Coat of Arms

Tracking down Armorial Bearings

Penelope Hunting in her History of the Tylers and Bricklayers Company They Built London, mentions being notified by David Fuller of a “T&B Coat of Arms” existing in Norwich dating from the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. There was no indication given in the history about the size, origin, nature or current whereabouts of this item.

Interest was kindled after I noticed on ebay the offer for sale of a 1968 photograph of the said “Tylers and Bricklayers Coat of Arms”. Shown leaning against a wall it was plainly very large and of substantial weight. It appeared to comprise a fine 3D wood carving of some antiquity and amusingly incorporates at the bottom a foliate face – perhaps that of a green man.

It is known that a number of provincial guilds (and indeed many Bricklayers Arms pubs) adopted the Armorial Bearings (Coat of Arms) of the Tylers and Bricklayers of the City of London. The surprising fact about this wooden Coat of Arms was that there is no record of the Tylers and Bricklayers in Norwich ever possessing their own hall for which to commission such a large and costly object. Historical records would indicate that the Guild in Norwich only generally numbered between 20 and 30 members.

Thoughts naturally turned initially to whether this particular Coat of Arms had ever been in London – perhaps having been requisitioned from Tylers and Bricklayers Hall in Leadenhall Street where we know Coat of Arms would certainly have once existed and have been later removed?

However, with the information on the back of the photograph, I traced the Coat of Arms to the Museum of Norwich. Making enquiries with them, it was established that the Arms had once hung in St Andrew’s Hall in Norwich, the City’s civic hall. Moreover, I was to find its current location – the Tide and Time Museum in Great Yarmouth, now forming part of their Bridewell Collection. Furthermore it was also available to view!

Past Master Jeff Fuller, living locally, offered to pay a visit and was able to ascertain that the Coat of Arms was indeed firmly linked in their museum records to the Tylers and Bricklayers Guild in Norwich. He further found that the museum also possessed a large pewter flagon dating to 1761 bearing the Tylers and Bricklayers Coat of Arms and the names of members of the Norwich Guild.

This Coat of Arms was apparently one of a set of four, although the location of the others remains unknown. Presumably they represented other local guilds sharing use of St Andrew’s Hall. At one time, the ancient city of Norwich was second only to London in size and in trade and clearly the local guilds were active.

Alas, being relatively fragile, the blades of the brickhammer proudly held aloft by the dexter hand in the crest had clearly not survived the various relocations of this heavy object over the years and it would perhaps be good to sometime see them reinstated. It was gratifying to note the survival of these provincial T&B artifacts.

David Williams

Editor