Armorial Bearings

Armorial bearings, a device depicted on the (now imaginary) shield of one of the nobility, of which gentry is the lowest degree. The criterion of nobility is the bearing of arms, or armorial bearings, received from ancestry. There is nothing, however, to prevent persons assuming arbitrary insignia and armorial bearings; and all persons entitled to bear arms can register their genealogies and families at the Heralds' College, Benet's Hill, London, on payment of a moderate fee, the heralds being the examiners of these matters and the recorders of genealogies. 43 Geo. 3, c. 161, imposed an assessed tax upon armorial bearings, whether borne on plate, carriages, seals, or in any other way. This Act is now replaced by the (English) Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 14), s. 19, by which 'armorial bearings' includes any armorial bearings, crest, or ensign, by whatever name called, and whether registered in the College of Arms or not. This Act, by s. 18, fixes the tax as follows:-If such armorial bearings shall be painted, marked, or affixed on a carriage, 2l. 2s.; and if not so painted, but otherwise worn or used, 1l. 1s. See Planche's Pursuivant of Arms, and ROYAL ARMS.