John Meade Falkner

The Nebuly Coat Annotated John Meade Falkner

The Nebuly Coat (1903), by J. Meade Falkner, is a novel which tells of the experiences of a young architect, Edward Westray, who is sent to the remote Dorset town of Cullerne to supervise restoration work on Cullerne Minster. He finds himself caught up in Cullerne life, and hears rumours about a mystery surrounding the claim to the title of Lord Blandamer, whose coat of arms in the Minster's great transept window is the nebuly coat of the title. When the new Lord Blandamer arrives, promising to pay all the costs of the restoration, Westray suspects that the new lord is not what he seems. The Nebuly Coat includes elements that were central interests in Falkner's life, church architecture and heraldry. The massive Romanesque arches of Cullerne Minster recall those of Durham Cathedral which Falkner was familiar with through his work as Honorary Librarian to the Dean and Chapter as well as viewing it from his house on Palace Green. Colerne which has been Cullerne during its history may have been the source of the name of the town and minster.