Charles John Burnett is a Scottish antiquarian and former
officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or Sovereign state, state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:
* to control and initiate coat of arms, armorial matters;
* to arrange and participate in ceremo ...
.
Burnett was born in 1940
and educated at
Gray's School of Art
Gray's School of Art is the Robert Gordon University's art school, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of the oldest established fine art institutions in Scotland and one of Scotland's five art schools today, and ranked among the Top 20 ...
in Aberdeen, and the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
.
He has worked for a number of museums, including:
Letchworth Museum
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249.
Letchworth ...
, the
National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, the
Scottish United Services Museum at
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
, and
Duff House
Duff House is a Georgian estate house in Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, it is part of the National Galleries of Scotland and is a Category A listed building.
The house is built of ashlar in t ...
,
Banff
Burnett was appointed
Dingwall Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary
Dingwall Pursuivant of Arms is a current Scottish pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon.
Dingwall Pursuivant was formerly a private officer of arms in the service of the Lord of the Isles, but along with Kintyre Pursuivant, Ross Hera ...
in 1983 and promoted to
Ross Herald of Arms in Ordinary
Ross Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a Scottish herald of arms Extraordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The office is however held in Extraordinary after the retirement of the last holder in Ordinary.
The title of the office is derived from ...
in 1988. He retired as an officer of arms in ordinary in 2010 and was appointed Ross Herald Extraordinary for a period of five years, demitting office on 31 December 2015. His 1992 M.Litt thesis at the University of Edinburgh was entitled ''The Officers of Arms and heraldic art under King James Sixth & First 1567-1625''. He was also the president of the
Heraldry Society of Scotland
The Heraldry Society of Scotland was founded in 1977 with the aim of improving the study of heraldry.
The Society's arms feature a Saint Andrew's Cross with silver thistles and a red shield. Their crest is a herald wearing a tabard of the arms, an ...
.
Arms
References
Living people
Scottish officers of arms
Scottish genealogists
1940 births
Alumni of Gray's School of Art
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