Clive Edwin Alexander Cheesman (born 1968) is a British

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve ...

at the

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

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. He is currently Richmond Herald, having been appointed to that position on 7 April 2010. Cheesman was formerly a

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

in the Department of Coins and Medals in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

. He served as Rouge Dragon Pursuivant-of-Arms in Ordinary from 17 November 1998 to 7 April 2010.

Background

Son of architect Wilfrid Henry Cheesman and his wife Elizabeth Amelia (née Hughes), a biochemist, Cheesman has a degree in '' Literae Humaniores'' (Classics or 'Greats') from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he was at Oriel. In 1993, he was awarded the degree of

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from the Scuola Superiore di Studi Storici di San Marino, with a doctoral thesis on Roman history.Università degli studi della Repubblica di San Marino, Scuola superiore di Studi storici, dottorato di ricerca secondo ciclo.
He is co-editor of The Heraldry Society's journal, ''The Coat of Arms'', and from 2008 to 2013 was Chairman of The Friends of

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. He received a Diploma in Law in 1995 from City University, London, and was called to the Bar of England and Wales as a member of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in October 1996. Cheesman's

coat of arms 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 it ...

was granted by the College of Arms shortly after his appointment as Rouge Dragon. On 31 December 1999, arms were granted with the

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 visua ...

''Per pale and per pall Argent and Sable''. These were granted along with a crest blazoned ''A Crow Sable gorged with an ancient British Torque Or alighting on a man's Skull resting on its side Argent''. Cheesman became Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary in 2010, vacating the position of Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary, which remained vacant until Adam Tuck took the position in 2019.

Publications

*Cheesman, Clive, and Williams, Jonathan, ''Rebels, Pretenders and Impostors'' (London: British Museum Press, 2000), . *Cheesman, Clive (ed.), ''The Armorial of Haiti. Symbols of Nobility in the Reign of Henry Christophe''. With a historical introduction by Marie-Lucie Vendryes and a preface by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean, Governor-General of Canada (London: College of Arms, 2007), .

Arms

References

External links

The College of Arms
* , - 1968 births Living people English curators English genealogists English officers of arms Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Alumni of City, University of London {{UK-historian-stub

Background

Publications

Arms

See also

References

External links