IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0377 I SERIES
Held at: College of Arms
Title: I Series
Date(s): c 1530 -1962
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 28 volumes, of which 25 extant
Name of creator(s): College of Arms
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Official Records of the College of Arms
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Mostly concerning funerals, although also some material on Coronations. Majority of material 16th - 17th centuries.
I. 1 - The Book of Monuments. Illustrations of tombs, memorials, and hearses, including of Queen Anne (d 1618/9, wife of James I); members of the Southwell and Percivale families in County Cork and Gloucestershire; members of the Beckwith family in Yorkshire; members of the Disney family; the daughter of Richard St George (Clarenceux King of Arms, d. 1635), and parents of Sir Isaac Heard (Garter King of Arms, d. 1822)
I. 2 - Standards. Probably product of Wriothesley workshop, c.1532. Includes badge of Anne Boleyn, arms of Henry VIII, arms of Henry VIII impaling those of Anne Boleyn and of Catherine of Aragon, arms and badge of Jane Seymour, arms of Holland family
I. 3 - Interments. Notices of funerals, taken from various sources. Other material includes notes about charges of painters and chandlers, payments and perquisites of Officers of Arms. Funeral notices include Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury (1463), Edward IV (1483), Louis XII of France (1514/15), Arthur, Prince of Wales (1502), Henry VII (1509), William Courtenay, Earl of Devon (1511), Thomas Ruthall, Bishop of Durham (1522/3), Thomas Bradbury, Lord Mayor of London (1509/10), Jane Seymour (1537)
I. 4 - Funerals of Kings, Princes etc. Official record, sometimes certified by one or more Officers of Arms. Includes King James I (1625), Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1660), Prince Rupert (1682), King George II (1760), Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn (1790)
I. 5 - Funeral Certificates. Folios 1-143 missing. Covers years 1566-73.
I. 6 - Funeral Certificates, 1594-1611/12, with draft of funeral certificate of Robert, Earl of Sussex (d. 1542) inserted
I. 7 - Coronation and Funeral Ceremonials. Includes detailed descriptions of Royal ceremonies, including accession and Coronation of King Edward VI. Includes descriptions in Latin and English of form of Coronations of Kings and Queens in England; ordinances to be followed at the death and burial of a king, followed by account of the funeral of King Edward IV; memorandum on the creation of barons; ordering of the Queen's chamber when she takes to it a month or six weeks before her confinement; baptism of Arthur, Prince of Wales (b. 1486); funeral of Elizabeth, wife of King Henry VII (1502/3); Coronation of King Henry VII; funerals of noblemen including Sir Thomas Brandon (1509/10, Sir Thomas Lovell (1524), Thomas, Lord Hoo of Hoo and Hastings (1454/5); details of jousts for Coronation of King Edward VI; Coronation of Queen Mary I (1553); Order of Coronation of King Charles II as King of Scotland at Scone (1651); proceeding to Coronation of Queen Anne (1702)
I. 8 - Funeral Certificates, covering years 1618-1663
I. 9 - Begins as memoranda book of business conducted at College of Arms (1597/8-1600), then contains copies of pedigrees, grants of arms, etc. (1558-1785)
I. 10 - Funeral Certificates (originals), 1568-1614
I. 11 - Burials. Mostly contains drafts of entries in I.3 and I.7, but with additional material on funerals c.1472-1555, including those of Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton (1550) and Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester (1555)
I. 12 - Fair copies of funeral certificates, 1568-89
I. 13 - Order of exequies, 1559-66, with tricks of arms and details of painters' and drapers' charges
I. 14 - Burials of Kings, Queens, etc. Mainly drafts. Includes material on fees and charges, and directions of Margaret, Countess of Richmond, as to mourning apparel for women (1492/3). Probably belonged to Robert Cooke (Clarenceux King of Arms, 1593). Covers period 1492-1591
I. 15 - Burials. Mainly drafts of orders of ceremonies, including for the funerals of Jane Seymour; Anne of Cleves; Katherine Parr; Mary, daughter of Henry VII and wife of Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk; Thomas, Earl of Derby; Thomas, Earl of Arundel; Ferdinand, King of Aragon; Joan, Queen of Spain; Mary, Duchess of Norfolk, and John Walpole, Serjeant-at-Law
I. 16 - Funeral Certificates, c 1597-1621
I. 17 - missing since at least 1976
I. 18 - Coronation Ceremonials. 16th-century compilation re Coronations of monarchs and consorts, Richard II - Elizabeth I, including some lists of those attending, names of Knights of the Bath and of the carpet created, and speeches made in the City of London when Elizabeth I passed through it on the way to her Coronation. Also includes list of the retinue of Edward III in expedition to France and Normandy and during Siege of Calais, 1346, and copies of warrants to provide money and livery to Officers of Arms when travelling to wars and attendant upon army, 1544 and 1547. Some entries exist as finer versions in I. 7
I. 19 - Funeral Certificates, 1618-21
I. 20 - missing since at least 1976
I. 21 - Largesse. Copies of documents, begun in 17th century and continued to 1823. Includes details of and warrants for items for the funeral of King James I, including the hearse; warrants for fees for the Officers of Arms at occasions including funeral of James I, marriage and Coronation of Charles I, and installations of certain Knights of the Garter. Other documents relating to fees and largesse for the Officers of Arms include granting of, and petitions for, fees on the creation of noblemen (range of dates between 1628 and 1814), allowances for carrying letters announcing the birth of Prince Charles (afterwards King Charles II, 1630), fees for funerals of Charles II, for Coronations of James II, William and Mary, George I, George II, George IV
I. 22 - Funeral Certificates, Dec 1618 - Mar 1625
I. 23 - Funeral Certificates, May 1624 - Dec 1633, with one entry for Oct 1647
I. 24 - Funeral Certificates, Feb 1631/2 - June 1639
I. 28 - Ancient Rules of Blazon etc [In French, c 1543]. In three sections, each foliated separately. First section mainly concerned with rules of blazon, heralds and Officers of Arms in general, and the arms of the Kings of France; second section concerns the Dukes of Boulogne; third section deals with genealogies of the Kings and Dukes of Burgundy
I. 29 - missing since at least 1976
I. 30 - Funeral Certificates, 5 Feb 1660/1 - 8 May 1714, with one further entry for 19 Jan 1735/6
I. 31 - Funeral Certificates of Nobility, 8 Oct 1659 - 21 Oct 1805. Some entries of earlier funerals not made until 1952. Also details of funerals, 1898-1963. Includes original funeral certificate for Lady Mary Duras of Holdenby, Northamptonshire.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English French
System of arrangement:
Note: I. 25 - I.27 are classified as part of the collection 'Earl Marshal's Books', with I. 32 - I. 85 (and continuing)
Conditions governing access:
By appointment with the archivist. A letter of introduction and an item of photographic ID are required and a daily research fee of £10 is payable.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Permission of Chapter of College of Arms required
Finding aids:
Manuscript catalogue by Francis Steer, 1976
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
College of Arms
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note:
This description was created by Lynsey Darby, archivist, using material from a handlist by Francis Steer.
Date(s) of descriptions: 28 July 2014