Some colour variations.. ..

GOOD NEWS!!!!

The Coat of Arms restoration fund has been awarded £500 from the St Andrews Fund for Scots Heraldry!

An encouraging start for the fundraising effort, and great to have the support from an organisation which has a wealth of knowledge about heraldry. Thankyou!

Coat of Arms Quiz Winner!!

It was the intention of the Coat of Arms Restoration Group that the prize for the winner of the Coat of Arms Quiz should be to switch on Oldmeldrum’s Christmas Lights. Sadly the weather caused this event to be cancelled so there was no prize available.

Since then a supporter of the group has provided a £25 gift voucher from Strachan’s of Inverurie for the winner. It was suggested that it could perhaps be presented by the TV celebrity who is to open the Oldmeldrum Sports this year. The Sports Committee has kindly agreed to this.

There were 5 all correct entries in the individual entrant category and 3 all correct group entries. It was decided that the winner should come from the individual entrants and as there was only one prize, the winner was ‘picked from a hat’ and is Clare Hoskins.

Congratulations Clare!

She will be presented with the prize by Chris Chittell, better known as Eric Pollard from Emmerdale, at Meldrum Sports on Saturday 18^th June.

Thank you and well done to all those who entered. The standard was high. Our apologies for the delay in establishing a winner.

The winner was drawn from all entries who answered the questions correctly.

These were:

Individual Entries with full marks

Evie Robertson

Clare Hoskins

Ross McWilliam

Aiden Burr

Morgan ?

Group Entries with full marks

Grant Robertson

Bailey Watson

Kris Benzie

Keiron Bruce

Chloe Haley

Rebecca Wood

Jack Sim

MeghanWeston

Alex Meff

Lauren Milne

Ellen Stevens

Debra Jamieson

Bailie Cursiter

thanks for all your interest,

E.Munro

Kate Middleton's Coat of Arms.

A topical press article courtesy the mirror..seems a C of A is a must have for the A-listers!

A coat of arms has been created for Kate Middleton and will be featured on a souvenir programme of the royal wedding.

The Middleton family's heraldic design was commissioned by Kate's father Michael in time for the marriage of his daughter to Prince William.The move signifies the growing social status of Kate's parents and also the practical need for Miss Middleton, a future Queen, to have a coat of arms.The design released today incorporates an acorn sprig - one for each of the Middletons' three children - an idea suggested by Kate.The oak tree is a traditional symbol of England and strength, and is a feature of west Berkshire where the family have lived for more than 30 years.At the centre of the coat of arms is an inverted 'v' or chevron coloured gold which represents Kate's mother Carole Middleton whose maiden name was Goldsmith.Above and below this feature are white chevronels to symbolise peaks and mountains, reflecting the family's love of the Lake District and skiing. But there are no references to the ancestors of the Middletons, made millionaires by their successful mail order business Party Pieces.The forebears of Michael, an ex-flight dispatcher, feature successful Leeds solicitors, while his wife, a former air hostess, is descended from a long line of labourers, carpenters and Durham coal miners.

Thomas Woodcock, Garter Principal King of Arms, from the College of Arms in the City of London, sat down with Kate's parents to create the design which cost £4,400.He said: "It's not compulsory but as their daughter is marrying into the Royal Family she will have a need probably to use a coat of arms."He added that Miss Middleton could have been granted her own heraldic design but her father commissioned the College in his name so all the family could use it.

Mr Woodcock added: "The Middleton family particularly wanted acorns or oak and I think Catherine Middleton in particular was responsible for the idea of these oak sprigs."The idea is that great trees grow from small acorns and the part of Berkshire in which the Middletons brought up their children there are a great many oak trees so it's something they associate with the upbringing of their children."And in the centre you have what is known as a chevron and that has been made gold as Catherine Middleton's mother's maiden name was Goldsmith - so that's a suitable reference to her in the centre of the family."

A version of the coat and arms which can only be used by Kate or her sister Pippa, as it denotes a Middleton spinster, will be printed on the back of the souvenir programme while William's will be on the front. The booklet will include the wedding order of service and be available on the day of the nuptials.

Kate's heraldic design features a tied ribbon to show she is an unmarried woman and the overall shape is an elaborate lozenge - a shield would be used for Middleton men.But Kate will only be able to use the coat of arms on letter headings and other items up until her wedding day on April 29.Following the Westminster Abbey ceremony, the coat of arms of William and his fiancee will be combined - something known as "impaled arms".Looking at the shield, the Prince's heraldic design will fill the left hand side and Kate's will be on the right.

Mr Woodcock added: "With any new design of a coat of arms you have to make sure that the design is distinct not just in colour but in the linear appearance and as there is a 16th century coat of arms with a chevron between three sprigs of oak we've made the differences - dividing the background colours."Red and blue were chosen as the Garter Principal knew Kate's coat of arms would have to be combined with William's, which feature the same shades, and the colours needed to complement each other.Kate's brother James will be able to pass down the coat of arms to his children but Pippa, as a woman, will not but she can use it during her lifetime.The formal legal document granting Mr Middleton his coat of arms is written on vellum parchment decorated by a herald painter with the text written by a scrivener.

Quiz Update

Detail of the display at Meldrum Public Library

Firstly, A Happy New Year ......and thanks to everyone who filled out the quiz forms, which we hope you found both interesting and entertaining. The quiz was compiled and distributed by Evelyn Munro, with displays set up in Oldmeldrum Town Hall windows, and the Public Library...many thanks to the library staff for their support.
A good number of completed sheets were returned, but unfortunately due to the extreme weather conditions the 'Light up Meldrum' was cancelled.
Furthermore Evelyn has been unwell for a number of weeks now and has been unable to go through the sheets and select a winner. We are hoping that she will be back in the driving seat soon. When Evelyn returns, the winner will be contacted and will be awarded an alternative 'prize'.
Sincere apologies for the delay and any disappointments.

Meantime efforts are being made to progress the restoration.... including trying to source funding to support the renovation. We will try to keep you informed of any developments.
In Evelyn's absence if you would like to find out more or get involved please email :
lheskethcampbell@yahoo.com

Commemorated in Meldrum

The otter wearing the crown represents the Meldrum family. Today this is remembered in the street name Otter Avenue. Meldrum Primary School pupils were responsible for naming the street. They have an otter on their school badge.


The road leading out of Oldmeldrum in the direction of Meldrum House is called Urquhart Road.


Greyhound Drive is another street name, which was inspired by the coat of arms. Meldrum Primary School pupils wanted to see the broken legs of the greyhound mended and as they couldn’t make this happen they submitted a request to the Council that a street be named after them.

Evelyn Munro

10.11.10

William Urquhart of Meldrum’s Coat of Arms

William Urquhart, and his ancestors before him, owned Oldmeldrum and all the land for miles around. They lived up at Meldrum House, which is now a hotel.

The coat of arms on the Town Hall is the personal one of William Urquhart. He was the 4th Urquhart laird of Meldrum. In 1741, to celebrate becoming chieftain of the whole clan, he had these new arms designed for himself. His initials W and U are clearly seen on the design.

His coat of arms also commemorates his ancestors. Around 1249 William’s forefathers changed their surname from Fedarg to Meldrum. The name Meldrum, a territorial one, originated here. The otter wearing a crown represents the Meldrums.

The crescent, which the otter holds between his paws, represents the Seton family. They came after the Meldrums. If the coat of arms is restored to its original colours, the crescent will be painted red.

The boars’ heads on the shield belongs to the Urquharts as do the greyhound supporters.

The writing at the top of the design is in Latin, Per Mare et Terras, which means ‘by land and sea ’. It refers to the otter, who can live on land or in the sea.

At the bottom of the design is the motto of the Urquhart clan,
Mean Speak and Doe Well.

It is still their motto today.

Evelyn Munro

09.11.10