The United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS) was founded in 1961 by Cecil Humphery-Smith

Cecil Humphery-Smith

Cecil Raymond Julian Humphery-Smith, OBE, FSA is a British genealogist and heraldist. He was educated at Hurstpierpoint College...

. Its library was created by donations from Humphery-Smith, Aylmer Buesst

Aylmer Buesst

Aylmer Buesst was an Australian conductor, teacher and scholar, who spent his career in the United Kingdom. He was mainly associated with opera and vocal music...

 and others.

The Institute promotes research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

, study, and training in all aspects of family history, including heraldry

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

. Courses may be undertaken by full-time students, through a series of evening classes combined with other studies, or by a correspondence course. Those who complete approved courses may sit the diploma

Diploma

A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...

 examination after submitting adequate evidence of practical experience. Those who hold the diploma and produce an acceptable dissertation or thesis can qualify as Licentiates of the Institute, or LHG. Students, armorists, genealogists

Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...

 and family historians are able to make use of the extensive collection of books and manuscripts in the Institute's library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

.

In 1982, armorial bearings

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 were granted to the Institute. These are blazon

Blazon

In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

ed Azure a Cross patonce within an orle of eight Acorns cups inward Or.

In January 2010, Dr Richard C. F. Baker became Principal of the Institute.