BATH AND WELLS, See of

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BATH AND WELLS, See of Azure, a saltire per saltire and quarterly or and argent.

[Recorded in the College of Arms.]

These are the arms of Wells only, the See in fact, though having a double name, being but one bishopric of which the seat is at Wells. Burke's Peerage states the arms of the See of Bath to have been identical with those of Winchester save that the field is azure.

Debrett's "Peerage" gives "the coat of Wells charged for Bath Abbey with a crosier argent in pale between a sword in bend sinister and two keys in bend addorsed and conjoined in the bows proper." This combination appears on the seal of Bishop Bekington (1443-65) and without the crosier on the seal of Bishop Montagu (1608-16), but either form appears to be unauthorised.

Crockford impales the Arms of Bath (dexter), as quoted by Burke, with those of Wells (sinister). This combination is also spurious.

Original Source bookofpublicarms00foxd_djvu.txt near line 3140.