiquity that 

 it is a real pity that the misleading and spurious Arms, which, 

 as I have said, might be the Arms of a municipality incorporated 

 in the last century, should be allowed for a moment to supplant 

 the actual blazon of the Arms of the Borough of Dorchester. 



[Since the above paper was read the Heralds have further con* 

 sidered the tincture of the field, and are of opinion that the lines 

 in the drawing in the Heralds' College, which were taken by 

 Mr. Bellasis to represent " purpure," signify no colour, being merely 

 hatched in by way of improving the look of the drawing. The 



