Site Last Updated
23 May 2009

HATCHMENT RULES (also see a flow diagram)

A hatchment, made of wood and canvas, would be suspended over the front door of a deceased persons house for 6 to 12 months, after which it was moved to inside the parish church. The last recorded use of a hatchment was when one was hung in a London street in 1928. Hatchments were used from the 17th to 19th centuries.

If for a bachelor the hatchment has a black ground.

If for a single woman, her arms are represented upon a lozenge, bordered with knotted ribbons, also on a black ground¹.

If for a married man, his arms upon a shield impale² those of his surviving wife; or if she is an heiress they are placed upon escutcheon³ or pretence, and crest and other appendages are added, the Dexter⁴ half of the ground is black, the sinister⁵ white.

For a wife whose husband is still alive the same arrangement is used, but only the sinister ground is black

For a widower the same is used as for a married man but the whole ground is black.

For a widow the husband's arms are given with her own, but upon a lozenge⁶, with ribbons, without crest or appendages, and the whole ground is black.

When there have been two wives or two husbands the ground is divided into three parts per pale, and the division behind the arms of the survivor is white.

In the rare event of the 'End of the line' a 'Death's Head' is displayed. (A Death's Head is a human skull or representation of it)

When the deceased is a military or naval officer, colours and military or naval emblems are sometimes placed behind the arms.

Thus it is easy to discern the sex, condition, quality and particularly the social standing, and possibly the name of the deceased.

In Scottish hatchments it is not unusual to include the arms of the father and mother, and grandparents, of the deceased in the two lateral angles of the lozenge.

Restricted mainly to the British Isles and the Netherlands.

1. Ground: surrounding area or background
2. Impale: To display arms either side of a vertical line on a shield
3. Escutcheon: A shield or shield shaped emblem bearing a coat of arms
4. Dexter: The wearers right, the observers left
5. Sinister: The wearers left, the observers right
6. Lozenge: Four sided figure with a diamond shape

Peter Meiklejohn - Honorary Librarian of The Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men
- Peter also maintains a website of “off the beaten track” attractions in Kent - worth a visit.