Heraldry in Lancaster Castle

The Shire Hall houses a splendid display of over 650 shields bearing the arms of every  English monarch from Richard The Lionheart onward, as well as all the Constables of Lancaster Castle and the High Sheriffs of Lancashire.

Below you will find a selection of illustrations and descriptions of a small part of the collection, concentrating on the Middle Ages. The descriptions are taken from 'Heraldry in the Shire Hall, Lancaster Castle' published by The Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society (2000) We are also grateful to the estate of Mr Robert Milward for donating a wonderful photographic record of the shields.

Where we have it, the biographical information on the sheriffs has been researched by Dr Colin Penny 

We won't be adding to this section but if you would like to know more about any of the shields not listed here please contact us and we will be delighted to help where we can.

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