Heraldic beast, Hampton Court-geograph-2588858-by-Philip-Halling

Edward Earle Dorling (5 May 1863 – 26 October 1943) was a priest of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, archaeologist, historian, and notable writer on heraldry. Dorling was born in the parish of

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

, London, the son of Edward Jonathan Dorling and Maria Earle. His grandfather

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

was a printer in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, Surrey, and Edward inherited the business from his uncle in 1919. He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

in Dorset and at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...

, and became a schoolteacher after leaving university. Four years later he took holy orders. He was a vicar choral at Salisbury Cathedral and a master at the

Cathedral School Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...

until 1900, when he became a

minor canon A minor canon is a member of staff on the establishment of a cathedral or a collegiate church. In at least one foundation the post may be known as "priest-vicar". Minor canons are clergy and take part in the daily services but are not part of t ...

. He was vicar of

Burcombe Burcombe is a village in the civil parish of Burcombe Without, in Wiltshire, England. The village is about west of Salisbury city centre and lies each side of an unclassified road. Burcombe is an unspoiled village with many of the houses' garde ...

in Wiltshire from 1900 to 1905 and curate of

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

in Surrey thence until 1910, when he ceased to do regular parochial work. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was a chaplain at the military port at

Richborough Richborough () is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet. The population of the settlement is included in the civil parish of Ash. Although now some dist ...

. Dorling provided the heraldic illustrations for the

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

, as well as for Oswald Barron's celebrated article on heraldry in the 1911 edition of the '' Encyclopaedia Britannica''. Despite his lack of formal training he had a gift for design, and his work had a bold medieval-inspired character, contrasting with the weak heraldic designs that had become common in the early modern period. He was a prolific designer of bookplates, designing over seventy in total, many of which are signed by the

rebus A rebus () is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...

of a little door (a "door-ling"). In 1909 the moat at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

was excavated after having been filled in during the 17th century. The bridge was found to be in perfect condition, but the twelve royal beasts that had adorned it had disappeared. Dorling was commissioned by the

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reven ...

to design replacements, at the time considered the most important piece of heraldic restoration attempted in England for many years. Dorling was frequently consulted on matters of heraldry by the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

, and his contributions were acknowledged in every publication from 1912 onwards.

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

appointed him a commissioner in 1929. He died at Epsom in 1943, leaving a wife.

Bibliography

*''Register of Old Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral, 1810-1897'' (1898)
''Heraldry of the Church: a Handbook for Decorators''
(1911)
''A History of Salisbury''
(1911)
''Leopards of England, and Other Papers on Heraldry''
(1913) *''Regiments at a Glance'' (1917) *
Heraldry as an Element in Church Decoration
' (1925) *''Epsom and the Dorlings'' (1939)

References

* Wood, Anthony (2004)
"Edward Earle Dorling"
in ''The Heraldry Gazette''.

External links

National Portrait Gallery photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorling, Edward Earle 1863 births 1943 deaths British heraldists