History Page

THE SURREY BADGE

Although some have worn it for many seasons now, many Surrey bowlers have wondered how the County Badge of many colours, came to be evolved.

Surrey, as a geographical entity, has no badge of its own which could be conveniently borrowed, but the Executive, by the aid of the late Alderman A. W. Hall, and an acquaintance of his who is learned in Heraldry, had one specially designed and founded mainly upon the arms of bygone Surrey nobles.

This master of Heraldry devised an entirely new coat-of-arms from the shield of the Warennes (Earls of Surrey from the Conquest until the middle of the fourteenth century), the FitzAlans (to whom the Earldom next went) and Holand, Duke of Surrey. The Warennes shield was chequered gold and blue, the FitzAlans carried red with a silver lion, and that of Holand had red with three golden leopards in a silver border, while Howard, the present Earl of Surrey, who is also Duke of Norfolk, has arms of red with a silver bend between six crosslets fitchy silver.

Our expert in Heraldry therefore took FitzAlan's red field, placed across it a broad bar of Warennes's chequers; above the blue and gold bar he put one of Holand's leopards, and below it three Howard's silver crosslets-and there you are!