The Grimsby Seal

PART THREE

      We have seen that in 1824, after the remnant English lay version of Havelok the Dane was found in the Bodleian Library, the Grimsby Seal and Mayoral Seal were discovered to be missing, presumed lost or stolen. We may never know of course just how long those seals had remained lost and how indeed they fared during that time. However, it appears that by the ancient Hand of Providence or a fortuitous synchronicity of events connecting and placing certain people in the right place and time, by 1860 Grimsby fortunately had rightful civic possession of their seals once more.

 Since commencing and posting this serialized article, we have been reliably informed General Sir Henry Havelock actually died on 24^th November 1857 and not in April that year as stated in part two. The memorial lecture the following year therefore would certainly have been for him and a memorial statue of him was later erected in Trafalgar Square in London, where it stands to this day.

We have also been informed that the earlier letter from his father had been addressed and sent to George Oliver. Although the family had been supplied and in possession of a family tree record suggesting they had been possible descendants of the famous Havelok the Dane of ancient British legend with a possible link to the time period of King Canute, there had been vague doubts as to the certainty of these claims and certain doubts had emerged over time, especially about George Havelock of the 18^th century, said to have once been a mayor of Grimsby.

It is a significant part of the jigsaw puzzle we learned that Sir Henry’s father had sent and forwarded his letter to Grimsby for George Oliver after purchasing a copy of his Monumental Antiquities of Great Grimsby book in October 1931. George Oliver had left Grimsby that year and until his death had been in residence at Scopwick rectory in Lincolnshire; Scopwick lies between Lincoln and Sleaford. One will recall that at the outset, William Havelock had stated that the legendary Havelock the author had described as he [ Oliver ] historically saw him, afforded a considerable degree of similitude between the Havelock  mentioned as the founder of their family. A careful examination of that letter reveals that William and his eldest son had really been on the trail hoping to establish the real truth behind the pedigree claims about George Havelock since the family had been given reason to doubt its authenticity. After focusing on the details they had been supplied in relation to that ancestral family member, he finished of that letter so:

My eldest son William, who is a Major in the 4th Light Dragoons, now in India, as well as myself, being desirous of establishing this part of the pedigree, on the correctness of which some doubts have been expressed, I should feel particularly obliged to you, or any other friend who may have access to the historical documents and records of Grimsby, would inform me whether or not they  contain any particulars corresponding with the above pedigree; and I trust you will be kind enough to give me any information on the subject which may have come to your knowledge respecting it.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM HAVELOCK

It may be near impossible to authenticate the Havelock family links back with any degree of certainty to Havelok the Dane due to an absence of reliable surviving historical records, yet one would have thought that it would have been relatively easy in 1831 to trace a Grimsby mayor back a few centuries; Especially so, when considering we have records listing every mayor back to the charter given by King John in 1201 with no mention of George Havelock. It is therefore inconceivable that in his later Byrde of Gryme book of 1866, on the subject of Havelok the Dane, he was found ingratiatingly categorically stating the following:

‘ The descendants of this prince are still in existence, after a period of 1800 years. In the 17th century the name of George Havelock occurs as an opulent merchant of Grimsby, who served the office of mayor. The late celebrated commander, Major William Havelock, who lost his life in India, A.D. 1858, was one of the latest descendants of this family. ‘

    Let this be fair warning again therefore for all seekers after truth with old family tree records being supplied for money, that begin by stating that ones family is of ancient recorded ancestry. Ascertain the traceable sources used for future valid reference at least.

Although it does not prove any family link to Havelok the Dane, one cannot doubt and ignore the curious fact though, that it was albeit indirectly by way of this ancient British Havelock family that the Grimsby seals were finally returned by 1860 to Grimsby Town.

      Due to a renewal of pride and appreciation of the town’s treasured ancient heritage then, it may not surprise us to find that by 1877, the Victorian town elders had sought to honour the Grimsby Seal anew. On the 18^th May 1876, John Wintringham Esquire laid the memorial foundation stone for a new school, the first to be built by the Great Grimsby Public Elementary School Board. Wintringham had been their chairman and the school was erected in Heneage Road Grimsby, opposite the famous ancient Holme Hill site. It was believed by George Oliver that Holme Hill originally had been an important fortified site used by the Romans and later in turn by Grim himself. Above the arched doorway beneath the great clock tower of the school, a rather splendid stylised stone-carved relief of the Grimsby Seal was duly placed in pride of place. However, as with the Grimsby Haven Company Seal design fashioned almost a century beforehand, one vital character from the original seal was again left out of the picture; there was no sign of that divine and enigmatic Hand of Providence.

Maybe this will explain why legend has it that the first headmaster of this school, John Searle, would regularly randomly hand pick six boys for caning, regardless of the way they had behaved at all.

The building was used as a school up until July 1967 and that stone carved seal still survives in remarkable condition upon the building to this day due to the fact possibly that the site has protection somewhat from the elements with its position. A similar Grimsby Seal stone relief upon the Grimsby Area Education Office which was built in 1901 in Eleanor Street, a little distance around the corner, by contrast has suffered tremendous erosion by its open position and the onslaught of wind and rain over the years.

      The Grimsby Seal was somewhat adopted and adapted by the Great Grimsby School Board then, appearing in golden gilt form upon the front and back of the burgundy red leather backrests of their great carved padded upholstered chairs and in stone-carved fashion on their old buildings. Unfortunately, the design used upon the chairs had actually been taken from that poor engraving made for George Oliver in his Monumental Antiquities of Grimsby publication. With the passage of time, we find that those same great civic carved wooden chairs changed in appearance. The ornate wooden carved chairs were eventually re-upholstered in blue leather, no longer displaying the ancient Grimsby Seal, but the Grimsby heraldic Argent Crest depicting three wild tusked boar’s heads separated by a chevron on a shield, its use traced back to 1592 at least. This Grimsby Crest appears notably today at many landmarks all around the town. It is true to say the town has had great pride equally in both though.

   Some focus, attention, and comments may be pertinent and useful with regard to the ancient mediaeval Grimsby Mayoral Seal itself at this juncture before proceeding. That historical unique item itself, you recall, had after all, been part of the fateful magical disappearing-reappearing act during the 19^th century too. The Grimsby heraldic Argent Crest and Arms device today, seen and featured at various sites around the town, is notable in depicting three wild tusked boar’s heads separated by a chevron on a shield. Its design and use has been traced back  to 1592 at least. Yet, owing to the scarcity of early historical records, concession has justly been made that it was certainly in use at a much earlier date. Indeed, the College of Arms appears to have only confirmed its design and use for Grimsby afresh in 1974, whilst fully appreciating hitherto its time-honoured long service throughout the ages for the town. Traditionally it has been believed, that the choice of the wild boars upon the device harks back to a period when hunting boar in Bradley Woods nearby, was one of the special customary highlights for the ancient Mayors of Grimsby.

    The ancient Mayoral Seal itself, cannot adequately be dated, predating the Grimsby Arms, depicting what clearly appears to be a boar hunt within a wood. There are clues that it may have been fashioned and cast not long after the Grimsby Seal and the charter from King John in 1201. The central motif is a large boar running past a tree that has a large bird sat amid the treetops. At close quarters to the boar, flanking and harrying it, is a sleek hunting dog, and behind them to their left is the portrayal of a man in a smock sounding a hunting horn. We know today that Bradley Woods  was much larger at that time and that during the mediaeval period the keeper at Bradley Manor was instructed and duty-bound to keep a good supply of boar there for the Mayor of Grimsby.

     It is with gratitude to Mr Roger Havelock of Knaresborough in North Yorkshire we also learned by 1885, Colonel Acton Chaplin Havelock used the Grimsby Seal merged and overlaid with family heraldic crests and motifs, as a basis for fashioning special personalised book plates. Roger Havelock has been making a study of the surname and all connections with the name and family since 1965. He has informed us that he has a great interest in his possible forefather, Havelok the Dane, whoever he may turn out to have been, and we are delighted with his enthusiasm and the supply of all information that we have received from him.

We have also been contacted in the past by Mr Peter Goldsbury  from New Zealand on behalf of Goldsburys, Goldboroughs etc from all around the world. He informs us they suspect that their origins may somehow be linked to the village of Goldsborough in Yorkshire and hopefully to the Goldburga that Havelok the Dane married. Peter hosts a family history research website found at http://users.iconz.co.nz/stratex/research.htm

We are delighted to know that there have been people in the past and present day around the world, charmed and proud to consider the real possibility that they may actually be descendants of our great hero and heroine, Havelok and Goldburga. They help honour not only themselves but Havelok and Goldburga too and as with the case of the dream associated with Hans Christian Anderson, collectively and consciously keep them alive in living memory, in living legend, from one passing cultural age to the next; they have our seal of approval on that score.

An impression of the Grimsby Seal was used at the base of the spine upon the first hardback book of ‘ Havelok of the Dane, ‘ the first classic novel by Charles Whistler, that appeared in 1900. Due to the death of the author in the Summer of 1913, the literary work had remained lost to the world until our 2000 AD reprint. We will see that the rebirth and republication project of this book was quite an eventful matter in relation to the Grimsby Seal itself soon too.

A wax impression was later made of the original Grimsby Seal matrix sometime around 1909 and a detailed impression of the Grimsby Crest was provided in order for a limited edition of special circular black basalt plaque sets to be commissioned, fashioned and cast by the Wedgewood company. It is strange that records are now lost and even the manufacturer no longer appears to have early details available. The Wedgewood Seal plaques were exquisite and though larger than the original matrix, skilfully fashioned as almost exact cast copies of the original Grimsby Seal.

It is not known how many plaques of the Grimsby Seal and Grimsby Crest were made, but one set can today be found in the Grimsby Archives collection and we have seen another rather pristine set in the hands of a private local Grimsby collector.

In the 1930’s Grimsby’s Wintringham Grammar School also began using an embroidered depiction of the Grimsby Seal on the badges for the blazers of their school uniform. The school incidentally also had a rather fine magazine at that time named ‘ The Grim. ‘

The Grimsby Seal has been used and adapted by different talented artists ever since in one way or another. A splendid book plate utilising the Grimsby Seal in part, was also commissioned in 1960 by the chairman of Grimsby’s Public Library Committee, designed by Mr. A. E. Wade, the assistant master at the Grimsby Municipal Art School. Although the bookplate is no longer used today, there still exist a great number of reference books within the new Grimsby Central Library that contain it. When the new library was built in the centre of Grimsby and opened in 1966, the sculptor, Harold Gosney had been commissioned to produce the rather large bronze-resin relief of the Grimsby Seal set upon a mosaic bed outside the entranceway. Working with copper, as a silversmith, woodcarver, and potter, the late artist, William Trumble from the Grimsby School of Art also made some rather wonderful metallic and wooden plaques as well as creating stoneware tankards utilising the Grimsby Seal design.

      So we come to the final part of our story about the Grimsby Seal. In August 2000, Grim and Havelock Association researchers were seeking to find the original Grimsby Seal if at all possible. We were hoping to photograph and actually make a sealing wax impression for use in the new design of the back cover of our millennium centenary reprint of Charles Whistler’s novel of Havelock the Dane first published in 1900. We had at that time some literary historical research data, a hundred year old highly detailed description of the brass matrix by a local solicitor’s clerk, and also early isolated reference from Sir Frederick Madden indicating that it may unfortunately be in a private collection. Grimsby Town Hall had cast impressions on show in glass cases but were at a loss to know where that ancient artefact now lay. The Grimsby archives next door suggested we contact the newspaper to put out a request to find out if anyone knew where it was but was quite happy for us to see what we could find in their collection.

One item eventually brought out to us to inspect was an old cigar box with several jangling metal objects haphazardly placed within it. Imagine our delight then to find amongst all these items, what appeared to unquestionably be, the ancient half-forgotten lost 13^th century brass Grimsby Seal matrix.

      I will never forget the look on the face of my friend and fellow researcher, the First Honorary member, Roy ‘ Stone ‘ Naylor, and that sense of excitement that quietly passed between us in that moment, as he lifted it from that old cigar box up to the light. The box contained a number of odd items including a lead rough cast die copy. There was always the possibility that it could have been a copy but close inspection on the front and reverse side in relation to the detailed old description, as well as the very feel of it, made us sure that it was the original itself at that time, but we had to be certain. Stone contacted the British Museum and we were cordially invited to bring the seal along for examination. The following year actually marked the 800^th anniversary year of Grimsby’s first recorded charter of 1201 and the ancient Grimsby Seal became the central symbol of those celebrations. So it was then that in May 2001, 800 years to the month after King John gave Grimsby its Charter of freedoms, we visited the British Museum with that seal and North East Lincolnshire archivist, John Wilson. We met up with James Robinson, the curator of the Medieval and Modern Europe department, and John Cherry, the expert on these seals and it was fully authenticated and declared as relatively ‘ unique and priceless.’ John Cherry took very little time to be able to authenticate it and he believed that it probably had been made in the early part of the 13^th century, probably engraved by a master craftsman in Lincoln or York, where many royal seals had been made. In his opinion, it also would have cost a small fortune. During the Second World War, it appears that some records at the Grimsby archives had actually been lost or destroyed.                     

       Another fortunate and remarkable discovery was made later in August that same year. In 1957, an old deed had been loaned for an exhibition at Grimsby Town Hall that had been described at the time as the “ only document still in existence with the ancient Grim and Havelock seal still attached. “ That deed apparently disappeared after the exhibition and despite enquiries over the years, never re-surfaced until 2001. We are informed that it turned up among some other old documents, was dated 1694, was a little cracked, but was unmistakable. John Wilson has assured us that the deed has now been put with the other medieval records of the borough and though it was very fragile and would have crumbled away, they can now repair and conserve it for posterity. Hundreds of very old documents exist but without the seal attached anymore,  so it too is quite relatively unique and priceless.

All’s well that ends well then.

Bibliography

Grimsby Magna –Lincolnshire Collection- Gervase Holles. MS. Harl. 6829 – 1638.

Dictionary of National Biography Vol.XXVII- Holles; Smith, Elder & Co; London1892.

Dictionary of National Biography –Vol.XLII Oliver; Smith, Elder & Co; London1892.

The Monumental Antiquities of Great Grimsby - George Oliver; Wilson; Hull.1825.

Havelok the Dane - Frederick Madden – Roxburghe Club – London 1828

Linc; 1836,pp.143-144; White,pp. 335,356. –The Folklore Society -1836.

The Byrde of Gryme – An Apologue. - George Oliver; Albert Gait; Grimsby. 1866

Lincolnshire and the Danes - Rev.G.S. Streatfied - Kegan Paul, Trench; London 1884

Havelok the Dane – Rev.Charles Watts Whistler ; Thomas Nelson & Sons 1900 AD

The Early  History of Grimsby. Section 5. Grimsby Gazette & Cleethorpes Echo 1905.

Grimsby Seals Article – Odd  Man Out  - Grimsby Telegraph – 21^st January 1943.

Viking Blood Lingers in E. Lincs – L. G. Pine – Grimsby Evening Telegraph 1955.

Man and his Symbols;  Edited by Carl.Gustav Jung –Aldus Books London. 1964

A History of Grimsby – Edward Gillett; Oxford University Press 1970 AD