Badge of the Friends of Rochester Cathedral
/Paymaster-Commander A. W. B. Messenger, R.N. tells the story behind the choice of a logo and badge for the Friends of Rochester Cathedral. Featured in The Friends of Rochester Cathedral Annual Report for 1935.
When the question of a badge for the Friends of Rochester Cathedral was considered, the scallop shell which appears in the arms of the diocese seemed the most appropriate symbol.
The badge, therefore, consists of a gold shell on a red field with the words "Friends of Rochester Cathedral" and "1935" the date of the inauguration of the Friends, round the rim.
The Diocesan arms, which first seem to have been used on his seal by Bishop John Scory (1551-1554), show the gold scallop shell on a red cross of St. Andrew, the original patron saint of the Cathedral. It is well known that the scallop was the ancient emblem of St. James the Great, whose shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain was long a favourite place of pilgrimage, and the pilgrims early used the scallop as a sign whither they had been. Eventually it seems to have been a badge for pilgrims in general, and its inclusion in the arms of Rochester is probably due to the fact that many of the Canterbury pilgrims visited the shrine of St. William of Perth at Rochester, he also being a pilgrim on his way to the Holy Land when he was so foully murdered outside the city.
As the Friends of the Cathedral are, in a way, the successors of the pilgrims of old, it was thought appropriate that they should use their traditional badge and at the same time by making the scallop gold on a red field, the tinctures of the shell and saltire in the Arms of the See, the connection with the Cathedral is also suitably indicated.
From the notes of Paymaster-Commander A. W. B. Messenger, RN
The Friends of Rochester Cathedral were founded to help finance the maintenance of the fabric and grounds. The Friends’ annual reports have become a trove of articles on the fabric and history of the cathedral.
