Cloth Seal, Worcester, Image by Derfel, Found by Andrew Bryson.
Found on Thames Foreshore, 32mm.
LXXVIII / XXXII // shield bearing a fess, in chief two pears, in base one pear
The City arms of Worcester. Not seen on this seal but known from parallels is the inscription around of WORCESTER SEARCHED - see p.53 & 175, Egan, 'Lead Cloth Seals and Related Items in the British Museum' Occasional Paper 93.
This is the modern arms of Worcester. See Heraldry of the World "Until the beginning of the 17th Century the Coat of Arms displayed the castle alone but in 1634 the 'castle' coat was registered along with the coat bearing the black pears and were described as the ancient and modern arms of the City of Worcester.
Tradition has it that it was during the visit of Queen Elizabeth I to Worcester in 1575 that Worcester acquired its second coat of arms featuring the black pears. It is said that during her procession through the streets of Worcester the Queen saw a pear tree which had been planted in the Foregate in her honour. She was so pleased at the appropriateness of the tree growing right in the heart of a fruit growing region, that she bade the city add the emblem of pears to its Coat of Arms.
It may be legend too that the Worcester Archers rallied under the pear trees before the battle of Agincourt and it is interesting to note that the pear blossom was borne as a badge by the Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry from the beginning of this century until 1956."
The cloth dimensions and orthodox arrangement of the pears show this example to be a county alnage seal. At 78 lbs. weight and 32 yds. length it was a course type of cloth [Egan, PhD, p.244].
