The Somerset Heraldry Society came into being in January 2003 with 12 founder members, including Alex Maxwell Findlater as Secretary.  By the end of that June this had risen to 32.  It was hoped to have between 8 and 12 meetings a year which would include visits to places with heraldic displays and talks on heraldry and allied subjects.  Meetings would initially be held in a member’s house and a newsletter, later journal, would be produced.

Visits over the coming years included tours of Salisbury and Exeter Cathedrals; an expedition to Chawton House in Hampshire, the home of Jane Austen’s brother with its wealth of heraldry;  the magnificently decorated tombs in St Edward’s Church, Goathurst,  near Bridgwater.  Then there was the fine series of monuments in St George’s Church,  Hinton St George, many of them to the Earls Poulett, whose seat was nearby Hinton House.

The newsletter metamorphosed  into The Somerset Dragon in April 2013 (Journal No.24), under the new Secretary, Stephen Tudsbery-Turner, and from then on appeared regularly three times a year.  Issues contained at least two articles plus a variety of heraldic news, views and reports on visits and talks.  The final issue, No.58,  appeared in the autumn of 2024.  The magazine proved to be a useful lifeline for many members and was regularly sent to readers in Australia, France and Scotland as well those closer to home in Wiltshire, Devon, Dorset and the Home Counties. All issues are reproduced and indexed in the Heraldry Society’s Heraldry Archive library, Journals of Local and Specialist Heraldry Societies: England South and West.

Over the years membership remained constant in the mid-twenties but,  as was and is so often the case with many similar societies, there was a lack of younger members to replace those who had left Somerset and it proved impossible to replace working officers on the committee.  A final lunch was held shortly before Christmas 2025, and with great regret the society closed its doors.

The website of the Somerset Heraldry Society is being taken offline; anyone with links to it should redirect them to this page.

For further information, contact Stephen Tudsbery-Turner.