Royal Arms of King William IV painted on a wooden panel in the west porch of St. Mary de Ballaugh in the village of Ballaugh.
In the bottom left corner of the panel is an information sheet with the following text:
”Coat of Arms
The Coat of Arms is that of King Willaim IV.
The Royal arms appeared in Manx churches
after the Reformation when the Island was
sold to the British Government. Only the
churches under Crown patronage display a
Royal Arms.” Royal Coat of Arms“After the Reformation, parish churches were expected to display the Royal Arms in a position where the congregation could readily see it. Henry VIII regarded this as an important expression of loyalty and change, but the succession of Mary I resulted in them being removed by order, a decision subsequently reversed by Elizabeth I following the reinstatement of the new order. After the Commonwealth it became compulsory for every parish church to display the Royal Arms above the chancel arch. A limited number have survived, but most have subsequently been removed to a less conspicuous position. Apart from certain exceptions they took the form of a painted square wood board, with a few painted on stretched canvas. Some surviving examples have been wood carved while others are plaster or metal casts. In the early part of the twentieth century the practice was received but soon faded.”
Source: “Historic English Churches: A Guide to Their Construction, Design and Features” by Geoffrey R. Sharpe (ISBN: 9781848851894
The Island was purchased by the British Crown under the Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765 and has since that date been a Crown Dependency.
This board dates from the dedication of the Church in 1832, within two years of the accession of William IV who reigned from 1830 to 1837 The
Blazon for this depiction of the arms is as follows:
‘Quarterly, First and Fourth Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure (for England), Second quarter Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory Gules (for Scotland), Third quarter Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland), over all an inescutcheon, ensigned by an arched royal crown, Tierced per pale and per chevron, First Gules two lions passant guardant Or (for Brunswick), Second Or semée of hearts Gules a lion rampant Azure (For Luneburg), Third Gules a horse courant Argent (For Hanover), an inescutcheon over all three, Gules the Crown of Charlemagne Proper (As Archtreasurer of the Holy Roman Empire), the whole surrounded by the Garter; for a Crest, upon the Royal helm the imperial crown Proper, thereon a lion statant guardant Or imperially crowned Proper; Mantling Or and ermine; for Supporters, dexter a lion rampant guardant Or crowned as the Crest, sinister a unicorn Argent armed, crined and unguled Proper, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lys a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or; Motto 'Dieu et mon Droit' in the compartment below the shield, with the Union rose, shamrock and thistle engrafted on the same stem.’ (
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William IV (1765-1837)William IV was the third son of George III and the brother of George IV.
Before becoming King, William had a career in the Royall. He became a midshipman and began a career in the Royal Navy first as a midshipman aged 13. He retired from the Navy in 1790.
William's reign (reigned 1830-37) was dominated by the Reform crisis, which began almost from the moment of his accession. During the crisis control of peerage was used as a political weapon by the Whig Government which undermined the legitimacy of the royal prerogative. so.
The failure of the Tories to form an alternative government in 1832 meant that William had to sign the Great Reform Bill. Control of peerages had been used as a party weapon, and the royal prerogative had been damaged.
Wlliam IV died on 20 June 1837, without surviving children and was succeeded by his niece Victoria who had come of age, only a month earlier thus avoiding another regency.
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