Ralph Bigland (29 January 1712 – 27 March 1784) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

and

cheesemaker Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrat ...

. He was born at

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, and was the only son of Richard Bigland and his wife, Mary. His father was a native of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, descended from the Bigland family of

Biglands Biglands is a hamlet in Cumbria, England. It is located to the north of Gamelsby, and east of the River Wampool. It is not the location of Milefortlet 1, the first milefortlet to the west of Hadrian's Wall, which is located on the coast overlook ...

. He should not be confused with his nephew Sir Ralph Bigland.

Early career

In 1728 Bigland was apprenticed within the

Tallow Chandlers' Company The Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers is one of the ancient livery companies of the City of London. The organisation, which engaged not only in tallow candle making but also in the trade of oils, first received a Royal Charter in 1462. ...

to a cheesemaker. He was made free of the company in 1737 and served as its master in 1772. He was based in

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 ...

but his occupation took him to the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

and

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

brought him to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, where he supplied cheese to the allied armies. While he was working at this profession, his

interests were already evident.

Antiquarian and heraldic interests

Memorial to Ralph Bigland in Gloucester Cathedral

Much of Bigland's antiquarian work was focused on

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 ...

. Over time, he travelled the whole county, accumulating historical information and making it his business to record the inscriptions on everything from great monuments to modest gravestones. Following his death, his son, Richard, attempted to bring the work to print as a

county history English county histories, in other words historical and topographical (or " chorographical") works concerned with individual ancient counties of England, were produced by antiquarians from the late 16th century onwards. The content was variable: ...

, under the editorship of James Dallaway. A number of instalments of the ''Historical, Monumental, and Genealogical Collections relative to the County of Gloucester'' were published between 1786 and 1794 (completing two volumes, dated 1791 and 1794), and further instalments appeared sporadically through the 19th century. However, the project remained unfinished until a definitive edition was published in four volumes by the

Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society is a learned society concerned with the history and antiquities of the City of Bristol and the historic county of Gloucestershire. It was founded on 21 April 1876; and is a registered charity, ...

between 1989 and 1995. Bigland's antiquarian concerns brought about a change of career in 1757. In that year, he was appointed Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary 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 ...

. He was promoted to the office of Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary in 1759. He was a skilled

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...

, and he was a methodical

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...

. He advocated the inclusion of much greater detail in church registers and called for better safekeeping and detailed indexing of such records. Along with his friend and colleague Sir

Isaac Heard Sir Isaac Heard ( 1730 – 29 April 1822) was a British officer of arms who served as appointed Garter Principal King of Arms, from 1784 until his death in 1822 the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms in London. In this role, h ...

, he helped to reestablish the College of Arms as the center of genealogical study in England. Bigland climbed steadily in the heraldic hierarchy and was a

king of arms King of Arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings and sometimes certify genealogies and noble titles. In other traditions, the power has been de ...

for the last eleven years of his life. He became

Norroy King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is t ...

in 1773,

Clarenceux King of Arms Clarenceux King of Arms, historically often spelled Clarencieux (both pronounced ), is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial kings of arms and his jurisdiction is that part of Engla ...

in 1774, and

Garter Principal King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...

in 1780. Bigland was working until his demise when he died in his rooms in the College of Arms on 27 March 1784. He was buried on 8 April in

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

. Practising what he preached, he had himself drafted the inscription, which contains a quantity of genealogical information.

Arms

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *L. Campbell and Francis Steer. ''A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the College of Arms Collections''. (London, 1988). * John Anstis. ''The Register of the Most Noble Order of the Garter''. (London, 1724), 376–379. *E. F. M. Prince, ''Ralph Bigland and his kin'' (1989), Coll. Arms *I. Gray, ''Ralph Bigland and his family'', Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, 75 (1956), 116–33 *J. Goodall, ''Garter Bigland's funeral, 1784'', Coat of Arms, new ser., 9 (1991–2), 40–42 *A. R. Wagner, The records and collections of the College of Arms (1952) * Walter H. Godfrey and

Sir Anthony Wagner Sir Anthony Richard Wagner (6 September 1908 – 5 May 1995) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He served as Garter Principal King of Arms before retiring to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms. He was one of ...

, ''The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street: being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee''. (London, 1963). *Sir Anthony Wagner. ''Heralds of England: a History of the Office and College of Arms''. (London, 1967). *Sir Anthony Wagner. ''Heralds and Heraldry in the Middle Ages''. (London, 1956). *

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder and is well remembered for his time at English club West Ham United, spending eighteen years with the club. Apart from two sh ...

. ''A History of the College of Arms''. (London, 1805), 137–42.

External links

The College of Arms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigland, Ralph 1712 births 1784 deaths 18th-century antiquarians English antiquarians English genealogists English officers of arms Garter Principal Kings of Arms Burials at Gloucester Cathedral Historians of Gloucestershire

Early career

Antiquarian and heraldic interests

Arms

See also

References

External links