Walter Aston Edward Blount Esq. FSA (7 February 1807 – 9 February 1894) was a long-serving

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 ...

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 ...

in London. He was born the eldest son of

Edward Blount Edward Blount (or Blunt) (1562–1632) was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras, noted for his publication, in conjunction with William and Isaac Jaggard, of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays in 1623. He ...

, the third, but second surviving, son of Sir Walter Blount, 6th Baronet of Sodington,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. Walter Blount began his heraldic career when he was made Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary in 1830. He was advanced to the rank of Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary in 1834. At the same time, he was

Blanc Coursier Herald Blanc Coursier Herald was an officer of arms in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, associated with the Order of the Bath. The name of the office derives from the white horse in the arms of the Hanoverian monarchs. One of the main motivations ...

, an office founded by statute in 1726 and united to that of the genealogist of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

. Shortly after his appointment as Chester Herald, he arranged for his family pedigree to be brought up to date, thus establishing his legal right to the Blount

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

: , with a crest of . He also recorded 49 quarterings, 25 of which had been allowed to his family at the 1634 Visitation of Worcester. Blount was promoted to the office of

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 1859. He held this position until his promotion to the post of

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 Englan ...

in 1882. Contemporary evidence shows him to have been an inactive officer of arms. At the Earl Marshal's enquiry into the College of Arms in 1869, he admitted that he did "very little indeed" since becoming 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 ...

and even when a

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

"never very much." He died, a bachelor, in 1894 and is buried at

St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church, Mortlake St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church, Mortlake, is a Roman Catholic church in North Worple Way, Mortlake, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The church is dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. The church building, in Gothic ...

.Meller, Hugh: Parsons, Brian (2011). ''London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer'' (Fifth ed.).

Stroud, Gloucestershire Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five Va ...

The History Press The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

. p. 26. .

Arms

References

External links

The College of Arms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blount, Walter 1807 births 1894 deaths Burials at St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church Mortlake English officers of arms English genealogists

Arms

See also

References

External links