Antiquarian publications such as the General Armory of England report a Kitchin[g]man coat of arms awarded by William Camden in 1616 to a Kitchinman of Helmsley (Yorkshire). I decided to track down the source manuscripts which are in the Harley Collection in The British Library.
The hope was the manuscripts would identify who the recipient was and even provide some additional genealogical detail. Alas, this was not the case and I am left puzzled by the meaning of the annotations to the arms
Bookbox in the Handwriting Deciphering forum has confirmed that MS 1422 'Grants of Arms by Divers Kings of Arms Tricked by John Gough' reads "A patten of theis in April 1616".
MS 6065 'An English heraldic manuscript' reads "F? W. C. Cl. Apr. 1616 P. " I hazard that W.C. Cl. stands for William Camden Clarenceaux?
Any help with decoding the meaning of these annotations would be gratefully received.
For context, the Kitchingman were well established in Yorkshire by the C15. In April 1616, Isobel the daughter of Robert Kitchinman of Helmsley, gentleman, married Richard Humble a very wealthy Southwark vintner and styled Alderman of City of London (he paid £200 to avoid the role). Humble's monument in Southwark Cathedral is lavish: wives, children, arms depicted. I only managed to view one side but I wonder if the Kitchinman arms were purchased expressly for the monument? There are no mentions of Kitchinman arms in any of the Yorkshire Visitations.
