370 



The Heralds* Visitations of Wiltshire. 



This Visitation also contains the Arms of the undermentioned 

 Towns : — 1 



Salisbury, And the Merchant Adventurers, 



Marlborough, ancient and modern, Clothiers, Weavers, Drapers, and 



Calne, Tailors of Devizes. 



Devizes, 



The ancient Arms of Marlborough were a Castle triple-towered ; the modern 

 Arms being the same as are given in Mr. Waylen's " History of Marlborough," 

 the ancient Arms being now the Crest. 



The Arms of Salisbury are exactly the same as they are printed every week 

 in the Salisbury and Winchester Journal, but in this Yisitation there is the 

 following memorandum : — 2 



" These Armes with the Supporters, are aunciently belonging to the Mayor 

 and his Brethren, as alsoe to the Communaltie of the Citty of New Sarum, 

 w cl1 I have registered and recorded att the time of my Yisitation of Wiltshire ; 

 which time was Thomas Jacobe, Mayor ; Robert Griffith, Richard Bryan, and 

 William Webb, J ustices of ye Peace : And alsoe George Snellgar, Robert Eyre, 

 John Webb, Thomas Cature, & John Eyre, have beene Ma rs of that Citty, and 

 Robert Tucke, Towne Clarke, Anno Dni 1565. 



" Per Hervie Clar." 



From this memorandum of Hervie Clarenceux, it would seem that it is an 

 error to have the arms of the Mayor, his brethren, and the ' ' communaltie of the 

 citty of New Sarum," on the outside of the Shire Hall at Devizes, as well as in 

 several places in it. I know that the answer to this will be, that these are the 

 arms of the County of Wilts, to which I can only answer that I have never in 

 any of these Heraldic Visitations, or elsewhere, met with any but very recent 

 information, as to any arms belonging to the County of Wilts ; and Mr. Hervie 

 tells us that in 1565, these were the arms which anciently belonged to the Cor- 

 poration of New Sarum, and as such were then registered and recorded by him. 

 Sir Bernard Burke, now Ulster King-of-Arms, in his " General Armoury" 

 gives the following account of these arms : — 



u Salisbury, City of, or New Sarum, Az. four Bars or. Supporters, on 

 either side an Eagle displayed with two heads or, ducally gorged, beaked, and 

 legged az. ; as entered in the Visitation of Wilts, 1565, and depicted on an 

 ancient painting still in the possession of the Corporation." 



It is worthy of remark, that among the coats of arms there given by Sir Bernard 

 Burke, amounting to more than fifty thousand, he does not give the arms of 

 any County. 



Disclaimers. 



At the Visitation of 1565 there were the following disclaimers : — 



The hunderthe of Selkleigh. 3 



Thomas Browne of Winterbourne I John Suter of Aveburye, 



Bassett, 4 | Rychard Francklyn of Ouverton, 



i Harleian MS. No. till, No. 1181, 1441, and No. 1565. 



2 Harleian MS., No. 1181. 

 3 Harleian MS. No. 1111., p. 16. 

 4 The pedigree and arms of this family will be found in the Visitation of 1623. 



