Victorian oil painting Twemlow of Hatherton

Sold by Bonhams, Auction House, on the 28th April 2010, from the Sampson and Horne Collection, for £660 including premium.

A VICTORIAN OIL ON PANEL OF THE ARMS OF THE TWEMLOW FAMILY

Within a carved oak frame, the reverse with the carved inscription, 'ARMS OF THE TREMLOW'S of HATHERTON, CHESHIRE, 1686', together with an earlier oil on metal armorial for the same family, 30.5cm high, 22cm wide, (12" high, 8.5" wide) (2 items in the lot)

Sampson & Horne Antiques were a major dealership on the London antiques scene and it closed with the announcement of the auction of the entire trading stock at Bonhams on April 28 2010. 

Mrs. Anne Leech, Widow, 1601

 Mrs. Anne Leech, Widow, 1601

Wife of Robert Leech, Doctor of Lawe and Chancellor, deceased. Daughter and sole heir of  John Webster of the City, Gent.

Arms (Webster): Argent, a cross patonce between four mullets Sable.    

http://cheshire-heraldry.org.uk/funeral-certificates/certificates-16.html

Roger Hurleston, Gentleman, 1634.

 Roger Hurleston, Gentleman, 1634.

Arms: Quarterly 1 and 4, Argent, four Ermine spots in cross Sable, the heads meeting in the centre point; 2, Argent, two bendlets engrailed Sable, the lower one couped at the upper end; 3, Argent, a chevron between three crossbows Sable.

Crest: A goat's head erased Argent, armed and bearded Or, charged on the neck with four Ermine spots, as in the arms.

http://cheshire-heraldry.org.uk/funeral-certificates/certificates-16.html

Mrs. Elizabeth Hurleston, 1628.

 Newly added to the Funeral Certificates:

Mrs. Elizabeth Hurleston, 1628.
Daughter and coheir to James Mainwaringe of Croxton.
Arms: (in a lozenge) Quarterly of four: 1 and 4, Argent, on two bars Gules, three cinquefoils Or [Mainwaring]; 2, Sable, a lion rampant Argent, debrused by a bendlet gobony Or and Gules [Croxton]; 3, Argent, a chevron engrailed between three garbs Sable [Darby].

http://cheshire-heraldry.org.uk/funeral-certificates/certificates-15.html

Yet another breach of the law by Malta's so called Chief Herald

Although I have tried my very best to keep up with what’s happening with the Office of the (so called) Chief Herald of Arms of Malta, it has recently been brought to my attention that while its legal status is being investigated by the Maltese ombudsman, the Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta has published a document on the System of Maltese Heraldry on its website. This document is undated but was evidently drawn up within the past three or four months.

One commentator has stated that “This document provides interesting insights into the OCHAM's policies, and includes an appendix explaining basic heraldic principles, and rules of blazon, aimed at lay persons. There's a strong emphasis on English practices (including some which the College of Arms has abandoned).”

I will leave it to my reader to digest the full implications of the “System” by clicking on the link which will take you directly there however, I would like to point out that in his allegedly official capacity Dr Gauci is so ignorant of his own country’s laws that he is quite happy to publicly declare that not only will he will accept and register coronets of rank (and supporters of the nobility) but he has also invented his own coronet for “untitled nobility” despite the fact that Chapter 251, Laws of Malta. Article 29(4) states: It shall be the duty of every public officer or authority, and of every body established or recognised by law and of every member thereof, to refrain from recognising in any way, and from doing anything which could imply recognition of, any title of nobility or any honour, award, decoration, membership or office which is not recognised in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this article.

 Whatever waffle Dr Gauci posits to try to convince his reader that in allowing a coronet of rank neither he nor the State is recognising a state of nobility, he surely shoots himself in the foot by stating that he will award the male heir of a Count the newly invented coronet of an untitled noble!

When will this man realise that Malta has laws and its laws should be obeyed?

So called Chief Herald shunned by Maltese Nobility

 

The badge of the Committee of 

Privileges of The Maltese Nobility

I have today received news that The Committee of Privileges of The Maltese Nobility has written to all of their Title Holders and Members of the Maltese Nobility warning them of an unsolicited approach from "an individual styling himself Chief Herald of Arms of Malta" and stating that "The Committee has found no legislation enabling the setting up of this body or authorizing, via Heritage Malta, the official setting up of this body".

I have been contacted by a number of the holders of Maltese titles since I first posted my views on the so called office of the Chief Herald of Malta and it appears that there is considerable disquiet amongst their number, one of whom (not the source of the letter) described Dr. Charles Gauci as a "pretentious upstart". There is huge disquiet about his "titles" and there is a strange irony that a man who claims (erroneously) that he is a Government official and has Government sanction, the sanction of a Government which by statute does not recognise titles of nobility, nevertheless awards himself the additions to his armorial bearings of all of the trappings of a Count. Chapter 251, Laws of Malta. Article 29(4) states: It shall be the duty of every public officer or authority, and of every body established or recognised by law and of every member thereof, to refrain from recognising in any way, and from doing anything which could imply recognition of, any title of nobility or any honour, award, decoration, membership or office which is not recognised in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this article. In short, even if he was a genuine Count, if he were a public official, as he claims to be, he would not be allowed to use his public office to either grant or recognise any of the trappings of nobility such as an eagle supporter and the coronet of a count. Of course, we do not recognise his authority and so these trappings of nobility are merely self assumed and yet another manifestation of his propensity for self aggrandisement. 

It would seem that the so called Chief Herald of Malta is attempting, in a rather alarming way, to arrogate unto himself, in regard to Maltese titles, powers akin to those of the Lord Lyon in Scotland in regard to determining who may or may not be entitled to Chiefly arms. Dangerous empire building without any true form of Government legislation. This is yet another example of his assuming a role which is not permitted in law: Chapter 251, Laws of Malta. Article 29(4) actually prevents him from granting any trappings of nobility (as he did to himself) so he certainly can't, lawfully, take it upon himself to adjudicate upon the right to inherit anything (such as a coat of arms) which indicates that the armiger is a title holder. 

We really do need to be concerned over what this man is aiming to achieve by underhand and unlawful methods. 

A copy of the letter can be found here: 

Letter from the Maltese Committee of Priveleges

The armorial bearings of Dr. Charles Gauci (basic unadorned arms granted in Scotland, 

by the Lord Lyon King of Arms) with the added trappings of self aggrandisement.

Cats, rats, dogs and hogs

In my talk on the heraldry of the Gunpowder Plotters I mention the distich ‘The Cat, the Rat and Lovell our dog, Rule all England under a Hog.’ which refers to one of the Conspirator's ancestors and I have been asked to explain it. 

In July 1484, a year into Richard III’s short reign, William Collingbourne posted a lampoon on the door of St Paul’s Cathedral. It read: ‘The Cat, the Rat and Lovell our dog, Rule all England under a Hog.’

The verse was a slight on Richard (the hog, whose badge was a white boar) and his leading counsellors William Catesby (the cat), Sir Richard Ratcliffe (the rat) and Francis, Viscount Lovell (the dog – his heraldic crest featured a wolf). Unpopular though he may have been to some, Richard was king and he needed loyal men to run his kingdom. Catesby, Ratcliffe and Lovell were among his most trusted confidants, the men he relied on to assist in governing the realm. Yet they paid for their support: Ratcliffe was probably killed fighting alongside his king at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485; after the battle, Catesby was handed over to the people of Leicester who promptly executed him; and Lovell escaped to fight another day, but then disappeared forever.

Gunpowder Plotters - Gentlemen All

It's those Gunpowder Plotters again. I'm giving a Zoom talk on behalf of The Yorkshire Heraldry Society on Wednesday 19th May.

Tickets (free) to attend this virtual event (Zoom) can be obtained here. 

 

Squirrels & Chevrons; The Arms of the Descendants of Lidulph de Twemlow.

 I shall be presenting a Zoom talk on behalf of The Oxford University Heraldry Society on Thursday 3rd June titled: Squirrels & Chevrons; The Arms of the Descendants of Lidulph de Twemlow.

Seaton, in his book The Law and Practice of Heraldry in Scotland, in discussing origins of the assumption of surnames states that: "During the middle ages, it was a common practice for younger sons, instead of retaining their patronymic, to adopt the names of their estates or places of residence. thus, a member of the English family of Botteville, from whom the Marquis of Bath is descended, adopted the name of John of the Inne, or Thynne, from the circumstances of his having resided at one of the Inns of Court. Camden, in his Remaines, illustrates the extent of this custom by an instance of a Cheshire family, in which no fewer than nine changes of surname took place in only three generations of male descendants, soon after the Conquest." In my talk, I illustrate this example.

To register for this talk, you need to visit the Oxford University Heraldry website: 

http://www.oxford-heraldry.org.uk/programme.htm

The link will then be sent to you a few days before the event.

When I first put together the talk, I had not identified some of the quartered coats of Cliff, or Clive of Huxley but I have now done so. Rather than alter the presentation, I make note of the additions here.

Cliff or Clive of Huxley
Arms: Quarterly of six coats -
1 and 6 Argent on a fesse between three wolves' heads erased Sable as many mullets Or.
2. Ermine on a bend cotised Gules three crescents Or. [Huxley]
3. [Sable] three garbs [Or]. [Styche]
4. Gules, a lion rampant Or between three crosses formee fitchee Argent.
5. Quarterly Argent and Sable four cocks counterchanged. *

1. Crest:  On a mount Vert a griffin passant Argent, ducally gorged Gules.
2. Crest: A wolf's head erased quarterly per pale indented Argent and Sable.
 

* The 5th Quarter is mentioned in the pedigree of Stuche (Styche) in the Visitations of Shropshire 1569 to 1584; Alice daughter and heir of Eduind Broughton of Broughton. Arms: Quarterly Argent and Sable four cocks counterchanged. The arms of William Stuche (Styche) are recorded, in that entry as Sable, three garbs Or. The heading of the Stuche pedigree gives the arms of Will'us Wlonkeslow de Wlonkeslow (Longslow) in com. Salop. Arms : Gules, a lion rampant Or crowned Argent between three crosses formee fitchee of the last. It would appear therefore that quarters 3, 4 and 5 are all brought into the Cliff family by Styche.

 

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Standish

Sitting nicely in the fifth group, in which the names of the bearers suggest some quality of the charges, the allusiveness of the arms is naturally less immediately obvious, though the pun becomes apparent with a little thought are the standing dishes of Standish (a little more obvious from the blazon than from the image). 

Aldersey of Middle Aldersey

Arms: Quarterly:
1 & 4 Gules, on a bend engrailed Argent between two cinquefoils Or three leopards' faces Vert.
2 & 3 Sable, three standing dishes Argent. [Standish]               

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Wrenbury

Returning briefly to the fourth section of our classification where we place arms in which charges representing part of the bearers' names are combined with ordinaries we can place the chevron and wrens of Wrenbury; arms recorded in Daniel King's Vale Royal but a family extinct by the time of the Visitations. 

Wrenbury
Argent, a chevron between three wrens Sable.  

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Savage

In our fifth group, in which the names of the bearers suggest some quality of the charges, the allusiveness of the arms is naturally less immediately obvious, though the pun becomes apparent with a little thought. Surely it is not taxing credulity too far when Savage shows six little black lions as the emblem of his fierce name.

Savage of Clifton

Arms: Quarterly of seventeen -
1 Argent, six lioncels rampant 3,2, and 1, Sable.
2 Gules, a chevron between three martlets Argent [Walkinton]
3 Argent, a pale fusilly Sable [Danyers]
4 Argent, a fesse dancettee Gules [Chedle]
5 Argent, a cross formee, the ends fleury Sable [Swinnerton]
6 Gules, a cross Ermine [Beke]
7 Or, on a fesse Azure, three garbs of the field [Vernon]
8 Quarterly, Or and Gules; over all a bendlet Sable [Malbank]
9 Sable, a fesse humettee Argent [Bostock]
10 Azure, three garbs Or [Randolph Blundeville]
11 Azure, two bars Argent [Venables]
12 Quarterly, Argent and Gules, in the second and third quarters a fret Or [Dutton]
13 Argent, on a bend Gules, three escarbuncles Or [Thornton]
14 Sable [Vert?], a cross engrailed Ermine [Kingsley?]
15 Or, a saltire Sable [Helsby]
16 Azure, a chevron between three garbs Or, a crescent for difference [Hatton]
17 Azure, an estoile issuant from the horns of a crescent Or [Minshull]

1 Crest: An unicorn's head Argent, erased, mained [and armed] Or.
2 Crest: Out of a ducal coronet Or, a lion's jamb erect Sable. 

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Leversage of Wheelock

In our fifth group, in which the names of the bearers suggest some quality of the charges, the allusiveness of the arms is naturally less immediately obvious, though the pun becomes apparent with a little thought. Thus the charges of three black ploughshares between their black chevron hint at their capacity to lever up the soil. 

Leversege of Wheelock

Arms: Quarterly -
1 & 4 Argent, a chevron between three ploughshares Sable.
2 & 3 Argent, a chevron between three Catherine wheels Sable [Wheelock]

Crest: A leopard's head jesant-de-lis *
* The upper part of the fleur-de-lis, usually shewn above the leopard's face, is omitted in the MS.   

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Swettenham

Coming now to the fifth group, in which the names of the bearers suggest some quality of the charges, the allusiveness of the arms is naturally less immediately obvious, though the pun becomes apparent with a little thought. Thus the charges which Swettenham placed on a green bend are spades wherewith a man tills the field in the sweat of his brow.

Swetnam (Swettenham)
Argent, on a bend Vert three spades of the first.  

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Alcock

Staying within our fourth section of our classification where we place arms in which charges representing part of the bearers' names are combined with ordinaries we can place the chevron and cocks' heads of Alcock of the Ridge. 

Leigh of the Ridge

Arms: Quarterly -
1 Gules, on a cross engrailed Argent a mullet for difference
2 Gules, two bars gemelles Argent, a chief Ermine.
3 Argent, a chevron Sable between three cocks' heads erased Gules [Alcock]
4 Checky Or and Vert, a bend Ermine [Sparke]       

My sharp eyed reader may have noticed that in this fourth section, with one exception, that of the cocks' heads of Alcock which are red, in each each of these shields the field is silver and the charges are all black. Curious.

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Wheelock

Staying within our fourth section of our classification where we place arms in which charges representing part of the bearers' names are combined with ordinaries we can place the chevron and Katherine-wheels of Wheelock. There is also a pun in the Leversage arms but as that fits into the fifth group, in which the names of the bearers suggest some quality of the charges, and therefore the allusiveness of the arms is naturally less immediately obvious, though the pun becomes apparent with a little thought, I shall deal with that one later. 

Leversege of Wheelock
Arms: Quarterly -
1 & 4 Argent, a chevron between three ploughshares Sable.
2 & 3 Argent, a chevron between three Catherine wheels Sable [Wheelock]

Crest: A leopard's head jesant-de-lis *

* The upper part of the fleur-de-lis, usually shewn above the leopard's face, is omitted in the MS.         

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Henshaw

Staying within our fourth section of our classification where we place arms in which charges representing part of the bearers' names are combined with ordinaries we can place the chevron and moorhens of Henshaw. 

Henshaw
Arms: Argent, a chevron between three moor-hens Sable.   

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Ravenscroft

Staying within our fourth section of our classification where we place arms in which charges representing part of the bearers' names are combined with ordinaries we can place the chevron and ravens' heads of Ravenscroft. 

Arms: Argent, a chevron between three ravens' heads erased Sable.

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Beeston

In the fourth section of our classification we place arms in which charges representing part of the bearers' names are combined with ordinaries. In this classification the bend and bees of Beeston sits quite comfortably; although perhaps a bee or bees upon a barrel (a ton) might have been more of a rebus thereby moving it up into the first division.

Beeston of Beeston
Arms: Argent, a bend between six bees volant Sable.
          

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Birchell of Birchell

A rather tenuous pun is that of Birchell. Is it conceivable that the tree which is part of the crest of Birchell of Birchell is not an oak but is really intended for a birch tree? Is it possible, or credible, that the heralds, at their Visitations, erroneously blazoned what should have been a bich tree as an oak? If so, it is, in my humble opinion, an opportunity missed.

Birchells of Birchells (Birtles)

Arms: Quarterly 1 & 4 Argent on a chevron between three cross- crosslets fitchee Azure, as many fleur-de-lis of the field.

2 & 3 Sable, three chevronels Or, each charged with as many fleur-de-lis Gules.

Crest: A lion rampant Azure, supporting an oak tree eradicated Vert, fructed Or.   

Heraldic Puns abound in Cheshire - Aston of Aston

In the the third group, wherein part of the bearer's name is shown by the charges, another example is that of the crest of an ass's head displayed by Aston of Aston.

Aston of Aston
Arms: Quarterly: 1. Per chevron Sable and Argent.
2. Argent, a bend between six bees volant Sable. [Beeston]
3. Per chevron Vert and Ermine, a chevron engrailed counterchanged. [Stoke].
4. Quarterly Argent and Gules, in the second and third quarters a fret Or. [Dutton].
5. Azure, an estoile Or, within the horns of a crescent Argent. [Minshull].
6. Argent, on a fesse nebule Sable, three hares' heads Or. [Hanwell].
7. Argent, a chevron engrailed Sable, a chief of the second.

Crest: An asses' head couped Argent.