Thursday 22 April 2021

Anthony Hough, Gentleman, 1605

 The latest addition to the Funeral Certificates series:

Anthony Hough, Gentleman, 1605.
Arms: Quarterly 1st and 4th, Argent, a bend Sable; 2nd and 3rd, Argent, a wolf's head erased Sable.


Certificate of Robert Earl of Essex concerning Richard Jenyns

I stumbled upon this by accident whilst looking for something else. It has an heraldic interest (from the Records of the Cheshire Quarter Sessions).



Wednesday 21 April 2021

Many Happy Returns

 Happy Birthday Your Majesty.



The Royal Arms of England

The Royal Arms of the United Kingdom [English Version]
Images courtesy of Wikipedia



John Hope, Gentleman, 1633.

 John Hope, Gentleman, 1633.

Son and heir to George Hope of Dodleston. He died in his father's lifetime.

Arms: Quarterly of nine: 1, Argent, a chevron engrailed Sable between three birds [storks?*] ... beaked and legged Gules; 2, Gules, three uncorns' heads couped Or [Paris]; 3, Azure, a chevron between three fleurs-de-lis Or, on a canton .... two roundles ... [?]; 4, Argent, two bars Gules, each charged with three bezants, a crescent for difference [Martin co. York]; 5, Per bend sinister Ermine and Ermines, a lion rampant Or [Edwards]; 6, Azure, a lion rampant Argent, within a bordure of the second; 7, Or, a lion rampant Gules [Wale?]; 8, Or, a lion rampant Gules within a bordure of the second; 9, Azure, three boars passant in pale Argent; over the first three quarterings a label of three points Vert.

*In the Funeral Certificate for Mrs. Katherine Davenport, 1634, the birds are recorded as herons or stalks [storks].

I have yet to identify the quarterings and until I do, there are a number of uncertainties about this achievement. In the first quarter, although the arms recorded for Mrs Katherine Davenport have the birds recorded as herons or storks, the nearest match in Burke's G.A. is that of Hope (Grangefield co. Derby) Argent, a chevron engrailed Sable between three Cornish choughs proper. In quarter three, the tinctures of the canton and the two roundels are not specified so I have made a complete guess until I can research the matter further.  


Tuesday 13 April 2021

Shotwick and Hockenhull

Having just started the emblazonment of the arms of Mrs. Margaret Hockenhull, late wife of John Hokenhull of Prenton," 1613, I noted that there is no tincture given for the field of the Shotwick quarter and that the Hockenhull arms are noted as being in the 2nd and 3rd quarters rather than the 1st and 4th. 

The first port of call (for the tincture of the shield) is, as always, Burke's but there is no entry for Shotwick. So, I looked for what I could find on Shotwick Hall and came across details of these arms in the Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 12th March 1914, Shotwick Hall.


"Transactions Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire  12th March 1914

Shotwick Hall

In the parlour, to the right, there is a carving over the mantelpiece, disfigured by successive coats of paint ; in the centre are the arms of Hockenhull of Hockenhull and Shotwick, with helm and mantlet, viz. Crest on a wreath, party per fesse, Argent and Or, a buck's head and neck erased, attired Or, pierced through the nostrils with a dart in bend of the last, feathered Argent, barbed Azure. 

Arms Quarterly, 1 and 4, a plain cross [Shotwick] ; 2 and 3, Argent, an ass's head erased Sable [Hockenhull].


In regard to the Shotwick arms, nothing is obtainable at Heralds' College, but from the funeral certificate of " Mrs. Margaret Hocknell, late wife of John Hokenhull of Prenton," 1613, they appear to have been a plain cross Sable, and these arms are shown in the first and fourth quarters of an achievement over a mantelpiece in the present Hall, with the date 1662, Hockenhull occupying the second and third quarters (see p. 68). The placing of the arms of Shotwick in the first and fourth quarters is curious, especially as the Hockenhulls did not sell their manor of Hockenhull until some fifty years later, and perhaps argues that they considered Shotwick the more important possession. In earlier times, it is true, the great folk regarded their quarterings less as marks of identity and evidences of descent than as emblems of their seigniories, placing the most important first; but the present instance seems a very late survival of that practice. Perhaps, however, the arms were copied from an old seal. In Scotland quarterings also implied the possession of lands. This was so much the case that, though the third Marquess of Montrose (d. 1684) married Lady Christian, younger daughter and co-heiress in blood of John Leslie, Duke of Rothes, yet, as she did not share in her father's lands, her arms have not been quartered in the Montrose escutcheon as they would be now. In foreign coats quarterings are often employed to denote the possession of fiefs acquired in other ways than by marriage, e.g. by bequest or purchase, or even the jus expectationis. In Harl. MS. 2187, fo. 66b, there are depicted the crest and coat of Hockenhull, the latter quartering 2 and 3 Argent a cross Sable ; the cross is faintly drawn in pencil as voided, but the tinctures are denoted by the letters A and S in ink. In Harl. MS. 1535, fo. 35b, a shield is reserved for Shotwick, but no arms are filled in."

Sunday 11 April 2021

Richard Grosvenor, Esquire, 1619.

 Richard Grosvenor, Esquire, 1619.




Arms: Quarterly of thirteen coats: 1, Azure, a garb Or [Grosvenor]; 2, Sable, a cross flory Argent [Pulford (the cross should possibly be patonce)]; 3, Azure, three pheasants Or [Fesant]; 4, Quarterly Argent and Sable, a cross flory counterchanged [Eaton]; 5, Vert, three stumps of trees, couped and eradicated Argent [Stockton]; 6, Argent, a bend Sable between three pellets [Cotton]; 7, Azure, an eagle displayed Argent [Cotton]; 8, Gules, three swords erect, two and one Argent, hilts Or [Waldeshef of Boylston]; 9, Or, six eagles displayed, three, two and one Sable, a canton Ermine [Basing]; 10, Argent, three birds (?falcons), close Gules; 11, Sable three owls Or; 12, Azure, two bars Argent [Venables*]; 13, Or, a fess Azure [Vernon].
Crest: A talbot statant Or.   

* Azure, two bars Argent recorded as the arms of Wilbraham in record of the arms of Grosvenor of Eaton in the Visitations of Cheshire 1663 however, the arms of Wilbraham have a canton upon which is a wolf's head.

** This coat also features in the arms of Grosvenor of Eaton in the 1663 Visitations however, the trees are recorded as Or.



Saturday 10 April 2021

Dame Elizabeth Grosvenor, 1628.

 Funeral Certificates

Dame Elizabeth Grosvenor, 1628.



Daughter and sole heir to Sir Peter Warberton of Grafton [1st husband Sir Thomas Stanley of Auderley. 2nd husband Sir Richard Grosvenor of Eaton]

Arms, Quarterly of four: 1, Quarterly, Argent and Gules, in the second and third a fret Or, in the first quarter an ermine spot; over all a crescent for difference; 2, Argent, a chevron between three cormorants Sable; 3, Argent, two chevronels Gules on a canton of the second, a mullet Or; 4, Barry wavy of six Argent and Sable, a chief per pale Ermine and Gules, the latter charged with a fleur-de-lis Or; a crescent Sable for difference.

[I have not rendered these arms in a lozenge]    

The first quarter is for Dutton* but bears an additional charge of  fleur-de-lis in the first quarter as well as the cadency mark. The second quarter is for Warburton and the third is Warburton Ancient, or Orreby. I have yet to identify the fourth quarter.  

*I received a reminder from Richard Lichten of a note by Clive Cheeseman (Coat of Arms, Journal of the Heraldry Society, Volume II 2006) that the Warburtons claimed male-line descent from Adam of Dutton, who had half the manor of Warburton in frank marriage with Agnes daughter of Roger son of Alured, the other half being granted to him by the Prior of St John of Jerusalem in 1189; see also G . Ormerod, History of the Count y Palatine and City of Chester (3 vols., London 1819), vol. 1, pp. 430-1. The family therefore frequently displayed the arms of Dutton in first place, sometimes adding a crescent to indicate that Adam was a second son.     

Friday 9 April 2021

Edward Dutton, Esquire, 1620.

 I've been putting this one off for a while now because it has twelve quarters but having a few moments to myself (ha ... more like hours!) this afternoon decided to take the bull by the horns. 

Edward Dutton, Esquire, 1620.
Arms: Quarterly of twelve; 1, Quarterly Argent and Gules, in the second and third a fret Or; 2, Argent, on a bend Gules, three escarbuncles Or; 3, Vert, a cross engrailed Ermine; 4, Or, a saltire Sable; 5, Azure, an estoile of eight points issuing from between the horns of a crescent Argent; 6, Or, on a fesse Azure, three garbs of the field; 7, Azure, a chevron between three garbs Or; 8, Ermine, on a chevron Gules, three escallops Argent; 9, Or, a cinquefoil pierced Sable; 10, Azure, a garb Or; 11, Sable, a cross flory Argent; 12, Azure, three pheasants Or.

Crest: A plume of five ostrich feathers, Argent, Azure, Or, Vert, and Gules, quills Gold. 


1. Quarterly Argent and Gules, in the second and third a fret Or [Dutton]
2. Argent, on a bend Gules 3 escarbuncles Or [Thorneton]
3. Vert, a cross engrailed Ermine [Kingsley]
4. Or, a saltire Sable [Helsby]
5. Azure, an estoile issuant from the horns of a crescent Argent [Minshull].
6. Or, on a fesse Azure, three garbs of the field, [Vernon]
7. Azure, a chevron between three garbs Or. [Hatton]
8. Ermine, on a chevron Gules, three escallops Argent [Grove]
9. Or, a cinquefoil pierced Sable. [Vernon]
10. Azure, a garb Or. [Grosvenor]
11. Sable, a cross fleury Argent [Eaton]
12. Azure, three pheasants Or.[Fesant]


H.R.H. Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh "The Queen's Strength".



10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021

What a man.



Coat of Arms of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born 1921, died 2021) granted in 1949 to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (Sir Philip Mountbatten) consort to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 1947 the Prince was made Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich by King George VI. The coat of arms represents his lineage as a Prince of Greece and Denmark on his paternal side and his descent of the Mountbatten family on his maternal side.

Image of the arms courtesy of Sodacan.

Thursday 1 April 2021

Oh Dear, it's all a load of Bull

This image has just appeared on Facebook and it's raised a few questions. 


The owner of these arms, a Mr. Paul Mark Moffat, describes himself (on his Facebook page) as  "Maestro Comandante The Right Honorable Count Paul M Moffat 10th Baron of Bulwell".


According to an article written by Robert Mellors, "Old Nottingham suburbs: then and now [Bulwell] (1914)", there is (or was then) a Court Leet for the Manor of Bulwell but it was owned by Nottingham Corporation and it is highly unlikely that said Corporation would have sold a barony of Bulwell when it is simply a manor.  "A local Court of great antiquity still survives at Bulwell, called "The View of Frankpledge, Court Leet, and Great Court Baron," of the lord of the Manor, which lordship is now vested in Sir Edward Fraser and Sir John T. McCraith, being the nominees of the Corporation of Nottingham. Mr. Arthur Browne, as Steward of the Manor for the last twenty-three years, has the custody of the Records, which date from 1723, the earlier part being in Latin, and older records having been lost."

It seems to me that this particular barony is, let's say, a tad dubious.



There is no doubt that the creation of this digital image by Quentin Peacock is, in itself quite beautiful however, keeping it heraldic, the armiger should have been informed that baronies, particularly English feudal baronies (quite apart from the fact that there is a strong argument to say that they don't exist) never had arms of their own and so a feudal baron would never display arms of pretence in this way and in any case, English feudal barons never had any "additaments" such as the chapeau so the escutcheon of pretence would not be ensigned by one. Setting aside the escutcheon of pretence, which ought not be there, the actual shield is excellent and there is no reason why the crest should not feature a chapeau in the way that it does. Remove the escutcheon of pretence and it would have five stars (no criticism at all of the artwork).

In his other Facebook page (why do people assign to themselves the status of "Public Figure"?) he lends the impression that he would rather like the coronet of a baron of the UK Peerage!





 

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