Visitations

Visitations

Visitations: early in the reign of Henry VIII. it was deemed advisable to collect and record genealogical and armorial information, and from this arose those journeys of the heralds termed visitations. The earliest, made by virtue of a royal commission, seems to be that of Gloucester, Worcester, Oxford, Wilts, Berks, and Stafford, in 1528-29. From this time the several counties were visited at irregular intervals until the Great Rebellion. Soon after the Restoration the practice was revived, but no commission has been issued since the Revolution. The last is dated May 13, 1686. Most of these 'Visitations' have been printed by Societies or by individuals, but some still remain only in MS., the chief being in the collections in the British Museum.