Dugdale, William, Sir (1605 -1686)

Sir William Dugdale was the only son of John Dugdale, of Shustoke near Coalshill in Warwickshire, and Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur Swynfen, of Dunchurch. He was educated at Coventry School 1615 1620. He married, in 1623, Margery second daughter of John Huntbach of Seawall in Staffordshire. He was appointed Blanc Lion Pursuivant extraordinary in 1638, Rouge Croix March 1640, and Chester Herald in 1644. During the Civil War he served the king as a Pursuivant of Arms in the field of battle. Deprived of his office during the Commonwealth, he compounded for his estate in May 1646 after the surrender of Oxford, and retired there to work on The antiquities of Warwickshire (1656); Monasticon Anglicanum, (1655, 1661 and 1673), and The history of St Paul's Cathedral. (1658). At the Restoration he was appointed Norroy King of Arms, and in 1677 Garter King of Arms, and was knighted. He gave many of his manuscripts to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, from whence they have been transferred to the Bodleian Library. A portion of his original manuscripts and collections was sold in London 20 November 1862 by S. Leigh Sotheby and John Wilkinson together with some of those of Sir Simon Archer and the manuscripts of Sir Francis Palgrave. There is a catalogue of the manuscripts that he gave to the Ashmolean in the British Library Harley 6273 folios 72 85.