Henry Chitting (1580 – 7 January 1638) was a long-serving officer of arms at the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Life

His heraldic career was started thanks to his family's ties to Sir Nicholas Bacon. On 18 July 1618, Chitting was appointed Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary after purchasing the position from his predecessor. In this capacity he visited

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1623 for

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...

, Clarenceux King of Arms. He died on 7 January 1637-8, at

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

Family

Chitting first married a widow whom he outlived and about whom little is known. Some time after 1612 he married Ann, the daughter of William Bennet. She died on 8 May 1630 at the age of 27. The two had three children. After her death, he then married Susan, daughter of John Darnall of Hertingfordbury, Hertfordshire, who survived him. Chitting was admitted to

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

on 4 August 1633, and this was presumably a result of his links with the Bacon family. He died on 7 January 1638 and was buried at

. For the occasion, fifty copies of his

funeral sermon A Christian funeral sermon is a formal religious oration or address given at a funeral ceremony, or sometimes a short time after, which may combine elements of eulogy with biographical comments and expository preaching. To qualify as a sermon, it sh ...

were printed, which was written by

Edward Sparke Edward Sparke (c. 1610/11 - 1692) was an orthodox Anglican English clergyman and devotional writer in prose and poetry, who despite being ejected from his living during the English Rebellion survived to see his work and teaching gain a wide currenc ...

, later the author of ''Scintilla Altaris''.E. Sparke, ''The Christians Map of the World drawne at the solmne funerals of M. Henry Chitting Esquire, Chester-Herauld at Armes, interred Ianuary 11, Anno Domini 1637'', (I. Norton for Richard Thrale), full text a
umich/eebo

References

Bibliography

*W. H. Rylands, ''The Four Visitations of Berkshire''. Harleian Society (1908), 56–57. *Walter H. Godfrey and Sir Anthony Wagner, ''The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street: being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee''. (London, 1963), *B. Carter, "Catholic Charitable Endeavour in London, 1810–1840". '' Recusant History'', 25 (2000–01), 487–510, 648–69. *L. Campbell and Francis Steer. ''A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the College of Arms Collections''. (London, 1988).

External links

The College of Arms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitting, Henry 1580 births 1638 deaths English antiquarians English genealogists English officers of arms 16th-century English writers 16th-century English male writers 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers 17th-century antiquarians

Life

Family

See also

References

Bibliography

External links