Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies Achievement

The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS) was founded in 1961 at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(its current location) by

Cecil Humphery-Smith Cecil Raymond Julian Humphery-Smith (29 October 1928 – 12 January 2021) was a British genealogist and heraldist. Early life Cecil Humphery-Smith was born on 29 October 1928 to Frederick Humphery-Smith of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, a company ...

. Its library was created by donations from Humphery-Smith,

Aylmer Buesst Aylmer Buesst (28 January 18833 January 1970) was an Australian conductor, teacher and scholar, who spent his career in the United Kingdom. He was mainly associated with opera and vocal music. He also wrote a work on the leitmotifs in Richard Wa ...

and others. The Institute promotes

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

, study, and training in all aspects of family history, including

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

. Courses may be undertaken by full-time students, through a series of evening classes combined with other studies, or by a correspondence course. Those who complete approved courses may sit the

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

examination after submitting adequate evidence of practical experience. Those who hold the diploma and produce an acceptable dissertation or thesis can qualify as Licentiates of the Institute, or LHG. Students, armorists,

genealogists 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 ...

and family historians are able to make use of the extensive collection of books and manuscripts in the Institute's

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. In January 2010, Dr Richard C. F. Baker became Principal of the Institute.

Arms

In 1982,

armorial bearings A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

were granted to the Institute. These are

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

ed ''Azure a Cross patonce within an orle of eight Acorns cups inward Or''.

References

External links

Institute Website
Heraldic societies {{UK-org-stub

Arms

See also

References

External links