Information about Binstead Binsted Binsteed family genealogy

Is there a family coat of arms?

No.  In fact the term "family" coat of arms is misleading as arms belong to individuals, not families. Even the eldest son may not display the same coat of arms as his father during his father's lifetime, even though he inherits the coat when his father dies.

I know of only one Binstead who holds lawfully registered arms.

In simplified terms there are in England three ways to acquire arms:

1. Be knighted and seek a grant of arms from the College of Arms.

2. Be descended, father to son, from someone who did legitimately hold arms. You have to prove this descent to the satisfaction of the College of Arms. If you are from a junior line then the arms will be “differenced” as no two people may display the same coat of arms.

3. Have as mother or in your direct line an “heraldic heiress”. Daughters may not normally inherit arms. If, however, the father has no sons then the daughters inherit the arms and pass them on to their sons as per (2) above.

It is not impossible that there might be potential instances of this last but none are presently known to me.

Footnotes.

• Beware of genealogical and heraldic hawkers. One person showed me a “parchment” she had bought entitled “The Binstead Family” and displaying the arms of England. If one read the document scrupulously one found a small reference to the fact that they had not located any Binstead arms and so had put the English arms on instead.

• Displaying a coat of arms which is imaginary is ridiculous and pretentious. Displaying a coat of arms which belongs to someone else is illegal.

• There is even a website which says "the best thing for you to do is research on the web, find the coat of arms you like, return here and describe it on our order form. WE CAN DUPLICATE ANY COAT OF ARMS YOU SEE ON THE WEB." (This is a direct quote from their site with their own emphasis). While this business may not be breaking any American laws by making such an offer, by taking advantage of the offer you might be!

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