Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Willaston

Willaston

Arms: Or, three mullets* two and one Sable (visitations).

Crest: Crest: A demi-lion issuing out of a ducal coronet holding in his paw a mullet (Sable) (Seal 1663)

* Burke's has the mullets pierced.

The arms of Willaston.

There is a traditional heraldic pun (known as a canting coat or armes parlantes) in this coat of arms, but it relies on an archaic spelling and meaning of the surname. While the "mullet" (a star-like charge representing a spur-rowel) might initially seem to have no relationship to the name Willaston, the pun operates on two clever linguistic levels. 

The first is the complex cant upon  "Well-A-Star". In early English and Anglo-Norman heraldry, puns on names were frequently phonetic rather than literal. Surnames ending in "-aston" or "-iston" were often treated by period heralds as a play on "a star" or "east star". The name Willaston (or its variants like Wollaston) was phonetically parsed in heraldic wit as "Well-A-Star" or "Will-A-Star". Because a mullet is the heraldic term for a five, or six-pointed star, placing three prominent stars on the shield directly answered to this verbal joke. 

The second is the aquatic Double-Pun: The "Mullet" Fish. There is a second, overlapping historical joke that applies to this specific family name. Early heraldic lexicographers, most notably Randle Holme III, in his 1688 masterpiece The Academy of Armory, explicitly recorded that the mullet was uniquely used by families like Willaston as a multi-layered pun. In the aquatic world, a mullet is a well-known type of fish. The surname Willaston shares strong historical roots and a nearly identical phonetic origin with the surname Williamson. In the playful, "cheap-shot" logic of medieval heraldry, the family name Williamson/Willaston sounds like "Will's son" or "Will's town". The mullet (fish) was used as a rebus because a young or small mullet fish was historically referred to in various regional English dialects as a "will" or a "willy-fish". Because drawing fish on a shield was sometimes seen as aesthetically less prestigious than geometric shapes, the heraldic designers swapped the literal fish for the geometric star while retaining the exact same phonetic name: a mullet.

By having the lion actively look at and hold a fourth mullet in its paw above the helmet, the heralds were quite literally doubling down on the pun, pointing the viewer's eye directly to the visual clue of the bearer's surname.

Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Watson

Watson

Watson, William.

Arms: Azure, a hare courant Proper between three suns 2 & 1 Or.

The arms of William Watson, co. Salop.

There is a distinct heraldic pun (known as canting arms or armes parlantes) in this blazon, which was historically borne by John Watson, Bishop of Winchester (1580–1584). This specific coat of arms breaks down into a two-part phonetic and semantic joke on the surname Watson. The Hare (Wat); from the Middle Ages through to early modern English, "Wat" was a standard, affectionate colloquial nickname for a hare (much like "Tom" for a male cat or "Robin" for a redbreast). Therefore, the hare courant (running hare) directly represents "Wat". The Suns (Son): The three suns flanking the hare serve as a literal, visual play on the word "son". When you read the symbols together on the shield, the heraldic elements visually announce "Wat-Sun" (Watson). 

Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Wall

 Wall, of Faintree Hall, Shropshire. 

Arms: Per fesse Or and Azure, a fesse battely counter battely between three fleurs-di-lis all counterchanged. Crest: Out of a mural coronet Or a wolf's head Argent charged on the neck with a fesse embattled and counter embattled Gules.

(Granted July 9th 1594)

The arms of Wall, of Faintree Hall, Shropshire. 

The coat of arms and crest for the surname Wall is a textbook example of a canting arm (a heraldic pun or visual rebus). The central fesse is blazoned as "battelly counter-battelly" (also known as embattled, counter-embattled). In classical architecture and fortification, an embattled parapet or wall features alternating indentations and raised sections (crenelations). Visually and etymologically, this represents the stone wall of a castle, punning directly on the surname Wall. 

The crest sits atop a mural crown. As the name implies, a mural crown is styled to look like the top of a stone wall or a fortress. In stories, and probably also in fact, wolves were notorious for trying to breach the walls of sheepfolds, and were known as relentless jumpers of barriers. A wolf leaping over, attacking, or surmounting a wall is a classic heraldic play on the name.

Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Vickers

 Vickers

Vickers, Rev. J. 

Arms: Ermine a cross double fourchy Argent charged with 5 mullets Gules.

The arms of the Reverend J. Vickers.

Is this a pun, of just descriptive arms? There may be a tenuous heraldic pun in this blazon, centring entirely on the unique style of the cross representing the first letter of the surname and of the whole achievement being based upon Christian symbolism representing the occupation of the bearer. 

We know that a standard cross fourchy (from the French fourché, meaning "forked") has limbs that split into two points like a tuning fork. A cross double fourchy means it is double-forked, resulting in four prongs at the end of each of the four limbs. In Latin and old legal documents, the number four is "Quattuor", but the Roman numeral is written as "IV". Visually, the four-pronged ends resemble a series of "V"s. Historically, the phonetic and written interplay between "V", the Roman numeral "IV" (Four/Fourchy). The cross is charged with 5 mullets (five-pointed stars). In Roman numerals, the number five is represented by the letter "V". Placing exactly 5 of these charges acts as a blatant literal anchor for the initial letter of the Vickers name. While the primary objective of these specific design choices is the phonetic "cant," the choice of tinctures and furs grounds it in traditional medieval symbolism. 

But the shield has more to offer than simply a representation of the first letter of the bearers surname. The deigner of this achievement put a lot of thought into the occupation of the bearer. The usual coat of arms for the surname Vickers has a a straight forward cross fourchy, with the ends split into two, however, here we encounter a cross double fourchy, where the ends are split into four; the number four is clearly important to the armiger's Christianity.

Each arm of the cross is split into four; in biblical numerology, the number four universally symbolises earthly completeness, creation, and universality. While the number three often represents the divine (e.g., the Trinity), four relates to God's total sovereignty and order over the physical, material world He established. On the fourth day of creation, God completed the material universe by bringing the sun, moon, and stars into existence to govern time, seasons, and days. Four is associated with the four points of the compass (North, South, East, West) and the four winds, representing the geographic totality of the globe and God's reach across all nations. In the Scripture, the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) provide a complete earthly witness of Jesus Christ’s life.The Garden of Eden was watered by four rivers. The four Living Creatures seen around the throne in Revelation (often associated with a lion, ox, man, and eagle) represent all of creation worshiping God.

The five red mullets not only represent the V of Roman numerals, but more importantly, are representations of the wounds received during the crucifixion where Jesus suffered five primary wounds: on each of his hands, each of his feet, and his side.

This coat of arms gives us yet more. The ermine (the winter coat of the stoat, a small weasel) holds deep historical and spiritual significance in Christianity, primarily symbolising purity, incorruptibility, and the preservation of faith. This significance stems from two main traditional beliefs about the animal; the "Purity unto Death" Legend where Medieval bestiaries and folklore claimed that an ermine would rather surrender and die at the hands of hunters than soil its pure white coat by hiding in a dirty den. In Christian teaching, this became a powerful metaphor for martyrdom and the believer’s calling to die to sin rather than compromise their soul or faith.  Because of its flawless white winter coat, the fur became a natural symbol for the absolute purity of Jesus and the sinlessness of the Virgin Mary.

All in all, a worthy coat of arms.

Happy Heraldry Day 2026

 

Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Tayleur

I have written a lot about the Tayleur Arms (public house) on this weblog charting first my concern over the incorrect Inn Sign, through to its new ownership, destruction by fire, and the eventual resurection of this fine Inn and eating house along with the replacement of the sign to one more fitting for a pub called the Tayleur Arms. Now, I have the pleasure of adding the arms to my gallery of Shropshire's Punning Arms. There is a slight difference in that the sword, in the MS of Mr. Morris, is recorded as being "imbued" that is to say blood stained at the point.

I bring to my reader's attention a rather scathing report of the so called pun by Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms. 

Tayleur

Tayleur, John, of Rodington, Sheriff, 1691.

Arms: Ermine, on a chief Sable, three escallop shells Argent.

Crest: Issuing out of a ducal coronet (Or) a dexter arm in armour embowed holding in the hand a sword point imbrued Proper.

The arms of John Tayleur, of Rodington, Sheriff, 1691.

There is a traditional heraldic joke associated with this coat of arms, though it is a historical misconception rather than a true intentional pun (canting arms). The armorial joke relies on a humorous, non-heraldic interpretation of the technical components of the shield. In traditional heraldic analysis, such as that famously remarked upon by Sir Bernard Burke in his Vicissitudes of Families, the elements are playfully stripped of their noble meaning to describe the literal tools of a tailor (Tayleur). The Ermine fur pattern of the field represents the expensive cloth or material being worked on. The Chief Sable (The black horizontal block at the top of the shield) represents a tailor's cutting board or heavy ironing table. Instead of the holy pilgrim symbols of the Crusades, the escallop shells are instead, jokingly, interpreted as "thrums", the discarded threads, scraps, or fringe left over at the edge of a piece of woven cloth after a tailor cuts a pattern. Burke noted that onlookers cracked this joke to poke fun at the trade origins implied by the family's name. He dryly added that it was "a pun, and not a very clever one".

 

Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Singe

 Singe, of Bridgnorth (from Millington of Catstree).

Arms: Azure, three millstones 2 & 1 Argent each charged with a circular mill-rind Sable. Quartering Argent, a eagle displayed with two heads Sable.

Crest: out of a ducal coronet Or an eagle's claw Argent. 

The arms of Singe, of Bridgnorth (from Millington of Catstree).

There is indeed an heraldic pun (canting arms) here, but it isn't for the name Singe, it is a brilliant pun for their original surname Millington. The family that bears these arm, famously the ancestors of the Synge baronets and the celebrated Irish playwright John Millington Synge, originally bore the surname Millington.  The three millstones (each charged with an iron mill-rind) are a direct visual pun on the "Mill-" in Millington. On the crest, the eagle's claw emerging from a coronet, along with the second and third quarters of the full coat of arms (which depict a double-headed eagle), reflects the second half of the name, "-ington," representing an estate or farmstead, often associated with birds of prey in this lineage. 

The name change is a famous piece of family lore. The lineage traces back to the 16th century to a Thomas Millington, who was a choirboy at Bridgnorth. King Henry VIII reportedly heard him sing and commanded that he be called "Singe" instead. The family adopted the surname Synge (pronounced to rhyme with "sing") but rightfully kept their ancestral, pun-filled coat of arms.

Antiquaries write that the Synge family originated in England, tracing their male line to the sixteenth century in Shropshire, where Thomas Millington was known as 'corruptly* called Singe of Bridgnorth'. 

*Historically, the phrase "corruptly called" (or corruptè dictum in Latin) was used by ancient and medieval scholars—like cartographers, historians, and chroniclers, to indicate that a name, place, or term had been mistakenly altered over time. It meant a word was mispronounced, misspelled, or misunderstood.