Many old churches have a royal coat of arms dating from the Restoration of King Charles II, in 1660. Bunbury Church's very splendid royal coat of arms, however, differs from the norm and a close examination reveals that the arms are those of George II.

Why does Bunbury Church have the arms of GeorgeII? The answer can be found in the ancient Parish Books - sometimes referred to as the Churchwardens' Accounts.

The provision and installation of the Charles II royal arms board was the major expense of 1660, as shown in the accounts:

Item.
Paid for the King's Arms 13 0 0
Paid for carriage and spent on them that brought them 8 0
Spent at Chester when we went to pay for the King's Arms 2 0
Paid the Ringers when the King entered England 10 0
Paid for setting up the King's Arms and for a church bier 5 4 0
Spent upon the workmen and those that helped to set them up 4 0
Paid for workmen's dinners when the King's Arms were set up 2 0

Funds were raised locally:

"Memorandum that on the 20th day of February, 1660 - public notice having been given in the Parish Church upon the Sabbath immediately preceding - a Ley [Church Rate] was assessed at Bunbury by the gentlemen and others of the said Parish after the rate of sixteen pence in the pound to be collected by Joseph Wilkinson and James Gregory, Churchwardens for the present year, which said Ley is to be employed by them towards making and erecting of His Majesty's Arms and other uses belonging to the said Parish.

Signed: G. Spurstowe, V.W. Haughton, Francis Moseley [Preacher], John Wallworke [Vicar],
John Gardner, Joseph Wilkinson, James Gregory."

"We do approve of the above mentioned Ley of 16d. in the pound.
Peter Dutton, J. Bruen. Accountants. "

It is reasonable to assume that the arms were hung in the traditional place, i.e. under the choir arch, to remind the congregation of the officialdom of the Church of England, and that the head of the Church was the King.

For some now unknown reason, the arms were taken down in 1729 and repainted in 1730, to honour George II. Again, the Churchwardens' Accounts state:

Item.
In expenses taking down ye old Union Arms 2 3
Paid ye Painter for ye altar piece * and Kinges Armes 6 10 0
Given to ye men to drink for putting up ye Kinges Armes 6
Paid to Danl. Jackson his bill for ironwork for ye Kinges Armes 1 0
Spent when we paid ye painter (Mr. Langrish) 4 0
[* Possibly this refers to the Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments boards then fashionably hung on the east wall, in the manner shown in early photographs.]

The arms were rehung and it is assumed that the board stayed suspended there until the 1864/5 restorations when, as shown by early photographs, they were moved to the wall above the tower arch.

Some time later, probably in the 1930s, the arms were moved into the choir vestry. In 1952, the year of the Queen's accession and as part of the post-war restorations, the arms board was thoroughly cleaned and hung in its present position, several feet above where it hung originally between 1660 and 1864/5. Closely associated with this work was the late Mr. Ernest Frodsham, who also painted the nave bosses.

Evidence of the board's earlier suspension can be seen in four repair scars on the west side of the choir arch. These repairs, of the 1860s, were very neatly executed on the left side but far less carefully on the right side. It can, therefore, safely be assumed that the seventeenth century ironwork that carried the arms and that is mentioned in the above Accounts, was inserted in the arch. from the west side.

Perhaps the most interesting feature about Bunbury's much moved-about royal arms has not been visible since 1952, when the board was placed close against the wall. The reverse side bears the exhortation, "Fear God. Honour the King. 1st Peter 2nd chap., verse 17."

These words were repainted in 1730 with the addition, "For there is noe power but is ordained of God. Rom. chap. 13, verse 1. Kinges are the Lord's annointed."

With the board suspended beneath the choir arch, the biblical texts could be seen only from the chancel.

John Elsworth
(Churchwarden 1992-2001)