The water bouget is a distinctive heraldic charge representing an old-fashioned yoke with two leather water bags, once used to carry water across the shoulders of a person or beast. In coats of arms, it traditionally symbolizes service, supply, endurance, and practical responsibility. Because it refers to the carrying of water, it can suggest readiness to sustain others, provision in times of hardship, or a connection with travel, pilgrimage, crusading, or military logistics. The charge is visually unusual, often drawn like a pair of hanging skins joined by a bar, and is explained in classic heraldic references such as Parker’s Glossary of Heraldry and A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry by James Parker.

In heraldic tradition, the water bouget is strongly associated with the Bourchier family, whose arms are commonly blazoned as Argent, a cross engrailed gules between four water bougets sable. This made the object a famous example of canting heraldry, since “bouget” echoes Bourchier, and it became a recognizable family badge and dynastic emblem. Through such usage, the symbol can indicate ancestry, noble status, and inherited identity as much as the literal occupation of carrying water. It may also carry a military meaning, since water supply was essential to armies, camps, and fortified places, especially during campaigns in dry or hostile regions.

Notable examples include the arms of the Bourchier family recorded in heraldic tradition and related uses in English armorial design, where water bougets appear as charges around a cross or as badges. The symbol is also discussed and illustrated by resources such as Mistholme’s Heraldry Dictionary and Heraldry of the World. Though rare today, the water bouget remains a memorable heraldic sign of provision, loyalty, and the burdens carried in service to family, lord, army, or community.