Coat of arms of Sir Josiah Mason were one of three heraldic escutcheons that stood above the entrance to the Former University Main Library. Today the three heraldic escutcheons are part of a display to the south of the University's new Green Heart.
"Sir Josiah Mason came from modest beginnings and created his own heraldic crest which includes our mermaid with mirror and comb along with a two-headed lion.
Mason was a self-made millionaire through various industrial concerns (most famously the manufacture of pen-nibs). He was a great philanthropist and he founded an orphanage and alms houses in Erdington – where the boys wore lion pins and the girls, mermaid pins.
He then established Mason Science College in Birmingham city centre in 1875. The College was the precursor of the University of Birmingham, which received its Royal Charter on 24 March 1900.
During the establishment of the University, the General Purposes Committee ensured that the mermaid and the two-headed lion were preserved in the University’s crest when they made the official application to the College of Arms."
This article goes on to say that:
"Arthur Charles Fox-Davies’ A Complete Guide to Heraldry states that he borrowed his symbols from unrelated Masons. It appears that he never sought consent to use the lion or mermaid for his family crest. He also neglected to apply to the College of Arms for permission to use these symbols for the crest of Mason Science College."
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Possibly this could be the source:
"MASON (Hunningford, co. Huntingdon). Or, a lion ramp. with two heads az. Crest - A mermaid with comb and glass ppr."
An entry from 'The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Comprising a Registry of Armorial Bearings from the Earliest to the Present Time by Bernard Burke and John Burke
The Or (Yellow or gold) lion rampant (a lion depicted in profile, and erect, resting upon its left (sinister) hind-paw) and the mermaid with a comb and glass ppr. (glass proper = a mirror) and two of the heraldic elements on the University of Birmingham's shield and not just the lion which is shown as Sir Josiah Mason's shield.
'A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm.' (
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'The helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest.' (
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To differentiate his arms, Sir Josiah seems to have changed the colour of the Escutcheon from azure (blue) to gules (red).
"The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically it has been regarded as the "king of beasts."
An information board close to the new display gives the following information about Sir Josiah Mason.
'Sir Josiah Mason
Sir Josiah Mason founded the Mason Science College in Birmingham in 1875. His vision was to advance the study of science and provide Birmingham with a local workforce that could fuel the city of 1,000 trades through the industrial revolution. The College was the precursor and nucleus of the University of Birmingham as we know it today.’