Grant of Arms

The Worshipful Company of Nurses is delighted to announce that the design of the Company’s armorial bearings has been authorised by the Kings of Arms and is about to be taken into general use.

An illustration of the arms and the official blazon describing the design in heraldic terms with explanatory notes are available to read here. The newly approved design is both distinctive and representative of the Company’s identity and heritage. It incorporates the Company’s fob watch badge, alongside a number of symbolic elements reflecting the profession of nursing.

The Coat of Arms also features two Supporters, each chosen in recognition of their pioneering contributions to nursing. Ethel Gordon Fenwick (1857–1947), a leading nursing reformer, founder of the Royal British Nurses' Association and the first register for nurses in the UK, is depicted alongside Annie Catherine Brewster (1858–1902), who was born in St Vincent and was among the first African-Caribbean women to pursue a nursing career in London.

The Company is indebted to the working group, chaired by Janet Oxlade, that was established to create the design, and to York Herald at the College of Arms for the guidance he has given to ensure that the design conforms with the rules of heraldry. The Company is also enormously grateful to those who so generously donated towards the granting of Arms.

The award of a Grant of Arms will signify that The Worshipful Company of Nurses is recognised as a worthy and respected body which will strengthen the Company’s ability to promote the profession and enhance the Company’s membership within the livery community.